The Lover's Life - 5a

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"anyasya bhajanaM tatra svato gamanam eva

ca,<br>prArthanA kArya mAtro 'pi tato 'nyatra vivarjayet.

(14)<br>('viveka dhairyAzrayaH nirUpaNam')<br><br>Chapter

Ten<br><br>To worship another<br>or pray for your work to be

done,<br>is forbidden.<br><br>Lovers of Hari only resort to

the Beloved. To leave Him is to forget ones's true

Self. It is an act of suspicion and constitutes a

contraction of the devotional heart.<br>It is a move away

from His sacred space, a turning away from all forms

of perfection. It is ilicit. The lover with true

abandonment in Him could never do such a thing!! <br><br>To

leave the Beloved and look elsewhere is the result of

deception or Maya.<br>It arises when the senses no longer

see the true object, when vision is blurred. Faulty

cognition poisons devotion.<br>Without Bhakti, people

wander elsewhere to find satisfaction and hook up with

insignificant beloveds who cannot provide.<br>When the

authentic Beloved is forgotten, the result is bondage. When

everything appears from Him, how can there be any question

about Hari's integrity?<br><br>The lover does not water

the leaves, she goes directly to the root! Otherwise,

desires turn to hankerings and in the cracks of

confidence The devotional essence is lost.<br><br>If someone

says, "But it is not right to go to the Beloved for all

things. To approach Him for everything would be

troublesome. For small things, the lover should go to the

lesser forces, to the other devas for simple

needs."<br><br>The lover explains, " I am only engaged to Hari, I

can have no other romance. My beloved protects me in

all circumstances. I cannot dilute nor divide

devotion.<br>The nature of Nectar is singular and Bhakti attains

its zenith when it is

onepointed."<br><br>(continued...)