IDEOLOGY, GOAL AND DEVOTION

official source: Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 20 (Hindi only as of the present  
	Electronic Edition), as "Is't'a aor A'darsha"

cross-references: also published in Supreme Expression Part 1

this version: is the printed Supreme Expression Part 1, 1st edition, version  
	(spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most  
	up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Writers who wish  
	to quote from this discourse should mention: "unofficial translation 
	published in Supreme Expression Part 1".

      The word ideology is termed as "Adarsha" in Samskrta. It means to follow an idea in the things that one has to do in his life. It has an impersonal element. But when one follows a personality, it is called as "Ishta." Suppose someone has an ideology to serve humanity, this service is an impersonal element. Social Service is not the name of man. Social service is not a thing with whom you can love or express your heart's sorrows and pleasures. You cannot make it the best of ideals, the ultimate ideal of your life. Therefore, social service is an impersonal entity and it is an ideology. I should do everything which is for my liberation and also for the welfare of humanity. This is ideology.

      There is another meaning of the word ideology. It means a mirror. When we look at it, we can observe ourselves. Similarly is our ideology. Every human being should follow his ideology. Human life is an ideological flow. Those people who have no ideology in life are not human beings. One can recognize other men to the extent that he follows his ideology. The life of man devoid of ideology is like an animal life.

      To follow the ideology, we need effort and courage. There is no man in this world who is powerless. Whosoever has come on this earth has been graced with some amount of power. We are walking, talking, condemning, gossiping. We are wasting our time. Whatever we do we cannot do if we are powerless. When the time for work comes, some people say they do not have the capacity to perform the work. But when the time is not for doing a worthy action, they demonstrate much power.

      There is not a single entity in this world that is powerless. Truly, as long as we have life, we have power. Whatever power you have, you must utilize it to the maximum. After you have done your best and there is still need for more power, then God will give you more. Only then do you have the right to ask for more power from God if you have already utilized your existing power. And, if there is still need for more, the Lord will give you what you need. The Lord commands us to utilize whatever power we have to the maximum. We can ask for more power if there is the need for it. Be rest assured that if you apply the power to good works, you will get more power according to your needs.

      All powers come from God; whether it is physical, mental or spiritual. He is the owner; He is the master. This energy is the power of the Lord. The Lord grants these powers to those who are engaged in working for the welfare of others and are performing benevolent deeds. You will not have to ask for powers. You should leave this to the Lord.

      The second important thing is courage. One should remember that courage comes according to power; in other words courage and power come together. A man who is powerless is also a coward. To establish yourself in the ideology you need two things. One is courage. So if you want to become powerful, you need not only ideology but also "Ishta." Even for courage and efforts, you need the help of the Lord. You cannot say that it is not necessary to make more efforts because God will give according to one's needs. This is correct, but we have to follow our ideology with effort and courage.

      We should always respect our ideology if we are to become true human beings. The ideologist is a man who always acts according to his ideology. If by following the ideology, the older people become unhappy or condemn me, I will not care. If by following an ideology I die and die again, let it be. I will not care. I will stick to my ideology.

      Ishta. There are many meanings of this word "Ishta." One is the fulfillment of the goal. In other words, by ideating on Him, all sorrows of the mind and bad thoughts go away. That is called "Ishta." Ideology is an impersonal element. to go toward "Ishta," we need only love; whereas to follow an ideology we need courage and efforts. If we have love for our Lord, then we do not need anything else. We cannot get devotion by going to pilgrimages. The minimum requirement for getting devotion is the human mind. By simply exerting little efforts, you get development. If you desire devotion, you will get it. If you have love for the Supreme, you will get established in your "Ishta."

      What is the relationship between "Ishta" and ideology? Without "Ishta," one cannot establish himself in ideology. To illustrate, we can quote this example: About thirty-five years ago, a war was going on between two countries, the citizens of which have the same religion (Buddhist). When the soldiers went to war, their mothers used to pray to Lord Buddha to save the lives of their respective sons. What will Lord Buddha do? Save this man or that man? Both have the same "Ishta," but both parties have totally forgotten their ideology. If they were established in the ideology, they would not have gone to war. So therefore, man should follow both the ideology and "Ishta". One should be an ideologist and an "Ishtanist."

	"Ishta" tells us about our ideology. Man remembers his ideology from the "Ishta". Man will remember his "Ishta" and follow his ideology. If somebody says that he has no "Ishta", then he is a liar. He has no courage. Without establishing oneself in his "Ishta", man cannot become an ideologist.

	Those who have no truth in their lives can never progress, can never become real men. Suppose somebody has no ideology in his life and for a moment forgets his "Ishta", he will degrade. So the wise man will always remember that he has to follow the ideology and more important, the "Ishta".

	Those who follow their "Ishta" know that for every quantity of love they have for the Lord, the Lord has double love for them. The Lord is great for them; as for the Lord, they are also not small. In a song, a devotee said: "I am very small oh Lord, you are great". This should not be said. If a father possesses fifty Masters of Arts degree and his son doesn't know A-B-C at the age of 3-4, should the son be thought of as small and the father as great? No, this is only a family relationship. There is no question of small or great. There is the relationship of father and son only. Where there is the relationship between father and son, where is the question of big and small?

