THE SPIRITUAL PATH

2. DEVOTION TO GOD

A spiritual man is one who lives his days in contemplation of God.  What is God?   In every religion God is referred to as the creator.  He is spoken of as the kartaa.  He is said to be responsible for the creation of the world and its maintenance.  Every effect must have a cause.  The ultimate cause is God.  Further, God is the dispenser of the fruits of our actions, whether they are good or evil.   God is known as karmaphala daataa.

God may be the creator of the world and also the dispenser of the fruits of our actions.   But why should we have devotion to Him?   Why should we show bhakti to Him?  The answer to this question is provided in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yoga is defined as chittavrttinirodha.  It is the control of the mind's activity.

But how to control the mind? This can be brought about by worship of God.  The world is full of things, which distract the mind, which make it shake and waver.  To keep our body in balance without being tossed about, we hold fast to a strong pillar.   

Even so, to keep, our mind steady, we, should, make it stick to something that is unchanging and unshakable.  It must be some thing that is fixed, sthaanu, unmoving and permanent among the unstable things of the world. God who is the all-knowing Intelligence is the One Permanent in this world of impermanent things.  We should hold Him before our mind to control it and steady it like a flame in a place where there is no breeze.  

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