Why worldly greatness fails and only love of God endures
The answer is: It is not of much real use. I will give several reasons/examples to substantiate my assertion. A politician is a great orator. The audience becomes spellbound when he speaks. Great — but not so great is what happens when he falls seriously sick. He lies in the ICU. Can any of his fans/supporters help him as he lies there for a considerable period? God could have helped if he had loved God. What happens to great scientists, inventors, etc after death?
Do we know where they are born and in what species? Rebirth is a natural process if someone has not been liberated. The material achievements, however great they may be, are left behind; they have no permanence in spiritual terms. The person concerned only carries pious and impious acts to the next body. Spiritual acts, those done in relation to God, could have helped.
The third reason is the sheer smallness of a soul. Think of billions of us. Does being part of the masses give any special advantage? No, it doesn’t; becoming a devotee of God does. The fourth reason is the value of an entity.
A small soul by itself has hardly any value; only God has, because God is everything. (The Bhagavad Gita 7.19) If you choose anyone else or anything material, you are cheating yourself. The fifth and very compelling reason is the choice of karta (doer) in your life.
A small soul by himself is too inconsequential. Either it will be God for His devotees or material nature for non-believers, which does everything. What God as a karta does can be seen from the lives of great devotees of the past. For non-devotees, it is only living in illusion, getting nowhere life after life, as material nature is in charge. Adi Shankaracharya took sannyasa when he was just twelve. God helped him in many ways, including establishing four maths (monasteries) in four different parts of the country.
Meerabai is a household name in northern India; her Giridhar Gopal made the poison harmless, which was given to her as punishment. Goswami Tulsidas, an orphan in childhood, wrote a great many spiritual texts, the main one being Shri Ramcharitmanas — a must-read for many devotees. Swami Vivekananda made us proud through his various achievements; God made them possible.
God, being very kind to us, has shown the way by manifesting as Seetaji, Radhaji, and Hanumanji to show how God should be loved. We should learn from them and love God beginning now and forever.
To be truly successful, we must belong to someone. Surely, God is the only real choice. Any other choice is illusory. We must also belong to a place, and Brahmalok is that place. We need to qualify to be promoted to the abode of God; love of God ensures it. For activity, we must serve other souls; God will designate/choose for us as His ‘nimitta’ (instrument) whom He wishes us to serve. We will then have a very meaningful existence.
The writer is a spiritual teacher; views are personal
