Earnest Yearning for God is Essential
Do you really want God? and for what purpose? Of course, you take so much trouble to come over here, how can it be that you don't want God? You certainly want God; but what for? For making your family life happy! Even if it is so, however, it is certainly to the good, for later on, this will show us the proper way.
Whosoever has an earnest yearning for God for the sake of God alone, is really fortunate. Great sages and saints felt the urge for God, and they made God their own. Tukaram, Ramadas and others never aspired for anything except God. Such need for God is felt only by saints. Ramadas felt intense longing for spiritual initiation. He requested his elder brother for it but he was told, 'You are too young, my boy.' But the intensity in the mind of Ramadas could not be quietened. He ran away from the marriage altar. He sustained the intense longing and persisted in this sadhana for full twelve years, until, ultimately God Himself, in His grace initiated him; only with this his anguish was pacified.
The attainment of God does not depend upon age, wealth or caste and religion; it only depends upon the intensity of longing; this intensity is very essential. Only total surrender to God can generate such intensity. Ramadas put his head on Rama's feet and said, 'O Rama, I have dedicated my body to You, I don't need it without You. It is impossible for me to live without You.' With such intense love, such close affinity, such earnest yearning, how long can God hold Himself aloof!
God, in fact, is satisfied with very little. If you walk one step towards Him, He comes forward two steps in your direction. However, we do not have that intense longing to go to Him. Our passions, our ego, our body-consciousness, all pull us back. One who cuts all these chains of bondage and attains God, does not come back. God is very affectionate like a mother. Which mother will not like to embrace her child? But these passions stand in the way. Truly, nama draws aside the curtain between Him and us, eliminates the attachments due to body-consciousness, clears the path towards God, and holding our hand takes us straight to God. So keep nama constantly awake in your heart.
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