Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Invocation

ॐ जननीं सारदां देवीं रामकृष्णं जगदगुरुम पादपद्मे तयो: श्रित्वा प्रणमामि मुहुर्मुहु :

Om Jananim Saradam devim Ramakrishnam jagadgurum Padapadme tayoh shritva pranamami muhurmuhuh.

A Discourse on Bhakti Yoga and Spiritual Knowledge

The Natural Path of Devotion

Narada is telling us that of all the pathways to God, Bhakti is the easiest. How do we know it is the greatest? It is the easiest. What did we discuss? It is the most natural.

Why Devotion is Natural

Why is it natural? We are all emotional beings. We don't need to be taught to be emotional. If you shout two or three times, then you will really become emotional.

In India, there is a village custom where anyone who goes on a pilgrimage must give up something. One fellow went and came back from pilgrimage. His friends asked him, "What did you give up?" He was a very short-tempered fellow. So he said, "I gave up my getting angry." They said, "What? Could it be? Is it real? Did you really give up?" He said, "Yes, I gave up."

"No, I don't believe you," they challenged. "I told you!" he shouted angrily. See, it is not easy to give up emotion.

Emotion as Universal Nature

Emotion is present 99% of the day. Only a lifeless object will not have emotion. A wall doesn't have it. Every living creature has emotions. That's why Śaṅkarācārya quotes: if you take some green grass and show it to a crow, it comes. But if you take a stick, it will run away.

The crow is showing its knowledge in the form of emotion—this is love, this is fear. So, if we are emotionally endowed people, what is the easiest path for us? Use that emotion to approach God.

Directing Emotion Toward God

Direct all emotion toward God, but we have to redirect our emotions. Don't become emotional about father, mother, property, name, fame, power, or position. Slowly, transformation will come after many lives. But that emotion which we exhibit when something happens to either our body or our honor, our parents, etc.—now devote it, direct it towards God.

That is why it is called Bhakti. Anything directed towards God is Bhakti. Even anger directed towards God is Bhakti.

Understanding Key Sanskrit Terms

Accepting certain Sanskrit words is very important for us. You cannot express them properly in English. For example, "love."

The Problem with the Word "Love"

How do we express love? If a person says, "I love a sweet," another person says, "I love my wife," and another person says, "I love God"—is there no difference between these three? What is the difference? The difference is in their results.

If you love rasgulla, the rasgulla deserves it. If you love chicken, the chicken deserves it. If you love your husband, the husband deserves it. If you love God, you deserve it.

You understand? You become one with God, because the object of love determines what the lover becomes. The lover merges into the beloved. If there is a clash between them, or if both are the same, then there is still a difference—one will be strong, one will be weak.

God is infinite. So everything ultimately has to merge in God. That is why the word "love" has become degraded in English.

Kāma vs. Prema

But we don't want to use the other word. There is a word, but we don't like to use it: lust.

Actually, lust is misunderstood. People think it is only the attraction between male and female. No. "I desire a sweet"—that is also lust. "I lust for power"—I want to be very powerful. "I lust for gold"—anything. But primarily it came to mean the attraction between sexes, but this meaning is a degradation to human beings.

Just as a bull runs after a cow, that meaning has come to dominate the word. That is why "I love you" becomes problematic. That word "love" should be used only towards God and nobody else.

That is why in Sanskrit, we call it kāma and prema—clear distinction. Kāma and prema. The power is the same, but the direction is completely different. The result is also completely different. In one, we go down. In the other, we go up—completely we merge in God. So that is why bhakti is great.

The Superiority of Bhakti Over Other Paths

Narada also says bhakti is easier than other paths. What other paths are there?

Path of breath control: Rāja Yoga
Path of intellect: Jñāna Yoga
Path of action: Karma Yoga

All of us can practice all those paths. We begin with those other paths, but end with the realization of God. Here in bhakti, we start getting that joy even at the very beginning. We need only a journey from a low state of ānanda to a higher state of ānanda.

Understanding Pramāṇa (Valid Means of Knowledge)

Then, pramāṇāntarasyānapekṣhatvāt—it doesn't require any other pramāṇa.

What is Pramāṇa?

In any philosophy, pramāṇa is the most important concept. We are all seeking pramāṇa. What is pramāṇa? It is proof, valid means of knowledge.

If somebody tells you, "I love you," immediately you ask, "How do I know that you love me? Prove it to me." So prove it. How do I prove it?

