You have to sacrifice to God that which you cannot do for an

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You have to sacrifice to God that which you cannot do for any body

You will become near to God by all the sacrifice and all the service that is possible for you that can be done to God. But you will become dear to God when He asks you to do a particular sacrifice and service and when you can do that sacrifice and that service which you cannot do for anybody including God.

God knows your single specific weak point, which is the only bond that cannot be sacrificed even for the sake of God and God finally asks to sacrifice that weak point also for His sake. Unless the sacrifice and service is total, you cannot become dear to God.

Gopikas ( great devotee of God) have sacrificed every thing and every one for the sake of Krishna and God tested them finally whether they can sacrifice even the fear for the torture in the hell for His sake. God asked for the dust of the feet to be applied on His forehead to remove the headache. If such foot-dust is given to God, severe hell is certain and Narada stated this everywhere. Even Rukmini refused to give the foot dust fearing for the severe hell. But Gopikas gave the dust from their feet without fearing for the hell for the sake of Krishna and their sole aim was only that Krishna should be happy for which even going to hell is happiness for them!

Bhishma was fighting against the justice since he was bound by the word given to his father and mother that he will protect the throne irrespective of justice. He considered the parents to be the highest and he wounded even the Lord. He suffered all the torture of the future hell here itself on the bed of arrows but since he could not sacrifice the word given to parents for the sake of Lord, he went to Pitruloka only. Duryodhana and Dhrutarashtra went to hell since they could not sacrifice even the justified part of the kingdom to a devotee like Dharma Raja even though the Lord Himself was requesting for it. The only successful devotees were Hanuman and Gopikas who recognized the contemporary human incarnation and served it with full sacrifice in all angles.

Hanuman and Gopikas served the Lord personally only. Hanuman did full sacrifice of work for the Lord for His purely personal service. Gopikas did full sacrifice of fruit of work (Butter) and sacrificed even traditional justice by dancing with Krishna and all their sacrifice was for the personal growth of the body and happiness of Krishna only. In both these cases there was no trace of social service of the souls. The personal service is totally for the Lord only and there is no service to society here. This shows the highest devotion in which the goal is only Lord and not any soul or aggregate of souls (society).

Social service is only service to other souls. In the case of Arjuna, the Lord showed the personal service to Pandavas in getting their kingdom and the social service of establishing justice on the earth. The Lord did not give opportunity to Arjuna to serve Him personally in His personal issues. In all the wars with demons of personal affairs, Arjuna was not involved and God did His own work. The reason is that Arjuna is not of the highest devotion like Hanuman and Gopikas. Arjuna will certainly misunderstand the Lord if it was purely personal service of the Lord, since Arjuna was not having full faith in the Lord. Apart from these three epics dealing with the contemporary human incarnation for human beings, the other epics (Puranas) deal with energetic bodies of God in the upper world, which are worshipped by the human beings here itself hit by ego, and jealousy that are failing to worship the human incarnation. Even there, the human form of the energetic body represented by a photo or statue gives a training to serve the human form only to remove the repulsion to human form.

The social service to other human beings is also praised here and there in Gita and this is also a way to remove the repulsion towards co-human form. The three best epics concentrate only on the service to the contemporary human incarnation revealing the full success of Hanuman and Gopikas and the partial success of Arjuna. These epics also reveal the fate of the people who hate the human incarnation as in the case of Ravana, Shishupala, Kamsa, Duryodhana etc.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil Antony

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

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How can we make any sacrifices for Jesus.

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Knowledge, devotion and service are the three subsequent steps in the spiritual effort. But devotion and service can be considered as one step only, which is the love to God. Devotion generally means only theoretical devotion, which is related to words and mind. But the devotion confined to words and mind only without action is unreal and is considered to be the attitude of a prostitute who shows love only through feelings (mind) and words. Similarly, the theoretical devotion aspiring for some fruit from God is the devotion of prostitute (Veshya Bhakti). But the same theoretical devotion without aspiration for any fruit from God is good and without the theoretical devotion, service (Practical devotion) cannot be born. Even the practical devotion with aspiration for fruit from God is like the devotion of a merchant (Vyshya Bhakti).

Therefore, either in the theoretical devotion or practical devotion, the absence of aspiration for any fruit in return is very very important. The devotion both theoretical and practical with desire is Sakama Bhakti and Sakama Karma (Kamya Karma) respectively. The same theoretical and practical devotion without any desire is Nishkama Bhakti and Niskhkama Karma Yoga respectively.

The service or practical devotion consists of action or work and hence it is called as Karma. If the Karma is without desire it is called as Karma Yoga and with desire is called as Kamya Karma. The word Yoga here means the association with human form of God and Karma Yoga means the work or service done to that human form of God.

