God looks for true devotion

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God, [September 23, 2012] The atheism, which does not accept the existence of God, has the two stages. In the lower stage, the negation of God is associated with sin and injustice. In the higher stage, the negation of God is associated with good deeds and social justice. Even the atheist in the higher stage will be awarded with the temporary heaven since there is no reference of God. Similarly, the theism, which is the acceptance of God, has also two stages. In the lower stage, the devotee is reluctant to unhappiness and is attracted towards happiness. In this lower stage, the devotee has reason for his devotion. In order to get rid of difficulties and to get happiness, God is worshipped. Such devotion is not true devotion to God. All the devotion is selfish and the love of devotee to God is only for his happiness. Such devotion is the result of general human psychology in the world. The same psychology exists even in the worldly bonds as said in the Veda (Atmanah kamaya…). The husband loves his wife since she gives happiness to him. The wife loves the husband since she is also gets the same happiness from him. The children love the parents for their financial support. The parents love their children aspiring future service in their old age. Therefore, all the worldly bonds are selfish only. In the same way, the love towards God is also like any worldly bond. In this devotion, the psychology of the human being is not changed.

Nivrutti, the field related to God, is only an extension of Pravrutti, the field related to the world. In the higher stage of Nivrutti, the devotee enjoys both happiness and unhappiness equally. In this higher stage, the devotee is not reluctant to unhappiness and is not attracted to the happiness. For him, both are one and the same like sweet and hot dishes in the meals. He enjoys both equally. In this higher stage, absolutely there is no need for the devotion to God. In this stage, there is nothing to aspire and there is nothing to reject. The help of God is not needed at all. Therefore, the devotion to God becomes meaningless and useless. But, in such stage also if there is devotion to God, such devotion is real and God is thrilled towards such devotion. Therefore, you have to achieve the stage of Yogi, in which you can enjoy the situations of happiness and unhappiness equally (Samatvam yoga uchyate... Gita). When you achieve this stage, you are said to be in the final goal of Pravrutti. After this stage only, the real devotion starts. The Lord asked Arjuna first to become Yogi (Tasmaat yogi bhavaarjuna…). To achieve the goal of this Yoga, practice is essential (Karma karanamuchyate… Gita). Once this stage of Yoga is attained, all the desires are pacified because there is nothing to reject since everything is enjoyable. When all the desire is subsided in this way, the final stage of Yoga is achieved (Shamah karanamuchyate… Gita). When there is nothing to be achieved, the reason for devotion disappears. Therefore, the devotion also must disappear. But, if the devotion does not disappear in this stage, such reasonless devotion is the true devotion. The eyes of God are turned towards such a devotee. Till then, God does not look at you. You are thinking that God favors you by giving happiness and removes the difficulties by your devotional prayers and worship. It is only your illusion. Your difficulties, which are the fruits of your sins, are only postponed with compounded interest. The happiness, which is the fruit of your good deeds, is given to you by dragging the fruits of your good deeds fixed in the future life cycles with reduced interest like premature deposits. All this is just an arranged mechanical system and God does not even look at this mechanism. You think that God does all this. You think that God created happiness without your good deeds. You also think that God destroyed your unhappiness. All this illusion is due to lack of your insight towards the background of the mechanism (Nadatte kasyachit paapam… Gita). The Lord openly clarified this by stating that such thinking is due to illusion based on the ignorance of the background mechanism (Tena muhyanti jantavah… Gita).

The lower stage of devotion is better than the higher stage of atheism. The reason is that at least the acceptance of God exists in the lower stage of the devotion. There is always a chance of transformation from the lower stage to the higher stage in the devotion. Therefore, the lower stage of devotion should not be discouraged, which is the stage of almost 99% of the devotees. In course of time, the devotee in the lower stage climbs to the higher stage after receiving the divine knowledge from Satguru. Without Yoga, you cannot come into the looks of God. After attaining the Yoga completely, your false devotion becomes true devotion and the gracious glance of God falls on you. Then only, you have started the real spiritual journey. The devotee in such stage is called as Yogarudha in the Gita (Yogarudhasya tasyaiva…). Therefore, you must understand the real meaning of Yoga. Yoga is misunderstood as performance of some physical exercises or breathing exercise. Of course, such exercises are also good for maintaining good health. Such health is the basis of Yoga, which should not be directly called as Yoga. Yoga also should not be misunderstood as developing inertia towards happiness and unhappiness. This type of misunderstanding is horrible since it is quite opposite to the process of Yoga. The first misunderstanding is at least appreciable since it happens to be the basis of Yoga. Attainment of Yoga is achieving the partial stage of God, which is equal enjoyment of happiness and unhappiness in the creation. By this, you have not become God, who is called as Yogishwara. Yogishwara means the Lord of Yogis. This partial achievement is through the divine knowledge and this is the partial monism (Advaita). Shankara taught this stage in the beginning to the atheists. Next, Ramanuja came and taught the real devotion. Finally, Madhva came and taught that the real devotion is always proved by practical sacrifice, which is the practical service without aspiring any fruit in turn.

