Man is burdened with so many anxieties and worries that he fails to think of God! He is deluded by Maya and thinks that the world in which he lives is real and all his kith and kin, wife, children and property are permanent. He is caught in the cycle of Samsara from which there is no escape. The inner adversaries or the Arishadvargas run riot in his life and subject him to innumerable sorrows and difficulties. His mundane activities deny him the time and chance to think of God who is his Creator and benefactor. He forgets the very purpose for which God has created him which is to realize himself. He is enamored of the little and silly pleasures and mistakes them for enduring happiness. Egged on by the incitement of the senses he acts to his own detriment without any realization. His attachment or ‘mamakara' for terrestrial things prevents him from contemplating on the Providence. One who yearns for God is entirely different from the ordinary mortal and is made of sterner stuff. He is distinctly devoid of attachment to worldly things. He is not too much attached to his own family, kith and kin. He is much interested in thinking of God and the way by which he can reach Him. What is that yearning and how is that cultivated? Is that an easy task or one that involves severe effort and dedication?
One who yearns for God cannot think of any trifles like food, drink and other things. He must go mad for realization of God. Is there any one who weep and sorrow for not having seen the Lord? In other words the seeker who weeps for Him finally attains Him! “Let your heart pant for Him as a miser longs for gold. As the drowning man pants hard for breath, so must one's heart yearn for the Lord before one can find Him.” declares Bhagawan Sri RamaKrishna. He himself is a testimony for such a longing and madness for the vision of Kali, his chosen Goddess. He suffered intense agony for Her Vision and even went to the extent of cutting himself with the sword! According to Sri RamaKrishna, the intensity of love for God should be similar to that of a devoted wife for her beloved husband. It should be like the clinging desire for material possessions of the worldly person. It is said that once, Jesus, walking along the seashore, met a person who wanted to know how God can be attained. Jesus immediately took him into the waters and immersed him into the sea! After a while, releasing him, Jesus asked him how he felt. The man replied that his condition was desperate and that he felt his last moment had come! Jesus told him that he would attain God when his heart pants for Him as it has panted for a breath of air a few minutes back!
The devotee should feel that he should attain God immediately in this very life within a specific time. Such violent love for God attracts the Lord and the bhaktha realizes Him quickly! It takes ages for realization of God if the aspirant is lukewarm in his love for the Divine. It is relentless yearning for God that releases man from the clutches of illusion or Maya. God Himself shows the way! God runs to his devotee who cries and weeps for Him like the mother who runs for the child that cries for her! ‘He finds God quickest, whose concentration and yearning are strongest'. The Bhagavata purana narrates the story of Gajendra who fought endlessly against the crocodile that had caught its leg. Frustrated and desperate, it prayed to Lord with intense and concentrated devotion. It surrendered itself to the Lord. It is said that Lord Vishnu, hearing the appeals of Gajendra, suddenly got up and left Vaikunta without his chakra, sankha and other train! He didn’t inform Lakshmi or summon Garuda! That is the type of response for pure and intense love and prayers! Several instances in our epics and Puranas demonstrate how pure love and concentration and yearning for God have brought Lord to the presence of His devotee!
Brilliant example is that of child Prahlada, the darling child of Hiranyakasipu the inveterate enemy of Lord Vishnu. Even in the womb of his mother he heard the stories of Lord Vishnu and became a great devotee. His life breath was Lord Narayana! Everything thought, word and deed of his was inextricably interfused with the name of the Lord! He changed all his friends in the school and made them sing bhajans on the Lord! He knew that his father was the enemy of Lord Vishnu but entreated him to surrender to the Lord but in vain. This infuriated the father who finally decided to kill him. But all his efforts failed as the Lord saved the child devotee. As a last resort, a cup of poison was given to Prahlada but that turned into nectar! Hiranyakasipu wanted to see Hari and questioned if Narayana is in the pillar in the hall. Prahlada said that the Lord is omnipresent and is definitely in the pillar. Respecting the words of His dear devotee, Lord Vishnu was ready in every object to come out and destroy the evil genius, Hiranyakasipu! Prahlada is a classical example of pure, unalloyed, and intense love and yearning for God
Another illustration for true and intense yearning for God is the life of child Dhruva who was disappointed in not finding a place on the lap of his father! Advised by his mother to perform tapas to get his wish fulfilled, he left for the forest. On the way he met sage Narada who gave him the Ashtakshari mantra for meditation. Child Dhruva performed penance despite many obstacles with exemplary perseverance and dedication. Finally the Lord was pleased and came down to grant boons. He was granted a place among the stars in heaven! Most of our ancient sages and seers are noted for their single minded devotion and yearning for God without which they would not have attained their greatness! The story of Markandeya is another example of intense yearning for God for the fulfilment of his desire. Knowing that he can live for sixteen years only, he wanted to remove the suffering of his parents. He performed severe penance praying for longevity but the God of Death came to take back his life. When he threw the pasa, it fell on the Linga at which the Lord was angry! He kicked the God of Death with His left foot and warned Yama not to approach his dear disciple, Markandeya! Markandeya was given a long lease of life! He became a “Chiranjeevi ”.Yearning for God raises the person to very high spiritual level and at the same time gives him added benefits that he had not thought of!!
