How Can We Satisfy God with Our Actions?

When Rama visited Shabari, He told her, “I am hungry”. She gave Him some berries that she found in the forest. The Lord went to everybody. He went to Emperor Bali and asked him for three footsteps of land. But He occupied all the three worlds. God keeps going to everybody and keeps asking. We must give something when God asks us. Always try to attain the grace of God. Just give Him what He asks you for. That is your fortune. You should surrender yourself completely to God. That is what Emperor Bali did. Other people offered things to God, but Bali gave himself to God. God did not send Bali to hell because Bali surrendered himself to God. Swami says in a SSS, “…the Lord placed His third step on the heart of Bali and pushed him into hell, thus completely pushing all trace of Bali’s ego into the bottom-most layers of the universe. Bali was thus delivered from the bondage of birth and death.”

We have to offer ourselves completely to God. You do not have to get any materials—no gold, no diamonds. Give yourself to God that is enough. Then He manifests Himself there. Everybody speaks, but they cannot do it. That is why they are not enjoying bliss. They try to satisfy God with words, but not with action. When you satisfy God with your actions, God manifests Himself. It is the mistake of people to think that God will manifest sometime later.  Any moment, any minute, anytime, and anywhere He can manifest Himself. All the time you should contemplate on God’s name.

Many people ask questions, “If all the time we keep praying to God, then how can we do our jobs? How can we manage our family and life?” Do your job. Think that this job also belongs to God. It is so easy. Think that all the actions that you do are for God. Offer everything at His feet. You must think that whatever I am doing I am doing it out of love for God. You need not give up anything. Go to examinations. Do not give up examinations. Even the examination is God’s work. If you do that, you can attain God easily.

But you say that I am eating food, this food is mine, and this is God’s. You are dividing by saying that this is God’s, and this is mine. Because you divide, everything remains divided. Do not divide. Only when you feel and say that everything is God, you can get great joy and peace. Today’s men say everything, but they are not experiencing the unity of everything. When you experience the unity, you can understand Divinity. Since you are young boys, you must do work to attain a higher status. You must serve the world and do your tasks and jobs well. Think that all that you do is God’s work. Then you will get the right reward. Do not think, “This is my work and that is God’s work”. If you think so, then God will not give you the reward. Realize that everything is God’s work.

Gopikas did the same thing. They would get up at Omkaram time, put curd in the pot to churn. As they were churning the curd, they uttered Krishna’s name that was like shruti (base note), while the bangles [they wore lots of bangles] became the rhythm, the churning was the pitch, and what they uttered was the song. While churning the curd they were getting butter. Where did this butter come from? It came from the curd [milk]. But the butter that comes out of the curd does not merge back into the curd. Similarly, you have come out of God. You must go back and merge with God. You remain separate like the butter from the milk; but you have come from God, and you must understand this unity to experience Him everywhere—physically, mentally, and spiritually—for there is no difference.

Man has the three principles – Bhur, Bhuvaha, Suvaha. What are these Bhur, Bhuvaha, and Suvaha? ‘Bhur’ means materialization. This body is nothing but materialization.  The human body is made up of 7 buckets of water, 1 bucket of lime, 1,200 iron pieces, 900 matchsticks. Then Bhuvaha is that which moves, vibrates—that is the life principle. ‘Bhuvaha’ is vibration. ‘Suvaha’ is radiation; that is prajnana (consciousness). All the three exists in us. Thus, we are the body, the vibration, and the radiation.

Master the Mind and be a Mastermind

Thinking that we are weak is a big mistake. We are not weak. There is nobody as powerful as a human being. But he is afraid. Man is afraid even of a small ailment. Why this fear? Why is man afraid? It is because man has committed many mistakes. Without a mistake there is no fear. You think that you are this body that is why you make mistakes. We are not this body. Body, mind, senses, and intelligence are the instruments. They are the instruments and you are the Masters. Master the mind and become the mastermind. Be a mastermind. You are the Master, become the Master, then you can merge in everything. Students! It is not enough if you study books. Enquire into the activities of daily life and understand the truth. It is possible that children can become the teachers of the father. Wife can teach the husband. Without any sense of difference, Shuka—[sage] Vyasa’s son—became his father’s teacher. He advised the father.

God First, World Next

Once the Maharana asked Meera [ref. Bhojraj and Meerabai story] to leave the temple. She wondered how she would be able to protect herself. Meera’s contemporary Tulsidas lived on the Chitrakuta Mountain. She wrote a letter to Tulsidas and sent it through a messenger.  In the letter she wrote, “They say husband is like God for a wife, and that you should not hurt your mother, father, teacher, and God. My husband has asked me to go away from here. What should I do now? Should I go away or stay here?” Tulsidas replied, “It is wrong if you run away for the sake of world. There is no mistake if you run away for the sake of God.”

Kaikeyi sent Rama—who was the very life of Bharata—to the forest. She wanted Bharata to be crowned king. But Bharata said, “Rama is God for me. He is like my father. Kaikeyi has hurt Rama who is Divine. Therefore, she is not my mother.” Even if you refuse mother for the sake of God, there is no mistake. You can disobey father for the sake of God, but not for other’s sake. For the sake of God you can do anything.

Prahlada’s father Hiranyakashyapu told him not to utter the name of Narayana. Prahlada said, “I can only utter the name of Narayana. Narayana is everything for me.” He refused to obey his father. So his father tried to poison him, and nothing happened because he felt that everything is God. Bharata refused to obey his mother. Prahlada disobeyed the father.

Lord Vamana went to the Emperor Bali. Bali’s Guru Shukracharya told him, “Do not think that this person is an ordinary person. God Himself has come here. Do not promise Him anything.” Bali said, “There is no greater sin than breaking a promise. I have given the word. I will not break my word. I may disobey you, but I will not break my promise.” He refused to obey his Guru. Hence Tulsidas wrote to Meera, “If you refuse to obey your husband, there is nothing wrong. For the sake of God you can refuse him. It is not for the sake of property or house.”

There is nothing wrong in disobeying others for the sake of God. In the world many things happen. You can do anything for God. There is nothing wrong. You recognize this principle: As long as you are in this world, as long as you don’t realize that divinity within you, respect your parents, respect the teacher. Look after the wife and children. It is your duty. They are the worldly duties. Once you have the Divine relationship, you need not care for anything else. Other things are small things. When you have the mountain of gold, why do you look for gold and silver elsewhere? When you have the wish-fulfilling cow, why do you want to purchase another cow? When you have the wish-fulfilling tree, why do you go anywhere else? When you have God who gives you everything, why do you bother about other things? So put in a lot of effort to attain God.

Source: Pathways to the Lord, Discourse 2, My Dear Students Volume 3;
Divine Discourse on March 19, 1998 at Trayee Brindavan

Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha

God manifests in man in three forms described as Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha. Bhur is the material form (padartha). Bhuvah is Spandana (vibration) Shakti or Prana (Life Principle). Suvaha is the form of Prajna. Prajna Shakti is the radiation that through vibration (Prana Sakthi) gives the material form represented by the body. God manifests in all these three forms. The body is a combination of water, iron, lead, phosphorus, and other things that are but inert matter. The body is inert but is made to function actively through vibration or the life force. Prajna Shakti is conscience. It occupies a special place in the body. God in the form of conscience activates the body. If man only understands this truth of spirituality, he will never indulge in bad deeds. The functioning of the body is itself a mystery.              

—Baba