The Voice of God-part-3

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*The Voice of God-part-3 *

 

Well, what is the import of these accounts of the divine voice or command

heard by a devotee or a spiritual aspirant? A devotee cannot rest content

with the experiences of others. He cannot be satisfied until and unless he

has them for his own. He wants to hear for himself the voice of God. Swamiji

exhorts, 'Does what Moses did when he saw God save you? No man's seeing God

can help you the least bit except that it may excite you and urge you to do

the same thing. That is the whole value of the ancients' examples. Nothing

more.' Let us then see why a Buddha, a Nanak, a Satyakama could get the

message and we do not.

 

Satyakama was an extraordinary boy. He was not afraid of speaking the truth

even though he knew it might harm him and defeat the very purpose for which

he approached the guru. Pleased with his truthfulness, the teacher accepted

him as a Brahmin notwithstanding his unknown descent. Moreover, he was a

child of nature. 'Nature is nothing but God,' says Swami Vivekananda. There

is no wonder then that God did not hesitate to speak to such a pure soul. As

regards Buddha (then Siddhartha), he evinced the traits of a world

teacher-in-the-making from his very childhood. He had a deeply compassionate

heart which was exceptionally sensitive to super-human instincts and

impulses. That was why his deep insight could pierce through the scales that

obscure right perception and knowledge and could read the message which is

imparted through very commonplace events. In the cases of Guru Nanak, Lala

Babu and many others, their minds were ready like dry matchsticks which

would ignite with just one strike. That is why Sri Ramakrishna says: The

voice of God is heard by a pure mind.

 

For the highly qualified aspirants, the uttama adhikarins, hearing the voice

of God is easier. Their hearts are pure and their minds receptive and

sensitive. For the rest of us, there is no other way but to purify our minds

by spiritual practice and patiently wait for the Divine call.

 

The Holy Mother says: '...go on repeating His name, everything will come out

all right. You may repeat His name a million times even though the mind is

unsteady. You will hear the anahata dhvani before the Kundalini awakes.'

Peace Pilgrim says:

 

There is no glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel without your

walking the path. You can't get it from anyone else, nor can you give it to

anyone. Just take whatever steps seem easiest for you, and as you take a few

steps, it will be easier for you to take a few more.

 

The fact is that the Divine is constantly present with us as the indwelling

paramatman. His voice--the still small voice within--is always present as

the conscience. We have just to turn inwards, listen to it and follow it.

Unfortunately, we go on disregarding it and covering it shamelessly with

man-made artificial values, till the voice becomes so weak that it is heard

no more. Let us therefore pause a little, sit silently and try to hear the

divine call always arising within. As we follow it, it will become louder

and clearer.

 

And then we must be ready to sacrifice all that we ostensibly possess as

ours. When God speaks to us, we shall not be allowed to raise such foolish

objections as, 'Leave me Sir, I have my parents at home,' etc.

 

Well, the competent spiritual aspirants will have direct communion with God,

will have the anahata dhvani heard in their heart of hearts. But for the

lesser lights the wise words of the scriptures are there and the open book

of nature is available for guidance.

 

A man learns through experiences. He is wiser who learns from others'

experiences. And where will he get a store of ready-made experiences except

in the holy books? In the time of our need the scriptures and nature will

deliver the required message. Let us keep the doors and windows open. Walls

may stop us, but walls also may have doors. What is more, we can even remove

the walls complete with doors and windows. We may say, 'Half a loaf is

better than no bread.' All right, but we must dare to ask for the whole

bread. When the whole nature is emitting liberally and joyously the Lord's

message and singing His glory can we afford to remain indoors? Let us open

wide our hearts for the Divine Voice from within as well as from without.

 

regards

 

Prasanna Kumar