Salvation in Kali Yuga. Swami Vankhandi Maharaj: Interviews, Satsangs, Teachings, Parables
for yourself, but for the common good. Contributing to Divine plans.»
Someone by Divine discretion will become a doctor, someone a warrior, someone an engineer, someone a teacher. After all, the whole world is God’s creation, and God creates it according to His design and preserves it for His purposes. Even in the deepest jungles, life is built in the most complex way. Everything is finely organized, coordinated, and balanced. Everything has its place and purpose. Nature is truly a Divine creation. Money won’t create such perfection. Some believe that money can do everything. But ultimately, everything is created by His will and His.
«True strength is in God’s want.» Hanuman performed yagna to get to heaven. But he had to descend into hell for some time. Learn to listen, heed and contribute to Divine plans. Act in unison with God. When a person relies only on their own desires, success doesn’t come to them. Yet, most often, it happens that people try to impose some of their personal desires on God. They ask Him, beg, almost demand: God, do this for me, give me that, arrange marriage, find a bride, give good work, help pass exams, and give grandchildren. And I’ll ring a bell for you. That’s the attitude people have.
An elderly woman approached Buddha: «God, I have no grandchildren. Make it so that I have grandchildren.» Then, Buddha gave her a bowl full of chickpeas and sent her to the well, saying: «You are tired and hungry. Go to the well, sit and eat.» She sat by the well and started eating chana, chickpeas. Children came running. God Himself created them through His maya. The children surrounded the old woman and started asking, «Grandmother, treat us to chana, give us at least one each.» But she just waved them away and didn’t give them a single pea. After eating, she washed her hands and came back to Buddha. And he said to her: «I sent so many grandchildren to you, and you didn’t even share one pea with them. And after this, how can you beg me for grandchildren? Who needs such a grandmother!»
When you turn to God, ask Him only for love, ask for nothing else. And if He gifts you with His Divine love, this is an enormous blessing for your whole life. This is the essence of bhakti-yoga. Its exponent was Ravidas – a medieval saint, poet and mystic. A true devotee. Kali Yuga knows many such great devotees. Kabirdas, Mirabai, Namdev, Gyaneshwar, Surdas. Their love for God was sincere, boundless, true and deep. These great people dedicated their entire lives to singing Divine gunas, through their love they gave people Divine knowledge. And none of them ever asked for anything for themselves. Didn’t beg for fulfillment of their desires.
Surdas didn’t ask for a dwelling for himself, but received it by God’s will. All his life he sang of Krishna’s deeds, communicating with Him directly in his heart, for he could see Him with his inner vision. He didn’t write poems on paper, they were written down by those who listened to him. Kabir also didn’t write anything down himself. He couldn’t even write. But he sang, and others reproduced it on paper. Thus their heritage was preserved, whole collections of works that once flowed from these poets’ lips. Now people sing what they once sang.
In communication with God, purity and sincerity are important. Prayer should come from a pure heart. Speak to God directly, in your own words. Better not to repeat others’ words, better not to copy prayers written by others. Prayer should flow from the depths of your being. There is much power in such prayer. Let it be just a few words. But this is how you yourself interact with God, He hears you, hears your heart. Words repeated by you that belong to others don’t please Him as much. He feels that these are not your words. Others’ words will teach you much. But the feelings you have for God cannot be copied. Prayer is your word, it’s the intimate connection between God and you.
Living Truthfully
«The Maharaja is more interested in animals than in people» – this is the impression one might get when observing him in daily life. What people consider their «problems» and «desires» clearly doesn’t seem to concern him much. If someone starts telling him about their worries, he will, of course, listen attentively and even give some wise advice. But overall, it’s clear that all of this is trivial to him. However, he is very attentive to animals and plants. Their difficulties appear much more real to him than human ones (which are indeed often contrived). For example, if during satsang, an ashram horse named Manju comes and stands expectantly nearby, looking at people with a desire to eat something, he pauses and doesn’t continue speaking until she is given something. He responds to many subtle movements of dogs lying next to him, as well as to loud bird calls or, for instance, gusts of wind. This is life inseparable from him – this life might even more be called «his life» than everything that happens directly with his body. At the same time, he is very caring and kind to all living beings. But this kindness doesn’t come from the idea that «it’s the right thing to do,» but from an inner love for the essence of these beings – for that essence which he sees as himself in everyone and everything. You can call this compassion, or you can call it wholeness.
Vankhandi Maharaj: «In the process of life, a person needs to understand what kindness and compassion are. How human fall and spiritual growth occur, and how to achieve the state of shanti – peace and tranquility – in samsara (worldly existence). There is no greater happiness than shanti. There is no greater sorrow than anger. The greatest happiness is finding harmony and shanti, and this is achieved through detachment. Detachment brings peace. Anger and negative emotions give birth to sorrow. If you allow anger to control your emotions, then shanti – peace and harmony – will never enter your life. Reject anger, and you will find peace. This knowledge comes to us from the Vedas.»
In ashram, 2015
Life is not about acquiring comfort, wealth, fame, or luxury. It is rather to form such a mindset and a path for yourself that will lead you to a higher step, to a level above where you started your life. We came into this world with everything already prepared. The Divine created everything before us. Did we have any hand in this? No. What contribution did we make to the creation of this world? How did we deserve to receive all this? Everything has already been created in nature for our life and works perfectly and naturally. Everything is thought out and provided for. The Divine gives food to everyone, feeds us all – from the tiny ant on the ground to the birds high in the sky and fish in the oceanic depths.
In Hemkund, there is a temple of Lakshman where the famous sindoor stone is situated. Shiva and Parvati once sat on this stone. Parvati once said to Shiva: «Everyone calls You the provider. You take care of everyone and feed everyone. Do You really not overlook anyone with Your attention?» And she decided to test this. She took an ant and hid it in her sindoor box away from Shiva’s eyes. She didn’t notice how a grain of rice fell from her head and landed into the box. She hides the ant and asks:
«Shiva, have You fed everyone?»
«Yes. Everyone,» answers Shiva.
«Are You sure? You didn’t miss anyone?»
«No. No one.»
«No one at all remained hungry?»
«No. No one.»
«Well, look here!»
And she decided to show Shiva that one being still remained unfed. After all, she hadn’t hidden that ant for nothing. She opened the box triumphantly, and look – there sits the ant, holding a grain of rice in its legs, eating it with pleasure. Then Parvati slapped her forehead with the box, and all the sindoor spilled onto the stone and colored it red. Such is the Divine lila (play). Shiva took responsibility for caring for and feeding everyone. And His caring gaze overlooks no one.
That is why He is called limitless, and no one can surpass Him. Yet humans still fidget and worry: «What will I eat? What should I do? What will happen to me?» A person’s whole life passes in worries, in searching for solutions to their small problems. They are always preoccupied: building