With the purification of mind, one can attain God. Sri Krishna, in his daily life, used many things but he always kept flute, amongst others instruments, with him. For how ever much time he played it, he never forgot to keep it in his hands. Rukmini has observed this and she felt, "How fortunate this flute is! It is always with Sri Krishna. I wonder what merit it has accumulated and what penance it had done. I am unable to stay in the close proximity of Sri Krishna. If I can know the reason behind the merit of the flute, I too can become closer to him." Rukmini wanted to talk to the flute regarding this matter. She waited for the moment when Sri Krishna would keep the flute away from him. But, he noticed this.
One day, Sri Krishna acted as though he was sleeping. While he slept, he kept the flute away from him. Rukmini thought this to be a golden opportunity and took the flute and went to an isolated place. She gave life to it and infused energy to make it talk. She said, "O Murali (flute), what a great merit you have accumulated! What austerity have you performed? Which pilgrim center have you visited? Which deity did you worship to? By doing what and all, you became eligible to experience the divine presence in this birth of Lord Krishna who is the king of the Universe? If I get to know the reason behind this, I too will experience the divine presence of Krishna. Kindly tell me these details." After listening to the words of Rukmini, Murali said, "O Mother! I do not know anything about sin and merit. I do not know who I was in my previous birth. Kindly forgive me." Rukmini devi did not agree to this. She persistently and repeatedly asked for the reason for its such a close proximity to Krishna. Finally, Murali said, "Mother! Look at my form. Look at what is there inside me. You will understand." She took the flute and observed it very carefully. However, she found that it did not contain anything. It was like space. Then, Murali said, "The speciality in me is that I am empty. I do not contain anything in me. I always keep my heart clean. That is why, I am close to Sri Krishna. Just like me, if everyone can remove the traits/influences of previous births from the mind, he/she can become closer to God. A pure mind is the reason behind attaining God." Listening to these words, Rukmini became very happy and she always tried to keep her mind neat and clean for getting the divine proximity of God. So, even we too must try to become free from all the impurities. Else, it is difficult. There is nothing in the flute. It is just the sky (Daharakasha). It must be empty and not to be filled with either good or bad. To get closer to God, one must have pure thoughts (just like a crystal), complete love and faith along with fear. When man acquires these qualities, he becomes a supreme soul and is always closer to God. But, we have two faces - one inside and another outside. What we think is different from what we talk. We have heavy impurities in our minds but we say, "God is not closer to me, God has not bestowed me with knowledge (Jnana)". It is wrong to talk all this. To get closer to God, just like Murali, we too must be devoid of all impurities, vices and ego.
Jaya Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta