How to develop faith and love for God by Swami Mukundanand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ Full Text 1 There was once a great scholar of the scriptures. He went to a God-realized Saint. He said, "Maharaj I have studied many books and done many rituals. But till today I have not had a divine experience. I have not even seen the light of God. Can you please tell me some sadhana that will give me a divine realization." The saint smiled, he knew where the problem was. So he asked the scholar to go out, to lift his hands towards the heavens and cry out for two hours to God. He promised he would get a divine experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=7 2 The scholar was obedient. He walked out into the open sky, and there he lifted his hands and he was crying out to God. Unfortunately, after 15 minutes, it started raining and then it started pouring. So all the water was falling upon him, he was getting drenched for one hour and 45 minutes. Finally he returned. The sage said, "what was your experience?" He said, "Maharaj, the water was drenching my face. My clothes were all soaked and so was the hair, it was flowing down. A puddle had formed around my feet. I was feeling cold and I had my arms up towards that sky. I was crying out to God. I felt like I'm a gross fool. The Saint said you got your first spiritual experience. What is spirituality - to humble yourself, to make way for God. I am nothing, He is everything. By thinking I'm a fool, you got your first spiritual step. Until then you were just increasing your pride learning the different verses and different quotations. This journey begins with humbleness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=66 3 So, similarly we do engage in devotion. But we are not there as yet, our faith is lacking and so is our love. But that doesn't mean that we should remain there. Once we realize a deficiency, we are now prepared to take the step. How do we move forward from here? So come to an important spiritual principle. I'll tell you a formula of how to develop love for God. This is related by Tulsi das ji Maharaj in Ramayan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=173 4 He says (Hindi verse) He says, if you wish to develop love for God, you need faith in God. And if you wish to have faith, you need knowledge of God. So knowledge will lead to faith, faith will lead to love, this is a sequence. Understand the sequence through a worldly example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=218 5 There is a man who lives at home in the city. His family lives in the village. He's working in the city. That's why he lives by himself. So to take care, he's kept a servant. Now in the morning, he goes to office and then comes back. The servant takes care of the home. One day while this officer was in the office, a sadhu came to the house. The sadhu told the servant, "look I am really hungry. give me lunch, I have got a Paras (mythical stone). I'll give that to you." Does anybody know what is a Paras? It's a mythical stone. In English, it's called philosopher's stone. If you touch iron to the Paras, the Paras transforms the iron into gold. so this Sadhu promised the servant, you feed me, I'll give you the Paras. The servant was illiterate. He did not know what this Paras was. But he had a rough idea, it's something nice. So he fed the sadhu, and the sadhu handed the Paras to him. Now the servant thought, what will I do with it? let me offer it to my master, and he will decorate it and keep it in his drawing-room. So the servant put the stone on his master's table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=266 6 In the evening at six o'clock, the officer returned. He was in a bad mood. Some people, when they come back from office ,they are in a bad mood. Similarly, some people leave the office there and come with a free mind. Some people bring the office with them. Some people bring the bad mood with them. The wife knows my husband's voltage has doubled because he come from office. He is now a 220 or 440 volt not 110 volt. The master saw this stone on the table. He said, "Ramu, who has put this stone here?" Ramu said, "Sahab, you know one sadhu came. I gave him lunch and he has handed me this Paras. So I have given it to you. Sahab said, "Ramu what a buddhu (idiot) you are!" somebody who has got Paras, will he go around begging? He has given you an ordinary piece of stone. Sahab took the stone, and chucked it. The stone went and hit the latch of the door. That latch happened to be of iron & in contact with the Paras, it transformed into gold. Now that officer saw, oh my god this has become yellow metal ! is it actually Paras? He ran to pick it up, he touched his key to it. The key also became gold. He took the spoon from the table, touched it, that also became gold. Three out of three! now the statistical probability is tremendously high, right? It's a confirmation. His intellect is convinced, this is a Paras. He started thinking of all it can do for him. "Ohh my God, if I had touched that railway line it will become gold all the way from here to Houston." "if I walk into the steel plant, I'll make a mountain of gold." "I don't need to work for anybody now. Happy days are here for the rest of my life." He has fallen in love with the Paras. He went running with it to his bedroom, went into his closet, opened the locker and then there's a locker within the locker of the closet, right? So, he put it there. He has developed so much of love for the stone. How did this love develop ? Only by knowledge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=368 7 When he had no knowledge of what the stone can do, what it is, he threw it away out of contempt, and when he realized the value of that little mass, he fell head over heels in love with it. So similarly if we really understand who is God, if we appreciate the personality of God, we will definitely have faith in Him. And if we have faith, we will fall in love with Him. The problem right now is we don't have faith in God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3M929BpKQ&t=534 Transcript 0:07 There was once a great scholar of the scriptures. He went to a God-realized Saint. 