Make Your Heart Pure To Install God In It

28 April 1996, Sai Shruti, Kodaikanal, TN

Published English.

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The human body is like an iron which has little value. Just as valuable jewels are kept in the iron , God resides in man as the . Understand this truth, oh sons of Bharat.

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Each heart is the temple of God. said that the same God is present in an ant as well as . He declared that God as (Being, Awareness, Bliss) is present in all living beings. He prayed to :

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Oh ! In Your pure and unsullied form of love, You indwell all beings from an ant to as also in and . Please be my protector too.

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In spite of knowing that God is present in everybody, modern man makes mistakes and commits sins. He investigates everything in the external world but does not examine his own nature. If we want to know who is greater, God or His devotee, we should make a thorough investigation. spoke about .

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is not only question and answer; it connotes prayer to God to clarify our doubts. Sage , born out of ’s mind, had once got this doubt. He went to Lord and said, “Oh Lord! You are present everywhere. You reside in all living beings. All names and forms are Yours. Your glory and greatness are beyond all descriptions.” Lord then said, “! You are mistaken; I am not so great as described by you. I am subservient to My devotees. In the same way, everybody should pray that he should be permitted to be the servant of God’s servants as I always serve those who serve Me.”

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God Resides In The Heart Of His Devotee Lord then asked , “! You travel throughout the world. What do you think is the greatest thing in the world?” replied, “Earth is the greatest.” Then Lord remarked, “Three-fourth of the earth is enveloped with water. In such a case, which of the two is greater?” agreed that water was greater. Lord said, “But Sage drank up the ocean in a single gulp. So, is greater or water?” replied, “You are right, my Lord, is greater than water.” Lord asked again, “But, this is a tiny star in the sky (). Now, is this star greater or the sky?” replied, “It is the sky that is greater.” The Lord agreed and said, “Your understanding is correct. The sky indeed is greater. In His incarnation as , the Lord asked for three steps from King . And in the course of taking the gift of three steps, assumed the form of and covered the entire earth in one step, and the sky in the second, and there was no room for the third step. King had to offer his head for the third step. So, now, is God greater or the sky?” replied, “Swami, when the mere foot of the Lord covers the entire sky, how much greater His full form would be? God indeed is greater.” “God, who envelops the entire cosmos dwells in the heart of His (devotee). So, now, is the heart of the devotee greater or God?” asked Lord . replied, “Indeed, the devotee’s heart is greater than God.”

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had finally to admit that the devotee of the Lord was even greater than the Lord Himself. Hence, the devotee ranks first in importance over everything, surpassing even the Lord. Though God has an immeasurable form, He resides in the heart of His devotee. Hence, the heart of the devotee is supreme where God resides. So, the devotee should not consider himself weak or inferior. He is greater than even God as God is the servant of the devotee. Therefore, the devotee should install God in his heart. If he gets hold of God with love, he will have control over the whole world. The devotee should therefore make his heart totally pure in order to install God in his heart. Then only can he experience his oneness with God. The devotee should pray thus:

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Oh God! Were You a tree, growing upwards, I would cling to You like a creeper; Were You a blossoming flower, I would hover over You like a bee; Were You the mountain , I would cascade like a waterfall; Were You the boundless sky, I would be in You like a star; Were You the bottomless deep ocean, I would merge in You like a river.

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But ignorant persons think that God is stone-hearted and so He puts us to severe tests. But God does not have even an iota of harshness. He is softer than even butter. It is the delusion of man that makes him think that God is hard-hearted. He is the embodiment of compassion. Butter is very soft; even a little heat can melt it. God’s heart is soft like butter. Your love is the heat that can melt it. So, first of all, man should develop love. Love develops when man combines the Name and Form of God. The heat of love is not created when the Name and Form are separate. When the Name and Form rub against each other, the heat of love is generated. Therefore, when man combines Name and Form and performs , the heat of love is created fast. Nothing melts God’s heart more than the sincere devotion of the devotee.

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Formless God Can Be Seen With The Eye Of Wisdom A true devotee of God realises that God is present everywhere. Once a priest of a temple went to the temple to perform the worship of Lord , carrying with him all the material for worship. The priest saw a lying down in the temple keeping both his feet on the Linga and his head on the (the bull, ’s vehicle). Seeing this, the priest was highly enraged and thought that he could not be a sane person, but a madman. The priest asked him, “Hey! Have you lost your sense? Why are you keeping your feet on the Linga?” The replied, “Tell me a place where there is no God so that I can keep my feet there.” In his anger, the priest asked, “Should you keep your feet on ?” Saying this, the priest shifted the ’s feet to another place. As he did so, a appeared there. The priest went on shifting the legs of the from one place to another. But wherever he turned the ’s feet, a manifested there. In this way, the taught the lesson to the priest that God is everywhere. One cannot say, God is here and not there. One should develop broad vision to realize the omnipresence of God and one’s heart is the temple of God. God resides in the heart of His devotee.

