Counteraction Under Krishna’s Shelter

Our material remedies for the strikes of material nature are never good enough.

by Visakha Devi Dasi

PRIOR TO THE GREAT Kurukshetra,  Arjuna, seeing friends and relatives on the  opposite side, was overwhelmed by doubt about fighting the impending the war. He said to Sri Krishna,

yadi mam apratikaram
asastram sastra-panayah

dhartarashtra rane hanyus
tan me kshemataram bhavet

“Better for me if the sons of Dhritarashtra, weapons in hand, were to kill me unarmed and unresisting on the battlefield.” (Gita 1.45). Because he doesn’t want to kill kinsmen, Arjuna refuses to counteract their aggression toward him (aprati: without opposition; kara: acting). He is ready to die unarmed and unresisting rather than fight such an “enemy.”

Although we generally don’t think about it, in this material world we’re busily trying to counteract practically everything. There’s air conditioning for hot days and heating for cold ones. We counteract hunger by eating and fatigue by sleeping. We get a puppy if we’re lonely and take a break when we’re stressed. We search for medicine when we’re sick and defend ourselves when we’re attacked. We pour water on fire and call an ambulance when someone’s hurt. We seek entertainment when we’re bored and solace when we’re grieving. We cover wrinkles with makeup and battle flagging muscles with exercise. We clean when there’s dirt and use an umbrella when it rains. At every turn we’re counteracting something. The ultimate futility of these attempts to counteract suffering is expressed by Prahlada Maharaja in his prayers to Krishna in His form as Lord Nrisimha: “O Supreme, because of a bodily conception of life, embodied souls neglected and not cared for by You cannot do anything for their betterment. Whatever remedies they accept, although perhaps temporarily beneficial, are certainly impermanent.

For example, a father and mother cannot protect their child, a physician and medicine cannot relieve a suffering patient, and a boat on the ocean cannot protect a drowning man.” (Bhagavatam 7.9.19)

Although we’re always endeavoring for relief from different sorts of suffering, and although our attempts may be temporarily effective, in this world the results of our efforts are not guaranteed and do not offer permanent counteraction. This is not to say that devotees of Sri Krishna never accept temporary remedial measures, for they sometimes do. Srila Prabhupada himself took Ayurvedic medicine when he was ill. Yet at the same time, devotees recognize that ultimately Sri Krishna is our protector. Srila Prabhupada would quote the Bengali saying mare krishna rakhe ke rakhe krishna mare ke: If Krishna wants to kill someone, no one can protect that person. And if Krishna protects someone, no one can kill that person.

Fallible Remedies

In this world we’re all trying to resist and counteract the onslaught of material nature, but in the end every one of us is fully controlled by it. That’s why despite the presence of the father and mother, the child can’t always be protected from disease, accidental death, and various other miseries. We all know there are times when no one can help, not even loving parents and expert doctors.

Prahlada Maharaja goes further, saying that not only can our attempts to counteract miseries be ineffective, but they can also backfire terribly: “Although there are many remedies by which to get out of miserable life, any such remedies in the material world are more miserable than the miseries themselves.” (Bhagavatam 7.9.17)

In former years, for example, people were frustrated that they couldn’t move quickly enough from one place to another. Horses were faster than walking, but not fast enough. To counteract slowness, cars became popular and with them, a sprawling network of roads, a fragile international supply chain for auto parts, dependence on fossil fuels from foreign countries, dehumanizing factory jobs, the hefty expenses of owning and maintaining a car, and so forth. Along with the benefit of quick transportation, we’re paying the price of high-speed accidents, all sorts of pollution, traffic jams, a loss of self-sufficiency, huge swaths of land covered with asphalt, and more. We’ve counteracted one misery with a cascade of others. Electric cars are now counteracting some of those problems while creating others in the process. (“Metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel [used in car batteries] must be dug out of the ground before they reach manufacturing plants for refinement. The mining process itself is extraordinarily detrimental to people and the environment, as it uses deadly chemicals such as diesel and mercury.” – https://www.carshtuff.com/ post/can-tesla-batteries-be-recycled)

Like counteraction, this curious and unfortunate phenomenon of “remedies” creating various sorts of ill effects is also all around us. We take aspirin to prevent blood clots, but may experience heavy side effects like gastrointestinal bleeding or hemorrhagic (bleeding) stroke. We support politicians we hope will improve our lot, but then are dismayed and demoralized by their moral turpitude. We get a house in a remote place to live simply and peacefully, but a forest fire destroys it. And so it goes.

