Shree Krishna then said, “O Gopis! Stop crying. Don’t create commotion. Be secretive in regard to love:
(Krishna asks them to have patience. He asks them not to create a scene in front of others. Love should be kept secret in the heart. There should be no disclosure about it.)
“O Gopis! Conceal your love for me in your heart. Don’t reveal it to others:”
(Conceal your love for me. Don’t make it public. Be discriminative and stop talking about your love. It should not be subject to insults by others.)
“Act as per my advice. Go back home. Have solace and patience in the heart. Nothing in the three lokas is dearer to me than your selfless love.”
(I am bound by selfless love, O Gopis! This is the only truth. I love heartily those who love me. This is the eternal truth.)
God says that He belongs to Love
Shreeji Maharaj says in Vachanamrit (G.M.28) ‘I bestow upon those who serve with devotion the devotees of God, my supreme benediction. However, the most benevolent attribute that I possess is the sense of service with all humility towards the devotees of God. And I feel that one who does not possess such a sense of service, does not deserve to be great.’
There is a beautiful port city of Mangrol on the coastline of the Arabian Sea. Devout trader Govardhanbhai lived in Mangrol. He was a firm and faithful satsangi. He was a true devotee of Shree Hari. He dwelled constantly in the divine form of God. He always saw Shree Hari when he looked anywhere. He was in the sublime state of pure consciousness. He saw God in all gross elements.
He was a merchant who traded in large quantities. But he never forgot God in his trading and business. He saw God in all his customers. He always bought the goods in association with Swaminarayan and sold his goods similarly. He did his business with constant communion with Lord Swaminarayan.
If his customers purchased the goods on credit, Goverdhanbhai credited the entry to the name of Swaminarayan. Thus, the cash and credit accounts were in the name of Swaminarayan. The names of the customers never appeared in his accounts.
Swaminarayan Bhagwan knew that Goverdhan sold the goods to his customer by crediting it to his name. Shree Hari decided to contact the customers personally to collect the credited amounts. Shreeji Maharaj disguised himself in the form of Goverdhan Sheth to recover and collect the money for his faithful devotee. Business went on smoothly and Goverdhan Sheth knew nothing about this. He carried on with his business and his mental worship of Lord Swaminarayan.
Lord Swaminarayan Bhagwan collected and credited all the money for his single-minded devotee! His devotee sat peacefully in his business centre and God ran here and there to work for him! God executes the responsibilities of his devotee, if he surrenders absolutely to God. We devotees have forgotten this truth.
It is alright, if God desires so
Shreeji Maharaj once said to Shukanand Muni, “Swami, please write letters to all villages. Inform them about a forthcoming drought. There will be harsh drought in the following years. Devotees should maintain enough stock of food grains, water and money to overcome such adverse times.” Swami wrote letters to all the devotees living in different villages and towns, but no letter was issued to Natha Bhagat of Vadodara.
Muktanand Swami said, “O Maharaj! You have forgotten our Natha Bhagat of Vadodara. Should we write to him or not?”
Shreeji Maharaj said, “We don’t need to write a letter to him.”
The saints were taken aback by such harsh answer of Maharaj. All devotees were warned against the drought and were guided categorically in regard to storage and safety. Then why was he not instructing the writing of a letter to Natha Bhagat? They thought that God was not willing to disclose this to Natha Bhagat and warn him.
Next year was most adverse due to the dry famine. There was no rain; no showers not a single drop of water! The forests dried in want of water. Cattle were destroyed in want of grass and water. People died in hunger and thirst. Theft and robberies panicked the town’s people.
Natha Bhagat was very poor, even in his best days. So how could he manage to buy and store food without any money?
Well, Shreeji Maharaj paid daily visits to his house to serve breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon and supper at night. Shreeji Maharaj served him for twelve months without any lapse.
Remember this well satsangis! Lord Shreeji Maharaj sustains our daily life by giving us food and water. A devotee has nothing to worry about himself because Lord Shreeji Maharaj takes good care of his faithful devotees. Shreeji Maharaj has said, “If you live by remembering me, I will be there when you need me.” So forget about the world and do devotion.
Remembrance of God is the root of eternal peace
God says, “I belong to those who belong to me.” This is the real truth. Shreeji Maharaj says in his Vachanamrit (G.M.63), “I feel that the state of devotional service offered to God and His single-minded devotees is far higher than the state of spiritual pure consciousness. I however hesitated to consolidate the state of pure consciousness, which would inhibit further human births. Therefore, there is no state more elegant than the state in which a devotee takes births again and again and prefers to remain in the midst of devotees, and offers devotional service to them.”
Dear Devotees! This is the benedictory attribute of Shreeji Maharaj. This is the sovereign will of God. Though, He himself is supreme Lord, God appeals to the devotional love of his devotees. Think about this and determine yourself how much you do for God, for Satsang and for the soul. To what extent are we free from the baser instincts? Probe into the deepest thoughts and examine this.
Balanced diet, exercise and work are a must for physical fitness. Similarly, study of the scriptures, meditation and prayer are a must for mental fitness and spiritual strength.