Some people say, “For years, I have been visiting temples without fail, and yet, I am poor and my sorrows have not left me. Sometimes, I even wonder why I should call out to God.”
Do we really rely on God? If we did, we would prosper both materially and spiritually. No mahatma has ever starved to death. The life of one who has surrendered to God will never be sorrowful. People might ask if Kucela did not suffer from poverty. This is not totally correct. He had no time to grieve as he was always immersed in thoughts of God. His innocent love for God gave him the strength to remain joyful even in the midst of crippling poverty. His surrender released him from poverty and drew prosperity into his life.
None of us go to temples just for the sake of having the Lord’s darshan. Even when we stand before God, we tell him only worldly things. Our devotion is not pure and selfless; we pray only to fulfil desires. It is not that we should not have desires, but our love for God should surpass our interest in fulfilling these desires.
Once, Lord Krishna was sitting by the banks of the Yamuna with the gopis, who were listening in rapture to his sweet utterances. He asked them, “What do you do when you encounter sorrows and difficulties?” One gopi said, “I will pray to you, O Lord, to remove my sorrows.” Another gopi said, “I will pray to you, O Lord, to be always by my side. Even if the summer heat is scorching, one will not feel its intensity if there is a cool breeze blowing. Likewise, when the Lord is with me, none of the hardships of life will affect me.”
Yet another gopi said, “When sufferings come, I will pray to the Lord for strength to overcome them.”
Radha was listening silently to these responses. The Lord asked her, “O Radha, why are you silent? How will you face suffering?”
“I will meditate on the Lord within. I will remember him in my heart.”
“Don’t you pray for anything?” “When your form shines brightly in my heart, where is the place for sorrow? When light dawns, darkness is naturally dispelled.”
A true devotee never bothers about hardships in life. Completely surrendered to God, she remains without worry, like a child resting in her mother’s lap. Love is not something that can be taught by someone or learned from somewhere. But in the presence of a perfect master we can feel it and, in due course, develop it, because a Satguru creates the necessary circumstances for love to grow within us.
These circumstances created by the guru will be so beautiful and unforgettable that we will truly cherish these moments as something precious and invaluable. They will remain as a sweet memory forever and ever. One incident of this kind will create a big wave of love in us. More incidents like this created by the guru will make a chain of exhilarating memories, which will produce waves of love within us, until at last there will be only love. Through these circumstances, the guru will steal our heart and soul, filling us with pure and innocent love.
The writer is a world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian