Perform your duty in the world and attach your mind to God -
1) We are attached to only 8-10 people in the world. With others, we just maintain etiquette (meaning we don't have an attachment but rather put on an act of being attached). If we learn to merely maintain etiquette with these 8-10 people, too, and only perform our duty towards them, then our mind will become empty. Then, we can easily direct it towards God. People in the world want our work to fulfill their self-interest, while God wants our love. So give your actions to the world and your mind to God.
Whether sitting in the office or doing business, this is what we do day and night. We are habituated to this. It's a very simple, straightforward matter -
jāte kachu nija svāratha koī tāpara mamatā karai saba koī।
The extent to which someone fulfills our self-interest or shows promise of fulfilling it determines the extent of our love for them. For example, if a woman's entire self-interest is fulfilled by her husband, she loves him completely. If her son fulfills less self-interest, she has less love for him. And even less love for a friend. This is how the temperature of our love varies. Whoever fulfills our selfish desires, that's where our love lies, no matter who it is. When there is a 10% disruption in fulfilling self-interest, love also decreases by 10%. This is the sordid story of worldly love.
If we realize that we are the soul and not the body, we can easily interact outwardly among the relatives of the body, merely performing our duty and attaching our mind to the actual relatives of the soul, God, and Guru. And loving them alone can fulfill our self-interest of attaining divine bliss. For that purpose, it is our duty to purify our minds.
This is what the Gita says - tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmara yuddhya ca - O Arjun! Keep your mind constantly attached to Me while performing all actions.
Attachment to worldly people will make the mind further impure, regardless of who they are. After death, we must attain the one to whom our mind is attached. God and His family (i.e., His names, forms, pastimes, abodes, and Saints) are beyond Maya; they are pure - our mind will become pure only by attaching it to them, no matter how long it takes - this depends on the speed of our devotional practice. Once we purify our minds, the Guru will bestow divine love on us without asking.
2) Visualize Shyamsundar sitting in the corner of your desk, wherever you work. Every 15 minutes or half an hour while working, take a second to glance at Him and realize He is sitting there watching you, noting your thoughts. Practice realizing this repeatedly throughout the day. This will prevent us from sinning. We constantly realize ourselves, i.e., 'I.' Similarly, if we constantly realize that we are two - one, the soul, and the other, our beloved Shyamsundar (dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā) - then we will always remain intoxicated in divine love, with the feeling that the master of the infinite universe is seated in my heart. If this feeling persists forever (even if you don't chant His name), consider that this in itself is half of God-realization. This will not happen all of a sudden. However, with repeated practice, Shyamsundar, who is the ocean of bliss, will permeate our intellect. He will never leave; even if he ever does, we will become completely restless about missing an invaluable possession. There are many disturbances in household life, so this will happen slowly. We will be able to do sadhana properly only in solitude when that is the only thing we do. Hence, sit down for sadhana on a weekend or any holiday and resolve to get up only to eat, wash, and sleep. Spend the rest of the time in sadhana. Don't engage in useless talks.
So, do your worldly tasks while keeping your mind engaged in God because God has a condition of exclusivity - He says, "Attach your mind to me alone" (māmekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja). No one can truly love anyone in this world, even if they want to, as everyone cares only for their own happiness (navā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvaṃ priyaṃ bhavatyātmanastu kāmāya sarva priyaṃ bhavati). So, do not be deceived. There can be no relationship between two waves in the ocean. Each wave is related to the ocean alone. So, God alone is our friend - practice by repeatedly contemplating this. And as you practice, gradually, when the mind gets completely purified, the Guru will impart divine love. Then, we will attain our ultimate goal.
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
Spirituality in Daily Living (Set of 4) - English
Perform your duty in the world and attach your mind to God -
1) We are attached to only 8-10 people in the world. With others, we just maintain etiquette (meaning we don't have an attachment but rather put on an act of being attached). If we learn to merely maintain etiquette with these 8-10 people, too, and only perform our duty towards them, then our mind will become empty. Then, we can easily direct it towards God. People in the world want our work to fulfill their self-interest, while God wants our love. So give your actions to the world and your mind to God.
