Passage 14

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In plain words

In God's presence there is no sorrow, no grief, no pain of any kind

In this life many hardships, losses and sorrows keep coming. We must not mind them. You must regard God's presence as your treasure. Unwavering Bhakti must grow. Not even the thought of disbelief must arise. Unwavering Bhakti must come toward divinity, which is eternal and true. We need that alone. We need Bhakti that is steady, pure and selfless. Today man wants everything. Here he wants this. There he wants that too. How can it be had? There is one mouth. If one says, ‘With that mouth I must drink milk, I must drink water,’ is it possible? Mix the milk and the water, and that settles it! So in the heart we must want one thing alone. That is divinity. If we seek that divinity, all principles come to us. God Himself takes care of everything in every way. What is foremost for human life? What is happiness? What is lasting? If we inquire what gives Ānanda, it is nothing but God's presence. With God there is no sorrow. With God there is no unrest. With God there is no grief. If one reaches God, there is no sorrow, no grief, no pain of any kind. Someone came: “Swami! I am a devotee of the Paramātma, but I am in sorrow all the time,” he lamented. Then I said: “If you are truly a devotee, why has this sorrow come to you? What you receive from God is happiness, not sorrow, is it not! God does not hand out sorrow. There is no sorrow with Him. What you receive and suffer is not God's sorrow. If you take someone else's and say God gave it, will that do? God never gives sorrow. God always gives happiness alone. “Mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīva bhūtassanātanaḥ”: to one who is in My part, My feelings alone come.