HOW ACTION WILL NOT BIND

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

98. HOW ACTION WILL NOT BIND

In the Gita Lord Krishna tells Arjuna how He is present in this universe of ours, in our lives and in the day-to-day living of our lives. “I appear before you as this world. All things are indwelt by Me.” And in the tenth chapter of the Gita, Lord Krishna mentions to Arjuna about His special presence in each category of creation. “Among trees I am such and such a tree. Among rivers I am such and such a river. Among elephants I am such and such an elephant. Among seasons I am such and such a season. Among poets I am so and so.” And, as the Lord goes on recounting His glories, He sums it up by saying: “Whatever being there is that is glorious, prosperous or powerful, know  that to be a manifestation of part of My splendour, for I am supremely transcendent and I support the world with just a part of Myself.” And then Arjuna begins to think within himself: “What a person I was. I thought God was apart from me, far away, remote, difficult to conceive. Now I’m being told He is everywhere, in all directions, before me in this thing, in that thing.” And he is seized with a great curiosity, a great eagerness to behold in actuality what the Lord is describing. So he says to Him: “Can You actually make me see it?” The Lord replied that it was not possible with Arjuna’s physical eyes, but that He would give him a divine eye so he could behold it. We too require a special vision. We think of God as some Being whom we have to strive at great length in order to see. But we should change our vision. We must see Him as our nearest and dearest. Though we mouth the words “You are my mother, You are my father, You are my relative and friend,” we don’t have that feeling towards Him as someone who is very close, someone very near and closely related to us. The more we try to perceive this and begin to experience this in our feelings, in our bhava, the greater becomes our yoga, the more closely related and connected we are with Him. The bhava that He is not remote, not a stranger, not something far apart from us, is to be cultivated. Because, He is very near. He is our own. Maybe we are more familiar with Him than anything else. This must be slowly realised in your heart. This feeling of your closeness to Him and His closeness to you must dawn in your heart. This feeling of your absolutely intimate relationship with Him must grow in your heart. And it is this that makes yoga possible. It is this that makes yoga fruitful. And it is this that enables you to be in yoga even in the midst of activity. When you make Him close to you, familiar to you, then you can indeed be established in a close relationship with Him and at the same time act. Then action will not bind you. The world cannot bind you, for already you are bound to God in terms of intimate familiarity, closeness and love. That is the secret of abiding in God even in the midst of so-called earthly activities, for He has made clear that He is not remote and far, but indwells our world, our activities and our life on earth. This is the secret of a permanent state of yoga within. He is your nearest and dearest. This is to be borne in your heart. This is to be felt every moment. Thus should your sadhana proceed—your intellect understanding this mystical truth, your mind ever dwelling upon this mystical truth, your heart always in awareness of this mystical truth. This is the key to success in spiritual life and attainment.