Satsang with Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati
Tattva Bodha, NJ, Summer 2001
Transcribed and edited by Chaya Ra, Jayshree Ramakrishnan and KK Davey.
Question
How can we bring Īśvara into our lives?
Answer
Īśvara is brought into our lives first by recognizing that there is Īśvara, by recognizing that He is the creator, sustainer and dissolver, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. I recognize that I need the grace of Īśvara in my life and that I always need a favor. No doubt, I have some capacity or capabilities given to me. The three powers of icchāśakti the power to will, kriyaśakti the power to act and jṃānaśakti the power to know, are indeed given to me. Of course it is my privilege and my responsibility to use them judiciously. But then these powers are limited and therefore I find that I always need help. That is how Īśvara comes in; by way of prayers, by way of worship and also by recognizing that not only do I need his grace, but that I am already enjoying his grace. I am what I am on account of this grace that I am enjoying.
Therefore it is a fact that I am enjoying his grace; I live, I can walk, I can talk, I can eat and drink, I do whatever I do. All that I have, as in the capacity I have in my organs or the capacity I have in my intellect, is given to me. Therefore I am enjoying his grace every moment. The recognition of this fact will result in my acknowledgement, which expresses in terms of prayer or worship and also in terms of making the way I live my life, in itself a form of worship of the Lord. Thus, bringing Īśvara into our life means making our lives, as best as we can, a worship of the Lord. It also means prayer for seeking his grace where more grace is needed.
Ultimately even knowledge comes by the grace of God. All qualification also comes by the grace of God. So recognize Īśvara by way of the grace that you are already enjoying and appeal to Īśvara for the grace that you need. Of course Īśvara ultimately happens to be saccidānanda also. But then when we say Īśvara we always mean the ‘saguna Brahman’, bringing the saguna Brahman into our lives because the nirguna Brahman is my own self. Bringing Īśvara into my life means bringing this saguna Brahman into my life. He is the creator and sustainer, omnipresent and omniscient and He cares. And so we invoke the benevolence of the Lord in our favor.
This is how we can bring Īśvara into our lives.
