Develop Your Faith With Love For God

20 July 1996, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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One may be a highly accomplished scholar having mastered the , the , and the , One may be a great emperor ruling over a vast kingdom, But none can equal a devotee who has sacrificed everything for the Lord. What is more to be conveyed to this assembly of noble people? (Telugu Poem)

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Since ancient times, many people have been making efforts to attain God by practising four types of (worship) as prescribed by the culture of (India): , , , and (worships that are truth-based, manifestation-based, symbol-based, and slow and sure).

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Various ways to worship God The first is (truth-based worship). In this type of worship, the devotee worships God with the faith that He is immanent in every particle of the universe, just as butter is present in every drop of milk. Like oil in (sesame) seeds and fire in wood, God pervades the entire manifest creation. The devotee worships God with the awareness (Lord pervades the entire world) and believes that the world is the effect and God is the cause.

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There is another subtle path by name (manifestation-based worship). Those who follow this path consider each of the five elements, namely, ether, air, fire, water, and earth, as the manifestation of God and worship them. These five elements are represented in the human body as , , , , and (hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell), respectively. Even today, people worship water as (Mother ), air as , and rain as . In this manner, the (Indians) have been worshipping the five elements in accordance with their ancient culture. This is .

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The third path is the (symbol-based worship). People who follow this path ascribe to God various names and forms with specific attributes, just as (one who wields the bow) symbolises and (one who sports in his matted locks) denotes (God).

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Similarly, holds conch, disc, mace, and lotus in His four hands. sports a peacock feather on His head and plays on His divine flute. In the same way, is considered (one who holds in her hand).

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This is a matchbox ( materialised a matchbox). The same power is present in the matchbox and also in the matchstick. One symbolises the form and the other the name. Just as fire is produced when a matchstick is struck on a matchbox, likewise (fire of wisdom) is manifested when name and form combine. The same power is present in the name as well as in the form. The name points to the form and the form reminds of the name. The same principle of unity and divinity is present in both. When the name and form combine, divine principle manifests there.

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Since Vedic times, the (Indians) have been following this principle and experiencing Divinity. They had total faith in the unity of name and form. They believed that there was no object or name that was not divine in this world. Is there any name that is not associated with a form?

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However, some people may dispute this. They quote the name, and ask, “Is there a flower in the sky? When has no existence, how can there be a word like this?” But they are totally mistaken. is not a single word, it is a combination of two words: and (sky and flower). But God is single word. Without the existence of God, this word would not have originated. Therefore, since ancient times, people believed there was an inseparable relationship between name and form. None can deny this truth.

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The fourth type of worship is . People who perform this (spiritual exercise) follow nine paths of devotion: (listening), (singing), (contemplating on ), (serving His Lotus Feet), (salutation), (worship), (servitude), (friendship), and (self-surrender).

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One can attain the goal of life by the power of (worship). One should never forget the goal of life or deviate from the chosen path; one should attain it by one-pointed devotion.

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The (aspirants) in those days attained Divinity by following the path as prescribed by the . Due to the influence of time, space, and circumstances, modern youth are neglecting such sacred practices. They argue, “How can stones, trees, anthills, and animals be considered divine?” This reflects their narrow-mindedness.

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What is the meaning of the Vedic declaration, (God is the indweller of all beings)? Just as the expound the truth that God is immanent in the entire creation, science declares that the entire creation is made up of atoms. There is nothing that is not made of atoms. The power of atom is present in anthills, stones, soil, trees, etc.

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(everything is pervaded by , the whole world is suffused with ).

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Today, modern scientists boast of having made great progress in the fields of science and technology. They say that everything in this world is based on science. But one should not forget that along with (science), (ignorance) is also on the rise. One follows the other just as shadow follows the reality. What is this science? The ignorance associated with science is not present in anything else. One cannot develop faith in God unless one understands this contradiction.

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Have firm faith in God The boy who spoke earlier prayed, “, bless us with strong faith and develop it.” Such a prayer is born out of innocence. Faith is not something that can be developed in you by others. Faith is there in you right from the time of your birth. When you realise this truth, faith will automatically develop.

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Man is essentially divine. That is why the declare:

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Poornamada poornamidam, poornat poornamudachyate, Poornasya poornamadaya, poornamevavashishyate. That is full, this is full. When the full is taken out of the full, what remains is again the full.

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(one God has many names).

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(the One willed to become many).

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(truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names).

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Unity is Divinity. If you forget this One, nothing else matters in this world. This is what the culture of (India) has been propagating since ancient times. Therefore, you should develop faith in this principle of oneness.

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In ancient days, everyone was engaged in the contemplation of God in (India). But due to the influence of modern age, many people do not have belief in God and consider idol worship as a foolish practice. The Indian belief that God is present even in birds and animals denotes social security. Such type of social security cannot be found anywhere else except . According to the (Indians), a tree is God, a stone is God, and even an anthill is God.

