I am facing a lot of hurdles in getting married. Can praying to Lord Krishna sincerely help me fulfil my desire? My friends say that Lord Krishna gives only Bhakti but He does not fulfil material desires. They are asking me to pray to Lord Shiva or Goddess Parvati instead. But I love Lord Krishna very much. What shall I do?
Yes. If you sincerely pray to the Lord Krishna, he will certainly fulfill your desires. The claim of your friends that Lord Krishna does not fulfill one’s material desire is wrong. This is borne out by the following verse (2.3.10) of the Shrimad Bhagavatam:
“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desires, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the Supreme Whole, the Personality of Godhead, by intense devotional service.”
The Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati or for that matter other demigods also do fulfil one’s material desire to some extent as they are empowered by Lord Krishna, as stated in the following verses of the Bhagavat Gita (7.21-22):
“I am in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship some demigod, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to that particular deity.”
“Endowed with such a faith, he endeavours to worship a particular demigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality, these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.”
Then a question arises. If both the Supreme Lord Krishna and the other demigods fulfill our material desires, where does the difference exist? The Lord Krishna Himself enlightens us through the following verse (7.23) of the Gita:
“Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.”
In this connection, the undermentioned verse (5.19.27) of the Shrimad Bhagavatam sheds light on the subtle nuance of the difference in the favour bestowed by both the Supreme Lord Krishna and by the other demigods:
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead fulfils the material desires of a devotee who approaches Him with such motives, but He does not bestow benedictions upon the devotee that will cause him to demand more benedictions again. However, the Lord willingly gives the devotee shelter at His own lotus feet, even though such a person does not aspire for it, and that shelter satisfies all his desires. That is the Supreme Personality’s special mercy.”
Every living being of this world is a combination of a material body and spirit soul. As long as one remains in the bodily entrapment, he or she will have some material desires. This is a fact. But, we must clearly understand that when a living entity acquires human form of life, the supreme goal is self-realisation and not sense gratification.
Keeping this end in view, although the Supreme Lord Krishna may award a devotee material gains initially, the Lord finally purifies the devotee of such a mindset and bestows upon him or her pure devotion to the Lord’s lotus feet and frees him or her from material bondage itself.
In the Vedic literature, we come across an episode about a five-year-old devotee, Dhruva Maharaja, who undertook intense worship of the Supreme Lord with a material motive but finally by the mercy of the Lord, he became a very pure devotee.