How To Remember God Continuously
How to Remember God Continuously
The nature of the mind is such that it has to be continuously on the move. It cannot stop even for a second. This means that we cannot remain without thinking about something even for a moment. Take the example of a bicycle rider. As long as he continues to pedal, he will not fall. But as soon as he stops moving, he will lose balance and fall down. However, he does not have another option. The rider can maneuver the handlebar and move forward in another direction while pedaling.
Similarly, we have all experienced how our mind goes to India one second and to Canada the next moment. We may be sitting on the couch, but our mind flees to England to be with friends. The next moment the mind remembers the daughter and runs away to Delhi to be with her. This has been our experience of many lifetimes. If family members agree with our point of view, we like them, and when they insult us or disagree with us, the mind immediately becomes detached from them. This happens dozens of time a day. Sometimes the mind is very attached to relatives and friends, sometimes it is very detached from them.
Once we understand that true happiness cannot be found in the material world, we will have to turn the mind towards God. We want to go north but we are on the southbound highway. A good samaritan explains to us that we are going in the opposite direction. We should be thankful to that individual and make an attempt to turn around and travel in the right direction.
Similarly, we must understand that our entire life we are running towards the world in hopes of attaining eternal bliss. Thankfully, a Saint came along and explained to us that there is no happiness in this world, and unlimited bliss can only be achieved through God realization. Understanding this fact, we have to make an attempt to turn our thoughts away from the world and towards God.
The mind can only turn in one of the two directions - either towards God ar towards Maya. There is no third option available. So we have to practice turning our mind away from worldly desires and towards God (this includes His names, attributes, Saints, pastimes and form). But when you attempt to do this, the mind automatically turn back towards the world due to lifetimes of practice. Do not be disheartened. We have learned everything with practice also. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking that the mind willtowards God automatically one day. This will never happen. You have to do it. You have to force the mind to think about God. If you get 10 minutes, practice 10 minutes. If you get 5 minutes, practice 5 minutes. Do not waste any time. Human life is extremely precious. We do not know when death may arrive at our door-step.
Spend only as much time in the world as is necessary to fulfill the basic needs of the body. All spare time must be utilized towards the aim of life, which is God-realization. Don't worry that you may not be able to reach the goal in this lifetime. God and Guru will not abandon you mid-way. Your Guru will come to you in the next lifetime and guide you again. This will go on until you achieve God realization. Just keep on doing Sadhana.
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