Whether sitting in the office or doing business, this is what we do day and night. We are habituated to this. It's a very simple, straightforward matter -
jāte kachu nija svāratha koī tāpara mamatā karai saba koī।
The extent to which someone fulfills our self-interest or shows promise of fulfilling it determines the extent of our love for them. For example, if a woman's entire self-interest is fulfilled by her husband, she loves him completely. If her son fulfills less self-interest, she has less love for him. And even less love for a friend. This is how the temperature of our love varies. Whoever fulfills our selfish desires, that's where our love lies, no matter who it is. When there is a 10% disruption in fulfilling self-interest, love also decreases by 10%. This is the sordid story of worldly love.
If we realize that we are the soul and not the body, we can easily interact outwardly among the relatives of the body, merely performing our duty and attaching our mind to the actual relatives of the soul, God, and Guru. And loving them alone can fulfill our self-interest of attaining divine bliss. For that purpose, it is our duty to purify our minds.
This is what the Gita says - tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu māmanusmara yuddhya ca - O Arjun! Keep your mind constantly attached to Me while performing all actions.
Attachment to worldly people will make the mind further impure, regardless of who they are. After death, we must attain the one to whom our mind is attached. God and His family (i.e., His names, forms, pastimes, abodes, and Saints) are beyond Maya; they are pure - our mind will become pure only by attaching it to them, no matter how long it takes - this depends on the speed of our devotional practice. Once we purify our minds, the Guru will bestow divine love on us without asking.
2) Visualize Shyamsundar sitting in the corner of your desk, wherever you work. Every 15 minutes or half an hour while working, take a second to glance at Him and realize He is sitting there watching you, noting your thoughts. Practice realizing this repeatedly throughout the day. This will prevent us from sinning. We constantly realize ourselves, i.e., 'I.' Similarly, if we constantly realize that we are two - one, the soul, and the other, our beloved Shyamsundar (dvā suparṇā sayujā sakhāyā) - then we will always remain intoxicated in divine love, with the feeling that the master of the infinite universe is seated in my heart. If this feeling persists forever (even if you don't chant His name), consider that this in itself is half of God-realization. This will not happen all of a sudden. However, with repeated practice, Shyamsundar, who is the ocean of bliss, will permeate our intellect. He will never leave; even if he ever does, we will become completely restless about missing an invaluable possession. There are many disturbances in household life, so this will happen slowly. We will be able to do sadhana properly only in solitude when that is the only thing we do. Hence, sit down for sadhana on a weekend or any holiday and resolve to get up only to eat, wash, and sleep. Spend the rest of the time in sadhana. Don't engage in useless talks.
So, do your worldly tasks while keeping your mind engaged in God because God has a condition of exclusivity - He says, "Attach your mind to me alone" (māmekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja). No one can truly love anyone in this world, even if they want to, as everyone cares only for their own happiness (navā are sarvasya kāmāya sarvaṃ priyaṃ bhavatyātmanastu kāmāya sarva priyaṃ bhavati). So, do not be deceived. There can be no relationship between two waves in the ocean. Each wave is related to the ocean alone. So, God alone is our friend - practice by repeatedly contemplating this. And as you practice, gradually, when the mind gets completely purified, the Guru will impart divine love. Then, we will attain our ultimate goal.
Recommended books by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj related to this topic:
Spirituality in Daily Living (Set of 4) - English
Read Next
Daily Devotion - June 10, 2025 (Hindi)- शाश्वत प्रतीक्षा
तुम मेरे थे मेरे हो मेरे रहोगे (आ या ना आ मुरली वारे) हमने किसी को बुलाया और वो नहीं आया तो हमारा मूड ऑफ हो जाता है। हमारी तबीयत खराब थी और वो
Daily Devotion - June 09, 2025 (English)-Love Without Terms
Tum mere the mere ho mere rahoge (aa ya na aa murli vare) If you call someone and they do not come, you feel hurt. If you are unwell and they do not visit or inquire about your condition, you will harbor resentment against them for life. This is the
The Mind Is the Battlefield- The Eternal Conflict Between Desire and Detachment
The scriptures and Vedas present two seemingly contradictory statements. One states that detachment from the world must happen first, while the other declares that attachment to God must come first. In explaining this, Shri Maharaj Ji has emphasized a crucial point - both detachment and attachment happen only in the
Daily Devotion - June 5, 2025 (Hindi)- अकेले जाना होगा
हम लोग संसार में माँ के पेट में अकेले आये थे, दूसरा कोई साथ नहीं था। यहाँ आकर हमने अपनी गलती से अनेक साथी बना लिए और मेन मिस्टेक ये किया कि उनमें मन