Dating the Divine

How did it feel when you dated your crush for  the first time? The butterflies in the tummy, the euphoria, the elation. Are you feeling the same now as you think about it. Dating is dating irrespective of age isn’t? It’s the forging of a relationship with another human being. How different is it to forge a relationship with the Divine? The reason to write this post is an attempt to Demystify the thought process that it is difficult to connect with the Divine. To connect with a human is a daunting task, isn’t? Wouldn’t it be a million fold difficult to connect with the divine? Actually, it’s vice versa. This post is just a perspective, as I see it.

The Dating process:

What did you do when you had a crush that you wanted to date? The first thing anyone subconciously does is give hints to the crush such as:

1. Looking at him/her often to see what he/she is doing.

2. To keep looking until the other person throws a glance back

3. Then it progress to a smile or staring into each other until one of them looks away.

4. Slowly, walking towards the one you like to see if he/she will make the first move to talk , isn’t?

Let’s do a Metaphysical analysis on dating, ok? When you had a crush on someone, who came to know about it other than you?  You will say it’s your close friend or roommate with whom you confided, right? But actually it’s not so. Before you told your friend, when you had the thought that I like him/her, it’s the Divine sitting as a silent witness, the actual first one to know about your crush than your friend. Now, you tell me how difficult is it going to be, to date the Divine. You just have to think and the Divine knows! Just say, ‘I love you, please reveal thyself to me for I would like to date you and sport with you’. Well, The problem is most of us don’t believe in this simple format of calling on the Divine who is sitting within each and everyone. 

Two decades ago, In a discourse, in Chennai Math, One of the senior monks said, “Do you know that to experience the divine, you don’t need any qualification at all. If you are a human, that’s enough”. Sri Ramakrishna initiated not only Swami Vivekananda but also Swami Adbhutananda and showed him brahman in meditation who did not even know how to read and write or express,but he was in God conciousness. Swami Vivekananda had said and it is documented in his complete works, ‘He( Swami Adbhutananda) is the miracle of the miracles.’ The bottom line is When the Avatar/The Divine wills, nothing can stand between you and the Divine.

The classification for Dating the Divine:

1. Sattvic Dating: 

Our beloved Swamiji and all the Avatars fall into this category. They have for lifetimes been in pursuit of the Divine. They sacrificed everything for the sake of the Divine but also followed all the principles of dharma and truthfulness with their lives and gave as much as possible  to fellow humans for they saw the divine in them as well.

2. Rajasic Dating:

People who are bored without inspiration, out of curiosity , try spirituality to see if there is anything worth interesting. Celebrities and Famous Tech geeks who got inspiration from the Divine in some way and go about creating history in the world and feel that they did something wonderful to the world. What they did might have a mix of bad and good. They just do what they wanted to do irrespective of whether it would be good or bad for others.

3. Tamasic Dating:

When someone does something stupid. something SO Stupid and Dumb that you need the Divine to solve the problem. By saying Stupid and dumb –   it can be as small as failing in exams and calling the Divine for help or it can be something like starting a world war and asking the Divine for help. And do you know what? The divine responds for both, the silly stupid, as well as the profound stupid, for he is the Divine. He is Non – Judgemental and only needs to know if the Divine is being called or not?

Why do I say this? That the Divine when called, irrespective of the situation or need will do what the dater  (Whether one is Sattvic, Rajasic or Tamasic) wants,  irrespective of whether it is needed or not?

The puranas and the Scriptures are testimonial to the above statement. Whether it is Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva, when called upon will know only to bestow and not to deny except immortality. They don’t bother with the ramification, for they are Divine and can solve it later as and when the situation arises. If the Divine intervened in human’s choices or needs, Then the Divine can happily sit, looking at itself in the Divine mirror and be happy isn’t?  Why would it have to become many, become purusha/prakriti, create bhramanda – the cosmic egg. It’s only to play with us, I guess.

If you want a much more concrete verifiable proof, that the Divine works only and only on the  basis of LOVE (It’s between the beloved and beloved – The guru loves the disciple and the disciple loves the guru), There is one such verifiable event which is mentioned in the book, ‘The Rainmaker’. Swami Vedananda tells Swamiji about his father’s illness, [ Swamiji asks , ‘What does your heart wish?’. ‘Whatever you decide, Maharaj Sri’, I said, ‘it will be for the best’. ‘BUT I NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU.’ ‘please save him if possible,’ ] Swami Vedananda tells,  for which Swamiji replies ‘Done.’ Swamiji knows what’s happening and what’s in Swami Vedananda’s mind but still he wants to hear it. Similarily, The Divine seated in the heart knows everything but still would want to hear us say it to do what we want. Because, only when we spell it, the divine will work out to override our Ego and do the impossible.  Swami Vedananda is Swamiji’s beloved – He has sacrificed his home and hearth, his very life for Swamiji. Swamiji is Swami Vedananda’s beloved for he is the manifestion of Mother Divine. It’s what a beloved is ready to sacrifice! You have sacrificed everything for me, so I will sacrifice everything for you.(I pray to Swamiji and Swami Vedanandaji, to forgive me and pardon me if in case I have construed anything out of context in this post. It is to express the benevolence and the magnitude of the Divine that I quoted the reference).

What is it that YOU want is what matters to the Divine and nothing else. What the divine looks for is only ‘Love’ and  ‘faith’ (how much you believe in, The Divine will reveal to that extent), rest is all details.  

My Tamasic Dating experince: 

1. I actually failed in my IXth grade internal math exam. I always was a rank holder (never failed except this one time) not because I was intelligent but I have a Mother who knows how to crack the whip when I didn’t study. I was terrified. I thought of meeting my teacher and tell her to pass me but why would she do that. My heart sank as if there’s  no tomorrow. The mark sheet was not out yet but I knew I haven’t even attempted an extra question. That evening, no one was at home, I went into the puja room and threw a  tantrum of my lifetime at the divine, I still remember what I said “you see, my mom will kill me if I fail, you know her isn’t? I don’t  know what to do, please pass me somehow and save me, please, please, please …..’ it went on for half hour, I cried, I pleaded, jumped up and down. I was 14 yrs old but I behaved like a 3 or 4 yr old that day (os.meians are thinking,  ‘All your posts till now are like a 3 yr old only. I get it, I get it what you are thinking). Watch this video to have a glimpse of what I did. And the result came, the teacher had passed me. She called me aside and told me, ‘The whole class would have laughed at you, so, I have passed you even though you failed. You attend one hour after school everyday for math, along with others’. Was it coincidence or grace? I thanked the heavens for saving me.

2. I did my graduation in the land of the Dancing Shiva – Chidambaram, lovingly called as Ananandakoothan( The blissful dancer). I had no clue to sadhana or meditation. Seeing such a magnificent temple with pundits reciting the Sacred Vedas and the Tamil chants,  Ten days to my birthday, I told shiva, “I am going to fast for ten days till my birthday, please show me a sign that you exist”. For ten days, I took only water and fasted from morning till evening 6 p.m. After 6 pm, I ate as if there was no tomorrow for I haven’t experienced hunger before. On the day of my birthday, it was a surprise to me when my friend gifted me a statue of the dancing shiva (During college days who has enough money to gift anything to anyone).  Was it grace or coincidence?

3. During my pg preparation in Chennai, I did the most stupidest blunder with far reaching consequence affecting a lot of people. I didn’t know how to resolve it. I felt so bad that I thought of killing myself. I just had a night before which it would be point of no return. I went to Chennai Ramakrishna Math, it was the day of Ram Navami festival and kirtan was going on. I did not cry or jump around this time but with  deep anguish cutting through my heart, prayed to the Divine. If there’s any miracle that is possible, please help me before tomorrow morning, for I don’t know what else to do for my stupidity. As if by coincidence or grace, a window of opportunity came and I restored the mess that I had created. But in doing so, I lost my face as well as my Identity. It felt like what they say, ‘Dead man walking’. After this episode, I learnt how to say, ‘NO’ when I wanted to say ‘no’.

