Vaisesika das: Yesterday the front-page headline of The San Mateo Times read: “Doubts cloud market surge.”
The simple facts behind this headline are that hopeful economic news stimulated a weeklong stock market rally.
But yesterday, as traders got mixed economic reports, they pulled back, stopped buying, and the trading surge stalled.
The reason according to the Times: doubts.
When doubts cloud one’s mind or heart, a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction creeps in and the result is that one holds back. (The word, doubt, in fact comes from a Latin word that means, “hesitate”.)
Our free movement in any realm of life comes only when we are free from doubt.
For example, we require confidence even to cross the street.
Indeed, in the scripture doubts are often compared to clouds. And in the Gita, Arjuna refers to doubts as demons.
At Kuruksetra, Arjuna was at first paralyzed by doubts about his duty and he asked Krsna to remove them.
After hearing from Krsna, Arjuna “regained his memory, was firm and free from doubt and ready to act according to Krsna’s instructions.”
To achieve such enthusiasm, one must follows Arjuna’s example.
Confirming this, Rupa Goswami says that the first and most important steps in devotional service are:
1) Taking shelter of a vaisnava guru (adau gurv-asrayam); and 2) inquiring from the guru (sad-dharma-prccha).
Srila Prabhupada writes:
“One must accept a Vaisnava guru and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.”
(Cc Antya-lila 7.53)
Any sincere person who follows this system will become free the burden of doubts and will advance to the highest stage of devotional service.
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