Radhe Krishna To All,
Our Swamiji is been receiving several questions from devotees on life, science & spirituality and have chosen five important questions to explain elaborately which commonly arise in many a human minds.Please read patiently
1. “Many opine that if one worships God he is relieved of sorrows in life, is cured of diseases and his financial status improves. But even those who do not worship God lead a prosperous life. Not only this but also those who are devoted to God face sorrows in life, suffer from diseases and face financial difficulties. While it is so [where and] what is the need to worship God?
There is a general belief that if we worship God many good things will happen to us in life. We think that visiting temples will secure good employment, will cure us of diseases, will help get a good spouse, will help score good marks in our examination, will bring success in our examination, etc.
Is it not with such thought that we love God? Do puja to God? When it is so, those who do not accept God, those who do not believe in God are doing very well in life. Not only this but also those who worship God undergo lots of sufferings. It is all right even if one does not enjoy happiness but we find them suffering sorrows. What is the reason for this?
Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji:
First of all, we should see why a person worships God. Life is categorized into two kinds - worldly and spiritual. One who lives in this world enticed by the desire for wealth, woman, and fame found in this world is said to be worldly. These enticements are called ‘kama’(lust), ‘kanchana’(wealth), ‘keerti’(fame). One who gives up all these and lives with the desire to attain God is called ‘ascetic’ (‘thuravi’ -one who has given up the world for the sake of God). We use these terms colloquially to denote such people. But, when we go deep into this it can be said that there are no two persons as one who seeks worldly desires and one who seeks God. Everyone in the world is seeking only God!Even those who seek worldly comforts are seeking only God, are searching only for God and a one who has given up the world for the sake of God(‘ascetic’) is also searching only for God. How? Can the one who desires woman, wealth and fame and a ‘‘ascetic’ be placed in the same category in the world? A question might arise in you, ‘how can you say that these two are the same? How can one who pursues worldly desires and the one who is searching for God be the same?’ Let us see how this is right. All creatures of the world are ceaselessly active. A butterfly is always flying. An ant is always moving about. Beginning from a tiny creature to Man everyone is carrying on some work ceaselessly . What is the reason? Man and all creature are seeking happiness/joy. Man desires to accumulate wealth. Why? Because he thinks, ‘if I have lots of money I can live comfortably.’ He desires high offices. Why? Because he thinks that he will earn happiness. He desires fame because he thinks that there is happiness in it. When he eats something he feels some happiness in it. When sitting in an air-conditioned room he feels happy. Does not every one of us moving about in this world seek happiness? But, if we appraise to see if we have really earned happiness the answer is a simple ‘No!’ We have only to say that we have not acquired happiness. We search for happiness. We deem something to be happiness. But, on evaluation we find that it is not happiness. There is only a illusion, a Maya (illusion) as if there is happiness. The reason for this is that even today in the world many who are wealthy are not happy. Even after seeing that those who are wealthy are not enjoying happiness we nurture the desire to earn wealth. Many who hold high offices are not happy.
Yet, the desire to attain high offices is not given up. Those who enjoy fame are not enjoying happiness. Still the desire to attain fame does not leave us. All these people do suffer in life. Money, post or fame is not the means for attaining permanent happiness. Even they suffer sorrows in life. They also suffer. Even they meet with death some day. Even after seeing these - the ‘moha’(delusion) for wealth, the ‘moha’for fame does not leave us. We possess such insatiable ‘moha’ for worldly things. The nature of the mind is the reason for this. Mind is one that goes towards the world. What do we understand from this? Man desires to be in happiness always. Even while desiring happiness he wishes it to be permanent. He desires to get married. Even after observing that many a married person is not happy.
What is the reason? ‘Moha’ (delusion)! Such a [great] Maya is covering [blinding] him. It is because of Maya he desires all these. Even while he desires such worldly things he knows that those who have sought these happiness are not happy today. Yet, he moves towards achieving these. Everyone desires happiness. It is only to be happy he gets married, begets children, studies, takes up employment, earns money and goes abroad. ‘I must be happy in some way. If I get all that I desire I will be happy,’ so he thinks. But once his desire gets fulfilled another desire takes hold of him. When this is fulfilled another desire arises. So it goes on. He goes on searching in this manner. He is only searching for happiness in the world.
