Surrender to God, Eschewing all Desires
God is omnipresent, and man is endowed with the special faculty of intelligence whereby he can convince himself about His presence. Some people, namely the saints, discovered and actually experienced His presence; we find their word reliable, and accept their assertion. If His existence is certain, how can we come to realize Him? In algebra, we assume 'x' as the unknown quantity to be found. Its value only becomes known when the problem is solved; till then, its value is only hypothetical; but we have got to assume 'x' to begin with. Similarly, we must assume the existence of God to unravel the mystery of life. His true nature and form we can only realize when the mystery is finally solved.
He is our true relative and well-wisher who shows us the way of escape from this cycle of birth and death; a saint is such a person. Saints have declared what God likes; it is simply this, 'Go in implicit surrender to God, eschewing all interest in worldly pleasures and desires'. At present we yield to sense-pleasures and passions. But one who obtains the Lord's support no longer fears anything. However, going to Him in implicit surrender is really far more difficult than performing intellectual and physical feats.
When we climb a stairs, we do not do it to please or oblige the steps, but to reach the upper floor; the stair is only the means. Similarly, pilgrimages to holy places, religious vows and observances, are all means; it is God that is the object. People, however, attach importance to these means, and completely overlook the object; isn't this just refusing to listen to reason?
God, in reality, is abstract, without form or attributes. It is man that brings Him within the range of imagination, giving Him a habitation and a name. We imagine Him to be a model of virtue, of all desirable attributes. We look on Him first as having concrete existence, and then give Him a name.
God's world is perfectly all right; the change required is not in His order, but in our own outlook. Since it is He that controls and orders all creation, all happenings are at His command. When we water the roots, the water naturally reaches all parts of the tree; so, too, when we keep constantly aware of God, whatever happens is all for the best.
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