Talk:Their Faith is in Their Heart. It is not dependent on External Objects

By Vishal Agarwal

The Bhakti Yogī lives in the Lord, and the Lord abides in him. The Lord moves with him wherever he goes. He is never far from Divine presence, and unlike the Bhakta-s in their initial stages of the spiritual discipline of Bhakti Yoga, he does not need external aids like temples, holy places etc., to inspire him. The following verse from Sant Rāmānanda illustrates this well-

O my brother, Where shall I go, why should I wander? The pleasure I seek is in my very own home. My mind will not stray, for my heart is now steadfast. One day, a yearning arose in my heart and I went with sandal shavings and essence and so many perfumes, so I could worship Brahman in the temple. But then the Guru told me that the Brahman I sought dwelt in my own heart. Wherever I went, I met only water and stone – but You remain all-pervasive and forever unchanging. I searched all the Vedas and the Puranas; I go to them if I do not find Him here. O my true Guru, I am your handmaid, your living sacrifice, for you have cut away all my hardened doubts. All my great fears. Ramananda’s Lord is the all-pervasive Brahman – a Guru’s word can destroy a million sins. Bhagat Ramananda Ji, Guru Granth, page 1195, Rāg Basant, Gharu 1

The Faith (Shraddhā) and Devotion (Bhakti) of Arjuna in Bhagavān Shiva When the Pāṇdavas were exiled in a forest, their rule was that they never ate any food that day till Arjuna had worshipped Shiva. One day as they were roaming in the forest, they could not find any Shivalinga to worship. Bhīma was feeling really hungry. Therefore, he just took a bowl, filled it with black soil and then inverted the heap of the soil on the ground. Calling Arjuna he said, “Brother, here is your Shivalinga. Now worship it so that we can eat our food.”

Arjuna sat there on the ground and started worshipping Shiva with great devotion. He offered flowers and Bilva leaves and covered the Shivalinga with them. After some time, his worship was over. Bhīma laughed and said, “What you had worshipped was merely a heap of black soil, not a Shivalinga.” Saying this, he removed the leaves and flowers with his hands.

But a great surprise awaited him Underneath the heap of the offerings, he found a stone Shivalinga. Bhīma understood what had happened – the faith and devotion of his brother Arjuna had transformed the heap of black soil into a black stone Shivalinga.

This Shivalinga that got created miraculously is today worshipped in the Bhīmanātha Mahādeva temple in India. Many people think that they can bribe Bhagavān by donating large sums of money even if it has been earned by wrong means. Some people also think that they can make a big show of their worship and please Him, or say long prayers and do expensive rituals for making Him happy. But this story shows that Bhagavān does not really care our money or our long prayers, or how much we donate to Mandirs. He only cares for the love and faith that we have in our heart for Him. Arjuna was living in poverty in the forest with his brothers, but his heart was full of Shraddhā (faith) and Bhakti (love) towards Bhagavān. Because of this reason, even the heap of black clay that Bheema had made to fool Arjuna got transformed into a real Shiva Linga. This is the lesson we learn from this story.