Swamiji, in one of his books/post had said, ‘If you want to know the blessings of the Divine, count the number of coincidences that happened in your life’.

I’ve written only ten post and all are in relevance to the Divine alone. Because, there is nothing else in me, that is good to post about. If you ask me to write about anger,lust or any other vice, I could write 1oo or even 1000 posts but is this the right forum? I don’t think so. This is a sacred space for healing and to connect with the Divine, that is how I see it and that is why I keep writing about the Divine. It is not to make me look special (my tamasic dating experience is proof of the stupid things I did) or to create jealousy in others.

Sri Ramakrishna says  that spiritual jealousy is a good sign. He says, ‘If you have any vice, give it a turn towards the Divine. If you are jealous ask the Divine, why don’t you give me a spiritual experience for I would not suffer this jealousy to so and so. If you are angry ask the divine, why is it taking so long for me to see you, why don’t you do something. If you have lust, ask him, why don’t I love you as much as I love my wife, kids ….’ So, ‘Os.meians’ When anyone posts about their spiritual experience, close your doors and look at the picture of your ishta and take him to task. Tell him how you feel and speak to him as you would speak to your parents, siblings or your crush. Then the magic will definitely happen. But, please don’t stand on a cliff edge or on your balcony and threaten the Divine. Because, subconsciously if you love, the divine will reciprocate 100 fold in return. And I dare not spell it what happens when you subconsciously threaten the Divine.

Even if you find all this is too difficult, then there is a much more simple solution. Just book a seat to Badrika Ashram, ask for a private audience with Swamiji and ask him, if he would like to have a cup of coffee with you. That literally is  ‘Dating the Divine’!!!

Finally, here is a small song, a prayer to Mother Divine, on behalf  of  all the lovely os.meians.

                                                 “Oh! Lalithambike! 

                                What did you do to your beloved child

                                             by name OmSwami, for

                                 he is Shining like the resplendent sun

                                                  Oh! Meenakshi!

                                  What do you whisper in his ears, for

                                   he giggles and smiles like a 2yr old

                                                    Oh! Saradhe!

                                            share with me too, for

                    I will adorn anklets and bangles and dance with you both

                                       What do I care about the world

                                                 Oh! Visalakshi!

                                I know you love me, you know I love you

                                       who else needs to know, you tell me

                                                           Oh! Kamakshi!

                                you both are in love with each other, that 

                                                The whole world knows!

                                                         Oh! Simhavahini! 

                                 Why don’t you take your beloved son to task, for

                     he created os.me, he talks about everything under the sun,

                                                             except you!

                                                      Oh! Maha Mayi!

              I know, I know, If he tells, our jealousy will  burn us down, for

                             he cares and loves us more than we love ourselves!

                                                         Oh! Narayani!

                        You, who controls the cosmos in the wink of an eye

                                                 This is my prayer to you

                                                          Oh! Katyayini!

                                            let each and everyone in os.me

                             experience your presence in them once 

                                                               Oh! Bhairavi!

                                       or atleast, as many times as possible, for

               it’s never enough, when it comes to you or your beloved son

                                                   Oh! Kadambavanavasini! 

                                        Oh! Sita, Oh! Radha, Oh! Mata, Oh! Mary                                                                                                       

                                             come behold us, the entire os.me

                                in your arms and hold us tight in your embrace

                                                       Oh! My dear Lalitha!

                 so that, we will remember you and your beloved son forever

                                                                      and ever

                                                                     and ever…..”

JAI MAA!!!

Photo: Iskcon.