The child says to his mother, "Do you love me?" Mother says, "Of course, I love you."

"Then prove it." "How can I prove it to you?"

"If you love me, then you must give me what I like." "Yes, yes, you ask me. Whatever you ask, I will give."

Then the child says, "I don't want to go to school. I want to play. If you love me, allow me." Will the mother allow? She catches hold of him and drags him to the school.

"Mom, you said you love me!" "Yes, I love you."

"Why are you not giving me what I desire?" "You have to follow what I desire, not what you desire."

How can the mother explain this to the child? "I am looking at your long-term happiness. You are looking only at the present moment. 'I will be very happy now.' Yes, if you continue like that, you will be a fool, an idiot. And your whole life you will have to work like a donkey. You will get a job as a gardener or as a cook. If you study and do well, then you will get a higher job. You can retire comfortably."

So, pramāṇa means proof. In how many ways do we get right knowledge? Indian philosophy accepts six pramāṇas.

The Six Pramāṇas

1. Pratyakṣa (Direct Perception)

What is the first pramāṇa? Pratyakṣa. What is pratyakṣa? I see you, you see me. Nobody in the whole world can tell you, "You are not seeing." You won't believe that because you are seeing with your own eyes.

2. Anumāna (Inference)

Then anumāna. Anumāna means inference, not doubt. Inference is dependent upon pratyakṣa, direct experience.

See, you go to bed at night. Early morning you get up. The whole place is full of water. You have not seen it raining last night. Then how did you come to know? What is your inference? It must have rained last night.

Or there is some other explanation—a water tanker came and leaked, or some pipe burst. Usually, so much water will not be there from those sources, so it must be rain.

You have not seen the rain, but you have inferred by seeing the water that it must have rained. Now, what is important here? At some point of time earlier, you must have seen rain falling on the ground and flooding it. In this case, you saw the flooding, but not the actual raining. Had you never seen it raining and flooding, you would not have been able to infer. You understand now? Inference is purely based upon pratyakṣa. One factor is missing, but the other factor is clear.

Another example we give is: where there is smoke, there is fire. There cannot be smoke without fire. There could be fire without smoke, but there would be no smoke without fire.

When this class was going on, one fellow came up and said, "I can prove to you there can be smoke without fire." The teacher was puzzled. He said, "Alright, prove it to me." The student went to the other room. After one minute, he came back with dry ice and said, "See!" So this is called inference.

You always infer from known facts. When there is a known fact and experience, and the fact and its consequence are witnessed, one factor is missing. What is the missing factor? It is raining—that I have not seen. But when it rains, you know very quickly the place will be wet and flooded. So that is what we infer from this. This is called anumāna.

3. Upamāna (Comparison)

Then there is a pramāṇa called upamāna. Upamāna means comparison. You have seen a cow at home. Then you go to some place and see another animal. You ask, "What is this animal?" Someone tells you, "It's like the cow you have at home." In every aspect, it resembles the cow you know. You compare: "This also looks exactly like that. Therefore, this must be something like that." This is called comparison, upamāna.

4. Arthāpatti (Presumption)

Then arthāpatti, presumption. What is presumption? By seeing one fact, you connect it to another fact. You reason it out.

The famous example is: nobody had ever seen a person called Devadatta eating during the day. Yet he is growing fatter and fatter. Nobody has seen him eating during daytime, but he is growing fatter. How can a fellow grow fatter without eating? That means he is eating—at night. Daytime he is not eating. Therefore, what is the inference? At nighttime he is eating. This is called arthāpatti, presumption from one given fact. This is one of the pramāṇas. We are all doing it all the time.

5. Anupalabdhi (Non-Apprehension)

Another is called anupalabdhi. Anupalabdhi means non-apprehension, non-experience.

What is it? Every time you come home, you see a sofa here. One day you come and you don't see the sofa. What is your experience? There is no sofa here. The sofa must be somewhere. If the sofa is not in this room, it must be in some other room.

All the time, whenever you are searching for something, you are using this anupalabdhi pramāṇa. "This book I kept here, and I went to read that book and I did not find it there. But I remember I kept it here yesterday night. So somebody must have taken it out." You will not waste your time searching there. The absence of an object in that particular place gives the clue to where to find it. It has not gone out of the house. So that is when this anupalabdhi operates.

All scientific research is based upon this anupalabdhi. "I am doing this experiment. It is giving negative results. Therefore, I should not pursue this particular line of experimentation. I should pursue something other than this."

Edison was trying to get a filament for the light bulb. Many years he tried. Today we are enjoying the results of his inventiveness after 10,000 attempts. His team came and said, "Let us stop this experimentation. We have experimented 10,000 times and we did not succeed."

You know what Edison said? "Gentlemen, we have tremendous knowledge now—we know how we cannot get it in 10,000 ways. Let us search for the 10,001st way." Within a short time, he succeeded with the filament. Today, this is the basis for whatever we do.

So this is called anupalabdhi. All these five—pratyakṣa, anumāna, upamāna, arthāpatti, anupalabdhi—are based upon direct experience.

6. Śabda (Testimony)

But there is something which we can never experience directly, which is God. Therefore, how do we know God exists? We cannot directly perceive God. So what is the way? The last, sixth pramāṇa: śabda (testimony, word).

Śabda means what? There are some people who have experienced God and they are telling us. Not only that—how do we know they are not mad or liars? How do we know they are not telling lies?

So there must be some way to verify. First of all, they are powerful people. They will never tell lies. Secondly, these people, whatever they say, they say for the good of the world, for our good. They are not selfish people.

Thirdly, what is the proof that something is real? It is repeatability, like in science. What is the greatness of science? If any scientist has done an experiment and it gives a result, anybody can repeat that experiment and they must get the same result.

The Example of Electricity

One Swami was talking like this. We get all sorts of questions nowadays. Someone said that electricity cannot be seen. It can only be inferred, because if a person touches it, then he knows there is electricity or not. The line is there, but the fan is not there, the heater is not there, the light is not there. Then how are you going to know whether there is electricity or not? The only way is to touch.

The fellow was asking, "So the only way is to touch? Then I will go and touch."

Swami said, "If you go and touch, you will not know whether electricity is there or not. We will know!" Yes, if the voltage is sufficiently high!

Swami Vivekananda's Question to Sri Ramakrishna

Swami Vivekananda went to Sri Ramakrishna and asked, "Sir, have you seen God?"

Sri Ramakrishna said, "Yes, I have seen God."

But how can he prove that he has seen God? Then he said, "I can also help you see God."

Then only Swami Vivekananda accepted. Of course, Swami Vivekananda's testimony is acceptable—we have to accept it.

How to Recognize a God-Realized Soul

So how do we accept that someone has seen God? We don't know whether a sādhu has seen God or not. We don't know. How will you know?

Suppose you ask me, "Sir, have you seen God?" I say, "I have seen God." How do you know that I have seen God or not? Whether I am telling the truth or untruth—there is no way you can know directly.

Some sādhus have not seen God, but they say, "Yes." They think, "Do you think I am wasting my time all these years?" Some sādhus give the impression they have seen God, and you are a naive person, so they say it cannot be explained to you. Some people have seen God, but they don't want to reveal that fact. They say, "No, no, no, I have not seen."

How do you know whether the person has really seen God? What is the only way? If you have seen God, then you know God exists. Otherwise you cannot say. So how can we have faith?

Knowledge Through Transformation

We can have faith because every experience brings knowledge. Every knowledge brings a transformation in our life.

If you have seen a ferocious, poisonous snake, do you think you will be sitting there and smiling? Do you think you will be calmly looking at it? You will be the first person to jump up and run! "Let Swami handle it. He's okay. Swami is anyway a God-realized soul. It doesn't matter if something happens to him. We are not realized souls. Our life is very precious. He doesn't have any family. We have got family, friends, responsibilities." All sorts of thoughts spring up.

So how do we know there is a snake? There is an experience, and the experience gives knowledge. That knowledge produces appropriate action.

The Four Characteristics of a God-Realized Soul

If anybody has seen God, there should be four effects. Remember these four effects. We have discussed these things before.

Every time devotees come to take a bath in spiritual knowledge, they forget! How many times they take bath—they slowly wash their heads, their brains, everything away!

1. Sadānandamaya (Ever-Blissful)

The first thing: the person is sadānandamaya, always happy. Whatever happens, even if somebody comes and says, "In one second I am going to shoot you down," he will be very happy. He will say, "Do it quickly, quick, quick, quick!"

A Christian missionary had gone to the Arctic area where people were suffering from terrible cold, shivering. He wanted to convert them to Christianity. He said, "Hey, if you don't convert to Christianity, don't get baptized in the name of Christ, there is terrible fire burning in hell. You will go there!"

Immediately they all jumped up: "Padre, quick, quick, give us the address! We want to go there!"

So a God-realized soul is always happy.

2. Jñānadṛṣṭi - Equal Vision in Love

Second, he treats everyone as equal. You know why? He has jñānadṛṣṭi. Prema is called in Sanskrit jñānadṛṣṭi. What is jñānadṛṣṭi? Whatever the person sees, he sees only the Divine.

A person who has such vision sees an equilibrium of love—everybody is lovable. There is nobody who is not lovable because he sees only God in everything. He sees God in everything. So he loves everybody equally.

We also love. What is the difference? We love only the things which we think are ours, which give happiness to us. We love only what we think is ours because they are related to us. That is a very important point.

The Root of Love: Mine-ness

What comes first—joy or love? First comes "mine-ness." Suppose you see your neighbor's house, a beautiful house. You don't love it. You like it, but you don't love it. Well, it is natural—it is not yours. If it is your house, even a humble house, you will not allow anybody to touch it.

"This is my house, my family, my husband, my wife, my children, my, my, my." It is called "mine." That is why it is called a minefield for me—"mine" is a minefield!

So the second characteristic of a God-realized soul is love, because God is love. God is existence. God's existence, my existence, your existence, the carpet's existence, the scorpion's existence—they all belong to whom?

Like a mother having a thousand children, existence has how many children? The whole world. They all come with a little bit of manifestation of existence—what we call "our existence."

She is the mother. Bhūmātā, Gomātā.

You know a funny thing? A gorakṣā activist, a Marwadi gentleman, had come to Swami Vivekananda soliciting funds. Swamiji heard everything and said, "First my funds will go for human beings. After that, if anything remains, then it will go to the cows."

That fellow could never understand. "Our scriptures say the cow is our mother!"

Swamiji said, "Who else can produce such talented children other than the cow?" Understand? That fellow could not understand even that sarcasm. Swamiji was a very practical man. He said human beings are the most valuable beings. After that, anything else.

3. Samadarśana (Equal Treatment)

The third characteristic is called samadarśana. Samadarśana means what? He will never treat one person as superior and another person as inferior. In his love, there is no distinction—like a mother's love.

Mother's Love vs. Treatment

A mother's treatment differs, but a mother's love doesn't differ. Understand? To a small child, she gives only a small amount of food. To a grown-up son, especially if he is physically active, she gives more.

When Kuntī was staying with the Pāṇḍavas in ajñātavāsa (living incognito), they used to go out begging for food. The distribution of food was given to Bhīmasena. So 75% of it he kept for himself, and the other 25% he divided into five portions—one for each of the other four Pāṇḍavas and one for Kuntī. Six people total: five Pāṇḍavas plus Kuntī. And that was sufficient for them, while Bhīma's hunger was insatiable.

Every mother treats every child in accordance with their age, digestive capacity, and state of health. But her love is completely equal. If anything, if there is a sick child, then she will pay more attention. But love will not be lesser. If that is the case with an ordinary mother, what about God?

So that's what is being told: a realized soul has become God. Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati—a knower of Brahman becomes Brahman.

Who is Einstein?

One day we dealt with this subject. Who is Einstein? The greatest physicist in the world. But who is Einstein? We are not talking about his body. We are talking about the knowledge. Without that knowledge, Einstein would be like any ordinary person.

So anybody who has equivalent knowledge to his—what will he be? He is also Einstein. If there are a hundred people with equal knowledge, all hundred will be Einstein. Einstein is not the name of a particular body, but a particular state of knowledge.

Every human being is a part of God, but manifestation is different in accordance with their body and mind. If one's knowledge is less, the manifestation is less, etc.

The Desert Father and the Thieves

The third characteristic is that he treats everybody absolutely equally. That is why the Desert Fathers are so remarkable. Did you read the story I sent yesterday about the Desert Fathers?

One day thieves came to a Desert Father. They said, "We have come to take your belongings."

The father said, "Take my things, sons. Take everything you want."

They took everything and were going out. Then the father noticed that they forgot to take a small bundle—something was there. Immediately he took it and called out, "My children, my children, wait, wait, don't run!"

They waited. "You have forgotten to take this."

Such an effect this had! The thieves thought, "This is a man of God. If we rob him, God will punish us." So they brought back everything.

