We were discussing about devotion. It is said that either with devotion which is absolutely devoid of enmity, or out of total aversion towards the Lord the mind should be fixed completely upon the Lord.

In case of pure devotion in which the devotee has no aversion towards the Lord, he thinks, “God is my friend; He is my relative; He and me are one and the same; He is everything to me; He is my father, mother, sibling, spouse, child, friend, relative and acquaintance”. This is true devotion! Such devotee sees God in every relationship. He sees God in every person he meets. He does not expect any reward for his prayers. He says, “I will endlessly continue to worship you. I do not demand anything from You. Do not worry about me. I will simply continue Your puja”.

The third is devotion due to fear. In this case the devotee worries that the Lord will punish him in case he skips his prayers. “If I do not complete with vrata (ritual) the Lord will be angry with me. Oh, how can I skip my daily prayer, doing so will displease God.” In fact the devotee should get over such fear. Devotion with overflowing love is any day superior to devotion with fear. The former is pure devotion while the latter is impure devotion. Devotion with fear will not yield complete results. For how long can such devotion be sustained? One day he will become adamant and will give up his rituals.

The next is devotion coupled with feelings of friendship. The last is devotion with some expectation of reward or seeking fulfillment of desire.

**It is said that any of these forms of devotion should be used to fix the mind completely upon the Lord. This is of utmost importance! Fixing the mind completely upon Him is the primary pre-requisite. **

Maharishi Nārada continued, “The Lord does not distinguish between the different types of devotion. What is important is that the devotee has fixed his mind exclusively upon Him and would have surrendered it completely”.

**Swamiji explains: **The Lord checks only these factors: Are you devoted towards Me? Do you love Me completely? Are you totally dedicated towards Me? Is your mind fixed upon Me?

“It is my firm belief that even by adopting the path of devotion (bhakti yoga) the devotee cannot attain such absolute merger as he obtains through intense aversion towards Him!” said Maharishi Nārada.

Swamiji explains: When a person becomes so powerful that he cannot be defeated by anyone he desires to attack God. He begins to believe that he is superior to God. So seeking this combat he focuses upon the Lord night and day. From this it can be inferred that this powerful man has accepted the existence of God; he has also accepted the Lord’s prowess and might believing Him to be the most supreme entity in the creation. In nutshell, it means he indirectly believes in God.

When an atheist claims that he despises God, it means he has accepted the existence of God. Thus it implies that God has already obtained victory. When analyzed from this angle, we conclude that these demons have already been defeated by Him.

God has no such distinctions. He will not say- this morning you did not wear pure, washed clothes prior to puja hence I will not relieve you from your stomach ache; I will not heal your headache. Due to fever you have abstained from bathing for last one week, hence I cannot heal you. Even ordinary doctors treat the diseased irrespective of whether they have bathed or not. How can Paramātma, the supreme doctor, behave differently? The Lord only wants to know whether the person is absolutely devoted towards Him or not.

Maharishi Nārada continued, “The bumble bee catches an insect and traps it in a tiny hole. Out of fear and hatred the insect constantly thinks of the bumble bee so much so that it ultimately transforms into a bumble bee. Lord Srikrishna is the Supreme Lord who has, using His power of illusion, taken on a human form. Just as the insect focuses upon the bumble bee due to fear and hatred, some human beings, due to feelings of enmity, constantly think about Him. Due to this constant thinking, they destroy all their sins and ultimately merge into Him.

Just as devotees merge into Him by treading the path of devotion, others due to their fear, hatred, friendship or for fulfillment of their desire fix their mind unflinchingly upon Him. Through this they destroy all their sins and ultimately merge into Him.”

Swamiji explains: Here the emphasis is on the word ‘unflinching’. It should be fixed through unwavering focus upon Him. If in any task you waver then your success is not guaranteed. Before you begin to climb the hill, if you see the steep steps and dejectedly think, ‘O my God, what a long way to go’ then after climbing the first few steps you will experience breathlessness. On the other hand, if you begin with a positive outlook then after climbing 10 steps you will say, “already 10 over. Now only 990 more to go.” Here it represents absolute determination. They will definitely succeed.

Kamsa focused upon Krishna due to fear; Gopikas focused upon Him due to their desires. Gopikas wanted to embrace the Lord, they sought His company all the time, they wanted to be beside Him all the time. With this single desire they focused entirely upon Him.

Madhavaya namah