Make Your Heart Pure To Install God In It

The human body is like an iron almirah which has little value. Just as valuable jewels are kept in the iron almirah, God resides in man as the Atma. Understand this truth, oh sons of Bharat.

(Telugu Poem)

Develop Broad Vision To Realise God’s Omnipresence

Embodiments of Love!

Each heart is the temple of God. Tyagaraja said that the same God is present in an ant as well as Brahma. He declared that God as Satchidananda (Being, Awareness, Bliss) is present in all living beings. He prayed to Rama:

Oh Rama! In Your pure and unsullied form of love, You indwell all beings from an ant to Brahma as also in Shiva and Kesava. Please be my protector too.

(Telugu Song)

In spite of knowing that God is present in everybody, modern man makes mistakes and commits sins. He investigates everything in the external world but does not examine his own nature. If we want to know who is greater, God or His devotee, we should make a thorough investigation. Krishnamurthy spoke about Pariprashna.

Pariprashna is not only question and answer; it connotes prayer to God to clarify our doubts. Sage Narada, born out of Brahma’s mind, had once got this doubt. He went to Lord Narayana and said, “Oh Lord! You are present everywhere. You reside in all living beings. All names and forms are Yours. Your glory and greatness are beyond all descriptions.” Lord Narayana then said, “Narada! You are mistaken; I am not so great as described by you. I am subservient to My devotees. In the same way, everybody should pray that he should be permitted to be the servant of God’s servants as I always serve those who serve Me.”

God Resides In The Heart Of His Devotee

Lord Narayana then asked Narada, “Narada! You travel throughout the world. What do you think is the greatest thing in the world?” Narada replied, “Earth is the greatest.” Then Lord Narayana remarked, “Three-fourth of the earth is enveloped with water. In such a case, which of the two is greater?” Narada agreed that water was greater. Lord Narayana said, “But Sage Agastya drank up the ocean in a single gulp. So, is Agastya greater or water?” Narada replied, “You are right, my Lord, Agastya is greater than water.” Lord Narayana asked again, “But, this Agastya is a tiny star in the sky (Akasha). Now, is this star greater or the sky?” Narada replied, “It is the sky that is greater.” The Lord agreed and said, “Your understanding is correct. The sky indeed is greater. In His incarnation as Vamana, the Lord asked for three steps from King Bali. And in the course of taking the gift of three steps, Vamana assumed the form of Trivikrama and covered the entire earth in one step, and the sky in the second, and there was no room for the third step. King Bali had to offer his head for the third step. So, now, is God greater or the sky?” Narada replied, “Swami, when the mere foot of the Lord covers the entire sky, how much greater His full form would be? God indeed is greater.” “God, who envelops the entire cosmos dwells in the heart of His Bhakta (devotee). So, now, is the heart of the devotee greater or God?” asked Lord Narayana. Narada replied, “Indeed, the devotee’s heart is greater than God.”

Narada had finally to admit that the devotee of the Lord was even greater than the Lord Himself. Hence, the devotee ranks first in importance over everything, surpassing even the Lord. Though God has an immeasurable form, He resides in the heart of His devotee. Hence, the heart of the devotee is supreme where God resides. So, the devotee should not consider himself weak or inferior. He is greater than even God as God is the servant of the devotee. Therefore, the devotee should install God in his heart. If he gets hold of God with love, he will have control over the whole world. The devotee should therefore make his heart totally pure in order to install God in his heart. Then only can he experience his oneness with God. The devotee should pray thus:

Oh God! Were You a tree, growing upwards, 
I would cling to You like a creeper; 
Were You a blossoming flower, 
I would hover over You like a bee; 
Were You the mountain Meru, 
I would cascade like a waterfall; 
Were You the boundless sky, 
I would be in You like a star; 
Were You the bottomless deep ocean, 
I would merge in You like a river.

(Telugu Poem)

This is the intimate relationship that exists between God and His devotee. When the flower blooms, it does not invite the honeybee. The honeybee itself goes to the flower to suck honey from it. Similarly, the ocean does not invite the river to merge in it. The river itself rushes towards the ocean to merge in it and become one with it. In the same way, God does not ask the devotee to merge in Him; the devotee himself seeks God to merge in Him. This is the closeness that exists between God and the devotee. There can be no devotee without God and there can be no God without the devotee.

But ignorant persons think that God is stone-hearted and so He puts us to severe tests. But God does not have even an iota of harshness. He is softer than even butter. It is the delusion of man that makes him think that God is hard-hearted. He is the embodiment of compassion. Butter is very soft; even a little heat can melt it. God’s heart is soft like butter. Your love is the heat that can melt it. So, first of all, man should develop love. Love develops when man combines the Name and Form of God. The heat of love is not created when the Name and Form are separate. When the Name and Form rub against each other, the heat of love is generated. Therefore, when man combines Name and Form and performs Sadhana, the heat of love is created fast. Nothing melts God’s heart more than the sincere devotion of the devotee.

Formless God Can Be Seen With The Eye Of Wisdom

A true devotee of God realises that God is present everywhere. Once a priest of a Shiva temple went to the temple to perform the worship of Lord Shiva, carrying with him all the material for worship. The priest saw a Yogi lying down in the temple keeping both his feet on the Linga and his head on the Nandi (the bull, Shiva’s vehicle). Seeing this, the priest was highly enraged and thought that he could not be a sane person, but a madman. The priest asked him, “Hey! Have you lost your sense? Why are you keeping your feet on the Shiva Linga?” The Yogi replied, “Tell me a place where there is no God so that I can keep my feet there.” In his anger, the priest asked, “Should you keep your feet on Ishvara?” Saying this, the priest shifted the Yogi’s feet to another place. As he did so, a Shiva Lingam appeared there. The priest went on shifting the legs of the Yogi from one place to another. But wherever he turned the Yogi’s feet, a Shiva Lingam manifested there. In this way, the Yogi taught the lesson to the priest that God is everywhere. One cannot say, God is here and not there. One should develop broad vision to realize the omnipresence of God and one’s heart is the temple of God. God resides in the heart of His devotee.

