Gurunathar’s Divine Message Ashwini Pooja 27-04-2006
I would like to mention a question asked here “How should we engage in the spiritual search, while leading a family life?”
I would reply “Continue to live as you are”. I have previously mentioned that making a big change and renouncing life does not lead to the goal of reaching great spiritual heights. Also because we are keenly interested in spiritual progress we should not force others in the family to do the same. Instead we can pray to God that they realize the need to do so. Even so each person’s level of karma shapes his progress. How then should each person conduct himself in a family? He must make the others in the family happy. Does this sound strange or surprising? Making others happy is something we can achieve. Let us not analyze the personal ties and natures of others. The five fingers of the hand are each individual in appearance and are not the same. Still only if the five coordinate with one another can the hand work. Similarly the different members of the family must be united. Let us pray to God for this. And by His grace the family will reach this state. Those who are imperfect will become perfect and will gain the grace of God.
Let us recall how the great Valmiki gave us the Ramayana. In the puranas we read a number of stories of how those who first pretended to the saints ultimately became true saints. An example is the person who sat in the branches of a tree at night, terrified of what he thought was a lion waiting to attack him. He kept throwing Vilva leaves at the lion to see if it moved. In the morning he discovered that it was not a lion but a Shiva Lingam. And hence by the act of dropping Vilva leaves, he attained Mukthi. If, even for a person like him God granted Mukthi, the mercy of God’s grace is limitless and can set right any flaw. We require patience and need to cultivate an attitude of not wanting anything for ourselves. This I proclaim to those assembled here. If you follow these principles and practices you will find success in everything.
[Translation of Gurunathar’s divine message given to and read by Guruji Shri K.V.Narayanan]