From Mother to Moksha

When it rains on sand, the water seeps down.
When it rains on red earth, the water stays.
When the rain falls on an oyster, a pearl is born.
Likewise, devotion grows according to one’s worthiness.

You hear in common parlance the terms mother, father, preceptor, and God being used in that order. This has a significance of its own. It is the mother that the child sees as soon as it is born. The mother shows the child to the father. The father leads him to the preceptor, and the preceptor leads him to God. Everyone should understand the inner significance of these four words.

Spiritual aspirants use the terms devotion (bhakti), wisdom (jnana), renunciation (vairagya), and Reality (Tatwam) in the same order. There is a significance in the order in which these terms are mentioned. Devotion awakens wisdom, wisdom promotes renunciation, and renunciation confers the knowledge of Reality. You can reach the mansion of liberation (mukti) if you walk on the stepping stones of devotion, wisdom, renunciation, and knowledge of Reality.

The Bhagavatam [a sacred epic] in its very title tes-tifies to this truth. The term bhagavathamu in Telugu is made up of five letters: bha, ga, va, ta and mu. Here bha signifies “bhakti,” ga signifies “jnana,” va signifies “vairagya,” ta signifies “Tatwa” (knowledge of Reality), and mu signifies “mukti” (liberation). The Bhagavatam bestows on you liberation by leading you through devotion to wisdom, renunciation, and knowledge of Reality. Prahlada has given us a twelve‑lettered mantra which means, “the highest intelligence consists in finding the way.” What is the way to be sought? It is the way to divinity. How is it to be found? It is by knowing the source from which you came. Where have you come from? You have come from the Divine, and you have to go back to the Divine.

From God to God

The seventh stanza in the 15th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita reveals that we have come from God. The Lord says, “You are an aspect of Me. You are not an aspect of nature and the five elements. Since you are an aspect of Me, there is no peace and joy for you till you reach and merge in Me.” Just as a child cannot be without its mother, a river must seek the ocean from which it has come, the branch of a tree cannot survive separation from the tree, and a fish cannot live outside its sustaining element, water. Man, who has come from God, cannot have real happiness until he returns to God.

One devotee sang in the Kannada language thus:

“Having forgotten You, I have come to this world. Leaving the Eternal that You are, I have plunged into this transient, temporary world. What joy can I reap in this clod of earth, as all joys are in You alone.”

Man is born into this world because he has forgotten God. He has to find his way back to God, his destination, retracing the steps by which he has come. “All living beings have to go back to the source from which they came into existence,” says the Bhagavatam. It is man’s misfortune that he has forgotten this vital message today. To remember the source from which he came is the essential spiritual endeavor that every man should make.

The Divine or the material

Man, who came to this earth in quest of the atma [the real self], is wasting away his time in the frivolous pursuit of anna (mate-rial things). Animals are always busy seeking food. Man, who is endowed with intelligence, should not be content to remain like the animals. He should strive to reach Reality. Food, sleep, fear, and sex are common to birds and beasts. Man’s life today is largely confined to these four things. Birth as a human being should be used for realizing divinity within and not for frittering life away in sensual pursuits. Chaitanya declared, “We have installed today on the throne of our heart vicious thoughts and feelings instead of making it the seat of the Lord.”

Worldly activities and purification

It is obvious that most of you have to lead a normal family life, but it is not a life in which you should be wholly immersed. It is not samsara (family) that follows you all through. It is the samskara, the “purity” you have achieved, that stands by you in the afterlife. Some elders come to Swami and pray to Him to show them the way to God. What is the way? The way is journeying back to the place from which you came. Suppose you go to a town and stay there in a hotel for a few days. You have to come back home after finishing your work in town. You cannot live in the hotel forever, mistaking it to be your home. The phenomenal world is like a hotel where you have come to experience the consequences of your past actions. The body is the hotel room where you have to undergo the karmic consequences. Your time and body should be used in carrying out the mission you came for. You are engaged in accumulating wealth, gold, and other material possessions. It is true that you need money for leading your life in this world. But there should be a limit to the acquisition of those worldly objects. True welfare and happiness cannot be achieved without ob-serving limits in life. An uncontrolled life reduces man to the level of the animal.

Forgetting the primary goal of life, men are wasting their time. But time is precious. Death is dangling its sword over every head. Man’s life span is fast diminishing like water leaking through a broken pot, and the melting block of death overtakes many even before they realize their mission in life.

