Even a Devotee/Sadhak Struggles: Karma, Bhakti and the Truth About Spiritual Hardship 

If that were true then what about the greatest devotees? What about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? He died of cancer. What about Krishna himself? He left his body because an arrow pierced his foot. If devotion was a shield against suffering, then why did their bodies still break?

The point is karma.

All the laws, the Vedas, even science in its own language says the same thing  what goes around comes around. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The butterfly effect  a small flap somewhere causing waves somewhere else. That is karma. In simple language, whatever action we do has a result. The result may show up today, tomorrow, years later, or maybe in another life. Even Krishna was not outside this cosmic balance. So how can we humans think we can dodge karmic consequences by visiting temples once a week?

The truth is we need to stop obsessing over good and bad and start understanding energy. Everything in this world, living or non-living, is vibrating at some frequency. The universe does not sit with a moral checklist. It seeks balance. When we act, we disturb energy. The universe balances it. That balancing is karma.

There are three types — Sanchita, the accumulated pile from past lives; Prarabdha, the portion currently playing out in this life; and Kriyamana, the new karma we are creating right now with every thought, word and action. It’s not punishment. It’s mechanics.

Even a bhakta faces depression. Even a sadhak feels anxiety. When Hanuman was asked to cross the ocean, he forgot who he was. He doubted himself. He looked at the ocean and saw his limitation, not his power. For a moment he became anxious, small, unsure. Only when reminded did he leap.

Bamakhepa was thrown out of the temple of Maa Tara because society thought his love was madness. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would forget to wear clothes after bathing because he was lost in Maa Kali, and people shamed him for it. Society always has a script. Spiritual experience rarely follows it.

There is a huge difference between what society makes us believe and what actually happens.

Tell me honestly, would a parent want their child to come to them only when they need money or solutions? Only when there is a crisis? No. Then why do we treat God like that?

Human birth is not meant to be a smooth vacation. It is full of pain, confusion, grief, loss, and small fragile moments of happiness. And strangely, the ones who are touched deeply by grace often go through more intense burning. Society rejects them. Family misunderstands them. They lose things. They break. Not because God is testing them like a cruel examiner, but because when you take one sincere step toward the Devi, she accelerates your karmic cycle. What would have taken lifetimes begins to surface quickly. Patterns collapse faster. Attachments burn quicker.

It feels harsh. It feels unfair. But is it cruelty? Or is it compassion that refuses to let you stay half-awake?

She burns so you can be clear. She breaks illusions so you can see. That is not punishment. That is fierce love.

We don’t need to visit temples to solve our problems. We need honesty. Sit somewhere quietly. Remember her. Talk to her like you would talk to someone who actually sees you. Cry in front of her. Be vulnerable. Drop the performance. Love and sincerity , that is all she needs. The rest, she will handle in her own way, not according to society’s timetable, but according to the deeper law that holds everything together.

And so I open my inbox for all of you reading this. Talk. Openly. About the struggles, the pain, the anger that society tells us to bury deep down in order to become a “good son”, a “good daughter”, a “good child”. All conversations will remain highly confidential. Let us create a safe space together where we simply listen and become aware of our feelings instead of judging them, suppressing them, or spiritualising them away.

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