Lately i have been writing a lot about the importance of consciously putting forth effort in our devotional practice. As the main title of this new blog implies, i am very much for a progressive and dynamic approach to spiritual life. Sometimes this type of focus can seem extreme or unbalanced, so i thought that i would take this opportunity to clarify my position and intentions so as to not give the wrong impression.
There has been a debate going on since before anyone can remember regarding our personal position in the process of transcendence. Some spiritual practitioners claim that it is by the Lord’s mercy only that we can make spiritual advancement, and that putting forth effort in that regard is futile and borderline blasphemous because we are imperfect beings. Others on the devotional path claim that our endeavor is the impetus for advancement, and to sit back and wait for some divine mercy to make up for our lack of effort is lazy and borderline blasphemous because we are sentient beings.
The first type mentioned, whose followers rely exclusively on mercy, is known as the philosophy of the kitten. Like the cute fuzzy critters they are named for, practitioners of this philosophy wander around aimlessly, just doing their own thing without a care in the world. When danger is imminent, the mother of these kittens will snatch their babies up by the back of the neck and swiftly carry them to safety. The kitten does not have to do anything to become liberated from danger, for it strictly relies on the mercy of its mother.
The second type mentioned, whose followers rely on endeavor, is known as the philosophy of the monkey. Some of us have had the opportunity to observe that baby monkeys are much more cautious and aware of their surroundings, and when they sense trouble they have to run to their mothers and latch themselves onto her chest or back, holding on for dear life, as she fervently bounds away to safety.
Srila Prabhupada describes these two philosophies when he talks about Damodara-lila. When Mother Yasoda attempted to tie little Krsna to a grinding mortar as punishment for His misbehavior, she kept joining ropes together, but the total length was always short by the measurement of two fingers. Our acarya explains that these two fingers represent mercy and endeavor. One cannot attain the Supreme Lord without having both of these things. Each of the two philosophies mentioned above are incomplete on their own because although it is irrevocably necessary to have God’s mercy in order to attain Him, it is also necessary for us to actively take said mercy.
Some might be under the impression that i lean more toward the philosophy of the monkey since i seem to talk more about our duty to continually and actively strive for devotional progress (and also maybe because i enjoy climbing things). But i do not place more emphasis on endeavor because i consider mercy to be less important. The reason i focus on active devotional practices is that out of the two factors being discussed, it is the only one that we have any control over. The Lord’s mercy is there regardless of whether we take advantage of it or not … He has unconditional love for us and there is nothing we could do to take that away. What we can do is train ourselves to consciously accept that mercy as much as possible.
Although i am heavy with the “endeavor talk”, i am also very careful to point out that while we are trying to improve our thoughts, words and actions, our consciousness must be properly situated. If we are doing these things to make a more comfortable material situation, the endeavor is ultimately all for nil. But if our consciousness is being directed toward pleasing Krsna, we are actively grabbing a hold of His causeless mercy and as such, positive reciprocation will take effect.
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