GOD IS OMNISCIENT AND EVERYWHERE, SO HAVE NO FEAR

There are many defective ideas in the world that have stifled the
spiritual quest.

"If an idea is imposed on human beings as a dogma, crushing the
victim under its heavy weight, people realize that a tormenting
bondage has been imposed on them. They well understand that the
dogma has immobilized them, caused retardation instead of progress,
and brought them to a virtual standstill. They realize that what
they considered to be spirituality or dharma was actually nothing
but a colourful procession of various superstitions, and lest they
raise their heads against those superstitions and smash that house
of cards built on quicksand, certain ideas are constantly whispered
into their ears: "You shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that -- it
will bring about your ruin. If you do that, you will be doomed to
hell, or if you do this, your tongue will fall off." People realize
that their voices against dogma have thus been silenced by injecting
fear complexes into their minds, and that they have been reduced to
useless lumps of cow-dung. Nevertheless, since they lack proper
initiative and drive, they willingly surrender themselves to fate,
and accept their helpless shedding of tears as their appointed lot
in life.

Ancient people believed that the fragrant smoke from these homa
rituals would rise from the earth to the higher regions and, making
the ether and air heavy with fragrance, would please the gods. The
people thought that this scented smoke and perfumed air would be
beneficial to health, improve mental functioning and transport
people to the abode of the gods.

During the course of time, dogma has crept into this concept of
fasting also. Some people started arguing that the system of fasting
is a means to attain virtue: those observing fast are likely to
secure a permanent place in heaven and can even see the
grandchildren of their grandchildren before they die! Moreover,
undue importance was attached to a few specific days of fasting --
if people could fast on those specific days, it was said, they would
attain heavenly bliss, not only in one life but for lives together."
(NAMAH SHIVA'YA SHANTA'YA, DISCOURSE 13, SHIVA'S TEACHINGS -- 2
(CONTINUED), SHIVOPADESHA 3, 2 July 1982, Patna)

"The very idea of heaven and hell is sheer bunkum, and is in fact
hatched in the brains of the authors of mythologies. Such people
don't have the capacity to implant a peg in the solid ground of
logic. Yet in order to humour the ignorant, if I accept the
existence of such things as heaven and hell, I would ask, if the
spirit of a wicked husband goes to hell and grazes about the field
as a bull, would his virtuous wife also go to hell and, becoming a
cow, start grazing beside him. Those who take advantage of people's
simplicity or ignorance are veritable demons in the form of humans,
and those who deceive people by taking advantage of their emotions,
inspired by the ideal of sacrifice, are even worse than demons.

Society will not reap any real good from the endeavours to
camouflage this impurity behind elegant phrases or religious
exhibitionism.

Those who want to keep women subservient to men in this life by
holding out a bait of affected sympathy and the false prospect of
heavenly bliss in the following life, fail to understand that
although such fake sympathy and the lure of heavenly prospects may
be conducive to making women inert and servile to men, actually no
real good will come to human society. If half the society is steeped
in inertia due to superstition, the other half will undoubtedly find
the journey tough going with this heavy load of inertia. In
individual life purity is equally necessary for both men and women,
and to justify that necessity real spiritual vision is
indispensable."
(The Awakening of Women Part 1 Section 2-1, SOCIAL JUSTICE FOR
WOMEN, "Social Justice", Human Society Part 1)

What is real spiritual vision? It is to know God as omniscient and
the controller. This means truly understand God as being everywhere.

"God, the Supreme Consciousness, is not merely the Cognitive
Faculty, He is also the Controller. It is not enough just to create
something - one will have to control it also. The Supreme
Consciousness is that Controller. Just as He gets this manifested
universe of seven layers - physical world, crude mental world,
subtle mental world, supra-mental world, subliminal world, latent
existence and the absolute without any qualities - created by the
Operative Principle, He gets it controlled by His Operative
Principle also. The movement of human beings towards the world of
immortality is controlled by the Supreme Consciousness. Human
beings will have to move along the path which leads to this immortal
realm, not along the sinful path which leads toward worldly
objects. In various scriptures it is said that the seven lower
realms of crudity - the seven "hells" are exist.

But the negative movement towards crudity is also within the control
of the Supreme Consciousness. Whenever a person sinks to the nadir
point of degradation, we often say, "Such-and-such a person has gone
to hell." 'Whenever people become crude and are immersed in wrong
actions which are contrary to the spiritual code, they become
totally inert. In utter defiance of the moral code, they involve
themselves in many vicious activities, goaded by the lure of power,
position, prestige, name and fame, and monetary gain, and thus they
invariably move toward the lowest 'hell', the most degraded state.
Such people, instead of moving towards the abode of nectar, move
towards degradation. But the controller of this path, too, is the
same Supreme Consciousness: the same Entity who controls the higher
seven realms, controls the seven lower realms as well.

If a person is degraded due to sinful deeds, performed consciously
or unconsciously, and is born as an insect in hell, in that case,
will the Supreme Consciousness forget him or her? No, not at all.
The living entity who suffers in hell is also a creation of the
Supreme Consciousness, and He will do whatever is necessary for such
a person. Thus it is said that God certainly loves those who are
truly honest and virtuous, but He does not hate those who are wicked
or degenerated due to their misdeeds. Even for such persons God is
the only hope, the supreme shelter. Thus he is not a mere
Witnessing Entity, He is much greater than that.

There is no one who can dictate to Him. Some people may argue:
sinful persons are like the most abominable insects of hell - then
how can God remain with them? The answer is that even the most
infernal creatures are also His favourites. When people degrade
themselves through wicked actions God becomes sad, but He never
hates them. For such degraded people, the only safe shelter is the
Supreme Consciousness. Thus it is said that He is not merely the
knowing or Cognitive Faculty. He is much more than that."
(PURUS'A, Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 12, 12 July 1979, Jaipur)

"We should not forget that He is master of both heaven and hell. If
there is a place like hell, God is there because He is omnipresent.
If He does not live in hell, He is not an omnipresent entity. If a
sinner goes to hell God is also there. Therefore the so-called
sinner should not be afraid of anything and should not worry. When
he or she goes to hell, God will also be there with him or her."
(THE OMNISCIENCE OF THE CAUSAL MATRIX, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 5,
17 November 1978, Delhi)

"If we use the Himalayas as an ink-tablet, the largest ocean as the
inkpot, the branch of the biggest forest tree of heaven as a pen and
the entire lithosphere as paper, and with this paper, ink and pen if
the goddess of learning writes for an indefinite period even then it
would not be possible to write all the attributes that He possesses.
So attributional worship is meaningless; and because it is
meaningless it is impractical, not feasible and nothing but a waste
of time.

To say, `Oh God, give me this or that' is meaningless because your
actual requirements are better known to Him. A child does not know
what it requires but the mother of the child knows and the mother
provides accordingly. You do not know what your actual requirements
are, but the Supreme Father knows and He provides accordingly, and
he will continue doing so for ever. So your burden is His burden.
You need not say, `Oh God, give me this or give me that'." (THE
FUTILITY OF NON-CARDINAL PRAYERS, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 5, 21
November 1978, Delhi)

So God's love is everywhere, and He is sure to provide what is
necessary. However, one should not perform bad actions and one
should not try to gain rewards of being conceited about good actions.

"Those who are the followers of certain schools of philosophy and
who believe in the concept of hell, assert that those who perform
good deeds to go to heaven, and after a certain period of time when
their reaping of the consequences of their good actions is over,
they are reborn as human beings on this earth. Of course,
philosophically we do not subscribe to this view, because we do not
believe in the existence of heaven. But it is true that the good
reactions of good deeds will certainly come to an end some day.
What will happen then? It is said:

'Those who convert the fruits of their deeds are like tradespeople.
We call such people greedy, who perform actions in expectation of
good reactions. Certainly these people will go to hell again and
again.'

Now, those who advocate the supremacy of the doctrine of action
should remember that only the performance of good deeds is not
enough: one will have to be ready to undergo the reactions of good
actions. After undergoing the reactions one will again have to come
down on earth. And one will not always do only good deeds: bad
deeds may also be performed. So one has to keep grinding along the
cycle of actions and reactions, which seems to have no end.

It is said the proper approach is:

'When I perform some deed, I do not expect any result: I surrender
everything to the Supreme Consciousness.'

That is:

'I perform the deeds but I do not expect the results thereof - I
immediately surrender the results of my actions. I am prepared to
undergo the bad reactions of my bad deeds, but I do not wish to
enjoy the good fruits of my good deeds: I offer those to the Supreme
Consciousness.'

Now, who can say such things? Only those who have strong devotion
to the Lord. Such people love God more than they love themselves.
They are the true devotees, not just the people of action. 'Keep on
doing actions without expecting any results' - -it is futile to say
this to a person of action who want the reactions of good actions.
This should be spoken only to one who is established in devotion.

There are some people who say, "Well, we will undergo hardship for
the welfare of the world." This undergoing of penance has also a
bright side. A ninety or one-hundred-year-old woman undertakes
penance - why? Certainly with the expectation that her penance will
one day be rewarded - perhaps that she will get a place in heaven.
Let us see how important this undertaking of penance is - whether it
is for one's family, or for one's personal elevation, or for the
benefit of the society. Nothing in this world is valueless: even
the undertaking of hardship is not useless. But is that the highest
excellence in human life? In fact, the undertaking of penance is an
action without any fixed goal: "I do not know, nor do I want to
know, why I am subjecting myself to penance. I am merely doing
penance for the sake of penance." This is totally meaningless. It
is like rowing a boat without knowing where one is drifting - merely
rowing for the sake of rowing. This is utterly useless. This
aimless rowing will simply cause pain in the hands. One day one
will lose the capacity to row the boat, and finally the boat will
sink and all will be drowned.

One should undergo penance for others' welfare, for the well-being
of the world; and the good that the world enjoys due to one's
sacrifice is the reward. One should not expect any reward greater
than this.

There are other persons who advise people to practice various
rituals like painting sandalwood paste on their foreheads, or
sitting while facing only in one particular direction. It takes a
lot of time to complete these complicated rituals, and time is so
valuable in human life. Besides, what is to be gained in painting
sandalwood marks on the forehead if the mind wanders in the mire of
hell? This is considered to be one of the paths to reach God by
following certain special rules.

There are some people who think that if they simply ideate on God
daily for some time, then their purpose will be served. But this is
not enough. Yes, when you think of God for some time you will no
doubt remain elevated for that period; but when you again become
engrossed in your mundane duties you will again become stepped in
mire. Who will save you at that time? In each and every action you
will have to try to realise the Supreme Entity; then and only then
will those actions not be binding. Otherwise, every action will
become the cause of great bondage.

There are many people who are fond of reading good books -
voluminous books on philosophy, spirituality, etc. Now if one's
mind roams about in the filth of hell, what real purpose will be
served by reading the scriptures? You have seen some white ants
living in the pages of books of scriptures. They are always
immersed in the scriptures: do they attain liberation or salvation
thereby? No, certainly not. Besides, the path of knowledge is more
analytic than synthetic, and often in the minds of those who follow
it there is a hidden desire that other people should accept them as
great scholars. Now if they cherish the internal desire that others
should regard them as great scholars, their minds will become
extroversal. So what is to be gained thereby? The desire for
praise will go on increasing and in the process they will finally
turn out to be inferior people. Any dishonest people, merely by
praising them, can easily get them to perform even bad actions.

So those persons who do not possess genuine love for God, who are
averse to spiritual practice, who only read books and scrounge for
bits of intellectual information, who go to listen to the
instructions of religious teachers, cannot do any really good work
in the world. And worst of all, those people, by hankering after
others' praise, become worse than ordinary people." (HOW AN IDEAL
PERSON SHOULD LIVE, Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 12, Ananda Purnima
1979, Calcutta)

So, remember, God loves all.

"God has equal love and affection for white ants, mosquitoes and
mammoths. Even though a mammoth has a huge body, God shows no
special partiality for it. He is as concerned about a tiny mosquito
as He is about the entire universe. Although this vast universe,
along with the so-called heaven and the so-called hell and this
world of mortals, is so complex and vast, God does not devote any
extra time to it, nor does He devote any extra time to the tiny ant.
Behind every created thing there functions a particular force
assigned by the Supreme Consciousness. According to scriptures this
force is called divine. Everything has a special manifestation of
divine power, a special effulgence radiated from the Supreme
Consciousness. Thus no entity should be hated, and none is
insignificant.

The poets say for, God, heaven and hell all become hallowed by the
sacred water that has washed Your feet.
(DISCOURSES ON TANTRA VOLUME 1, SAMBHU'TI AND MAHA'SAMBHU'TI, July
1967, Delhi, DMC, Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 9)

from works of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti




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