"Krsna never says no" and "He never gives more problems we can handle". Is it true?

A saying we hear frequently is that Krsna never says “no” when we have some plan to serve Him. Did Prabhupada ever say that, and, is it true?

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A saying we hear frequently is that Krsna never says “no” when we have some plan to serve Him. He may say “yes”, sometimes he may say “yes, but wait a little bit”, and sometimes he may say “I have a better plan”. I heard this saying a few times from different sources, and I sometimes repeat it.

It’s indeed reassuring to understand that there is indeed a God who is looking for us, and personally interfering in our lives, giving sanction to our devotional activities and sometimes changing things for the better, and this is certainly in line with what we study in the scriptures and the conclusions Prabhupāda gives in his books.

However, as soon as we try to trace this specific phrase, “Kṛṣṇa never says no”, a question arises: did Śrīla Prabhupāda ever actually say this? If not, how far can we safely use it?

As far as I know, Śrīla Prabhupāda never said it verbatim. However, he said other things that amount to the same meaning.

First of all, He used to say that Krsna is the Supreme Controller (a point that probably all Gaudiya Vaiṣnavas will agree). Nothing happens by accident; everything is under His control, either directly or indirectly. If He is the Supreme Controller and we approach Him with a sincere desire to serve, how can we be ignored?

He also said many times that when we want to do some service and encounter difficulties, we just need to trust that Krsna will help. That’s an important point since it shows that Krsna is personally involved in the lives of His devotees and He can personally intervene at any time if needed.

This is also a point repeatedly emphasized in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: He can remove obstacles (like in the case of Citraketu), He can rearrange circumstances (like in the case of Vidura), He can inspire other devotees to assist us (like Nārada Muni appearing to Dhruva Maharaja when he was leaving the castle), He can give us the strength to persevere (like when Prahlāda was attacked by the demons), and He can sometimes even personally intervene (like in the case of Gajendra).

Similarly, Śrīla Prabhupāda explained on a few occasions that we may have our plans, but Krsna has His plan, and we need to dovetail our plans to Krsna’s plan since, anyway, His plan will always prevail.

How does that relate to the idea that “Kṛṣṇa never says no”? If we understand it sentimentally, as “Kṛṣṇa will always fulfill my plans in the exact way I imagine”, we may get frustrated. Krsna Kṛṣṇa is not our order-supplier. He is the master; we are the servants. Sometimes He may fulfill our desire more or less directly, sometimes He may delay, and sometimes He may redirect it entirely. He never says no in the sense that He always reciprocates, but not in the sense that He will always organize things in the exact way we want. He may say “Yes” if our plan is in harmony with what He wants to accomplish. He may say “Yes, but a little later” when we need purification and education to be able to receive the necessary empowerment, or He may say “I have a better plan” when He wants to use us in a different way.

Śrīla Prabhupāda also frequently mentioned that Krsna is in our hearts, and as long as we are sincere, He gives us the necessary intelligence to serve Him. This same point is made by Krsna Himself in the Gītā when He says teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ, bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvkam, dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ, yena mām upayānti te: “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

As we can see, although Śrīla Prabhupāda may not have ever mentioned saying directly, he made other points that together amount to the same meaning, and all of this is supported by the scriptures:

a) Krsna gets involved in the lives of His devotees, and often operates miracles, even though He usually makes things go in ways that always leave some margin to interpretation. A devotee understands it comes from Krsna, while an atheist may have reasons to deny it.

b) Krsna accepts our attitude of service, and can give us the necessary empowerment to perform services He considers appropriate. It can be something outrageous, like Arjuna facing the Kaurava army and winning, or it could be the silent empowerment to be stable in performing some service in a humble capacity.

c) Often Krsna has a completely different plan for us, which is much better than what we are aiming for. In this case, we may have to face temporary setbacks until His plan finally unfolds. Prabhupāda’s efforts to create the league of devotees in Jhansi were ultimately unsuccessful, but that’s just because Krsna’s plan for Him was to create a worldwide movement and not a regional association.

Another similar saying is that Krsna never gives us more problems than we can handle. As far as I know, this is actually based on a passage from the Bible (Corinthians 10:13), but this is also in accordance with our philosophy and with the teachings of Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Śrīla Prabhupāda mentioned several times that Krsna actually wants us to go back to Him much more than we ourselves may desire it. Material difficulties may be given to a devotee from the part of the material nature, as a result of his previous activities, or directly from Krsna as a way to give him or her the experience he will need to accomplish his mission. However, the material nature is under the control of Krsna; therefore, as long as one is sincere, the material nature will not give him more troubles than he can handle, since the service of the material nature is not to prevent devotees from serving Krsna, but just to keep the atheists at bay.

Yet another point is the idea of empowerment. When one is sincere, the spiritual master, or even Krsna Himself can empower him to surpass any obstacle or perform any feat in service. Therefore, it’s also true that Krsna never gives us more problems than we can handle. We just need to remain sincere in spiritual life, and all obstacles can be surpassed by the grace of Krsna and the spiritual master.

Such sayings function like sūtras, short sayings that encapsulate deeper truths. There is no harm in using these and other sayings, as long as they convey conclusions revealed in the scriptures and are properly understood. We should just be careful not to pass them as “Prabhupāda said...” if that’s not the case.

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