Maintain Remembrance of Rama in Worldly Life
The root cause of all sorrow lies in forgetting God, forsaking Him. Life is sorrow incarnate, unless enlightened by remembrance of Rama. Coal will certainly blacken the hand, for that is its very nature; we feel sorry for the blackening because we lose sight of the nature of coal. Life, likewise, is bound to be sorrowful and futile if we keep God out of it. Worldly prosperity and public esteem fail to yield contentment if our concept of life is devoid of the divine. Forgetting the Lord is the seed from which spring anxiety, egoism, fear, longing. How can we expect sweet fruit if we plant a seed of a bitter fruit? Anxiety and fear spring from forgetting God. Worldly gain and loss both keep God away. Worldly wisdom, charitable disposition, spotless moral behaviour, public esteem, worldly splendour – all these come to nought in the absence of devotion to Rama. One who conducts himself cautiously in the world without forgetting Rama will alone be happy.
Surrender yourself unreservedly to Rama, and entirely forget 'me' and 'mine': this is all one needs to do. One who acts without a sense of doership will not be affected by Kali. Do not be a prey to Kali, avoid being a victim of pride. Where Kali enters, Rama will forsake that place. All that the householder needs to do by way of sadhana is to follow his business or profession carefully in the remembrance of Rama. He should attend to his duty in the conviction that Rama, not he, is the doer. He heads for ruin who considers that his welfare lies elsewhere than in the hands of Rama. He cannot apply his mind to Rama so long as he considers himself to be the doer. He who gives up 'I-ness' and pride, rest assured that happiness will come in search of him. 'I-ness' will cease to exist for him who dedicates everything to Rama. There is nothing that will tend more to one's welfare than service to Rama. Therefore go in utter surrender to Rama, for there is no better way to get over sorrow and misery. It is only he who dedicates himself completely to Rama, makes his life really meaningful.
Think what you ought to do, rather than what others are doing. When you attend to Rama, understand that you are on the way to spiritual knowledge.
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