Not for sale, but God can be purchased!

GOD can never be sold, but he can be purchased. That is the paradox!

In Hindu mythology there is a story of a fight between Brahma, the creator of the world and Vishnu the sustainer, as to who was greater. Siva, was sought to resolve this. Siva appeared as such a huge shaft of light that his ends, head and feet, could not be seen. He said: “Whoever finds either of my ends is the greater.”

Brahma went up towards his head as a flying swan. Vishnu went down as a boar to find his feet. They searched for ages. Vishnu realised he could not find what he sought, decided to surrender his ego, and told Siva to forgive his ego in trying to seek his feet. Siva blessed him for his honesty.

Brahma could not accept his failure. He saw a flower as he flew up and asked it where it was coming from. It said it had fallen from Siva’s ears. Brahma asked: “ How long have you been traveling?” The flower said: “Four ages of Brahma!” Brahma was shocked and realised he had no hopes of finding Siva’s head, but he did not want to accept his failure. He asked the flower: “Can you be the witness that I brought you down from Siva’s head?” The flower agreed reluctantly.

Both went down and Brahma told Siva that he had seen his head and had brought the flower as witness. Siva was angry at the lie and punished him saying: “You will never be worshipped hereafter”, and told the flower: “You will never be used in my worship.”

Vishnu is the authority of wealth or desire. Brahma represents knowledge. This story shows that neither wealth nor knowledge can reveal God. Desires will only make us go for more and more. We can never attain God through it. Vishnu realises this and surrenders. Trying to find God through knowledge is also futile as is the case with Brahma. We can never know God through the head.

Then how to purchase God? How to achieve Him? Only when you sell yourself, your ego, can you purchase Him.

Your ‘I’ and mine’ are your ego. A devotee from the US came to our ashram in India. He said he wanted to buy land around the ashram and settle down there. I asked him, “Fool! Can you not enjoy anything without possession?” Enjoy everything without trying to make it yours. The more ‘mine’, the less joy. When you give up ‘I’ and ‘mine’, the whole Universe becomes yours and God possesses you.

Be blissful!