Hare Krishna Narayana

“Krishna continued, ‘It is only Self-knowledge that hinders Self-realized saints who are freed from every form of desire from reciprocating the love that has been showered upon them by others’.

They would be immersed in Self-contemplation or would be soaked in unending bliss. When your Guru does not reciprocate your feelings of love or does not look at you when you offer obeisance to Him, remember that being Self-realized He is soaking in Self-knowledge and His mind is preoccupied in penance. It is sinful to comment negatively about your Sadguru.

If at all your Sadguru blesses a person who does not bow to Him, understand that this is the outcome of the person’s past meritorious activities or some past debt that your Guru has towards Him. A significant reason exists behind this action of Sadguru.

‘He refuses to even glance at me when I am so devoted towards Him’- such comment is unnecessary. Through your deeds you are burning your own sins. There is no rule whatsoever that He should look at you and greet you every time you pay Him a visit. When your sadhana fructifies, He too will look at you and bless you. At that moment He will bless you even if you refrain from offering obeisance to Him, as your sins have all been destroyed and you are now pure. Your Sadguru is waiting for that opportune moment to bless you. The other person whom He blessed for no apparent reason had actually burnt away all his sins and thus was ready to obtain His grace.

There are many who complain that Swamiji does not look at them, smile or talk to them when they prostrate before Him. It is wrong. Prostrating before Him is for your own benefit. It is incorrect to expect Him to engage in small talk just to please you. It is wrong to demand that He sees you and talks to you each time you visit Him. ‘It is enough if we get to have His darshan’- such firm determination should arise in us.

Similar to your predicament was the one faced by these Gopikas and hence they questioned Krishna about it. Gopika Geeta leaves us perplexed at times. How could they talk so informally to the Lord? Why is it that at times they are abusing Him? Why are they raising Him to the skies and praising Him? We are confounded completely.

When Self-realized saints fail to bless us or acknowledge our presence, it is not a mistake on their part as they are soaked totally in Self’s bliss. As we keep visiting them, one day or the other they will look at us.

“How can they, who have no love or attachment towards their own body, love the bodies of others?”

Due to Self-realization, bodily identification is absent in them. When they lack feelings of attachment towards their own bodies how can they love bodies of others? Given this understanding, is it right on our part to crib that they have not spoken to us, acknowledged our presence, kept their right hand on our head, smiled at us and the like?

“To such Self-realized saints, who see the Lord as pervading everything, everyone appears as the Supreme Lord.”

Even a trace of illusion does not exist in them as they have crossed this ocean of spiritual ignorance. As their focus is wholly upon the Lord, often they lack consciousness of their own existence and presence. When they lack consciousness of their own body, how can it be expected that they will be conscious of your arrival and your prostration? As such it is incorrect to accuse them of lacking love.

“When the love shown by two people is mutually selfish, it leads to sin. Pure love takes the person towards merit (punya) while impure and selfish love takes the person towards sin. Only supremely knowledgeable Jnanis (saints) are filled with absolutely untainted, crystal clear pure love”.

When we try to converse with them, they refuse to talk. If we try to touch their feet, they object. They refuse to touch us. Even if we touch them, they are not conscious of it.

“Ungrateful people who are averse to their benefactors and who seek to swindle them are wicked by nature and hence the concept of love ceases to exist in them”.

Although selfishness exists in every living entity, the selfishness present in fraudsters is harmful. It is excessive greediness and self-centeredness. They readily accept help from others and continue to expect more and more help from them never intending to return the help in any form. They are filled with wicked feelings and hence seek to swindle and harm their own benefactors. How can love towards others exist in such hearts?

“Others can never be harmed by Self-realized saints who are free from all forms of desires”.

The love shown by them is extra-ordinary and is freed from even a trace of selfishness as against ungrateful people who swindle even those who have loved them dearly.

“O dear friends, when a penniless person obtains wealth only to lose it, he forever grieves about the lost wealth unmindful of other circumstances. Similarly, in order to ensure that my devotees continuously meditate only upon Me, I make myself visible and then turn invisible to them”.

If the Lord remains eternally visible to devotees, they will stop thinking about Him and meditating upon Him. Their spiritual pursuits come to a standstill. Their mind will never establish permanently upon the Lord. The burning desire to merge ceases in them. ‘May the burning desire intensify in them. May their mind be rendered totally pure’- purely in order to help the devotees establish completely into Him, the Lord periodically appears and disappears from their midst.

“I will never remain permanently in their midst”.

Through this explanation, Krishna clarifies many doubts through various examples pertaining to this worldly life, our Sadguru.

“O helpless women! All of you are very dear to me. Purely for Me, you have abandoned your reputation in this society, your Vedic duties and all your relations and have come here. In order to ensure that your meditation upon Me continues ceaselessly, I disappeared from your midst”.

Your mind should fix exclusively upon Me else the risk of forgetting Me exists -says Krishna.

Narayana Krishna