Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. This incident has been used by some religious groups to claim that Trump’s faith saved him. Both Christian and specific Hindu groups have asserted that this event was a divine intervention.

However, such superficial credit-taking is not appreciated in Dharmic literature. There are numerous incidents in the scriptures where the faithful were killed, either on the battlefield or while living their daily lives. In the Mahabharata, the sons of the Pandavas were brutally killed by Kaurava soldiers. Abhimanyu, the beloved nephew of Sri Krishna, was killed by six warriors. Even Sri Krishna did not prevent the death of his sons during the conflict among the Yadavas in Prabhas.

One of the foundational teachings in the Bhagavad Gita is that: 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. The Bible glorifies the story of a prophet reviving the dead, but when a woman lamented the death of her son, Buddha asked her to bring mustard seeds from a house where no one had died recently. While it was easy to obtain a cup of mustard seeds, it was impossible to find a family that had not experienced death. The woman returned unsuccessful but enlightened, having gained a deeper understanding of life and death.

Certainly, the Lord of the Universe can perform miracles, but who are we to decide what constitutes a miracle? Instead, we can learn about life and its workings. Sri Krishna explains in the Bhagvat Gita:

Nādatte kasyachit pāpaṁ na chaiva sukṛitaṁ vibhuḥ ajñānenāvṛitaṁ jñānaṁ tena muhyanti jantavaḥ

𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: “Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.” (5.15)

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘵𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺. If things do not go according to one’s wishes, one might lose all enthusiasm for their beliefs and faith.

Real protection from Sri Hari lies in maintaining gratitude in all situations as the world operates—sometimes in victory, sometimes in defeat, sometimes in highs, and sometimes in lows. Such a practitioner of yoga will not be bothered by human definitions of miracles but will continue to experience miracles in simple but profound ideas, stories, and selfless service to others, all while holding their Lord close to their heart.

– Govinda Das (ISKCON Member)