God Is Like a Wish Fulfilling Tree

One may have learned the quintessence of all Vedas. He may have learned the Vedanta and Vedangas. He may be living in kingly mansions. He may have won great victories on the battlefield and may also have conquered the goddess of wealth. All this will be useless if he has no devotion to God. He will be a much better person if he has devotion to God than even the king of the land. What other truth can I convey to you?

Like the Kalpataru, the tree that fulfills all your desires, there is a God who can fulfill all your desires. It is much better to reach the lotus feet of this God than commit sin and go to hell, which is unbearable.

Pavitratmaswarupas:

Devotion to God is the only path for salvation. For the sorrows of birth and of death, which accompany you in this world, God's name is the only solution. We can describe devotion as the promotion of a sacred mind in a selfless manner in the thought of God. The path of devotion will take you, along with your mind, body, and action, towards God. As the river flows into the ocean, the river of your life should flow into the ocean of God. Human nature should have this as the sacred objective. Truly, having attained human birth, if we are unable to take ourselves toward God, it is useless to have attained this birth. Although there are several paths of devotion, the Vedas have told us that there are three main ones amongst them. The first one is described as the path of pusti (full or complete) bhakti. The second one is described as the path of maryada (limited) bhakti. The third one is the path of pravaha (empty or heedless) bhakti.

Pusti-bhakti can be explained by saying that it enables you directly to attain the grace of God, without the help of the normal purusharthas. By accumulating the good that you have done in all your lives, you have been able to acquire devotion to God. Such a path is the path of pusti-bhakti. One can also describe it as one of total surrender to God. Such a person will always regard all that he does as being done for God and by His grace. Prahlada and Radha are the best examples of this category of devotion. They have shown what pusti-bhakti should be. They had such devotion from their very birth and they did not require the help of elders, nor did they have to do any sadhana. They earned the grace of the Lord and enjoyed great bliss. Amongst women, Radha and amongst the men, Prahlada are shining examples and their lives have the specific purpose of being noble examples to all other human beings. Prahlada never left the name of God – whether in a state of difficulties and sorrow, or in a state of comfort and pleasure, he was always thinking of God.

This devotion of Prahlada and Radha may also be described as the path generally taken by a cat. The mother cat will take the kitten to a place of safety. The kitten will always look for the mother cat to come and take them to another safe place. By themselves, they will not move from their place at all. They will not make any attempt to do anything on their own. The mother cat will take care of all their wants and requirements. All the comforts for the kitten will be provided by the mother cat. In the same manner, Prahlada felt that God will take care of his safety and he totally surrendered himself to God. Radha was also like this. She was always looking for the grace of Krishna. So long as you have attachments, you will never understand what really belongs to you. It is only when all attachments are given up, that you will realize this truth. Prahlada and Radha were devotees, who had learned this great truth and had exterminated the ego in them. Bliss was their true form.

Divyatma-swarupas:

In the totality of this cosmic power, an individual is a very small part. When man wants to love himself, he cannot avoid loving others. Only when he can love others is he entitled to love himself. In that context, even if you forget what is good for others, you will have to recognize the nature of divinity. Love of divinity will gradually take a form, in which you will love yourself. This kind of devotion, which is pure love of God, must be practiced by every individual. Such individuals have been described as individuals with pusti-bhakti.

The second category has been named maryada-bhakti. Individuals who are well-versed in Vedas and who go to the elders and by getting their grace, achieve the path of devotion, may be described as people who have maryada-bhakti. They practice the purusharthas, namely dharma, artha, kama, and moksha and thereby, understand the aspect of love of divinity. The four purusharthas are divided into two parts for daily practice. They put dharma and artha together and kama and moksha together. They believe that artha or wealth must be acquired in a dharmic manner. They also recognized that wealth is necessary for dharma. They realized that one should seek moksha or liberation. This category of devotees believed that all creation is like a dream and is unreal. Such people have been earning the grace of the Lord by their own effort and have been described as individuals with maryada-bhakti.

