We all love God. Love exists in our soul, but as our minds are enveloped by so many evil desires, we have forgotten God. Shed these desires and the eternal nature of atma will be awakened and God will come to us, says SRILA BHAKTI BALLABH TIRTHA GOSWAMI MAHARAJ

In a town in Bengal, there was a man who worked in an office. He lived with his wife and two children. One of the children was only six months old and the other was seven years old. One day, the man told his wife, “You will have to prepare breakfast early today, because I have to go to office early.”

When the wife went to cook, she first put the baby on the bed and then went into the kitchen. But,  when she entered the kitchen, the child  began to cry. Her heart melted and she impulsively rushed towards the child, thinking of rocking the baby on her lap, while cooking. But she changed her mind, saying to herself, “With the child in my lap, how will I be able to cook? It is very difficult.”  She was thinking what she should do. Then she thought of a way by which she could manage the situation. She called the seven-year-old child.

“My dear boy, come here!” she called. “Do you know that red toy in the shop?” “Yes, I know it,” the child answered. “Go and buy that toy, but be sure that it makes a nice jingling sound.”

Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

The child took some money and went off to buy the toy. He brought it home and gave it to the mother. The mother laid the baby down on the bed and hung the red-coloured toy with the jingling sound above him, at the end of a rope. The baby saw the toy and immediately started to play with it, hitting it from side to side. The child was most delighted as he continued to slap the toy and hear the jingling sound.

For one hour he played like that, and the mother happily did her cooking. After that, the child started to feel hungry. For the entire time that the baby was playing, he did not remember his mother. But, now that he felt hungry, he thought, “Oh, where is my mother?” But his mother did not come. Then, he started crying, signifying, “I am hungry! Come!” He could not speak, so he beckoned his mother by crying. “Come to me and suckle me! I am hungry!” His mother, however, was busy cooking. “No,” she thought, “let the child cry.”

After some time, the child stopped crying and went back to playing with the toy― jingle, jingle, jingle. After playing like that for a while, the pangs of hunger returned. His hunger increased and increased and he became more and more unhappy. He began to cry for his mother even more loudly than before.

His mother heard the crying of the baby, but thought that she should first finish her cooking. Finally, the hunger became unbearable for the child. The child thought, “I don’t want toys!” All he could think about was his mother. His crying became louder and louder until he was screaming. He started to throw his arms about and kick his legs, in a tantrum. Then the mother thought, “Oh, I cannot stay away any longer!” The mother ran towards the child, embraced him and suckled him.

 Similarly, the Supreme Lord has given us toys― the toy of a wife or husband, toys of children, toys of buildings, toys of radios, toys of videos, toys of computers. Seeing this, Krishna thinks, “They are absorbed in their toys! I have no worries. I am engaged in My pastimes in the transcendental realm. They do not want this. They want those things instead. Here, take this computer! Take that video! Take this! Take that!”

Upon the awakening of his real self (atma), a man feels the want of the sweetest affection of the Supreme Lord. He cries, “Oh Supreme Lord! In this world, nothing gives me happiness. Everything is temporary. Everyone is selfish. You are my most beloved! Where are You? I have forgotten You! Come! Come! I am in a furnace! Come! Come!” Weeping, he calls, but Krishna does not come.

“I am engaged in My pastimes,” Krishna says. For some time, the man then becomes absorbed in the affairs of his family and relatives, and forgets Krishna. Time passes and he cries again, “Where is My beloved Supreme Lord? Where is He?” Crying, crying. But, the Supreme Lord still does not come.

Ultimately, he shouts, “I do not want a house! I do not want anything! Nobody is mine. You are mine! Oh beloved Supreme Lord! Come! Come! Come!” He cries and weeps, tossing his arms and legs about. Then Krishna cries, “Oh!” and comes to him. This sort of perturbation of the heart, extreme eagerness for getting Bhagavan, must be there.

You have love for God. Love is there in your soul. It exists, but you seem to have become averse to Sri Krishna. Your mind has become enveloped by so many evil desires. Shed these desires and associate with the suddha bhakta who is crying for Krishna. Then the eternal nature of atma will be awakened and Sri Krishna will come to you.

Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj was President-Acharya of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math from 1979 till he left his physical body on April 21, 2017 at the age of 92. For more than six decades, he preached the philosophy of universal unity, travelling the globe to spread his message of transcendental divine love, interacting with theologians of all faiths.

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