Type of Devotion-God undergoes the misery of His devotees -- A NOT so Liberal POV

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Date Posted: 08:21:54 08/19/06 Sat
Author: dattaswami
Subject: Type of Devotion-God undergoes the misery of His devotees

Type of Devotion-God undergoes the misery of His devotees

Devotion is of two types. The first type is called as Bhakti, which consists of prayers or songs through words and emotional feelings through mind. This Bhakti gives temporary happiness only. Knowledge is related to intelligence, which is the discrimination of real and unreal through logical analysis. By such discrimination, you can realize that all the forms of matter and all the feelings of awareness are unreal. When you have realized that all the forms (Rupa) and all the feelings (Guna) are unreal even before the level of yourself, which is pure awareness, your life becomes completely an entertainment in both happy and unhappy situations. The self realization makes you a spectator of the cinema which consists of both happy and unhappy scenes. You will reach the state of an actor who is entertained in all the scenes of the drama on the stage. Thus the knowledge gives you permanent happiness which is called as bliss. Therefore, knowledge (Jnana) is greater than devotion (Bhakti). Here, you must note that the Bhakti is related to words and mind, whereas Jnana is related to intelligence. Hence, both devotion and knowledge belong to theoretical phase only which is limited to words, mind and intelligence.

The second type of devotion is called as Para-Bhakti, which is related to practice or sacrifice of service. This divine devotion (Para-Bhakti) consists of divine service by sacrificing work (Karma Sanyasa) and by sacrificing the fruit of work (Karma Phala Tyaga). This second type of devotion is far superior than the knowledge. The Bhakti and Jnana are selfish because in both your aim is the attainment of bliss by yourself. The divine devotion or the divine service is completely different, which has no selfish aim. In this divine service, your aim is to please God and not to please yourself. You have to receive the continuous loss and displeasure in the divine service. In this stage you are achieving the nature of God. God always enjoys the fruits of the sins of His devotees and is thus subjected to continuous misery. His aim is to make His devotees happy. God is serving His devotees. Service is always sacrifice to make others happy at the cost of self -happiness. The Veda says that God is bliss (Anando Brahma). The Veda reveals the meaning of this statement by further saying �Eshahyeva Anandayati� which means that God makes His devotees happy. Therefore, when we say that God is bliss, that does not mean God is continuously enjoying the happiness. It means only that God is making others happy continuously. In fact such a definition only, is the proof of God being bliss. How do you say that the fire is hot? Since the fire is making others experience its heat, people say that fire is hot. Similarly, if you make others happy, then only you are the embodiment of that happiness. Now the point is whether God is continuously unhappy by such sacrifice, which is His service to His devotees. The answer is that God is continuously happy through such sacrifice. He is deriving happiness continuously by enjoying the misery of His devotees. He is not unhappy to enjoy the sins of His devotees. Therefore, He is happy always and making His devotees also happy.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil Antony

www.universal-spirituality.org
Universal Spirituality for World Peace
antonyanil@universal-spirituality.org

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