Journey Towards God
Our scriptures tell us that as individual souls we are eternal and that we have received a human form countless times. We have met uncountable saints over the course of our innumerable past lives, and from them we received true knowledge of the scriptures, time and time again. Yet, according to Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, we made one critical error every time. What is that? After receiving this knowledge, we then listened to what our mind told us instead.
All over the world people of every faith go to places of worship, places of pilgrimage and attend spiritual gatherings with devotional programmes, and their motive for doing so is admirable. They all want to benefit and grow spiritually from being in the divine association of the Lord. They prepare well in advance by making sure there is no other urgent matter to attend to at home. But despite all this, it is not long before worldly thoughts enter the mind.
Let’s say someone starts thinking about his son. Those thoughts start to pull at his mind, grappling for its full attention. Instead of thinking about God, he starts weighing up what to do until finally he decides to leave. Soon after returning home and facing the heat of worldly affairs, he starts regretting his decision. Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone.
The Bhagavatam describes how the mystical powers known as the siddhis once visited Rishabh Bhagavan. “My Lord, since you are a devotee of Shri Krishna, we have come to serve you.” But Rishabh could not be fooled, “You should say that you have come to destroy me! Even great yogis have fallen from their path because of their fascination with you. Get away from me!” Rishabh later urges that all those wishing for spiritual upliftment should never trust their mind.
Being a progeny of maya, this mind is a very powerful adversary. This is not something new I am telling you. We have heard this over many lifetimes from various saints, and we even understood it, just like we are now. But again, our mind leads as astray, “Everything being said is all well and good, but . . .” By applying this but your mind raises questions that if unchecked ultimately bring about your downfall.
The mind works by building upon each successive thought, whether good or bad. Once an improper thought enters your mind, if allowed it too will develop, grow, and eventually transform into a decision. You must remember that this is the same mind that can take us to God, and for that to happen we must always think favourably about Him, wherever and whatever we are doing. All we need to do is develop firm faith in the words of our guru and Vedic scriptures and follow the path as directed, and not listen to our mind.
Spirituality in Daily Living, Volume 3, p. 48–51
Vedic knowledge revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj and presented by Dr Vishakha Tripathi, president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/spirituality-in-daily-living-3
