30 Jul 2016
Shri Phani asked: It is said that if we move one foot towards God, God will move hundred feet towards us. What is the meaning of this statement?
Swami replied: The subject about the relationship between God and devotee is of two types:
In Nivrutti, the devotee serves God practically with full knowledge and climax of devotion without aspiring for any fruit in return. This type of devotion is almost practically impossible in this world and is applicable hardly to one or two devotees, that too, after strenuous spiritual effort for millions of births as said in the Gita (Kashchitmaam, bahunaam janmanaam).
In Pravrutti, the devotion means only for fruit in return from God. Almost all the world is based on this devotion only. If the aspiration of fruit is deleted, there will be no concept of God at all in this world and I very surely tell all of you that all the human beings in this world become only perfect atheists! There is a saying that even a fool does not spend his/her time or energy or money uselessly without aspiring for the fruit in return (Prayojanamanuddishyanamandopipravartate…). Therefore, the devotees of Nivrutti-type are not even fools but deserve to be placed in higher state than foolishness. Hence, Nivrutti is said to be madness fod God and its climax. Certainly, a mad person does such mad activities like spending time, energy and money for the work of God without aspiration for the fruit in return.
The statement referred by you belongs to Pravrutti because it refers to a devotee putting one step towards God aspiring for hundred steps (fruit) from God in return. This concept was explained by Jesus “As you sow, you reap the same in plenty”. This means that the reaction of God towards our action is qualitatively the same and quantitatively is in multiplied state. If you sow one seed, you will get many seeds in return as its crop. This shows the multiplication of the fruit sacrificed by you towards God when it is returned. This is the quantitative aspect as we see in the case of banks returning our invested money in more quantity adding its interest. Of course, such multiplication of quantity is less considering the limits of the efficiency of the banks. Since God is omnipotent, there is no limit for His efficiency to return to His devotees. We can see this multiplication when the father is giving property to his children for their little service done to him. But, here also, the father has limits regarding his property and cannot pay hundred times more than the value of the service offered by his children. The omnipotence of God indicates infinite efficiency of God. Here, the word ‘hundred’, in the case of God, does not mean the actual number. Hundred means many in Sanskrit language. You can understand this in the case of Sudama or Kuchela. Of course, he belongs to the Nivrutti type of devotion. He was forced by his wife to go to Lord Krishna for some financial help. Sudama stayed in the house of Lord Krishna for few days and returned without asking any fruit from God. Lord Krishna was so much inspired by this devotee that He wanted to give all His infinite wealth to Sudama. If that happened, Krishna will become the poor Sudama! Rukmini obstructed this at some stage of donation since excess of wealth will spoil any human being. Similarly, another devotee blessed by the Lord was Radha belonging to the same Nivrutti type of devotion. He created special fifteenth world called Goloka above His abode so that the dust from the feet of Radha falls on His head! Radha and Sudama were blessed infinitely by the Lord.
Coming back to the Pravrutti-type of devotion, the return of the fruit in infinite quantity may not exist because here, devotees do everything for the fruit in return only. Hence, in Pravrutti the word ‘hundred’ should not be taken as infinite, but, should be taken as number only. Even then, multiplication by hundred times is impossible if you compare the banks to God. Hence, in Pravrutti also, the fruit returned is too much! The reason for this is that God loves all souls hundred times more than a father loving his children. All this explanation is regarding the quantitative aspect in which the return-multiplication of the fruit (time or energy or wealth) offered by us to God is involved in Pravrutti.
Coming to the second aspect of returning the fruit offered by the devotee to God, the qualitative aspect should be also understood which is very important in Pravrutti because even in business of exchange of items, the deal should be fair. This means that the quality of the fruit returned by God will be also of the same quality of the fruit offered by you to Him. If you sow a paddy seed, you will get back the same paddy seeds. If you sow a wheat seed, you will get back the same wheat seeds.
Both these qualitative and quantitative aspects mean the total concept of the deal. Getting back the same paddy or wheat seeds is one side and getting back plenty seeds of same quality is another side. Both these sides are referred by the Veda and the Gita. The Veda says that God is just a perfect reflection of the soul by both qualitative and quantitative aspects (Roopam Roopam Pratiroopo babhuva). The Gita also says the same that in whatever way the soul approaches God, in the same way, God also approaches the soul both qualitatively as well as quantitatively.
The point is very clear. The devotion is of two steps.
a) Sacrificing time and energy as work (Karmasamnyasa). This subdivision differs from the above ‘1’ theoretical devotion in the sense that the above ‘1’ is confined to the individual aspirant for progress of self, whereas this ‘a’ sub-division is confined to the propagation of knowledge and devotion to the humanity.
b) Sacrificing money or wealth (Karmaphalatyaga).
