I Am Yours Forever

I Am Yours Forever

When I am yours, then why do you feel discouraged? Shri Krishna loves fallen souls, so why worry?

Lacking hope and wallowing in despair is one of the greatest stumbling blocks on your spiritual path. If you constantly focus your mind on thoughts of God and Guru, in whatever form and way that appeals to your mind, then you will always remain positive and hopeful.

I have continuously explained time and again that humility is very important, i.e. to realise and feel yourself to be a sinner since countless births, to feel yourself to be a worthless fallen soul, but to never lose hope or feel that you cannot perform sadhana.

Repeatedly reflect over the undeniable truth expressed in the following verse in the Prem Ras Madira, (21.21).

“With Shri Radhe as my Swamini, what do I have to worry about? When there is such infinite mercy in Her court, what do I have to worry about? What do I have to worry about when I have such a simple, tender-hearted protectress?’

The best panacea to counteract despair is to meditate upon the divine qualities and attributes of Shri Radharani. I am surprised when I hear that so many people fall into depression, or suffer from some form of mental tension. Such a situation can only come about if one begins to lose faith in God and their Guru. If you earnestly follow your Guru’s instructions, willingly chanting the name of Radhe with each and every breath, then you will never feel any tension. Never! Tension arises in those whose understanding of spiritual philosophy is not sound. No matter what happens, do not allow pessimism or despair to come anywhere near you.

“Why should I worry when my Swamini or Governess is so causelessly merciful?”

Losing hope implies that you have foolishly discarded all the love and grace that was showered upon you by God and Guru. In other words, you failed to realise, reflect and meditate upon the infinite grace showered upon you, by the Saint and God.

The moment you begin to despair, reprimand yourself. Warn your mind and intellect by telling them that there is no greater grace left to be received. All forms of grace and mercy that can possibly be bestowed by God and Guru have already been showered upon you, so where is the room for despair?

Make sure that no negative thought enters your mind. The moment such thoughts arise, discard them immediately. It’s akin to a woman working in the kitchen who firmly beats out the burning portion of her sari to douse the flames, in order to prevent the fire from spreading. If she is careless, even for a moment, she is likely to die from her burns. It is negative thinking that we tend to indulge in during our spare time that causes despair. We need to take extra care during any spare time and properly utilise every moment, by engaging our mind in loving thoughts of God and Guru, and everything related to them. The best means to impede the growth of despair is to keep your mind engaged constantly in the thoughts of God and Guru.

Remember to always have positive thoughts towards God and Guru. This is a must if one desires to surrender, and therefore one must constantly engage in practice.

Do not listen to anything or read anything else, other than things related to God and Guru. Nevertheless, if an adverse situation does arise in spite of all your efforts, alert your mind to it right away, and revert back to positive thoughts of God and Guru immediately. Let me explain this using a simple example. If while eating, you felt grit in your mouth or you came across a strand of hair, you immediately stop chewing and remove it from your mouth, before continuing with your meal. Similarly, do not allow any distraction or obstruction to divert you from your ultimate goal.

Suppose a person continues chewing even after realising there is grit in his mouth, then he is a fool. In the same way, the moment any negative thought enters your mind, throw it out at once. When you have already attained the knowledge that pessimism is like poison on the spiritual path, why allow it to enter your mind? The moment such thoughts come, start thinking about the grace of Guru and God and bring back positive thoughts in your mind.

You all are aware of the fact that your thoughts and attitude are very powerful tools. Thoughts have the power to make you or break you. Thoughts can make one either a demon or a Saint. Everything depends on your thinking and nothing else in this world matters. Ultimately, you will become what you think. If your thoughts are positive, you will become good, if your thoughts are negative, you will surely become bad, no matter how good you think yourself to be at present.

Your rise and fall on the spiritual path depends entirely on your thoughts, reflections and prevailing attitude. Therefore, always keep your mind occupied with the loving thoughts of God and Guru. Avoid kusanga or non-Godly association at all costs. Do not talk with or listen to the wrong sorts of people. If you hear anything other than God and Guru, disregard it immediately, just as you would throw away a piece of grit from your mouth while eating.

Do not talk unnecessarily amongst yourselves, unless it is warranted, because this can lead to kusanga too. A fellow sadhaka may be lying or boasting about his level of sadhana or spiritual experience, that unbeknown to him is occuring due to the presence of some good past sanskaras, that are prompting him to derive some extra special benefit from his sadhana at that particular time. However, this does not mean that your situation is hopeless in comparison. If someone is ahead of you, then there will always be others behind you. Your aim should always be to remain focused on moving forward towards your goal and attaining divine love, and this requires constant practice and effort on your part. Let me explain using a simple example.

Just consider for a moment how you passed your BA or MA. When you were in Class 1, there were many students who were doing their BA or MA. When you went to high school, there were still many students ahead of you doing their BA or MA. So you will find in any field, that there are bound to be people who are ahead of you, be it in beauty, intelligence, power; practically in everything you can think of. But does this mean that you should become frustrated and feel discouraged to the extent of taking poison to die? No! So do not become mad at such things.

A principal of a school is the head of the institution. He will always occupy a position superior to a teacher. Does this mean therefore that the teacher should fall into depression? Definitely not. Even if the teacher was to become the principal tomorrow, there will still be somebody in the chain above. So, please understand that there will always be somebody superior to you.

Thus, you need to ponder over these things and defeat the onset of depression with the knowledge of philosophy. Even so, if a negative thought does arise, nip it in the bud or at least do not allow it to multiply. Keep your mind forever engaged in loving thoughts of God God and Guru, in one way or the other. Always be careful. A careless person can neither be successful in the world nor in spiritual matters. The one who remains careful is sure to succeed. Therefore, meditate upon the grace bestowed on you by your Guru and never allow despair to come near you.

“With Shri Radhe as my Swamini, what do I have to worry about?

*A brief introduction of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj*

(Known by His devotees as Shri Maharajji)

The original title of Jagadguruttam (‘Greatest Spiritual Teacher of the World’) was bestowed upon Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 14, 1957 by ‘Kashi Vidvat Parishad’ (a council of 500 greatest scholars saints of India). He composed divine texts like ‘Prem Ras Madira’, ‘Prem Ras Siddhant’, and ‘Radha Govind Geet’ to lead us on the right path of devotion. He also gave priceless monuments as gifts to the world which include  -  Bhakti Mandir located in Bhakti Dham, Mangarh,  Prem Mandir located in Vrindavan Dham, and Kirti Mandir located in Barsana Dham. Shri Maharajji also built hospitals for the impoverished, the Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Vrindavan, Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Barsana, and another one in Pratapgarh. All three help millions of underprivileged to gain free access to medical care. His Kindergarten, School, and College for impoverished girls Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education is located in Kunda and provides completely free education.