Pahāṛī Bābā and the Thief

The same story happened with Pahāṛī Bābā. There was a great yogi named Pahāṛī Bābā. One day, one night, a thief entered his dwelling and bundled some utensils. As he was going, the utensils made a noise.

Pahāṛī Bābā was sleeping. He woke up immediately and understood what was happening. By that time, the thief got frightened, dropped everything, and started running.

Pahāṛī Bābā took up the bundle and ran after him. Being a yogi, he overtook him very soon, put the bundle at his feet and said, "O Rama, please pardon me for interrupting your work. Had I not woken up, you could have taken everything and run away. But because I woke up, you dropped your work and had to run."

This brought such a transformation in the thief that he renounced the world and became one of the greatest monks. Swami Vivekananda met him also.

At the end of narrating this story, I always tell people: if you want to steal something, come to the ashram and steal! Because in your next birth, you will become a sādhu and work here as a monk. The karma-phala will come back to you. The management will take good interest out of you!

So there are people like that. They treat everybody equally. There is no "thief," no "murderer"—everybody is equal. Holy Mother was like that: "My son Sārat, my son Amjad"—one and the same.

4. Willingness to Sacrifice Life for Others

The fourth characteristic is: the person will joyfully give up his life for the sake of anybody. Buddha is an example.

Buddha and the Sacrificial Animal

One day Buddha was wandering. Then he saw a man taking a small kid and going somewhere. Buddha asked, "Where are you going?"

You know the story? The man said, "Our king is performing a great yajña. So many animals are being sacrificed. I am taking this animal to be sacrificed."

Then Buddha asked, "What will you gain by killing this animal?"

He said, "A lot of puṇya will come to me."

Buddha said, "If a dumb animal can give you so much puṇya, a human being could give you much, much more puṇya. So release that animal, take me and sacrifice me instead."

Then Buddha went to the king. He told the king—I think it was Bimbisāra—"O king, why are you sacrificing so many innocent creatures?"

"Oh, it is said in our Purāṇas these sacrifices have to be performed."

"What will you gain?"

"I will go to Svargaloka (heaven)."

Buddha said, "You sacrifice me. You will get 100,000 Svargalokas."

Then the king understood. He said, "I have become awakened, Buddha, awakened. I will never again perform such sacrifices."

You understand?

Summary of the Four Characteristics

So these four characteristics confirm God-realization:

Always happy (sadānanda)
Filled with love (prema)
Treats everybody exactly equally (samadarśana)
Ever ready to sacrifice himself joyfully, not regretfully

In fact, such a person doesn't say, "I am sacrificing myself for you." Rather, "I am sacrificing myself for myself. I am God. I am Brahman. There is no death."

When you see these four characteristics, that is the proof that this person has seen God.

Bhakti as Its Own Pramāṇa

We discussed the six pramāṇas—the six valid means of knowledge. One pramāṇa is called śabda. Śabda means what? There are some people who went into samādhi, who had direct experience of God. But they cannot show it to us.

Then how do we realize that they are realized souls? How do we know? When they exhibit these four characteristics. Always—that is how you know this person has attained something. Because these are the characteristics of God.

So this bhakti, what does it do? It is its own pramāṇa.

How do we know it is pramāṇa? You understand? Pramāṇa—it is its own proof. What is the proof? Śabda says: śāntirūpa, paramānandarūpa—the form of peace, the form of supreme bliss.

Whatever happens, suppose you go and tell such a person, "In the next five minutes, you will be chopped into 100 pieces," he will never lose his sense of peace. Paramānanda—the highest bliss. Doesn't care for death. Doesn't care for life. Doesn't care for anything. "You do what you want. Because I know I am not the body. I am not the mind. What can you kill? Can you kill the Ātman?" That is it.

Lokahāni and Cintā

Then, lokahāni cintānakārī nivedita ātmā lokaveda—we discussed this two classes back.

Lokahāni - Loss in the World

What is lokahāni? Injuring the world, loss in the world. Lokahāni kārya—that is to say, if a bhakta practicing devotion sees some suffering in the world, what should be his attitude towards that event? What should be his attitude? "It is God's will."

In his own case also, suppose he is a rich man and some thieves come and tie him up and take away all the wealth—there would not be even this much of a dent in his peace and ānanda. "God has given, God has taken."

So that is one meaning of lokahāni. The second meaning is his own loss of something worldly in his own case.