Both these sub-divisions (2a and 2b) are one and the same because the fruit of the work is money. Saints can do only sacrifice of work since he/she does not earn at all. For this reason only, in the first sub-division, the word ‘Samnyasa’ (sacrifice by saints) was mentioned. A householder can do the sacrifice in both the sub-divisions (2a and 2b), which means that both work and money can be sacrificed in a ratio convenient to his/her circumstances. It can be realized that the qualitative aspect is very important. If a householder offers only theoretical devotion to God even though he/she has the possibility of practical devotion also, God will give the multiplied fruit in the same qualitative theoretical way only. If you sacrifice your brain by propagating knowledge, God will give you hundred times more intelligence. If you propagate devotion by your emotional mind and sweet voice by singing songs, God will give hundred times more strength to mind and hundred times more sweetness to the voice. Whether it is 1 (individual theoretical devotion) or 2a (theoretical devotion in propagation), the fruit returned by God is only in the theoretical path and not at all in the practical path. Similarly, the fruit sacrificed to God in practical path is returned in multiplied quantity in practical path only. This is the essence of the above three statements of scriptures.
Based on the fruit offered by the devotee to God and the fruit returned by God to the devotee, the devotion can be of two types in another new angle:
1. Devotion of a prostitute (Veshyaabhakti): Here, theoretical devotion is sacrificed to God by devotee and in return the fruit (multiplied or not) is expected in practical way! The prostitute speaks sweet words, sings sweetly and finally takes away whatever amount exists in the pocket of the person. Many people, who are greedy of money and wealth, belong to this type. They always propagate the attainment of practical fruits for chanting hymns (mantras), prayers and singing songs. The background of this theoretical devotion is only practical fruit from God. If the background of this theoretical devotion is to improve love on God that leads to practical devotion, this theoretical devotion is highly appreciable. In such appreciable background, development of theoretical devotion is very important because theory alone generates practice or service. Knowledge gives clarity of God, path and yourself (triputi). Devotion generated by knowledge transforms knowledge into practical sacrifice or service. Today, this good angle is not at all present in the theoretical devotion of human beings. Today, only the bad angle of aspiration for practical fruit exists as the background of theoretical devotion. This is unfair deal of business. You give money to the shopkeeper and get the item in return. This is the fair deal of exchange business. You are praising the shopkeeper and singing songs on him to get some item from him! Only a beggar does this.
2. Devotion of a businessman (Vaishyabhakti): You are expecting practical fruit for practical devotion. This is justified business deal.
The prostitute-type of devotion is far lower than the justified business-type of devotion where you expect theoretical fruit from God for theoretical devotion and practical fruit from God for practical devotion. All this is Pravrutti. In Nivrutti, there is no aspiration for fruit. Therefore, in Nivrutti, both theoretical and practical devotions become very pure and highly appreciable. Meera was confined only to theoretical devotion either for self-development or for propagation (of course, propagation means self-development also because in propagation of knowledge or devotion or both, self gets reformed).
The importance given by you to God will reflect back by God to you since the Veda says that His reaction is a reflection of your action only. God clashes with self and family members many a time. It is your examination in very subtle way because the unimaginable God is most subtle. You have to be very careful with total attention in such time of examination. When you are doing God’s work, your dearest family member will clash by the will of God only and tries to divert you from God’s work. Your failure in the examination goes unnoticed by your sleeping mind. You are stopped from God’s work by one dearest family member. Later on, a situation comes where you cry for the help from God in your work. In that situation, God is stopped by the deity of justice, who argues with God that you should undergo the fruit of your sin. The deity of justice is the dearest family member of God. As you were diverted in His work, God will also be diverted in your work because the behavior of God is just a perfect reflection of your behavior. You cannot find fault with God because the whole affair is only regarding a fair business deal in Pravrutti only. In such case, you can never dream Nivrutti! Without involving in God’s work practically and simply involving in theoretical devotion, you can never expect a practical fruit from God in any context of your life. Since it is not a fair deal, you should not also expect it. Therefore, you must be always involved in practical devotion for which only your theoretical devotion is expected to help. In such case, your prayer will be answered practically because God will never go back from the fair deal of business in Pravrutti. You should not worry that houses will be drowned if you are not diverted from God’s work in a specific context. No. It shall never happen. Even if it happens just to test the constancy of your faith, miraculous rectification will be done by the omnipotent God without a trace of loss to you. The Gita says the same thing (Teshaam satatayuktanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham) that God will take care of you here as well as in the upper world if you maintain constancy (satata) in your dedication to Him by giving top most priority. If you can’t divert from your family consisting of hardly ten members or say hundred members, how can He divert Himself to your need by putting aside millions and millions of human beings, who are His family members? Your children may be half a dozen or a dozen. His children are millions of human beings. If your life partner exhibits some false logic to divert you from God’s work, His life partner, the deity of justice, puts forth the real justified logic of cycle of deeds. This again shows the meaning of your statement that if you walk towards Him by setting aside a few family members (one step), He will walk towards you (hundred steps) by setting aside millions of His children and His most beloved-pious wife, the deity of justice.
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