Deserve it and you will have it

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Deserve it and you will have it

By Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar

So long as your physical

activities are not truly dedicated, the outer upasana,

or devotion is only a mere show and self-deception. Dedicated upasana means that all your habits of food, drink, sleep

and exercise must be absolutely in accordance with the laws of Nature. We break

the laws of Nature, if we are slave to sense enjoyments and bad tastes, the

punishment of which is sorrow and suffering. How can you concentrate on Upasana or devotion, when you are experiencing trouble and

affliction? The man whose bent of mind is according to the Laws of Nature,

whose desires are', as if those....of God Himself and whose habits are natural,

is in fact enjoying oneness with God and is in practice singing Sivoham (I am Siva) . How can he have any sorrow or

suffering? In Mundaka Upanishad (II.4} it has been mentioned

that " a man of weak strength cannot attain Atma.. " His strength menas

physical, mental and spiritual. It is also called " Adhyavasaya " and,

in the terminology of Gita it is called " Prajna, Pratisthita " .

 

Spiritual

disciplines are many and varied. In the case of subtle disciplines, however,

much depends on the capacity of a seeker to understand guidance that comes by

indirect methods rather than by explicit, verbal instructions from the guiding

Master. One who can grasp Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji's quick, spontaneous reactions to his innermost

thoughts and who can give the obedience demanded of him,

immediately recognizes the Guru in him. Swamiji

brings about a complete inner transformation in such a seeker. He patiently and

ceaselessly leads those who place complete reliance on him forward from the

narrow individual self to the realisation of the

all-pervading Universal Self which is their true being. Sri Radhakrishna

Swamiji is thus a Guru whose real mission is to help

the seeker turn his mind within and find inner peace and joy through which he

can attain Self-realisation.

 

One fine morning in 1978

or so, I went to meet Swamiji at the Sai Mandir. He was deeply

engrossed in reading a letter from a devotee from Madhya Pradesh. The letter

indicated that the devotee was in real distress and had sought Swamiji's blessings.

 

He had written to

him: " ......I have been reciting 'Vishnu Sahasra Namam' as advised by you. But why do I face problems after

problems. Is there no end for this? ...... " Swamiji

gave me the letter and said: " If a devotee is interested in having the

Guru remove whatever obstacles or difficulties come in his path, then he is

behaving like a business man. As for as worldly advantages are

concerned, they are purely transitory; wealth comes and goes, success comes and

goes; it wise to use the precious wealth of Vishnu Sahasra

Namam to acquire these petty advantages? "

 

Exactly at that time, an

old lady came and prostrated to Swamiji. She was full of tears and was apologetic to Swamiji. On enquiry, she told me that about a week before,

her only son was missing and she

had come and told, Swamiji! “As to what is use

in the recitation of Vishnu Sahasra Namam and she is full of problems.” Unperturbed, Swamiji had directed her to go back home and most

unexpectedly, her son had returned home. She

had now come to Swamiji to convey her

gratitude for the turn of events.

 

As the lady left the

place, Swamiji told us that one should not pray to

the Lord for the removal of small, insignificant difficulties. After all,

pleasure and pain are purely transitory. Pain is followed by pleasure and

pleasure by pain. Pain did not exist before it came and it will not exist after

a while. Similarly pleasure did not exist before it came and will not exist

after a while. So why pray to the Lord for things which are only short-lived?

It is as stupid as approaching the brim surgeon

to help you pull a thorn from your foot when it can be removed with the help of

a needle by yourself.

(to

be contd…..)

 

(Source

Shri Sai Padananda October 1992)