Children, we fret over many matters today. If we sustain a cut on our hand, just gazing at the wound or crying is not going to heal it. In fact, it will become infected if we do not do something about it. Therefore, we should clean the wound and apply medicine on it. Brooding over various things, and thus increasing our tension has become a habit. Children, you should realise how adversely tension affects both body and mind. Stress is the cause of many diseases.
One can enjoy a reprieve only through surrender. God lessens our burden when we surrender our problems to Him. Actually, nothing happens according to our will. There is no guarantee whatsoever that we will take the next breath. Therefore, the only thing we can do is to work, surrendering all action to Him. However, we should act without the sense of ‘doership’. Instead, we should act with the awareness that we are doing so with His power. We should work, seeing it as worship of the Almighty. This is the attitude of surrender that we must cultivate.
God resides in everyone as the antaryami, the indweller. He speaks to us every moment with utmost love, gentleness and simplicity, but we lack the patience to lend our ears to Him. We do not have ears that listen to God. We thus err time and again, and suffer. We must foster the attitude of a disciple so that we can heed and obey Him. When our discipleship awakens, when we are ready to obey and approach Him with faith, development, love and humility, then He will assume the attitude of a Guru and be prepared to lead us.
Arjuna and Lord Krishna were close friends, like brothers, in fact. But the Lord never dispensed the wisdom of the Gita to him then. He only did so when Arjuna developed the attitude of a disciple. Hence, we ought to develop the same attitude. Discipleship is nothing other than surrender. When one truly becomes a disciple, everything in the universe becomes a Guru; every experience becomes a Guru. If we do not have this attitude, we will not learn anything, no matter how many experiences we have.
Amma remembers the story of Radha. When Krishna left Vrindavan for Mathura, He did not take Radha or any of the other gopis (milkmaids) with Him. This made them all very sad. At this time, Udhava, who had arrived at Vrindavan from Mathura, told Radha, “The Lord received messages from the other gopis, asking Him to return to Vrindavan or to take them with Him to Mathura. You alone did not send Him any such message. Why?”
Radha said, “When the master of the house leaves, he might or might not take his servant with him. What will the servant do if his master does not take him? He will clean the house and its surroundings, discharge all the duties that his master has entrusted him, and then wait for him. I am Lord’s servant. He has the authority to decide whether or not to take me with Him. If He had taken me with Him, I would have known no higher joy.
At the same time, I have not become despondent because He did not. I am waiting for Him, having purified the temple of my heart and having lit the lamp of love therein. That is my duty as a servant. And that is why I have no message in particular to send to the Lord.”This is the kind of attitude we ought to have towards God. This is the hallmark of a real devotee—the attitude of a servant. We can realise the Self only through surrender.The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader