It is important to surrender these desires at the lotus feet of the Lord. Unlike human which is extremely limited by time and space, (we cannot for example even see our noses!), God is able to see and understand what is in front of us (the future) and what is behind us (the past).
We should therefore cast our burden at His feet and allow Him to make the decisions concerning our lives. In such surrender, we are granted not what we necessarily desire but what we need.
Substance of discourse on 26 August 2009
This is a brief summary of Swamiji’s discourse delivered in the Sivan Kovil in Lewisham in London. During this satsang
Swamiji gave very powerful and heart touching messages to the audience. Some key messages included the following:
People wander around holy places such as temples, rivers and mountains to find God but none are able to discover Him.
God actually resides inside you. Some believe that the deity they worship alone is God, or the Absolute.
We need to realise the fact that it is human beings who construct temples, it is human beings who install and consecrate the deities, and it is again human beings who worship these deities by invoking the chaitanya or the living presence of God in them.
Therefore, it is important for us to first understand, value and respect human beings.
It is this respect for other human beings that leads us eventually to God. God resides within us and not outside us. Every act of ours in our daily life must become a sadhana (spiritual practice).
We must be like the Sage Narada who is ever engrossed in prayer to Lord Vishnu or Sudama, who was ever constant in his prayer to Lord Krishna. All prayer cleanses us. It is therefore desirable to engage in constant prayer.
A husband should do seva (service) to his wife, very similar to the kind of service you perform to Lord Shiva in this Sivan temple. Similarly, a wife should perform service to her husband. Only then will Lord Shiva be happy for the worship you have rendered and the offerings you have brought here.
Parents are happy only when they see their children happy. Children are likewise happy only when they see their parents happy. Lord Shiva is pleased only when He sees all His children performing their duties diligently and engaging in selfless service in their daily life. He is happy when He sees His children united in prayer. Under such circumstances, His grace falls on us without being asked. We should control our anger.
We read in the puranas that when Lord Shiva was in His tandava bhava (angry mood), Parvathi Devi did not react to Him in the same aggressive way. Instead, she went into tapas by being silent and prayed to Lord Shiva to calm down. We should also practice the same qualities in our own daily life.
Be it a husband or wife, one has to how down to the needs of the other to ensure that harmony prevails at all times. We are born naked and we also die naked. A short span obtained in the inter in (our life) during which we must be consciously or unconsciously devoted to serving others. It is only on deeper introspection that we realise that we are actually serving our parents, children, friends, siblings or society.”
The article is taken from the book The Global Mission of Sadguru Sri Sharavana Baba