The Lord said in the Gita, "Develop a firm and unwavering devotion for me and you will become my beloved" -
Incarnations of Love,
In the world you can earn money, fortune, property, and you can get honor and prestige; You can achieve position and power. All these are the rewards and remunerations that can be obtained for your worldly works. But the Lord declared in the Gita that those were only temporary fruits. They are transitory and have no lasting value. The only thing you can get through your life here on earth that has real value, and that remains with you forever, is the love of God. Divine love is extraordinary. You cannot be quoted. It is a treasure that is evaluated beyond any measure. You must make each and every effort necessary to discover the means of acquiring that precious love of God.
God's love
God's love is unconditional. It is the same for everyone. But what should you do to experience that extraordinary love of God? What path should you follow? If you sow some seeds without first weeding and preparing the field properly, you cannot expect to get a good harvest. In the same way, in the field of the heart, unless you first remove all the bad characteristics of selfishness, you will not get a good harvest. In the Gita it is taught that the first weed that must be removed from the heart field is attachment and identification with the body. Even now, you can imagine that you love God; but merely having these thoughts will not produce any worthwhile results. It is the same as sowing good seeds in a sterile and unprepared land. The most important thing for you is to investigate if you are loved by God. Even if you love God but have not transformed your life to become loved by Him and feel His unlimited and unchanging love, then, your devotion will not take you far.
So what is the way to become loved by God? You will find the answer to this question in the Gita, in the chapter that talks about the path of devotion. The chapter on devotion gives us a number of human qualities that satisfy God. Talk about determination and firmness in the commitment to practice only spiritual teachings in your daily life. Putting a great emphasis on developing equanimity and firmness of mind under any circumstance. And it sends you to be completely happy and jubilant all the time, under all conditions. What is the internal meaning of this last decree?
The True Joy
Consider the fervent feelings you have when you sing hymns of devotion in a spiritual function. If a hymn were sung that was not well known to you and that its melody was not pleasing to your ears or if you were not pleased by the aspect of the divinity that is being sung, you would find that your feelings towards the song were not the same. You will simply follow the song with your lips automatically. What a big difference between that and the song you like, the one that comes from the bottom of your heart, emerging freely and spontaneously with great joy, and feeling the Ecstasy and devotion to God!
In the same way there is a vast difference between the temporary joys you get from this apparent world and its transitory objects and phenomena, and the true happiness that emerges from the depths of your heart. This last one is a totally different enjoyment of the temporal satisfaction you get from earthly things. The deep joy that comes from the heart is associated with the truth. Its permanent. It is set apart from all worldly interests. It represents the unity of the spirit. Because for that joy there is no possibility of change. There is nothing that can be added to true enjoyment. It is total and complete in itself.
True joy comes from equanimity. Do not get involved or attack anything of earthly importance. Use your time and effort to control the extravagant and erratic actions of the mind and develop firmness and mental stability. A stable mind; It means that you remain unaffected or unbreakable by victory or defeat, by profit or loss, by jubilation or sorrow. Accept what happens, whatever comes your way, as a gift from God, to be enjoyed with great satisfaction, considering it as a gift of love that has been given to you for your own good. When your heart is not influenced by worldly things, when you treat all people and all things, with the same equanimity, then you will experience true rejoicing. Then, your heart will be filled with feelings of love and satisfaction, and you will know the true joy of devotion.
Courage and Equanimity / Stability / Entereza / Constancia (from the dictionary we have that equanimity is: serene impartiality of judgment)
Another important quality that each devotee must possess is firmness or determination and value. It is completely natural for you to possess courage and firm determination. You can manifest those qualities in a number of ways in life. You can use these attributes to climb mountains. The same sense of adventure and courage can be used to cross the ocean or cross the wild jungle. You can work in a courageous and firm way to make a fortune, acquire property and obtain benefits. Or you can be brave and courageous and manifest those qualities in a compassionate way. You can choose to abandon all noble human and divine qualities, and instead acquire the demonic qualities. This firmness and resolution can be used the same for good as for evil. It will depend on you, the way you use them.
Early in life, the great sage Valmiki was Ratnakara, the despicable thief. At that time, he was using all his courage, courage and firmness in a diabolical way. Thanks to his association with the seven wise men, and his attention in listening to his teachings constantly advising him to repeat the name of God, he was able to transform his life, and use his strong determination and powers, for the good of humanity. Soon he had Rama's name constantly on his tongue. This is how he became the author of Ramayana the great epic that tells the life of Rama. Therefore, you should not use your courage and firmness in doing bad things or even ordinary mundane things. Instead, use your courage or courage and resolve or firmness, to acquire the grace of God.
