dattaswami Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 Devotion The relationship of the devotee with the Lord is called devotion. Devotion is love for he Lord. Love is proved by service or seva. Claims of love without service are fraudulent. Praying, meditation, intellectual discussions, words, feelings or singing hymns does not substantiate devotion. If a husband loves his wife then he must serve her when she is ill. If he just sits by her side with his eyes closed or meditates upon her or chants her name aloud, while refusing to practically serve her by giving her medicines, food and drink, then he is only making a show of love; he does not really love her. The one who really loves her will serve her. The Lord is pleased only with total devotion. The Gita says “eka bhakti? visi?yate”. He wants the devotee to love Him alone; not anyone or anything else. Nobody or nothing should be equal to Him. He will make the devotee reach this stage of devotion. This is the essence of all the datta parik?a or the tests of the Lord. The devotee will be tested severely till he breaks all bonds with everyone and everything in the world, till only the bond with the Lord remains. The Lord does not compromise in this aspect. He will not tolerate even a drop of the devotee's attachment to anything or anyone in the world. Lord Krishna tested Radha very severely. She was His beloved in v?ndavanam. When the Lord left v?ndavanam he left her behind. Not only that but He even married other women. He offered protection to sixteen thousand women. He never returned to v?ndavanam to Radha. He never inquired about her. He never even saw her face again. Such was the severity of His test. His intention was to see if Radha would get jealous. The weakness of a woman is her lover. No woman can tolerate any other women around her lover. Radha, who was the Lord's beloved, for many years in v?ndavanam had all the reason to get jealous of the wives of Lord Krishna. Yet her love was pure. It was free of expectation. She never once gave in to jealousy. She was ever full of love for Him. She would constantly imagine herself falling at the feet of the Lord. She died pining for Him. The Lord was extremely pleased with her and gave her his eternal companionship in the uppermost world. The Lord tested Hanuman in the aspect of egotism. He gave Hanuman ample opportunity to develop egotism. Lord Rama never displayed any special powers to prove that He was the Lord. Hanuman himself had a lot of super powers and had to use them more than Lord Rama. The Lord also made sure that Hanuman was compelled to use those powers to save Him. He made Hanuman save Lakshmana's life by lifting the dro?agiri mountain in order to obtain the life saving sañjivani herb. When Lord Rama and Lakshmana, both were knocked unconscious by the powerful demon, indrajit, Hanuman had to fly to the heavens and bring garu?a the Divine Eagle, in order to save them. Thus the Lord made it appear that it was Hanuman, who was never incapacitated in the war while the Lord Himself was. It was Hanuman who had to rescue the Lord. It was Hanuman who displayed super powers and not the Lord. It would appear to a common observer that Hanuman was the Lord and not Lord Rama. However Hanuman's devotion was sublime. He did not fall pray to egotism. He understood fully well that Lord Rama was the Lord and that He was only testing him. He therefore said “daso'ha? kosalendrasya; “I am the servant of the Lord.” At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami Anil Antony www.universal-spirituality.org Universal Spirituality for World Peace antonyanil@universal-spirituality.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts