02 Sep 2024
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God
Smt. Chhanda Chandra asked:-
1. Swami, how to become a Sthitaprajna without entering into the madness state of a Gopika?
Swami replied:- Spiritual knowledge (details of God) generates theoretical devotion. This theoretical devotion transforms spiritual knowledge into practical devotion. Practical devotion gives the fruit. The fruit is obtained from practical devotion and not from theoretical devotion or spiritual knowledge directly. Collecting spiritual knowledge to any extent has no danger. But, theoretical devotion or emotion is useful only in transforming knowledge into practice. Hence, theoretical devotion in excess is not necessary because the excess of theoretical devotion will lead the soul to madness. Excess of spiritual knowledge or excess of practical devotion have no such dangers. Truth of devotion is proved by practical devotion and not by the intensity of theoretical devotion. If the devotee becomes mad due to excess of theoretical devotion, the devotee can’t do practical devotion, which is essential to get the fruit.
There happened an incident, where a poor farmer was told that he got a lottery of one lakh rupees. This one lakh is almost an unimaginable amount for the farmer and he could not bear the emotional happiness on hearing the news. He died immediately due to sudden heart failure! So, you must control the excess of emotion, which harms you. If you do not enter into madness, you can do the work of propagation of true spiritual knowledge of Sadguru. If you become mad, you will not be able to do this divine service. You may argue that if theoretical devotion is not excessive, it means the devotion is not full. This is wrong. Real devotion is only practical devotion and not theoretical devotion. When theoretical devotion transforms all your spiritual knowledge into practice, the purpose of theoretical devotion is over. The extent of practical devotion is the extent of true devotion. Theoretical devotion has no place in deciding the intensity of practical devotion. The intensity of practical devotion depends upon the intensity of your spiritual knowledge only and does not depend upon the intensity of theoretical devotion. Hence, the intensity of spiritual knowledge generates the intensity of practical devotion and theoretical devotion is sufficient upto that extent, which converts spiritual knowledge into practical devotion. You can also control theoretical devotion with the help of spiritual knowledge. It is a thorough misunderstanding that the intensity of theoretical devotion is the intensity of true practical devotion.
You must control your theoretical devotion with the help of your analytical knowledge by which you realize that excess of the intensity of theoretical devotion will lead to a very serious danger of stopping your life. It is true that the intensity of spiritual knowledge produces the intensity of theoretical devotion and at this junction, you must be alert about the generation of excessive theoretical devotion and you must act to control it with the help of the information about danger to life. Even in practical devotion, spiritual knowledge and theoretical devotion are required so that you will analyze the deservingness of the receiver and donate to God with theoretical devotion (theoretical respect and theoretical love). Everywhere theoretical devotion to a limited extent is sufficient. There is no danger due to excessive knowledge and excessive practical devotion.
The devotion existing in Gopikas and in King Janaka is one and the same since the practical devotion is one and the same. King Janaka could control theoretical devotion beyond its required limits whereas Gopikas could not control theoretical devotion beyond the required limits. Hence, Gopikas became mad and were unable to do the daily worldly duties whereas King Janaka could do all the worldly duties as well as the service of God. After spiritual knowledge and its subsequent theoretical devotion, if you are deciding to do practical devotion (proportional to the extent of knowledge), that is the limit of theoretical devotion and you have to control beyond that point. Self-control to control the emotion is nothing but withdrawing the awareness (self) of the emotion. Emotion is the quality of awareness. If you withdraw the awareness (awareness means awareness of the concept of spiritual knowledge that generates emotion), the emotion will subside in the absence of awareness. Development of courage and analytical faculty of awareness will help this process of controlling the emotion. Gopikas were Sages and know all this knowledge but due to their sensitive and emotional female psychology, they could not control theoretical devotion. This does not mean that all females cannot control theoretical devotion. Only a few Gopikas, who jumped into fire after Krishna, (who were eligible to reach Goloka) became mad and were staying in the outer Brundaavanam garden and they were unable to attend their daily activities at their homes due to madness to God Krishna. Shabari is a female and a Sthitaprajna since she could control her theoretical devotion beyond its limits. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a male, who became mad in the devotion of God Krishna.
2. Is it not insulting You if I like the form of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa?
[You are the contemporary form of God and Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was also the past human incarnation of God. Suppose I like that form more. Is it not insulting You?]
Swami replied:- The same unimaginable God is wearing two different dresses and here, the wearing person is one and the same whereas the worn dresses are only different. When Shri Paramahamsa appeared to you and told “I am coming as Datta Swami to you and the external body only is different”, the word ‘I’ here means the Parabrahman or unimaginable God, who is changing one dress to the other dress, the wearing person is not at all insulted because He is liking both dresses equally. If He has difference between two dresses and if you dislike a dress that is liked by Him very much, He is certainly insulted. Hence, the defect is not on the side of God but is on the side of the soul.
The soul likes one particular dress more than the other dress and the reason is that the soul is acquainted with one dress for a long time than the other dress. This difference made by the soul is also justified by the said reason. But, such difference is erroneous because both the dresses are perishable whereas the wearing person is eternal. Hence, this view point of the soul is certainly erroneous, which is to be rectified by the devoted soul and not by God. This does not mean that you should not worship the past form since it only means that you should not refuse the contemporary form. The reason is that the contemporary form is having several facilities that benefit you in your spiritual journey, whereas these facilities were closed in the past form. You are expected to get the benefits from the contemporary form, which help you in your further spiritual journey.
When you get a doubt, it means that you have stopped in the path to God. The past form cannot reply to you with full clarification even if you say that the past form can clarify your doubt in your dream or by coming in energetic form before you. When God has come to you in the contemporary form to clarify all your doubts extensively, you are neglecting God since His human medium is repelled by your human medium. Is it not better to rectify your defect and surpass the repulsion between common human media and get the full advantage from the contemporary human form of God? Not getting such best benefit offered by God to you to help your spiritual journey is actually insulting God. The Veda says that due to this repulsion of common media, every soul (including angels) is unable to recognize God present in the same common medium before your eyes. Clarifications of your doubts and further successful journey in the spiritual path is far far more important than your liking and disliking the external form of God.
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