29 Dec 2021
[Ms. Bhanu Samykya asked: Can any soul achieve the state of devotion to God only by it's strong love to God, irrespective of it's past karma and present bad samskaras? Or only after taking spiritual knowledge and changing present samskaras, can it achieve devotion? Does devotion increase by the grace of God only? or does it depend on both the efforts of a soul to come closer to God and the grace of the God after being pleased by soul's initial efforts? At Your Divine Lotus Feet, Bhanu Samykya]
Swami Replied:- Devotion to God is always from the spiritual knowledge, which gives all the details of the divine personality of God that develops a Tsunami of love to God in which all samskaras are drowned and washed away. The devotion of the devotee shall never aspire for the grace of God and such aspiration indicates that the devotee is unable to love God and hence, the grace of God shall help the devotee by making the devotee to love God. This is the greatest insult to God. The devotee can aspire for any boon, but shall not aspire for the devotion to be strengthened by God. In fact, you know that the life histories of all devotees are filled with Tsunamis of difficulties and opposition forces. This means that God is always fighting against your devotion to Him. In such fight, if the devotee wins like Gopikas, then only the climax fruit called Goloka is possible. Even to get Brahmaloka, Hanuman faced several acid tests from God Rama.
When Rama told Ravana that He will withdraw the war if Sita is given back, it shows that Rama is not worried about killing Ravana for the welfare of the world showing that His interest is only in getting back His wife. By such selfishness, Hanuman should have left the war thinking that Rama is only fascinated to Sita and is not caring for the welfare of the world. But Hanuman did not leave the war thinking that whatever is done by the omniscient God must be always correct. In pravrutti, God will help you everywhere, but in Nivrutti, God will oppose you till the end of your spiritual journey. That is why I told that Nivrutti is the field discovered and developed by the devotees only and not by the God.
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