? My concept of worship and divine blessings is somewhat different. I can say that a true devotee can attract divine energies by the force of his nobility; he can compel deities to help in pursuit of his noble aims. A true devotee in this sense is much stronger a deity; he can get God’s help whenever he asks as his right. God cannot ignore his call.

? Those who worship god begging for a few worldly possessions or for fulfillment of ego-centric desires can’t be true devotees even if they spend all their time in prayers and rituals. Glad consent to God’s will is the real spirit of devotion; it is the prime condition to be fulfilled for being a devotee in its true sense. God has inalterably assured His devotee, the Gita- “yogaksemam vahamyaham” I will provide for all your needs.

? True, God does take care of his devotee but He has not promised to satisfy his cravings. “Yoga” and “ksema” mean taking care of your physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual well-being. There should not be any confusion that it (God’s arrivance) includes the fulfilment of your gross sensual hunger. Don’t chase the mirage of passions and desires; it devalues the dignity of devotion and the pre-eminence of God’s grace. The relation between the deity and the devotee is graceful and dignified only when the devotee doesn’t beg for anything but rather offers to entirely give himself to the divine.

? God has already given you so much! He has created you. He is always taking care of your yoga-ksema, without your praying for it. God is not a particularly embodied being. It is we who have conceived Him in various forms. If it is a must to give a definition, God could only be vaguely described as “an infinite ensemble of supreme moral principles, saintly ideals and nobility”. Faith in divine values and ideals and a self disciplined endeavor to live for high principles is true devotion and enlightened worship.

✍? Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya