Answer
This is an important question, and the answer is given directly in the scriptures.
The question is: Why did Kardama Muni want to enjoy material life in spite of personally seeing and experiencing the Supreme Lord? The answer is that not everyone is equally competent to become liberated from material bondage.
Dhruva Maharaj was spiritually more advanced than Kardama Muni. Even though Dhruva became completely detached and no longer desired anything from the Lord, the Lord still fulfilled all of his desires. This reveals another important principle that devotees understand.
If the Lord considers it necessary for a devotee to exhaust or burn the reactions of past karma, He is not cruel. He will arrange the required material circumstances. The problem is not experiencing material facilities; the problem is seeking one’s own pleasure independently of Krishna. That independent pursuit of self-centered enjoyment is what binds us to the material world.
In the spiritual world, devotees also experience pleasure, but they are not seekers of their own pleasure. They are seekers of Krishna’s pleasure.
Pleasure itself is not sinful. Seeking self-centered pleasure is the problem.
The scriptures speak of ananda (spiritual bliss) as a fundamental principle. However, this does not mean that each individual living being exists independently for his own enjoyment. The living entity’s real constitutional position is service to the Supreme Lord.
When one serves the Lord, the Lord bestows bliss upon the devotee. There is a profound difference between trying to acquire pleasure and receiving pleasure from the Lord as prasadam, mercy, and blessing.
We are pleasure-seeking beings by nature, but a devotee does not chase pleasure directly. He seeks the pleasure of the Lord, and whatever happiness comes is accepted with gratitude as the Lord’s gift.
A devotee therefore does not pray for material rewards. Whatever the Lord gives is accepted gratefully and reinvested in further devotional service. In this way, the Lord gradually purifies the devotee and burns his karmic reactions.
Kardama Muni was at one stage of spiritual development, while Dhruva Maharaj was at a more elevated stage. Dhruva immediately became detached from material desires, yet the Lord still granted him a vast kingdom and extraordinary opulence. That was the Lord’s gift, not Dhruva’s demand.
Therefore, seeing the Lord does not automatically make a person completely purified. If someone does not desire purification, even seeing the Lord may not transform him fully. Many people see and worship the Deity every day, yet they do not immediately become pure devotees. The Lord, as the Supersoul, reciprocates according to the desires of each individual. Material desires may still be fulfilled.
Ultimately, we ourselves must desire purification.
This is why it is so important to understand the spirit of the acharyas and our disciplic succession. The spirit of our parampara is not simply severe austerity twenty-four hours a day. Rather, it is to engage everything—whether seemingly good or bad—in the service of the Lord.
The joy of devotional service lies in service itself. Service includes both the activity and the result, but the devotee understands that the opportunity to serve is already the reward.
The only real question is: Have I given my full attention, full determination, and sincere effort to execute the order of my Guru and Krishna?
The result belongs to the Lord.
I am not the proprietor of the results, nor am I the sole cause of success or failure. The scriptures explain that there are multiple causes behind every action. I can only perform my part sincerely; the Lord decides when, how, and to what extent the results will manifest.
Therefore, a devotee who has dedicated his life to devotional service should not become anxious about his own future. The Lord will take care of everything—including how, when, and where that service should unfold.
Devotional service is a mystical path. One must have faith. If a person becomes excessively rational and loses faith, he will become confused and disconnected from the living presence of the Guru and the parampara.
When one has faith, everything gradually becomes connected. We chant Hare Krishna, follow the instructions of Srila Prabhupada, and day by day the Lord gives direction. Over months, years, and decades, He connects all the dots of our life—our preaching, successes, failures, and spiritual progress.
Connecting those dots is His work, not ours.
Even karmis often acknowledge that many events in life occur mysteriously. A devotee recognizes that behind those events is the guiding hand of the Lord.
