THE LORD'S FEET [filler] He makes you do sa'dhana, furnishes you with intellect and strength -- surrender yourself to His will. Off with your load of self-conceit. Lighten the burden of your life and let yourself drift on the course of His will. It is He who is teaching you sa'dhana in the guise of a Guru. You are plundering His mercy through everything day and night. Go on working selflessly like a machine, leaving the doer-ship to Him. How little can your small intellect comprehend His inscrutable liila'! How little can it be analyzed! So, instead of analyzing His liila', only keep the bearing of that inscrutable juggler ever aglow before your eyes. THE LORD'S FEET official source: not located. Writers who wish to quote from this discourse (or the fillers) should mention: "The source document or tape for this discourse (or quotation) has not been located." cross-references: Ba'ba''s Grace this version: is the printed Ba'ba''s Grace, 1st edition, version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). Tripura'sura, the father of Gaya'sura, was a great devotee of Lord Vis'n'u [a mythological god]. Many devotees of Lord Shiva [a great Yogi worshipped as the Lord] wanted him to become a devotee of Shiva instead. But how could Tripurasura go against his Iishta [beloved goal of life]? "Though I know that there is no difference between Vis'n'u and Shiva, for me everything is Lord Vis'n'u, for He is my Iishta. " But the devotees of Lord Shiva still put pressure on Tripura'sura, in order to see him also become a devotee of Shiva. His conversion might have been possible if the worshippers of Shiva had made a logical appeal to Tripura'sura's understanding that there is actually no difference between Lord Shiva and Lord Vis'n'u, and that both are only the functional counterparts of Paramapurus'a. But under the pressure put on him by the devotees of Lord Shiva, Tripura'sura initiated a crusade against all the devotees of Lord Shiva, until he finally came upon Shiva Himself. But however powerful Tripura'sura was, how could he fight against Lord Shiva? He was defeated by Lord Shiva and met his death. After the death of Tripura'sura, his son, Gaya'sura, became the king. He, too, was a devotee of Lord Vis'n'u. He worshipped Him with all his heart and devotion, and finally succeeded in attaining a boon of immortality: not to be killed by man, demon or god, in earth, heaven or hell, by day, night, evening or morning. Endowed with such a great power, Gaya'sura went all over the world conquering people, torturing them and making their lives miserable. None were spared -- not even the devotees of Vis'n'u or Shiva. But as the saying goes, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Gaya'sura, who had received his power from Lord Vis'n'u, thought to defeat the Lord Himself. Is not the tamboura [a musical instrument used by Shiva] a fool if it thinks that the persons bowing before the Lord are, in fact, paying respect to it? Gaya'sura started thinking that the great power he possessed was actually his power. He finally challenged Lord Vis'n'u, and since Vis'n'u Himself had granted the boon, how could it fail? Vis'n'u was defeated by Gaya'sura. Gaya'sura bound Vis'n'u to a tree and then went all over the world with a very bloated ego. When things had become intolerable for the people, they approached Lord Vis'n'u, still tied to the tree, and recounted their miseries, requesting Him to do something. Vis'n'u pleaded helplessness, as He Himself was in a precarious condition! Then the devotees reminded the Lord that He had given the boon of immortality to Gaya'sura in the physical realm only. The devotees urged Lord Vis'n'u to use His psychic and spiritual power to defeat Gaya'sura, and relieve the people of their miseries. Lord Vis'n'u assured them that He would do something in the matter. When Gaya'sura returned to Lord Vis'n'u to offer his prayers, Vis'n'u said, "Gaya'sura! I once gave you what you asked, and you have defeated me. You should now give me a boon." Gaya'sura readily agreed to it. Vis'n'u then asked that Gaya'sura be turned into stone. Gaya'sura had no alternative but to say, "So be it." Gradually Gaya'sura's legs started turning to stone. When he was stone up to his waist, he said, "Wait! I have three conditions!" His first condition was that the Lord put His two feet in Gaya'sura's heart. The Lord agreed to it, but asked the reason for such a condition. Gaya'sura said, "So that people should know that the feet of the Lord are always in the heart of a devotee, good or bad." The second condition was that all those who had the Lord's feet in their hearts would surely get liberation. The Lord agreed to this also. The third and last condition of the almost petrified Gaya'sura was, "If even a single person having the Lord's feet in his heart fails to get liberation, then this petrified Gaya'sura will again become a living Gaya'sura." Lord Vis'n'u agreed to it. Very soon Gaya'sura was turned completely into stone. This story, from one of the Pura'nas [ancient scriptures] has the following three lessons for humanity. First, the Lord will seat Himself in the heart of the devotee without bothering Himself about the nature of that person, good, or bad. It is enough to be a devotee, in order to have the Lord inside. Second, all those who have the Lord's feet in their hearts are bound to get liberation -- liberation is a sure guarantee for them. Third, since Gaya'sura had been turned to stone by the Lord, and since He would again arise if anyone having the Lord inside failed to be liberated, the Lord would have to grant liberation to all such persons for all time to come; it is a matter of the Lord's prestige! [filler] 0 tranquil sa'dhaka! Sa'dhana is your great bow. Set the arrow of your mind, sharpened with meditation, on this bow. Now inclining your mind toward Him, pluck and twang the string of the bow and pierce your target -- that indestructible Supreme Soul. [filler] The Supreme Consciousness is there in you as the oil is in the oilseed. Crush the seed through sa'dhana and you attain Him; separate the mind from Consciousness and you will see that the resplendence of the Supreme Consciousness illuminates your whole inner being. He is there like butter in curd; churn it and He will appear from within. Churn your mind through sa'dhana and God will appear like butter from curd. He is like a subterranean river in you. Remove the sands of mind and you will find the clear, cool waters within. [filler] Devotion is that bridge which connects the unit with the Cosmic Consciousness. Before crossing the bridge of devotion one feels, "You are That Supreme Consciousness." But while crossing the bridge, he feels, "I am That." [filler] That which makes the mind soft and strong and strenuous, so it may keep itself in a balanced state even in the condition of pain, that which perpetually creates a pleasant feeling within is called love. Devotion is identical with love. The moment devotion is aroused, the love of God comes.