01 Jan 2014
Smt. Devi: Padanamaskarams Swamiji, I am writing to ask You these questions, which have been bothering me for a long time. However, I am unable to express them properly. I have tried my best below to explain my present state of mind. But, You know better than me regarding it and how to come out of this situation. At this point, these questions are all I have to offer at Your feet. Please forgive me if there is anything wrong in my questions or in my way of presenting them:
Being in this world and due to continuous series of happiness and sadness, I feel that whatever we consider as happiness is the reason for our sadness. So the only real happiness is in God’s (Human Incarnation) service. And my goal is to please Him only. But the problem is, in this world we get attached very naturally, since we find ourselves in this attachment from birth itself, without any effort. Coming out from that mess is like a next-to-impossible task. But developing attachment with God does not happen naturally. The real problem comes here. It is like I have my feet in two boats. There are three specific points that are tormenting me:
At Your Divine Feet
Devi
Shri Swami: The most difficult part of the spiritual knowledge is the concept of contemporary human incarnation. If this topic is deleted, the spiritual effort becomes very easy from all sides and at the same time reaching the goal also vanishes. If this concept is thrown away, direct approach to God becomes impossible and the real competition between God and world disappears. In absence of alive human incarnation, the competition is false and the spiritual aspirant is not put to any inconvenience and loss. This is the reason why this concept was neglected in spite the three great epics (the Ramayanam, the Bharatam and the Bhagavatam) are concentrating on Rama and Krishna, the alive human incarnations. The whole problem is that the human form, which is the medium of unimaginable God, cannot be thrown away as illusion to find the internal real God. The illusory serpent is thrown away after finding the real rope. This example is not at all applicable here because the external human form of God is not illusory at all for you. You are a part of this world and the world is not illusory for you. You are as real as the external human form of God and it can never be illusory for you since both yourself and human form are parts of this world only. The world can be illusory to God but not to you. The internal absolutely real God is unimaginable and hence, can never be seen like the rope. Based on the inference fixed through sharp analysis, you have to confirm the existence of the internal God, who can never be caught by you in any way. The only way is to catch the external human form only with which the unimaginable God is identified like the current with the electrified wire. The pity is that again you have to catch the external human form only. Except this, there is no other way (Naanyahpanthaa – Veda). Another pity is that the external human form maintains its inherent natural qualities, which are not affected by God. The properties of the wire like colour, leanness, etc., are not affected by the current. Since God is unimaginable, the human form does not show any special characteristic. The electrified and non-electrified wires look like one and the same maintaining their natural properties equally. Miracles cannot decide the existence of God since demons show miracles without existence of God in them.
The Veda says that the only characteristic of God for catching Him is the true knowledge (Satyam Jnanam…). But, nobody likes the truth. The natural properties of the human form always affect your mind to feel that the human incarnation is also a human being. If you overcome this confusion, God creates extra confusion by showing more and more negative qualities. You have to cross this extra confusion also. Your success depends on your faith, which should be always supported by your sharp analysis in the spiritual knowledge. This top most complication makes the spiritual knowledge to be called as ‘Brahmavidya’. People often use this word to mean the highest complication as found in saying “Is it Brahmavidya, which I cannot follow?” Therefore, you have to stand always firm on this central topic like Hanuman and Gopikas, who succeeded in fixing themselves in the contemporary human incarnations as seen in the Ramayanam and the Bhagavatam.
The intermediate state is always inevitable in the effort before reaching the success. Such suspension is shown by Arjuna as seen in the Bharatam. He clarified all his doubts by hearing the Gita. Still, he wanted to withdraw from the war due to attraction to his son killed in the war. He forgot that the war is the work of God and that he is involved in God’s work as His servant. On the last day of the war also, he did not get down from the chariot in spite of the order of the Lord. The ego covered his mind. When you are climbing the ladder from floor to roof, you have to reach the intermediate window. Hanuman and Gopikas stand for Nirvikalpa Samadhi from which returning is impossible. Arjuna stands for Savikalpa Samadhi in which the process of climbing and falling is continuous. This dynamic process is called as devotion. Both the persons sitting on floor and roof are static. Whenever you fall, if you feel pained, it is a positive sign of devotion. It means that you are really more attracted to the roof than the floor. On falling on the floor, if you are not pained and feel happy, it means that you are more attracted to the floor. This point is projected by the sage Narada in His Bhakthi Sutras while defining the devotion (Tat Vismarane parama vyakulata). He further says that this pain is the proof for your total attraction to the roof (Tadarpitaakhilaachaarataa). Therefore, you must feel happy for your pain while attracted to the world since it is a positive sign. Without passing the intermediate stage of learning driving, you cannot become a perfect driver. It is good that you have expressed your problem in detail so that the correct guidance is given to you. The student should not feel shy to expose his ignorance before the teacher and the patient should not feel shy in exposing his illness to the doctor. You have done a good service to the world of spiritual aspirants. Be happy that the positive sign is the driving force to attain sure success shortly.
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