The third category is pravaha-bhakti. In a stream, when water moves away from one place, more water comes to that place. There is always a state of motion. These people do not have any devotion or faith. They are devoid of devotion and will always seek the pleasures of the world. This aspect has also been aptly described by Shankara in the following words, “To be born again and die again, and take repeated births for the purpose of repeatedly dying, even animals have this kind of life cycle.” We must first recognize that it is useless to be continually taking birth in this endless cycle of births and deaths.

There used to be a very notorious thief. This thief had served his sentence in the jail and was informed that he would be released the next day. He was asked to pack up his belongings and be ready. To this, the thief said that, it would be better for him to leave his belongings in the jail, as he was going to come back very shortly. Although he had spent so much time in jail, he did not realize that he should not come back to prison. He was always committing wrong and coming back to the same place. This is the characteristic feature of pravaha-bhakti. Truly, your life would be a waste, if there is no devotion in it. This category of pravaha-bhakti is like the thief. It is like committing theft again and again and repeatedly going back to prison. Man takes birth, wastes his life in useless things, and takes birth again, and repeats the same cycle.

Truly, in Bharat, because of different religions, our attitudes are also becoming very confusing. All the religions have been teaching only good things. No religion teaches us to speak untruth, be unkind, or disrespect our parents. The religions may be different with regard to the particular aspects of God, about which we really do not know, but in regard to what we know or how we should conduct ourselves, all religions have been teaching the same thing. All religions have been telling the same thing in relation to worldly conduct. All religions have agreed that it is good to be able to sing the glory of God. This kind of sacred bliss is the quality of the atma. All the noble qualities, like speaking truth, loving others, etc. are generated from the atma as the source.

It has become the fashion in this age of Kali, to give up what comes from the sacred atma. We accept and do things, which are forbidden by atma. What has been forbidden by the shastras is being accepted. In fact, this has become normal with people. Some others in this modern age have been arguing that there is nothing like religion. If man has no religion, he will become one without a mind. Students should recognize that everyone with a mind should have a religion. All the leaders who want to propagate that there is no religion, end up creating a new religion. They do not recognize the truth that even to say that there is no religion, is creating a new religion itself.

What we may call religion is something, which comes from within. Religion is not a bundle of rituals, by which we forbid people from doing this or that. Only when we can recognize this basic truth will it be possible for us to lead good lives. There are many people who are following the wrong path. It is wrong to follow and imitate someone, who is an ordinary human being. Today, students must realize this. This aspect of imitation is a sign of weakness. There is a small example for this.

There is a seed and it is blossoming out. You water it every day and protect it. Gradually, it becomes a tiny plant. The seed takes the form of a plant with the help of water and manure. However, when the seed becomes a plant, it does not imitate the water, the soil, or the manure. It will not change its natural form. It will grow into a tree. So also, while we may join several people and work with them, we should not change our natural behavior. You can make an attempt to absorb the good qualities. The sacred path is that, in which you will not change your own nature, but you will accept all the good that is found in others. When we face a problem, we should carefully examine and see how we can solve the problem.

Happiness or bliss is our nature. Because we give up this path, we run into all kinds of difficulties. There is an example for this. If the child in a cradle plays happily, the mother will not be surprised. In the thought that the child is playing happily, the mother will go and attend to other things. If the child, however, is unhappy or crying, the mother will rush to the child to see if there is an ant or an insect in the cradle. This shows that being happy is the natural feature and being sorry or unhappy is unnatural. It is natural for everything that is born to die. For such a natural thing as death, we are feeling sorry. For unnatural conduct on our part, we feel happy. There is a small example for this. If there is a small puncture in a cycle tire or car tire, all the air that is present will go out. This is natural, but in a man’s body, there are at least ten big punctures and air is constantly going out and coming in. How natural is this situation? Our body is all the time being reborn. Taking such a transient life, we are building castles in the air and thinking that they are permanent. In this process, we are forgetting the permanent and sacred aspect of the atma. Wealth and fame are necessary, but these are all ancillaries. They do not constitute the base. When divinity is present in you, these will be useful ancillaries. The confluence of all these makes up man’s nature.

For these ancillaries, the aspect of the atma is like the central heart. It is often said that, there cannot be a village without a temple, nor a human body without a heart. Our body along with all the accessories, should be regarded as a village and a heart filled with spirituality is to be regarded as the temple in that village. We should recognize the truth that these two are inextricably connected with each other.

So also, we should have health and material possessions and having had them, we should know how to make good use of them. We should accept some discipline and limitation. Too much of anything and unlimited conduct is not good. We need food, but we should take it in limits. We need water, but we should take it in limits. If we transgress these disciplinary limitations, it will cause a disease. In our body also, there is a 98.4 degrees temperature. If what should be 98.4 degrees becomes 99 degrees, we say that fever has started. Even if there is a little more heat than required, it means that a disease has started. In the same manner, wealth, anger, temper, and all qualities should be within limits. We must put these qualities along a useful path.

Today, you call yourselves students. What is the use if we cannot be of service to others? We must make an attempt to acquire the obedience and humility that go with education and put them into practice. Having acquired knowledge and wisdom, if we take a wrong path, what is the use of our education? Today, people are not having pusti-bhakti or maryada-bhakti, or pravaha-bhakti. They are showing Lakshmi-bhakti, or devotion to wealth. There is a small story.

On one occasion, Lakshmi and Narayana were conversing with each other. Usually, women have too many doubts and hesitations. This is their weakness. When this weakness enters them, some amount of ego and anger also comes to them. Because of this ego and anger, an amount of jealousy will start. Lakshmi was in this situation. Here, you should not think that Lakshmi also has these weaknesses. In order to teach the people and set an example, such stories are created. Lakshmi in fact, has shown an ideal example of womanhood.

Potana, the Telugu poet described an occasion, when Lakshmi and Narayana were playing the game of chess, in which there are pawns, horses, and elephants. By the use of her horses, Lakshmi trapped an elephant. At the same time, the king elephant, Gajendra, was seeking Narayana’s help. Immediately, Narayana shouted that He would come and rescue Gajendra. To this, Lakshmi said that, He cannot do so. She was thinking of the game of chess and the trapped elephant. As this was going on, Narayana got up and left the place. Here, the poet beautifully described the conduct and humility of Lakshmi. Lakshmi was in great confusion. She wanted to ask Her husband where He was going. She took a step forward and a step backward in hesitation. She did not want to disturb Her husband. In that confusion, Her hair got disheveled. Truly, the women of those days had great devotion and respect for their husbands and behaved with great humility.

Here, talking about the situation in the world, Lakshmi told Narayana that there were more people in the world, who were devotees of Lakshmi. Narayana said that, this was not true and that, the devotees who showed more faith in Lakshmi, were only behaving superficially. Actually, people who sought true bliss, were indeed devoted to Narayana. Lakshmi did not agree with this and said that, She would take a bet on this issue. Both of Them started on a tour to find the truth.

Narayana took the role of a great pandit. He had a very convincing way of preaching and left an indelible impression on the minds of the people. He went into the world, teaching Vedas and shastras. Lakshmi also took the form of a yogini and went to the same places, to which Narayana went. She adopted a novel procedure. If anyone invited the yogini to his house, she used to insist on some procedures. She said that, she would not eat from plates belonging to others. She insisted on carrying her own plates made of gold and she made it a practice to leave these golden plates in the household, after eating her meal. In this manner, because she was leaving these golden plates, the people who invited her became very large in number. In fact, she did not have any leisure or respite, because of the growing number of invitations. She wanted to make good use of her popularity. She also insisted that she would go to a particular village, only if the villagers turned away the scholar who was visiting their village.