Once Narada got a doubt and he asked Lord Narayana, “Oh Lord! I extol You always and sing Your glory. But I have a doubt. Please tell me Your permanent address, so that people in the world should know this.” Lord Narayana replied: Madbhaktah yatra gayante, tatra tishthami Narada (I reside where My devotees sing My glories, Narada). Kailasa and Vaikuntha are My branch offices. The heart of My devotee is My head office.”

Mira says, “Maharana has closed the door of the temple. Oh mind, proceed towards Ganga and Yamuna.” She sang: Chalo Re Man Ganga Yamuna Teer, Ganga Yamuna Nirmal Pani, Seetal Hota Sareer (Oh mind! Go to the banks of the Ganga and Yamuna; the water of Ganga and Yamuna is pure; it will make the body cool and serene). Ganga and Yamuna symbolise the subtle channels in the body, Ida and Pingala which meet at the center of the two eyebrows. This is the place of Ajna Chakra, the sixth plexus in the body. It is here that the devotee realises God. The cool water of Ganga and Yamuna signifies pure love and devotion of the devotee. The physical form of God can be seen with one’s physical eyes, but the formless God can be seen only with the eye of wisdom (the third eye in the center of the forehead). We go to the temple with flowers, fruits, and coconut. We travel a long distance to reach there. But when we stand before the sanctum sanctorum, we close our eyes. Why do we close our eyes? We close our eyes because we want to see the formless God which can be seen by the eye of wisdom. When we close our eyes, we develop inner vision.

There is no temple other than the human body. Deho devalayah proktah jivo devah sanatanah (the body is a temple and the indweller is God). The body is the temple and the consciousness is God. One should develop love to know consciousness, the indweller. Initially, one may have to face obstacles to develop inner vision. But if you surrender to God and continue your Sadhana with determination, you can experience your divinity. As you withdraw from worldly material life, God will come nearer and nearer to you. Even if you try to escape from God, He will rush to catch you. God considers that His children are going astray; He advances to transform them. But worldly people misunderstand the ways of God.

The life of man in the world is beset with all sorts of worries.

To be born is a worry, to be on the earth is a worry; world is a cause of worry and death too; entire childhood is a worry and so is the old age; life is a worry, failure is a worry; all actions and difficulties cause worry; even happiness too is a mysterious worry. Devotion to Swami alone will put an end to all your worries. Oh people! Develop such devotion and love.

(Telugu Poem)

Develop Devotion To God To Get Rid Of Worries

Man’s birth, life on earth, childhood, family life, old age, death, and even happiness are full of worries. How to live in this world? How to get educated? How to be successful in examinations? All are worries only. Man thinks if he passes the examination, if he gets married, if his daughter is married, then he will be happy. But his happiness is temporary; it is also beset with worry only. Therefore, his happiness is also a worry. Man tries to fulfill his material desires but he never attains permanent happiness. His every action is full of worries only. In whatever way he engages himself to be successful in his endeavors, everything takes the form of worry. Suppose he makes a plan to build a house. He will be worried whether the house will be built properly or not. Will money be available or not? Will he be alive till the house is completed? Everything is ready for the marriage including the Mangal Sutra. In spite of all, man is the victim of worry. Old age is a big worry for man. Man tries to develop devotion to God at last in his old age to get rid of his worries. He should therefore develop devotion to God. Then all his worries will leave him; they will vanish. Man himself creates worries in all his endeavors in life. If he has devotion to God, he will have no worries.

Experience Unity By Removing The Walls Of Ego And Attachment

Man will experience unity when he broadens his vision and develops large-heartedness. The entire world is like a big mansion and all the countries are like various rooms of the mansion. When we build a house, we demarcate various rooms in it. First the bedroom, next to it is the kitchen, next is the shrine room, adjacent to it is the dining hall, and next the drawing room. We give different names to the rooms of the house. All the rooms appear to be separate. What is the reason? The reason is that there are walls between them. If the walls are removed, the bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining hall, etc., will vanish. Then only one big hall will be there. The world is also like a big hall. But man has divided it by raising the walls of Ahamkaram and Mamakaram (ego and attachment). When he removes the walls of ego and attachment and develops faith in God, man will realize the principle of unity and divinity. Therefore, man should develop a large heart. Then only will the divine thoughts of unity arise in it. Divine thoughts cannot develop in a narrow heart.

Man today has lost his freedom like a caged parrot. How can a caged parrot be happy? When the parrot is released from the cage, it will fly in a wide forest. Man can achieve liberty and freedom only when he develops love for God. Then only will he achieve victory. This victory will lay the foundation of many other victories. Therefore, develop love for God in order to be victorious in all your endeavors. Then whatever you are searching for will lie at your feet. You need not even search for God if you are full of Prema (love). God is not greater than His devotee. When the devotee develops love and devotion for God, God will submit Himself to the devotee.

There is a garden inside a fort with seven ramparts. Man can reach the garden when he lights the lamp of truth and sings the glory of God. The seven ramparts that prevent man from entering the garden are: ego, anger, lust, greed, delusion, hatred, and jealousy. If you sing the glory of God, He will appear before you and show you the way. When man surrenders to God, leaving both ego and attachment, he will find the royal road to reach Him. Thinking incessantly of God, chanting His Name every moment, man should live like a creeper which entwines around a tree, thus achieving oneness with God.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the Bhajan “Rama Rama Rama Sita…”)

– Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 28th April 1996.