Kartik month carries potency just like at some time of the year there is ‘love in the air’.
But to take maximum benefit of that love we need to voluntarily choose some austerity.
Life is filled with inconvenience and suffering, and it’s forced upon us.
You may travel to your work in the crowded trains. Someone else may have a comfortable room and no need to work but his children may trouble him. Therefore Srila Prabhupada advised us to voluntarily accept suffering and inconvenience; he often quoted Srimad Bhagavatam that extols the glory of human life is to perform austerity for a noble purpose.
Devotees of Lord Krishna, during the month of Kartik, take up some austerity for pleasing Krishna. Some chant extra, others read a chapter from Krishna book daily, and a few others eat once a day. The idea is to please the Lord and show Him our sincere desire to please Him and lovingly remember Him.
When we accept voluntarily some inconvenience then the inevitable sufferings of this world become tolerable. A devotee practises remembrance of Krishna during these ‘inconvenient’ or ‘austere’ moments. For example, last year during Kartik, a friend of mine who is a foodie and devours cakes and sweets often, decided to stay away from sweets for one month. I asked him if it was bcoz he wants to loose weight or bcoz he wants to please Krishna. After a prolonged period of silence- which increased my suspicion of his motives- he finally said it’s to love and remember Krishna more.
I met him a month later and he shared an interesting realization. As intense cravings pulled him and he experienced ‘withdrawl’ pain, he tried praying to Krishna. His effort to turn to Krishna in this situation improved his consciousness and filled his heart with spiritual experiences. A month later he was not only richer spiritually but physically he was healthier. He confessed his ability to tolerate suffering also increased in life.
Therefore real austerity is to offer everything as an expression of loving surrender to God.
What then is the best austerity/surrender to choose for a month?