The Example of Sudhīr

I gave the example of Sudhīr. He lost all his property—house, land, everything he lost. He did not lose his peace of mind. Because he was a great bhakta, a devotee. He said, "Rāma had given, Rāma has taken away. What have I got to complain about? Whatever He arranges, I will be very happy with."

With that idea, he came to Kāmākhyāpuram. Immediately his friend gave him a house and gave him a small piece of land which he cultivated. That land was yielding sufficiently for fulfilling his needs for the entire year, because of God's grace. So he named it Lakṣmījala.

Cintānakārī - Freedom from Worry

So a devotee who wants to develop devotion: lokahāni cintānakārī. Do not worry. Cintā means worry. Do not worry, whether it is yours, whether it is the world's. Whatever happens, do not worry.

Why? Because who created the world? God. And who is looking after the world? God. Does He not know? Does He not know the politics going on in India, for example?

This is very interesting, because people are not thinking clearly. Some people have to think for them! Does God know the outcome of elections or not? Yes, He knows. So when wicked people win elections, does He not know? Is He worried?

Whatever God does, don't you think it is the best thing that could happen? You have to think about this, at least. If you are not thinking, start thinking. Whatever God wills must be for the greater good, because He knows not only this election—He knows what will happen a billion years from now. Who is going to come? Who is not going to come? He knows.

How God Determines Events

So how does He decide who wins and who loses? How does He decide? He sees the karma: "These rascals, they deserve only a Rāvaṇa. Let them suffer." This is karmaphala. God doesn't interfere arbitrarily. He only gives the appropriate karmaphala to people. This is the only way you can understand.

If you believe in God, God knows not only what happens now, but all the time, what is going to happen. He knows about it. Still He doesn't seem to be putting His finger there to change things. Why?

The World as Divine Drama

Because that is the nature of the world—this is the first point. Second point, even more important: so many people are suffering. If that suffering were real, then God would be cruel. But suppose it is a drama? The more people suffer in the drama, the merrier! Not only will you watch once, you will want to see it a second time.

Not only that—you will also tell others, "Hey, have you seen that film? It's so realistic. Come on, let's go and see it together!"

Why? Because you are 100% sure this is only cinema, drama, not real.

Suppose you meet the actor who played Hitler in the film, butchering millions of people. Suppose you meet him after the film. You'll say, "Sir, please autograph my book!" You will take his autograph, because you'll say, "You acted so superbly. I felt like going there with an AK-47!" You appreciate it because you know it's acting.

Life as Dream

But in this case, we are thinking this life is real and cinema is unreal. But this life is also unreal! Do you know when you realize this? In sleep, two times.

When you are dreaming, you are dreaming you are here in your own bed in Bangalore, in Ulsoor area. And you are dreaming, "I am in UK or Australia or Switzerland." Suddenly the cold descends in your dream. You say, "What was I thinking? Bangalore weather is far superior to this. Why did I leave all that comfort and come here?" You are cursing yourself and everybody else.

Then suddenly you cannot bear it. You bang your hand, and then you wake up. Where do you find yourself? In Bangalore!

So what happened? When you were in that dream state, was Bangalore real or unreal? Unreal! "This Switzerland is real." But when you wake up, the dream becomes unreal.

And then, when we are in deep sleep, we have forgotten the entire world. There is no good, there is no evil, there is nothing. Every day this happens.

And every day you forget the world in the gap between two thoughts. At that time, you are yourself, your true Self. This is the truth. Think over it.

The Devotee's Attitude: Complete Surrender

I am not asking you to imagine or labor so hard over this, because you have surrendered yourself. You have surrendered your so-called property, your family. You have surrendered the whole universe, the whole world to God.

A devotee cannot say, "This is mine." Everything is Yours, O Lord. So whatever happens to you, whatever happens to yours, whatever happens in the world—everything is running by the will of God. That's why there is no time for worry.

The Story of Rābi'a

There was a great Sufi mystic, a lady called Rābi'a. You have heard about her? One of the greatest realized souls in the Sufi tradition.

Rābi'a and the Critics

Once somebody went and told her, "Rābi'a, do you know, such and such persons are criticizing you. What's your response to them?"

She said, "I am so preoccupied with God, I have no time to think about what I should do or what I should not do. When I get the time, then let me see what I can think about. Now I am thinking only about God."

