Priority of the Soul

If you want My help, you have to do what I tell you. (Interview with Mrs. Rani Subramanian):

Once Bhagawan called Rani Maa and said: “Rani Maa, I have to tell you something about a gentleman, who is a businessman.” I was wondering why He should tell me about some businessman! But I didn’t ask Him anything. He said: “One businessman came to Me and I gave him an interview. Once, in the interview, he told Me he had a lot of problems and was under great tension and stress because of those business problems. I told him I would give him some spiritual practices to do and to come and see Me after sometime.

“He came after some time, and again I called him for an interview, and I asked him how his business problems were. ‘It must be less, isn’t it?’ He said, ‘No Swami! It is just the same!’ I asked him, ‘How can it be just the same? No! It cannot be! Did you do what I had asked you to do?’ I had given him some instructions… ‘do this in the morning and that in the evening’…etc.

“He said: ‘Swami! What can I say! I was so busy and so caught up in my own problems, I could hardly find time to do Your practice that You advised.” Then Swami asked him a question: “Okay, you were very busy and didn’t have time to do your spiritual practices. But at that time, when you were so busy, did you give up your morning coffee?” He said: “No, I didn’t.” “What about your breakfast? Did you give that up? Even if you didn’t have it at the right time, you must have had it later? Is it not?” He said: “Yes, Swami; I didn’t miss my breakfast.” “Did you miss your lunch?” He said: “No.” “Your tea?” “No.” “Your dinner?” He said: “No.”

Then He told him: “How many sittings you had for deha (the body); shareer ahara (food for the body) – coffee, breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner! 5 sittings for the body! Which you have to drop any day! But your atma (spirit), which is your true nature, which is really going to bless you, and keep you peaceful and happy - atma level alone can give you that; shareera (body) level will not give you that – but for that you didn’t give even one sitting? And you want My Grace? How can I give you Grace?”

Swami told me: “See, people want My Grace, but they don’t obey My instructions.” He told him: “Atma ahaara (food for the spirit) is more important than shareera ahara (food for the body).” I don’t know what He told him to do, but if He told him to do Gayatri for an hour, then he should have given that a priority. That’s what Swami told me: “You people should give priority to My instructions and not to what you want to do.”

He told the businessman: “By not following Swami’s instruction, your atma will starve. You have given priority to food for the body and no importance to the soul; how can I help you? If you want My help, you have to do what I tell you. That should be your priority.”