26 Aug 2024
[Ms. Saatvika asked: Is love possible without a reason for souls? Is it possible only for God? When there are reasons to love God (like God has always been there for me, protecting me, guiding me), is it not like a devotion with aspiration?]
Swami replied:- What you said is the existing fact. What I say is the fact to be achieved by a devoted soul. If you see a small child and say “Is it possible for this child to pass the IAS examination and become a district collector?”, certainly you are correct based on the existing status of calibre of that child. But, I am telling that it is possible in the future by putting constant concentrated effort over a considerable period of time. You are telling that the incapability of the child is inherent and it is a good reason for its inability to pass the IAS examination. While accepting your observation for the present, I am telling that this present status of the child is not going to be permanent in the entire life of the child. Continuous serious efforts for a considerable period of time (Abhyāsena tu… Gita) will lead to success in achieving anything in this world including the grace of God.
Q. In love with God, why do fear and shyness exist?
[ In worldly love, fear and shyness does not exist. In love to God, why should fear and shyness be there? Are Saṃvidā deyam, hriyā deyam and bhiyā deyam applicable even for Sakhya Bhakti?]
Swami replied:- Samvit means discrimination of the deserving receiver from the undeserving receiver. If this is not present, your sacrifice in haste may lead you to hell. Sacrifice to a deserving receiver will lead you to heaven and sacrifice to an undeserving receiver will lead you to hell. Sacrifice to the Sadguru, the contemporary human incarnation of God, will lead you to the permanent abode of God. Hence, the first and foremost requirement for your sacrifice must be Samvit or knowledge of discrimination (Sadasat viveka). The other two are shyness and fear. These two come into the picture when you sacrifice to God in human form. Shyness comes because your hand is above the hand of God, who has given everything to you that is possessed by you at present. When this is the truth, you have become the donor and He has become the receiver. Does this not generate shyness in any soul? Fear is also generated simultaneously because the soul may doubt the generation of donor-ego along with negligence towards the God-receiver. Such ego and negligence to God are great sins and a sin is necessarily followed by punishment. Due to this possibility, the soul gets fear also. Similarly, while donating to a good human receiver also, you must not get ego and negligence towards the receiver.
In Sakhya Bhakti (treating God as friend), God Himself does not want His friend to develop shyness and fear due to His recognition. In such case, God will lose the happiness of entertainment. God wants natural entertainment from His devotees having pure love only without fear and shyness. Such ignorance of the divinity of the Sadguru alone can give the real entertainment to God. This does not mean that God is really covered by ignorance for the sake of such entertainment. He covers Himself with ignorance for the sake of entertainment, but His self-knowledge is always shining in Him. If you observe the sun covered by a cloud, both the following facts are simultaneously true:- i) The sun is not seen since he is covered by the black cloud and ii) The sun is shining within himself since the dark cloud cannot enter the sun in real sense and we also see the bright sun through the black cloud simultaneously. Both self-ignorance (Avidyaa) and self-knowledge (Vidyaa) exist simultaneously. The Avidyaa is giving entertainment that makes God to cross death-like boredom (Avidyayā mṛtyuṃ tīrtvā - Veda) and the self-knowledge brings the enjoyment of self-immortality (Vidyayā'mṛta maśnute - Veda). This type of devotion is a very advanced step, which is the last but one (Sakhya mātma nivedanam). After this, the last step is total self-surrender to God. Since this friendship devotion is almost the highest step, except love, there is no place of any other thing.
Q. Did Sudaama sacrifice with fear and shyness or with pure love without fear and shyness?
Swami replied:- Sudaama sacrificed with love, fear and shyness. He was certainly the friend of God Krishna in the childhood. A long time passed after the education and now, Sudaama is the poorest beggar while Krishna is not only God in Nivrutti but also a King in Pravrutti. Sudaama misunderstood Krishna that Krishna might have been influenced by the Pravrutti even though He is God. Even God follows the norms of Pravrutti, which are the manners of His role. Hence, Sudaama feared to approach Krishna. We have such example of Drupada and Drona, who were classmates in the childhood, but after a long gap of time, Drona feared to approach Drupada because as per Pravrutti, Drupada became King and Drona remained very poor. In fact, when Drona approached Drupada, Drona was insulted by Drupada. But, Sudaama should not have suspected Krishna since he knows Krishna as God. Still, Sudaama feared about the influence of Pravrutti on Krishna based on the fact that even God acts as per the norms of His role only forgetting that He is the actor. Since Sudaama learnt the spiritual knowledge during his education, Sudaama suspected Krishna based on this fact and not based on the influence of Pravrutti on Krishna. But, due to the force of his wife, Sudaama went to Krishna. Since Sudaama was a house holder, he knows that he must do sacrifice of energy (Karma Samnyaasa) as well as sacrifice of fruit of work (Karma Phala Tyaaga). Since he was begging for his maintenance, he has to beg in the name of loan for the sacrifice of fruit. When he went to God Krishna, he did not ask for anything even though his wife sent him on that purpose only. He behaved like a true devotee to God Krishna by sacrificing some fruit that was possible for him and did not aspire for anything in return from God. This behaviour is purely Nivrutti and Sudaama did not go to God Krishna for the sake of Pravrutti just like Drona had gone to Drupada. Therefore, God Krishna also reacted to Sudaama in Nivrutti only and treated him as His true climax devotee.
Q. Can love and fear of God coexist in a devoted soul? When a devotee sacrifices with love, how can they have fear and shyness?
Swami replied:- Your concept of absence of fear and shyness in love is true only when the love is in climax level. We, the ordinary human devotees do not have such scene! In the climax level of love, everything and everybody disappears and therefore, fear and shyness also disappears. In friendship devotion also, fear and shyness disappear because it is almost equal to the climax love. When King Bali sacrificed a small piece of land to God Vaamana, he did the sacrifice with demonic pride only without fear and shyness. He was having excellent devotion to God Vishnu since he was in the dynasty of Prahlaada. The pride and ego that made shyness and fear to disappear made him to be suppressed by God Vishnu to the lower world. His excellent devotion to God made God Vishnu to become the gate keeper of Bali in the lower world.
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