Hanuman served Rama practically without aspiring anything in return. In the Ramayana, you will find no occasion in which Hanuman praised Rama through any prayer. His devotion was always in terms of service, which is the practical sacrifice. Hanuman did not differentiate the service to Rama from the service to world. Hanuman was completely dedicated in the personal work of Rama, which was search of His wife and the war to get back His wife. Hanuman did not misunderstand Rama when Rama told that He will go back if Sita is returned. This is a test to Hanuman to see whether Hanuman gets displeased since Ravana will not be killed in such option. If Ravana is killed, it is service to the world. The personal service to Rama was not differentiated from the service to the world. This shows that the human form called as Rama is not differentiated from the unimaginable God. Identification of Rama as God especially when Rama behaved like an ordinary human being is one acid test. Involvement in purely personal service, which is of no use to the world, is another acid test. Hanuman passed both these acid tests because He did not differentiate the human incarnation from the absolute God and did not differentiate the work of Rama from the work of God.

At the lotus feet of Shri Datta Swami

-Prasad

Bonds hindering the spiritual progress & overcoming them

[Taken from Discourses of His Holiness Shri Datta Swami]  There are four strong bonds, which hinder the spiritual progress. 1) Bond with wife 2) Bond with money 3) Bond with child 4) The bond with one’s body and life.

Avadhuta can only be the soul who has cut all these four bonds. A Sanyasi could cut the first three bonds but not the fourth bond. A Sanyasi takes food, drinks water, sleeps and leaks the sperm periodically. The Sanyasi avoided the wife but not the desire for the sex. The eating, drinking, sleep and sex are the four biological needs of the body. The Avadhoota lives maintaining his body without these four needs and his body is beyond the rules of the nature. His body is a divine body maintained by the super power (Maya) of the Lord.

The state of Avadhoota is complete liberation and such complete salvation is possible only by the complete grace of the Lord. Avadhoota is just an inert house of the Lord. There is no soul in that body. The soul also is a part of the nature and so the soul becomes a part of the inert house of the Lord. The Avadhoota thinks talks or does anything only by the will of the Lord. It is one system and not two in one. Avadhoota is one hundred percent Lord. It is the state of the goal and there is no journey further. He is called as Siddha and not Sadhaka.

Even the Sanyasi is a Sadhaka who is still travelling towards that state. However, a stone can be also equated to Avadhoota because it also has complete salvation but the Lord is not dwelling in it. The Salvation must be attained through the devotion of the Lord, which will lead to the state of Avadhoota. If simple salvation is attained without devotion it will lead to the state of a stone.

Among the three bonds the strongest bond is the bond with the children. The wife can help in the spiritual effort (Sadhana) and therefore she is called as ‘Saha Dharma Charini’. The sex, which is a biological need, is a matter of attraction of few minutes or at the maximum few hours. This little time is negligible compared to the long lifetime and the energy dedicated to the Lord.

But the bond with the children persists in all the times and requires the expenditure of the energy continuously. The Bond with the money also increases due to this bond with children. For the sake of the children people become corrupt and try to rob others. In such process, they do lot of injustice. The strength of this bond is reduced by realization and with this not only the individual salvation in the upper world is achieved, but also the justice in this world can be easily established. This is the reason why the Lord spoke about the detachment of worldly bonds for the establishment of the justice. He says that He is born to establish the Justice, but He does not speak about the rules of the Justice.

The Government, Police and even the courts quote the rules of Justice, which cannot establish the Justice. People try to misinterpret these rules and win the case. In Gita, the Lord attempted for the detachment of these bonds, which are responsible for the injustice. He attacked the problem at the basic level. Therefore, the strength of the bond with the children is proportional to the injustice in the world. This bond also hinders the spiritual elevation. Unless the strongest bond is cut, salvation is impossible. Without the salvation, the single bond with the Lord is impossible.

