In this intriguing and enlightening lecture by Sri Poornimaji, we see what is the end result of following dharma, and how Bhagavan becomes happy with us.
The greatest duty of each individual is to develop love for Bhagavan. Sri Shukacharya says, “What cannot be attained if Bhagavan is pleased with us.” If we have Bhagavan with us, we then would be able to do anything!
He gives us the steps to show how we can develop devotion to Bhagavan. Firstly, we need to have love for Bhagavan, and that love should have no reason and it must be unobstructed. When we listen to Bhagavan’s stories, we enjoy his divine leelas, and this leads one to develop devotion to Bhagavan. For example, when we listen to Ramayana, we learn the path shown by Rama which we can apply in our lives. The only way we can gain this knowledge from Ramayana is by listening to kathas from devotees.
Now the question is, how do we listen to Bhagavan’s stories (kathas)? We will get the taste and passion to listen to Bhagavan’s stories when we are in a satsang. One is blessed with satsangs when he goes and visits temples and holy places. When we visit these temples and places, there are many saints and Mahatmas living there, who are truly god-realized souls. We cannot identify them with their external appearances. When we visit a holy place willingly or unwillingly, we are blessed with the darshan of a Mahatma. Their gracious glance falls on us which plants the seed of devotion (bhakti). Srimad Bhagavatam beautifully says, the first step is visiting holy places and by visiting many holy places we are blessed with the darshan of many many Mahatmas and that grace will ultimately lead one to a higher satsang of a Great Guru. We are blessed to listen to Bhagavan’s stories in a satsang and that eventually leads one to develop Bhagavath Bhakti.
In Srimad Ramayana, Lord Sri Rama mentions that the first step is to be blessed with a satsang and only then can we listen to Bhagavan’s stories which leads us to develop devotion to Lord. A satsang is a place where we listen to the Lord’s stories.
Srimad Bhagavatam goes further and says that even to get satsangs one must visit holy places and temples willingly or unwillingly to get the grace of Mahatmas which is the seed for satsangs. This leads one to develop the taste to listen to Bhagavan’s stories and finally that leads to devotion to Bhagavan,
Krishnanujam Srinivas
Bay Area, California
