We try. We try very hard. But we are not perfect people. We are not the best of seekers. We are not born saints. We are human. We have limitations, attachments, jealousies, egos, resentments, selfishness - what not. We are fighting every moment. But the Goal Eternal appears to be so far...almost unreachable.
The climb is steep. The time is short. And i am lame and blind.
Can i make it?
Within my capacities, it seems impossible. The pangs of birth after birth after birth into this realm of change and sufferings, the horrendous world of temptations that drags me mercilessly into millions of psychological dependencies, the seething ulcers of rotten values and injured consciences flings me into meaningless oceans of tears...how will I ever escape this?
On my own, I can't. But i + God = I can!
Yes, O Lord, lift me from here with your Grace. Inspire me to walk out of the narrow alleys of ignorance into the broad daylight of clarity and bliss. Oh Lord, Give me Strength. Give me Purity, Give me Knowledge.
But may be I won't be able to hold it within me. Even if you bless me, I may still be a loser.
I don't have the time, the strength, the interest to experiment any more with the flimsy pleasures of the world. No, let's not waste time. Give me...liberation!
This is the prayer of the seeker. The prayer of complete surrender.
But God has no chosen ones. His Grace floods the universe like sunlight...But, we have to open our eyes and see the light. Prayer opens our eyes and allows the light of His Grace to enter into us and fill our lives. Thus, a true seeker...prays and prays and prays...not shamelessly begging for sundry desires, but asking the Lord to end all his suffering for once and for all...
In this prayer there is readiness to renounce, willingness to sacrifice, availability to transform...
In this prayer there is eagerness to free and to fly in the skies of infinity...
In this prayer there is absolute faith and complete surrender.
Gurudev beautifully writes the words of such a prayer:
"True, I have no faith to meet Thee, O Lord. I have nothing to offer Thee, except my own tears. I have nothing to claim for myself except the fatigue of my indulgence, the stink of my selfish acts, the sweat of my passions, the chords of my attachments. In fact, I don't deserve to be saved. Yet, Lord, I am tired - beaten out completely, exhausted thoroughly - repentant fully - helpless wholly...
I surrender myself to Thee and Thy Grace. I claim a hearing and expect help from Thee. Are not Thou the Ocean of Krpa - of grace, of kindness, and of love? Are Thou not the Destroyer of the demon Mura? Won't Thou, in Thy kindness, take pity on me and once more destroy the old enemy Mura in my bosom - the bundle of my own wretched vasanas?"
Thus, to surrender unto Him and to sincerely invoke His grace is to create in us divine and godly vasanas, which are the only antidote to the ego and the egocentric vasanas that constantly clamour in our bosom for gratification. Once these are hushed, the Song of the Flute-bearer shall be heard, the blue-light of His aura can be seen, the fragrance of His garland of wild flowers can be smelt, the butter of His hand can be tasted, the embrace of the Infinite can be experienced!
This is the first post of the year. Let us make this the Year of Surrender.
Practice:
1) Begin and end every day with a short prayer for next 90 days.
2) Chant the 21st verse of Bhaja Govindam at least once a day daily.
3) Let go. Let God.
TODAY'S REFLECTION IN BASED ON BHAJA GOVINDAM VERSE 21. Happy 2014.
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