Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhāgavatam are all holy texts which contains messages for persons belonging to every stage of life. They dispel all the doubts that emerge in the hearts of every person. Such are His compositions!
The Supreme Lord, out of his limitless mercy and compassion towards his devotees, composed such sacred texts. Due to our intense devotion we believe that He underwent a lot of hardships during every incarnation. But in His (Lord’s) opinion, there were no hardships or difficulties of any kind.
The Lord incarnated as a fish, as a boar, as a turtle and many more. In each of these incarnations, he suffered and struggled. To save his devotee Prahlāda, he took birth from a pillar in a half-man and half animal form. He experienced unbearable agony in that strange body. He killed the demon and saved his devotee. In every story He teaches a new lesson which dispels our doubts.
Creation itself is very strange. In every incarnation he willingly took on so much pain and troubles. Recollecting all of them will cause the true devotee to turn emotional. Out of devotion, if a devotee thinks that the Lord underwent troubles and hardships, there is nothing wrong.
Each incarnation of His teaches a different lesson. It clarifies the different doubts that different people entertain. A deep lesson will be hidden behind every story. That is why it is essential to listen to such stories. Everyone should organize gatherings wherein the stories of the Almighty are explained. These are known as Bhagavad sabhas. They should listen and give everyone else a chance to listen to such stories.
It is very important to introduce children to listen to such stories relating to God. Children should be encouraged to sing songs that extol the glories of the Lord. They should be given a chance to enact the roles of the Divine on stage plays. It could be a trivial role but yet it will have a great impact on the mind. It is the best treasure that we can ever give them. They should be trained to sit and listen to such stories.
By praising the divine qualities that the Lord possesses, the good qualities within us multiply. To inculcate good qualities and traits it is very important to think about them and to glorify them.
Very often we come across people who constantly complain- ‘Oh, I do not get the required concentration. I do not somehow get the proper devotion (bhakti)’. The focus here is on driving away the bad or negative traits. This is like trying to forcibly push away the darkness inside. They do not understand that where there is light, there can be no darkness. Where there is knowledge, there cannot be ignorance. So instead of concentrating on what they do not have, they should focus on getting the right knowledge (bringing in light).
The bad habits and traits have settled down very deeply inside. They have completely enveloped the mind. There is no use in fighting with them every minute- ‘O bad habit, leave me, go away, go away’. Instead sow a good habit. When the good habit increases its grip, the bad habit has no place to sit and rest. It will have to go away and make way for the good habit. This is the correct approach.
Instead of this, people say that until they are totally pure and have rid themselves of all bad qualities and traits, they will not enter the sacred precincts. This will never ever happen. It is akin to waiting for all the waves in the ocean to recede before bathing. The waves will never cease and hence the person can never bathe.
Now there is another class of devotees. They say, “Ah! Let this difficulty pass away. After that I will wholeheartedly offer service to Lord and Guru”. The difficulties/desires in life will never cease and they can never ever go for seva. “O Swamiji, let me just get through this difficulty, that’s all. After that I am ready”. Remember that after one difficulty, another will begin to raise its head. The person should be willing to snap the ties with the difficulties. Some desires he should sacrifice. Some others, he should willingly disown. After joining the Lord’s service, the person should never even slightly regret his decision. He should not encourage others to even raise the topic about it.
To summarize today’s teachings- only when we praise or glorify good habits and traits we can inculcate them!
Om Namo Hanumate Namaha.