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How to be eligible for Bhakti Marg?
मेरा आपकी कृपा से सब काम हो रहा है।
करते हो तुम कन्हैया मेरा नाम हो रहा है।
A devotee surrenders all his desires, pride, and ego as I, me, my, and myself to Paramatma. Whatever he does, he does for Paramatma. If he wins, he gives credit to Paramatma. If he loses he thinks HARI ICHCHHA BALIYASI हरि इच्छा बलियसी As Paramatma desires JE KARSE MAM HITNU જે કરશે મમ હિતનું Whatever he decides would be good for me. To be depended only on Paramatma is a sign of devotee. We say JAHI BIDBHI RAKHE RAM TAHI BIDHI RAHIO जाहि बिधि राखे राम ताहि बिधि रहीये but we cannot accept good and bad things with equal enthusiasm. We enjoy happiness, luxuries, and prosperity but we blame our fate for the death of beloveds, loss of business, loss of property, and deadly diseases. When we do something we feel pride and nurture our ego and want to make a show of it, when we donate some money to serve the needy or do charity for temples or Dharmshalas, we want people to know about it. We make them write our names on the plate of marbles or hang our photos or make statues as if we were an Avtar for the rest of the world. How could a man with loads of too much self-pride be a devotee and surrender to Paramatma?
While a knowledgeable person is like a child who forgets that he was crying for food being hungry and started playing with a toy given to him. A scholar would be free from attachment and pride and remain happy inwardly as if he lives with Paramatma every moment when he acquires a toy named Brahm Gyan. He is considered as a free soul as Vivek Chudamani describes Brahmagyani;
न खिद्यते नो विषयैः प्रमोदते न सज्जते नाङपि विरज्यते च।
अस्मिन् सदा क्रीडति नन्दति स्वयं निरन्तराङङनन्दरसेन तृप्तः।।
If this kind of a devotee is blessed with materialist luxuries of life, he would be thankful to Paramatma, if he lost everything he would be indifferent to lose as Narshinh Mehta says BHALU THAYU BHANGI JANJAL or he would be steady as king Janak says, if Mithila, the capital of his kingdom is on fire...he said, when Mithila is going to burn, nothing is burnt that belongs to me as I am not attached to any person, place, things or nothing is possessed by me . When he has to face some disaster or he has to perform his duty, he never tries to avoid it or put the gun on anybody's shoulder to shoot. He remains steady full of happiness as if he lives with Paramatma only unaware of the world surrounding him. Prashnopanishad says that a knowledgeable person who knows his PRAN as immortal, his successors would live forever as it is described
य एवं विद्वान्प्राणं वेद न हास्य प्रजा हीयतेङमृतो भवति तदेष श्र्लोकः ।
When a person dies, the TEJ form of his body abandons his body. The body becomes cool as ice. No warmth could be felt. And before death, what a person thinks in his mind would be the reason for the next birth and kind of the body it fulfills his last desire. Whatever a Jivatma thinks he gets it in the next birth. The Tej would accompany him in various LOK according to his Karma and he would take rebirth I different yonis. But whoever knows his PRAN well would be eligible for SAYUJYA MUKTI and would be immortal and eternal as Mira, Narshinh, Kabir, Tulsidasji, and such kind of Devotee.
When Pran and Tej accompany a person's mortal body becomes active. Then who is remains awake when we sleep is the puzzle? Rishi Pippalad says to Garg Muni that as the rays of the Sun are released and spread on the earth when Sun shines in the morning and absorbed again by the Sun when it sets in the same way all the subjects and senses are depended on the mind and Buddhi of a person are absorbed under the shelter of a divine Swaroop of mind during sleep and hence during our sleep, we could neither listen nor see nor taste nor smell or nor enjoy entry or exit of any instrument through nine gates of our body. Hence sleep is considered as a half death.
...तेन तर्ह्येष पुरुषो न शृणोति न पश्यति न जिध्रति न रसयते न स्पृश्ते नाभिवदते नादत्ते नानन्दयते न विसृजते नेयायते स्वपितीत्याचक्षते ।।(4-2-2)
No person smells, tastes, sees, or leaves any kind of liquid or stuff as urine from his body but at that time five Pran awakens and our internal body system works even if we sleep during daytime or night. It is natural for all the livings to be awakened, to feel sleepy, and to see dreams but in the case of an awakened soul of a knowledgeable person his karmendriyas surrenders to sleep but his PRANAGNI remains awakens and he could feel Paramatma through his senses absorbed in Divine Swaroop of mind. And hence he could see in dream whatever he has seen or unseen, heard or not heard, existing in present or lost in the past or would happen in the future. He could see everything just as he could absorb everything in his divine Swaroop of the soul as Sun absorbs its rays at night and releases them again in the morning. Brhuhadaranyak Shruti says; अत्रायं पुरुषः स्वयं ज्योतिः (4-3-14) He could absorb everything from his Buddhi into Pran and by the unification of both in his meditation, he could see past and future and present even during sleep. It seems like his soul rest under the divine universal sky of eternal Paramatma who lives in his heart as well य एषोङन्तर्ह्रदय आकाशस्तस्मिञ्शेते (2-1-7) Because all the knowledgeable person rests under Paramatma as if all the birds rest under the same tree य यथा सोम् वयांसि वासोवृक्षं संप्रतिष्ठन्त एवं ह वै तत्सर्नं पर आत्मनि संप्रतिष्ते ।(4-7-7) Because all the five elements outside stay inside the body with their Tanmatras. We feel earth through TANMATRA smell - our nostrils, water –juice through taste – tongue, sees beauty –eyes, Wind through touch and sky -Nad Brahma through words and when a devotee knows that everything depends on Paramatma only. He could be free from pride and ego and feels unification with Paramatma. He knows that body sees, touches, feels, or smells is a doer Purush named science Swaroop and exist only with AKASHARअक्षर Paramatma and it would be like a non-living thing-our dead body when Pran Paramatma abandons it. Whoever knows all these from the depth of his heart and accepts it with pure mind and pious Buddhi would become himself like a Swaroop of Paramatma as we see great devotees as Kabir-Tulsi Shankaracharyaji and those devotees are eligible for Bhakti Marg.
विज्ञानात्मा सह देवैश्र्च सर्वैः प्राणा भूतानि संप्रतिष्ठिन्ति यत्र।
तदक्षरं वेदयते यस्तु सोम्य स सर्वज्ञः सर्वमेवाविवेशेति।। (5-2-11)
A devotee who can surrender himself to Paramatma does everything as if he is doing it for Paramatma, whoever remains involved in Nam Jap 24*7 day and night, who is totally detached from Sansar who has no feeling of envy and jealousy, revenge and hatred for all the livings can be eligible for Bhakti Marg.
Then which are the condition to be a devotee like Mira, Tulsi, Shakubai or Raidas who has killed his own son while crushing mitti for making pots unknowingly?
Let us surrender to Shri Krishna and quench our thirst...