The Very Cause Of Depression Is Expectation And Attachment To The Result Of One’s Actions.
The reason we become depressed, the reason we become unhappy, the reason we sometimes become too elated but then we are depressed after that, is because we are attached to the results of our actions.
We do something good, we become elated. We just jump all over. Then tomorrow the thing we felt was good does not happen the way we want it, and we become completely down. So we go up and down like a roller coaster.
But with surrendering, we say, “God, it is really You who is the doer and the result is also Yours.” Better than surrendering is submission. It means God is doing it through us.
***
If we serve God…God does not need to be served. He can just move His finger and change a galaxy. He does not need us to bring Him a cup of water, or a dish of food, or a nice beautiful flower, but if we do it, it brings Grace out of Him. He becomes Graceful, He lets His Grace flow through those people who love Him. So when we serve God, really what we are doing is doing it for ourselves to receive His Grace. God does not need to be served.
God does not need to be worked for. If you serve Him, you work for Him because of yourself, not for Him. And if you reach this point where you know you are not the doer, if you are doing it, it is good for you, then you do not create any expectation.
That is another reason for not having will. You do something. You think it is great. Then you create expectation, and you say, “Wow, I did all these beautiful things, now I have to receive all this praise for it.” When you do not receive it then you become depressed because you say, “Why am I not receiving my praise that I am such a wonderful person?” That is again being attached to the result of your action. That again creates the depression because you expect something in return.
***
Depression really means expecting something that is not received. The teaching that we brought to humanity, if they really realize it, is the cure of depression. If only they would realize that living in the Communities of Light, sharing, and going through the Eternal Divine Path, and at the same time knowing that they are not attached to the result of their action, is when they are free.
You do the action, however, you know it is not you doing it. It is God doing it. You know God’s Will. You just go ahead and spread that Will. And you are not attached to the result of your actions, and teach other people also not to be attached to the results of their actions. After awhile we will have people who are just going on doing God’s work, serving Him, being with Him, singing His praise, and at the same time they are happy because they are in the world but not of it.
***
Shine in the world by your great actions, but surrender the result to the Lord. Become a channel for His Divine actions and glorify Him. When people praise you for what you do, let them know that it is He who does these great works through you. That is the way to be freed from the bondage of karma.
If a person lets Him do the great actions through him, then the real doer is not he but He. So there will not be a false ego created by the person, and then he is free from any trace of separateness from Him and will dissolve his ego into the Universal Ego. He will become one with Him, a submissive one.
***
So each person becomes like a lotus. That is what a lotus is. A lotus comes from the dirt of the lake, the very bottom of the lake. It comes up all the way to the top of the water and opens up into a beautiful flower, the most beautiful flower. And even if you push that lotus inside the water, it jumps up, and all the water is drained off of it. It is always at the top of the water.
What is water? Why did great spiritual teachers choose the lotus as the symbol of realizing God? It is because water is the symbol of ether, or manifested consciousness. So the lotus comes from the dirt (world), progresses through the Spirit (ether) and eventually emerges out of ether and becomes Pure Consciousness. It comes to the top of the water; it goes to the top of the world. The world would not affect him and he walks over the water. He has overcome the water. In Pure Consciousness, the Will of God is infinitely strong!
***
He created this universe, so He knows better than anyone else how you can be happy in it. If you follow His Word, if you have a problem, it would solve all your problems because really knowing Him is knowing Self, and knowing Self is knowing Him. When you know Him or Self, how can you have any other problems? Other problems are really created by yourself.
***
Your problems are not important. Your problems are created by your mind. Just look at the pattern of your life. You are creating problems all the time, everywhere you go, anything you do, all those problems are always there. Think about it. Meditate on that.
No matter where you have been in all your life, this pattern happens to you all the time. So these problems are not going to go away. By you going away, or going on a vacation, or going from one state and going to another state your problems are not going to be solved. You cannot put your problems away.
***
Whatever happens in the world comes from God. When something bad happens, it is a warning that you are not walking on the path. When good happens, it is a reward. In other words, we can say that this world is self-sustaining: the Laws are set up in such a way that bad actions provoke bad reactions and good actions bring good return. However, God has complete control over everything.
So, a realized person will be content in both situations and will use all his efforts for His Purpose. Also we have intelligence to do our best!
***
In fact, for a realized Soul, suffering can be a blessing. It is a warning that you have gone astray from the path of the reality of this universe, or it is a lesson. Whenever you come back to the reality of the universe (the right path), you will have joy. You will “quicken” (accelerate) your Soul’s progress toward reaching the goal (Pure Consciousness). And when you do reach there, you will be in the Bliss (God).
***
When you are in the Spirit and you are doing in the Spirit, you do not worry about anything. Do not let your mind come and drag you down, “Oh, no, I should not have done that. No, this should not be. Maybe I am wrong, etc.” Meditate. When you reach that calm state of mind, in the calm state of mind that quiet voice of God tells you something which is good – if it’s not good, it is not God, remember? – if it is good, do it. It is going to give you fruit.
That quiet Voice of God is so quiet that you cannot even hear it. You think you heard it, but at the same time you do not know if you heard it or not. But it is, at the same time, very powerful and strong, and you have no doubt that it is Him. That is the Voice of God and He is guiding you toward what action is to be taken to take you to the next step.
That is what meditation is all about. Meditation is to know what is the Will of God. You know, someone asked me, “What am I supposed to do in my life? I do not know my talents.” Go meditate and hear that Voice within you clearly tell you what is the goal of your life and why you are here.
Of course, reaching that quiet Voice sometimes is difficult. We are living in a world that is noisy. It is full of pulls, attractions, and a lot of things that call us toward them. So our minds are not calm enough to hear that Voice.
That is why God sends the Scriptures, to guide you to that quiet mind. It is just like a very hard path with a lot of turns, holes, and different creatures that might snatch you up along the way. But some people eventually make it. Some of these people who have walked this path, who may have fallen a couple of times, who have been snatched by the creatures and the thorns tore up their bodies, eventually made it to the end of the road.
After they make it, they come back and tell us, “If you reach this turn, do not turn right, go left. If you reach this place, do not just step on it, jump over it, etc.” So they give you a map.
That is what the Scriptures are. They are a map for going to God, if you read them and understand them!
***
Some Great Masters call it the play, a game for God. And that is how it happens. We should not be serious about realizing God, but sincere. If you are serious it means that you are not flowing, you are not really opening your heart to God. Seriousness comes from the mind. God-realization comes from the heart. If you are too serious about realizing God, really you hide God from yourself because seriousness is a kind of, “You have to do it for me.” You are the doer.
God does not work that way. The moment you say, “You have to do it for me,” He says, “Oh yes?” He is going to do just exactly the opposite of what you want. But when you love Him completely with your heart and say, “OK if you do not want to be with me fine, still I love you,” right away you make Him completely open to you. He starts following your heart. That is the way you can really enslave God, by loving Him. That is the way you can invoke His Grace.
He is like a little child when you love Him with your heart. But when you are trying to figure Him out with your mind, then you feel he has left you. He is no longer there. That is why they say, “Entering heaven is just like walking on a tight rope.” When you walk on the tight rope, it is so hard. You have to balance yourself all the time. And that is how God works – you have to balance yourself.
***
However, the first priority in anyone’s life is to do the first work (establishing the Kingdom Of Heaven within and without, establishing Daharma). Even reaching Pure Consciousness by forsaking the world will not help you in escaping the suffering of this manifested world, because this whole universe was created in order to help All reach Pure Consciousness. If a person desired to reach Pure Consciousness and did everything necessary to only reach there himself, he would be “spue[d] out” (Rev. 3:16) of heaven back to earth to help others on the path.
***
Next Chapter Unity, or Table Of Contents.