Inspiring Articles by Sacinandana Swami
Looking back with a new set of eyes
A friend once told me, “We shape our life by looking ahead, but we only make sense of it by looking back.” It’s true. We humans live forward, but we understand life backward. Pressing the replay button in our lives and re-examining what happened is always helpful, especially when we can recognize the divine hand in it. Bhaktivinoda Thakura was such a strong advocate of this process that he recommended reviewing our lives every fourteen days—on Ekadasis.
The question for a practicing devotee is: how can we reflect on the past and understand that everything that occurred was unfolding with a purpose? How can we acknowledge that it is Krishna, who is (and always was) actively guiding our lives? Adopting this new way of seeing will transform a theoretical belief into a practical realization of God, inviting deeper insights into our lives.
While on a health retreat in South India, I had the opportunity to relish the mind-opening prayers of Queen Kunti. Looking back at her eventful life, which was filled with intense and difficult moments, she does not complain nor blame the Lord. Rather, she recognizes the Lord’s loving hand throughout.
Queen Kunti starts her prayers by acknowledging how difficult it is to understand Krishna, “Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of maya (deluding energy).” However, she quickly composes herself and connects beautifully with the Lord through a three-step process that can also direct our own efforts to approach the Lord:
1. First, Queen Kunti takes shelter in chanting Krishna’s divine names. This is also how we can best approach the Lord – through singing His names with enthusiasm: govindaya namo namah (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.21). Instant connection!
2. Next, she bows down to Krishna’s enchanting beauty by meditating on His lotus-like navel, the garland of lotus flowers that beautifies His dark blue form, His glances, which are as cool as a lotus flower, and His feet, whose soles are engraved with the sign of the lotus. In other words, she meditates on the Lord’s captivating beauty. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.22) In meditating like this, we come “face to face” with the Lord.
3. Queen Kunti’s third step in approaching the Lord is especially potent in awakening devotional feelings and serves as an example of “looking back with a new set of eyes.” She recollects that in the midst of all the turmoil and painstaking events in her life, Krishna was present and showered her with His mercy. Being aware of Krishna’s loving presence during those times, she invokes the close, affectionate, and caring God – the One who never abandons His devotees and is always by their side. (SB 1.8.23-24)
Queen Kunti’s approach offers a beautiful example of first becoming aware of Krishna (steps 1 and 2) and then, in step 3, looking back with devotional eyes to recognize the Lord’s hand and heart behind life’s events. By introducing Krishna into the equation as the ultimate orchestrator and merciful guide, we begin to find answers that would otherwise remain beyond our reach.
Another wonderful example of recognizing Krishna’s hand during the different phases of our life can be found in the words of a devotee who, though unable to fully understand the Lord’s plan at the time, can now clearly see His intentions in retrospect.
(Tip: read this slowly):
O Lord – O most merciful Master. Now I can understand that Your heart melted with compassion when You saw me suffering in my material illusions. Thus, You took on the form of Sri Guru and came to cut me away from the jaws of the crocodile of ignorance – just as You did when You released Gajendra from the deadly grips of the crocodile by Your illuminating Sudarshana disk.
Even early on in a time long past, You planned to make me a servant of Your lotus feet. With this in mind, You recited the syllables of the divine mantra – Your sound forms – into my ears and eradicated all my inner misery. You purified me further by repeatedly and patiently engaging me in hearing, chanting, and remembering Your holy names and attributes. You bestowed upon me the association of Your devotees, who taught me how to serve You. What kindness have You shown me – but what have I done to reciprocate?
(Paraphrased from Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura’s Madhurya Kadambini 8.9)
We could all write similar prayers if we follow Queen Kunti’s three-step process of approaching the Lord and looking back with a new set of eyes:
Begin by connecting with the Lord through chanting and meditating on His beauty.
Then, ask yourself questions such as: “Where and when did Krishna appear in my life?” “What merciful arrangements did He make—arrangements that could have come only from Him?” “When did He strengthen my faith, provide special insights, or send devotees who helped me understand my next steps?” “When did He reveal His plan or presence in any other way?”
