How can we know the value of something without tasting it?
Nishkulanand Swami says “We obtained Maharaj very easily which is awesome; there is no greater achievement than achieving Maharaj. We have been roaming around for countless births with no right direction and we finally achieved Maharaj.”
Do we really feel there is no greater achievement than achieving Maharaj? No.
Why don’t we feel so?
Because we haven’t experienced the pleasure of the object we obtained. How can we know the value of the object without experiencing the pleasure of that object? Only when we taste the pleasure of the object can we know the value of it.
We have been in satsang for so long, yet we don’t know the value of it; we don’t know that we have got something better than others.
What do we mean by that? It means we haven’t derived pleasure from the valuable object we obtained but we are trying to derive pleasure from all other objects.
It is not about doing seva, or listening katha, or doing puja. It is about drinking the nectar of seva, drinking the nectar of katha, and drinking the nectar of puja.
Such nectar of Bhagwan was drunk by Shukdevji, and such nectar was drunk by King Parikshit. (Even though at one point he hesitated to drink, he eventually drank it to the fullest)
What did they become after drinking the nectar of Bhagwan? They became eligible to reach the divine abode of Bhagwan in this very body. That is the capability of the nectar of leelas, katha, or any activity related to Maharaj.
We obtained something of greater value than our efforts
We obtained Maharaj in this life, and the value of what we obtained is way higher than our efforts. Is it not?
In the good old days, kings used to generously reward individuals who performed small but timely work. If they are pleased by a particular work, they would reward so many ornaments, jewels, money, and all luxuries. The value of what they get from kings would be way higher than the value of efforts they put in to please them.
Similarly, the Maharaj that we obtained is not the result of our efforts or our spiritual practices. We got this fruit in the form of Maharaj whose value is way greater than our efforts. We should now take complete advantage of this opportunity.
Knowing our actual passion by a lottery-test
We got access to katha, puja, murti of Bhagwan, and seva of satsang. Are we into these to pass our time? Once we get into what we really love, are we going to give up these things related to Maharaj?
In Maharaj’s view “Who is the saint as good as Bhagwan?”
If a saint has qualities as good as Bhagwan’s qualities, then he would continue to do the activities that he was doing when he joined satsang and would continue to have the same mindset that he had when he joined satsang.
When we become seniors in satsang, are we with the same mindset that we had when we joined satsang?
Whether we continue to be with the same mindset or not will be clear with a lottery test.
What is a lottery test?
Assume you won a lottery of one billion dollars. Then ask yourself: “Will I continue to do the activities I was doing every day?”
With so much of money at hand, do we continue to do the activities we do every day? No, we will not continue what we were doing. We would keep some servants to do the work we were doing before winning the lottery and we would relax the rest of our life. Is it not?
If you were made head of an organization, what would you do? Would you continue to do what you were doing when you were not the head?
If we don’t continue what we were doing before, that means we don’t really have any taste for the activities we do every day. If we have any taste for the activities we do every day, whether we win a lottery or not, we will continue them without fail.
With such a lottery test, we should check if we are going to give up Bhagwan when we obtain something else that we think is more attractive than Bhagwan.
Are we doing something that will help us during hard times?
Nishkulanand Swami has said, “I saw Maharaj with my own eyes. By obtaining Maharaj, the pain of suffering has gone away from me. At hard times, when no one will be able to help you, this Maharaj is going to help you for sure.”
What is a hard time? Death time is a hard time. Whatever comes after death is very hard. What we do now is going to help us at the time of death. Right now, if we relax, or if we do useless works, it would be very hard during the time of our death.
So, Nishkulanand Swami said, “I only do those works that will help me in my hard times, so that, when I really face hard times, I need not be restless or think what I should be doing. When I face hard times, all these works that I do now will directly help me out.”
Are you doing any work that will help you during your hard times?
References:
- Chosathpadi Katha Part 32 (Pad 58-59).