Posted on: 10 Dec 2020
[Śrī Pavan asked: Dear Swāmi! There are two paths for every soul: spiritual and materialistic. In both the paths, there are people identified to be the best and they are given due recognition. While I am trying my best, I am yet to get due recognition. This craving for recognition in both the paths is due to a couple of reasons: (1) Knowing Śrī Dattātreya Swami in this birth, (2) Having a Sadguru in this birth. If not now, then I am not sure if I will get a chance again. So, there is a need to hurry up and that too immediately.
The point here is that I am comparing myself with others. Except in a positive degree, where I have a straight and non-disturbing union with God (sādhus/ṛṣis), both comparative degree and superlative degree will depress me, being an average person in the spiritual path. Also, being a rājarṣi, ṛṣi and mahaṛṣi, Sage Viśvāmitra was always comparing himself with Brahmaṛṣi Vaśiṣṭa, till he attained Brahma Jñāna (positive degree) by doing thousands of years of tapas. Apart from this, I have observed that all the best of the efforts that I put for my worldly welfare (in my materialistic life) do not yield the best of the results, based on the theory of karma.
So, I am not in a satisfied state in both the paths. I am trying to mask my dissatisfaction by stating that I am satisfied. This line is faulty, as I am trying to crush my desire, but I do not have an option to keep myself satisfied. This is leading to depression, as I do not see a success anywhere in the sight. This is not sthitaprajñatā! Kindly enlighten me on this Swāmi!]
Swāmi replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! The ultimate aim of human life is to get the maximum grace of God. This single aim is called nivṛtti. It is just like constructing a huge building of salvation. Before the construction of such a building, a strong foundation is essential. That foundation is called pravṛtti or worldly life. Unless you have stabilized the foundation or pravṛtti, you cannot think of nivṛtti or spiritual life. Pravṛtti is the fundamental foundation of nivṛtti and it becomes the foremost part of nivṛtti. Pravṛtti means getting a good job for which you have to concentrate on professional education. This gives you a livelihood and other basic comforts. In these days of unemployment and devaluation of money, this is not wrong to aspire for an employed life-partner. We have to follow the surrounding atmosphere for pravṛtti. Having a life-partner and children is necessary to have some mental peace and stability in life. But we should not forget that pravṛtti is only a part of nivṛtti.
Pravṛtti without the aim of nivṛtti is just like the waste of sugarcane, after all its juice has been squeezed out of it. Pravṛtti has no meaning without nivṛtti. But for nivṛtti, pravṛtti is the essential foundation. Some people are constantly involved in the construction of the foundation alone, without even a trace of the construction of the nivṛtti-palace. Such people are to be always sympathised for the climax of their misfortune. Most people build the pravṛtti-foundation in very strong way. But instead of building a very strong nivṛtti-palace on it, they put up a small hut made of bamboo on that steel-and-concrete foundation! For them, the foundation is not meant to support the upper nivṛtti-palace. Instead, the upper hut is put up only to protect the lower foundation!
Comparison with others done in the right direction is good for progressing on the spiritual path. But one must only seek progress on the spiritual path. There is no need of seeking any progress on the worldly path, once the basic necessities are fulfilled. Beyond that, any further progress in pravṛtti has no meaning. It only gives self-satisfaction and that too, in an unnecessary field. Beyond the limits of what is expected, progress in pravṛtti is harmful in several ways and it ends in misery alone. Once the basic foundation is completed with full satisfaction, one should always be anxious about the construction of the nivṛtti-palace on that foundation. The construction of that nivṛtti-palace can go up to any height. If you are thus committed to nivṛtti, God will take care of your pravṛtti and you need not worry about it in any way. You must concentrate on nivṛtti, especially in the service of God, without aspiring for anything in return. Pravṛtti is highly temporary and is limited to this momentary life alone, whereas, nivṛtti is eternal and its fruit follows the soul for many lives in the future. Have full confidence that God will take care of your pravṛtti, which in excess is dangerous and will only bring a lot of misery. You must pray to God that He may grant pravṛtti to the extent that it is more than sufficient for you, but not excessive, so that it does not bring any unnecessary misery upon you. Nivṛtti will build such confidence in you and not this progress of endless pravṛtti. God has promised in the Gītā that His devotee will never be destroyed (Na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati…). In both pravṛtti and nivṛtti, without the grace of God, your efforts are only writings on water. This pravṛtti is just nothing compared to the eternal nivṛtti.