Well! What does the ‘ascetic’ search? The ‘ascetic’ is also searching only for happiness. Why is he doing bhakti (devotion)to God? performs dhyana of God? If you put this question to him, he says, “I am doing dhyana only to be happy.” ‘ascetic’ is also searching for happiness. Here, let us take happiness to be ‘ananda’ (Bliss). A ‘ascetic’ is searching for ‘ananda’ and so does a man involved in worldly life. Where is ‘ananda’? Only God is verily the form of ‘ananda’ / Love.
Only when we attain God we will get ‘ananda’ or happiness and thus we, who are searching for ‘ananda’, we who are seeking happiness are searching only for God. The difference in a ‘ascetic’ man and a worldly man searching for happiness is, A ‘ascetic’’ knows the right place where happiness can be attained and the way to attain it. Whereas those involved in worldly life do not know where real happiness can be got and the right way to get it is the only difference between the two! You should not feel sorry for the one who has taken to ochre robe and embraced asceticism. There is no need for you to pity him, ‘Oh! It is a pity that in this young age he has given up worldly pleasures/comforts and is seeking God.’ You need not feel sorry for him in this manner. If a ascetic acknowledges your sympathy then he is not a proper ascetic. This is because it is only the ascetic who has to feel sorry for you! It is only the ascetic who has to pity you.
The reason for this is that has not the ‘ascetic’ given up trifling happiness and has undertaken the search for the highest joy? Has he not given up ordinary happiness and is seeking permanent Bliss (‘niranthara sukha’)? Then he is (certainly) more intelligent than we are. He is smarter than we are. So, there is no need for us to feel sorry for him; sympathize with him; pity him. Truly, it is only he who has to feel sorry for us looking at our condition!
This is because he is doingwhat has to be done. Worshipping God is (only) for permanent, eternal Bliss. That ‘ananda’ can be got only in God. It cannot be got in worldly comforts. The first and foremost idea behind bhakti is this only. Even if due to ignorance we do bhakti to God with the idea of securing money, good job, etc. gradually it will lead us to real bhakti; to seek real ananda; to know the ‘Atma swaroopa’; to know our real Self. Doing Bhakti for money, fame or for any otherworldly ends is very low.
If you ask, ‘Won’t God give all these?’ [The answer is] ‘Certainly He will.’ Now, when you raise the doubt, ‘even those who do not do bhakti are leading happy life,’ it is because enjoyment of ‘sukha’ (happiness) or suffering of ‘dukkha’ (sorrow) is only because of the ‘papa’ (sins) and ‘punya’ (good merits) done by him in his earlier births. If a man had done lots of good deeds in his earlier births but is an atheist in this birth God will not say, ‘I will not give you the ‘phala’ (fruit) for your good deeds.’ The results of ‘punyas’ done in earlier births have to reach him. He may be an atheist in this birth. He may or may not accept God.
This is not the subject matter here. In many of his earlier births he has done lots of good deeds and he is enjoying their fruits now. Those who are doing bhakti [to God] now might have done lots of ‘papa’ in their earlier births and hence are suffering their ‘phala’(result) now. If we are deeply devoted to God and if our hearts melt with love for God our sins will be erased and good things will happen to us. Deep devotion is required in bhakti to God. It should be true bhakti, right bhakti. It (bhakti) should be one done in the right way.
We should do bhakti with one-pointed mind. It is indeed true that through one-pointed devotion sufferings in our lives can be wiped out. Such things have happened. We have, while speaking on God/Mahans, spoken how many Mahans have performed innumerable wonders. It is not impossible. But, [you should realize] that it is not as you think - that if you go to temple just once such things will happen. Such things can be experienced if you have one-pointed, true, sincere bhakti. There is absolutely no doubt about this. So, [it is only] due to ‘papa’ (sins) and ‘punya’ (good merit) a man attains ‘sukha’ (happiness) or ‘dukkha’ (sorrow) in this birth. Whether he is a bhakta of God inthis janma (birth) or not is not the question. However, worship of God is only for the sake of God. Worship of God is only for attaining eternal Bliss (‘ananda’).
The true ascetic knows where real ananda is while the man of the world does not know. Since both are only searching for ‘ananda’ both are searching only for God. There is no doubt about this at all. So worshipping God is only to take us to a high state. Though we may be in possession of many things, though we may increase our comforts through various ways we cannot attain real ‘sukha’.!!!
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
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