What Kind of Yearning one should have in order to see God?

A disciple asked his guru “What kind of yearning one should have in order to see God” The guru said, “Come with me. I will show you” The guru led the disciple to a river. Then he asked him to climb down into the river with him. When they reached the middle of the river, the guru pushed the head of disciple under the water and held him like that for a while. Then he released him and asked, “How did you feel? The disciple said “why, I was gasping for breath”

Maxim:-One should feel restless for God as one gasps for one’s breath.

The Begging King

During the time when King Akbar was ruling the kingdom, there lived a fakir in a forest situated near Delhi. He lived in a hut. A lot people used to visit the holy man. He was poor. He did not have enough money to entertain all the visitors. He decided to ask the King Akbar for some money.

Therefore, one day the fakir visited the king. When he entered the palace, the king was doing his daily prayers. The fakir also spread his mat and did his prayers next to the king. Akbar prayed, “Allahu Akbar, give me more wealth, riches and kingdoms and I will be your faithful follower forever.” The fakir overheard the prayers of the king. He decided to leave the king without asking for the money. Akbar saw the fakir leave and by a gesture of his hand motioned to the fakir to wait. After finishing his prayer Akbar went to the fakir and asked him the reason for what he came. The fakir said, “The reason why I came to see you was to ask you … never mind, I don’t want to give you any unnecessary trouble,” the fakir decided to drop the subject. However, the king insisted on being told the reason. The fakir at last decided to tell him. He said, “A lot of people pay me visit these days. I don’t have enough money to entertain them all. Therefore, I thought I could ask you for some money.”


After hearing the reason for which the fakir visited him, the king said, “Then why did you decide to leave suddenly without fulfilling the purpose of your visit”.

“Your Majesty, I overheard your prayers. You were praying to God for wealth, riches and kingdoms. I thought I’d rather directly beg God for money instead of beg from a beggar,” answered the fakir.

Fakir – a Muslim sanniyasi

Maxim:-Praying to God for riches, children, long life etc. is a lower form of devotion.

Seek God First

Two friends met each other on the way to a town. Then they met again in the town. One friend asked the other friend who was out sightseeing the town. “You really are having a nice time looking around the town. I wonder where your luggage is.” The other friend said, “First thing I did on my arrival to this town was to find myself a room. Then I put my luggage inside and locked it. Now I am having a nice time looking around the town. I am free of any worries or anxieties.”

Maxim:- A person should first seek God: after finding Him, he can freely and without any fear, direct his mind on worldly matters.

What does God Expect from His Devotee?

Once, Krishna was a guest of Viduru, Krishna’s devotee. Viduru was so excited at receiving the Lord as his guest that he forgot himself. He peeled a banana and gave Him the banana peel instead of the pulp. Krishna wholeheartedly accepted the banana peel as an offering. Viduru was sad when he realized his error. But Krishna said “ It is devotion that really matters, not the thing offered. Whoever offers me a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a handful of water with devotion I accept with pleasure”.

Duryodhana, the villain of Mahabharata story also welcomed Krishna as a guest to his palace. When Krishna refused his invitation, Duryodhana was furious. He said, “So you accepted the banana skin offered by Viduru but reject the gorgeous banquet kept ready for you”.

“A banana skin offered with love is far better than a banquet thrown at you,” said Krishna in reply.

Maxim:- The only thing God expects from His devotee is love.

Our Judgment of the World depends upon who we are.

Once a sanniyasi (a holy man) was so intoxicated by the vision of God (called Samadhi), that he fell on the side of the road unconscious. A thief was passing by and he saw that holy man. He said to himself, “Look at this thief; He’s been breaking into the houses all night. That is why he is sleeping on the roadside in this broad day light. I’d better get away from this place before the policemen arrive.” Saying so, he quickly disappeared from that site.

Next, a drunkard was passing by that place. Seeing the holy man lying there unconscious the drunkard said to himself, “Look at this idiot; He must have drunk three or four bottles to lose consciousness like that. Well, I am not like him. I drink but I know the limit”. Mumbling thus, he too walked away from that holy man.

Lastly came by that way another holy man. He at once recognized the true status of the holy man lying on the roadside. He sat by that holy man in Samadhi and began to take care of him.

Maxim:-
Only a person who is advanced in spirituality is able to see things as they are.

Do not have Ambitions, Hopes and Dreams about your Future.

In the month of April, joyfully grazing on the green pasture were two goats: a mother goat and her young one. The kid turned towards its mother and said, “There is a special kind of flowers called ‘rasa pushpas’ that grows in the festival season of Rasa Lila. I am going to eat a lot of those flowers and enjoy my self when the season comes”. To that mother goat said, “My child, what you think might appear right to you. But in practical, that desire is not that easy to gratify. You have to survive a lot of disasters. Before the Rasa Lila festival, comes the very dangerous months of May and June. During that period, humans might take away your life as a sacrificial offering to Goddess Durgaa. Even if you have survived that period, there comes the festival of Kali Puja. During this period, almost all the goats are killed as sacrificial offering. If you are somehow lucky enough to survive even this terrible period, you may eat your ‘rasa pushpas’ to your stomach’s satisfaction.”

Maxim:-Human beings have ambitions and hopes in their future. But in reality, there are so many hindrances that have to be passed in order to realize them.

God judges His devotee by looking into his mind rather than by what he does.

Two friends were walking along a road passing their leisure time. On one side of the road, they heard the sacred Bhagavata being read aloud by a sadhu to some devotees who were sitting around him. One friend said to the other, “Friend, let’s go there and listen to the wonderful Bhagavata and get some spiritual knowledge.” The other friend disagreed and said, “No, I am not in the mood to listen to religious talks. I am going to visit the prostitute who lives on the other side of the road.” So the two friends separated and went to their respective places. The one who went to hear the religious talks was thinking to himself, “My friend is having a good time with the prostitute. Look at me; I am wasting my time listening to this boring Bhagavata”. The other friend even though was in the house of the prostitute was thinking all the while, “My friend is listening to the sacred Bhagavata. He is going to gain a lot of spiritual knowledge. I have foolishly chosen the path to my own destruction.”

Out of these two friends, the one who went to the prostitute is the better devotee of God.


Maxim:-What we think is what really matters. Whatever we may do outwardly is not going to help us receive God’s grace.