Obstacles Bhakti - Kunjeshwari Home

1 Fast without water,
Obstacles in Bhakti
Practice makes man perfect. It is possible to achieve the impossible
with practice. A baby does not start walking the moment it is born. It has
to practice walking. Gradually it learns to walk. The result of mental practice
is more wonderful than physical practice. Our thoughts leave a mark on our
subconscious mind. The wise call this – ‘sanskâr’. Many such sanskârs collect
and form our nature. This sanskâr inspires us to perform a particular karma.
The thoughts and karmas of our previous lifetimes form the sanskâr in this
birth. My present thoughts and karmas will form my sanskâr in the future
birth. Therefore, it is extremely important to fix our mind on Sri Bhagavân.
In the future, this practice will form a sanskâr and inspire us on the path of
Spiritual progress.
My father has not left me a single paisa. So shall I starve?
Definitely not. I have to go out and earn for myself. Similarly
just because I have not inherited a sanskâr of Bhakti from my
previous birth, should I sit still? If I do, I will never gain any
God-realization. I must practice meditation. Along with this, I
must also perform detachment.
What is detachment?
When we are not attached to anything in this world, we are attached only to
Sri Bhagavân we are ‘detached’. It is natural for the mind to think of what we
like. Therefore, as long as we relish material things our mind will think of the
same. So we need to ponder on what is temporary and what is permanent.
What we may do, we should be conscious – we should always ask ourselves
–am I doing the right thing? Is it conducive for my bhajan? We must reject
anything that is temporary and takes us away from the thoughts of Sri
Bhagavân.
Our mind is like an equi-arm balance. One arm carries material objects while
the other arm carries divine objects. If one arm is heavy, the other arm will
move up. The more intensely we feel – “This world is temporary and devoid
of happiness”, the more our mind will move up (away) from worldly objects.
“I have no one but Sri Bhagavân” – the more we feel this, we will become
more detached from worldly things. When we feel more detached, the
ambrosial Sri Krishna-bhâv will fill our hearts.
All the devotees who have done ‘nirjalâ’ 1 fast know how, especially in the
summer, our mind automatically conjure visions of water. The more our
thirst increases, the thought of water becomes more intense. The more the
hunger, the more we think of food. We don’t have to try hard to think about
food. Similarly, to fill our mind with Sri Krishna-bhâv, we need hunger
– a sense of lacking. If we do not have this hunger, it is very difficult to
concentrate on Sri Bhagavân, even forcefully.
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