One who yearns for God cannot think of any trifles like food, drink and other things. He must go mad for realization of God. Is there any one who weep and sorrow for not having seen the Lord? In other words the seeker who weeps for Him finally attains Him! “Let your heart pant for Him as a miser longs for gold. As the drowning man pants hard for breath, so must one's heart yearn for the Lord before one can find Him.” declares Bhagawan Sri RamaKrishna. He himself is a testimony for such a longing and madness for the vision of Kali, his chosen Goddess. He suffered intense agony for Her Vision and even went to the extent of cutting himself with the sword! According to Sri RamaKrishna, the intensity of love for God should be similar to that of a devoted wife for her beloved husband. It should be like the clinging desire for material possessions of the worldly person. It is said that once, Jesus, walking along the seashore, met a person who wanted to know how God can be attained. Jesus immediately took him into the waters and immersed him into the sea! After a while, releasing him, Jesus asked him how he felt. The man replied that his condition was desperate and that he felt his last moment had come! Jesus told him that he would attain God when his heart pants for Him as it has panted for a breath of air a few minutes back!
The devotee should feel that he should attain God immediately in this very life within a specific time. Such violent love for God attracts the Lord and the bhaktha realizes Him quickly! It takes ages for realization of God if the aspirant is lukewarm in his love for the Divine. It is relentless yearning for God that releases man from the clutches of illusion or Maya. God Himself shows the way! God runs to his devotee who cries and weeps for Him like the mother who runs for the child that cries for her! ‘He finds God quickest, whose concentration and yearning are strongest'. The Bhagavata purana narrates the story of Gajendra who fought endlessly against the crocodile that had caught its leg. Frustrated and desperate, it prayed to Lord with intense and concentrated devotion. It surrendered itself to the Lord. It is said that Lord Vishnu, hearing the appeals of Gajendra, suddenly got up and left Vaikunta without his chakra, sankha and other train! He didn’t inform Lakshmi or summon Garuda! That is the type of response for pure and intense love and prayers! Several instances in our epics and Puranas demonstrate how pure love and concentration and yearning for God have brought Lord to the presence of His devotee!
Brilliant example is that of child Prahlada, the darling child of Hiranyakasipu the inveterate enemy of Lord Vishnu. Even in the womb of his mother he heard the stories of Lord Vishnu and became a great devotee. His life breath was Lord Narayana! Everything thought, word and deed of his was inextricably interfused with the name of the Lord! He changed all his friends in the school and made them sing bhajans on the Lord! He knew that his father was the enemy of Lord Vishnu but entreated him to surrender to the Lord but in vain. This infuriated the father who finally decided to kill him. But all his efforts failed as the Lord saved the child devotee. As a last resort, a cup of poison was given to Prahlada but that turned into nectar! Hiranyakasipu wanted to see Hari and questioned if Narayana is in the pillar in the hall. Prahlada said that the Lord is omnipresent and is definitely in the pillar. Respecting the words of His dear devotee, Lord Vishnu was ready in every object to come out and destroy the evil genius, Hiranyakasipu! Prahlada is a classical example of pure, unalloyed, and intense love and yearning for God
Another illustration for true and intense yearning for God is the life of child Dhruva who was disappointed in not finding a place on the lap of his father! Advised by his mother to perform tapas to get his wish fulfilled, he left for the forest. On the way he met sage Narada who gave him the Ashtakshari mantra for meditation. Child Dhruva performed penance despite many obstacles with exemplary perseverance and dedication. Finally the Lord was pleased and came down to grant boons. He was granted a place among the stars in heaven! Most of our ancient sages and seers are noted for their single minded devotion and yearning for God without which they would not have attained their greatness! The story of Markandeya is another example of intense yearning for God for the fulfilment of his desire. Knowing that he can live for sixteen years only, he wanted to remove the suffering of his parents. He performed severe penance praying for longevity but the God of Death came to take back his life. When he threw the pasa, it fell on the Linga at which the Lord was angry! He kicked the God of Death with His left foot and warned Yama not to approach his dear disciple, Markandeya! Markandeya was given a long lease of life! He became a “Chiranjeevi ”.Yearning for God raises the person to very high spiritual level and at the same time gives him added benefits that he had not thought of!!
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