There's (the attitude of) Ishwar Tushti (complacency in devotion). We become satisfied because we think that when God blesses me, when God graces me, I will make progress on the path of devotion. And such a person who thinks this way, who even misquotes from the scriptures, “Well, the quotations are correct.” But he misunderstands them, misinterprets them.
Look, it says right there in that Tulsikrit Ramayan,
उमा दारु जोषित की नाईं। सबहि नचावत रामु गोसाईं॥
Umā dāru joṣhit kī nāiṇ, sab hi nachāvat rāmu gosāĩṇ.
It's written there in black and white. Tulsidas Ji is saying, “Bhagwan Ram is making everyone dance to his tune.”
होइहि सोइ जो राम रचि राखा। को करि तर्क बढ़ावै साखा ॥
Hoihi soi jo rām rachi rākhā. Ko kari tark baḍhāvai sākhā.
- Ramayan
“Who can argue with the will of Bhagwan Shri Ram? Everything is willed by Him. Nothing happens without His grace, and we say with so much authority.”
उसकी सत्ता के बिना तो पत्ता भी नहीं हिलता ।
Usakī sattā ke binā to pattā bhī nahīṇ hilatā.
I know, I've lived enough and I know that nothing happens without His grace. Not even a leaf stirs without His will.
होइहि सोइ जो राम रचि राखा।
Hoihi soi jo rām rachi rākhā.
Ramayan says this. So does this mean that God is the performer of all our actions? That God is going to do everything for us? Shri Krishna says, No, no, no.”
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभु: |
न कर्मफलसंयोगं स्वभावस्तु प्रवर्तते ||
Na kartṛitvaṁ na karmāṇi lokasya sṛijati prabhuḥ.
Na karm-phal-saṅyogaṁ svabhāvas tu pravartate.
- Gita 5.14
न कर्तृत्वं…
Na kartṛitvaṁ…
He says, “No, I don't do.”
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं न चैव सुकृतं विभु:।
Nādatte kasyachit pāpaṇ na chaiva sukṛitaṁ vibhuḥ.
- Gita 5.15
Shri Krishna says, “I do not perform your actions. You are responsible for what you do.”
And we recite the Gita,
न कर्तृत्वं न कर्माणि लोकस्य सृजति प्रभु: |
Na kartritvaṇ na karmāṇi lokasya srijati prabhu.
नादत्ते कस्यचित्पापं…
Na Datte Kasyachit papaṃ…
And yet we say, “Oh well, He's the doer. But He's saying He's not the doer.” He doesn't know what He's talking about. He's the doer. He is the doer. But if He is the doer, then Shree Maharaj Ji puts forth some logic. He says, “If He is the doer then why does He tell us in the scriptures what to do and what not to do?”
Why does He tell us, follow these Vedic injunctions,
सत्यं वदा ।
Sathyam vadā.
Speak the truth.धर्म आचार ।
Dharm āchār,
“Abide by dharm, the laws of dharm.”- Chandogya Upanishad
Adhya Gamad Yadishravat Sahasrani Bhi, Ruti Bhih
- Rig Veda,
“Oh humans, cry out to God and He will accept you. He's waiting with arms outstretched. He will accept you. He will embrace you. Cry out to Him.”
ब्रह्म मुहूर्त उत्तिष्ठत
Brahm muhūrt uttishṭthat.
“Instruction: wake up early in the morning.”
Why does God need to tell us all this? He would have said, “I'm doing everything for you so you don't worry about the alarm clock. I'll wake you up if it's My will. I will wake you up early. If I don't feel like it, I'll let you sleep till 9 a.m.”
No, He's not the doer. If He's the doer, then why are we suffering or enjoying the fruits of the actions He has performed? So God says, “I'm not the doer.” But there is a confusion. Then why would Tulsidasji say that Bhagwan Ram makes everyone dance to His tune? Why does He say this? It's because God enables us to perform actions. He's the enabler. He enables us by giving us a mind. If we did not have a mind, we couldn't have done anything. So He gives us a mind. Not only that, He tells us what to do, what we should do and what we should not do. And He tells us the consequences of our actions also. If you do this, this will happen. If you do that, that will happen. He tells us the consequences of our actions, but then He leaves the choice of actions up to the individual. He doesn't tell us, He doesn't make us do anything. He enables us to do whatever we do. That is why scriptures say that God is the doer.
So we cannot blame God for our shortcomings and for our failures.
