By Anil Kumar

[Guest guest]

By Anil Kumar

 

Dear Friends,

 

We have been discussing certain topics for the last couple of weeks.

One Sunday we dealt with the topic " No More " . Later, on another

Sunday, we also discussed the topic " How Long " . This morning our

topic is " What Next " . From these talks, we have understood that all

the things we possess are either futile or useless. We have also

analysed at length how all our acquisitions and possessions never

confer peace of mind, nor do they grant us peace. Therefore, we

concluded, " No More " ! Later we discussed how long it would take to

realise and achieve what we want.

 

So now let us have a few thoughts on the topic, " What Next " . What

next? How shall I proceed now? We all come to this field of

spirituality, which has devotion as its foundation. Devotion is the

foundation. My friends, there is a misnomer or a misunderstanding

that the path of wisdom, or jnana yoga, is superior. But I can tell

you this: Without devotion, mere enquiry comes down to the level of

scientific investigation.

 

Devotion Is the Foundation for Wisdom and Action

 

Enquiry, vicharana, or the path of wisdom, whatever we call it, it

all comes down to the level of scientific investigation, scientific

observation, scientific inference and scientific experience. That's

all! So, even the path of enquiry or wisdom requires devotion. If we

proceed along the path of enquiry with devotion, we will have

humility, we will have softness, and we will have tenderness. We

will have a responsive, receptive mind, which will enable us to turn

inward. So, my friends, devotion is the basic necessity for wisdom

or jnana.

 

Similarly, devotion is also very necessary for karma or action. For

karma yoga, or the path of action, bhakthi or devotion is equally

necessary. If I simply do action or karma, it becomes mechanical.

Karma becomes mechanical; the action becomes mechanical. The path of

action becomes routine, monotonous, boring, repetitive, disgusting,

vexing, and stressful without devotion.

 

Therefore, mere action without devotion either takes you to

frustration or ego, whereas action based on devotion will elevate

you. Otherwise, mere action without devotion leads to a mechanical,

programmed life. Therefore my friends, for karma yoga, the path of

action, bhakthi or devotion is necessary.

 

So, to rephrase it, devotion is the foundation either for jnana

yoga, the path of wisdom, or karma yoga, the path of action. If

devotion is at the centre, you can have action on one side and

wisdom on the other side.

 

We Are Shaken By Lack of Devotion

 

Therefore, it is not concentration on one path to the exclusion of

the other. Devotion is the foundation; that is what we have to

understand. What next? The first answer is to grow more and more in

devotion.

 

When our devotion gets lost, decreases or goes on the decline, we

lose our spirits. We lose our spirits! We become depressed also. So

naturally we will not be as happy as before. We will not be able to

face all the bumps and jumps in life. We will not have equanimity.

We will not have equality.

 

Devotion: so devotion is very, very necessary. The more devoted you

are, the more action- oriented you can be. The more devoted you are,

the more wisdom and enquiry you can have or undertake. Therefore,

devotion is the undercurrent for both action and wisdom.

 

Sometimes I work and work and feel so badly that no one acknowledges

me or recognises my contributions. I work and work and feel so sorry

for myself, thinking that others are trying to dominate me. I work

and work, feeling worried because it has become endless work. The

reward for my work is more work. What to do? I also feel frustrated

because I work and work, yet find people who don't work prospering.

Those who don't work may be progressing and advancing.?

 

Therefore, my friends, mere work is stressful. Mere work is

competitive. Either it makes others feel jealous of you (when you

are doing well) or you feel jealous of others (when you feel others

are doing better than you). Either you will be jealous of others or

others will be jealous of you, if you take only action or karma as

the basis or as the criteria. Therefore, devotion is required.

 

So, what next? The answer is devotion. Let us strengthen it more and

more. The stronger it is, stronger and stronger day-by-day, the less

likely it is that anything will shake us. We are shaken not because

of some position or appointment that has been denied to us. We are

not shaken when some responsibilities are taken away from our hands.

