Does the Incarnation also feel worldly stress?

[Kum. Thrylokya asked: Padanamaskaram Swami! My doubt written below may reflect my jealousy towards the Human Incarnation, but I sincerely want to follow You. Recently, I applied for a job, which had three rounds of selection. Before attending every round, I felt very stressed. I wish I knew the future. If I had known the future, I would not have been so stressed. I could have just prepared calmly, without any mental tension. But I learnt from our Nikhil Sir that You also make the same sort of efforts like us ordinary souls, in Your daily life. You have explained that the Human Incarnation of God is a two-component system consisting of the soul in a medium and God. I fully believe that the omniscient God is within You and that He knows the future. So, does God tell You about the future? Do You feel any tension like us? Did Hanumān, who was also an Incarnation, already know that He was going to burn Rāvaṇa’s Lanka? Did the soul of Lord Rāma know the whereabouts of Sītā before meeting Jaṭāyu? At Your feet, Thrylokya.]

Swami replied: The Human Incarnation is perfectly God because the original absolute unimaginable God (Parabrahman) has merged with the human being which is the medium. The Human Incarnation is thus a homogenous mixture of two components namely (1) the God-component and (2) the human being-component. Since the merging between the two is perfect, resulting in a single phase, all the powers of God are also present with the merged human being. But the final decision in any matter depends only on the God-component and not on human being-component. If God does not wish, the mouth of the human being-component will remain shut and the human being will not be able to speak anything, even if it wants to speak.

If you take a piece of charcoal and set it on fire, the charcoal too appears red in color. The red color is the characteristic of the fire. The original black color of the charcoal disappears. On the other hand, when electric current passes through a metallic wire, the properties of the wire like the leanness, color of the metallic wire etc., do not disappear. The electrified wire appears just like a non-electrified wire, externally. If God wishes to express His divinity, the human being-component acts like a piece of ignited charcoal. But if God wants to hide Himself, the human being-component acts like the electrified metallic wire. In other words, the Human Incarnation appears just like an ordinary human being, externally. Both these types of behavior are essential for the Human Incarnation to carry out its planned divine programme on earth properly and smoothly.

Knowing the future has both merits and defects. The main merit is that one can avoid tension. The main defect is that there is no thrill in life, if you know the future. It is like watching a movie when you already know the entire story. The merit is that you will have peace and the defect is that you will not get any enjoyment since all the thrill in life is lost. The best thing to do is to totally surrender to God and live life facing every situation with the feeling that whatever is given to us by God, is for our own welfare. Sometimes, a certain problem creates tension in our mind, but the same problem will do good to us. Sometimes, a benefit brings immediate happiness, but the same benefit might harm us in the future. The enjoyment of both tension and happiness, side by side, is like eating meals consisting of both hot and sweet dishes, which are eaten alternately. God enjoys this creation in this way, so that He always enjoys and remains entertained. This is bliss. Bliss means continuous happiness or ānanda (Āsamantāt sarvakālam nandati iti). Bliss does not mean excessive happiness, which might cause a heart attack, leading to death!

God creates, maintains and destroys this world and these three things are not possible for the soul (Jagat vyāpāra…—Brahma Sūtram). God wanted souls to at least enjoy this world of alternate happiness and tension, similar to the way He enjoys the world. But souls are unable to even enjoy the world like God. Yet, they claim to be God, already! The reality is that it is highly impossible for the soul to become God. The master purchased all the food ingredients, expertly cooked the food containing both sweet and hot dishes and has served the food in two plates. He has asked his servant to sit along with him and enjoy the meal together. The poor servant, while eating the food, is unable to even derive continuous enjoyment like the master. The servant smiles while eating sweet dishes, but he weeps while eating the hot dishes! When simply enjoying the meal like the master is impossible for the servant, purchasing the food ingredients and expertly cooking the meal like the master is doubly impossible! So, do you find even the slightest possibility of the soul becoming God with its own effort?

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| Shri Datta Swami | Does the Incarnation also feel worldly stress? | Ravana Jatayu Aananda Aasamantaat sarvakaalam nandati iti Jagat vyaapaara Brahma Suutram