Heartfelt Prayer Brings Grace
In the following story, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba emphasizes love and yearning as key to drawing God’s grace.
The mind is allowed to wander and engage itself in external exercises like japa [repetition of God’s Name] and puja [ritual worship]. Here is a story to illustrate this:
Once, King Vikramaditya [a king known for his justice] was traveling around his country incognito to assess the welfare of his people. He noticed an old Brahmin performing a yajna (fire-sacrifice). The king also saw a huge mound of ash next to the sacrificial-fireplace. When Vikramaditya asked the old Brahmin as to what he was doing, he replied: “I have been performing a yajna for the past 60 years. This mound you see is the accumulated ash from the yajna. Though I have been ceaselessly performing this yajna, I have not yet had a vision of the yajna-purusha (the lord of the sacrifice).”
Vikramaditya was deeply moved by the old man’s anguish. To help the Brahmin, the king decided to meditate and appeal to the yajna-purusha himself. Despite his long penance, the king failed to gain a vision of the yajna-purusha. The king thought: “Of what use is all the penance that I have performed? If I cannot get the grace of the Lord, what use is there in living?” Thinking thus, he drew out his sword and decided to end his life. He mentally addressed the yajna-purusha thus: “If you will not appear before me, I am offering my life to you.” As he drew his sword to offer his head, the yajna-purusha appeared before him, and seized the sword from the king’s hand.
The yajna-purusha said to the king: “Oh Vikramaditya! This is a sahasa (an act of recklessness), and not a spiritual offering. Where am I? As Vaiswanara, I am dwelling in all beings as the digestive power. Is it a sign of spirituality for you to, on the one hand, externally seek a vision of the divine who is within you, and on the other, put an end to your life because you do not have a vision of the divine that is in you? This kind of act savors of the rajasic [aggressive] tendency.” He continued, “A real devotee should not resort to such desperate actions. To realize me, what you need to practise is love and not reckless courage. Whatever you see, whatever you do, be conscious of the all-pervading Divine. Only then, work will be transformed into worship. What this old brahmin has been doing for 60 years is to mumble the words of the mantra [sacred formula] without understanding their meaning. He did not invite my presence with all his heart and soul. I present myself to one who prays for me with all his heart, and with harmony in thought, word, and deed. If one cannot offer such dedicated worship, he should adhere to my injunctions without hesitation.”
Source: Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 24
