How To Become Dear To The Lord

24 May 2000, Summer Course 2000, Brindavan

Published English.

1

Anapeksah Sucirdaksa Udasino Gatavyathah Sarvarambha Parityagi Yo Madbhaktah Same Priyah He who is totally devoid of desires, Absolutely pure, Firm in determination, Completely detached, Immune to the play of Time, And has renounced pomp and ostentation; Such a one is dear to Me. : (12.16)

2

3

God loves dearly, those who possess the qualities enumerated in this (verse) of the .

4

The qualities needed to become dear to the Lord means that the devotee is beyond , i.e., desires or expectations. Is it ever possible for man, bound as he is by the body and the senses, to be without desires? Hardly. Some desire or the other will always be there. However, there must be control over the desires that one has. What sort of desires are permitted? Recall what has to say about this matter.

5

He says that all righteous actions are divine. Thus, among the permissible desires, the best is the desire for or sacrifice.

6

The yearning for also is important. The desire for God is mandatory. Although what must truly be desired is very clear, people have widely different types of expectations and desires.

7

8

9

The Lord has stated very clearly that He wants you to attain the state of . How does one do that? One does this by strictly confining to righteous activities alone, performing such actions exclusively for the pleasure of the Lord, and by offering all such actions in their entirety to the Lord. Actions performed in this spirit rise well above worldly desires and expectations. Thus the word ought not to be interpreted in a very rigid sense. What it really means is having the irresistible urge to work only for the Lord and for His sole pleasure. However, that does not mean one can do anything and everything. Our actions must be such that they please Him and would secure His approval. If a devotee conducts himself in this fashion, he becomes dear to the Lord.

10

The second quality that the devotee must possess is or cleanliness. What sort of cleanliness does the Lord expect from us? Is it outer cleanliness or inner cleanliness? Both are required.

11

12

13

This vessel must be coated inside with . If this precaution is taken, the inside will be clean. Inner purity is essential for achieving external purity. What exactly is meant by external purity? It does not mean washing yourself with soap and water. It means performing selfless service to society and doing such action for the pleasure of God. It is such service alone that produces external purity. If inner purity is lacking, the service rendered would inevitably be tinged with selfishness, thereby diminishing external purity.

14

The third quality that the devotee must have is or strong and unshakeable determination. What sort of determination must you have? You must say, "Come what may, I shall not rest till I accomplish this or achieve this." This is the sort of resolve you ought to have. occasionally says:

15

16

17

Next comes , which means detachment. You must be totally detached with respect to whatever you are doing. You can do any kind of work; you may, for example, be engaged in service activity. However, you should not have expectation of any type [including of the outcome], and also not seek any reward, praise, appreciation, etc., for what you are doing. Especially while working for service organisations, you should be very careful; you must not have any craving for fame and name. You must not seek praise and respect. You should not lament, "I am working so hard and doing so much but there is no mention of it whatsoever in the newspapers!" If you do your work with such cravings and expectations, then the good that you might be doing gets nullified and the sanctity of the work gets destroyed. Therefore, you must do service work sincerely, being immune to success and failure, praise as well as criticism.

18

After this, ; this means being impervious to the ups and downs brought about by time. Acquisition of this particular virtue also calls for strong determination. You should neither brood over the past nor worry about the future. Why all this pointless contemplation? No matter how much you think, reflect, and brood, the miseries of the past cannot be corrected nor set right. As regards the future, no one can say anything definite about it since it is so very uncertain. You are keen about achieving something tomorrow; is there any guarantee you would be alive then? Are you sure you would be alive? No one can speak with certainty on such matters. Therefore, what is the point in worrying about the future? The future is hidden in the womb of time; no one can see it. So, why spend time imagining all sorts of future scenarios? As for the past, it is gone and lies buried in the sands of time. The past cannot be revived, recovered, or resurrected.

19

20

21

22

23

Lastly, – this implies total renunciation.

24

Who is a true renunciate? He who remains perfectly calm at all times and under all circumstances is the one who merits such a description. Such a one is beyond pomp and ostentation. God distances Himself from the ostentatious type. In fact, exhibitionism is the first thing that one must renounce. Pomp is a sure sign of (tendency to be pushing and aggressive). The craving for ostentation is the starting point for all desires. Seeking publicity is a reflection of worldly desires. Do not go after worldly goals for they represent the temporary and the evanescent. Shun pomp, show, and publicity. declared that it was such a recluse that was dear to Him.

25

Today, everywhere it is a case of show and publicity. The person may spend just five on charity, but he is prepared to invest five hundred on publicising his act in the newspapers.

26

27

28

. As is the feeling, so is the result.

29

If you desire God’s love, then your actions must match and be compatible with your desire. If you do not want God’s Love, then you are at liberty to do as you please. However, if God’s Love is what you want, then you must act in an appropriate manner. In this world, you first have to pay the price before you acquire the authority to possess what you desire. You go to a shop to buy a towel. The shopkeeper quotes a price of twenty . When you pay twenty cash, the shopkeeper packs the towel and gives it to you. No cash, no towel! God also follows a similar ‘transaction’ procedure. What kind of ‘business’ does God do? Divine business! If you lovingly obey God’s command, then you are sure to receive Love. God’s Love has no limitations or stipulations. Only one condition: you give and then you receive. As said earlier:

30

31

32

33

If you act just according to your fancies, do you think that God will accept your actions as an offering? Every action of yours must have the stamp of quality that is acceptable to God. Without that stamp, your action would be a counterfeit. God should acknowledge that your action is good. When you affix the proper postage stamp, your letter can go to far off places. But if there is only address on the envelope and no stamp, it is of no use. An unstamped letter dropped into the mailbox would end up only in the dead-letter office. Therefore, if you really want your offering to reach God, then you must affix the stamp of . It is only when saturates every action of yours that God will shower His Grace. He will do so in many forms too.

34

Nothing comes without perseverance Slowly but surely, you must develop all the qualities enumerated in the . Do not ever doubt that the acquisition of these virtues is impossible.

35

36

Sparks of fire are produced when two pieces of wood are rubbed hard together. Butter is formed when curd is churned in a sustained manner. Similarly, in spirituality, sustained enquiry leads one to Wisdom and Divinity. You realise the truth: – That thou art. Is it possible to get fire without rubbing and butter without churning? The fire is latent in the wood and is not visible.

37

38

39

40

41

. Happiness does not beget happiness; happiness is born only out of difficulties.

42

43

God is everywhere but you must make an effort to recognise Him The (cowhed maids) constantly worshipped . They became very depressed when went away to . They were so absorbed in the thought of that they constantly called out His Name, no matter what task they were engaged in. Once, a gopika was carrying on her head pots containing milk, curd, and butter. She was heading for the , and her intention was to sell the dairy products there. Normally the village vendor calls out loudly, "Milk! Butter! Curd!" etc., to announce the products available for sale. But this particular gopika was so absorbed in the contemplation of that she completely forgot to call out the name of the products she had brought to sell. Instead, she wandered up and down the street crying out, ", , ,...." etc. She went on repeating the Lord’s Name. She completely forgot everything about vending and returned home without selling anything. Such was the intensity of devotion in those days.

44

A gopika once told , "O , in what way am I to see You? How am I to recognise You? It is not possible! You are in everything and yet, You are invisible! When we declare You to be invisible, then You suddenly manifest Yourself. And when we say You are present, you suddenly vanish!"

45

O , can we ever know You? Subtler than an atom, Bigger than biggest, You are in every one of the eighty-four species, And You dwell in each and every living being of every species. Can we ever know such a One as You? People in those days believed that there were 84 living species.

46

47

48

Here is a flower, a pad, and a cloth [ points out to various objects on the table before Him]. To the eye, they all appear quite different. The flower is a flower, the cloth is cloth, and the pad is a pad. Despite the varying names and forms, there is common underlying factor – they all exist. This existence is the basic Truth. It is the unifying substratum behind the different names and forms. IT IS! It is the same with God.

49

50

51

- The warden [of the Campus, who spoke earlier] referred to the . , , , and , representing the four , took birth as Emperor ’s sons. was the embodiment of the , represented the , stood for the , and represented the . Thus, the four manifested as four Royal Princes. Sage was performing a [Vedic ritual]. He knew very well that only , Himself the embodiment of the , could protect the ritual he wished to perform. So, went to the palace of to seek the assistance of . The Emperor was very pleased to see the Revered Sage and said, "O sage, what brought you here?" replied by asking a question, "Will you do what I ask you to do?" Without taking even a second to think about it, replied, "Of course, without fail". thus committed himself and became bound to his word.

52

53

Before you give your word, you must think carefully. You should not glibly or blindly give your word and then regret as well as retract. gave a promise because of his immense faith in sage . The sage said, "O King, I want you to send your son with me to the forest in order to protect the I am performing there." was stunned. He thought, "This son was born to me after countless prayers, after observing so many austerities, and after performing so many . Is it possible to send such a dear and tender son to the forest to fight demons and protect the ? is so young. He has never seen a demon. He may be frightened by those terrible creatures." ’s love for produced in him a surge of such thoughts. sensed ’s misgivings and severely reprimanded the Emperor, "You have no idea who your son is. He is the very incarnation of God. Do not consider Him to be your tender son! It is your attachment that is blinding you to the Absolute Reality that is. Give up this bodily attachment and replace it with devotion." sent for sage [’s resident preceptor]. said, "O , do you know why I am serving as a priest in your royal household?

