A devotee’s question: Radhe Radhe Didi. Didi, we know that we have to be very kind and have to have love for everybody. We shouldn't differentiate, but still, and I am talking about myself, all these things are still prevalent like jealousy. Sometimes you have jealousy towards others and you don't see the other person the way you should according to Maharaj Ji. So how do we get all those things out of our system?
Sushree Gopeshwari Devi Ji’s answer: Through sadhana, practice of proper, true honest sadhana. Bhakti takes care of everything but your sadhana bhakti should be honest. It shouldn't be only verbal. It should be deeply felt. You're longing, you're yearning for the Lord, and when you knock at that door, that door gets open. People in the world may choose never to open the door they may be inside. They could be your most favorite people, your most intimate relations.
But one thing with the Lord being omniscient and omnipresent, seated in our hearts and in every atomic particle, the all-pervading spirit of the Divine,
मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना । मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थित: ॥
Mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā. Mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na chāhaṁ teṣhvavasthitaḥ.- Gita 9.4
“All are attached to Me. I'm attached to no one.”
Thus, when you remember this, and when you know that He's seated in my heart and the same Lord is seated in the other’s heart, then if I am filled with jealousy, if I am filled with anger, if I am filled with any type of negative feelings towards anybody, or if I'm filled with any types of positive feeling towards anyone then my sadhana will be effected. Because if you feel positive, you're bound to feel negative and if you feel negative, you're bound to feel positive. Why should we have any kind of feelings towards anyone? We should only see everybody as God's children and the Supreme Lord seated in every heart.
So, “If I hurt this person, God will be hurt and who am I to give certificates of praise to anybody? God gives that; that's His job or Guru's job. It’s not my job to see who is good and who's bad etc.”
So recite the philosophy to yourself. And when you practice your bhakti (sincerely), when you practice (this kind of true) devotion, then your devotional practice (by itself) will increase the longing and yearning to become good.
“I'm filled with all this (jealousy, anger, greed, lust, etc.),”
But if you sincerely yearn, calling out to Guru and God, for yourself to become more purified, if you have this aim in your heart and mind,
“It's for me to become pure,”
and not just to say,
“Bhagwan, I am so patit (fallen) and You are patit pawan (protector of the fallen),” you will improve.
You know, it’s not like this (saying outloud with no feeling). Literally you must be begging and crying. Tears will come anyway if you're literally crying from the bottom of your heart; if you really want to correct yourself. God, through yogamaya power, will grace you, and will start to correct you because He's listening to the prayer of your heart.
So, you knock at the door, and it gets opened. You call out to Him and He will answer. Bhakti will give you anything you seek for, but first of all, bhakti will start to cleanse your heart. And this process of cleansing and purification of the heart will be evident to you when you stop all this nonsense of praising or criticizing anybody. You'll become neutral, neutral to everyone, and have love for God only. Got your answer?
Also you should tell yourself that I know we are human beings. We are imperfect and sometimes people do certain things and our minds just get like that (what you’re describing). Then talk with your Lord, and cry and seek forgiveness, because the harm is done by you to yourself, to no one else. You're harming your own self. You have worked so hard to earn the fruits of bhakti and you yourself are destroying it.
