Devotion should be protected by discipline and discrimination!

Devotion, discipline and discrimination are the ways to God. These three are very much essential if one wants to attain the Divine! But we find that the present day devotees possess either one of them or two in them. But the combination of all the above qualities will ensure success in Godward path! Let us examine each one of this. Devotion is deep love to God. Pure devotion expects nothing from God. It is the selfless love towards God. Every human being possesses love in their heart but in a distorted form. We love illusory things and relations in this earthly existence.

Our love towards our relations, friends and peers are contaminated with expectations. Even the love between husband and wife is full of expectations. Only a mother can exhibit selfless love towards her children. In a way, it is nearer to God’s love towards the creation. It is very rare to find selfless people around and hence we honor Jesus for his selfless love and compassion towards all. Easter is really holy for the Christian community since on this day Lord Jesus came alive three days after crucifixion. The Son of God was given the honor of revival by the Father in Heaven. It is only to teach the people the reality about Jesus, this greatest miracle was performed. People started realizing the greatness of Christ after this. Thus Christianity was founded on Faith.

Sometimes, devotion may become hysterical. Hence we need discipline. But out of all madness, God madness is the most desirable quality. Highly devoted people never care for the opinion of others. They know well that people are covered by many illusions of the worldly life and they can never understand this “god madness”. India boasts several such saints who remain unconcerned with the worldly things and etiquettes. One prominent devotee who exhibited such behavior is “Chaitanya Maharaj” of West Bengal. He used to sing songs on the glory of God in the form of Krishna and dance around while moving in the roads. He used to beat the drums and cymbals. Those who hate his behavior used to seize his drums and cymbals and throw it away. He never cared. He clapped his hands singing the name of God. He was always in an ecstatic state drunk in the glory of Lord.

None can forget Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the humble saint of Bengal who lived a sublime life. He was illiterate to worldly standards. But his devotion to goddess Kali surpasses all known forms of worship and rituals. He considered the deity as ‘real with life’ and pleaded with her many times to show her up. He will beg her to consume the fruits and milk he offer with utter devotion. People who watched this were apprehensive that a madman has been given the charge of worship and rituals in the famous Kali temple. But, the owner of the temple and Manager knew well the virtues of Ramakrishna. They understood that Ramakrishna is a superior devotee of the mother Kali and none could equal his devotion. The famous Ramakrishna Mission came into being after the master’s passing. Mother Sarada was the guardian for all devotees of Ramakrishna, famous among them is Swami Vivekananda!

Now the next aspect after devotion is discipline. This discipline is very much needed for ordinary people. They need to be regular in their spiritual practices; otherwise, they will slide into inactiveness. But saints are in a high level of consciousness and hence they have gone beyond the disciplines required for normal devotees.

The third important requirement is ‘discrimination’. Without discrimination, there is every possibility that we may be misled by some fake gurus in spirituality. There are many imitation diamonds among the real one. In spiritual side also, there are many false preceptors who mislead their disciples and garner wealth, boasting their achievements. Many unwary students in spirituality lose their time, energy and money to those crooks. Hence, one should be wary about the credentials of spiritual masters, before they accept them as their master. There is nothing wrong in that. Once you choose one as your Master, you should become sincere and follow his teachings in words and actions. It is very essential of a spiritual aspirant to adhere to the teachings of his preceptor with full faith and love.

The world is under churning process and hence we witness many atrocities throughout the globe. But we need not lose confidence. There is a great power protecting the virtuous and noble people. The power will never allow harm to befall on the virtuous and god loving persons!