God
seeks His Bhakta or Devotee : on
Changing the world.
It is not only that the devotee seeks the Lord but God also seeks
his ardent devotee! Francis Thompson, in
his mystical
poem “ The Hound of Heaven”
considers God as the Eternal Hound that
chases MAN endlessly! In his foolishness and ignorance man tries to escape from
God and is terrified at the following footsteps. He tries to take shelter in all the
objects of the universe, but is mercilessly rejected by them. One who does not accept and love God is disqualified from the love of all other
objects and creatures. The relentless
chasing love of the Almighty tells Man that he will never be accepted or
recognized by others except by God who is his Father, Mother and well wisher!
Swami refers to the Bible which says that the pious seekers seek God and also the statement of Dr Annie Besant
that God too seeks the pious seeker, the
pure heart that longs to reach Him
Swami ridicules
the modern methods of devotion. He is sorry for the theatrical content that has
crept into spiritual and religious realm. The concentrated, real, ideal effort
is significant by its absence. Swami points out, “ The world is reduced to a theater by man, for,
devotion to God has become a histrionic
performance. You find people weeping in their heart of hearts, but, laughing
their lives away. We find people who laugh in their heart of hearts, but to all
observers weeping profusely over their fate. Worship is more for effect, a play
acted with the pit in view; there is no sincerity.” ( SSS Vol 7 pp 207)
Swami’s
mandates to his devotees are very simple, straightforward and at the same time the
valued utterances of the Vedas, the
Upanishads and the age old Puranas that have an eternal appeal. No one
else other than the Avatar, can counsel his followers like the way Swami does!
To quote Swami, “ Make your lives simple; fill the daily tasks with
love and mutual cooperation; be tolerant towards the errors and failings of
others; look upon them with sympathy and understanding; be calm and without
agitation under all conditions. Then you can be happy. Your sentiments will be
unselfish and your
emotions tender. Envy, hatred, and vindictiveness can gain no entrance
into the stronghold of your mind, where mercy, benevolence and indulgence stand
guard.” ( SSS Vol 7 PP212)
Is it humanly
possible to change the world and the propensities of the ordinary folk? Swami
narrates the story of a rich man who was advised by a monk to concentrate on
the green color. The rich man took the advise
very seriously and began painting everything on earth with green color
in order to cure himself. When the monk returned, the rich man’s men surrounded to paint him green. The monk rebuked the rich man for his utter
foolishness and stupidity. The rich man could have avoided all this by wearing
green glasses. Swami says that Man has
to change his vision as the monk has suggested in the story. Swami exhorts, “ Let
the eye be charged with the Divine, it will see all as God. It is foolish to try to shape the world, shape yourself, as the embodiment of peace,
love and reverence. Then, you will see all as love and compassion and
humility.” ( SSS Vol 7 pp227)
Swami
explains the cardinal principle of Sankara’s
Adwaita in his easy, inimitable
language. “When you feel you are a Jiva, you are separated from God: When you feel you are a Deva, you are one
with Him. Seeing the rope as a snake makes you shiver; seeing it as a rope you
lose fear and start playing with it. It is yours for the grasping. The snake
did not arrive or depart; the rope did
not arrive or depart. Light appeared and
darkness disappeared. Ignorance fled, knowledge dawned---- all in a trice-“
( SSS Vol 7 pp 263)
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