Everyone knows worldly attainments are transient and God is the only reality. When a death occurs we say, rama nama satya hai, "The only reality is the name of God." When we know that the world cannot give us happiness, then to make material demands from God is to act indiscriminately. Let us understand why it is wrong to ask God for worldly things.
Firstly, we must love God, and only then do we have any basis to ask for anything from Him. Even in the world, we only ask for something from those we love and with whom we have a relationship. We do not ask anyone and everyone. It would be a joke to ask God for something when we have no love for Him. Therefore, we should not make this mistake as long as we still love the world.
There is an incident concerning Ramakrishna Paramahansa in connection with this. He developed throat cancer and everyone knew that the Saint's death was imminent. He was famous in Kolkata and all over Bengal as a Saint who had transformed many lives. People went to him and said, "You have attained perfection. To rid yourself of cancer is child's play for you. Just ask God to cure you, and your cancer will disappear." Ramakrishna rigorously replied, "Should I divert my mind from God to worrying about cancer? How can I ask God to perform such dirty work for me? I have loved God only with the desire to serve Him. I cannot engage in such pettiness and ask for His help just for the sake of this wretched body. Moreover, even if I am cured, I will still have to leave my body at the appointed time.”
Everyone has to leave the world at the appointed time, whether it is a sage, an ascetic, a yogi, a Saint, or even God Himself. The world may say that so-and-so died of a heart attack or cancer, but the fact remains that his time of death had arrived. If God does not stay a moment longer than His scheduled period of descent, how can anyone else stay beyond his appointed time?
You may have heard of an incident in Ayodhya in this context. Yamaraja, the celestial god of death, came to Lord Rama to tell Him that the period of His descension was over. When Yamaraja goes before God or a Saint, he places his head at their feet and says, "I have come to inform You that the period of Your descension is complete. You may choose to stay or leave. I am merely fulfilling my duty." He cannot force them to leave as he does for others. Nevertheless, the supremely independent Rama did not stay a moment longer than His planned 11,000 years. At the exact time, to the second, He left the world and this is true for every descendent of God and every Saint, whether it be Tulsidas, Surdas, Mira, or Kabir. Seeing that even God, the lawmaker Himself, does not violate His rule, why should the Saints, who are His servants, break the law?
When we say we do not wish to die, it can be for two possible reasons. One reason is that we are very attached to the world - to our wealth, home, father, mother, wife or son, and so on and still wish to enjoy them, and therefore, we do not wish to leave. On the other hand, elevated spiritual aspirants have a sensible reason for not wanting to die. They think, "I have not yet attained God. If I had some more time I still could achieve my goal." They want more time, just like students who become very happy when given a few extra days to study for their exams. God and Saints, on the other hand, have nothing to attain. They leave at the appropriate time without any reluctance.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa (who was suffering from cancer) therefore said, "Everyone has to leave at the scheduled time. I have no objection to this hole in my throat. The body has nine holes anyway - the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc. So what if there is one more? It would be very wrong to bother the Divine Mother over this."
In this way, asking God for worldly favours is the greatest folly and should not be done even after becoming a devotee. It is said in Bhagavatam:
yat prithivyam vrihiyavam hiranyam pashavah striyah
na duhyanti manah pritim punsah kamahatasya te (Bhagavatam 9.19.13)
"Even if one is given the wealth of infinite universes, his desires, cravings, and longings will not reduce in the least."
trishna tu tarunayate
"When you try to satisfy desires, they grow stronger." (Hitopadesha)
Worldly opulence, no matter how great, cannot provide true happiness and therefore it is foolish to desire worldly objects. To ask God for them is even greater foolishness. Devotion practiced with the sole aim of fulfilling material desires has many dangers.
Firstly, it is clear that such a devotee is not yet sure where true happiness lies - in the world or God. If it is in the world, then what is the need for God? If it is in God, then what is the need for this world? If our goal is to attain happiness, then going to God, who is the source of unlimited bliss, and asking Him for the world, which is a source of misery, evidently implies that we still hold hopes of attaining unlimited happiness from the world. If our goal itself is incorrect, then how can we practice devotion correctly?
In the material realm, ninety-nine percent of people desire worldly things. These desires are often fulfilled by their own destiny. When material possessions are acquired by people according to their destiny, they misunderstand it as being the blessing or grace of God?
When people pray to God and wish for a material thing, if that desire is fulfilled, those people will think that it was due to the blessing of God that they received it. Similarly, when they do not receive their desired possession due to their destiny, they start cursing or criticizing God, even thinking it to be a sign of God's anger. This sort of thinking is very dangerous and its effects are very harmful. Such a person will be a believer for as long as he acquires worldly possessions, and when his material desires are not fulfilled, his so-called faith in God will immediately disappear, and he can even become an atheist. Not even God can grant a person worldly gains if it is not destined for him. Whatever worldly happiness is destined for each person is given to him according to his fate. The results of past actions are rewarded in the present life.
In the Ramayana, the almighty Lord Rama could not save His father, Dashratha. In the Mahabharata, Abhimanyu's uncle was Shri Krishna, his father was the great Saint, Arjuna, and the person who conducted his marriage was Veda Vyasa. Yet, they all could not save him from being killed in the battle. This being the case, how can God change the destiny of an ordinary person?
A lack of worldly happiness is actually a sign of God's grace. In such a state we remember God. Kunti asked the Supreme Lord to fulfill the following wish, "O Shri Krishna! Give me sorrow and pain so that due to a lack of material pleasures I will chant Your glories." God is all-knowing and whatever He does is only for our benefit. Why interfere and ask Him for anything? We do not know what is best for ourselves. If we always remember that God is omniscient and leave everything up to Him, then this disease of asking will never arise.
Recommended Books of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj:
Sadhana Me Badha
Atma, Sansar, evam Vairagya: Hindi e-book
The Sacred Rules: English
Everyone knows worldly attainments are transient and God is the only reality. When a death occurs we say, rama nama satya hai, "The only reality is the name of God." When we know that the world cannot give us happiness, then to make material demands from God is to act indiscriminately. Let us understand why it is wrong to ask God for worldly things.
Firstly, we must love God, and only then do we have any basis to ask for anything from Him. Even in the world, we only ask for something from those we love and with whom we have a relationship. We do not ask anyone and everyone. It would be a joke to ask God for something when we have no love for Him. Therefore, we should not make this mistake as long as we still love the world.
There is an incident concerning Ramakrishna Paramahansa in connection with this. He developed throat cancer and everyone knew that the Saint's death was imminent. He was famous in Kolkata and all over Bengal as a Saint who had transformed many lives. People went to him and said, "You have attained perfection. To rid yourself of cancer is child's play for you. Just ask God to cure you, and your cancer will disappear." Ramakrishna rigorously replied, "Should I divert my mind from God to worrying about cancer? How can I ask God to perform such dirty work for me? I have loved God only with the desire to serve Him. I cannot engage in such pettiness and ask for His help just for the sake of this wretched body. Moreover, even if I am cured, I will still have to leave my body at the appointed time.”
Everyone has to leave the world at the appointed time, whether it is a sage, an ascetic, a yogi, a Saint, or even God Himself. The world may say that so-and-so died of a heart attack or cancer, but the fact remains that his time of death had arrived. If God does not stay a moment longer than His scheduled period of descent, how can anyone else stay beyond his appointed time?
You may have heard of an incident in Ayodhya in this context. Yamaraja, the celestial god of death, came to Lord Rama to tell Him that the period of His descension was over. When Yamaraja goes before God or a Saint, he places his head at their feet and says, "I have come to inform You that the period of Your descension is complete. You may choose to stay or leave. I am merely fulfilling my duty." He cannot force them to leave as he does for others. Nevertheless, the supremely independent Rama did not stay a moment longer than His planned 11,000 years. At the exact time, to the second, He left the world and this is true for every descendent of God and every Saint, whether it be Tulsidas, Surdas, Mira, or Kabir. Seeing that even God, the lawmaker Himself, does not violate His rule, why should the Saints, who are His servants, break the law?