Rābi'a and the Birds

Second story, beautifully told: One day Rābi'a was walking in the forest and there were other fakīrs (Sufi mendicants) following her. They knew her greatness.

When she entered into the forest, all the birds saw her. They started fighting with each other—"Who is going to sit on her shoulders?" They were fighting. One comes and pushes the other fellow. That fellow says, "How dare you push me? I came here first. This is my place!" Wherever they could find space on her—on her head, on her shoulders—they were fighting with each other. "I want to sit there!"

The fakīr was telling the birds, "I am also a fakīr. Please come, please sit on my shoulders. I am not going to harm you." Clearly he meant it. But the moment he approached, the birds flew away.

He was shocked. He went to Rābi'a and said, "Why is this? I know, you know, I don't mean any harm to the birds. And yet they refuse to come to me. And they are vying with each other to sit on your shoulders. Don't you know the reason?"

"Oh, fakīr, before you became a fakīr, you enjoyed bird meat. The taste is still lingering on your tongue. And the birds know it. You can't artificially remove that. The taste might have left your conscious mind—you might have given it up now—but the taste is still lingering on your tongue. How powerful is this instinct? And the birds instinctively recognize this. That's why they don't approach you."

"But me, Rābi'a—they know I would give up my life in protecting them if any harm comes to them." That much instinct is there. All animals have it.

The Story of Elsa the Lioness

You go and see the story—Born Free. I don't know whether you heard about it. Elsa, the lioness.

One lioness was brought up by an English woman. Painful surgery had to be done on Elsa. This lady took the huge lioness on her lap, telling Elsa, "Be calm. It would be painful, but be calm."

The veterinary doctors came. There was no anesthesia. They just started operating. There was some swelling. They started cutting. It was very painful. When a part swells, the surrounding area becomes very sensitive—even if you touch it, it's extremely painful.

But Elsa kept absolutely quiet. The surgery was done. They stitched it. Afterwards they applied some antiseptic. Then only they released her.

Why? Because Elsa knew, "Whatever my mother does is for my good." Even human children protest during medical procedures! But this animal understood.

There are people like that among humans too.

Recognizing Character Through Saṃskāras

Where are such humans? We find some people we like and some we don't like. Is it like an instinct that's working? No, it's past experience. How can you recognize this in a newborn? You cannot recognize it immediately. But every saṃskāra (mental impression) gets reflected in the face over time.

Application in the Ashram

You apply this principle here also in the ashram. You see five or six sādhus. One sādhu you think, "I want to associate with this sādhu, because he looks very innocent." The other one looks very fierce. "Sādhu is okay, but fierceness is not okay." You get scared also. When they look at you and smile at you, something happens.

There is a Sanskrit śloka about this: Even the smile of a wicked person is bhayaṅkara—it produces fear. It's a perceptive reality.

The Basis of Recognition

How do you recognize this? We have had similar experiences before. We had past life experiences, past experiences in this life, in which you came across persons looking like that, and your experience has been universally negative.

When you see another person—a complete stranger—but that face resembles the face of someone who gave you so much cause for fright, you are judging this person. "Since that person gave me pain, and this person's face looks like the other person, this person also might cause pain."

This is how we judge people.

Question About Recognition

Question: If I happen to see someone who was my grandfather in a past life, who is now a small boy or something, will I be able to recognize him?

Answer: No, you won't be able to recognize them as your grandfather. There won't be that specific recognition. Even if you are actually born in your own family from a past life, you will not know that this person was that person. There won't be that conscious knowledge.

Actually, there is no need for such specific recognition. But what I am talking about is different: certain experiences always come in a concrete form, never in an abstract form—either some animal, some person, or some object, or something tangible.

When you see such a thing, the reason why we like someone and why we don't like someone is because you have seen people like that in your past—people whose appearance always gave you only pleasure or joy. When you see the resemblance, you instinctively feel, "Since this person's face looks so similar, and my experience with this kind of person was always positive and pleasurable, this person also must be pleasant."

Usually that instinct is correct, because facial features and the formation of the body depend upon good or bad saṃskāras. When you see some people, you will definitely sense, "These are wicked people, not trustworthy," because their saṃskāras have made them look like that.

Sometimes, rarely, we might be mistaken, but generally our instinct doesn't go wrong. Instinct—that's what animals have primarily. Animals, because they don't reason intellectually like humans, rely more on instinct.

