God loves contentment

[dattaswami]

God is the Lord for both Pravrutti and Nivrutti. You have to please the Lord even in Pravrutti. If the Lord is not pleased in Pravrutti you cannot please Him in Nivrutti also. The fundamental requirement to please the Lord in Pravrutti is to have satisfaction at every step. The contentment with whatever you have will always please the Lord. You must be happy with whatever is already given to you by the Lord and you must always thank for the past. You should not put your eye on the present or the future and put an application to the Lord. Even if you have travelled from one place to other place you must thank the Lord for having protected you during the journey. You have reached the destiny only by the grace of the Lord. It is not sure that one will reach the destiny by a bus or train or aeroplane.

 

If any accident takes place you are gone forever. Everybody is under the influence of strong ignorance and thinks that he has reached the destiny by his effort. Some people think that reaching the destiny does not need any effort and it is just a routine thing. Therefore, either you feel egoistic for your effort or you neglect the journey as a routine matter, which does not require any effort. Both these are illusions. You have reached the destiny by the grace of the Lord only. Therefore, in every stage you must remember the Lord and express gratefulness to Him. By such behaviour the Lord becomes immensely pleased and is encouraged to do every thing for you. Jesus always used to thank the Lord in every small work also. He always thanked the Lord for the past and never was worried about the present or the future.

 

He thanked the Lord for the four breads already given. He never was worried about the thousands of visitors who came to see Him and they were feeling hungry. He never planned about the future consequence of such situation. The Lord was extensively pleased and multiplied the four breads into thousands of breads. Therefore, contentment with what already you have and thanking the Lord for whatever was already given will please the Lord. You must thank the Lord even for every respiration because it is only by the will and grace of the Lord the lungs are working and the air is going in and coming out of the lungs. The heart beats and every beat is only by the graceful sanction of the Lord.

 

I find several people who crave for money every time irrespective of what ever they had. They never attain the satisfaction at any stage of the growth of their financial strength. God becomes displeased with such people and will not grant further wealth because the fellow will never get satisfaction. There is no use of granting any amount of wealth because the fellow is never satisfied. When the satisfaction is absent he will not thank the Lord with full heart. Even if he thanks, it is only for the future sanction. Therefore, if you really wish to have the grace of the Lord to remove your present financial crisis and poverty, the first step you have to take is to have satisfaction and complete contentment with whatever you already have. You plan with the existing funds and adjust yourself accordingly.

 

If you have the will to adjust you can adjust to any quantity of wealth. When the adjustment is done, you will have the full satisfaction. Then if you pray the Lord you will not ask for any thing more because you are already satisfied. In such case your prayer is not for the fulfilment of any desire. Your prayer requires the Lord Himself and not any thing other than the Lord. Your prayer will be in His praise only and not for any desire because you had the full contentment already. Then the Lord gets real pleasure from you and will force His grace on you continuously. He will rain wealth on you forever. The wealth will be multi-dimensional. Wealth does not mean simply cash. Wealth means health, good children, good appetite for food and good digestion, good sleep, perfect peace, and success in every effort, continuous courage, knowledge and finally the salvation. Goddess Lakshmi is in eight forms and one form is only cash (Dhana Lakshmi).

 

Therefore, if you really wish to get rid of the eight forms of poverty from your life and if you really wish for the eight forms of wealth, the only qualification you have to attain is the full contentment with whatever you have already. Gita says the same (Nitya Truptah…..). Sankara was in such a state. When He praised Goddess Lakshmi, she rained golden fruits. He did not take even one fruit from that heap. He desired for Goddess Lakshmi and for Her grace, but He never desired for the fruit of Her grace. He derived bliss from praying Her and from Her constant grace.

 

The gold rained by Her does not give bliss. It gives only tension and worry. It creates dissatisfaction always. It destroys the contentment. If you have ten gold coins you will aspire for one hundred. After getting hundred you will aspire for thousand. There is no end for this. You will never achieve the contentment and you will be in the stream of dissatisfaction till the death. Therefore, if you touch the beginning of this chain, this infinite chain of wealth carries you away. If you do not touch it you are always having the contentment. Sankara told that the poor fellow is always fortunate (Koupinavantah Khalu Bhagyavantah). Sankara also told that the money would lead to misery of dissatisfaction only (Arthamanartham…).