Spiritual planning is a key to success

"One should know that the goal is Kṛṣṇa, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved." - BG 10.10 Purport by Srila Prabhupada

The quote above by Srila Prabhupada is interesting I thought. Clearly, to me when reading this statement, it seems that we have to plan our spiritual life much like we plan anything in life from educational priorities to job to retirement.

Proper spiritual planning is important in healthy growth of devotional creeper within our heart. Planning involves a healthy balance hence it is slow and progressive. The pace of our spiritual life depends on our nature, desires,circumstances and ability. Sometimes, speaking for myself, I have desire and ignore other factors such as circumstances, my nature and hence put others around me in stress and myself in stress. I say stress because sometimes there can be incompatibility with others and my own material nature. So it is important to know how to pace our self in spiritual life or Krishna consciousness.

Regulation and balance therefore is part of planning and is key to our success. We have to practice our spiritual practice daily in particular times (regulated) and balance our time for material and spiritual activities. To artificially give up sense gratification can back fire. Perhaps few advanced souls can successfully do it without relapse but (again speaking for myself) I need time to do it slowly.

Therefore, in ISKCON we have so many projects, activities, festivals, worships and as a practitioner of bhakti and adherents to ISKCON, we may be obliged to do everything perhaps sometimes due to peer pressure. Once in a while perhaps it is ok, but certainly stretching our self always is not good for our long term Krishna consciousness. So as Prabhupada is saying slowly but progressively this path of bhakti towards Krishna needs to be traversed and for that we have to plan our spiritual life nicely just as we would do with our material priorities.

Hare Krishna.