In English
Stages of relationship with God
Praise and blame are the obverse and reverse of reaction to the great and the sublime. The cinema screen is not affected by the volcanic eruption pictured in the films or by the turbulent sea with mountain high waves. It is neither singed nor does it get wet. A city has under it streets two varieties of pipes, one carrying drinking water and the other, sewage. The human body has veins for good blood and bad. The intake of food has to result in the discharge of offal. The relationship with the Lord is described as developing from (in the vicinity) to (nearness), and from to (Form of the master) and then on to (absorption into the Form). You can understand this clearly, if you take to mean, being in the kingdom ruled by the Lord as monarch, or as a servant in the palace where He dwells. You are under His (fostering care); you are aware that it is He who sustains you. In the stage, you feel you are a personal attendant on the Lord, in His entourage, privileged to be near Him and to be called upon by Him when occasion arises, for some personal service. You have neared the principle of Godhead, intellectually; you feel His presence ever, emotionally - that is . Then, the stage is reached when the devotee is so near, so kin, that he wears the "royal robes" - a brother, for example, can wear the same robes. So he has the same , he has the splendour, the glory that bespeaks the full blossoming of the Divine that is latent in him. Lastly, when you are the son, the Heir Apparent, the , you approximate as much as possible to the Royal Power and so, you can say, "I and My Father are One." That is , becoming One - Retainer, Attendant, Kinsman, Heir. These are the stages of the soul's journey to Realisation of the Oversoul.