Based on our past ways of thinking and living, we all have developed an attitude that is optimistic or pessimistic or an unpredictable combination of both – sometimes optimistic and sometimes pessimistic.

When we start practicing spiritual life, we bring this attitude with us. Thus, for example, we may think pessimistically, “I live at a place where there is so little good association.” Or we may think optimistically, “I have some association at least – so many places have none. And nowadays I can get association digitally too.”

Undoubtedly, optimism is better than pessimism. But bhakti-yoga takes us beyond the duality of optimism and pessimism to a deeper opportunism: the opportunity latent in cultivating an inner longing for Krishna. Essentially, Krishna reciprocates with our desires, as the Gita (04.11) indicates. So, if we long sincerely for Krishna, he can mightily move our heart towards him, even through the modest devotional facility available to us. By his inconceivable mystic power, he can fill our heart with devotion even through just one moment of saintly association or just one insight while studying scripture or just one sight of a captivating darshan or just one line of a magnetizing kirtan. Indeed, through one moment of intense spiritual experience, he can provide us long-lasting inspiration. The opportunity lies not just in the facility, but also in our mentality, in our eagerness for Krishna. Phrased in terms of the glass metaphor, our devotional growth depends not on whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, but on our enthusiasm to drink whatever is available.

So, rather than worrying about how little or how much facility we have, we can strive to use the available facility for absorbing ourselves in Krishna – and he will reciprocate by filling our heart with spiritual strength and satisfaction.

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