Shree Hari
Glories of a Saint
continued....
We see in history, in the Bhagwat and other holy text, a description of the saints, holy men, the great renunciates, the ones who had performed great austerities, as well as, those loving devotees of God. Of these holy men in the past, those that have realized the Truth are very few; then what to speak of the present times. Nowadays, people consider devotional service of the Lord - Meditation etc. to be useless. They do not understand, the real success of human life, the Truth. Not only that, they do not even wish to understand it. Rather they disregard it. They waste their time away, just like animals ‒
कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निश्चिताः ।
नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः । (गीता २ । ४२)
Besides fulfillment of desires and enjoyment of sense pleasures there is nothing else. Eating, earning money and enjoying sense pleasures - that is all there is to it. In their opinion, there is nothing else whatsoever. They are only entangled in these things. Now what can one say to them ? Gentlemen ! They are even lower than animals. If they are placed in the same place as the animals, the animals may get offended, that why are you defaming us ? We are suffering through the consequences of our past deeds, and moving towards human birth. But those men who commit sins, are moving in the direction of hell and in lower forms of births. This is such a big difference ! Therefore it has been said ‒
बरु भल बास नरक कर ताता ।
दुष्ट संग जनि देइ बिधाता ॥
Residing in hell is good, but may God not give us the company of evil men, because while suffering in hell, our sins will be destroyed, but by associating with evil men, new sins will be born, getting us ready for hell.
Gentlemen ! Please pay a little attention. Only those are able to recognize a saint, who are walking this path with a true heart, do not follow blindly, rather, using the power of discrimination, going deeply into the subject, they also grasp and understand spiritual matters properly. Further more, they practice and abide in the points that have been understood, making it a part of their life and conduct. Such people are able to understand saints somewhat. They too only understand to the extent that this saint is better than them. But no one has the power of understanding to know how far the saint has reached in his spiritual journey. Either the person himself understands, or better yet, Bhagawan (God) understands.
Just as when the Sun rises, the day comes about, in the same way, by associating with a saint, there is illumination in the heart. Man perceives his flaws, and ways to get rid of these flaws. Various solutions are seen by him. Simply on meeting a saint, without any spoken words, without having asked a single question, they automatically experience an unusual feeling, in their inner senses. There is a kind of exceptional revelation (illumination). Therefore, those who have been fortunate to have an association with saints, they must consider themselves to be exceptionally blessed by God ‒
जब द्रवै दीनदयाल राघव, साधु संगति पाइये ।
to be continued ......
Ram Ram
From book in Hindi 'Satsang ki Vilakshanta' by Swami Ramsukhdasji