54

I am not here because I am enamoured by your wealth, fame, and power. I knew that God was going to take birth here in human form. I wanted to sanctify my life by having the of that divine boy, spending time with Him, and experiencing bliss. That is the reason why I am here, and not for any worldly gains. Why do you entertain doubts about ? Send Him immediately with Sage to the forest." With great reluctance, yielded to ’s command.

55

was no ordinary Sage. As his name implies, he was a friend to the whole world. How did he achieve this status? By giving humanity the priceless gift of the . This great , widely reputed for his intense penance, who possessed extraordinary spiritual powers, and who was the of so many, was now taking the young Royal Princes and to the forest. The party penetrated deep into the jungle and approached the river . It was evening time, and the sage told the Princes, "Offer your evening prayers now." After and did so, pointed across the river and said, "We are going over there. That is where I shall be performing the . It is becoming dark, and You will see terrible demons there. To ensure that You do not get frightened, I shall teach You two : and . Come and sit near me and receive the instruction." The sage taught the two .

56

You see how illusion blankets clear thinking! Here is the great sage who, in the Court of , emphatically declared and hailed as God Incarnate. But now in the forest, that feeling has gone. He is imagining to be a tender young prince, likely to be frightened by demons. This shows that no matter how evolved, when one has bodily relations, doubts can and do arise about Incarnations. Such doubts are the result of delusion.

57

(delusion) can eclipse (God)! Delusion is born of tendencies accumulated over many births. Divine feelings and the ability to recognise God in human form, on the other hand, is the result of sacred actions performed. What an ocean of difference separates and ! Even a great sage like could come under the grip of !

58

59

60

61

God cannot be bought with money, as many foolishly imagine. You all know the story of [one of the consorts of ]. She wanted all for herself and did not want Him to go anywhere. She asked Sage how she could achieve this. is the one who offers instruction in spiritual knowledge. Recognising that ’s ego was responsible for her unreasonable desire, he decided to teach her a lesson.

62

For this purpose he devised a plan, and asked , "Do you have the wealth that can match the weight of ?" She replied, "I have with me the magical jewel. I can create wealth, and any amount of it. Therefore, do not entertain any doubts about my affluence. I will certainly be able to match ’s weight with gold, precious stones, and jewels." then called for a large balance and sent word to to join him. When came, asked the Lord to sit on one of the pans. He then asked to pile her gold, etc., in the other pan. No matter how much gold was placed, the pan carrying remained down; it did not show any tendency to go up even a tiny bit. became scared. She ordered all her wealth to be placed on the other pan; no effect. Finally, she placed even the treasured and magical jewel. Even then the balance remained stuck. She ran to [the other consort], calling out loudly, "Sister! Sister!" Up to this time, she never cared for or bother to look at her face. It was ’s birthday, but the jealous had prevented from visiting even on that day. is a compassionate one. She asked , "Sister, why are you so agitated? What happened?" narrated all that transpired and then said, "It is all the work of that !"

63

went worshipfully around the plant in her garden, plucked a leaf, kept it in her palm, and came with to where was. was waiting for the two with a broad smile on his face. too was full of smiles. He said, "I am ready to offer Myself for sale, to whosoever is prepared to buy Me." then said, ", can be matched only by His Glorious Name and not by material wealth. I am therefore simply going to chant "!". replied, "How can one balance the One with Form with a word that is formless? I cannot accept this kind of balancing. You must place some object on the empty pan and try to tilt the balance. tried putting all her wealth but it was of no use. What are you going to place on the pan?" then sang, O God Who is worshipped with leaf, flowers, fruits, and water, If it be true that You submit Yourself When You are offered Pure Love instead of all these, I pray that You be balanced by Your Name, And then tilt the scale with this leaf.

64

So saying, she chanted the Name and then placed the leaf on the empty pan. The balance immediately tilted, with the pan carrying going up. had been more than matched! observed, "The Name made the scale even and thereafter, the leaf was enough to tilt the balance."

65

God yields only to love. Anything you offer to Him, no matter how inconsequential it might be in a material sense, is acceptable to Him if the offering is accompanied by pure love. Even a single leaf is enough. God cannot be secured with wealth but only with love. There is in fact no wealth greater than love. So, offer love to God. If you offer Him pure love, then God will be very pleased and will always be with you. If you want to be worthy of God’s love and the recipient of His Grace, then you must obey His command. What does He say?

66

Anapeksah sucirdaksa udasino gatavyathah Sarvarambha parityagi yo madbhaktah same Priyah

67

68

69

Embodiments of Love! How to grasp God’s teachings? How to develop and sustain faith in Him? will speak to you on these topics tomorrow.

70

concluded the discourse by singing the , ....