In spirituality, liberation and redemption from this world is a very important topic. Among all the religions of this world, the principal aim is God-realization, gaining salvation, and eventually entering the kingdom of Lord. The Saints tell that this objective has to be achieved in this life, here and now. The real devotee experiences the spiritual realization and this includes both self-realization and God-realization. He enters the kingdom of God here and now. Goswami Tulsidas Ji explains it like that:
Anyone trying to get redemption without devotion is like an animal without tail and horns even though he may be very clever and intelligent. If full moon with all its luminosity shines along with innumerable stars and fire is made intense with burning of all trees over hills and forests, the darkness of night cannot be eliminated without rising of sun. In same way, all attempts without Bhakti, to attain riddance from all worries and obtain redemption, are in vain.
Saints, Ved-Purans, religious scriptures are explaining that redemption is rare and very difficult to achieve. But devotees of God achieve it very easily as it is very easy to attain redemption and liberation by means of devotion. However hard, one may try, as water body cannot exist without land form, the liberation cannot be attained without devotion. Devotees of God do not give much importance to issue of redemption but lay more stress of love towards God. Redemption like a maid servant runs automatically before them. They savour the bliss of liberation in love and devotion towards the Lord.
Everyone longs for paradise, liberation and heaven; all place their hopes in them. The humble devotees long for the Blessed Vision of His Darshan; they do not ask for liberation. Their minds are satisfied and comforted by His Darshan.
This means that no other method can compete with love. The human body imbued with love transmutes into gold.
The soul is having the inborn and inherent tendency to love the Lord. Every drop of consciousness has natural inclination towards its source – ocean of super-consciousness. Every constituent has natural inclination towards its original source of creation. Thus the soul has natural inclination towards the Lord but it has attached itself with this materialistic world, matter and faces after getting associated with mind and illusion which has resulted in weakening of love towards God due to strong affinity with this world. Each part of human being is snared in the net of false attachment and illusion. The basic objective of spiritual practice is to liberate the soul from the ensnarement of false attachment and illusion and to illuminate the dormant love of the Lord because only the eternal love can substitute mundane love. What is the true purpose of detachment (Vairagya) or renunciation (Tyag) ? To turn away the mind from mundane world towards the Lord. What is the purpose of knowledge (Gyan)? To understand the significance of eternal love towards the Lord and futility of mundane and ephemeral world. Strong steel cuts steel. Eternal love towards God replaces mundane love towards the materialistic world. Until human being does not develop strong affinity towards the Lord, it cannot leave the worldly attachments. That is why saints lay more stress on the path of eternal love.
Saint Charandas Ji says:
Love is redemptive, love is means for meeting the Lord, love has a unique attributes which helps to reach to Lord’s abode.
Guru Nanak Ji says:
O mind, how can you be saved without love? God permeates the inner beings of the Gurmukhs. They are blessed with the treasure of devotion. O mind, love the Lord, as the fish loves the water. The more the water, the more the happiness, and greater the peace of mind and body. Without water, she cannot live, even for an instant. God knows the suffering of her mind. O mind, love the Lord, as the song-bird loves the rain. The pools are overflowing with water, and the land is luxuriantly green, but what are they to her, if that single drop of rain does not fall into her mouth? By His Grace, she receives it; otherwise, because of her past actions, she gives her head. O mind, love the Lord, as the water loves the milk. The water, added to the milk, itself bears the heat, and prevents the milk from burning. God unites the separated ones with Himself again, and blesses them with true greatness. O mind, love the Lord, as the chakvee duck loves the sun. She does not sleep, for an instant or a moment; the sun is so far away, but she thinks that it is near. Understanding does not come to the self-willed manmukh. But to the Gurmukh, the Lord is always close. The self-willed manmukhs make their calculations and plans, but only the actions of the Creator come to pass. His Value cannot be estimated, even though everyone may wish to do so.
Saint Namdev Ji says:
Nam Dev is in love with the Lord. He has naturally and intuitively become detached from the world. Like the woman who falls in love with another man, and the greedy man who loves only wealth, and the sexually promiscuous man who loves women and sex, just so, Nam Dev is in love with the Lord.
This content was written with help from a blog post written by U.Rai
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