Praying in Difficulty

O Learned and Devoted Servants of God,

When the child cries for the milk, the mother does not mistake the child for its desire for the milk because the love should be without desire. The same mother (if wise) will mistake her grown up daughter asking for her ornaments because ornaments are not the basic needs like the milk. The wise mother will say that she will give the ornaments after her death. But the same mother will not say that the milk in her breast will be given to the child after her death because the dead body cannot give the milk and moreover the child cannot wait for the milk for a long time. Similarly, God will not mistake the pure soul asking for the basic needs of the life especially when the soul is in the divine service. For mother, the cry of the child is needed because the mother is not always omniscient like God. But God is omniscient and knows the basic requirement of the devoted soul and will give the basic needs even without the cry. Yet, the mother experiences the love in giving the milk to a crying child. Similarly, the God experiences love when you cry for the basic needs to be granted by God. There is no necessity for cry in the case of God but after all the cry gives the experience of love. Moreover, the soul should not think that God would grant the basic needs like the salary given by the employer to his service. In the case of God, the service to God itself is the salary and there cannot be salary for taking the salary! Nivrutti (spiritual field) is quite opposite to Pravrutti (materialistic field). When the soul is pure and deserves a favor, God desires the devotee to ask Him like an innocent child to enjoy the love. God takes pleasure in fulfilling the desire when the child asks for it. A crying child for milk is not equal to a crying prostitute to snatch away your property, since property is not a basic need. A fool does not distinguish the basic needs and property. A foolish mother will give away her ornaments to her daughter like the milk from her breast and will end in trouble because the son-in-law will force the daughter to kick out her mother since the ornaments were already received.

When the devotee is in the service of the divine mission, to pray God for basic needs, is not wrong because the basic needs are essential to maintain the body and family. Such request is not the extra worldly desire and it is a part of the divine mission only. Jesus asked God to favor Him on several occasions but each favor was a part of the divine mission only. By begging the God for food, the inherent traces of ego induced through Advaita philosophy will also disappear. God also tastes the sweet love in such prayer. If the soul is really God, it will not be affected by the misery in anyway and moreover, it will enjoy the misery with more vigor since the misery is not available in the upper world. By self-analysis, you may detach from the misery but that much is not sufficient to declare the self as God. The characteristic of God is not detachment to misery but it is entertainment of misery with more interest. Even the detachment is not for a long time and the soul suffers with depression. Then, where is the question of enjoyment of misery for which God comes down with lot of interest in the misery? Totapuri was an Advaita philosopher and gave a long speech to Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa regarding the unreality of the world. He got terrible stomach pain and his self-attainment was not firm for a long time. Unable to withstand the pain, he tried to kill himself but even the suicide failed. Then, he realized that his soul is controlled by God’s power and is not the ultimate controller. Then, the pain disappeared immediately. The soul develops ego during its lifetime by helping other souls. The ego is the most dangerous snake that enters the self without your notice. The ego hides itself in the subconscious state of mind and you will be feeling that you are not at all egoistic. It is like a first stage of cancer, which is generally not noticed. Such hidden ego is smashed when you kneel before God on your fore legs and beg for the basic necessities. The saint practices this through begging the houses for food so that the concept of donor shall vanish away. God alone is the ultimate donor.

Kunti asked the Lord for difficulties so that her devotion to God improves more and more. She was the first soul to recognize the difficulties as the real preachers of devotion to God. The second soul was Myself who asked God for creating problems. You know I did long prayers to Lord Shiva to grant difficulties so that the divine knowledge and devotion improve more. God was astonished in these two cases since no soul requested God for difficulties so far after the creation! As a soul, My devotion to God improved tremendously during the difficulties. As God, I enjoyed the difficulties in this world, which are not at all possible in the upper world. You can take Me in whatever way you like.

