Bangalore, India
There are three kinds of devotees. The first kind is a devotee who keeps asking, ‘God give me this’, ‘God give me that.’ The second kind is a devotee who is always grateful, ‘Thank you God, you gave me this and you gave me that’, one who is emotional, prayerful and keeps crying out of gratitude. The third kind is a devotee who always remains joyful, keeps smiling, dancing and singing – joyful devotee. All three are different kinds of devotees, and yet all three are supreme. It is not that one is greater than another – that is not so. A crying devotee, a laughing devotee, and a devotee who keeps asking – so which category are you in, you can see that for yourself. It is possible that a little of all three may be there in you. That also is okay. Then that would be the fourth kind of devotee – one who has a little bit of all the three present.
A joyful devotee, who gets lost in fun only, somewhere or the other, he is not able to attain depth and depth is also needed. That is why saint Kabirdas has said, ‘Kabira hasana door kar, rone se kar preet, bin roye kit paaiye, prem piyara meet’.
But the crying which Kabir is talking about is a different kind of crying, it is the crying that comes out of praise, out of gratitude and longing. It is not the kind of crying where one feels that this is lacking, that is lacking, this did not happen, that did not happen – he is not referring to this type of crying which is for the worldly matters or maya. He is referring to those who cry out of bliss and devotion. So that is also needed. But the devotees who are joyful are said to be the knowledgeable once because they know that God is right here – he is within me, and he is present this very moment.
Often people think that God is elsewhere; he existed sometime in the past, or will come sometime in the future. They forget that God is right here, right now, present within everyone, present within me – just this conviction should be there. It is for this only that you are doing all these gymnastics, all these exercises. Otherwise what is the point of doing these exercises all day – doing pranayama, asana, kirtan, bhajan, seva – what is the essence of all these? To know that God is inside me, right here and right now.
This much for today! Listening to too much knowledge will cause indigestion. It becomes difficult to digest. Just digest this much. Today Guruji spoke only one line – ‘God is right here, right now, within me and within everyone.’