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Once got a doubt and he asked Lord , “Oh Lord! I extol You always and sing Your glory. But I have a doubt. Please tell me Your permanent address, so that people in the world should know this.” Lord replied: (I reside where My devotees sing My glories, ). and are My branch offices. The heart of My devotee is My head office.”

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says, “ has closed the door of the temple. Oh mind, proceed towards and .” She sang: , , (Oh mind! Go to the banks of the and ; the water of and is pure; it will make the body cool and serene). and symbolise the subtle channels in the body, and which meet at the center of the two eyebrows. This is the place of , the sixth plexus in the body. It is here that the devotee realises God. The cool water of and signifies pure love and devotion of the devotee. The physical form of God can be seen with one’s physical eyes, but the formless God can be seen only with the eye of wisdom (the third eye in the center of the forehead). We go to the temple with flowers, fruits, and coconut. We travel a long distance to reach there. But when we stand before the sanctum sanctorum, we close our eyes. Why do we close our eyes? We close our eyes because we want to see the formless God which can be seen by the eye of wisdom. When we close our eyes, we develop inner vision.

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There is no temple other than the human body. (the body is a temple and the indweller is God). The body is the temple and the consciousness is God. One should develop love to know consciousness, the indweller. Initially, one may have to face obstacles to develop inner vision. But if you surrender to God and continue your with determination, you can experience your divinity. As you withdraw from worldly material life, God will come nearer and nearer to you. Even if you try to escape from God, He will rush to catch you. God considers that His children are going astray; He advances to transform them. But worldly people misunderstand the ways of God.

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Develop Devotion To God To Get Rid Of Worries Man’s birth, life on earth, childhood, family life, old age, death, and even happiness are full of worries. How to live in this world? How to get educated? How to be successful in examinations? All are worries only. Man thinks if he passes the examination, if he gets married, if his daughter is married, then he will be happy. But his happiness is temporary; it is also beset with worry only. Therefore, his happiness is also a worry. Man tries to fulfill his material desires but he never attains permanent happiness. His every action is full of worries only. In whatever way he engages himself to be successful in his endeavors, everything takes the form of worry. Suppose he makes a plan to build a house. He will be worried whether the house will be built properly or not. Will money be available or not? Will he be alive till the house is completed? Everything is ready for the marriage including the . In spite of all, man is the victim of worry. Old age is a big worry for man. Man tries to develop devotion to God at last in his old age to get rid of his worries. He should therefore develop devotion to God. Then all his worries will leave him; they will vanish. Man himself creates worries in all his endeavors in life. If he has devotion to God, he will have no worries.

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Experience Unity By Removing The Walls Of Ego And Attachment Man will experience unity when he broadens his vision and develops large-heartedness. The entire world is like a big mansion and all the countries are like various rooms of the mansion. When we build a house, we demarcate various rooms in it. First the bedroom, next to it is the kitchen, next is the shrine room, adjacent to it is the dining hall, and next the drawing room. We give different names to the rooms of the house. All the rooms appear to be separate. What is the reason? The reason is that there are walls between them. If the walls are removed, the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining hall, etc., will vanish. Then only one big hall will be there. The world is also like a big hall. But man has divided it by raising the walls of and (ego and attachment). When he removes the walls of ego and attachment and develops faith in God, man will realize the principle of unity and divinity. Therefore, man should develop a large heart. Then only will the divine thoughts of unity arise in it. Divine thoughts cannot develop in a narrow heart.

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Man today has lost his freedom like a caged parrot. How can a caged parrot be happy? When the parrot is released from the cage, it will fly in a wide forest. Man can achieve liberty and freedom only when he develops love for God. Then only will he achieve victory. This victory will lay the foundation of many other victories. Therefore, develop love for God in order to be victorious in all your endeavors. Then whatever you are searching for will lie at your feet. You need not even search for God if you are full of (love). God is not greater than His devotee. When the devotee develops love and devotion for God, God will submit Himself to the devotee.

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( brought His Discourse to a close with the “ …”)