Daily Devotion - Jan 7, 2026 (English)- Why am I unable to love God?
In this world, everyone has practical experience of this:
jāte kachu nija svāratha hoī, tāpara mamatā karai saba koī.
In other words, wherever we perceive our self-interest, the mind naturally develops love for that object. The stronger our sense of self-interest, the deeper that love.
Hence, the question is - Why, then, am I unable to love God?
Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that this requires practice. You might wonder - why does it require practice? In the material world, we can fall in love in an instant. Our mind naturally develops feelings for someone we believe will serve our self-interest - even to the point where we may abandon our mother, father, children, or spouse.
This happens because, right now, we are confused about the meaning of 'self-interest'.
Self-interest or svārtha means -> 'sva-artha' -> 'sva' means self or mine, 'artha' means - interest or purpose -> 'self-interest', one's own purpose.
'One's own' means that which belongs to 'I'.
And what does 'I' mean? - This is where the confusion lies.
'I' refers to the soul, but we mistakenly identify 'I' as the body. Countless births have been wasted due to this single misunderstanding. Wandering through 8.4 million life forms, we kept dying repeatedly, yet failed to grasp this simple truth - that 'I' refers to the soul, not the body.
God Himself has said - putradārāpta baṃdhūnāṃ saṃgamaḥ pāṃtha saṃgamaḥ।
O, humans! The relationships with wife, husband, son, and all relatives are "pāṃtha sambandha." It's similar to traveling on a train, where everyone in our compartment is together for a temporary period. Some passengers will disembark at one station, while others will disembark at another. While together, we engage in casual conversations. But when their station arrives, they must leave. Everyone must follow their own path. No one can prevent this. When the time comes, everyone must depart. So "pāṃtha sambandha" refers to these temporary relationships formed during life's journey. We have had countless mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters throughout our many births and life forms. Yet, each relationship lasts only momentarily.
In this world, no one belongs to anyone - like waves in the ocean. A wave's relationship with another wave is momentary, while its relationship with the sea is eternal. Similarly, a soul's relationship with another soul is temporary, and love exists only as long as self-interest is served and conditions remain favorable. Once self-interest ends, love also ends.
Therefore, we must understand the ‘I’ and realize that we are the soul. To achieve this realization, God instructs Arjuna to practice because, for countless births, we have practiced identifying ‘I’ with the body and continue to do so in this life. We never seriously contemplated, ‘I am the soul’. This realization typically comes only through the association of a genuine saint who explains it to us or when someone dies - and even then, only for a fraction of a second (not even 0.1% of the time). This is why Shri Krishna tells Arjuna - abhyāsena tū kaunteya - repeatedly think, "I am a soul. Only God and Guru are everything to me. No one in this world is my well-wisher. Everyone speaks sweetly to fulfill their own interests."
When you identify yourself as a soul, you will also realize that 'God alone is mine'. You will recognize that as a soul, you are part of God - His beloved, His child, His everything - and He is everything to the soul. People in the world typically desire all kinds of relationships, such as a father, a mother, a son, or a daughter. If someone doesn't have a sister, they feel that something is missing in their life. So God says, accept Me as your everything - husband, father, son - even thinking in this manner in the material world is considered a sin, but God has given us a concession. He says, "You can make all your relationships with Me alone. Don't seek anyone else." And it is a fact that the soul has no other relatives. The relationships of the body are artificial. When you identify yourself as a soul, all worldly relationships will lose their hold. While living in the world, you must maintain appropriate external behavior and fulfill your duties, as this is how society functions. If you have a child, you are responsible for providing care. But if that child dies, you should not weep. You should not be sad or happy in others' sorrows and joys. Everyone, anyway, experiences the pains of their own body, mind, and intellect, along with the struggles of desire, anger, greed, and other vices. Why burden yourself unnecessarily with others' sorrows by claiming them as your own? Wisdom lies in managing your own sorrows while allowing others to handle theirs.
Thus, the answer to our initial question is -
We do not love God because we do not consider ourselves a soul and do not accept that God 'alone' is everything to us. We say God is 'also' ours, not 'only' ours. We acknowledge that God is also mine while maintaining that all our worldly relationships are also mine. We attempt to walk in both directions. God says this divided approach will not work. We do sadhana and shed a few tears for God, and shed a few tears when a daughter leaves after marriage, as well.
This mind is impure - it must be purified. We must let only pure thoughts (of God and Guru) enter the mind. If we allow the impure to enter, the mind will become even more polluted.
Therefore -
- Accept yourself as a soul
- Accept God 'alone' as your everything
- Practice accepting the above 'always'.
This is all the knowledge contained in the scriptures and Vedas. This is the essence of the Vedas and scriptures.
This is what Sri Maharaj Ji condensed in one doha -
Hari Guru bhaju nit Govind Radhey। Bhaav nishkaam ananya bana de॥:
i) Practice devotion to God and Guru with your mind.
ii) Worship them continuously.
iii) Practice 'exclusive devotion' - do not let anyone else enter your mind.
iv) Worship Them without any desires - do not seek to fulfill your worldly desires from God and your Guru.
You must practice this.
No guru, regardless of their relationship with you - be it as mother, father, or son can accomplish this for you; you must practice it yourself. Therefore, we must be very careful and utilize each moment to practice this.
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