Applicability of the Theories of Three Acharyas

God and soul are the two components mixed homogeneously to form a single phase called human incarnation. As the single phase, I can call Myself as soul as well as God. Two metals acting as the components are homogeneously mixed to form a single phase called as alloy. Gold and copper mix freely to form the single phased commercial Gold. As a phase, it is one but as components, it is two. These two aspects are Advaita and Dvaita. Gold is the major component and copper is the minor component. This is Vishishta Advaita, in which God is treated as the major component (Angi or Sheshi) and the mixed soul is treated as the minor component (Anga or Shesha). Please note the most important point in these three schools of philosophy and that is: These three schools are dealing only the human incarnation (alloy) and not God and soul, which are quite different and separate. If you keep Gold and copper even side by side, there is no debate because they are clearly two different and separate items even according to a small kid. These three schools deal only God mixed with a selected soul (Son of God) and do not deal even God and a liberated soul who is very close to God. When the two items exist clearly, there is no debate of one or two even if they are very closely associated. But when those two get mixed and appear as one, the debate of one or two or two-in-one comes into the picture. Shankara says that it is one because the devotee should worship the human incarnation as God only without the idea of the soul. Even the commercial Gold is called as Gold because Gold is predominating component. The presence of copper is neglected. Without copper, gold cannot be ductile and cannot be made as the chain. Similarly, without the soul, God cannot be perceived and cannot be meditated upon. The angle of Shankara is correct for any devoted soul towards the human incarnation. But when God exits, the soul is no more God. Arjuna cremated even the human body of Krishna.

When God left Parashurama, the latter was insulted. In such occasions, the devotee should come to the concept of Dvaita of Madhva. By following the middle Vishishta Advaita, the devotee should respect the soul also since it is the minor component, which cannot be isolated from the major component. It is Dvaita with the final effect of Advaita. Without knowing all this main essence and the basic contexts of these three schools, the followers are quarrelling with each other applying a particular school in another context. The wrong context is God and separately existing soul, which are made the subject of these three schools. There is no debate in the case of two blocks of Gold and copper even if they are very closely associated. When the context is gone, where is the debate, which is based on the wrong context? The fruits have fallen in the drainage and the quarrel was for the useless vacant basket!

Neglecting copper as a trace of impurity, Shankara treats the commercial Gold as pure gold. The lady who wears the golden ornaments should think that the ornaments are of pure gold. Madhva says that the copper atom present in the commercial gold is not the atom of gold under any circumstances. This is also correct from the point of a scientist who analyzes the gold and studies the properties of gold and copper separately. The views of the lady and the scientist are quite different and both the views are correct in their own contexts. The view is based on the context and here, the reference is very important. A devotee should treat the human incarnation as absolute God and serve God directly. Otherwise, the very purpose of the human incarnation is lost. But at the same time, when the properties of the human body and the human soul are exhibited like birth, illness, hunger, human feelings, death etc., the devotee should become scientist and must realize that God is beyond these properties. Sometimes, the Lord exhibits these properties extensively to test your firm faith and devotion in Him. During such tests, you should realize Dvaita of Madhva and should stand firm in the tests. Both Advaita and Dvaita are essential like the two eyes, but you should not open both the eyes simultaneously in the case of the human incarnation. Depending on the context, you should open the corresponding eye. Ramanuja maintains both these concepts together since He is the bridge between Advaita and Dvaita. Since gold and copper cannot be separated and isolated, it is Advaita. But gold is not copper and copper is not gold and therefore, it is Dvaita. He treats the world as the body of God, which consists of inert materials and souls. For a scholar, the body is like a shirt according to the Gita. The inert objects (Achit) and souls (Chit) are like the threads of the shirt with different colors. The world is like the blue color or adjective (Visheshana) and God is like the flower or substratum (Visheshya) and both are inseparable according to Ramanuja. The inseparable aspect brings Advaita and the two separate items establish Dvaita. All this is only in the case of the human incarnation. There is no debate in pure gold or in pure copper.

