Path of Devotion

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

Devotion is of two types. The first type is called as bhakti, which consists of prayers or songs through words and emotional feelings through mind. This bhakti gives temporary happiness only. Knowledge is related to intelligence, which is the discrimination of real and unreal through logical analysis. By such discrimination, you can realize that all the forms of matter and all the feelings of awareness are unreal. When you have realized that all the forms (rupa) and all the feelings (guna) are unreal even before the level of yourself, which is pure awareness, your life becomes completely an entertainment in both happy and unhappy situations. The self-realization makes you a spectator of the cinema, which consists of both happy and unhappy scenes. You will reach the state of an actor who is entertained in all the scenes of the drama on the stage. Thus, the knowledge gives you permanent happiness, which is called as bliss. Therefore, knowledge (Jnana) is greater than devotion (bhakti). Here, you must note that the bhakti is related to words and mind, whereas Jnana is related to intelligence. Hence, both devotion and knowledge belong to theoretical phase only, which is limited to words, mind and intelligence.

The second type of devotion is called as Para-Bhakti, which is related to practice or sacrifice of service. This divine devotion (Para-Bhakti) consists of divine service by sacrificing work (Karma Samnyasa) and by sacrificing the fruit of work (Karma Phala Tyaga). This second type of devotion is far superior than the knowledge. The bhakti and Jnana are selfish because in both your aim is the attainment of bliss by yourself. The divine devotion or the divine service is completely different, which has no selfish aim. In this divine service, your aim is to please God and not to please yourself. You have to receive the continuous loss and displeasure in the divine service. In this stage, you are achieving the nature of God. God always enjoys the fruits of the sins of His devotees and is thus subjected to continuous misery. His aim is to make His devotees happy. God is serving His devotees. Service is always sacrifice to make others happy at the cost of self-happiness. The Veda says that God is bliss (Anando Brahma). The Veda reveals the meaning of this statement by further saying “Eshahyeva Anandayati” which means that God makes His devotees happy. Therefore, when we say that God is bliss, that does not mean God is continuously enjoying the happiness. It means only that God is making others happy continuously. In fact, such a definition only is the proof of God being bliss. How do you say that the fire is hot? Since the fire is making others experience its heat, people say that fire is hot. Similarly, if you make others happy, then only you are the embodiment of that happiness. Now, the point is whether God is continuously unhappy by such sacrifice, which is His service to His devotees. The answer is that God is continuously happy through such sacrifice. He is deriving happiness continuously by enjoying the misery of His devotees. He is not unhappy to enjoy the sins of His devotees. Therefore, He is happy always and making His devotees also happy.

In the first level of ignorance, the soul derives happiness only from happy situations, which are like sweets. In the second level of realization, the soul derives happiness both from happy and unhappy situations, which are like sweets and hots in the meals. In the final level of the state of God, if the soul derives continuous happiness from hots only, such a soul has become almost God (Mama Sadharmyamagatah – Gita). Such a soul is almost equal to God. Such a devotee also attracts the sins of deserving devotees and makes them happy. Such an attraction of sins is always a secret because the deserving devotee will never agree to such transfer of sins. A devotee who had reached this highest level came to see Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who was suffering with cancer. The devotee sat near Shri Paramahamsa and was trying to attract the cancer onto him. Shri Paramahamsa, who was the human incarnation immediately recognized this and pushed the devotee away from Him. Therefore, the devotee can attain all the powers of God and the divine nature of God, which consists of continuous sacrifice for the sake of devotees. Then, why not the devotee, be called as God in full sense? Except one point, the devotee can become God in all aspects and that one point is the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe.

