Type of Devotion-God undergoes the misery of His devotees

Devotion is of two types. The first type is called as Bhakti, which consists of prayers or songs through words and emotional feelings through mind. This Bhakti gives temporary happiness only. Knowledge is related to intelligence, which is the discrimination of real and unreal through logical analysis. By such discrimination, you can realize that all the forms of matter and all the feelings of awareness are unreal. When you have realized that all the forms (Rupa) and all the feelings (Guna) are unreal even before the level of yourself, which is pure awareness, your life becomes completely an entertainment in both happy and unhappy situations. The self realization makes you a spectator of the cinema which consists of both happy and unhappy scenes. You will reach the state of an actor who is entertained in all the scenes of the drama on the stage. Thus the knowledge gives you permanent happiness which is called as bliss. Therefore, knowledge (Jnana) is greater than devotion (Bhakti). Here, you must note that the Bhakti is related to words and mind, whereas Jnana is related to intelligence. Hence, both devotion and knowledge belong to theoretical phase only which is limited to words, mind and intelligence.

The second type of devotion is called as Para-Bhakti, which is related to practice or sacrifice of service. This divine devotion (Para-Bhakti) consists of divine service by sacrificing work (Karma Sanyasa) and by sacrificing the fruit of work (Karma Phala Tyaga). This second type of devotion is far superior than the knowledge. The Bhakti and Jnana are selfish because in both your aim is the attainment of bliss by yourself. The divine devotion or the divine service is completely different, which has no selfish aim. In this divine service, your aim is to please God and not to please yourself. You have to receive the continuous loss and displeasure in the divine service. In this stage you are achieving the nature of God. God always enjoys the fruits of the sins of His devotees and is thus subjected to continuous misery. His aim is to make His devotees happy. God is serving His devotees. Service is always sacrifice to make others happy at the cost of self -happiness. The Veda says that God is bliss (Anando Brahma). The Veda reveals the meaning of this statement by further saying “Eshahyeva Anandayati” which means that God makes His devotees happy. Therefore, when we say that God is bliss, that does not mean God is continuously enjoying the happiness. It means only that God is making others happy continuously. In fact such a definition only, is the proof of God being bliss. How do you say that the fire is hot? Since the fire is making others experience its heat, people say that fire is hot. Similarly, if you make others happy, then only you are the embodiment of that happiness. Now the point is whether God is continuously unhappy by such sacrifice, which is His service to His devotees. The answer is that God is continuously happy through such sacrifice. He is deriving happiness continuously by enjoying the misery of His devotees. He is not unhappy to enjoy the sins of His devotees. Therefore, He is happy always and making His devotees also happy.

At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami

Anil Antony

www.universal-spirituality.org
Universal Spirituality for World Peace
antonyanil@universal-spirituality.org

The first is through the mind...we learn and educate ourselves.  We are even impressed to share that which we have learned to be our truth.  We open our spirit and body to the lessons the mind can accumulate.

The next step is when we know that growth can only come through Love.  We learn the love of one another in relationships and we learn the broader love of all human beings through our compassion and charity of soul.  

The next step cannot be gained without earning its addition to the soul.  God gives Divine love to those who have learned the message of love on earth.  He knows they will be the bearers of his light and love to all humanity.

spiritalk;

There are five types of people in this world dealt by God. The first type people have real love towards God and sacrifice practically to God. The Lord rewards them with infinite and real fruit.

The second type of people sacrifice practically but want to achieve ten times more. Such people are businessmen. They invest little and aspire for more profit. The Lord returns back whatever such people sacrificed. The Lord also gives the extra expected by them but that extra is from their account only. The good result of a good deed to be enjoyed in the future birth is drawn back with reduced value and is given as the extra, which was aspired by the people. All this process takes place without the knowledge of the people.

The third type of the people sacrifice words by prayers and feelings throw devotion without any practical sacrifice. Such people are in the path of a prostitute who also sacrifices sweet words and sweet feelings to extract something practically from a person. The Lord fulfills their aspiration by drawing the good result of their good deal from their future birth.

The fourth type of people are atheists. They enjoying the world created by the Lord and abuse the Lord. The Lord will keep silent towards them in this world. The Lord uses the atheists to test His devotees. He will observe whether such atheists can affect His devotee. Later on the atheist will be severely punished by the Lord. The fifth type of people neither recognizes nor abuses the Lord. They simply enjoy the world without bothering about the Lord. The Lord will throw such people into the births of animals, birds, worms etc. In such births one can enjoy the world without worrying about the Lord.

The paths you describe do not seek God so much as seek to be God.  There is a higher power that imbues us all with potential and possibilities.  How we handle this power is a measure of God's presence in our lives.