Explore these events with a new set of eyes, pray for deeper insights, and dwell in the understanding that Krishna is a loving God who has arranged everything for your benefit. Notice the signposts He has placed that provide clear indications of how your life should progress. You will find that the imagined distance between you and the Lord dissolves, allowing you to recognize Krishna in front of you, behind you, above you, and below you.
The question for a practicing devotee is: how can we reflect on the past and understand that everything that occurred was unfolding with a purpose? How can we acknowledge that it is Krishna, who is (and always was) actively guiding our lives? Adopting this new way of seeing will transform a theoretical belief into a practical realization of God, inviting deeper insights into our lives.
While on a health retreat in South India, I had the opportunity to relish the mind-opening prayers of Queen Kunti. Looking back at her eventful life, which was filled with intense and difficult moments, she does not complain nor blame the Lord. Rather, she recognizes the Lord’s loving hand throughout.
Queen Kunti starts her prayers by acknowledging how difficult it is to understand Krishna, “Being beyond the range of limited sense perception, You are the eternally irreproachable factor covered by the curtain of maya (deluding energy).” However, she quickly composes herself and connects beautifully with the Lord through a three-step process that can also direct our own efforts to approach the Lord:
1. First, Queen Kunti takes shelter in chanting Krishna’s divine names. This is also how we can best approach the Lord – through singing His names with enthusiasm: govindaya namo namah (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.21). Instant connection!
2. Next, she bows down to Krishna’s enchanting beauty by meditating on His lotus-like navel, the garland of lotus flowers that beautifies His dark blue form, His glances, which are as cool as a lotus flower, and His feet, whose soles are engraved with the sign of the lotus. In other words, she meditates on the Lord’s captivating beauty. (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.22) In meditating like this, we come “face to face” with the Lord.
3. Queen Kunti’s third step in approaching the Lord is especially potent in awakening devotional feelings and serves as an example of “looking back with a new set of eyes.” She recollects that in the midst of all the turmoil and painstaking events in her life, Krishna was present and showered her with His mercy. Being aware of Krishna’s loving presence during those times, she invokes the close, affectionate, and caring God – the One who never abandons His devotees and is always by their side. (SB 1.8.23-24)
Queen Kunti’s approach offers a beautiful example of first becoming aware of Krishna (steps 1 and 2) and then, in step 3, looking back with devotional eyes to recognize the Lord’s hand and heart behind life’s events. By introducing Krishna into the equation as the ultimate orchestrator and merciful guide, we begin to find answers that would otherwise remain beyond our reach.
Another wonderful example of recognizing Krishna’s hand during the different phases of our life can be found in the words of a devotee who, though unable to fully understand the Lord’s plan at the time, can now clearly see His intentions in retrospect.
(Tip: read this slowly):
O Lord – O most merciful Master. Now I can understand that Your heart melted with compassion when You saw me suffering in my material illusions. Thus, You took on the form of Sri Guru and came to cut me away from the jaws of the crocodile of ignorance – just as You did when You released Gajendra from the deadly grips of the crocodile by Your illuminating Sudarshana disk.
Even early on in a time long past, You planned to make me a servant of Your lotus feet. With this in mind, You recited the syllables of the divine mantra – Your sound forms – into my ears and eradicated all my inner misery. You purified me further by repeatedly and patiently engaging me in hearing, chanting, and remembering Your holy names and attributes. You bestowed upon me the association of Your devotees, who taught me how to serve You. What kindness have You shown me – but what have I done to reciprocate?
(Paraphrased from Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura’s Madhurya Kadambini 8.9)
We could all write similar prayers if we follow Queen Kunti’s three-step process of approaching the Lord and looking back with a new set of eyes:
Begin by connecting with the Lord through chanting and meditating on His beauty.
Then, ask yourself questions such as: “Where and when did Krishna appear in my life?” “What merciful arrangements did He make—arrangements that could have come only from Him?” “When did He strengthen my faith, provide special insights, or send devotees who helped me understand my next steps?” “When did He reveal His plan or presence in any other way?”
Explore these events with a new set of eyes, pray for deeper insights, and dwell in the understanding that Krishna is a loving God who has arranged everything for your benefit. Notice the signposts He has placed that provide clear indications of how your life should progress. You will find that the imagined distance between you and the Lord dissolves, allowing you to recognize Krishna in front of you, behind you, above you, and below you.