Why Is It Not Kshipram With Worship of Krishna

“Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore they worship the demigods. Quickly, of course, men get results from fruitive work in this world.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.12)

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काङ्क्षन्तः कर्मणां सिद्धिं यजन्त इह देवता
क्षिप्रं हि मानुषे लोके सिद्धिर्भवति कर्मजा

kāṅkṣantaḥ karmaṇāṁ siddhiṁ
yajanta iha devatāḥ
kṣipraṁ hi mānuṣe loke
siddhir bhavati karma-jā

“Listen, I do not want to get into the common debate about worship of the devas. Many people object to the translation that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada uses, of ‘demigod.’ It is a deva, which refers to a god. Sure, there is a deva to the devas. There is a param-deva. There is the highest being of all. Some people find it offensive to refer to honorable and worshipable figures as being lesser than the complete. They will argue that all the devas are the same. Just pick whichever one you like. You can reach the same destination through any of them.

“Of course, that is not what Bhagavad-gita teaches. Shri Krishna is the teacher. Though moments prior He was driving the chariot, He turns into the guru at the request of the bow-warrior named Arjuna. Krishna later reveals Himself to be the virat-rupa, which is the universal form. This is like an impersonal conception of Divinity. It is the avyakta-murti, or the object of worship that cannot be seen.

“I am not here to argue with any of the particulars. My question is about speed. As in, the turnaround time for the results. In one place, Krishna describes how worshipers of the devas get results quickly. The Sanskrit word is kshipram. The results are specific to fruitive activities. In other words, karma. This makes sense. This is not a novel concept. Karma is nothing more than work. If people are going to work, they would like it to be successful, or saphala. If worshiping the devas can help in achieving that success, why not worship them? Especially if the results will manifest kshipram, or quickly.

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः
श्रद्धयार्चितुम् इच्छति
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां
ताम् एव विदधाम्य् अहम्

yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ
śraddhayārcitum icchati
tasya tasyācalāṁ śraddhāṁ
tām eva vidadhāmy aham

“I am in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some particular deity.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.21)

“We also learn that Krishna increases a person’s faith in their deva of choice. It is almost like He is encouraging the process. Like when a father sees that their child has an interest in sports or music, they then sign that child up for lessons. At the same time, we know that there is the option to worship Krishna. We can approach Him directly, but in the proper way, through the guidance of the spiritual master. We can worship Krishna for karma, but there is no guarantee of a good result.

“Interestingly, there is also no guarantee of the speed of the results. But why not? If I can worship the devas and find success quickly, why is it not the same with worship of Krishna? If the results are not kshipram, then doesn’t that say the worship is inferior? How can worship of Krishna be inferior?”

All of this aligns with the seed of desire, which is known as kama, that causes the cycle of birth and death. For as long as there is kama, there is placement in the material world. For as long as there is association with the material world, there is the cycle of action and consequence. There is work and the desire for a successful outcome. Whether a person receives their rewards quickly or not, they are still in the material world, if operating under the paradigm of kama.

तब लगि कुसल न जीव कहुँ सपनेहुँ मन बिश्राम
जब लगि भजत न राम कहुँ सोकधाम तजि काम

taba lagi kusala na jīva kahum̐ sapanehum̐ mana biśrāma
jaba lagi bhajata na rāma kahum̐ sokadhāma taji kāma

“For as long as there is not devotion to Shri Rama and the release of material desires, which are like an abode of grief, the living being should not expect to find welfare and peace of mind, even in a dream.” (Dohavali, 131)

Worship of Shri Krishna is going straight to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is also known as Rama. He is also Vishnu. He is Narasimha. Though He might appear in different places, at different times, with a variety of nondifferent forms, He is still one person. He is above the devas. He is the object of worship of the devas. When the devas run into trouble, they look to the Supreme Lord.

The kshipram experience is not exclusive to worship of the devas, either. We see quick results in so many aspects of our daily life that we tend to forget. We enter terms into a search engine and the results display almost instantly. We press buttons on a keyboard and see letters displayed on the monitor. We pay the bill to the utility company and a few moments later we have heat and electricity. We place money into a machine, press buttons to identify the item we want, and quickly thereafter witness the machine dispensing the exact item we asked for.

This means that worship of the devas is essentially a business transaction. We make proper payment. We pour offerings into a sacrificial fire. We repeat sacred formulas. We create a sanctified area and identify a respected person to officiate the proceedings. We have the promise of quick results. We later collect our “winnings” and move on. We have not necessarily purified consciousness. We have not ascended to a higher standard of thought. We do not even bother to consider how the animal community receives everything they need for the continuation of life, without taking part in worship.

Krishna is not a vending machine. He is not an exhibit in a travelling carnival. He is not something to study in a museum. He is the source of everything. He is not a businessman, looking to exploit for personal gain. He is the greatest well-wisher. If we worship Him, we might actually fail. In His role as Hari, Krishna might take away things that are dear to us. He does this out of compassion. Goswami Tulsidas compares it to parents keeping a watchful eye over their children, ensuring they do not place a hand in fire, either accidentally or unknowingly. There can be no greater relationship than this, and so the speed to the results makes no difference, since in worship we have the Supreme Lord Himself.

खेलत बालक ब्याल सँग मेलत पावक हाथ
तुलसी सिसु पितु मातु ज्यों राखत सिय रघुनाथ

khelata bālaka byāla sa~ga melata pāvaka hātha
tulasī sisu pitu mātu jyoṃ rākhata siya raghunātha

“In the way that parents intervene when the children play with a snake or put a hand in fire, Sita and Rama are like the mother and father who protect Tulsidas in the manner of a small child.” (Dohavali, 147)

In Closing:

Quickly the results to get,
When in deva worship set.

If towards Krishna to apply,
Why not on same to rely?

Rather as Hari sometimes to take,
The wealthy a pauper to make.

Because like parent of watchful eye,
With ropes of devotion to tie.