20 Nov 2006
A few days back Phani developed a doubt in his mind like this: “Why did Swami tell that we should not ask anything from God? What is the reason? What is the harm if we ask Him as we ask our parents?” Phani was sealing all such questions thinking that He should not ask Swami anything about this topic. He simply took a decision that nothing should be asked from God including the reason for it. In the absence of correct reason, the wrong reason takes the place and appears as the correct reason. Sometimes he was thinking that asking the fulfillment of desire from God is in fact justified. Parents feel happy to fulfill the desires of their children whenever they ask. Like this a few days passed away and this struggle was continuing in the mind of Phani. Today Swami asked Phani to sit and started giving answer to his doubt.
Swami asked Phani “I told you not to ask God to fulfill your desire. This does not mean that you should not ask the reason for not asking God to fulfill the desire. You have sealed the desire and its reason also. An inspector should arrest the doubtful criminal and put him in the cell. He should not arrest all the family members and all the neighbors of the criminal and put them in the cell!” Swami gave the following analysis for his doubt.
Do not ask anything from God which is either related to present or future. When you ask something in present or something in the future, it clearly means that you are reminding Him about the corresponding reaction that is to be immediately implemented in the need. This indirectly means that God is not alert as you are. This is insulting God. Due to such sin the requirement is not answered. If you are asking to protect yourself or somebody else, it indirectly means that He is not aware of the things to be done due to the irresponsibility and this also indicates that He is not as kind as yourself. It means that God has potency to help but not kind enough to render the help. On contrary, it also means that you lack unfortunately the potency. It means if you fortunately have the potency you could have immediately responded and helped. Therefore, whenever you ask for anything it clearly means indirectly that God has some type of defect, which does not exist in your case. When you ask Him to fulfill the desire it looks as if that your desire is constitutionally justified. But God is not positively reacting due to either lack of positive response immediately or due to lack of knowledge of the constitution or due to lack of kindness to help the needy. All these points are very very subtle. But God is the most subtle and therefore, the knowledge of this analysis will certainly restrict you from asking any fulfillment of your desire. Never bring present and future before God. Confine to the past always before God. Look back at your past life. Hundreds of incidents are there where you were helped by God. Even if you dispose some incidents through the incidental probability of success or through the efficiency of your efforts, certainly there are plenty of instances in which the help from God is clearly evident. Atleast remember those few incidents and express your gratefulness along praise to God for His kind help that was already done. The word Krutajnata [faithful] means remembering the past help. Kruta means the past help done. Jna means identifying it by analysis. If you confine to praying the Lord and thanking Him always about the past helps from Him, the Lord will be immensely pleased. Then the present and future are spontaneously taken care of by the God. But do not adopt this technique with a mind that you will be helped by God in the present and in the future by following this procedure! You should really follow this path and you should really forget the present and the future.
When large number of people came to hear the message from Jesus, they were hungry by the noon. This point was brought to the notice of Jesus. He never asked God to provide food for those hungry people who came to hear God’s word. Had He asked for that, He would have insulted God. God knows His responsibility very well towards the devotees who came there to hear about Him. God has the power to fulfill His responsibility even in the last fraction of second. Had Jesus told God to bless the devotees with food, it clearly means that God is not as kind as Jesus. Jesus never asked for anything. He came to know that there were four breads. He took them and showed to sky. He thanked God for providing those four pieces of bread. Immediately the present was responded and the four breads became four thousand breads. This application of analysis is limited to Nivrutti only. You should not extend this to Pravrutti. When you are hungry you have to beg the other souls because they are not omniscient to know that you are hungry. Pravrutti and Nivrutti should never be mixed.
