Page 18 - Desire to Disaster

therefore try to be the best devotees on earth, with complete
commitment to god. Their commitment should be towards
dharma first, then their family, home, business, etc. If their
commitment is really towards dharma, why is not visible in
their actions? Only one thought is sufficient to truly motivate
bhakti. “I am so incredibly fortunate that I have the greatest
god! He is the lord of the three worlds! Compared to god,
money is worthless. Therefore, I should not hesitate to spend
money on worshipping and serving god. In remembrance of
god’s endless grace on me in the past, in present and in
future, I must not hesitate to spend on rituals and activities
associated with dharma.”

If the devotee feels this kind of deep devotion towards god
and realises that his worldly as well as spiritual aspirations
shall be fulfilled by god, he will not hesitate to spend money
on dharma.
Spiritual Objectives and Worldly Objectives

People do anything in order to fulfil their worldly objectives.
They find it burdensome to help their co-religionists, but find
no burden in taking care of their own family. If guests of their
liking come over, they are delighted to host them. They find
it difficult to purchase flowers for pūjā, but have no difficulty
in buying fruits and vegetables for their own consumption.
They are perfectly happy to spend outrageous amounts on
the worldly education of their children. But cringe when they
are asked to donate a small amount to support the religious
pāthaśālā conducted by their local temple for their own
children! There are many such instances that underline the
fact that people cannot perceive direct worldly benefit from
spiritual objectives and are thus unwilling to part with their
money, or make any sort of physical or mental efforts in the
direction of dharma.

18 Desire to Disaster