Many people say they are bhaktas, devotees of Krishna. But if they do not understand or follow Krishna’s teachings, how can they be called devotees? It is like a lady saying she loves her husband but never listens to him! Love is not in empty words. You do not become a devotee by merely performing arati or singing His name. You truly become a bhakta when you have joined your heart to Krishna in love and devotion, and coloured your intellect with His wisdom.
People are engaged in mundane activities from morning to night. At best, before commencing any work, they light a lamp in a temple and do a pranam, that is all. And today, lamps are electric, requiring no ghee or wick. That is not bhakti. When we light our minds with this sublime knowledge, that is the real deepak we should offer to Krishna. Right now, your mind is shrouded in darkness. You may light a lamp, but after some time, the ghee burns up, and the flame extinguishes. True worship lies in igniting love in our hearts, but only a few ask how to do that. Further, it is no easy task because your desires are for the world, and anger, ego and greed colour your heart. How will you light the lamp of bhakti? We need to make our minds pure and clear up desires, only then is it possible.
Love And Purity
Your relationship with God is at best formal, not heartfelt. You lack that bhava— intense and pure emotion. Hence, you miss out on experiencing this magic. If love and purity grow in your mind, then everything is possible. We do not recognise many hidden powers that we carry.
For example, if someone truly joins their heart to the Guru and practises sadhana properly according to the Master’s instructions, then even if the Guru is physically far away, perhaps on another continent, it does not matter. If such a sadhak faces any difficulty, as soon as they remember their Master, a response will instantly arise – provided their mind is calm, like a still lake. It might even come in a dream. This miracle is a matter of love and the mind’s ekagrata. A concentrated mind can do wonders in this world. See, with your phone, you can call from anywhere to Rajkot, right? If humans have managed to create a device that can wirelessly transmit your speech, is it not possible that a saint has such a satellite within them, through which these messages can reach them? For a mahatma, much is possible.
When I say love and faith, Krishna’s great devotee Meerabai comes to mind. In one of her bhajans, Meerabai says:
“I will become a mendicant, unattached and wearing whatever guise my Lord pleases. I will be content within myself and hold on to equanimity. I will meditate on the one whose name is Niranjan (spotless, pure reality). Wearing the Guru’s knowledge as my attire, I will be absorbed in meditation. I will sing the glories of the Lord with love and devotion and remain tied to His feet. Let my body be the instrument, and with my tongue, I sing His names. Meera says, O Lord, let me always be in the company of saints.”
Without doing anything else, a devotee’s chitta becomes peaceful. “I have no desires; I am just colouring myself in Your colours.” Because the lamp of love is lit, there is so much light, peace and bliss that nothing else can survive in front of it.
Some people think that no difficulties ever come to a bhakta, but that is far from the truth. Just look at the Pandavas and how troubled their lives were, despite being with Krishna Himself! Yet, they never left their devotion. Mother Kunti prayed, “As long as life was hard, Krishna was with us. Now, life is comfortable, but Krishna has left us. Let my life be full of hardships but with Krishna by my side.”
Even in trials and tribulations, a devotee’s chitta maintains a beautiful condition, for two reasons: love and sadhana. Krishna tells us in chapter six of the Gita about the devotee’s state of mind:
“jitātmanaḥ praśhāntasya paramātmā samāhitaḥ |
śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ || 7 ||”
“The one who remains equanimous and peaceful in all conditions – heat or cold, happiness or sorrow, honour or dishonour – such a person is firmly established in the pure Self.”
“gyāna-vigyāna-tṛiptātmā kūṭa-stho vijitendriyaḥ |
yukta ityuchyate yogī sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ || 8 ||”
“The one whose antahkaraṇa is devoid of afflictions and is contented with the higher knowledge, who has conquered his senses, who regards everything, be it mud, stone, or gold, as the same; such a yogi is said to have attained self-realisation.”
Mastering The Mind
When one does sadhana with love, one gradually masters the mind – “jitātmanaḥ”. This is a new definition of who a bhakta is. It is easy to put sandalwood on the forehead and say, “I am a Vaishnav”, but winning over your mind needs effort – practising asanas and pranayama, sitting with a unified chitta and calming the mind. These kriyas must be learnt properly and practised. Krishna says that a conquered mind is “praśhāntasya” – always calm. If someone’s mind is not serene, it shows they have not done the necessary sadhana.
Many people only like to see me or hear my bhajans; they come for enjoyment. It is like seeing a beautiful dress and liking it, but upon knowing the price, you think, “Beyond my limits.” Nobody can stop you from liking the dress, but you need to pay to own it. Similarly, everybody likes satsang, but to “own” it, the price is to learn these techniques and practise consistently, with dispassion and regularity. But if you are contented with admiring the dress from afar, be my guest!
God is the very essence of bliss. Through unwavering practice, you begin to see that the Lord is not outside, but right within – “paramātmā samāhitaḥ”. You do not experience this bliss right now, because you have not mastered the mind. See, the outside idol is made of stone; the real thing is inside you. Suppose, I do not come to the satsang, and the volunteers put up my photo instead – will you like it? But Krishna’s picture does the job for you! His idol or picture can inspire, but you have to find the Krishna within you. And Bhagwan Himself says, “paramātmā samāhitaḥ”– “I am in you, but you must look for me.” That search means mastering the mind, “jitātmanaḥ”.
Krishna further states the indications of having mastered the mind: “śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu tathā mānāpamānayoḥ” – when someone’s mind does not shake either in cold or heat, in pleasure or pain, in respect or insult. Bhagwan says that, whatever the situation, a bhakta never suffers.
“Gyāna-vigyāna-tṛiptātmā” – through this sublime understanding, total satisfaction arises. See, real contentment does not come from outside but from within. You will attain this inner contentment when you have divine knowledge and practice yoga every day. I know of many people who started doing their yogic practises, and soon they left their drinking habits. I never told them to stop drinking, only to do yoga asanas. After a while, they said, “Now I do not feel like having it – it just went away.” “Kūṭa-stho” – you are the witnessing Self, observing the whole drama of life. Krishna says, “vijitendriyaḥ” – master your senses, and do not run after sense pleasures. “Yukta ityuchyate yogī” – such a person is called a yogi.
A yogi does not make a difference between iron and gold, “sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ”. It is not that the yogi is a fool who does not know the distinction between them. Their market value is different, but if there is no greed in your mind, then iron is gold, and gold is iron. People are crazy about gold and jewellery, they buy more and more and are still not satisfied.
Once, a fellow villager pleaded with Baba Sheikh Farid, “Our King Akbar respects you very much. Can you ask him to open a school in our village?” So, the fakir went to meet King Akbar. He arrived in the palace while Akbar was sitting in prayer, so Farid waited quietly behind him. The king murmured, “Hey Lord, give me more money, fill my treasury. Grant me victory over my enemies. That Rajput of Rajasthan is troubling me, let me defeat him...” Baba Farid turned and went away. After concluding his prayers, Akbar, who noticed that a fakir had come to his house, exclaimed towards Farid, “Wait! Why are you going?” Farid answered, “I thought you were a king. I came to ask for your help for my villagers. But now, I see that you yourself are a beggar!” People do business even in their prayers! That is not love. Who is a bhakta? One who is content from within. That is why they do not run after things.
To recapitulate: simply adoring an idol is not enough, you must find the Lord seated in your mind. And that will happen through sadhana. Sri Krishna has given the pointers that make a devotee, a yogi and a great human being. Reigning in the mind and senses through yoga sadhana, one becomes seated within – always remaining at peace, no matter what happens. The resulting light of Self-knowledge leads to sheer contentment, the end of all journeys. Krishna says, “hṛid-deśhe’rjuna tiṣhṭhati”– "I am in your heart." There is no need to go anywhere else. If the heart is full of faith and love, then Krishna is wherever you are.
The next article will further explore the glorious state of a yogi’s mind and how we can reach it ourselves, through dispassion and patient efforts to calm the mind.