God as creator of this world is untouched by the world and remains as pure gold. The world never touches God and stands as a separate scene (drushya) and God (drashta) is entertained by the self-imaginary world, which is the cinema. The entertainment by seeing the cinema (druk) is only one aspect of the seer (drashta). The seer is also hearing the dialogues of the cinema. Now from this angle, God is hearer (Shrota) and the dialogues of the cinema are to be heard (Shravya). The process of hearing (Shravana) is not the process of seeing (druk). Therefore, awareness is only the process of knowing the object and it is not creating or controlling or destroying the object. The soul can know the object but cannot destroy or control or create the object. The soul can create, know, control and destroy its imaginary world. But in the actual world, the soul can just know the objects and neither creates nor controls nor destroys the objects. Knowing the objects is common point to both actual and imaginary worlds in the case of the soul or God. But the creation, maintenance and destruction of the actual world are not in the hands of the soul and are not the common points but these three are only similar points. It means that as you create maintain, and destroy your imaginary world, God also creates, maintains and destroys the actual world. It is a simile but Shankara expressed it as metaphor in the case of atheists to uplift them. The metaphor should be taken as the simile only. If the agent says that the girl is just the rose flower, it means that the girl looks like a rose flower. This does not mean that the girl is actually rose flower. The soul and imaginary world can be taken as the best simile for God and actual world. The simile helps you to understand the concept and at any time, you should not think that the simile and concept are one and the same. A similar point is not the common point. Therefore, the creation, control and destruction of objects are the three similar points in both the actual world and imaginary world. God and soul are similar. Actual world and imaginary world are similar. The only common point is that God and soul (assuming that the soul is a perfect scholar) know the actual world and imaginary world. This common point cannot make God as soul and the actual world as the imaginary world.

The Lord does not need your service in anyway for His work. He is only testing your attitude of your sincerity in His work by taking help from you in His work. You should not think that He really needs your help. You should not also think that you need not help Him because He does not need your help. Both these are the two branches of ignorance. He is actually testing your extent of sacrifice towards Him and thus, He does not need your help in reality. But based on this reality, you should not withdraw your help to Him because He is testing your attitude and extent to work for Him. When the examiner asks a question, the student should not think that the examiner is really ignorant about the answer and is in search of the answer from the student. The student should not also keep silent thinking that there is no need of giving answer to the examiner since the examiner knows the answer. Both these views of the student are wrong regarding the examiner. Neither Rama needed the help of monkeys in reality nor the monkeys kept silent without helping Rama since Rama does not require any help in reality. The reality is that Rama does not require any help and that the monkeys helped Rama to their best ability to prove their real interest in God.

Defects in Religions

The essence of all the religions is one and the same since the universal God gives it. The religions are different from each other because the religious leaders who are the human beings create the material that surrounds the essence. The skeleton is one and the same and there is no difference in the skeletons of the human beings. The difference lies only in the external materials covering the skeletons, which are flesh, skin etc., in these external materials, differences arose due to deficiencies. Suppose there are two students. One is weak in physics and the other is weak in chemistry. Each student mocks the other for the deficiency. Therefore, the deficiency is the root of difference and quarrels in the religions. The reason for the deficiency is the human brain that developed the external body of the spiritual knowledge. Therefore, the spiritual knowledge is the skeleton and the religion is its body. The deficiency in a religion can be removed by taking the merits of the other religions. Every religion has deficiency and the rectification of that deficiency should be from other religion without any ego and jealousy. Do not think that you are without defects. Do not think that your parents have no defects. Do not think that your teachers and preachers do not have defects. Therefore, observe others and take the merits from anybody without prejudice. The blind thinking that your nation, your state, your district, your town or village, your caste, your family, your parents, etc., is the best or highest should be eradicated from your brain. Always base your self on your analysis and common sense that is observed from the examples in the world. Your elders might have polluted the scriptures but this world is the best scripture written by God. This world-scripture is universal without any color of any religion. You can develop the entire spiritual knowledge by observing this world and the scientific knowledge existing in the various examples or items of the world. Any human being cannot pollute these. You must be scientific and analytical in your belief. The ignorant and clever religious elders always exploit blind belief.

