06 Jun 2018
81) Past, Present and Future:-
In worldly matters, you must not brood over past and must concentrate on present and future only. Of course, analysis of past is useful in learning practical lessons and for this purpose only, the department of History has practical value in educational institutions. Analysis of past is useful in examining your spiritual efforts also. In spiritual field, before God, you must always remember past and shall not touch your present and future. This means that you must remember always the past favours done by God to you and express gratefulness to God. You must not touch your present problems and happiness to be attained in future, thereby, asking for solutions in the present and boons for the future. When you ask anything from God, you are losing the entire value of your devotion. In fact, you can ask a human being since any human being is not omniscient. But, God is omniscient and knows all your past, present and future (Vedaaham... Gita) and hence, you need not ask God for any solution or benefit, not only by words, but also in mind since God knows everything present in your mind also. When you don’t aspire for any favour from God, your devotion, even little, has immense value like a cup of cow-milk to which God responds immediately. Lot of devotion with aspirations has no value like a pot of donkey-milk to which God keeps silent! Beware about the clever human mind! One devotee showed devotion without any aspiration for a long time believing that God will respond immediately to such devotion. For a long time, God also didn’t respond. Finally, the devotee asked God “I didn’t aspire for anything for my long devotion thinking that you will respond immediately to such devotion. Long time is gone, but, you are silent, still”!
82) Peace and Bliss:-
God is said to be having infinite bliss as said by the Veda (sa eko Brahmana aanandah) and hence, everybody aspires to become God or at least to become close to God so that the bliss can be achieved. Remember, My dear friend! No human being does anything without direct or indirect and immediate or long run use to self! This is the basic defect in the foundation of devotion, which spreads to all the upper floors as cracks. The peace of God is also aspired from God, which can be used in getting relief from tensions. Sacrifice alone (God neglects all other good qualities) liked by God, shall exist in every path of theoretical and practical devotion by which alone God is pleased. Selfishness alone (God neglects all other bad qualities) shall be absent in any spiritual path, which is disliked by God. A person may not ask any worldly help since he may not be in need of it, but, asks God to help him in the future hell after death (Traahi maam narakaat...). Hence, Shankara told that the eligibility for approaching God is not having aspiration in this world as well as in the upper world (ihaamutra phala viraagah).
The devotee aspiring for the bliss of God is not noting that God can bear the infinite quantity of happiness due to His omnipotence. The human being, having little potency, can bear a little quantity of happiness only beyond which, it can’t withstand the happiness, which results in collapse. Hence, in the case of human being, bliss means continuous happiness only and not highest quantity of happiness. In the case of God, bliss means happiness in highest quantity as well as in continuous time. If the quantity of happiness increases any more beyond its limits, peace is required for the human being. The all round boundary of bliss is peace, which is the control of the power of happiness. In the spiritual effort, the goals of human being must be:- i) To please God to the highest extent, which is bliss of God, through service and sacrifice and ii) Not to aspire happiness of self (not to speak of bliss) as the fruit of service and also not to aspire for the peace to control misery.
In the case of God, both peace and bliss are having infinite strength so that peace controls bliss by balancing it and gives resistance to withstand the power of bliss. Without peace, bliss can’t be controlled. Hence, peace is given ultimate position as said by the Veda in the end of every part (Aum Shaantih) and the Gita (Yogaaruudhasya...). Peace gives relief from tensions as well as danger due to excessive happiness. But, such peace should be eternal, which can be eternal only if the soul attains reformation. Without reformation, peace attained by yoga or false monism or attainment of self detached from the body etc., can’t give eternal peace. Even the death does not give eternal peace since upper worldly life involving heaven and hell starts immediately.
(To be continued...)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★