Devotee: Then, Swami, yogis, the spiritually wise (jnanis), ascetics —don’t they deserve that position?
Take the milk-ball sweet, orange sweet, hard candy, and a number of other sweets. In each of them, as the common cause of sweetness, there must be the one article, sugar, right? How else can they be made? So also, in these three paths, the sweetness of the Lord’s Name or devotion (bhakthi) is an ingredient. Without it, the very names of these objects become absurd!
Devotee: Another point, Swami! To approach the presence of the Lord, is it necessary to have faith in the Lord and, with that faith, perform soft prayer, meditation, devotional singing, and worship? Or is it possible to attain that position through the path of truth, the path of dharma, the path of love (prema), or the path of service to others?
Swami: Well, how can the qualities you mention originate
without the fear of sin and the fear of God? Are these paths and the qualifications needed for them ordinary and common? No. They are the doors to the inner apartment of the Lord. Those that follow those paths can easily reach the precincts of the Lord.
And yet, there is a difference between friends and relatives! Those who only develop these qualities are friends, but those who practise them, along with devotion to the name and form, become relatives. That is the difference. The meditation on the name and form also helps to strengthen the qualities (gunas). Without that foundation, the qualities cannot be strong and firm and pure. The Lord’s name and form remove the dross from the qualities of people.
Devotee: But the devotee and the person with good qualities attain the same place, don’t they, Swami?
Swami: Certainly. The merely good person becomes a candidate who deserves the place. The good one who has
devotion has a title to the place and can’t be passed over.
Devotee: Swami, many people are active, doing various things under the slogan, “Service to humanity is service to God.” Do their deeds entitle them to the place?
Swami: Why do you ask so? Certainly — for those who do
service with that attitude. But it is very hard to get that real feeling. Considering others as people, simply saying that “serving them is serving God” is not sincerity. The mind will then run in two channels.
Grasp the glory of Madhava (God) fully; understand that Madhava is in every human (manava); believe that serving people is only serving Madhava. Then, your actions will certainly entitle you to the place. What greater qualification is needed than that?
Instead, if “service” is done for name and honour and fame, and if the mind craves the fruits of one’s actions, then the statement, “Service to humanity is service to God” has no meaning, and one won’t get the expected result.
Devotee: It is very interesting, Swami! Speaking about the Bhagavatha evoked many holy ideas and morals today. So if one delves into It, what invaluable truths will emanate! I am indeed blessed, this day.
Swami: Have you understood it all? Bhagavatha is the story
of the beginning-less and ending-less Atma. It is in both forms, subtle and gross. It is subtler than the subtlest, grosser than the grossest. It has no limit or measure.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharatha are historical epics (Ithihasas). The Bhagavatha is different; it is the description of the Atma; it instructs in the path of devotion (bhakthi). It can never end and never has a “Finis”. This is the significance of the Bhagavatha.
The Ramayana and the Mahabharatha are historical epics (Ithihasas). The Bhagavatha is different; it is the description of the Atma; it instructs in the path of devotion (bhakthi). It can never end and never has a “Finis”. This is the significance of the Bhagavatha.
