Why can we not love God as naturally as we love our parents?

[Shri Bhagat asked: Jay Guru Datta Guru Deva! Gurudeva You are Lord Datta! You are Omnipresent and omnipotent! Then why is Your māyā imposing on me so that I am not able to believe? But You are the one who is taking care of everyone and everything in the universe. A child strongly believes that his mother and father can do and give anything and everything to him, to the best of the parents’ capacity because some things need money, while for other things, the loving care of parents is sufficient. Our belief in our parents is strong because we have experienced their care and help in many situations from birth. Although souls are unable to love You, You love everyone in the universe, without expecting anything in return since they are Your children.]

Swami replied: O Learned and Devoted Servants of God! God is called Datta. The word datta means an adopted son. It does not mean an adopting father. There are several types of sons like the aurasa or the biological son, the kṣetraja or the son of one’s wife born of someone else, kṛtrima or the son born through surrogacy, gūḍhotpanna or a secretly born son, datta or an adopted son and so on. The biological or adopting father gives all his earnings to his biological or adopted son, irrespective of the attitude of the son towards the parent. Such love of the parent towards the issue is real love because that love is not based on anything in return from the issue. The devotee treats God as his biological or adopting father, so that God will give everything possessed by God to the devotee, irrespective of the reality of the devotee’s devotion towards God.

But God Datta means the adopted son and not the adopting father. So, if you understand God Datta to be the adopted son and the devotee to be the adopting father, the whole story is reversed. Irrespective of the response of God Datta towards the devotee—whether God gives boons, keeps silent or even gives difficulties—the devotee should continue his real and unchangeable love for God Datta. This becomes highly inconvenient to devotees and hence, devotees have reversed the positions to get undue advantage from God. When God Datta appeared to devoted sage couple, Atri and Anasūyā, He told them that He had surrendered Himself to the couple as their adopted son (Datto’ham). Not only the meaning of the word datta, but also the story behind the usage of the word Datta reveals Datta to be the adopted son and not the adopting father.

We are in need of the grace of God Datta and hence, we should place ourselves in the place of the adopting parents and not in the place of His adopted issues. A childless parent is in need of the adoptable son and the adoptable son is not in need of an adopting father. God Datta is not in need of devotees, but devotees are in need of God Datta. God is only one and devotees are several. If one devotee neglects God, there are several devotees, who will care for God, at any cost. From this angle also, the devotee should try to become the adopting father to God Datta and not try to become adopted son of God Datta to enjoy undue advantage!

Keywords:

| Shri Datta Swami | Why can we not love God as naturally as we love our parents? | Maayaa Maaya Guudhotpanna Krutrima Dattoham