How does one strike a balance between wanting to spend more time in spiritual pursuits and the inability to do so because of family and professional commitments?tho one wishes very sincerely to devote a lot of time in religious /spiritual environment , at the end of the day one is left dissatisfied because of the lack of the same!hare krishna.
Add Krishna to material life
HAre Krishna!
I can understand that we have our material commitments too and we need to fullfill them. But we must try to add Krishna in whatever we do. For example, you can listen to nice kirtan or a some lecture (you can download it from the sites or buy some CD)while cooking, cleaning or doing any house hold activity. This way you will be in spritual environment at the same time managing your house. When you travel to your work place, (if you dont use 2 wheeler) listen to kirtan or some lecture. If you travell in bus or auto you can chant or recite prayers. You can always pray and remember Krishna whenever you get some free time.
Pralhad Maraj has recommended 9 different ways to render service. Out of which you can concentrate on hearing, chanting and remembering. Even if your hands and legs are involved to fulfill material commitment, you should always look for the oppurtunity to engage your ears, tongue and mind in Krishna's service.
I dont know if your family is a devotee family. If yes remember that you are serving not your husband and children but you are serving another Vaishnavs.So again you are performing spiritual activities in serving your family. Even if you are the only devotee in your family, remember that Krishna will be happy when you sincerely perform your duty as wife and mother. So whenver you serve your family do it for Krishna's pleasure. Cook nice prasadum and feed your family. When you cook food and offer it to Krishna, remember everything including the time you spent to earn money to buy the foodstuff is spiritualized. So if you offer food to Krishna everyday, time spent at your work place, your work everything has spiritualized.
This way, try to add Krishna in everything. Then you dont have to find extra time for spiritual activities.
I know how you feel
PAMHO, Hare Krsna~ I, too, have this problem in my everyday life. I am a stay-at-home mom with two small children who demand my attention pretty much all day and all night long. The youngest (21 months) is still a constant breastfeeder and sleeps with me; I just got the almost 4 year old to sleep in her own bed (right next to me) recently! Some of the hats I wear include short order (and regular) cook, financial/business manager, laundress, master gardener, housecleaner, and many more. It is a big job... And I do feel resentful at times that I cannot do more with devotional service. I try and do as much as I can, get the kids involved to help whenever possible, and just pray that I can do more in the future.
I can't wait for the day I can live a more regulated life (normal sleep habits, time alone to read or pray, etc.) but for now it's impossible. I think Krsna understands, and I just think it's my Karma that I want to do more but can't. It's like an itch I can't scratch. I continually pray for His mercy, and remember that my children need me to serve them, too (as well as my BIG kid, my husband!)
Don't feel bad; you are not alone in your feelings. Just chant when you can, offer flowers and water and fruit as often as possible, and look to the future when you will *hopefully* be able to provide more devotional service.
Feel free to email me to commiserate. Hare Krsna!
200%
Haribol
If one is extremely maxed out with mundane responsibilities, there are solutions! I don't claim to know them all, but I know a few.
The most important (I think) is do not worry or feel bad about yourself thinking and feeling that you are not living up to a standard, this is important because you cant get anywhere feeling that way! You already want to do the right thing, you are just have difficulty implementing it - so wanting to do the right thing is half the battle!
You have to live 200% - 100% in the world to honor your responsibilities and 100% in the spiritual - how?
doesn't that sound impossible, maybe it is , but what choice do you have? necessity is the mother of invention! You have to make it work, or you wont be happy.
Years ago I was so maxed out from working and other commitments that I had a complete breakdown a became very sick. I was always into spirituality, but during this time when I became overly booked with to much commitment, it seemed as though I forgot about spiritual things, like a lapse of consciousness. Once I took some time off and got better I realized the the real reason I broke down was not because I was so impossibly over booked, but it was more that all the things that I was doing were twice as heavy.
Because I allowed myself to have a lapse of spiritual consciousness, it made all the mundane things twice as heavy and more of a burden.
Look forward to sleep! - Pray all day, in between everything you do, when you pray visualize images of the lord, ask for spiritual dreams and sound sleep. When you dream and the next day get up, don't try to figure out what it is about, just pray again every day! Try to recall just the feeling of the presents of the lord in your awake state, go about your business as usual and try see all things in a spiritual light and pray for guidance and sound sleep.
As your life rearranges and your time is freed up, remember to fill the spaces with the right stuff.
Hare Krishna