Maharaj Ji explains that we’re missing one thing that would allow the saints to reach us: Vairagya (detachment from the world). If we had detachment from this world, we would be open to the saints’ teachings.
However, “Jin Vishayan Anubhavata Dusah Dukh” (from the very objects of the senses, we experience unbearable suffering).
Although we’re being subjected to unimaginable suffering from the very things that we expect to give us happiness, the very people, objects that we hope to gain happiness from are constantly causing disillusionment, disappointment, and suffering. Either they don’t live up to our expectations or, like everything in this world, which is temporary, we eventually lose them.
Even though we’re subjected to so much suffering from these very places, people, and things from which we seek happiness, yet we don’t develop detachment from the world.
We don’t develop even a little bit of detachment from this world. We keep going back to the same place over and over. “I didn’t get happiness from this thing yet, but today I’m going to enjoy this thing again, and I’ll enjoy it so much that I’ll get real happiness from it.”
“Oh, it didn’t work. Let me try again.” We never give up. We never lose hope in the world.
If we started to feel, “No, this world is not giving me happiness. I’m getting suffering. I’m getting disappointment over and over from this world. There must be something better. Let me look toward God,” If the Soul starts thinking like this, it is called Vairagya or Virag (detachment). It means their mind is starting to turn away from the world and toward God. At least there’s a little bit of an opening for the saint now.
So, when the saints come into this world and start telling us that there’s a Divine state of perfect happiness beyond all suffering, there’s some part of us that’s open to hearing that, and we feel, “Yes, this is something I want. This is what I’ve been longing for.”
But where there’s no Vairagya from the world, there’s no openness. As I was saying, we’re running with everybody else at full speed, and the saints are yelling, “You’re going the wrong way! What you want is that way. I’m not telling you not to desire happiness. I’m saying there’s no happiness that way. It’s that way.”
And we say, “I have no time to listen to your sermon. I’m just running, too busy running in the wrong direction to listen to the one who’s telling us that that’s the wrong direction.”
So, this is what the saints face. The souls don’t have enough Vairagya to be open to listening to them.
Now, there are some souls, very few, who, because of the repeated beatings we receive from Maya (the material energy that keeps souls bound to the material world), do develop a little bit of Vairagya. So, Maya and the saints work in tandem.
Maharaj Ji has explained to us that the saints teach us lovingly. They lovingly explain to us the philosophy and the path. But if we don’t listen to them, then our other teacher, Maya, takes over.
And Maya is the disciplinarian. Maya says, “Okay, you didn’t listen to the saints? Okay, come here. I’ll take care of you.”
So, we never get tired of that. We keep saying, “Okay, I’ll take more beatings from Maya.”
