Dr. Jai Narayan Vyas
It is like opening a door for darshan in a temple of a very large sect or a crowd waiting outside jostling to enter the temple. The belief is that the doors of the temple are opened and whoever enters first catches the eye of God and becomes blessed. In this, there is no opportunity for a devotee like Ashakta, Gharda, Divyang or Surdas to see? A beautiful dawn of a new day dawned. There was a small crowd of pilgrims in the temple. At such a time a Surdas enters the temple. Devotedly, he joins his hands in front of the idol of the Lord at his daily corner in a lean posture. This is a daily action for him. One day some prankster asked him: 'Surdasji! Do you see God as you stand before God with folded hands?' Bhakta Surdas intuitively replied: 'Brother! It is my misfortune that I cannot see by chance. But what difference does it make? My God sees me. I am coming to prove my presence in his court. I think it is more important that God sees me than that I see God.' The prankster fell down. How true Surdas had said so easily. He cannot see himself, but God's sight falls on him, so his presence will be complete. Instead of crying out of compulsion, how easily this person turns it into positivity and responds even to a joke made with the intention of teasing him. Poet Dalpatram says – 'Around in the sky, in the distance hallucinating; Even near the meadows is the abode of Vishwapati.' Around, in the distance, in the vanarai where the grass grows, wherever I looked I saw the abode of Vishvapati. God is always present everywhere. We may think that no one is watching us but there is always a force around us and it is watching us. Do not assume that what we cannot see does not exist. The same message comes from the following lines. 'Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through.' Meaning, the poet questions, Vaira (wind) cannot be said to be non-existent because neither I nor you can see it, but when the wind blows, the branches and leaves of the trees sway rhythmically, as if welcoming the wind warmly! If someone goes to the seventh heaven and does any activity, is it out of God's sight? Does God not recognize His true devotee? Not at all. If we remember the words of that Surdas and do darshan quietly without crowd, God's eyes will be directly on us. Why don't devotees from all over the world understand that they will stand for a minute or two more? We may not see God, but God can see us, right? Finally a small story comes to mind: In a city, Buddhist monks went for a walk to dig metal to make a beautiful statue of Lord Buddha. As it was God's work, everyone started gifting their ornaments and gold and silver coins. A poor girl was doing housework. He had only one worn brass coin, which he believed to be his capital. He extended his hand to donate. Seeing this worn coin, the Buddhist monk gave it back with a mouthful. Can such a small donation be accepted? Finally everything that was collected melted down to form the idol. Murthy's face was sad. Even if prepared for the second time, the same sadness on the face. Guru asked, 'Have you insulted any donor? Has hurt a true devotee?' Everyone started thinking. Finally remembered the girl. The Guru said, 'Go and bring his donation.' That monk brought this coin. The girl turned red. Again the idol was prepared. This time a miracle happened. The idol's face had boundless compassion and a loving smile. This is the relationship between true devotee and God. The amount of donation is not important but the value of the giver is important. God recognizes the devotee. Whether he is a surdas or a ragtag poor.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