“The body is made up of the five elements.
It has to fall one day.
The dweller in the body is eternal.
Free yourself from the delusion of birth and death.
The dweller is indeed divinity.”

This is the truth that all have to realize. Fulfillment in life cannot be found by indulging in eating and drinking.

The main message of the Bhagavatam is devotion. The mother is the symbol of devotion; the father is the symbol of wisdom. The preceptor is the symbol of renunciation. God is the very embodiment of atmic knowledge. You can reach the mansion of liberation (moksha) only by ascending the four steps to divinity.

Mother comes first

Love for the mother has to be fostered by everyone. Today this love is prompted more by greed—desire for wealth and gold—than by spontaneous affection for the mother. Barely one in a million realizes that he owes his food, blood, and life itself to the mother. Whoever she may be, a mother is verily divine. It is said, “Regard the mother as God, the father as God, the preceptor as God, and the guest as God.” The mother stands foremost among these four. She is indeed the first teacher for everyone. It is only the mother who strives most for securing the well‑being of the child by showering on him boundless affection and love and showing the baby to the father. Children today do not care to heed their mother’s commands, but they hanker after the mother’s wealth. What is the use of having children of this kind? They are a curse on the womb that bore them.

“Of what use is a son who does not lift both his hands in prayer to the Lord, who does not proclaim the Lord’s name with his mouth till it aches, and who does not cherish the Lord in his heart? He is a disgrace to the woman that bore him.” So says the Bhagavatam. This single verse says all that is essential on devotion, karma, wisdom, and renunciation. What are the duties of the hands and the tongue for a true devotee? God has given each man a single stomach to eat with but two hands to work with. If he  works hard enough with both hands, he need not starve. There is no dearth of food. He who does not use his hands properly has no right to subsist on others. The Vedas have enjoined the supremacy of action (karma).

Make the tongue holy

The tongue should be employed in sacred functions. Man should speak sweet and sacred words and should not cause pain and hurt to others by his speech. It is a sin to abuse others. The Lord resides in everyone. The person who abuses others is, in fact, abusing the Lord Himself. In an exhortation to the tongue, Jayadeva said, “O sacred tongue, you know what is sweet, truthful and beneficent. Utter, then, the supremely sweet words: Govinda, Damodara, Madhava [names of God].” The tongue experiences sorrow or suffering in its own home without straying into the homes of others. It discretely decides beforehand whether an edible should be eaten or not. If it is sweet, it shows its consent by sending it down for digestion. But if it is bitter, it spits it out. If the tongue is properly used, it can be the means by which you can attain Godhood itself. Let the name of the Lord dance on your tongue, since remembrance of the name is the easiest path to liberation in the Kali [Iron] Age. You should use the tongue for uttering sweet and truthful words. This sacred instrument is often misused. The sins that the tongue commits are lying, backbiting, invective, and loquacity. The tongue becomes sanctified if it refrains from indulging in these four sins.

The example of Pundarika

Everyone should treasure in his heart love for his mother, who has borne him, reared him with love, and fostered him with care. The person who forfeits his mother’s love will not earn anyone’s love.

Pundarika was someone who was devoted to the service of his aged parents. In doing this, he was adhering to a self-imposed rule. He would not take any food until his parents had gone to sleep. Once when he was massaging the feet of his parents, Lord Panduranga came to his residence in disguise to test his love for them and stood behind him. Pundarika went on with his service to his parents who had not gone to sleep. The newcomer asked Pundarika to look at him. Pundarika said that he was seeing the visitor. The Lord asked him, “In what form are you seeing me?” Pundarika said, “I am seeing you as my mother.” Meanwhile Pundarika’s guru came there and told Pundarika that the visitor was none other than the Lord Himself. Pundarika said that the parents whom he was serving were also God. The guru earnestly urged, “Don’t you realize that the one who has come is verily God?” Pundarika replied, “My parents are also God.” Panduranga, admiring his resolve, said, “Pundarika, wouldn’t you like to experience even one vision of Me?” Pundarika replied, “Until my mother goes to sleep, I will not seek your vision. If you really want me to see you, please wait for a while. I shall come to you after my mother has gone to sleep.” It was such devotion to parents that made the Lord reveal Himself to Pundarika and serve him.

