Relationships. ..... Bhakti means relationships, because relationships are what fulfill the deepest needs of the heart. Things cannot fill that vacuum. You can have a house, nice clothes etc., but those things cannot in any way give fulfillment to the heart – only to the mind and senses. What gives fulfillment to the heart is satisfying relationships. When relationships are frustrated, life is frustrated and people take shelter of non-living things such as money, objects and intoxication, or relationships with animals. Our propensity is to love and we need to place it somewhere. In this world, relationships are based on the mental and physical platform, which are temporary, and people are misguided to develop relationships based on the selfish ego of “What can I get from this person?” Relationships are difficult because you invest your heart in them and therefore you are vulnerable to have your heart broken – vulnerable and subject to the deepest pain. In order to deal with that vulnerability, some philosophers and spiritualists have come up with an explanation that, in their minds, solves the problem forever — that all relationships aremaya, just an illusion. There is no more love and no more facilities of love, just simple existence. But, that explanation does not fulfill the essential need for every living heart — the need for loving relationships. Because relationships give the greatest pleasure, they also give the greatest pain when frustrated. Bhakti teaches that relationships on the platform of truth are the highest fulfillment and are not subjected to the vulnerabilities of this illusory plane. We are all eternal souls, parts of God, and our relationships with God are forever. And contained within every soul’s relationship with God is the pure and perfect relationship between that soul and all other living beings. When we develop our relationships in reference to the love that is within us for God, and we share our love for God with each other and for each other in reference to the truth, then these relationships are ultimately fulfilling. When our relationships are based on real spiritual values and principles, then we are developing relationships as who we really are – children of God, parts of God, spiritual souls. And on that level, we can tolerate and forgive, and in doing so, our relationships and the affection we share become greater and greater as time evolves. Not without tests, however. For real relationships to have meaning and substance, we must understand what is the meaning and substance of love. Love is not selfish, but selfless. It is the willingness to make sacrifices for the object of our love. And when we share that spirit amongst each other there is no power within the world that can disturb our relationships. For a relationship to be real and strong we have to focus. We have to focus on making the priority of our relationship that higher principle, not the temporary superficial reasons we like each other. We are here to help each other love God and so we need to dive deep, below the surface of our emotions, mind, and senses to the essence of life. —Radhanath Swami
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 02:56:52 +0000
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