By Swami Gautamnanda Courtesy: The Hindu
It is an irony that when people get carried away by the glories of the universe, the human mind is unable to comprehend the grandeur of God. This is because we do not pause to search for the cause of all this glory. Sri Ramakrishna taught his disciples the art of looking at God’s presence in all aspects of creation which are all a manifestation of God. The Lord is present in the smallest of items even as He is the form and essence of even the biggest of beings. Just as the king who appears in disguise is not recognised, we are not able to see the Lord behind the creation. We believe the disguise to be true and likewise consider the worldly attractions as desirous and worthy of pursuit.
The veil of Maya hides God from our perception, and we do not realise that what may appear attractive is not really beneficial. Thus being submerged in the whirlpool of the worldly activities, we get buffeted by hurdles and obstacles. We identify ourselves with the world even when the association is similar to that of a thorny bush with each involvement leading to sorrow. It is only when we realise the true nature of the world do we gain equanimity and a maturity to look at sorrow and happiness with detachment. We have to be alert when dealing with worldly affairs so that we keep these at arm’s length.
The Isavasya Upanishad states that all that exists in the universe is covered by the Lord. The implication is that we have to perceive the divine presence everywhere. The consciousness is thus motivated to get fixed in God. In this state, notions of diversity cease to exist and the perception of the One God permeating all things becomes dominant.
This light of wisdom has to illumine our consciousness so that the unrealities of the world are recognised and only the longing for the real and the permanent takes root.
The one goal of life is to cultivate love for God. Those keen on the practice of Bhakti Yoga can derive inspiration from the intense love and single-minded devotion the Gopis in Brindavan showed towards Lord Krishna.
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