In both cases of Kamya Karma and Karma Yoga, if the practical devotion exists, it means the existence of theoretical devotion in the mind. Without seed (theoretical devotion) the plant (service) cannot be born. But without the plant, the seed can exist. You can get fruit from the plant only but not from the seed. Therefore, there is no fruit for mere theoretical devotion without its subsequent expression of service whether it is done with aspiration for fruit or not. If the seed is unable to develop into plant, such seed is a false or useless seed for a farmer.

We are seeing now the problems of the farmers with false and useless seeds, which do not grow into plants and give fruits. Hence, the theoretical devotion without desire for fruit is good but useless since no fruit can be achieved. You may say that since you are not interested in the fruit, you are satisfied with such fruit less theoretical devotion only. Such argument is only a misinterpretation of the truth to hide your selfishness. The aspiration for the fruit means the aspiration for the fruit that has come out on the plant. You must take a good seed and grow it into a plant, which should give a good fruit, and now in this stage if you are not aspiring for the fruit, then only it is Nishkama Karma Yoga. Hence, you must do the service without aspiration for the fruit that has appeared for your service.

You should not avoid the service saying that you are not interested in the fruit of the service and hence you are not interested in the service itself. Hence, Gita is stressing on the Karma or work and also on the absence of aspiration for the fruit. Both are equally important and one without the other is useless. Veda is also stressing on the work (Kurvanneveha….), sacrifice of the fruit of work (Tyaktena….) and the minimum enjoyment essential for the maintenance of your body and family (Bhunjedhah…).

You can have the corresponding quotations in Gita also (Kurukarma……, Phalam Tyaktva……, Sareera Yatrapicha te……). All these three aspects are the components of the total Yoga. People have misunderstood this total Yoga and have become lazy by leaving work or service, which is essential for God and self also on the pretext that they are detached from the fruit of work. It is like not cultivating the field and not sowing the seeds in the field stating that you are not interested in the crop (fruit). This is not sacrifice of fruit because the fruit is not seen at all.

This is not the sacrifice for the aspiration of the fruit because when the fruit is absent, where is the point of aspiration for the fruit? If the fruit exists before your eyes and if you sacrifice the aspiration for the fruit, then only it is the sacrifice of aspiration for fruit. Then, if your sacrifice of aspiration for fruit is real, it should be proved by actual sacrifice of fruit. Hence Gita mentions the sacrifice of fruit as the real proof for the sacrifice of aspiration for the fruit (Phalam Tyaktva…., Sarva Karma Phala tyagi….).

People have misinterpreted this concept in two ways. One way is to sacrifice the work itself and becoming lazy under the Hippocratic sanyasa. The other way is to sacrifice the aspiration for the fruit without the actual sacrifice of the fruit saying that Gita means only the sacrifice of aspiration for the fruit without sacrificing the actual fruit. If that is so how Gita mentions the actual sacrifice of fruit? (Phalam Tyaktva…). Veda also mentions the sacrifice of fruit (Dhanena Tyagena…). The misinterpretation is only to cheat one’s own self because by such cunning misinterpretation, nothing happens in the right way and something certainly happens in the wrong way, which is going to hell for such misinterpretation that misleads other souls also.

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Theoretical worship is nothing in front of God

All the hectic effort (to analyze God, soul, link of God and soul, link of God and world and finally the path to become God if possible or at least to become the dearest servant by pleasing God to get salvation or at least some benefit here) in the spiritual discussions is only for some selfish advantage.  The effort is hectic with a hope to find out the path to become God or to please God by some analytical knowledge and theoretical devotion without doing any action and without any sacrifice. If this single point is answered, all the effort for only discussion and only theoretical devotion vanishes.  In such case, the devotees will not be worried whether God is unimaginable or imaginable and whether the link between God and soul or world is imaginable or unimaginable.

However, the answer for this point can be straightly given in terms of practical demonstration by showing the life of Jesus

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You have to sacrifice to God that which you cannot do for any body

You will become near to God by all the sacrifice and all the service that is possible for you that can be done to God. But you will become dear to God when He asks you to do a particular sacrifice and service and when you can do that sacrifice and that service which you cannot do for anybody including God.

God knows your single specific weak point, which is the only bond that cannot be sacrificed even for the sake of God and God finally asks to sacrifice that weak point also for His sake. Unless the sacrifice and service is total, you cannot become dear to God.

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Real Devotion Vs false Devotion to God

        The devotion to Lord in the form of theoretical phase as well as practical phase should be done by making God as the final goal.  Such devotion only is real and the real devotees are Hanuman and Gopikas who should be our guides in the spiritual effort.  But very few human beings can attain such level and God says in Gita that one in millions only can attain such state.  In such real spiritual path all the items except God become means only, whereas pleasing God is the final goal.