When we say we do not wish to die, it can be for two possible reasons. One reason is that we are very attached to the world - to our wealth, home, father, mother, wife or son, and so on and still wish to enjoy them, and therefore, we do not wish to leave. On the other hand, elevated spiritual aspirants have a sensible reason for not wanting to die. They think, "I have not yet attained God. If I had some more time I still could achieve my goal." They want more time, just like students who become very happy when given a few extra days to study for their exams. God and Saints, on the other hand, have nothing to attain. They leave at the appropriate time without any reluctance.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa (who was suffering from cancer) therefore said, "Everyone has to leave at the scheduled time. I have no objection to this hole in my throat. The body has nine holes anyway - the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc. So what if there is one more? It would be very wrong to bother the Divine Mother over this."
In this way, asking God for worldly favours is the greatest folly and should not be done even after becoming a devotee. It is said in Bhagavatam:
yat prithivyam vrihiyavam hiranyam pashavah striyah
na duhyanti manah pritim punsah kamahatasya te (Bhagavatam 9.19.13)
"Even if one is given the wealth of infinite universes, his desires, cravings, and longings will not reduce in the least."
trishna tu tarunayate
"When you try to satisfy desires, they grow stronger." (Hitopadesha)
Worldly opulence, no matter how great, cannot provide true happiness and therefore it is foolish to desire worldly objects. To ask God for them is even greater foolishness. Devotion practiced with the sole aim of fulfilling material desires has many dangers.
Firstly, it is clear that such a devotee is not yet sure where true happiness lies - in the world or God. If it is in the world, then what is the need for God? If it is in God, then what is the need for this world? If our goal is to attain happiness, then going to God, who is the source of unlimited bliss, and asking Him for the world, which is a source of misery, evidently implies that we still hold hopes of attaining unlimited happiness from the world. If our goal itself is incorrect, then how can we practice devotion correctly?
In the material realm, ninety-nine percent of people desire worldly things. These desires are often fulfilled by their own destiny. When material possessions are acquired by people according to their destiny, they misunderstand it as being the blessing or grace of God?
When people pray to God and wish for a material thing, if that desire is fulfilled, those people will think that it was due to the blessing of God that they received it. Similarly, when they do not receive their desired possession due to their destiny, they start cursing or criticizing God, even thinking it to be a sign of God's anger. This sort of thinking is very dangerous and its effects are very harmful. Such a person will be a believer for as long as he acquires worldly possessions, and when his material desires are not fulfilled, his so-called faith in God will immediately disappear, and he can even become an atheist. Not even God can grant a person worldly gains if it is not destined for him. Whatever worldly happiness is destined for each person is given to him according to his fate. The results of past actions are rewarded in the present life.
In the Ramayana, the almighty Lord Rama could not save His father, Dashratha. In the Mahabharata, Abhimanyu's uncle was Shri Krishna, his father was the great Saint, Arjuna, and the person who conducted his marriage was Veda Vyasa. Yet, they all could not save him from being killed in the battle. This being the case, how can God change the destiny of an ordinary person?
A lack of worldly happiness is actually a sign of God's grace. In such a state we remember God. Kunti asked the Supreme Lord to fulfill the following wish, "O Shri Krishna! Give me sorrow and pain so that due to a lack of material pleasures I will chant Your glories." God is all-knowing and whatever He does is only for our benefit. Why interfere and ask Him for anything? We do not know what is best for ourselves. If we always remember that God is omniscient and leave everything up to Him, then this disease of asking will never arise.
Recommended Books of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj:
Sadhana Me Badha
Atma, Sansar, evam Vairagya: Hindi e-book
The Sacred Rules: English
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