HOW TO REACH GOD EASILY?

     When Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited San Francisco on 1-11-1949 the Mayor presented him a scroll with a citation from the Holy Gita, which runs as follows:

                                         Having come to Me, these Mahatmas

                                        come not again to birth, the place of

                                        pain, non eternal;they have gone

                                        to the highest bliss.

                                                                           Gita ....15

     It may not be worthwhile for us to probe into the motive behind this citation. Whatever it may be, the fact remains, that of all the verses in the Holy Gita, only this one has captured his attention. There can be no doubt, that once we reach the Supreme Lord, the abode of Highest Bliss, we will never have to come back to earth, the place of pain and suffering. But the real question is how to reach Him? The Lord Himself, in His Infinite Mercy, has vouchsafed to us the one sure way of easy access to Him. He says:

                                       He who constantly thinketh upon

                                       Me, not thinking ever of another,of

                                       him I am easily reached O Partha,

                                       of this ever harmonised yogi.

                                                                              Gita .....14

     He lays down two very important conditions, one positive and the other negative. Firstly, one must be constantly thinking of Him. This constant remembrance of the Lord is the first essential condition. Secondly, he must not think ever of another i.e. he must not give even a passing thought of another, other than the Lord. This second condition makes the remembrance whole and complete. The Lord, therefore demands of us our exclusive devotion to Him and Him alone and none else; there should be no thought of another, even a little. What is the reward of such exclusive devotion? It is the highest gift of easy access to the Lord, Who is the Veritable Ocean of Infinite Bliss? In a heart where there is one-pointed and exclusive devotion to the Lord, there can be no room for any conflict or confusion. The entire being vibrates in Supreme harmony and comes to taste unalloyed Bliss. The union with the Lord is total and complete.

     In the 22nd verse the Lord renews His assurance in a more graphic manner. He says:

                                     He, the Highest Spirit, O Partha,

                                     may be reached by unswerving

                                     devotion to Him alone, in Whom all beings

                                     abide, by Whom all This is pervaded.

Here the words Unswerving and Alone are very important. Firstly, the devotion must be unswerving and secondly, it must be to Him alone and none else. It is exclusive, one-pointed devotion that is demanded. With such devotion, one will certainly reach the Lord. In this verse, we have a comprehensive and all-inclusive description of God as the Supreme Spirit. Our total allegiance should be only to such an Universal God and none else. Then this will put an end to all conflict in the name of God and Religion. Let Divine love alone reign supreme everywhere.    

In chapter 11, verses 53 and 54, the Blesses Lord says :

                                      Nor can I be seen as thou hast seen

                                      Me by the Vedas, nor by austerities,

                                      nor by alms, or by offerings;

                                      But by devotion to Me alone I may

                                      thus be perceived, Arjuna, and

                                      Known and seen in essence, and

                                      entered, O Parentapa.

Here the Lord goes a step further and declares the futility of the Vedas, austerities, alms, and offerings, in enabling man to have His Supreme Vision. He lays added emphasis on exclusive devotion to Him alone as the sole means of knowing Him, seeing Him in essence and finally entering Him, to become one with Him.

     Finally in Chapter 18 verse 66 the All-merciful Lord gives us the Supreme assurance:

                                      Abandoning all duties come unto

                                      Me alone for shelter; sorrow not

                                      I will liberate thee from all sins.

     Here also the word alone is used, emphasizing that the surrender should be exclusive and to Him alone. When one surrenders to the Lord and seeks refuge in Him in exclusive devotion, he has nothing to fear, since the Lord has given assurance that He would take upon Himself all the burdens of the supplicant and liberate him from all sin, sorrow and suffering. Thus, through exclusive devotion and total surrender, man easily transcends all his limitations and attains Absolute Unity with the Lord, the Abode of Infinite Bliss. May the All-Merciful Lord be praised forever, for having granted man, this inestimable boon of easy access to Him.

JAI SRI RAM