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Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj ki Jai !!

Doubt

Why is it easier to disbelieve than believe?

It is easier to disbelieve than to believe because disbelief is an act of descent, whereas belief is an act of ascent. Descending is easier than ascending.

It is easier to disbelieve than to believe because disbelief is an act of breaking, and belief is an act of building. Building is more difficult than breaking.

It is easier to disbelieve than to believe because disbelief is an act of our self-centered mind, whereas belief is an act of our self-giving heart.

Why do we readily disbelieve? We disbelieve because we are afraid of oneness, afraid of the vast. We feel that when we enter into the vast, we lose our identity, we lose our individuality, we lose our very existence. But we forget the undeniable truth that when we enter into the vastness, it is nothing short of the enlargement of our divinized consciousness.

When we disbelieve God, when we disbelieve the reality, God remains the same. But what happens is that ignorance gets the opportunity to envelop us more powerfully and more completely. When we believe in God, God's compassion gets the utmost opportunity to work in and through us most powerfully.

The deeper we enter into the spiritual life, the more we become aware of the capacity of disbelief and belief.  Disbelief is nothing short of destruction. Belief is nothing short of a new creation. Each time we believe in something, we see the face of a new creator within and without us. And when we go one step ahead, when our inner faith looms large, then we see in us a perfected man and a liberated soul.

Ego

Speak to us about the human ego.

The ego is that very thing which limits us in every sphere of life. We are God's children; we are one with God. But the ego makes us feel that we do not belong to God, that we are perfect strangers to Him. At best, it makes us feel that we are going to God, not that we are in God.

The ego does not like to feel that someone else has more capacity or that someone else can do something which it cannot do. At one time ego will make us feel that we are nothing and at another time it will make us feel that we are everything. We have to be careful of both of our feelings of importance and our feelings of unimportance. We have to say that if God wants us to be nothing, then we will gladly be nothing, and if God wants us to be everything, we will be everything gladly. We have to surrender unconditionally and cheerfully to the Will of God. If He wants us to be His peers, we shall be. If He wants us to be His true representative on earth, we shall be. “Let Thy Will be done.”

How can I conquer ego?

Ego is separatedness and individuality. Separatedness and human individuality cannot live in the sea of oneness and universality. The ego deals only with the person and his possessions. If we deal with the Universal Consciousness, we become the entire universe. In this consciousness we do not act like a tiny individual who can only claim himself and feel, "This is my property. This is my capacity. This is my achievement." No, at that time we will say, "All achievements are mine. There is nothing that I cannot claim as my very own."

The easiest way to conquer ego is to offer gratitude to God for five minutes daily. Then you will feel that inside you a sweet, fragrant and beautiful flower is growing. That is the flower of humility. When you offer Him your gratitude, God gives you something most beautiful, which is humility. Once it has seen the flower of humility, the ego goes away because it feels that it can become something better: universal oneness.

The ego always tries to possess things for itself. But when we transcend ego, we try to give everything for God's Satisfaction, for the world's satisfaction and for our soul's satisfaction.


Grace

Would you please speak to us about grace?

The Supreme is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He has various kinds of power, but His greatest adamantine power is His grace. The moment the Supreme uses His grace for an individual, He offers His very Life-Breath to the seeker, for the Supreme and His grace cannot be separated. Whenever we think of the Supreme, if we feel that it is through His grace that we are approaching Him, then we can be most successful in receiving Him.

The divine grace is constantly descending upon us. Those who are sincerely aspiring are conscious of this divine grace, but those who are not aspiring are keeping their heart's door permanently closed. If we feel the Supreme's grace, then we shall see that His infinite qualities, peace, Light and bliss, are already in the process of entering us, ceaselessly flowing in and through us and becoming part and parcel of our inner and outer life. We have only to follow the flow of grace to carry us into the Source which is the Supreme.

How important is God's grace in our spiritual progress?

Before realization we think that our personal effort, our aspiration alone is responsible for our spiritual progress. At that time there is no such thing as grace for us. But after realization, we come to see that there is no such thing as aspiration. Our progress is all due to divine grace.

Can God's grace change fate?

Fate can and must be changed. For that, what is required is God's grace plus personal effort. There are some seekers who feel, "If I care for God's grace, what necessity is there to make personal effort?" But they are mistaken. Personal effort will never stand in the way of God's descending grace.

Am I correct in saying that we who are believers in God must grow in grace daily?

You are absolutely correct in saying that the believers of God must grow in God's grace daily. A true believer of God feels that his very existence on earth, his inner and outer achievements and fulfillments are entirely due to God's grace. Also he is truly fortunate to see that his so-called personal efforts too are an act of God's grace. At every moment he feels that without God's grace, he is nothing and with God's grace, he is everything.

 

Vande Guru Sri Charanaravindam !


Jai Guru !!

Jai Sri Radhey !!