But majority of human beings is reverse to this real path. Most of the human beings make God as means to achieve their self-pleasure by crossing the difficulties in life. Even the devotees who worship the Lord for the upper world also belong to such path only because they are also making God as means to avoid the hell in the upper world. Crossing the difficulties and attainment of selfish pleasure is the only goal whether the place is earth or upper world.

Hence, for ordinary human beings it is almost impossible to attain such real devotion. Selfishness is the nature of the soul and can never be avoided like the curve of a dog-tail (Prakritim yaanti Bhutani – Gita). Therefore, for almost all the human beings God becomes only the instrument or means to attain the selfish pleasure. Even the so called spiritual aspirants say that the goal of their spiritual effort is only to attain the bliss of God and in their view it is only the selfish bliss and not to give bliss to God.

If you take the case of Hanuman ( a real devotee of Lord), He wanted to commit suicide in the service of His contemporary Human incarnation while searching for Sita ( a female devotee). He thought that if Sita is not found, Rama will die and instead of becoming cause to the death of Rama, He thought that it is better to end His own life. Generally people worship God to avoid pre-mature death. But Hanuman wanted the pre-mature death for the sake of God. Several demons worshipped God to become immortals without death. Thus, there is 180-degree difference between Hanuman and demons and hence Hanuman is the bitter enemy for all the demons.

    Therefore, to achieve real devotion towards God with a final aim of pleasing God at the cost of one’s own death is a matter of dream for human beings.
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Jesus sacrifice

Jesus tells that unless one is prepared to carry on his own cross for the sake of God, one cannot become the dearest disciple of God. In fact crucifixion of Jesus was not only to save the real devotees from their sins but also to create kindness in the hearts of even cruel people so that they will be attracted towards spiritual path. Hence, the crucifixion of Jesus was completely a part of the divine program of God. Hence, Jesus accepted it to fulfill the work of God.

If you take the case of Hanuman ( a real devotee of Lord), He wanted to commit suicide in the service of His contemporary Human incarnation while searching for Sita ( a female devotee). The result of such sacrifice is that Hanuman became the future creator and Jesus sat on the right side of God. When Krishna left His body Gopikas jumped into fire while their husbands were alive. They have sacrificed not only their lives but also the tradition of jumping into fire only on the occasion of the death of the husband. They attained Goloka, which is above the abode of God. Such examples of Hanuman, Jesus and Gopikas stand only as inspiring ideals for ordinary human beings so that at least every human being can at least get pass marks.

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Selfish low level devotion

    It is very clear that the human being can worship God only to cross difficulties and attain selfish pleasure (Maanushananda) and if possible to attain the bliss of God (Brahmananda).  The difficulties may belong to this world or the upper hell but the philosophy is one and the same.  In such case, how to keep the human being constantly in the devotion of God, which is certainly means only and not the end?  Even in such low type of devotion, people forget God as soon as the problems get solved.  For a few days they may remember God with gratefulness but very shortly they forget God.  People will remember the problems of the past forever provided there is a possibility of claiming the credit for their effort.  This means people will remember the difficulties in the past and explain the scenes with lot of interest to others continuously till their date of death provided there is a possibility of mentioning their own capabilities as the means for crossing such difficulties.  Therefore, the past difficulties are of no use to keep the human being in the devotion constantly because God has to be praised and not the self.

Hanuman never told that He jumped over the sea by a single long jump to project his own capability. Even if some body mentioned about that incident, He would say that He jumped over the sea with the grace of God only. But if you replace Hanuman by an ordinary human being, what will happen? For some days he will say that he jumped over the sea by the grace of Rama. But slowly, as the time passes on, he will be saying that he jumped over the sea by a single jump. You can see such egoistic attitude in the conversations of even old people who always try to project their capabilities expressed in their past life incidents.

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Pressure of present problems lead to artificial devotion on Lord

    The only spontaneous devotion towards God (which of course is not real since the devotion is only means) is the pressure of present problems.  The artificial devotion shoots up spontaneously because God is only the final means for crossing such present difficulties.  There is no need of any message or force for the devotee to maintain the devotion during the tenure of the present problems.  But once the problem is solved and peace and happiness are attained, the human being forgets God completely after a very short time.  This ungratefulness towards God is mainly based on the effect of ego because there is no possibility of keeping the self in the place of God in solving such problems.

If there is even a trace of possibility of keeping self in the place of God, the fellow will be constantly remembering that incident till his date of death because it projects the self praise. You may say that the only alternative is to continue the problems without end. In fact Kunti asked the Lord for such a boon. She told that since difficulties alone can maintain the devotion alive in the case of human beings, she asked the Lord for continuous difficulties. But this is not possible because continuous difficulties also bore the soul and the attitude of God as the divine father is to make the souls happy and not to bore.

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philip12;

You please read all my replies and analyse it carefully and come up with any doubts if you have.