Man’s worst enemythe desire for
worldly objects is
fundamental in the pratice of
spiritual discipline. A
realized soul remains steadfast n thoughts about god and is
not affected by worldly affairs. In a lecture, Wami
Gnanadananda quoted Sri Ramakrishna’s advice tohis
disciples when he used to caution them about the obstacles
in the pathof the spiritual aspirant, and the preceptor’s
valuable suggestins to defeat their force. Love(kama),anger
(krodha),
delusion(moha),greed(lobha),arrogance(matam)and
jealously(matsaryam)-are the main obstacles, eachof which
is
strong enough to which is strong enough to easily weaken
an individual’s desire to practise devotion. Hence the
need to deal with them suitably. A sincere devotee has
choice but to turn these into advantages. For instane, the
tendency to love worldly objects (kama)has to be
transformed as love towards God to the extent of becoming
for him. Since it is easier said than done, the spiritual
aspirant needs to put in a tremendous
effort,both conscious
and constant. One has to be convinced that all of ous owe
our existence to God and all are His children. Taking
pride in this fact and dedicating oneself to God is a First
decisive step in the effort at God realization. Further
analysis will reveal that enjoyment of worldly objects is
very temporary and leads to sorrow. Once a person
relinquishes worldy enjoyments then there is no
cause of
all evils,causing worry,anxiety and estlessness, and
leaving one forever dissatisfied and longing for more. In
the Bhaja Govindam,Adi Sankaa Urges people to shun wealth
since it is not as desirable as peole think to be. It
actually brings misery,and is man’s worst enemy. It can be
the cause of rift between family members and riends. Once
the divrsions of worldly life are kept at bay,it becomes
easier to focus on God. One’s mind has to be tamed and
trained tso that all distractions ae overcome. But the
arduousness is in the fact that it is certainly not a one-
time winning effort. The spark of spiritual awareness
becomes alive only when the veil of delusion is removed and
one is able to perceive the truth.
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