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Source: The Hindu (http://www.hinduonnet.com)

 

Man must keep his appointment with God

 

CHENNAI, OCT. 9. Among the multitudes who take to the spiritual

path and practise the scriptural prescriptions to realise God,

only a rare one is blessed with His vision. As the majority do

not seem to attain the final beatitude, it becomes imperative for

a spiritual aspirant to find out why one is likely to fail.

Saints, as for instance Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who have

envisioned God, declare that the lacuna in the case of the

majority is the absence of yearning for God. Their desire to

realise Him is not strong and hence their minds get easily

distracted by worldly preoccupations.

 

The example of a mother rushing to her baby's side casting aside

all her other work when it cries for attention is often cited to

explain how God responds to the yearning of His devotee. A

devotee must pine for Him and not give up till he succeeds in his

quest. Moreover, in the case of the worldly people, they fail

even to keep their appointment with God. They fritter away a rare

opportunity given to them in materialistic pursuits totally

oblivious to the fact that human birth is meant for realising

God. The spiritual goal remains alien to them and hence they

aimlessly drift along with the cross-currents of worldly life and

are generally unhappy with their lot.

 

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said saints directed the

worldly people towards God. When a person is ignorant of the

spiritual goal, all his actions will have a selfish motive and

hence there is anxiety regarding the outcome of his efforts. A

spiritual aspirant who is in tune with God will perform the same

actions without apprehension about the result and hence develops

equanimity of mind to face the vicissitudes of life. This begs

the question: ``Should we not strive for worldly goals?''

Certainly one must. But, the mind must be always focussed on God

amidst all worldly engagements with the clear understanding that

all worldly attainments are limited in nature and that eternal

joy can be enjoyed only by realising God.

 

Nothing in this world is lasting - wealth, fame, status, power or

relationships. God-realised saints advise, rather metaphorically,

that a spiritual aspirant must hold on to God with one hand and

engage in the world with the other. As a person advances in age

he must slowly withdraw himself from worldly activities and

engage more and more in spiritual pursuits. This will enable him

to develop detachment which is essential for the mind to dwell on

God. The bliss of God-realisation is manifold compared to sensory

pleasures and hence the mind which has tasted that eternal joy

will not hanker after worldly pleasures.

 

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