      The Lord is the beloved one. The Lord is called Ba'ba'. The word Ba'ba' comes from Sanskrit "Bapra". It means Loved-Beloved. "Bapra" then became "Bappa", and then it became Ba'ba'. It took three thousand or four thousand years for "Bapra" to become Ba'ba'. For unit beings, the Lord is the beloved One. (Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam). But for the lord the unit being is His Baba! When living beings will sing Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam then the Lord will also sing, Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam in His mind. The Lord has thousands and thousands of Ba'ba'. This is the relationship between the Lord and living beings. Devotees will always remember this but people who are only ideologists cannot feel this; their hearts are barren. For those whose hears are established in "Ishta", their hearts are fertile and full of life. Those who are only ideologists cannot enjoy this sweet element. You have to become an ideologist; more importantly you have also to become an "Ishtanist." If you do not have "Ishta", you cannot do anything. When you are singing Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam, the Lord is singing Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam. As the unit being is dependent on the Lord, so is the Lord on the unit beings. As in the family, the son is dependent on the father, the father is dependent also on the son. If there is no father, the son will not like it. Similarly, if there is no son, the father will not like it too. Without being a devotee, you cannot become an ideologist.

      Those who are established in their "Ishta" because of their love will reach the Lord. They will also know the secret cause of this universe. What they have to do, what they don't have to do, they will know all these things because they have surrendered their minds to the Lord. The intellectuals will complain they have not been graced by the Lord. They will complain that they have been doing spiritual practices but they have not reached the Lord. Devotees never complain. Only the intellectuals complain. Intellectuals complain because their hearts are barren. Devotees know that they have been graced by the Lord.

      So-called ideologists become philosophers. Their philosophy is barren. In the olden days, the learned people started contemplating why the Lord created this universe. "What was the necessity of this universe? If there had been no universe, what harm would there be? We came into this world and we are suffering, we are experiencing pain. If we had not existed, what would be the difference?" Many philosophers wrote many scriptures, but they could give no answer. The devotee considered the intellectuals stupid.

      Suppose there is a big garden of mangoes and both the intellectuals and devotees arrive there at the same time. The devotees climb up the trees and begin eating mangoes to their heart's content. But the intellectuals only watch from a distance and start analyzing how many branches the tree has, how many sub-branches, and so on. They engage themselves in counting and later they find there are no mangoes left; all have been eaten by the devotees!

      The learned people cannot answer why the Lord created the universe. Devotees, however, have a plain reply. This is because devotees know their "Ishta" and love their "Ishta." If you love someone, you can know his secrets. The intellectuals think of the Lord from very far, while the devotees feel Him very near.

      If the Lord has any pain or pleasure, the devotee knows it. The devotee will say, "Oh intellectual, you cannot know this thing which I know. When there was no universe, our Lord was all alone. If any person had been in His place, he would have become mad. So our Lord was all alone and He did not like this solitude. He had the power to see, but He could not see because there was nothing to see. He had the power to hear, but there was nothing to hear. He had the power to reprimand, but there was no one to reprimand. That caused Him a great deal of inconvenience. To free Himself from inconvenience our Lord became many from One. This is the cause of creation."

      Surrender all to "Ishta." All living beings have different ideas in their mind and this will go on. The Lord is the nucleus and all units are moving around. Some are moving in ignorance. This cycle will go on as long as the units have not reached the Lord. If unit beings do not turn toward the nucleus, they will move on and on. A unit will only reach the nucleus when he turns toward the Lord. Finally after reaching the nucleus, he will feel the grace of the Lord. If there is no grace on him, then why is it that he is living in this world? This is the direct proof of the Lord's grace on him that he is living.

      The Lord's grace is on every human being. Some, however, are not drenched with His grace because they have the umbrella of ego around their heads. They will not be drenched with this grace unless they remove this shield of ego. Only after they have removed this ego will they be blessed by the Lord.

      What must be done by the spiritual aspirant? The aspirant has to remove this umbrella of ego. If you remove the ego, you will become a devotee and surely you will reach the Lord. There is nothing more to be done. We have to do mental worship and not extroversial worship. You surrender your mind to the Lord and the Lord will be satisfied. Those who are ready to center their minds on Him will be established in their "Ishta"; they will be victorious. No power can stop them from this.

      The Lord is the owner of everything. He has created all the wealth in the universe. The devotees say, "What can I give You? You are the Master of the Creative Energy (Prakrti). Whatever You wish, Prakrti will provide You. What, then can I give You? I am not a great devotee. Your great devotees have snatched Your mind, so I surrender my mind to You."

      A devotees desire and work is to become an ideologist and to follow his "Ishta." Devotees have been victorious in the past and they will be victorious in the future. Those who become ideologists will progress physically, mentally and spiritually if they will also become "Ishtanist." If they do not follow "Ishta," they will also degrade. You must become ideologist and "Ishtanist."

      Devotees never complain because they know that the Lord is with them always protecting them. You should remember that if you always sing "Ba'ba' Nam Kevalam," you have a family relationship with Him. More than that, you have a relationship of Love with Him.