Comfort Zone and Krishna Consciousness: A Spiritual Inquiry
BVKS Sanga
Please accept my humble obeisances.
Sri Sri Guru-Gaurangau Jayatah.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
All glories to Your Holiness.
When the body, mind, and intelligence are functioning comfortably and peacefully, it becomes easier to practice Krishna consciousness properly. At times, due to physical ailments, mental disturbances, or confusion in the intelligence, it becomes difficult to remember Krishna or engage wholeheartedly in devotional service.
As Queen Kunti prayed, "Let calamities come again and again, for then we can see You again and again." Yet, in the case of the Pandavas, Krishna often protected them even before the danger fully manifested.
My question is this: when one is actually undergoing suffering, it often becomes difficult to remember the Lord. For example, even a small headache tends to occupy the mind completely. At such times, one may be able to offer a brief prayer, but not much more.
On the other hand, when the body, mind, and intelligence are peaceful and in a comfortable state, it becomes much easier to remember Krishna, chant attentively, and engage in devotional service with greater absorption.
Could you kindly explain this apparent contradiction?
Your servant at your lotus feet,
Satyanarayana Dasa
BVKS Sanga
BVKS Sanga
Date 20-06-2026 15:34:47
Pranam.
To the degree one is absorbed in bodily consciousness, his Krishna consciousness can be disturbed by suffering. A liberated devotee is oblivious to his bodily condition and discomfort does not affect his Krishna consciousness (deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-bandhana kāhāṅ tāra). Haridasa Thakura was beaten in various marketplaces, but he felt no pain nor did it disturb his Krishna consciousness. Sanatana Goswami was afflicted with open sores all over his body, and while walking on the beach in Jagannatha Puri, his feet became blistered due to the heat of the sand, yet such bodily disease did not affect his Krishna consciousness.
Perfect devotees are transcendental to all material disturbances, but sadhakas cannot immediately come to that platform nor imitate it. Srila Prabhupada sometimes compared a liberated devotee to a dry coconut, wherein the inner pulp is detached from its outer shell. Pure devotees are aloof from their bodies and are unaffected by its comfort or discomfort. But because sadhakas are still attached to their bodies, they have to care for and maintain the body so that they can go about their regular activities of Krishna consciousness without becoming too disturbed. Still, when sufferings do come, sadhakas are enjoined to learn to tolerate uncomfortable situations, as Krsna tells Arjuna in the 2nd and 12th chapter. Sadhakas are meant to view suffering or discomfort as reactions to their past karma, or a higher realization is to understand it as the mercy of Krsna.
However, if a sadhaka becomes too comfortable then he also tends to forget Krsna amid his comfort; Srila Prabhupada wrote, “An easygoing life and attainment of perfection in transcendental realization cannot go together.” Hence discomfort or suffering can also be an impetus to more enthusiastically pray to and serve Krsna, as it reminds a devotee of his dependence upon Krsna. Kuntidevi makes her prayer in this mood.
Your servant,
Mitravan Dasa
BVKS Sanga
When the body, mind, and intelligence are functioning comfortably and peacefully, it becomes easier to practice Krishna consciousness properly. At times, due to physical ailments, mental disturbances, or confusion in the intelligence, it becomes difficult to remember Krishna or engage wholeheartedly in devotional service.
By your words, it appears that you define "comfort zone" as bhakti-anukula situations as mentioned above. So, there isn't any contention why devotees should not have a "comfort zone", for it's a Gaudiya principle that we should accept whatever is favorable to enhancing our Krsna consciousness.
As Queen Kunti prayed, "Let calamities come again and again, for then we can see You again and again." Yet, in the case of the Pandavas, Krishna often protected them even before the danger fully manifested.
However, it's also a fact that Lord Krsna, sometimes, keeps his pure devotees (like Gopis, Vrajavasis, Kuntidevi and Pandavas, Prahlada Maharaja, Haridasa Thakura, Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami and so on) in extraordinary situations to demonstrate how they remember Krsna conscious even under adverse situations. However, these examples of advanced devotees are not to be artificially equated with ordinary devotees who can forget Krsna under hunger, thirst or any other uncomfortable situations. For advanced devotees like Yamunacharya, Madhavendra Puri and so on, even remembrance of the body could be a distraction from their Krsna consciousness "deha-smrti nahi jahar, samsara-bandhana taha kahar", however, this advanced Krsna consciousness is worshipable by us (but not to be imitated) and only by their causeless mercy, we may hope to achieve a glimpse of "Pure Krsna consciousness".
Hope this act of mine pleases Sri Hari-Guru-Vaishnavas,
dasabhasa, jay nityananda das.