As the propaganda intensified in this manner, Narayana was not welcomed in any village. In fact, there was no one who would even give Him a meal. In this way, Lakshmi’s popularity increased day after day. After this drama went on for some time, Lakshmi and Narayana met and Lakshmi asked Narayana if He would accept that Her devotees were indeed more in number. This is indeed the situation in this Kali-yuga. The devotees of Lakshmi are becoming many in number. Devotees going after siri (wealth) are becoming many, but devotees going after Hari are becoming fewer.

People show their devotion only for exhibitionism, but in fact, they have no devotion at all. When Swami is here, everyone is quiet and disciplined. When Swami goes out, there is neither silence, nor discipline. Our discipline should be connected with our whole life and not with one place and one time. To whatever place you may go and whatever the situation may be, you must maintain discipline. This kind of faith is true faith. Just as our breath always keeps going in and out, so also our discipline should become our breath and be with us wherever we go and whatever we do. Many people come and talk about God, as if it is for exhibition. In reality, so long as your heart is not clean, God will have no place in your heart. Devotees should not feel jealous, when they look at others who are better off, or hate others because they are better off. You cannot call yourself a devotee, if you simply do puja or japa. We should prepare our heart in such a manner that we can earn the grace of the Lord. You should know that love is not a one-way traffic. You must learn that your entire life must be surrendered to God. What exists is only one. Truth is one. If there are two things, it cannot be truth.

Young students must learn to pray to God at least twice a day, while doing the duties entrusted to them. If we desire to drink sweet water and if we put salt in it instead of sugar, how can the water taste sweet? Thinking that salt and sugar have the same color, if we put in salt, we will not get the sweetness. We should learn to control the bad qualities. In every human being, divinity is present to some extent. We should learn to bring out this devotion.

In this tumbler, there is water and at the bottom of the water, there is sugar. If we drink the water from the surface, it will be tasteless. If we stir it nicely and then drink it, the water will taste sweet. There was sugar even earlier, but when we stirred the sugar, it spread everywhere and gave us the sweetness. So also, in the tumbler of our heart, there is the sweet sugar in the form of divinity. Because we do not recognize this divinity, we experience only the superficial, worldly pleasures. But, if we use our buddhi as a spoon and stir the sugar with the help of sadhana, then there will be sweetness everywhere. Therefore, if you perform sadhana materially and spiritually, you will taste sweetness, but we do not do this. When we talk of God, we talk nicely and say nice things, but we go on deceiving people in actual life. Even if others do not know your deceit, does not God know your true nature?

Thus, external show is not important. Whatever you want to do, you must do it from the depths of your heart. From ancient times, such external devotion in the form of ritual was promoted and we are unable to show the real strength of inner devotion. Bhakti does not consist of having a photo for worship and giving it arati every day, or shouting, “*Baba, Baba!*” True bhakti means that there must be a transformation in your behavior. God is within you, around you, and in you. He is omnipresent. Recognizing this truth, you must arrive at the result that you and God are one.

This is the truth that you must realize. Performing such sadhana and recognizing this truth, students should undertake to spread the spiritual glory of our country. It is only when you achieve this objective and bring about a transformation in yourself, that your stay here for the last one month will have been useful and purposeful. You should enjoy bliss and also be able to transfer such bliss to others, with whom you come into contact. You should try and develop into people with pusti-bhakti or maryada-bhakti. You should not have pravaha-bhakti.

It is not as if you do not know the current situation in the world. Wherever you go, qualities like untruth, unkindness, hatred, and jealousy are becoming prominent. At such a time, students like you armed with weapons of kindness, forbearance, love, and patience, must enter society and bring about a social transformation.

You should give happiness to your parents. In the traditions of our country, it is said that, you should give happiness to your father and your mother. Only when you are able to do this will you have achieved something. It is only when you can put such ideals into practice that you will have learned something. Students, boys and girls, you should do all your work with the thought of God in your minds. I bless you that you get this strength.