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A sculptor makes the idol of out of an ordinary rock on the hill. Has the sculptor carved out of the rock or was already present in the rock? was already present in that rock. The sculptor only cleaned and chiseled the rock to bring out from it. In the same way, Divinity is present in everything.

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You install an idol of in the temple and worship it, considering it as Lord Himself. There will be so many small stones lying scattered on the hill. But do you worship them? No. What is the reason? Because they have not taken the shape of the idol. Nevertheless, those pieces of stone lying on the hill proclaim,

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(That Thou Art).

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(I am )

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Experiencing Oneness with God Once the elder brother of threw away the idol of worshipped by in the river . The reason for his anger at was that refused to accept the jewels and other gifts sent by the king of , saying,

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(Oh mind! Tell me, whether happiness lies in wealth or in the proximity of God).

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When he noticed that the idol of was missing from his altar, went in search of it. He sang, “Oh , where am I to search for You? How can I limit You to a particular place?” After searching for the idol of for a long time, he was tired and went to the river for a bath. As he took the river water in his cupped hands to offer oblations, saying, , the idol of fell in his hands. When you have such firm faith in the Lord, you will always experience oneness with Him. You will never think that He is separate from you.

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considered as his old friend and addressed Him in informal terms. (come to our house). He addressed in such intimate terms because He considered Him very close to his heart. He sang, “Where am I to search for You, oh . I have no refuge other than You, oh .” He used the term, “” which in Telugu is used to address intimate friends. He enjoyed such freedom with because he considered Him his old friend.

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It is not possible to know God You should realise that this is not your first birth; you had many previous births. The very term (human being) signifies that you are not new. ‘Ma’ means not. ‘’ means new.

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Similarly, God is not new to you, He is your old friend. Never treat God as your new friend. , , and (Beginningless, Infinite, and Incomparable) - these are some of the names of God.

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We acquire knowledge usually from four types of (experiences), namely, (direct experience), (experience based on inference), (experience gained by analogy), and (experience gained from verbal testimony). God is beyond these four. Hence, He is called (immeasurable and indefinable).

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How can anyone know Him? When God Himself came in the form of the boy, the sage failed to recognise Him. Then, how can anybody attribute a particular form to God? That is what Saint sang, “Oh Lord! How am I to know who You really are, whether You are or ?” In fact, all forms are His.

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(whoever you salute, it reaches God) and (whoever you criticise, it reaches God).

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(God is in the form of a human being).

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God is described as (one with cosmic form).

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(the Cosmic Being has thousands of heads, eyes, and feet).

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One must have such strong faith in God. This is not something one can give or take. Some people pray, “, give me deep faith.” But this is not a give and take business. You yourself have to develop faith. If you are hungry, you have to eat food to satiate your hunger. It is you who has to take medicine to cure your illness. Similarly, you have to develop your faith with love for God. Love is not something that can be given to you as a gift.

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In this way, ancient sages and seers followed the four paths , , , and to worship God and attained liberation. They were not foolish. In fact, they did a lot of research and deep study, experienced happiness, and shared it with others. Only the educated fools of today question the wisdom of our ancient sages.

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Do with love None can say, God is like this or that. If someone comes to you and says, “Why do you talk about God? God is nowhere,” you should say, “God is now here.” If you have strong faith in God, what should be your reply to him? “Oh madcap, you may say that your God does not exist. But who are you to deny the existence of my God? I have my God.” When you have such strong faith, you can achieve anything in life. If your faith is shaken when any Tom, Dick, and Harry says something, you will not achieve anything. You should have firm resolve.

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Child continued to chant the name in the face of all trials and tribulations. He had no fear at all. His own father subjected him to all sorts of ordeals. Ultimately, it was his firm faith that protected him and punished his father. Therefore, develop firm determination to attain the grace of God.

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It is not proper to get carried away by what any tell you in the . You can yourself see that people today do not believe in God, but they believe in the weekly magazines and meaningless novels and are prepared to believe an ordinary astrologer.

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Today there are some people who wear a robe like Me, have bushy hair on their head, and claim that has given them special powers. They are really foolish fellows. The powers of cannot be given or received. But some people believe in such impostors and get deceived. Never go near them.

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Divine power is not something that can be given or taken. You can attain it with your faith. If your faith remains unwavering right from the beginning till the end, that is called true devotion and surrender. That is and (steady and single-minded devotion). When you have such firm devotion, you will attain unwavering mind and deep faith, which are very essential on the spiritual path.

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Do not waste your time, money, and energy running after fake . Attain God with unwavering mind and one-pointed faith. always emphasises one thing: bhajan, bhajan, bhajan. When you do bhajan with love, you can attain God wherever you are.

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( concluded His Discourse with the bhajan, “ ...”)