Carry on Prapancha as if it Belongs to God
Do you think that the world that you see about you has a controller or regulator? If you ask an atheist, 'Who created this universe?' he will reply, 'Of course, the elements.' If you further ask him, 'And who made the elements?' he will have to say, 'Beyond this I don't know.' Whether he does or not, however, clearly there must be a maker for everything; and that Ultimate Maker a theist calls God. Old, archaeological remains show temples and monuments whose makers we are often unable to trace; whether we can or not, we can be certain that there is a maker. Similarly, there is a Maker for this universe.
Children play in a wendy house at home-making, with fake cooking, weddings, deliveries, children, and what not. And yet, when the mother calls them, say, for lunch, they run to the dining table, leaving the wendy home in whatever disarray it may then be, even, perhaps, the 'baby supposed to be crying for milk.' .
It is exactly like those children that we should look upon this 'real' worldly life; for, if God is the Maker of the universe, He is also the Saviour and the Destroyer. How then, do we have the right to feel either elated or downcast at happenings in our life?
If we hire a house and claim ownership of it, will the real owner entertain the claim? He will seek some redress or other and evict us. It is so with prapancha, too; in reality, it is all by His decree that we are so and so in such and such a family or society or circumstances. How can we claim to have things to suit our sweet will? It is therefore only fit that we should do our duty, and meekly accept what He directs, readily quitting life, too, when He pleases to call us away. If we keep this outlook we shall go through prapancha unaffected by pleasure or pain. Nor should we worry about prapancha if we take to devotion to God, prayers, and hymns. If we then become regardless of prapancha, like Shree Tukarama, we shall only be progressing on the path of paramartha; and if we do not thus become regardless about it we shall evidently be attending to it, which is only to be considered 'normal'. So instead of keeping just moaning, let us remain cheerful, in nama-smarana; the mind will undoubtedly clarify itself and tend to devotion.
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