No one can give you God; He can only be had by individual seeking.
Shankara says, "The child is busy with play. The youth is busy with sex. And the aged is busy with worries. How few think of the Lord." Do not forsake Him; rather forsake your desires, for they are blind alleys. Look upon this life as the cosmic movie of God; and do not identify yourself with the part you play. Otherwise, when tragedies are being enacted and when diseases and troubles try to break you, you will lose your balance of calmness. You must so strengthen your mind and soul that in the face of all crucifixions you will be able to say, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Be so deeply immersed in the thought of God that troubles of life will not upset you. Instead, you will laugh at them and say "Lord, it is all right. Thou art with me: Thou art my own. Thou art my mother and my father. Thou art my friend. Thou art my beloved. Thou art my ambition. Thou art my health and wealth. Thou art my home, my garden, my flowers. Thou art my life — my breath and my joy and peace and will. Thou art everything that I have sought." Then He will come.
...We can convert ourselves, our matter-of-fact workaday life, to vibrate with the song of the Infinite. Spiritualize yourself, so the divine melody will flow through your life no matter what your outer activities.
You should be able to utter the name of God just once with such devotion that it will bring a great joy in you — God will become manifest in you. That consciousness is indescribable. But keep your love of God sacred within you. Let no one know that love of God which you keep hidden in your heart. When you pass a certain stage in your spiritual growth and God wants you to speak to inspire others, that is all right. But God will not come to you as long as in your mind you are trying to impress others. His love is very sacred, very private, and it is in secret that you will find Him. Secrecy is the price of God's consciousness. Where there is no one watching to praise you, there you will find God. ...You will not find God by emotionalism, intellectualism, or by following the popular beliefs of the crowds.
Source: Paramahansa Yogananda (Self-Realization Magazine: Spring 2005)
Dear Vriju,
I believe you should have absolute shraddha that you will realise god eventually. Can anyone set any time limit for reaching god ? I don't believe so. What we need is unwavering focus and shradda(I just love this word, it has no synonym in English, sorry Rosemary.)
Re: When will God come to you? Is there an answer ?
While there may be no exact English translation for Shraddha, it is generally translated as "faith". That is, "faith", as trust or whole-souled convinction.
Shraddha is what enables us to put our whole being into our spiritual practice. And in this sense Unni speaks truly. Until we have absolute shraddha that we will realize God -- until we have complete conviction that this can and will happen -- our practice is tinged with doubt.
Yet, we need not despair because we begin at a place of unknowing. Thus spiritual practice is also about increasing our shraddha. We begin with some. Without some faith that we might be able to realize God through the means of spiritual practice one would never take these practices up! Why would we? Even if we begin out of curiosity, we would soon lose interest with out some measure of shraddha.
As our shraddha motivates us in the beginning, so does it grow in time. And as our convinction becomes stronger, so does our spiritual practice intensify ... until that time when all doubt and all sense of separation vanish.
Re: Re: Re: When will God come to you? Is there an answer ?
Does pain alone increase Shraddha? Can we answer this? I don't know. I think not, however...unless one is a spiritual seeker or devotee.
For if we ask whether devotees are ever drawn closer to God through pain, then the answer becomes yes, without a doubt. Devotees repeatedly tell how pain and struggle brings them closer to God.
Re: When will God come to you? Is there an answer ?
Dear Unni,
Shraddha is a beautiful word with no equivalent one-word in English. It is unwavering faith, deep devotion, and profound respect --- all blended together.
Yes, we do need shraddha along with continual effort to purify our mind and then wait for the grace! How can one set any time limit indeed, to reach God?