You can analyze Vyasa, Arjuna and Dhritaraashtra who represent the three above average, average and below average levels. Vyasa is the highest Guru and his birthday is celebrated as Guru Purnima. The divine prostitutes who are of the lowest level mocked such a highest Guru due to this strongest bond. Vyasa was running after his son and was mocked. He was not mocked for his bond with the divine lady called ‘Gritaachi’ because it was just a temporary bond for few minutes. She gave birth to ‘Suka’ through whom Vyasa had permanent bond for twenty years. For the sake of wife he wasted only few minutes but for the sake of son he wasted twenty years.

Arjuna was also bound by this strongest bond. He was killing all his relatives on the order of the Lord. He was prepared to leave the kingdom, but when his son Abhimanyu died, he stopped the war. The war is the work of the Lord to punish the evil people. Therefore, the bond with the Lord is not stronger than the bond with his son. The Lord performed the surgery and broke this strongest bond by killing even the other children (Upa Pandavas). The Lord wanted to lift Arjuna. Bhagavatgita was the medicine, which could not work to break the strongest bond. Therefore, the Lord performed the surgery and lifted Arjuna and other Pandavas also as they surrendered to Him.

The Lord lifted Vyasa by preaching him through the divine prostitutes. For Vyasa, the medicine was sufficient but for Arjuna surgery was required. Since Vyasa and Pandavas are His devotees, the Lord did everything for their upliftment. Dhritarashtra is not a devotee. He knows that Krishna is the Lord. He saw the Viswarupam. He advised his sons to arrange a feast and attract the Lord to help them. He tried to grab the wealth of his own brother Pandu who only conquered the whole kingdom.

When Pandu went to the forest, Dhritaraashtra was made the representative of the king. He became blind with this strongest bond and did not mind to do injustice to the son’s of his own brother. The whole wealth actually belongs to his brother. If he passes an order as a king, his son cannot hinder it. He has the support of Bhishma. Bhishma took an oath that he will protect the king. Therefore he need not fear for his son. His wife Gandhari found fault always with her husband and her sons, but at the last when her children were killed she gave the curse to Lord Krishna forgetting that He is the Lord. Such is the strength of this illusory bond!

Today Dhritaraashtra represents people. People are trying to earn the money for the sake of their children and they are prepared to do injustice to any extent for this. Like Dhritaraashtra they want to please the Lord by worship to help their children. Therefore, if the Sadhaka can cut this strongest bond all the other two bonds can be easily cut.

At the lotus feet of Swami

-Prasad

Essence of Prayers: Acknowledge God for Past favors

[September 09, 2012 Mr. Anil asked about the essence of the messages of Jesus to this world.]

Swami replied: After rigorous penance for about 40 days on a hill, Jesus presented the essence of all His future messages through the prayer followed by a miracle. Thousands of people gathered, who became very hungry in the hot mid-day. There were only four pieces of bread in the basket. Jesus uplifted the basket and did not pray God to provide more pieces of bread for the sake of hungry devotees. He prayed God, expressing the gratefulness for providing those four pieces of bread and asked the disciples to serve those four pieces. Jesus thanked God looking at the past and was not worried about the problem of present and future. There is no need of any suggestion to the omniscient and omnipotent God. Sometimes, you may have to remind your superior officer regarding some suggestions related to the situations in the present and in the future. The reason is that your officer is a human being with a limited brain and limited capacity. But, in the case of God, such requirement does not arise. Since Jesus did not ask for the provision of more pieces of bread, it is quite possible that God might have kept silent. Even if Jesus asked for more pieces of bread, God might have kept silent. The reason for such silence may be to test the devotees regarding their interest in the divine knowledge in spite of the hunger. Jesus will think in this way only if the miracle was not done. He would have not uttered a single word of blame if the miracle was not performed. That is the real devotion to God. Jesus wanted to preach such devotion to the public.

You should always pray God with full gratefulness looking at your past. God has already granted 100 favours, giving you this human birth, which itself is the first favour. Health, wife, children, money, education, devotion etc., are the 100 favours already done to you by God. Your prayer never touches any of these favours already done to you in the past. Jesus explained that even the problems are also favours, which stimulate you to come near to God. His idea was that you should thank God even for the problems, which help you to develop the devotion to God. In the worldly affairs, you should be reverse to this concept. You should never think past and concentrate only on present and future in your worldly duties. Hence, God is reverse to the world.

Today, the prayers concentrate on the problems of the present, expecting the happiness of their relief in the future. According to Jesus, your prayer should be mere acknowledgement of the past favours done by God to you. Since this direction is absent, you have become the most ungrateful devil forgetting the long list of favours already done to you by God. Nobody mentions even a single favour already granted by God. From the beginning to the end, the prayer concentrates on the present and future only assuming that the favours already done were due to the results of good deeds performed by the individual. In such case, continue with the good deeds and naturally your present and future will be good. Where is the need of prayer to God?

[Mr. Anil asked for the reason of the absence of the enlightenment of this angle by the preachers of Bible and Jesus.]

Swami replied: The reason is that this angle will never be liked by the public. People want God to solve the present problems for the happiness in the future. Expressing gratefulness for the past, which is already achieved, is of no use. If God is confined to the past only, nobody will waste the time in the unnecessary activity of expression of gratefulness for the past. The preacher is always to the tune of the people only like a politician. The preacher is also one of the public and will have the same attitude only. This is the reason for the closure of this angle.

It is easy to understand the preaching of Jesus, but, the most difficult part is to understand Jesus as the human incarnation of the unimaginable God in which both the human being and God co-exist like current and wire. This concept is not digested by the majority of the public, which crucified Him due to ego and jealousy. The majority always likes Jesus to be one among them and the existence of God in Him can never be tolerated. Of course, people do not mind much to give a little specialty as the Messenger of God. Some people, who are filled with ego and jealousy from top to bottom, will not agree even to this little specialty and such people are almost atheists or demons. The Messenger means a human being existing in the kingdom of God like any other human being, selected by God for service. This reflects the first statement ‘I am in the light’. This corresponds to the Dvaita philosophy of Madhva. This is dualism insisting on the total difference between God and human being even though the human being is possessed by God. This is correct in the sense that God is unimaginable and the human being is imaginable. But, this difference is not opposing the truth that such a human being is possessed by God. Current is the stream of electrons and the wire is the chain of metallic particles. Both are totally different. But, this difference does not oppose the truth that a specific metallic wire is possessed by current. Every wire need not have the current and hence, every human being is not possessed by God. Again, this point provokes the jealousy of the people. The second statement ‘the light is in Me’ is that a specific devoted human being selected by God is possessed by God. This corresponds to the Son of God in whom only the blood of the Father is flowing. Everybody is not the Son and so every human being is not possessed by God. Even though Father and Son are different individuals, the Son cannot be isolated from the Father due to the blood. The separable and inseparable concepts co-exist and this is the Vishishta Advaita of Ramanuja, which is a bridge between Madhva and Shankara. The Advaita belongs to Shankara, which is the oneness of the two inseparable items like current and wire during the period of flow of current in the wire. Hence, the human being possessed by God is treated as God for all practical purposes. This is reflected by the statement ‘I am the light’. This is supported by other statements like ‘I am the truth’ and ‘I and My Father are one and the same’.

The human being possessed by God is also an ordinary human being like anybody else before the possession. This human being is selected by God to spread His message and is called as Messenger. The jealousy in others starts here itself since others are not selected. This is zero level of people. Such people, who could not tolerate Jesus even as Messenger, shocked to hear second and third levels crucified Him. The jealousy further grows if the Messenger is possessed by God and becomes Son of God. Mohammad, the next Prophet stopped at the level of Messenger itself, to avoid the further growth of the jealousy and opposed the concept of human incarnation. The second stage, which is the entry of God into a specific human being and the third stage, which is treating the specific human being as God, are more and more provoking to the zero level and are dangerous. Mohammad avoided the second and third stages and hence, was saved from crucifixion. Jesus announced the three stages separately to the three levels of people. The problem is that the zero level people also hear the statements of the first, second and third levels. The zero level people, who cannot tolerate even the first level, will be upset more and more to the higher and highest levels. People of different levels are not isolated by walls. The small cat will also enter the big hole of Newton! Therefore, Mohammad thought that it is better to stand on the first level itself. The first level is inevitable because the message of God should be spread standing as the Messenger. The zero level people will be hurt by the first level also, but, there is no much danger in absence of the second and third levels. The reaction will reach climax when the zero level receives the statement of third level!

At the lotus feet of Shri Dattaswami

-Prasad