Arjuna’s misery is in fighting with kinsmen, and his solution is to avoid counteracting the misery, which means that he will set aside his weapons and die at the hands of his enemies. And dying in this way is, of course, yet another misery.

Srila Prabhupada puts our material predicament like this:

This material world is going on. It is full of dangers. Padam padam yad vipadam [Bhagavatam 10.14.58]. The material world means step by step, simply danger. That is the material world. So you have to find out pratikaram, counteraction, how to save yourself from danger. Just like when we walk, we see on so many doors, “Danger,” so that you are warned. Sometimes the doors are “Beware of the dog.” So you have to take care. “No, I shall not enter.” So in everything there is danger, and there is pratikaram, counteraction, how to save yourself from it. This is called the struggle for existence. In this material world there is only this danger and counteraction. I am unhappy, so just to become happy I have to work; I have to get money.” (Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 1.45–46, August 1, 1973, London)

Krishna’s Sanction Needed

Both Arjuna and Prahlada Maharaja realized that whatever we manufacture to counteract miseries will fail if Krishna doesn’t sanction it. They and all devotees understand that the real counteraction – one that has no detrimental side effects – is Krishna, and with this faith they take shelter of Krishna as He advises.

sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja

aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Gita 18.66)

In fact, no attempt to counteract miseries will be truly beneficial unless Krishna desires it. Therefore devotees fully surrender to Krishna and seek His protection, knowing that He is merciful. Prahlada Maharaja expresses this when he says to Lord Nrisimha that people have manufactured so many counteractions to dangers but without His sanction these counteracting agents are ineffective. “Therefore,” he says, “I think that the only remedy is to engage in Your service. Kindly instruct me in such service.” (Bhagavatam 7.9.17)

The simple acts of sincerely hearing and speaking about Krishna are ways to serve and surrender to Him. And such service pleases the Lord, who is happy to protect and reciprocate with His devotee. For devotees who are always absorbed in thoughts of Krishna, He counteracts their miseries. “Discourses concerning the activities of the Lord, in which the glories of His devotees are also found, are extremely pleasing to devotees. Such wonderful topics always counteract the miseries of the materialistic way of life.” (Bhagavatam 7.1.4) In their selflessness, devotees don’t serve Krishna for such counteraction, but Krishna offers it out of His love for His devotees and His desire to reciprocate with them.

Krishna Remembers Our Service

Krishna’s counteraction and protection may not always be obvious, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t present. For example, devotees are especially enjoined to remember Krishna at the time of death, for what one thinks of at death will determine one’s next body. But what if a devotee dies in an unconscious condition? Srila Prabhupada explains:

So if you become Krishna conscious once, even if at that time [while dying] you are so-called unconscious, still, Krishna is with you; He is not forgetful. He is not forgetful. Therefore He will give you the proper result. Don’t think that at the time of your death, because you are so completely out of consciousness, therefore there is frustration. No. There is no frustration. There is no frustration. Because your activities are already recorded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated within your heart, so therefore there is no question of frustration. You just practice. While you are in good health, while you are in good body, while you are in good consciousness, just practice this Hare Krishna, and the result is guaranteed. (Lecture,

Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.7.22–26, March 10, 1967, San Francisco)

Srila Prabhupada made a similar point on a morning walk:

That is the guarantee. Because he is a devotee, for material condition he could not remember, but Krishna remembers, “Yes, he has done so much for Me.” Yes, that is general. But a devotee, because Krishna has taken charge of him, even if he does not remember Krishna, still, Krishna is there. Generally a devotee dies remembering Krishna. Generally. But even if for material condition he cannot, then Krishna has taken charge. And there is no question of hopelessness. No. We have to do our duty very seriously. Then everything is all right. (March 17, 1976, Mayapur)

If we please our supreme father, Krishna, by hearing and speaking about Him, by remembering Him, and by acting in accord with His directives, by His grace we will actually counteract material miseries and be happy in this life and the next. Arjuna comes to this conclusion and expresses it when he says,

nashto mohah smritir labdha
tvat-prasadan mayacyuta

sthito ’smi gata-sandehah
karishye vacanam tava

“My dear Krishna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.” (Gita 18.73)

Visakha Devi Dasi has been writing for BTG since 1973. The author of six books, she is the temple president at  Bhaktivedanta Manor in the UK. She and her husband, Yadubara Dasa, produce and direct films, most recently the biopic on the life of Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement, and the Swami Who Started It All. Visit her website at OurSpiritualJourney.com.
Caption : Lord Krishna is always ready to provide shelter to all who come to Him.