The Story of the Logician and His Student

I'll tell you a small story. There was a Naiyāyika, a logician. You know, in India, Nyāya is a big school of philosophy. There are expert teachers and students who want to learn logic.

One day, the teacher asked the student, "I am giving you one rupee. Go and buy some oil from the oilman and come back."

The student went there where they sell fresh oil. You know that traditional setup—one bullock goes around in circles, and there's a big cakra (wheel) it turns, and fresh oil is squeezed out through a hole. That is how oil is extracted traditionally.

The bullock was released to work. How does the owner know it is working or not when he's not watching? He tied some bells to it. If it stops moving, the bells stop ringing, and he will know.

This student had learned a bit of logic. He said to the oilman, "Supposing you are not watching the bullock directly, how do you know that the bullock has stopped working?"

The oilman said, "You see, I tied bells to it. If it is moving, the bells will ring. If it stops moving, the bells will not ring. That is how I will know it has stopped. Then I will go and give it one whack with a stick, and it starts moving again. And it knows by this time that if it stops moving, it will get whacked. So it keeps moving."

The logician student thought about it cleverly. "Supposing the bullock stops moving forward but just moves its body like this—shaking in place—how will you know the difference?"

The oilman said, "That is why I did not send my bullock to your logic school! You learned logic, but lost common sense."

The point is: sometimes too much analysis makes us lose natural understanding.

A Devotee Should Not Worry

A devotee should not worry about whatever happens in life, because it happens by the will of God, or according to one's karmaphala. Whatever happens is for one's future good. This is how to practice devotion.

Effort Without Worry About Results

That doesn't mean you don't put effort. No, no! You do whatever you have to do. But don't worry about the results. You should be concerned about what you are doing in the present moment.

The Example of Devotees Cooking

Some devotees, you know—when I was in a certain place, they used to cook for me. Sometimes there would be too much salt. Sometimes there would be no salt at all. Things like that, you know.

"Mahārāj, how is my cooking?"

After eating once, I felt like telling them, "You don't need to go to all this trouble."

"Why, Mahārāj?"

"No, no..." I hesitated.

"I was taking Holy Mother's name while cooking!" they said proudly.

I said, "Whenever you cook for me, the first thing is: stop thinking of Holy Mother. Pay attention to the cooking! Your devotional thought is okay for other times. But right now, focus on what you're doing."

Devotion and Driving

If you are driving also, some people say, "I always think of God while driving."

I tell them, "No, no. You think of driving first. Always think of God at appropriate times."

Yes, whatever work we need to do, don't divide the mind. Think of the activity. Before you begin, say, "O Lord, I am going to drive. Please help me." After you reach the destination, say, "By Your grace, I have reached this destination safely."

These are very important points.

When Mechanical Activities Allow for God-Remembrance

There are certain types of activities which you don't need to focus upon intensely—mechanical activities. Understand?

You have to fan somebody. You don't need to constantly think about fanning. It is a mechanical activity. You can go on fanning while thinking of God.

But certain activities, like driving, demand full attention. Otherwise any mishap can occur. Most accidents, do you know what happens? It may not be your fault. It may be the other person's fault. But if you are a good, alert driver, you will anticipate what the other person is doing, and you can take preventive steps.

The Irony of Meditation Time

Some activities you can do while thinking about God. But what do we actually do? When you are sitting for meditation, all your worldly thoughts come crowding in! Why? Because this is the best time for worldly thoughts to interact with you. Other times, you are busy: "I don't want to think about all that." But at meditation time, they all come!

They know that you are not doing anything else. "All right, now he is free. Let's all come and visit him!" All the thoughts arrive during meditation time.

Conclusion

So the essence of what we have discussed:

Bhakti is the most natural path because we are all emotional beings
Redirect all emotions toward God rather than worldly objects
Understanding kāma vs. prema: desire vs. divine love
The six pramāṇas give us valid knowledge, with śabda (testimony) being essential for knowing God
The four characteristics of God-realization: constant bliss, universal love, equal vision, and willingness to sacrifice for others
Bhakti is its own proof (svataḥ pramāṇa)
A devotee does not worry about worldly gains or losses, understanding everything as God's will
The world is like a dream or drama, not ultimately real
Complete surrender to God removes all anxiety
Focus on the task at hand while maintaining devotional attitude

Remember: Whatever God wills is for the ultimate good. Our job is to perform our duties with full attention and devotion, without worry about results. This is the path of bhakti yoga.

Closing Prayer