We don’t know that God almighty is the ocean of compassion and love. We human beings have to achieve a [certain] state to know Him. We don’t know God. We don’t know ourselves. First, we have to know ourselves. Once we know ourselves, then only we will know God.
I have seen ritualistic behaviour in the South(India) very much. I was surprised how people were doing everything with their heart, but they did not know why they were doing it. They have such Bhakti(Devotion), but such a blind Bhakti that it will lead them nowhere. I used to think that when will I be able to tell them to be beyond this. You have to have Shraddha(Faith), and Shraddha is enlightened Bhakti. Unless and until you have your enlightenment, the Bhakti has no meaning. Like this mike if it is not connected to the mains it has no meaning. Unless and until you connect it to this all-pervading power of Divine Love which we call as Brahm-Chaitanya Our Bhakti has no meaning because there is no connection– like telephoning to someone without the connection. The simple thing is that this connection, this Yoga has to take place.
You might have read lots of books or may know so many things like Vedas. So what? It’s like you have a headache and the doctor suggests a medicine. He writes the name of the medicine. You are reading the name of the medicine but are not taking the medicine. When are you going to take it? Unless and until you take that you are not going to achieve by any chance whatever is promised to you because it is such a deep ignorance about all these ideas we have learnt and has penetrated into us. Such a lot of ignorance. That ignorance is really like a ditch of no return. I have seen people who have read books after books. There are people who do one lakh mantras, fasting and reach nowhere. They are the most hot-tempered people or they have no joy in their heart. They leave their families, come out of it and think that they have done a great sacrifice. God does not want all this non-sense. Why will God who is your father who is so compassionate and loving personality want you to suffer?
Why should you suffer? By suffering how will you gain moksha is beyond me. If you take it the other way as Kabir has said. ‘By starving if you are going to achieve your moksha(Liberation) then already there are many people who are starving in this country so they will all get their mokshas. He says if by shaving your head you are going to get moksha then the sheep which is shaved every year should be there before you are there’. They all have made fun of them. They have all said all kinds of things for you to know that all these outside things are of no help. Of course you do it genuinely, because you want to have your liberation, your enlightenment. As a mother, I tell you, you don’t have to do all this. Please don’t do it. First of all, if you want to upset your mother you always say I will not have any food. So why do you want to do it. There is no need.
Excerpt:
Talk to Sahaja Yogis, Madras 17-01-1994
