Nishank Bani Vapro
Once an attachment with the Lord has been conceived, one loses all interest in worldly and materialistic pleasures. This loss of interest liberates the soul. We have attained Atma-Buddhi with the vijli séva sant – this bond is a one-ness with the Satpurush. If we could really appreciate the true value of such an attainment, we would become insane. The Lord, through his grace, sustains us. P. Kakaji was a prime example of one who constantly remained engrossed in the full appreciation of what he had attained. He fully appreciated how fortunate he was to have the association of Yogiji Maharaj – he would often say:
“Kiski ghar-vali hu mai!” – meaning:
“I belong to the Lord, God himself and none else.”
Why was Kakaji able to maintain this momentum and, more to the point, why do we fail to do so?
First and foremost, one should be sincere towards the Satpurush. If ever we desire anything (materialistic or spiritual) then simply ask the Satpurush to fulfil your inner most wishes. P. Kakaji and P. Jasuben practised this – they would always pray to the Lord and chant the Swaminarayan mantra until their wishes had been granted. We too could achieve this, however, we do not have the same level of faith in the Lord as they do.
We should practice asking the Lord for even the smallest of wishes to be granted. We must already have prayed to the Lord for certain things and experienced that our prayers have been heard, our wishes have been granted. Our wish may have been to become a member of Gunatit Jyot or we may have prayed for the purification of our déhabhav. These prayers have been heard, but we fail to make a note of such events. If we care to recollect, we would realise there have been innumerable occasions when God has heard our prayer.
Constantly utilise prayer as a means of fulfilling your desires. When prayers are answered, make a note of them. Gradually, as one experience leads to another, our faith in the power of prayer will become so strong that prayer will become an inherent part of us. Thus we will never experience any form of distress or unhappiness. Do not involve yourself in spiritual philosophies. P. Kakaji would instantly turn to prayer as a means of resolving problems or achieving anything.
Do not be afraid, put your trust in the Lord and simply ask for whatever you desire most. Then pray, wait and watch. As each prayer is heard and your wish is granted, your ‘trust in the Lord’ will turn into strong faith. Prayer is the important factor.
Once we have established firm conviction, if we pray with profound faith, then our prayers will definitely be answered. Then why don’t we resort to prayer? If we had a million rupees we would be confident that we could buy anything we wished for. Similarly if we have confidence in the power of prayer we can achieve anything we want. Why then don’t we utilise this power?
The answer is sheer laziness. We are too lazy to utilise the power of prayer which is within our reach. Am I wrong? The power of God is infinite. However, we will not be able to experience this unless we resort to prayers. Let us learn to utilise the power of prayer. We do not lack anything – the Lord has graced us our lives with His presence – thus let us turn to Him in prayer.
Let me narrate a short story to you. Once upon a time, there was a noble man. He was quite wealthy and lived happily. Since he was wealthy and always got what he desired, he never remembered the Lord, nor did he practice prayer. Gradually he became lazy and stopped earning a living. He used up all his savings and eventually began to sell off his furniture and belongings to pay for food until he had absolutely nothing left. His circumstances changed so drastically that from being quite a wealthy man, he became extremely poor – all due to his laziness.
His guru realised what had happened and decided to intervene in order to help His disciple realise his mistake. Every day, this man would pick some beans from a near-by beanstalk and sell them. This gave him just enough money to buy some food but did not alleviate his poverty. The guru decided to chop down the beanstalk. When the man found out, he was extremely annoyed with the guru as the beanstalk had been his only source of income. However, without the beanstalk, he had no option but to go looking for job. He found a job and gradually his financial status improved. Once again, he became wealthy enough to furnish his home.
After three years, when the guru visited his disciple, the disciple asked: “Why did you chop down the beanstalk?”
The guru replied, “ If I had not done what I did, you would not be as well off as you are now”.
The moral of this story is that we should not be lazy to utilise the power of prayer. Whenever we are faced with any kind of problem, we should instantly turn to prayer. If we can utilise prayer in the same way as P. Kakaji and P. Jasuben then we will have attained our goal. How will we do this?
We should try and remain engrossed in the Lord. Instead, we tend to remain submerged in our swabhav which ultimately leads to emotional disturbances, distress etc. The Lord is compassionate, when we are submerged in our swabhav, He waits in the background and watches. Eventually, when we realise our mistakes and turn to Him, He grants us strength and guidance. The Lord is humble; even though we forget him, He never forgets us… He is always there for us… only a prayer away.
Also, we should accept and believe the Lord to be the supreme omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent divine force as described in the 1st commandment of the Sanjivani Mantra. The only thing we should hold on to in our lives is God. Even if we have everything in the world, but do not have God, then it is useless. Since we do not appreciate the true value of the Lord, we tend to hold on to other things. The true acknowledgement of the Lord as mentioned in Sanjivani Mantra would mean the end of our sadhana.