Phani praised Swami for His omniscience because Swami could clarify the doubt present in his mind even though it is not expressed. Swami told that God is omniscient and therefore, nobody can hide anything from God. Swami told that if you tell a lie even to your mother that you have taken food in the house of your friend, the mother believes and will not serve you the food. But God will serve you the food even after hearing your lie. Then Shri Ajay told one past experience. One day he came from the office to his house in the noon as usual for lunch. But the food was not ready and the cooking will be completed after a long time only. Then he returned back without taking food. On the way he visited the house of Shri. C. B. K. Murthy to see Swami. Swami asked Ajay whether he has finished his lunch. For the sake of politeness Ajay told that he has finished his lunch. But Swami insisted the wife of Shri C. B. K. Murthy to serve lunch to Ajay. Devotees were surprised for this behavior of Swami. Then Ajay came out with the truth and he took the lunch and left for the office.
Different Levels of Devotees
Swami continued the discourse: There are three main levels in the spiritual path. 1) Materialism for Materialism. 2) Devotion for Materialism. 3) Materialism for Devotion. Each level has two (lower and upper) sub-divisions. In the first level the lower sub-division represents Duryodhana who asked Lord Krishna for His army, which is the physical force. The upper sub-level represents Arjuna. He asked Lord Krishna to come to his side as an advisor because Lord Krishna already told that He will not fight but will give advices only. Arjuna selected the intellectual power of guidance, which is more than the physical force. In both these sub-levels, both have treated Lord Krishna as a human being and not as the absolute God. Arjuna considered always Lord Krishna as a divine person but not as the absolute God. Miracles were not new to Arjuna. By his arrows he covered the entire sky so that even a drop of rain will not fall down. This super natural miracle is in no way lesser than hiding the Sun with His Sudarshana Chakra in the war by Krishna. In fact even Gopikas never considered the miracles of Lord Krishna to identify Him as God. They were sages for so many births and performed a number of miracles. They have the knowledge of themselves and the knowledge about Krishna (Mahatmya Jnana… Narada Bhakti Sutra).
In the second level Krishna is recognized as God but the devotion to God is used for materialism only. The lower sub-level here indicates Draupadi who tried to use God to solve her problem on the earth. The upper sub-level indicates Dharmaraja, who tried to use God as protector and guide of justice to get heaven. He refused to tell the lie even if the God asked for it because it will lead him to the hell. Heaven is also a part of the materialism only, which is just like a five star hotel. In the third level all the efforts including materialism are just to please God only. Their goal is God only and nothing else. The lower sub-level here indicates Hanuman (in the angle of role) who slipped just once in such devotion while protecting Yayati. The upper sub-division indicates Gopikas who never slipped even once in such devotion.
You must study the stories of devotees because they are the practical procedures of spiritual path, which are like the laboratory manuals in which the student is more involved. Scriptures are the theory-class rooms. Therefore, Vyasa wrote all the stories of devotees which are very important to know the practical problems in the spiritual path. These stories (Puranas) are part of the spiritual knowledge and not like the cinema stories meant for entertainment. Among these Puranas Ramayana, Bharatha and Bhagavatha are very significant. They deal with the then existing human incarnations available for those devotees. The other Puranas deal with energetic forms like Vishnu, Shiva etc., for the devotees who suffer with jealousy and egoism to recognize the human form of the Lord.
Read this divine knowledge, digest it, propagate it and try to practice it as far as possible. Certainly, this knowledge has come from the absolute God. Whether God stays externally and I am just His messenger or whether God stays in Me and is giving this knowledge, it is immaterial. A duck is laying a golden egg every day. You should take that egg and use it for your needs. It is unnecessary for you whether the gold is present in its stomach or whether it is stealing the golden egg from outside and is giving to you. You need not analyze Me to see God in My human body, which is just like cutting the stomach of the duck, which becomes useless. You may say that you want to worship God directly through the human form so that you can please the God since it is your absolute aim. But I say that God is more pleased if you worship His real devotees. If you worship the devotees, God existing outside or existing in Me is more pleased than direct worship to Him. His devotees are greater than Himself in His view. A human incarnation may not be available always because of the complexity in the identification. Therefore, worship My devotees who are really sacrificing through practical devotion in My divine mission. If you worship Me, you will reach Brahmaloka, which is the topmost. But if you worship My devotees you will reach the sixteenth upper world which is called Datta Sevaka Loka, which is higher than the topmost Goloka (Goloka is above Brahmaloka). Remember this point after My exit from this present human body.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★