(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 February 2019, New York, United States of America, Bhagavad-gita 7.7)
How can we look at Krsna and see Him as the well-wisher of all living beings when there is so much suffering in this world? There is so much distress around us. And then if we think about that, all the great hardships that are happening to people, then here we have the all kind, all loving Supreme Lord, the well-wisher of all living beings. How can we see it like that? How can we see suffering as a benediction? But that is exactly what suffering is. It is a bitter medicine!
We cannot just look at the suffering alone and isolate it. We have to also see our own stubbornness, our own sinfulness, our own inclination towards being cruel, our own insensitivity, our own degradation, all of which runs deep within us. So how can we correct that? By good intentions? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. That is not so simple.
Krsna may stop us in our tracks at times and gives us some suffering, but if we take it like that and grow to accept this as Krishna’s plan to somehow or other elevate us, then we can grow through the experiences of suffering and survive it by relying on Krsna. Naturally at times of hardship, it is difficult and we hope that it would be over soon. That is natural. Nonetheless, we somehow or other go through it all with knowing that whatever this is, this is for our purification. This is Krsna who is now giving us this medicine; to lift us out of our own weakness and so then we will grow.
In this way, we can be positive. Positive about everything, because ultimately Krsna is positive and if we take shelter of Krsna, then we know that whatever happens to us is surely going to be ultimately positive. Although in the short term it does not always look so positive, but in the long term we know that this is Krsna’s divine arrangement to bring us closer to Him. And so then we can see that He is there with us at every moment. Not just behind everything, but He is there, constantly involved, and He is making active arrangements for our ultimate benefit.