You are immediately misunderstanding God through various doubts. Perhaps God does not want anyone to become equal to Him and therefore, is not granting this special power. You are mistaking God due to the ignorance of truth and lack of analysis on this point. God is ready to give this power to any soul. The creation, maintenance and destruction of the world is a big responsibility. Who will not sacrifice the responsibility? One may hesitate to sacrifice the fruit of work but not the responsibility and work. The work and responsibility are headache only. If you analyze, you will clearly understand that it is impossible to transfer this responsibility to any soul. The soul is made of awareness, which is basically the primal energy. The creation starts with the creation of this primary energy (Mula Maya). Before the creation of this primary energy, this primary energy cannot exist. When the primary energy does not exist, the soul (awareness) which is a form of this primary energy also cannot exist. Then, how can the soul create this primary energy? If the soul created this primary energy, then what is the material of the soul? The material cannot be awareness because awareness is a modification of the primary energy only. If the food is not given to a person, the supply of energy stops. The person becomes unconscious, where the awareness disappears as in the deep sleep. The stored energy in the body in its basic form of inert energy maintains the heat of the body for sometime. This is a clear proof of the concept that awareness is a modification of the inert energy only. Therefore, it is impossible to make any soul creator and therefore, this point always differentiates God from any soul. Due to such impossibility only, God is not giving this power to any soul. Even if there is a trace of possibility, God is the happiest to get rid of this headache and responsibility.

God has given this power of creation to His best devotee called as Hanuman. This shows His willingness to give away this responsibility. But if we analyze, Hanuman is the incarnation of Lord Shiva and Shiva is another name of God (Shivascha Narayanah –Veda). Therefore, God Himself in the form of a soul only could take up this responsibility. Radha is said to be the incarnation of His power of happiness, called as “Hladini Kala”. The creation is a form of His power. The soul is a part and parcel of the creation. Therefore, Radha is really a soul. But, Radha (the soul) is made as the queen of Goloka, which is above His abode (Brahmaloka). Hanuman could enter Brahmaloka only. It is logical because Hanuman being God can enter only God’s abode. The final conclusion of all this is that a soul can be given higher position than God but the soul cannot become God especially in involving in the impossible responsibility of creation of Universe. You can get the power of creating matter and awareness from the already existing primary energy. The position of a soul is exactly the position of the wife and the position of God is exactly the position of the husband. The husband can give the salary to his wife, which is the fruit of his work. The husband can keep the wife on his head and act as her servant. But, the wife cannot do the work of the husband. When the wife can get all the fruit of the work into her hand and can make her husband as her servant, is she not foolish to be adamant of doing his work, which is impossible to her? The Veda says that even the male human beings in this world are women and wives of God only (Striyah Satih pumsa ahuh). This means all the souls irrespective of the gender, which is a characteristic of the external gross body only, can attain the master position over God but cannot become God. It is foolishness to aspire to become God due to the impossible responsibility, when the higher position than God is made available.

When God becomes the human incarnation, He enters into a human body as said in the Gita (Manushiim Tanumashritam). The word ashritam means the entrance of God into the human body. Another verse in the Gita clearly states that God is not modified into the human body which means that God has not become the human body (Avyaktam vyakti mapannam). The current entered the wire but the current is not modified into the wire. The current has not become the wire. If God became the human body, God should also perish when the human body perishes. When the divine work is over, God exits the human body. When the Lord left the body of Krishna, it was cremated by Arjuna as said in the Bhagavatam. Therefore, you should not think that a particular human being is God. God has not become that human being. God only entered that human being. God can enter any human being provided the human being is eligible for His entrance and is suitable to His work. God can enter two human bodies at a time for two different works. The fan is moving and at the same time, the electric bulb is glowing simultaneously. The same current has entered the fan to give air and entered the bulb to give light simultaneously. God entered Rama and Hanuman simultaneously. God wanted to show the path of ideal human being (Pravrutti) through Rama and wanted to show the path of practical devotion (Nivrutti) through Hanuman. The first criterion for His entrance is eligibility, which can be achieved through practical devotion. The proof of love is only service as said in the Veda (Sayuja Sakhaya, Kurvanneveha). The second criterion is the suitable efficiency for the specified divine work. The fan is suitable to give the air but is not suitable to give the light. The bulb is suitable to give the light but not the air. Between these two, eligibility is more important than suitability. If you want to select a person for a job in your office, you must give importance to eligibility first and then only to suitability. If the candidate has good character without corruption, he is eligible to your service. The talent required for your service can be developed in him by giving a short training. Even if the candidate is suitable with already acquired talent, he should not be selected if he is corrupt. He is suitable but not eligible. Therefore, God selects the human body of a devotee, which is eligible by practical devotion. In such case, even if the talent is absent, God will grant the talent in a moment by His grace. Therefore, to preach the divine knowledge, God selects a particular eligible human being. Such selected human being becomes a scholar in no time by His grace. Even though several scholars exist, who are suitable for His divine work, He will not select them because such corrupt scholars are not eligible. Jesus selected the eligible fishermen to propagate the knowledge but not the corrupt priests, who were suitable to the work. Any country develops by selecting eligible candidates and by giving them suitable training for the profession. Therefore, the education must give eligibility and the specific department should give required training. Eligibility comes only by spiritual knowledge. Today the education is giving suitability only from the beginning and forgets imparting the eligibility at any stage. This mistake in the education is responsible for the fall of India. The fruits of programmes of the Government are not reaching the needy people due to corrupt officials, who are selected by the only criterion of suitability that is imparted from their childhood.

