O’ Lord ! O’ My Lord ! May I never forget You !

You ask how to attain God-Realization. The answer is that you can attain it just now, if you wipe out your attachment with the sensual enjoyments. The attraction in the sensual enjoyments is the main obstacle. If we think over it, we can understand properly that this desire for sensual enjoyments hinders in attaining God-Realization. Sensual enjoyment means the enjoyment which we get from objects, men, circumstances and events. How will it stay incessantly because the means, by which we get enjoyments themselves originate and perish. When this sensual enjoyment becomes unbearable and you give up this artificial enjoyment, the natural joy will manifest itself and you will experience it spontaneously because the Jiva by nature is Joy itself.

You may hear in the discourse that you may have no affinity with the world, and that you have real affinity with God, but this preaching will not be useful unless you give-up the unnatural joy. The world is perishable and transitory. You may hear and learn it but will not experience. By saying and learning that the world is unreal, your affinity with the world does not break-up. Even after knowing the world is unreal, you will not experience this unreality, so long as you get sensual enjoyments from it. The reason is that you regard the enjoyment as true and you have voracity to enjoy it, how can you feel the world as untrue?

It is an open fact that the result of the sensual enjoyments is sorrow. No creature who enjoys worldly pleasures can escape from sorrows. It is impossible. He will have to suffer pain certainly. Even by knowing this fact why does the man not give up the desire for enjoyment? What is the reason? The reason is that we don't think about the result of this sensual enjoyment which seems loving, attractive and believable. Even if the man thinks he shuts his eyes and does not want to know the result in the right perspective.

Therefore, God describing the 'Rajas' happiness has said in the Gita - The material happiness, which arises from the contact of the senses with the objects is nectar-like in the beginning, but is poisonous in its effects, is called 'Rajas' (physical attribute) (XVIII. 38).

The man can think over the result. Other creatures such as animals and birds have not got the power to think over the result. The gods live in heaven for enjoyment. Their aim is to get pleasure. They can't know its outcome. The aim of human body is only to attain God-Realization. Only men can think about the result. Therefore, men should always think about the end result of these sensual enjoyments.

The result of the sensual enjoyments will be nothing but pains. God has declared in the Gita, that the enjoyments which are born of sense-contacts are a source of misery (V. 22).

ये हि संस्पर्शजा भोगा दुःखयोनय एव ते।

All the miseries of the world such as imprisonment, calumny, ignominy, disease, sadness, worry, uneasiness and confusion are the result of voracity for sensual enjoyments and then it paves the way to hell. Therefore this voracity-for sensual enjoyments is the main disease.

Enjoyment is not such a big obstacle as is the voracity for enjoyment. Enjoyment without voracity is not an obstacle, but even without enjoying, the desire to have enjoyment is an obstacle. Enjoyment comes and goes but the voracity remains. When there are no pleasures, we have the voracity to get them; when we have we love them; and when they pass away, we have liking, attraction and voracity for them. This is the real disease. An easy way to get rid of this disease has been mentioned in the Gita. Renunciation is difficult to achieve in the absence of Yoga (Karmayoga), the discipline of action, whereas the Karmayogi who keeps his mind fixed on God, reaches Brahma in no time (V. 6).

संन्यासस्तु महाबाहो दुःखमाप्तुमयोगतः।

योगयुक्तो मुनिर्ब्रह्म नचिरेणाधिगच्छति।।

In the Gita even-mindedness is called ’Yoga’ (II. 48). If there is even-mindedness in the dualities of the world such as pleasure and pain, profit and loss, birth and death, disease and health, respect and ignominy, praise and calumny, it is called 'Yoga'. If you get established in that sameness and if you save yourself from the voracity, you may attain Brahma in no time.

For this you should always keep in mind how to give comfort and do good to others. If you understand this point properly and put it into practice, this voracity for enjoyments will perish in no time.

I am very sad to see that you have company of the good but don't think seriously over the discourses. Spiritual discipline is merely a show. I don't say that there is either hypocrisy or fraud but display (show) is there. There is not the company of the good in the heart. In service also there is show. People do not have a keen desire to give comfort to others. If you develop this desire of comforting others from your heart, you will get rid of your desire for enjoyments. You should have only one desire to give comfort to others with money, mind and body, then the problem will be solVed.

To wipe out voracity for enjoyments, think to give comfort to everyone. If you serve others with this object, I am sure, that you will be benefited. Even if there is no benefit, you will not be at a loss at least. If you feel there is loss, you need not do, but if you feel there is no loss, then try it out.

The duty of a servant is to give comfort to all. What is service? In service the servant has not the least pride that he is doing service. Secondly he should not think the means, by which he serves, as his own. He should think that the things, by which he is serving others, are theirs and are being used for them. He does not accept his body, senses, mind, intellect and ability as his own, neither has he a desire for any worldly reward. This is called ‘Service' or Karmayoga (the discipline of action). It is very deep.

Among the servants also there are only a few true servants, Now I tell you how to serve. The servant should have the only aim to give comfort and do good to others without having any desire whatsoever of his own. It is said in the Gita -

ते प्राप्नुवन्ति मामेव सर्वभूतहिते रताः ॥ (गीता १२ । ४)

Therefore, those who, are engrossed in the welfare of all the creatures attain God-Realization. While giving discourses for several years the question arose in my mind about the form of the desire, its root and the method to set it right. After several years I have come to know what is pleasing to one's mind is a desire. The method to root out your desire is to satisfy the desires of others which are just, are approved by the sacred books and are within your power. This is chief method. If you have any doubt, test the method in any sphere you work. Goswami Tulasidasaji Maharaja has written in the Ramacaritamanasa - as a greedy person loves money and a lustful person loves women, in the same way if you love the welfare, comforts and benediction of others, you will achieve your aim in no time. This is a very significant method. I have got this method after several years of thinking and reflection.