Blog

November 2009

Let your hands and legs function but let a part of your mind steadily hold on to the Divine Essence in you. – Chinmaya

A common question asked by the devotees during the satsangs is, “Swamiji, we as householders have so many worldly responsibilities to fulfil. Hence it is impossible to sit in meditation or for puja all the time. Then what is the way out?”

The above quotation is the answer given by Pujya Gurudev.

But is it possible to do both at the same time? Definitely yes. There are so many day-to-day examples where we make use of this ability of the mind to do two things simultaneously. Haven’t we seen people driving the car talking with others and at the same operating the accelerator, gear, steering wheel, clutch etc? Or just observe a mother carrying her newborn baby. Even when she is busy with all the daily chores, a part of her mind is always on the child.

Examples are innumerous. Therefore responsibilities and work pressures etc. cannot be an excuse for forgetting the Lord.

Just watch this – the moment we get caught up in the work ignoring the Lord, all negativities in the mind like worry, anxiety excitement, fear, dejection, anger, greed, jealousy start piling up. The solution, therefore, is very simple – remember the Lord now and then. Sadhu Vaswaniji advises us that in every hour, we must at least spend one minute repeating to ourselves, “O Lord, I am not alone; You are with me”. This then is the mantra of remaining cheerful and happy.

Loving God and hence remembering Him becomes very easy when we realize that His love for us is unconditional and unlimited. He has said in Bhagavad Gita that He is the Father and Mother of this universe. Just as a mother loves her child despite all its weaknesses, inabilities and imperfections, so also we must always keep in mind that it is impossible for Him to hate us or ignore us or be indifferent towards us for He is our eternal Parent.

The great Saint Augustine says, “God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us!”

Though the Lord has got countless billion children in the form of all living beings, even then His attention on every being is a hundred per cent. His only prime concern is that all should attain His nature as early as possible. Knowing this, how can we remain indifferent or ignore that Lord who is our only well-wisher in the whole world?

God alone is our own. Remembering Him alone is our highest duty.

According to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, do the work with one hand and let the other hand hold on to the Lord; and once the work is over hold on to the Lord with both the hands.

In this regard, He used to narrate a story. There was a cloth merchant who was a great devotee of Lord Sri Rama. While selling the cloths he would say, “By the will of Rama, the price of yarn is one rupee and the labour charge, four annas. By the will of Rama, the profit is 2 annas. Hence, the price of the cloth is one rupee six annas, by the will of Rama”. Hearing that, the customer would immediately purchase the cloth. The villagers also trusted and loved him very much.

Once, the police caught this devotee with a huge bundle of looted goods in the night. He was put in the lock-up for the whole night. When the villagers heard this, they approached the magistrate. The next day the magistrate called the devotee and enquired what exactly had happened. The devotee replied, “Your Honour, by the will of Rama, after my evening worship in the temple, as I was returning home, a group of robbers caught hold of me and put their looted goods on me to carry for them. Again, by the will of Rama, when the police arrived, those robbers ran away and thus I was caught and put in the lock-up. Now, Your Honour, I am in front of You, by the will of Rama.”

The magistrate released him immediately realizing his innocence. After coming back, the devotee, when asked by others, told them, “By the will of Rama, I am released!”

Let us always remind ourselves of our insignificance in this creation. We are only His instruments working because of His grace. The hands, legs, eyes, ears, heart, liver etc. function only because of His divine touch. Hence why hesitate to give the credit to Him for all that we have achieved in our life?

The world-renowned poet Sri Rabindranath Tagore was once quoted saying, “God waits to win back His own flowers as gifts from man’s hands!”

And that God is none other than the Pure Consciousness ever-shining in our own heart as ‘I Am’. This is the Divine Essence in us which we have to steadily hold on.

To put it short and sweet, the only lesson to be learnt in life is: No God, No Peace; Know God, Know Peace!

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