Posted on: 29 Jun 2021
(A satsaṅga was done on 27-06-2021 in view of the occasion of marriage of Chi. Veena Datta and it is recorded below.)
Q. After hearing the explanation of yoga cakras from Datta Veda, we conclude that we have to catch God and leave the world. Is it right?
Swāmi replied: This is not exactly correct because if you catch God, the world will detach spontaneously. You need not to put any effort to detach from the worldly bonds, which is called vairāgya or mokṣa because detachment from worldly bonds is spontaneous and automatic by-product of the attachment to God. Hence, you have to put all your effort, all your time and all your energy only to get attachment to God, which is called bhakti. If you are trying to detach from your worldly bonds without attachment to God, it becomes sheer wastage without any use. Detachment from worldly bonds is not a prerequisite for the attachment to God. If it is a prerequisite, we can put effort for it because we can attain the attachment to God through such detachment from world. Another disadvantage in mere detachment from the worldly bonds without attachment to God is that you can neither enjoy the attachment to God nor enjoy the attachment to world. It is double loss. Single loss is far better than double loss. Another disadvantage is that the mind has always the inherent characteristic of attaching itself to something. You can’t control the mind from its inherent property. After sometime of detachment from worldly bonds, you will attach again to the worldly bonds with double force because the separation developed lot of intensity for attachment to worldly bonds. Hence, mere detachment from worldly bonds is not only useless but also impossible. If you are fasting on Śivarātri festival and if you say to God Śiva that you have not taken food for His sake; immediately, God Śiva will put a question to you “In what way, your fasting can please Me? You might have some disorder in your stomach and you might have fasted to cure that disorder. When I come to you in human form and if you give Me some food, I can be pleased with you. You will not do that because that is a double loss, which is your eating and My eating. If you are fasting it is a double profit by which you have saved money by not eating and you also saved money by not giving food to Me.”
The meaning of the word ‘Upavāsa’ is exactly living close to God through climax devotion. The word ‘Upavāsa’ has no connection at all with fasting. I don’t know that how this meaning is linked to the word ‘Upavāsa’. Upa = close to God and vāsa = living or staying. You can use the word ‘laṇghanam’ for fasting, which is recommended by Ayurveda medicine when you are having some illness. Both these words (Upavāsa and laṇghanam) cannot be inter connected in any way. There is only one way to connect these two words, which is that immersed in the devotion of God (upavāsa), you are forgetting to take meals (laṇghanam). Hence, fasting can be treated only as a consequence of immersion in devotion and fasting can’t be directly connected with the word ‘Upavāsa’ in any way. Similarly, ‘jāgaraṇam’ means foregoing sleep due to immersion in devotion to God.