Bhakti Bliss

(Continuation of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj in Chandigarh, India, on November 15, 2009)

If someone discovers you are acting insincerely with them in the world, his mood will go completely off. Yet you are acting like this before God who is all-powerful, omnipresent and all-knowing. From your mouth you verbally recite, “You alone are my mother,” but you love your physical mother who is at home. How could God grace you?

When you were a newborn and you were hungry or thirsty or a mosquito bit you or you wet your diapers or you felt cold what did you do? You couldn’t speak or indicate what you needed. Then how did you remedy this? You simply cried. For everything that bothered you there was just one remedy: crying. Your mother thought, “Why did he cry? Oh, he’s cold! Four hours have passed – he’s hungry!”

Your physical mother can make a mistake determining what you need. Your divine mother is not like this. But do we cry and beg for His grace? “My Lord, please remove this Maya. Grace me so I may see You. Bestow on me Your divine love.” Even if the technique is correct, the content is wrong – the majority of people ask instead for the world.

It is just because of this – practicing devotion with the physical body and senses and attaching the mind to the world – that we fail to receive God’s grace. We have passed through uncountable births doing exactly this. Even if you practice devotion for hours at a stretch, what do you do during that time? How many tears do you shed to meet God? Most say, “Oh, I didn’t do that. I was counting prayer beads,” “I read from a scripture,” or “I went on pilgrimage.” These are just physical things – what did your mind do? God wants your mind.

Milahin na Raghupati binu anuraga, kiye yoga japa gyana viraga.

God cannot be attained by any other means except love! You must cry and beg Him. Become like a small child and eliminate your cleverness. Being clever and cunning will work for you in the world, but not in your devotion. In devotion you have to again become like a small child and cry and ask God to see Him and to receive His love. Don’t ask for the world. The truth is whatever you get from this world makes you farther away from God.

Nahin kou as janma jaga mahin, prabhuta pai gyahi mad nahin.

The luxuries of this world increase pride and ego. Pride and ego and God are enemies. Therefore, the remedy for all these mental afflictions is to cry and call out to God. Beg Him for His grace. Don’t ask him for moksha, liberation, and don’t ask for bandhan, bondage, in the form of worldly desires. Only ask for grace. What do we know of what exists in His divine abode? Whatever He thinks is best He will bestow on us. Therefore we should also ask Him for the common sense to know what to ask for.

If a young child is presented with a priceless diamond or a piece of candy, he will choose the candy. What could he know about the value of the diamond? Once God went to the celestial abodes and Indra greeted Him with great pomp. God said, “Ask for a boon.” Indra said, “Please give me such a woman whose beauty has no compare anywhere in the three worlds.” God smiled and thought, “Just look at what he is asking for! Does he lack female companionship?” Menaka and the other celestial maidens also reside in the celestial abodes. But to fulfill his request, with His power of yogamaya, God manifested millions of women, “Here, choose one.” Indra chose one maiden, Urvashi. He took her afterwards to his Guru, Brihaspati. They bowed to him and asked for his blessing. Brihaspati said, “Who is this woman?” Indra said, “Guruji, I met God and then he said I should ask for boon and then… well…” Brihaspati said, “What? You made such a foolish request of God? You are defaming your Guru! God has unlimited divine bliss – why didn’t you ask for that? You have had the association of millions of women in previous lives. Aren’t you satisfied yet? Again you asked for a woman?” Indra said, “Oh. But Guru Ji, God already left. I made a mistake!”

So stop this disease of asking for the world. Just ask Him for His grace and love. Become innocent. Don’t apply your intellect to this. Reciting a special Sanskrit mantra or prayer won’t fulfill your aim. Cry and speak to him in your own language, whatever that may be. God responds to the feelings of your heart, not the words you utter. This understanding is the essence of all the scriptures.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss