No liberation for the idle

There was a most sincere seeker who, right from his childhood, used to pray regularly to God. When he was seven or eight years old, he started praying to Mother Kali because she was his family deity. He was very fond of Mother Kali. He read and studied spiritual books and he came to realise that Sri Ramakrishna was the dearest child of the Mother Kali. He started praying to Sri Ramakrishna and he became Sri Ramakrishna’s disciple inwardly. He mixed with some of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples, but unfortunately he did not see Sri Ramakrishna physically because Sri Ramakrishna had left the body long before. Later, he started reading other spiritual books written by other Masters. Finally he came to realise who his own spiritual Master was and went to live at his Master’s place.

His Master gave this disciple much affection. The disciple was extremely devoted to his Master and he used to meditate hours and hours every day. He was in his most fruitful years. He used to write about his Master and the Master used to encourage him and appreciate his writings highly. He wrote hundreds of poems and many articles about his experiences. The Master encouraged him, inspired him and also deeply appreciated his experiences.

One day, the Master wrote to him in answer to some of his questions. “In this incarnation, you will realise God. There is every possibility that your physical consciousness will merge into the Transcendental Delight. The force that created Vivekananda has a spiritual connection with you and I want you to be like a banyan tree under which many people will get shelter.”

The disciple was so happy and delighted that he was going to be so great. Vivekananda came to America, he became world renowned. He knew that Vivekananda had a turban, so immediately he started wearing clothes like Vivekananda and put on a turban because he would be going to America to conquer America, as Vivekananda had done. He continued praying, meditating and getting high experiences. The Master was very pleased with him. He continued in this way for twenty-five years. One day, on his birthday, he said to his Master, “Master, please do not forget about your promise that I would realise God in this incarnation and that my physical consciousness would merge into the Transcendental Delight and also do not forget about your promise that I will grow into a banyan tree.”

The Master immediately wrote down on a sheet of paper: “There is no hope of liberation for the idle.” The Master gave it to him. When he read the message he practically fainted. “O Master, I have been meditating for years and years, every day for six, seven, eight hours. Am I idle? O God, are you not aware how hard I have been working and meditating?”

Outwardly he could not bring himself to tell his friends that the Master had said to him: “There is no hope of liberation for the idle.” He was utterly miserable for months and years. He said to himself, “The Master made promises and now the Master changes his mind.” He was about to lose all faith in the Master.

One night he had a dream. In this dream he saw his Master. He thought, “In the physical plane I cannot argue with the Master, but, in the dream (and after all, a dream is only a dream) I can easily do so."

“Master, how is it that you have changed your mind? You told me that I would have liberation and my body would be transformed and I would be like a banyan tree and shelter many people. You said my soul has a connection with Vivekananda’s soul. I have been meditating for hours and hours daily. How is it that after twenty-five years you are saying there is no hope of liberation for the idle? How do you justify your first promise and then rebuke me?”

Now, he could talk this way because it was after all, only a dream. Physically he would never have dared to argue that way with his Master. In the dream, the Master replied, “My child, you are such a fool. When I told you many years ago about your future, about your liberation, about the transformation of your body, about divinisation, did I give any date? I said, ‘in the future’. Are you not still on earth?”

He said, “Yes.”

“Has your life ended?”

“Not yet.”

“Then, still there is every possibility. With regard to the rebuke that there is no hope of liberation for the idle, did I say ‘for the idle like you’?”

He said, “No.”

“I completed the sentence ‘for the idle’. There is no hope of liberation for the idle. After ‘idle’ — period. Did I say ‘like you’?”

He said, “No.”

“Then why did you interpret it that way? I said that for the idle there is no hope of liberation. What does it mean? It means that he who is idle will never have liberation. You have worked very hard, you are still working very hard, but you misinterpreted my message. It is your fault and you have been suffering for that. You will have all kinds of disciples in the future, so I am cautioning you. You will have to tell your disciples that there is no hope of liberation for the idle.”

“Already you have quite a few admirers, friends and well-wishers. These admirers live here in my Ashram. I am their Guru. Now, how can they accept you as their Guru? When I leave the body there will be quite a few, even from the admirers, who will be your disciples. There are many others who will be your disciples. As I told you, 'like a banyan tree, many will grow under your protection’.”

“Now, when I told you that there will be no hope of liberation for the idle, you should have known that it is not you who are idle, but the idle ones are those who are not trying to realise God in this incarnation. Whenever a Master says something you have to see it from his viewpoint. When you see things in his own light, through his eyes, you will be happy. The Master will never consciously hurt you. He will only perfect your nature or give you more and more wisdom. The Master gives messages to the disciples and they very often misinterpret them. The Master will say things to you to give more wisdom, more light, more illumination, but you do not understand the Master in his own way. You immediately give your own interpretations, your own judgment and then you create problems for the Master and for yourself. So from now on, whenever the Master says something, try to feel that it is something that you need. Everything that the Master says is for your wisdom. He will never hurt you, he will only widen your knowledge. When your inner knowledge has bloomed totally, when your inner sun is fully awakened and starts offering its light to the world at large, you will know that you are ready for outer fulfilment. You will realise that your liberation has already taken place. So, from now on, when I say something, always try to get light from it and do not feel that I am insulting or criticising you, or finding fault with you. The Masters do not do that. The real Masters only correct you and perfect you so that the disciples can become choice instruments of the Supreme.”