Sharanagati

(from a lecture of Swami Tirtha, 07.01.2018 evening, Sofia)

(continues from the previous Friday)

It is said in the holy scriptures, in the Bhagavad Gita for example, that knowledge, forgetfulness and memory all come from God.  Because you know, sometimes knowledge can be a blessing, other times it might be a curse. If we know too much, usually we hate too many things. Forgetfulness might be a curse in general, but might be a great blessing sometimes. And memory, especially spiritual memory, is definitely a blessing. So, if we can always remember, never forget this ultimate connection to God that we have, then we are blessed.

And these days we were discussing the many different relationships that you might develop with the Supreme. The first is a neutral kind of relationship, which means strong faith.  The second is a kind of active servitude – that we are ready to give something, offer something to the Supreme. Then we understood that there is a kind of mutual exchange with the Supreme – it’s called friendship, to be in good terms with the Supreme. The next step is parental relationship – when we want to take care of the Supreme, like a father, like a teacher, like somebody elder than Him. And today we arrive to a very interesting topic – an emotional, loving relationship to the Supreme. Of course, affection is included even from the first step. But here it is in a very condensed form.

Enough with the dry introduction. Now I will tell you something and please try to judge whether you agree or don’t. ‘Show me your servant and I will tell you who you are.’ Do you agree?

Comment: Yes.

Swami Tirtha: Anybody who doesn’t agree?

Comment: I disagree. Because you may have many servants and they can perform different services.

Swami Tirtha: Correct. One servant is reliable, another is less reliable. Yet a servant will always signify or tell something about the master. But we can have it the other way round: show me your master and I will tell you what kind of servant you are. Do you agree with this?

Comment: Yes, I agree.

Swami Tirtha: Thank you. But what does it mean – if I am a servant of someone, I will represent my master. It’s a very responsible job. If you are introduced like: “Here is the main servant of the king” and you behave in a stupid way, they will not say ‘he’s a stupid servant’, but they will say ‘that’s a stupid king’. If you say ‘I am a servant of God’ and you are a very irresponsible person, they will say, ‘What kind of faith, what kind of process, what kind of God is this who tolerates such servants?’ Why? Because the pear is not falling too far away from the tree. Like father, like son; like servant, like master.

But if we go further: ‘Show me whom you love and I will tell you who you are’. Let me not enter any explanation now. Just try to embrace this message, try to think it over and understand it more deeply.

(to be continued)