03 Nov 2024
(Shri G. Lakshman and Smt. Chhanda from Mumbai and Smt. Priyanka from Canada participated in this Satsanga along with some local devotees.)
Dr. Geetha Lahari asked:- Swami, You told that we should not control our devotion but control our self to become a Sthitaprajna. But, when a devotee loves God selflessly, there is no ‘self’ only. Therefore, how can we control the ‘self’ when it doesn’t exist in devotion to God?
Swami replied:- ‘Selfless’ does not mean that the ‘self’ is really absent. It only means that you should not be aware of your ‘self’. When you are not aware of your self, selfish ideas will not come. This does not mean that your self is really absent and hence, selfish ideas will not come. Devotion is already emotional. Even if excessive emotion appears, if you are not aware of such excessive emotion, it will subside immediately. Otherwise, if the excessive emotion is experienced due to your awareness of it, your health will be damaged and you cannot do the service to God. When you are not aware of something, even if that something exists, such existence of something can be assumed as nil. You must be aware of the emotion of theoretical devotion upto certain minimum extent so that you will be inspired to do the practical devotion, which is service to God. If the emotion crosses its boundaries, you must not be aware of such emotion. Due to this, the emotion disappears. If you continue to be aware of that emotion, such emotion will grow continuously. If you neglect and forget the emotion, the emotion will disappear. In this way, excess of anything can be controlled.
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