0:17 He said, "Maharaj I have studied many books and done many 0:24 rituals. But till today I have not had a divine experience. I have not even seen 0:35 the light of God. Can you please tell me some sadhana that will give me a divine 0:46 realization." The saint smiled, he knew where the problem was. So he asked the 0:56 scholar to go out, to lift his hands towards the heavens and cry out for two 1:06 hours to God. He promised he would get a divine experience. The scholar was 1:15 obedient. He walked out into the open sky, and there he lifted his hands and he was 1:24 crying out to God. Unfortunately, after 15 minutes, it started raining and then it 1:32 started pouring. So all the water was falling upon him, he was getting drenched 1:38 for one hour and 45 minutes. Finally he returned. The sage said, "what 1:47 was your experience?" He said, "Maharaj, the water was drenching 1:54 my face. My clothes were all soaked and so was the hair, it was flowing down. A 2:02 puddle had formed around my feet. I was feeling cold and I had my arms up 2:09 towards that sky. I was crying out to God. I felt 2:15 like I'm a gross fool. The Saint said you got your first spiritual experience. What 2:27 is spirituality - to humble yourself, to make way for God. 2:35 I am nothing, He is everything. By thinking I'm a fool, you got your first 2:41 spiritual step. Until then you were just increasing your pride learning the 2:47 different verses and different quotations. This journey begins with 2:53 humbleness. So, similarly we do engage in devotion. But we are not there as yet, our 3:05 faith is lacking and so is our love. But that doesn't mean that we should remain 3:14 there. Once we realize a deficiency, we are now prepared to take the step. How do 3:21 we move forward from here? So come to an important spiritual 3:28 principle. I'll tell you a formula of how to develop love for God. This is related 3:38 by Tulsi das ji Maharaj in Ramayan. He says (Hindi verse) 3:49 He says, if you wish to develop love for God, you need 4:02 faith in God. And if you wish to have faith, you need knowledge of God. So 4:14 knowledge will lead to faith, faith will lead to love, this is a sequence. 4:26 Understand the sequence through a worldly example. There is a man who lives 4:34 at home in the city. His family lives in the village. He's working in the city. 4:41 That's why he lives by himself. So to take care, he's kept a servant. Now in the 4:49 morning, he goes to office and then comes back. The servant takes care of the home. 4:55 One day while this officer was in the office, a sadhu came to the house. The 5:04 sadhu told the servant, "look I am really hungry. 5:10 give me lunch, I have got a Paras (mythical stone). I'll give that to you." Does anybody know what 5:18 is a Paras? It's a mythical stone. In English, it's called philosopher's stone. 5:25 If you touch iron to the Paras, the Paras transforms the iron into gold. 5:34 so this Sadhu promised the servant, you feed me, I'll give you the Paras. The 5:40 servant was illiterate. He did not know what this Paras was. But he had a rough idea, 5:51 it's something nice. So he fed the sadhu, and the sadhu handed 5:54 the Paras to him. Now the servant thought, what will I do with it? let me offer it 6:01 to my master, and he will decorate it and keep it in his drawing-room. So the 6:08 servant put the stone on his master's table. In the evening at six o'clock, the 6:14 officer returned. He was in a bad mood. Some people, when they come back from 6:22 office ,they are in a bad mood. Similarly, some people leave the office there and 6:28 come with a free mind. Some people bring the office with them. Some people bring 6:34 the bad mood with them. The wife knows my husband's voltage has doubled because he 6:40 come from office. He is now a 220 or 440 volt not 110 volt. The master saw this stone on 6:49 the table. He said, "Ramu, who has put this stone here?" 6:55 Ramu said, "Sahab, you know one sadhu came. I gave him lunch and he has handed me this Paras. 7:00 So I have given it to you. Sahab said, "Ramu what a buddhu (idiot) you are!" 7:07 somebody who has got Paras, will he go around begging? He has given you an 7:14 ordinary piece of stone. Sahab took the stone, and chucked it. The stone went and hit 7:20 the latch of the door. That latch happened to be of iron & in contact 7:27 with the Paras, it transformed into gold. Now that officer saw, oh my god this has 7:34 become yellow metal ! is it actually Paras? He ran to pick it up, he touched his key 7:40 to it. The key also became gold. He took the spoon from the table, touched 7:45 it, that also became gold. Three out of three! now the statistical 7:53 probability is tremendously high, right? It's a confirmation. His intellect is 7:58 convinced, this is a Paras. He started thinking of all it can do for him. "Ohh my 8:08 God, if I had touched that railway line it will become gold all the way from 8:14 here to Houston." "if I walk into the steel plant, I'll make a mountain of gold." 8:20 "I don't need to work for anybody now. Happy days are here for the rest of my life." 8:26 He has fallen in love with the Paras. He went running with it to his 8:32 bedroom, went into his closet, opened the locker and then there's a locker within 8:37 the locker of the closet, right? So, he put it there. He has developed so much of 8:44 love for the stone. How did this love develop ? Only by knowledge. 8:54 When he had no knowledge of what the stone can do, what it is, he threw it away 9:01 out of contempt, and when he realized the value of that little mass, he fell head 9:11 over heels in love with it. So similarly if we really understand who is God, if we 9:23 appreciate the personality of God, we will definitely have faith in Him. And if 9:31 we have faith, we will fall in love with Him. 9:34 The problem right now is we don't have faith in God. Standby link (in case youtube link does not work): How to develop faith and love for God.mp4
