The Essence of the Bhakti Yoga Path

Thayumanuvar, a great South Indian saintly poet, was also the prime minister to a king. He was once asked, if a married or unmarried life was better. He answered in the following way. If you realize that you are nothing but a top, spun around and somebody’s playing you, it doesn’t matter where you are. The top doesn’t play by itself; somebody has to play it. And God plays it with the strings. In the same way, you are that top, and the string is your karma. If you have too many karmas, you have a very long string that is wound and wound. God just swings you and lets you swing with your own karma rope. If your life happens one way, it happens, and you accept it. Without your consciously looking for it, all of a sudden you will see a partner, or, all of a sudden you will be alone, renounced. Things will happen.

If God thinks you should be in a particular classroom to be educated, you’ll be put there. In one classroom you will be instructed to serve your partner and your children. So that path becomes an education. Sometimes, you may be put in the other classroom. That’s why I happily say that if people want to lead either life, fine, there is nothing wrong in either approach. But whatever you do, ultimately, you should realize this: I am the puppet. And God or the Higher Power is pulling my strings. That is the simplest and easiest way.

Let us open our hearts. Let us at least believe there is a great force, an infinite force or power that is ready to take your hand and play with you, guide you. It’s so simple, if you just let yourself be in that hand. It’s like a little child sitting on the shoulder of the papa, going to a carnival. The child can just sit, and enjoy while the dad takes care of everything and need to worry about anything. When I see children riding on the dad’s shoulder, how happy they are! They just look around, with no fear of getting lost or falling.

So until you can give yourself totally into God’s hands, at least  know that it is the safest way, that you don’t need to go looking for a Safeway. The Safeway is right here and everything is available there; just use you Mastercard! Or, you can also go to the Grand Union and become partners with the Sears! (Seers)

By Sri Swami Satchidananda