This is another article by His Holiness Shri Shri Nimishananda which appeared in the 'Speaking Tree' of the TOI.

Divinity is Attained with Unconditional Love
10 May 2006, 0000 hrs IST

Discourse: Shri Nimishananda

All of us are aware of our bodies. Whether we are young or old, slim or plump, tall or short, we feel a sense of belonging to our body and identify ourselves with it. Likewise, though we cannot see our mind, we are constantly aware of it through our thoughts.

Sometimes our thoughts are good. At other times they are either neutral or negative. Negative thoughts and emotions shatter peace of mind and cloud our judgment. Then our words and actions become negative as well and we end up hurting people around us.

On the other hand, all of us frequently do helpful things. These are good actions, but the intentions behind them may not always be selfless. For ins-tance, we may give alms to a beggar simply to get rid of him and stop him from pestering us.

We may donate to a charity to create a good impression or gain publicity. We may help somebody hoping for a favour from him later. So we must carefully examine the attitude with which we give. Doing good is not enough, being good is far more important.

We need to share our talents, time or wealth with others expecting nothing in return. The scriptures tell us that nobi-lity is the doorway to Divinity. Selfishness, negative thoughts, emotions and actions take us away from Divinity.

Selflessness, noble thoughts and emotions take us closer to Divinity. Emotions help us to feel divinity. The greatest emotion is love. Today love is only pertaining to family, friends and acquaintances around us. It filters down according to the proximity of our relationships.

To feel divinity, our love should go beyond relationships. We should extend our love to everybody. Today we have alienated divinity from us because our love does not reach everybody. Even the kind of love we are used to is all about "expectations".

For example, if we are showing love to someone today and that person doesn't reciprocate as expected by us then we start hating that very person whom we liked moments ago. So even the emotion called love fails here. The very base of divinity is love.

So we clearly fail to feel divinity. The experience of divinity for wise people is that they had no separate relationship with another human being in their minds. All human beings were only an extension of the Creator. Wise men showered unconditional love not only on human beings but also on all other living beings.

That was how ahimsa was established. Love one and all. We then not only feel divinity, we can also establish it in our hearts and learn to pray universally. Usually, even our prayers are self-centred. We present a list of desires to God and ask him to grant them.

Sages ask us to rise above ourselves and pray for the people around us and for the welfare of the world. When we engage in this kind of selfless prayer regularly, it purifies us and helps to establish us in a state of nobility. When we are established in a state of nobi-lity, we draw close to Divinity.

As we draw closer to Divinity it wells up from the soul and overflows. We are enveloped in peace, bliss and contentment. We have finally tapped the divine core within.

When each and every pore in our body is oozing with Divinity it becomes a mantle to encircle the world and peace reigns supreme.

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