Faith In God Removes All Fears

29 July 1996, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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“The entire world is permeated by God ().” God is expansive by nature. That is why He is called . Wherever you see, you find the principle of . There is no place in this world where He is not. There is no object in this world that is not His form. He is present in you, in them, and in everyone. However, everybody cannot have firm faith in this principle of unity.

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The declare, “the One willed to become many ().” There is only One. That is the reality. That One assumes many forms. You can experience happiness when you realise this truth.

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Lord declared in the , “Perform all your actions as an offering to Me and take refuge in Me alone ().” said, “Offer everything to Me, I will look after you.” What does this really convey?

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What is the shape of worry? It is mentally created fear only. By nature, the mind is fickle. How can worries, which are the creation of this fickle mind, be permanent? Each worry is like a . One is equal to 100 , and 100 are equal to 10,000 . When you make a bundle of 10,000 , it is quite heavy and not easy to carry. Therefore, the Lord says, give me those 10,000 and I will give you a 100 note, which is very light, is easy to carry, and can safely be preserved.

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It is rather difficult to safeguard the big bundle of 10,000 . It is all the more difficult to carry it and protect it from others. Hence, the Lord exhorts one, “My dear, surrender to me the bundle of your worries.” Therefore, pass on this burden to the Lord.

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For instance, plays the role of . He sings, “Oh ! Where am I to search for You?” just like . But in reality he is aware that he is only , and not . Once the drama is over and he gets down from the stage, everybody will complement him, saying, “, you have played the role of very well.” It is only who is singing and acting. But while on the stage, he acts like . Likewise, everyone is playing a role in this drama of life. On the stage, their name and form are different. But their actual name is . You should never forget this truth. Remembering this truth always, you may play any role in this drama of life. That is the way of leading an ideal life and deriving bliss therefrom.

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Try to understand who you are Names and forms may vary, but God is one. Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and - all worship the same God. But you attribute various names and forms and worship Him based on the doctrines of the religion that you follow.

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There is a , and he is cooking in the kitchen. On the basis of the work he does, we call him ( cook). The same is called ( priest) when he does worship in the temple. When he reads the almanac, he is called (almanac ). The same , when he goes to the office and discharges his official responsibilities, is called (officer ). Different names are attributed to the same person.

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When you realise that all this is a mere (delusion), you will have the vision of (God, the Creator). On the other hand, when you realise that you are , delusion () will at once disappear. In this manner, when you make an effort to understand who you are, you will certainly realise the truth.

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Saint sang, “Oh Lord! I am born in this world because I had forgotten You. If I had not forgotten You, I would not have been born in this world.” He said, “Oh Lord! As long as You are by my side, how can I become an orphan or a destitude? You are the one who grants me wisdom and knowledge. In fact, You are my redeemer. You are my supreme Savior. You are the bestower of all eight types of wealth.

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Saint held the feet of Lord tightly and said, “Oh Lord! I will not allow You to go even one step away from me unless You shower Your grace on me. How can You leave me and go?” The Lord replied, “The question of My leaving you and going away arises if I am outside. But I am always in you. In fact, I am you and you are Me. It is a mere illusion to think that I will leave you and go.” God does not forsake anyone and does not go anywhere. He is always there in you. In fact, He is present everywhere.

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Seek dependence on divine Grace I spoke about this in one of the recent discourses also. Once, a , thinking that she was alone in the house, wanted to close the door. At that very moment, Lord knocked at the door from outside. She was in a dilemma whether to open the door or leave it closed. Watching all this, was amused. Then she sang,

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The whole universe is the Lord’s abode, Where then is the front door for that mansion? Play on the life strings of your body, Offer yourself at His feet and shed tears of joy, See heaven in that experience, oh ! That is the main entrance to the Lord’s abode. (Telugu Song)

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There is an element of doubt between closing the door of the heart and opening it after hearing the call of the Lord. The individual wants to close the door, and the Lord wants it to be opened. God is changeless; the individual soul with ego () is fickle and subject to change.

