Ramanuja says it is selfishness to think I'll have a child for myself

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THE PREPARATION Vivekananda Complete Works, Volume 4, Addresses on

Bhakti-Yoga

 

He who wants to love God must get rid of extreme desires, desire nothing except

God. This world is good so far as it helps one to go to the higher world. The

objects of the senses are good so far as they help us to attain higher objects.

We always forget that this world is a means to an end, and not an end itself. If

this were the end we should be immortal here in our physical body; we should

never die. But we see people every moment dying around us, and yet, foolishly,

we think we shall never die; and from that conviction we come to think that this

life is the goal. That is the case with ninety-nine per cent of us.

 

This notion should be given up at once. This world is good so far as it is a

means to perfect ourselves; and as soon as it has ceased to be so, it is evil.

So wife, husband, children, money and learning, are good so long as they help us

forward; but as soon as they cease to do that, they are nothing but evil. If the

wife help us to attain God, she is a good wife; so with a husband or a child. If

money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is

simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.

 

The next is Abhyâsa, practice. The mind should always go towards God. No other

things have any right to withhold it. It should continuously think of God,

though this is a very hard task; yet it can be done by persistent practice. What

we are now is the result of our past practice. Again, practice makes us what we

shall be. So practice the other way; one sort of turning round has brought us

this way, turn the other way and get out of it as soon as you can. Thinking of

the senses has brought us down here — to cry one moment, to rejoice the next, to

be at the mercy of every breeze, slave to everything. This is shameful, and yet

we call ourselves spirits.

 

Go the other way, think of God; let the mind not think of any physical or mental

enjoyment, but of God alone. When it tries to think of anything else, give it a

good blow, so that it may turn round and think of God. As oil poured from one

vessel to another falls in an unbroken line, as chimes coming from a distance

fall upon the ear as one continuous sound, so should the mind flow towards God

in one continuous stream. We should not only impose this practice on the mind,

but the senses too should be employed. Instead of hearing foolish things, we

must hear about God; instead of talking foolish words, we must talk of God.

Instead of reading foolish books, we must read good ones which tell of God.

 

The greatest aid to this practice of keeping God in memory is, perhaps, music.

The Lord says to Nârada, the great teacher of Bhakti, " I do not live in heaven,

nor do I live in the heart of the Yogi, but where My devotees sing My praise,

there am I " . Music has such tremendous power over the human mind; it brings it

to concentration in a moment. You will find the dull, ignorant, low, brute-like

human beings, who never steady their mind for a moment at other times, when they

hear attractive music, immediately become charmed and concentrated. Even the

minds of animals, such as dogs, lions, cats, and serpents, become charmed with

music.

 

The next is Kriyâ, work — doing good to others. The memory of God will not come

to the selfish man. The more we come out and do good to others, the more our

hearts will be purified, and God will be in them. According to our scriptures,

there are five sorts of work, called the fivefold sacrifice. First, study. A man

must study every day something holy and good. Second, worship of God, angels, or

saints, as it may be. Third, our duty to our forefathers. Fourth, our duty to

human beings. Man has no right to live in a house himself, until he builds for

the poor also, or for anybody who needs it. The householder's house should be

open to everybody that is poor and

suffering; then he is a real householder. If he builds a house only for himself

and his wife to enjoy, he will never be a lover of God.

 

Then there is Kalyâna, purity, which comprises the following: Satya,

truthfulness. He who is true, unto him the God of truth comes. Thought, word,

and deed should be perfectly true. Next Ârjava, straightforwardness, rectitude.

The word means, to be simple, no crookedness in the heart, no double-dealing.

Even if it is a little harsh, go straightforward, and not crookedly. Dayâ, pity,

compassion. Ahimsâ, not injuring any being by thought, word, or deed. Dâna,

charity. There is no higher virtue than charity. The lowest man is he whose hand

draws in, in receiving; and he is the highest man whose hand goes out in giving.

The hand was made to give always. Give the last bit of bread you have even if

you are starving. You will be free in a moment if you starve yourself to death

by giving to another. Immediately you will be perfect, you will become God.

People who have children are bound already. They cannot give away. They want to

enjoy

their children, and they must pay for it. Are there not enough children in the

world? It is only selfishness which says, " I'll have a child for myself " .

 

God is not to be reached by the weak. Never be weak. You must be strong; you

have infinite strength within you. How else will you conquer anything? How else

will you come to God? At the same time you must avoid excessive merriment,

Uddharsha, as it is called. A mind in that state never becomes calm; it becomes

fickle. Excessive merriment will always be followed by sorrow. Tears and

laughter are near kin. People so often run from one extreme to the other. Let

the mind be cheerful, but calm. Never let it run into excesses, because every

excess will be followed by a reaction.

 

These, according to Ramanuja, are the preparations for Bhakti.

 

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prashant Jalasutram