The awareness is the most subtle form of Energy. When you say that God is awareness, it means that God entered the medium, which is awareness. In case, God has not entered the awareness, you are taking the awareness as a representative item for God for the sake of worship or meditation. To retain the awareness even by imagination, it is very difficult as said in the Gita (Avyaktahi Gatih…). The most difficult imaginable item is awareness and therefore, it is the best representative model for God who is completely unimaginable. Thus, awareness is only a representative model for God. Neither awareness is God nor God has entered the awareness due to absence of any proof for such entry. The Advaita scholars have completely misunderstood the concept and have gone to the extreme ignorance by taking awareness directly as God. Through the most difficult item, an impossible item can be indicated. The star-Arundhati is invisible and it is indicated by the nearest visible star-Vashishtha (Arundhati – Vashishta nyaya). Since awareness happens to be the material of the soul, Shankara preferred the awareness to represent the God. By such concept, He could attract the then atheists to become theists because, since awareness is both God and soul, the atheists easily accept themselves as God. Such concept will satisfy them because there is no external God other than themselves. It is very subtle diversion for the sake of atheists. Later on, Ramanuja introduced Narayana, who is the energetic body possessed by God. The awareness is only a representative item for God, whereas Narayana is the energetic incarnation of God. A possessed item is better than a representative item. The energetic form can be retained by imagination and thus, the convenience is increased.

At last, Madhva introduced Lord Krishna and Lord Rama who represent the human body possessed by God. The human form of God is more convenient than the energetic body not only for experiencing directly your worship but also to preach the knowledge. Today, Datta Swami reveals the sense of concept of Madhva in a more clear way, which is the most convenient. The human incarnation like Rama and Krishna does not exist today. Their statutes and photos can neither experience your worship nor can preach the divine knowledge to clear your doubts. Therefore, the present live human incarnation is the final essence of all the spiritual knowledge. Shiva entered Shankara. Vishnu entered Ramanuja, Brahma entered Madhva. Datta, who is all those three-in-one entered this Datta Swami. Therefore, Datta Swami alone can give the total essence of all those three divine preachers. Some may misunderstand Me treating this as egoism but I cannot help them in any way because this is the absolute truth of truths. But, I can pacify their jealousy to some extent by stating that I am not Datta and that Datta only entered Me. I can further release their tension by stating that Datta can enter any human body provided it is first eligible. I declare that Datta has entered the human bodies of all My devotees who are participating in this divine mission of propagation of divine knowledge. Their devotion to Me is only external according to the divine drama and essentially all of them are equal to Me. Hanuman is the servant of Rama as per the divine drama but essentially, He was equal to Rama because the same God exists in both those roles.

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