Who am I? — I am He

From the moment of birth, man is concerned about his future. The child’s first cry is kwa, kwa (Where have I come from?). If you examine what is happening to you every day, you will understand why he cries at the time of birth. Seeing the endless troubles in store, he cries, where am I? Forgetting the place from which they came, men lose themselves in worldly desires. There are a few like Prahlada, who from the moment of birth realize their inherent divinity. They utter So-ham (I am He), Soham, from the time of birth. But ordinary mortals ask, Koham? (Who am I?) Koham? They do not get the answer till the end of their lives. They do not realize that the answer is I am God. A few earnest seekers start with Koham  and end with by discovering Soham.

Gratitude is primary

Every man is prone to commit mistakes, either wittingly or unwittingly. But one mistake he should not commit in any circumstance is to forget what he owes to his mother. Love of the mother can redeem a man’s life, whatever his other lapses may be. The greatest gift of the parents is the body, with all its powers. Although the Lord rules over all lives, it is the parents who have endowed the body to the child. Clay and water are gifts of nature. But it is the potter who makes pots out of them. Hence gratitude to the parents is a primary obligation. Students these days ask, “Why should we be grateful to our parents?” They should remember that if they cause distress to their parents now by their behavior, they should not be surprised if in later years their own children cause them similar distress. This is the law of action and reaction that is always at work.

Do not be conceited because of your youth, your wealth, or your strength. All these are transient. Adi Sankaracharya [Vedantic philosopher-saint] warned in strident language, “Do not be proud because of companions, wealth, or youth. Time will take away all these in a moment.” Placing their trust in these transitory possessions, men are forgetting the eternal verities and that source of real bliss. Whatever things you may possess, what-ever amenities you may enjoy, only faith in God will confer real peace of mind. An air conditioner may cool your body, but only the grace of God can cool the heated brain and the troubled heart. That grace will come to those who are grateful to their parents and serve them lovingly. Starting with the mother, gratitude should extend to the father and the preceptor. If you show gratitude to these three, you will realize the presence of the triune Lord in them and you will reap the fruit of worshipping the [Hindu] Trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva).

The parents’ fault

It is an unfortunate fact that today ninety percent of children are spoiled by the parents themselves. Parents do not exercise timely control over their children. If the wrong actions of children are corrected then and there, they will grow up in the proper way. Parents should show no indulgence to-ward children who go astray. It is misplaced affection to let erring children go uncorrected.

What use is there in having children who do not behave properly? What did Dhritarashtra gain from his hundred wicked sons? He would not restrain them despite the warnings of Krishna and Vidura. Ultimately, the entire family was wiped out. It doesn’t make any sense to rejoice when a child is born. The time for rejoicing will come when the child grows up, earns name and fame, and brings credit to his parents.

Every son should see that he makes his mother happy. He should seek from his mother nothing but her love and blessings. Mothers should strive to keep their children on the straight path. Only such mothers and children are worthy of the name. When mothers and children act properly, the nation will develop along the right lines. Righteousness will spread from the family to the whole world.

There are parents who ask their children when they go to Swami, “What madness has seized you? Why are you going to that Sai?” What form of madness do these parents desire for their progeny? Do they want them to become rowdies and goons? Do they want them to be crazy about money? What will money give them that can equal the grace of God? What everyone should seek is the grace of the Divine—which is a treasure greater than all the wealth in the world.

God above all

Nothing should come in the way of your seeking God. You must be prepared to make any sacrifice or face any opposition for the sake of God. Prahlada faced the wrath and hatred of his father Hiranyakasipu in adhering to his faith in Narayana. Vibhishana renounced his brother Ravana when the latter stood in the way of his devotion to Rama [God]. If a mother stands in the way of your devotion to God, you must be prepared to give her up, as Bharata did when [his mother] Kaikeyi sought to separate him from Rama. Mira [Saint Mirabai] was prepared to renounce her husband rather than give up her devotion to Krishna. Emperor Bali rejected the advice of his Guru, Shukracharya, when the latter advised him to retract his gift to Vamana (Vishnu). These are examples of devotees who did not flinch from any sacrifice in vindicating their devotion to God.

The realization of God is the goal and destiny of human life. From the moment of birth, suffering pursues man in one form or another throughout life. If in all these ordeals, man wants to maintain equanimity and peace, he has to lead a righteous life, with firm faith in God. There is no need to give up the normal duties of a student or a householder. But everything should be done as an offering to God. Thereby every ordinary act becomes sanctified. Love of God should express itself in consecration of every action. This is my message to you on this sacred day.

Source: Sanathana Sarathi, May 1987