Is There a Better Reward?
Prabhav
Chh. Sambhaji Nagar
We have all heard of this proverb and often referred to it in the course of our mundane worldly life – but how does this apply to the Spiritual journey of a seeker?
One takes risks in worldly activity all the time - but in our Spiritual quest, we don’t want to take the risk and therefore we are also not rewarded.
Whereas in the Spiritual world, the reward is the greatest – finding your true Self. But to do this we need to give up our Ego. It is this ego that we dread giving up. Ego is the most prized possession - that is our entire basis and purpose of life. Losing that is our biggest risk. Naturally giving up your most prized possession will yield the greatest reward - attainment of the Lord Himself.
The Scriptures, Rishi’s, Guru’s are repeatedly telling us – the greatest reward is there to be gained and we don’t need to risk anything at all. There is nothing to lose. It is our ignorance that tells us there is a risk.
Bhagwan Himself assures us of this. In the Song Divine, the Lord says:
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु।
मामेवैष्यसि युक्त्वैवमात्मानं मत्परायणः॥९.३४॥
“Taking Me as the Supreme goal, you will come to Me!”
Bhagwan says “you will come to Me” - what greater reward is there for a Vedantin! Yet we don’t seek this path because of the “risk”. A study of the Scriptures with correct guidance will show that in fact there is no risk at all!
Now the question before a seeker is : Do I believe in what God says or do I believe in what the world says? A seeker must decide this once and for all and the sooner he decides, the better it is for him.
Small rewards come to us during the course of our Sadhana, when we take small steps. This should make us think - what if we take bigger risks? Won’t we get better rewards? However, caution must be exercised. One cannot arbitrarily plunge into it – one has to be truly prepared.
In the routine world, we measure the pros and cons and then take “Calculated Risks”. In the Spiritual world, we take “Risks with Understanding”
This understanding is outlined in our Scriptures - we need to develop ‘Vivek’ and ‘Vairagya’. If we don’t develop vairagya, we will not be able to take the risk. If we have to take the next step, we have to leave the present step. If we have to dive into the water, we have to leave the land. Similarly, if we don’t give up the worldly attractions, we cannot dive into the Spiritual world.
Sree Guru Parampara is there to guide us on this path!!
Guru’s are our Constants - They advise us on this path. Slowly and steadily, They guide us towards our true Self. They help us drop the sheaths that we are wearing.
Bhagwan further says:
पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति ।
तदहं भक्त्युपहृतमश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः ॥९.२६॥
“Whatever you offer to Me with devotion, I accept! Be it a leaf, flower, fruit or even water.”
We are scared to part with our wealth, our belongings – the Lord doesn’t want anything from us – except devotion. We don’t need to give up any of our worldly possessions or relationships – only our ego. So what is the risk really? Day after day, we slave away in our desire for wealth and riches. These riches are merely material in nature. Bhagwan is Sarva Aishwaryawan – shouldn’t we strive much more on the path that can lead us to Him then? That is the greatest reward we can ever hope to achieve!
On this path, dynamism is needed. Humility, Devotion, Faith, Service, Sacrifice - these are the requirements that will make us dynamic! And dynamism is needed to take us forward. Without that we’re stuck where we are.
In conclusion, take careful steps under the guidance of the Guru and the Holy Scriptures. Be sincere, be faithful, be focussed, be steady and committed to take this risk. Very lovingly take the risk. Bhagwan has assured us; the Scriptures are assuring us and the Guru’s are there to hand-hold us on this path - approach it without hesitation or fear.
Hari Aum!