Worship God With or Without Form
In the chapter of devotion, Krishna, exposes or explains the worship of God, both, with form and without form. The Gita compares these two modes of worship and indicates which is the best, which is the easiest and safest for the devotee at each stage of his spiritual progress. The Gita declares that it is impossible to realize the divine principle without form and without attributes except by going through the stages of worship of God with form and attributes.
As long as you have interest or attachment to your body and remain impregnated in body consciousness, you will not be able to understand and achieve the formless aspect of the Supreme. You reach the qualifications necessary to worship the formless only after you have overcome your attachment to the body, you attachment to the world, and all your other attachments. Therefore, as long as you identify yourself with the body, and think that you have a particular form, then you must also visualize God with a form. So, you begin your spiritual journey by worshiping God in a special incarnation, in which certain divine qualities are recognized. Gradually, after following this path for some time, you can change your worship practice to the formless aspect of the supreme.
In truth, the whole world is the form of God. All the things you see everywhere is the form of God. But to begin, you must focus on a particular form of God, one of the avatars or incarnations of God. These divine incarnations are associated with the physical universe. Corresponding to these physical forms are the subtle forms of God that are in the mental aspect or the subtle aspect of the universe. The physical and mental domain has to do with the senses and the mind. Transcending both the senses and the mind, there is the causal universe. This causal universe is made of the subtle manifestations of matter, potentially containing the seeds of all names and forms. This causal aspect is experienced every night in deep sleep. Here the formless aspect of the Lord can be experienced.
During the awake state the effect of the mind and the senses will be very strong because they are associated with the phenomenal world. During the dream state, associated with the subtle world, the senses do not maintain their authority over you, but the mind will be very active. In the state of deep sleep, associated with the causal world, the mind dissolves and does not understand the impressions of the senses. It is only in that state, when the mind and the senses are totally inactive, that it is possible to experience the formless aspect of divinity. But, this can even be experienced in the awake state, when the mind becomes completely calm and equanimous and the senses are kept calm and inactive. Then, you enter the causal state while awake and experience the formless aspect of divinity.
Many devotees found their spiritual experiences only in the God manifested in name and form. The manifestation with form and formlessness are both essential for a devotee. It's like having two legs to walk or having two wings to fly. To reach the final spiritual goal, to walk your passage, you must have both legs, that of form and formlessness, putting one in front of the other, so that the shaped leg helps the shapeless leg . It is important to realize that the manifestation of the Lord with form is only transitory, while the formless aspect of divinity is permanent. It is forever present, constant and invariable. Here is an example to illustrate this principle.
Only the Formless Aspect of God is the Permanent
When you come to listen to Baba give a spiritual speech, you will be with thousands of other people sitting in the temple. This will happen in the physical domain and can last for one or two hours. Associated with this experience there is an activity and a given time. But this same experience can be experienced again even after you go home. Anything you want to think about that will be there in your mind; thousand people sitting in the temple and Sai Baba giving the speech. In the external vision and in your experience in the awake state, you can see them all sitting in the temple. What happens when you are back home? You find that this temple will be in your heart and that it can be remembered in your mind at any time.
You were there for an hour, but this can become a permanent experience for you, even after you leave the ashram. Having initially had physical experience in the phenomenal world, that becomes a permanent record in the subtle universe of the mind, which can then be remembered later. As you repeatedly remember this experience and meditate on Baba's teachings, this message becomes permanently embedded in your heart.
Without first having the current experience in the temple hall, there would not have been a permanent impression in your heart that you could later experience in your mind. Once the impression has been made in the mind, there is no need, to be physically present in the temple or to see Baba physically. In the same way, once you have experienced God in the form, you will surely be able to later obtain the experience of God without Form. The form is momentary while the non-form is eternal; but the non-form will live as a permanent entity for you, only after first having had the experience of the divine form and printing it on your heart through adoration and devotion.
Consider another example. Suppose you want to teach the word 'chair' to a small child. If you simply pronounce the word 'chair', it is not clear to him what his form is. However, you can show the child a chair like this and tell him to observe it carefully. While he does that, you repeat the word 'chair'. Later, every time he sees a chair, he will remember the word associated with the way you have taught him and repeat for himself the word 'chair'. The shape of a particular chair that you use to teach him the meaning of the word may not be permanent. That chair will change, but the word 'chair' as the type of object it represents will remain. Unless he sees the temporary form, he will not learn the permanent word, 'chair'. The permanent element is understood through the temporary. Therefore, although divinity is formless, you must first associate it with a particular form to understand it.
Reassure your Mind Worshiping Divinity with Form
To begin, many people do not have firm faith in the existence of God. Most of the time their minds will be undecided, and they will ask, “Does God really exist? Is it true that there is a God? An iron resolution is completely essential to cultivate a constant faith in God. You can go from a restless mind to a calm mind with a firm faith, only through the process of worshiping divinity with form. Consider a small example more.
