15 Mar 2025
O Learned and Devoted Servants of God
1. Since Gopikas jumped into fire after Krishna left His body, they are failed as Sthitaprajna. What do You say?
[Ms. Thrylokya asked:- Paadanamaskaaram, Swami. The 12 Gopikas were Sthitaprajnas throughout their lives. There is no doubt in this. But, You have to accept that they failed when they jumped into fire after God Krishna left His gross body. Failure is always a failure and cannot be treated as pass. What do You say?]
Swami replied:- Actually, the 12 Gopikas passed this test of sacrifice of life also by jumping into fire and they did not fail. I was telling that they failed with a view that such suicide shall not be encouraged. By your bombarding question, now, I have to come out with the truth.
Suicide in the worldly life (Pravrutti) is injustice. This means that you should not end your life for the sake of any worldly bond because in such case, the golden human life granted by God for the purpose of serving God to get His full grace is completely spoiled. Therefore, suicide becomes the greatest sin since you have sacrificed spiritual life (Nivrutti) for the sake of worldly life (Pravrutti).
But, in Nivrutti, you have to vote for God even against justice. If you remember the incident, which is that God Krishna got a headache and Sage Naarada asked for the dust of the feet of devotees as medicine declared by God Krishna Himself, then, all devotees refused to give their feet-dust telling that they would go to hell if they did so. When Naarada went and asked the feet-dust from the Gopikas, they gave their feet-dust immediately. Then, Naarada told that they would go to hell if their feet-dust was applied to the forehead of God Krishna. Then, the Gopikas told that they were prepared to go to hell for the sake of God Krishna. They voted for God Krishna against justice and even going to hell for the sake of God. Now, tell Me, whether the 12 Gopikas passed or failed in this test of Nivrutti. Hence, even in this test, Gopikas passed the test and proved their state of Sthitaprajna. In this Praaneshanaa test (competition between God and own life) also, Gopikas analyzed the subject with their brain only and did powerful logical analysis without undergoing any shock of the emotion. In such analysis, they clearly found that the super climax state of devotion (Mahaa Nivrutti) that is obtained spontaneously without being related to any logic of aspiration is the highest state that pleases God to climax. Therefore, Hanuman, who tore His heart with His nails to show God Rama, also is a Sthitaprajna by doing such action without emotion and with the help of logical analysis of His sharp intelligence. Similarly, Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also jumped on the sword without any emotion and with sharp logical analysis to prove that God is greater than life.
Hence, the above said climax devotees did not fail in the test and maintained their state of Sthitaprajna. But, God will never put this Praaneshanaa test to any devotee. He wants that the devotee shall live and spend the life in propagating His spiritual knowledge for the sake of the entire humanity created by Him only. Such devotees, who follow the order of God, will exactly achieve the same position of the above said climax devotees and God will be equally pleased with them also. The above said climax devotees also tried to sacrifice their lives not to pass the Praaneshanaa test put by God. They were unable to live without God and this point makes their devotion more illuminated.
God Datta conducted Praaneshanaa test for this Datta Swami also. I was sitting on the top of the mountain called Shrishailam, where there are famous temples of God Shiva (called Mallikharjuna Swami) and Goddess Parvati (called Bhramaraambaa). I composed a spontaneous song on God Datta and was singing alone sitting on a stone. In that song, the last line came, which is “I will give up even My life for You”. The chorus was “O King Datta! I am the dog at Your feet”. When this last line was sung by Me, God Datta appeared saying “Will You give Your life to please Me? Then, You jump from here and sacrifice Your life to please Me”. I immediately jumped down from the top of the hill. God Datta caught Me in the middle and made Me sit on the same stone again. Then, He told Me “Don’t jump like this. Every time, I may not catch You”. Then, I replied “If You want that I shall not jump like this, don’t ask Me to jump like this. If You ask Me to jump, I will jump even if I lose My life”. Then, God Datta disappeared with a happy smile. That day evening, when I was lying on the stairs before the temple of Goddess Bhramarambaa, He appeared before Me facing to My opposite side and reciting a Vedic Hymn (Śrotrasya śrotraṃ, manaso mano yat। Vāco ha vācaṃ, sa u prāṇasya prāṇaḥ। Cakṣuṣaścakṣu ratimucya dhīrāḥ। pretyāsmāllokā damṛtā bhavanti – This means that the limbs of the God-component will merge with the limbs of the human being-component during the formation of human incarnation), fell back on Me and merged in Me limb by limb (Advaita Kaivalyam). Here, the point to be noted is that God Datta did not conduct this test by Himself. He conducted this test only when I claimed that I will give even My life for the sake of God Datta. His warning given to Me means that a devotee shall not try or say like this at any cost because suicide is the highest sin as told by the Veda (Asūryā nāma te lokā, andhena tamasā vṛtāḥ).
2. Did the Gopikas become emotional or did they conclude that God is more pleased when a devotee commits suicide?
[Swami, You said “Gopikas analyzed the subject with their brain only and did powerful logical analysis without undergoing any shock of the emotion”. But, according to what You told earlier in Your discourses, if they analyze correctly, they would know that suicide is a horrible sin condemned by God and they should choose to live until their natural death to propagate the spiritual knowledge given by God Krishna. Hence, it must be that either Gopikas became emotional losing their Sthitaprajna state or they concluded after analysis that God is more pleased when a devotee commits suicide for His sake. Please clarify.]
Swami replied:- All the logical analysis is confined to Pravrutti and preliminary part of Nivrutti only in which doing justice or merit and avoiding injustice or sin stand as the main background. When you come to Nivrutti, you have to vote for God against even justice and do injustice also. Such injustice is also the real climax of justice if you do very very sharp analysis. All this is analysis only and they have analysed this topic from beginning to end. By logical analysis only, in the climax of Nivrutti, the devotee will be over-powered by the unimaginable true love to God, which overrules Pravrutti and all logical analysis of Sthitaprajna state. They proved themselves to be the climax devotees of Nivrutti and they were happy with this more than their proof that they were Sthitaprajnas. Their unimaginable super climax state of devotion was of such unimaginable height that they could not follow even the advice of God against suicide! Such incapability of following the advice of God is also the characteristic of the super climax state only. This characteristic was known by them through logical analysis only and hence, the Sthitaprajna state is not spoiled. Failing in logic is known by logical analysis and hence, you cannot blame that they failed in logic due to failure of their logical analysis! By this, their suicide is not encouraged because God says that even without suicide, by following the advice of God, which is doing propagation of God after the exit of God, the devotee can exactly get the same position of those 12 Gopikas, by which God is equally pleased!
The 12 Gopikas attained an unimaginable climax state of devotion, which is like a miracle by itself. When a miracle is beyond logic, what is the use of doing logical analysis of the miracle? They did not fear for the punishment of the sin called suicide. They have gone beyond this state of analysis of justice and injustice. You people are asking a thousand times about this topic, which is beyond the state of Sthitaprajna and which is called as the unimaginable super climax state of Nivrutti. Below this super climax state only, I told that Sthitaprajna is better than a devotee spoiling the mental balance due to extreme theoretical devotion. This statement cannot touch the higher super climax state. A first-class bachelor degree holder cannot be greater than a post graduate master degree holder. A first-class bachelor degree holder is better than a second-class bachelor degree holder.
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