Saguna is easy and safe

8. In the yoga of saguna bhakti, we directly employ the indriyas. The indriyas can be either a help o  a hindrance or both. Whether they save or destroy depends on the  way we look at them. Suppose that a man's mother is at the point of death, and wishes to see him; but there is a distance of fifteen miles between them. It is wild, uneven country, with only a footpath. In this situation, is the footpath a help or a hindrance? He might say, "What a wretched track! But for this, I would be by my mother's side this moment!" 

To such a man, the path appears an enemy. But he manages somehow to walk the distance, all the time cursing the path. But, whatever the difficulties of the path, he has to keep going and hurry forward. If he looks on the path as his enemy and sits down in despair, the victory will go to his enemy, the path. But by running fast, he achieves victory. Another man in the same plight may say, "In this wilderness, thank God there is at least this narrow path. 

This will help me to reach my ailing mother. If even this were not available, how could I hope to cross the hills and jungles?" With gratitude he accepts the footpath as a ready means. He regards it with affection, as a friend, not an enemy. Whether you regard it as a friend or an enemy, as a help or hindrance, you have to walk swiftly along the path. Whether the path is an aid or an obstacle - this depends on the outlook of the man who treads it. This applies to the indriyas also. Whether they are help or a hindrance depends on the way you look at it.

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