The Formula for Divine Grace
Remember and contemplate this couplet daily. Shri Maharaj ji has encompassed the essence of all the Vedas and the scriptures in this couplet.
We have to keep the knowledge of the following four principles in mind always and practice:
- Perform devotion to Hari and Guru - Devotion means love of the mind, not the senses. Devotion to both God and the Guru is necessary because God's law is that we cannot contact Him directly. We can only attain Him through a Saint. 'So binu saṃta na kāhūṁ pāī' - without associating with a saint and surrendering to him, one cannot attain God. This is why the Vedas proclaim -
yasya deve parābhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau
We should perform devotion to the Guru precisely the way we do to God. Devotion to God alone, without devotion to the Guru, is prohibited. Hence, it is said that we should practice devotion to both God and Guru.
We can also achieve our goal by performing devotion to the Guru alone. However, since the Guru is physically present before us, we sometimes harbor critical thoughts about him. The reason for this is our pride, the biggest impediment to devotion. We have infinite bad qualities within us. So accept yourself to be faultful. When the Guru tells us our faults, we should feel elated, even if the Guru tells us about it in front of everyone. We should realize that, leaving his meditation on God, the Guru is pointing out my defects. He is bent upon my welfare, which is why he is pointing out my flaws. To think against the Guru's words with our material intellect is an offense. And it is because of such offenses that we are unable to progress in devotion. So, we must be careful and always keep philosophical knowledge in mind.
- Nit - Continuously bring Guru at times and God at times into the heart. They are watching us and noting all our thoughts. We need their grace. If we commit sins, we will not receive Their grace. We must realize this repeatedly, not just for half an hour while sitting in Kirtan. We have to do this continuously.
- Nishkaam - Do not go to your Guru with worldly or spiritual desires. We must serve them and bring them happiness. We are Their servants. Our duty is servitude to Them. Asking something from him instead is against the sentiments of servitude.
- Ananya - Have exclusive faith in Hari-Guru. If we repeatedly bring them into our mind, the mind will become pure. If we bring worldly attachments and enmities into the same mind, it will become dirtier. We have to avoid this. 'Anya,' or other, means souls bound by māyā and material objects - the mind should not go there. It should not get attached there. The heart will steadily get purified if the mind remains absorbed in love for Radha-Krishna's names, forms, pastimes, qualities, abodes, and saints. And within a few days, the heart will become completely pure. Then God and Guru will automatically do the remaining work without our asking.
We have to practice these four principles ourselves. No Guru can perform sadhana on our behalf. The mind is ours, so we have to purify it through practice. Guru will certainly help in all ways. Without that, we cannot do anything anyway. Now that we have understood from Shri Maharaj Ji that devotion must be done by the mind, we must do the sadhana ourselves. It won't happen on its own. Therefore, remember this couplet daily and practice sadhana accordingly. Then, you will achieve the goal.
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