We do not mind that we are no longer in charge of any specific

position. We are shaken when we are lacking in devotion.

 

If you ask somebody, " Why are you frustrated? " he might say, " Sir, I

was in charge of the darshan queue there. I have been maintaining

queues regularly. Then one day somebody said, 'You are no longer to

be in charge. I will be the person in charge of this queue.'

Therefore, I am frustrated. "

 

No! The work you have done for so long, and the work denied to you

now, is not the reason for your frustration. The reason for your

frustration is your lack of devotion. Because, if there is devotion,

whether you have the post or not, you will be full of joy and

satisfaction.

 

One gentleman asked me, " Mr. Anil Kumar, I sustained a fracture and

had an operation. After my return, people refused to take me back to

my regular job. "

 

I said, " Please give them a tea party. Give them a party. Give them

a treat! " If you are discharged, you can take a better position, a

higher channel. The world is so wide, with so many opportunities.

You could think, 'God has discharged me from this so that I can go

to another position, a better channel.' Why don't you think like

that? So, I had to console that grand old man, who is feeling that

heaven-on-hand is denied to him, just when he was about to land

there in paradise!

 

Therefore, my friends, no matter what you feel, whether ego, pride,

frustration, disappointment, depression or hatred, know there is

nothing wrong with your action or karma. Nothing is wrong with your

wisdom or jnana. Something is merely wrong with the intensity of

your devotion. What next? Let us grow more and more in devotion.

 

" Alright sir, I have increased my devotion. I am devoted now. But

what is the use? What is it that I am going to gain? Any new

position? At least will I be a convener of a Sai centre, or a

district president or state president? What will be my spiritual

prospects in the organisation? " (Thank God there is no scale of pay

in the organisation. If there were such a scale of pay, there would

have been much more hatred and much more competition. Thank God for

that!)

 

With Devotion, Restlessness Will Lessen

 

After becoming more devoted, what next? What happens as your

devotion increases? You will not be as restless as before. With

devotion, restlessness, the depths and intensity of restlessness or

ashanti, will be less and less. That is the first advantage of

devotion.

 

We are restless all the time. Anything will make us restless. If you

ask anybody, they will say, " I can't sit here; I am restless. " If

anyone asks me, " What is your name? " I am restless! I think my name

is known everywhere, as if I am Manmohan Singh (the current Prime

Minister of India). (Even his name is not known in some villages!)

It is because you and I feel very important, so our egos are

affected. Therefore, we get upset.

 

This constant state of being upset will go once you grow in

devotion. Why? You think of Him. You contemplate on Him. You pray to

Him, so you are not bothered by who is insulting you, who is

humiliating you, or who is praising you. You are not at all

bothered. You are diverted on God. Your mind is God-ward. So no one

and nothing can shake you. It means if we are shaken, if we are

tossed, if we are reactive to praise and blame, we should not blame

others. Here is where the blame lies: It simply means that we don't

have sufficient devotion.

 

What next? So first develop devotion, which will make the depths of

our restlessness less and less. Finally, it will totally go

altogether. Why? Because my mind rests at the feet of God, therefore

I can't be restless. I am restless only when I depend on my mind.

Once the mind rests at the Feet of God, you can't be restless any

more.

 

What next? Secondly, your frustration will go with increased

devotion. You ask anybody, " How long must I be here? How long should

I stay here? How long should I work like this? How many days, weeks,

years? What's the meaning of all this? I am very much vexed with

everything. Life seems tasteless. I feel that life has lost its

charm. " This is called vexation. One gets vexed or frustrated. But

because of devotion, you will no longer be vexed. No one will be

vexed and no one will be frustrated if he is strong in devotion!

 

Why? Our attitude changes: Things happen according to His will. " He

decides what I should do. He decides where I should do it. He

decides my destiny. He decides my way of life. Why should I feel

frustrated? Why? Let Him feel frustrated for not giving me a proper

position. Let Him feel frustrated for not recognising me till now,

because all credit and discredit go to Him. "

 

Credit and discredit (debit) are noted in the passbook of the bank.

So, my passbook is at the Feet of God. So, let Him enter credit and

discredit, I am not bothered. Therefore, what next? There will no

longer be frustration. You are free! When you are not frustrated,

you are not restless. Because of strong devotion, what do you get?

You get God's immense grace. You attract daiva or God anugraha, His

mercy or grace.

 

Some people say, " Swami is not looking at me. " Some people say, " I

think I don't have God's grace these days. " It is something

like " God's Grace " should appear on the first page of the newspaper!

Or grace should be like a bullion market or share market or weather

report! It's not so. To receive God's grace, two things are

necessary. I should not be restless and I should not be frustrated.

These two steps will be a preparation to experience God's grace.

 

To ask the question, " When do I get His grace? " is foolish. Some

people say, " Mr. Anil Kumar, would you tell me when Baba will shower

His grace on me? "

 

I only tell him, " Let us wait, both of us together. You are not

sure, and I too am not sure when you will get it. I do not even know

for myself! "

 

We Already Have God's Grace

 

My friends, at least our group ( I mean, our satsang group of

aspirants, thinkers, intellectuals, enquirers), at least let us be

sure that we have God's grace already. Be sure that we have God's

grace already. We may simply have not realised it.

 

Suppose I say to someone, " I lost my back. " They would say, " What

back? You must have lost your front! " (Laughter) Can you lose your

back? No. Similarly, can you be denied God's grace? Certainly not!

 

Somebody might say, " Sunlight is not falling on me. " Oh, I see!

Something's wrong with your eyesight then. So, sunlight has to fall

on you. If there is rain, it should rain on you also. When there is

wind, you will also feel its touch.

 

Likewise, God's grace is universal, not individual. The only thing

is that one person feels it, while another does not feel it. One

does not feel it when he is highly restless or highly frustrated.

Then, he won't feel God's grace. Be peaceful, be hopeful, be

promising, be happy; then you will know God's grace. His grace is

there already.

 

If God's grace comes and goes, it is not God's grace. It is the

boss's grace. Your boss at the office is graceful, so long as you

oblige him. He will be disgraceful when you go on casual leave. God

is not like that -- graceful one moment and graceless the next. He

is not like that at all. His is constant grace. The only thing is

that we should know how to feel and experience it.

 

Then what happens? What next? Peace abides in us; peace settles into

our lives. That is prashanti. We may have reached Prashanti Nilayam,

but we are still in ashanti! Ashanti is restlessness, while

prashanti is abiding in permanent supreme spiritual peace. Immortal

peace is prashanti. Divine peace, that is prashanti. Ordinary shanti

is only physical and worldly. I want a cup of coffee. If I have it,

I will have shanti or temporary peace. But I will need another cup

after two hours!

 

Prashanti is not like that. You will have prashanti permanently, be

permanently established in peace. It is not that you would want to

establish and then de-establish, stabilise and then de-stabilise. It

is not like a government that could be de-stabilised. That peace is

already there within you.

 

Therefore, what next? Experience that peace. Having extricated

yourself from the cobweb of restlessness, having removed the blanket

of frustration, having started to feel God's grace, what next? I

experience the peace now, which is already there within. If we are

the embodiments of peace, then naturally we will start experiencing

peace.

 

Then you may ask, " Why can't I gain peace by some other method? " A

simple example Baba gives is this: When I am hungry, even if you get

me a beautiful dress, my hunger can't be satiated. Even if you bring

me a costly Parisian perfume, my hunger will not be satiated. Hunger

can't be satiated by shoes, dress or perfume. Hunger is appeased

only by partaking food. Only food, no other way!

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan

rgcjp