Hinduism has two defects. The first is that all the rituals are not conducted in the mother tongue. The rituals involve hymns in Sanskrit. In the ancient days, Sanskrit was the mother tongue of the sages. They understood the meaning of the rituals and were very much interested in God. Every ritual explains about God only directly are indirectly. Today, the rituals are like the dead bodies without life. Their real aim and purpose is lost. Not even a trace of devotion is developed through any ritual. At least the priest should translate the hymns and should create interest in the ritual. If you observe the other religions, this defect does not exist because all their rituals are performed in their mother tongue. This is the reason for the sincere devotion in Christianity and Islam. Added to this, like Ghee for fire, the concept of only one present human birth in the other religions has developed tremendous interest in God due to fear. In Hinduism, the belief of several future human births brought lenience towards spiritual field. If you allow the candidate to pass the examinations in several attempts, no serious view can be developed. If you say that one has to pass the examination in single attempt, the education system will be perfect. Observing the other religions must rectify these two defects.

Christianity and Islam have their own defects. They should also rectify their defects by observing Hinduism. Selfishness, pathetic scenes and fear develop their belief in God. If you want to develop interest in God by saying that Jesus suffered for your sins and by showing the pathetic scene of crucifixion, it is not real and pure love. When you get interest in Jesus since He suffered for your sins, your love to Him is only based on selfishness. Your love to Jesus should be based on His divine personality and knowledge without any trace of selfishness. Similarly, these two religions try to create fear in the minds of human beings by mentioning the permanent hell. Fear should not be the basis for the love to God. The love should be spontaneous and without any selfishness in a free atmosphere. The reason for this deficiency in the foreign religions is due to absence of metaphysics in the scriptures. Those scriptures mainly deal with the development of proper human behavior to balance the society. Such scriptures are mainly dealing with ethics only and not with the philosophy of God like the nature of God, path to please God etc. The analytical development in the spiritual knowledge is not much in these scriptures. They have confined God to the path of Pravrutti only and God is simply an administrator bound by His own rules. He is just a judge to deliver the judgment and a jailer who jails the sinners. He is just a mechanical examiner without any freedom or love to devotees. He cannot go beyond the rules of justice. Of course, all this is good for the initial development of the human beings.

Mere happy life in a society is not sufficient because such life is not eternal. The life after death should be also analyzed. Mere judicial procedure is not the ultimate of God. The love towards God, the sacrifice for the sake of God, the concept of contemporary human incarnation for the sake of most beloved devotees etc., are points of higher importance than mere limitation to the petty family only. The view is at the best generalized to the service to the society. Society is only a large family of your colleague souls only. God is beyond society. You must transit from the service to family to the service to the society and finally to the service to God. These three are the subsequent steps in ascending order. The foreign religions are mainly confining to the first two steps only and not to the third step. In the name of the third step, they are only staying in the second step (social service) only. The basis for this deficiency is lack of the concept of contemporary human incarnation. They criticize the idol worship of Hinduism. But they are doing the same in another form in their Churches and Mosques. The exploitation of the devotees by priests is common to their religions also because the concept of the contemporary human incarnation is completely eradicated from the root in these religions because the selfish priests do not allow this. The same thing happened in the case of Holy Jesus. Hence, Holy Mohammad did not allow this concept for the fear of such horrible jealousy towards the contemporary human incarnation. In Hinduism also, the selfish priests oppose the contemporary human incarnation. However, in Hinduism, this concept is at least partially alive since the Gita says that God will come again and again (Yada Yada hi…) and that God will come in human form (Manushiim tanumashritam…).

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