Here we have a pillow filled with unprocessed loose cotton. What does the pillow cover? A piece of cloth. What is the content of this fabric? Cotton. So externally, you have a piece of cloth and internally there is cotton. But in fact, the internal and the external are both cotton. The formless cotton has taken the form of thread, and this thread has become a fabric, and this fabric is covering the loose cotton without form. The fabric that is formed is the form, and the loose cotton without processing is the non-form or without form. From the formless to the form and then from the form to the formless, these are the transformations that divinity makes. To have a pillow you cannot use formless cotton only. So, you must turn the cotton into cloth and with that cloth, having form you can then cover the shapeless cotton inside.
In the same way, divinity in its form aspect and its formless aspect are exactly the same. Both are essential. Through the temporary form you become aware of the permanent non-form. As long as you still identify yourself in terms of body-consciousness and feel that who you are is related to your body, it will be impossible for you to renounce the aspect of form. As your mind becomes calm and just, rooted in faith, and you go beyond the body-consciousness, you will be able to experience the permanent formless aspect of the divinity.
Worship the Formless God in your Heart
Traditionally, in worshiping God with form, get to get involved in many types of worship rituals. You can offer flowers to the Lord, you can bathe his statue with holy water, you can burn incense or use other forms of worship. This will give you satisfaction. Worshiping the form of the Lord externally with various sacred articles gives us satisfaction. But, once you establish God within your heart, then he will worship him through the flowers of your heart. After the body-consciousness and the illusion associated with it is destroyed, then the divinity, which you previously worshiped externally in form, with flowers and various external articles of worship, will now become established in its appearance formless in the depths of your heart, and you will want to adore it with the sweet flowers of your feelings. This will bring you true permanent joy.
While you are worshiping the Lord with form, you will use physical flowers, such as roses, daisies and jasmine. They are all transitory and the body you are worshiping is also transitory. But if you want to worship God without form in your heart, then the flowers are different. The flowers will be permanent. These flowers are the noble qualities that you develop in your heart and you offer them to the Lord. They are the flowers of nonviolence, of the restriction of the senses, of truth, of patience and tolerance, of perseverance, of love and compassion, of charity and sacrifice. All these flowers are made for the purpose of internal worship. To rise to worship the formless principle, you will have to develop those heart flowers and use them in your worship. Then you will experience the ineffable and permanent joy of the spirit, and you will enter the path or passage that leads you to your home and your divine origin.
Internal Peace and Contentment or Satisfaction
In chapter XII of the Gita, Krishna taught the essential characteristics that a true devotee must possess. Those are the qualities you have to develop if you want to be loved by God. To begin, if you want to be a devotee of God you have to develop inner peace and a firm resolution. You should always be happy. You should never give room to worry or let any pain enter and trouble your heart.
The great sacred scripture of consecration called Bhagavatam, gives the example of Prahlada as the ideal devotee, who possessed all those qualities. When the demons gave problems to Prahlada, who was the son of the Devil himself, Prahlada never allowed any pain to touch his heart, no matter how many difficulties and afflictions he was going through. He continued repeating the name of the Lord and taking refuge in Him as his protector and savior. Prahlada never shed a tear in the midst of all those problems. Therefore, Prahlada has been described as one who was fully established in union with the Lord. Even though he was living in the phenomenal world and had form, he did not allow any desire or attachment to enter his heart.
Love everyone
For a true devotee there must be no diabolical characteristics such as hate, jealousy, fury or selfishness. These are the main obstacles that stand in the way of developing devotion. You must develop a sense of unity with everyone. If you develop hatred of anyone, you will be hating the same Lord you worship. It is because of your inflated ego that you take action on others, in the course of which, hate, zeal and fury arise. Therefore, the main warning given by the Gita is, "Do not show hatred towards any being."
Without tearing the weeds from the field and preparing it for cultivation, the seeds will not produce a good crop. In the same way, without removing the bad weeds of the ego within your heart, all attempts at spiritual practice will be useless. The most important thing on the path of devotion that must be learned is that you must not only love God but also all beings, treat each one as God. Worshiping God while harming others cannot be called devotion. That only reveals the depth of one's ignorance. Such people will never progress on the spiritual path.
In the days ahead you will learn the ways in which you can develop your faith and through your good deeds sanctify your life. It is through the development of these desirable qualities and by practicing them in your daily life, that you will bring forth and obtain, the love and grace of the Lord.
Sent by:
LUIS ALVAREZ
teaching message of SRI SHATYA SAI BABA
OM UPS RAM
