Sharanagati

Pure knowledge is not theoretical, pure knowledge is very practical. A real philosophy is the secret of life. Pure knowledge will also have some results, it gives direct perception of yourself – who are you. And without understanding ourselves we cannot progress.

Actually there are three steps, three levels. One is called sambandha or the connection – where do I belong, where do I come from? The second is abhideya – the means, the path that I have to follow. And the third one is prayojana, the goal – I have to identify the goal.

So, if I belong to the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna, then this is my original connection, I belong to Him. This is my connection, original spiritual connection – I belong to God. And all the different religions teach you this – you don’t belong here, to matter, to the planet Earth, you belong to the heavenly world. This is sambandha – I belong to the Divine.

And if I belong there, I have to do something about it. I cannot sit here waiting that some miracle will start to happen with me, right? Therefore we have to act, we have to do something. That is called abhideya, spiritual practice. Your meditation, your prayers, your mantras, your offerings, your going to the church, all the religious occasions and festivals – they all help us to remember that we belong to the divine realm. Also when we come together to help each other to remember.

And the third one is prayojana, the goal – we have to know where we are going. If a ship doesn’t know its destination, no wind is favorable. There are so many different winds, tossing your ship, your body, your mind, your consciousness here and there. But if you don’t know your direction, you will be just struck away here and there. So, we have to know what our direction is.

And what is our direction? What is your destination? What do you want to achieve?

Somebody: Perfection!

Somebody else: That is what she wants. Everyone has his own desire.

Tirtha Maharaj: Correct. What is yours?

Answer: To be a good man. There could be a different meaning for everyone.

Tirtha Maharaj: Sure, but I think everybody will agree with that. Because this is a nice ambition: “I want to become a nice human being!” I don’t want to put this question to all of you. But you please, answer to this question in your hearts. “What is my ambition? What I want to achieve in this lifetime?”

In our revealed scriptures there is a beautiful program for this lifetime. It is said: „O, sons of nectar, you are born from the ocean of nectar. So, this is your birth right – to possess the ocean of nectar. Don’t be satisfied with anything else! Search! This is your birth right. This is preserved for you.” This is our perfection, what we can achieve by becoming a nice and gentle human being. Because if we come from this ocean of divine nectar, then this should be our final ambition – to return there.

So, search for your inner goals, your innermost ambitions. And if more and more we can harmonize our inner goal with divine realities, the happier we shall become.