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One may have physical prowess and the power of intelligence, But one will come to grief if one lacks divine grace, was a great warrior but what was his fate? Never forget this truth. (Telugu Poem)

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Truly speaking, was a greater warrior than . He was born by the grace of the sun god. But, unfortunately, he depended more on his physical strength and intelligence. Instead of taking refuge in Lord , he took the side of and . Why? His ego was the root cause.

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Once, he was prevented from participating in the competition of archery because he was neither a prince nor a warrior (). Everyone in the assembly made fun of him, saying that the son of a charioteer did not have the deservedness to compete with warriors. Feeling deeply humiliated, when was leaving the arena, called him back and made him the king of . Knowing very well that was a wicked person, became his close friend out of his gratitude and attachment for him.

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You should get rid of such misplaced attachment in all situations. A wicked person is always a wicked person. should have rejected ’s offer rather than accepting it and befriending him. Why did he require ’s help?

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He should have sought refuge in God, who helps everyone. But lacked such faith and spirit of sacrifice. He degraded himself by accepting the offer of kingdom from a wicked person like and became one of the (wicked foursome, namely, , , , and ). In fact, was the son of and the brother of .

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was the embodiment of great virtues When was being humiliated in court, also passed derogatory remarks against her. was the embodiment of righteousness and a great, chaste woman (). People may question, how a woman having five husbands can be chaste. But the five were not separate individuals as the world considers them. They represented the five elements. Once, there was a debate in ’s presence as to who was the greatest among . declared in unequivocal terms:

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dutifully obeyed the command of her husbands. She would never say to any one of them that she had no time to serve him. She was satisfied with whatever she got in life. She was the supreme example of chastity, and none could match her in this respect. (Telugu Poem)

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She was the embodiment of many virtues. The quality of forbearance () that she had was unparalleled.

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It was a heart-breaking sight for when massacred the young Pandava children while they were asleep. tracked down the perpetrator of the atrocity, and dragged him before . The supreme virtue of forbearance that exhibited in this situation is noteworthy. Instead of cursing , she fell at his feet and said:

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It is at the feet of your father, , that my husbands have learnt all that they know.

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Being the son of , was it proper for you to kill my children? How could you have the heart to kill them, who were unarmed, young, quietly asleep, were not having any grudge against you, and were not contemplating any harm to you?

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(Telugu Poem) When was praying like this, could not bear to see this. Exploding in anger, he roared:

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"Having lost her sons, this has lost her balance of mind. Otherwise, why would she fall at the feet of this wicked fellow?" This is a stupid woman, for she pleads for this wretch’s freedom. She feels no anger against this murderer of her sons. This assassin, , is not a . Do not release him but kill him. If you do not do that, I myself will hammer his head with my powerful fist, for you to see! (Telugu Poem)

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Then pacified and said to :

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Oh ! It is not righteous to kill a person who is afraid or has lost courage, who is asleep or intoxicated, who seeks refuge or is a female. You should not kill , for he is your preceptor’s son. (Telugu Poem)

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But said, “I have taken a vow to kill this evil-doer. I cannot forgive him and break my vow.” Then contemplated on and suggested to to shave ’s head as a token punishment and set him free. paid heed to her advice, and did accordingly.

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This is how reacted to the situation; she did not have the slightest hatred for one who mercilessly wiped out all the Pandava offspring. She said, “It is against warror () to kill a person like . I am grieving over the loss of my sons. I don’t want to inflict such grief on the mother of . My sons cannot be brought back to life, whatever we may do. Why should I cause grief to another mother?” With such words of wisdom, she prevented from killing . It was her forbearance that protected the till the end and helped them to earn great name and fame.

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Everyone has to face the consequences of his actions, whoever they may be. No one can know what lies ahead for them in future. But this much is sure: everybody has to reap the consequences of their actions Even the mighty suffered the pain of separation from His consort and cried like an ordinary person. Even the had to go into exile and live in forest. (Telugu Song)

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It is impossible to say what lies in store for a person - where, when, and under what circumstances. Whatever has to happen will happen. Everything happens according to God’s Will. If something good happens, think it is good for you. If something bad happens, accept that also as good for you. Acceptance of both good and bad with equal-mindedness is a supreme virtue that will lead you to the realisation of .

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