41 - Real Birthsign

A small boy aged 7-8 years lived abroad. Once he came to visit Mama. He bowed down to Mama. Mama blessed him. Mama asked, ‘Have you come alone? Are your parents not accompanying you?’ The boy answered, ‘Mama, I have come alone. My parents are at home. Here, I am staying with my relatives.' Mama praised him, ‘You are bold enough to come alone from abroad.’ The child had a habit of asking sunsign to everyone. He asked Mama too, ‘Mama, what is your sunsign?’ Mama asked, ‘What will you do knowing my sunsign?’ The child explained, ‘From sunsign, we can know the characteristics of a person. we can find out his qualities and peculiarities. We can know a little bit about his virtues - drawbacks etc.’

Mama was laughing. He thought, ‘This child wants to know my sign. He wants to know my personality traits! All right!’ Mama told, ‘My sunsign is Divine Power.’ The child was surprised. He asked, ‘what is that sign? There is no sign by that name.’ Mama teased him, ‘That is my sign. I have Divine Power.’ The child was confused, ‘Mama, what is the meaning of Divine Power?’ Mama explained, ‘Divine Power means spiritual strength of God. This strength is always with me.’ The child asked, ‘Mama, what could you do with that power?’ Mama explained, ‘Let me explain it to you. The person who has this power is fully self-confident. He can perform all the tasks very well. He has positive attitude. God responds to his prayers. He is not afraid of anyone. He never gets discouraged. God accompanies him eternally.’ The child asked, ‘Mama, I ask a lot of questions. Wouldn’t you feel annoyed? ’ Mama replied, ‘No, if children ask me questions, I like it very much. I will explain you everything. I will give proper answers to all the questions. You can ask as many questions as you like.’

The child was delighted. The child asked, ‘What is the meaning of "God accompanies eternaly"?’ Mama explained, ‘Eternally, means all the time. He is not separated from God even for a single second. Not even for the tiniest part of a second. That is called eternal unity with God. A person who is eternally united with God, gets Divine Power.’ The child asked, ‘Only you have Divine Power? Can anyone else achieve it?’ Mama explained, ‘Why not? Anyone can certainly get it.’ The child asked with a lot of excitement, ‘Can I attain Divine Power?’ Mama replied, ‘Certainly.’ The child asked, ‘What should I do to achieve Divine Power?’ Mama explained, ‘You must remember God always. You must recite the name of God continuously.’ The child asked, ‘But always means all the time. Then how could we study? How could we perform other tasks?’ Mama explained, ‘This is required at the final stage. You must remember God before (while) starting any work. You must request God to join you in your work. You must pray Him to make you successful in your task. You must pray with full involvement of your heart. Even if you drink water, you must remember God. Thus you must remember God while performing every activity. In your spare time, you must recite the name of God. In this way, you will progress slowly.’

The child inquired, ‘How long does it take for God to accompany us always?’ Mama clarified, ‘God is always with us. But we do not realize it, because we are not aware of it.' The child inquired, ‘We are accompanied by God all the time, even then I don’t have Divine Power?’ Mama replied, ‘When we remember God ceaselessly, God grants us Divine Power gradually.’ The child inquired, ‘Gradually means when?’ Mama started laughing. He explained, ‘Listen! If you want to achieve a degree in your studies, how many years do you have to study? You have already started your studies, right? You will study for many years till you grow up, isn’t it?’ The child replied, ‘Yes, I will have to study for fifteen to seventeen years.’ Mama continued, ‘If you study for seventeen years, you can achieve a degree of this world. Imagine the greatness of the ultimate Lord Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwan! He is divine. To attain His divinity, one has to work for a few years, isn’t it? We must have the knowledge of God. As a teacher is required while studying, similarly on spiritual path also we need a true guide. We can progress with the help of true guidance.’ The child said earnestly, ‘Mama, I want to please God. I want to attain Divine Power. Would you guide me?’ Mama consented, ‘Certainly, Son! God has sent me to guide you all.’ The child was delighted. He bowed down to Mama. Mama blessed him.

Difficult words:
Peculiarity - Special quality or characteristic
Tease - To make fun
Eternally - Ever lasting
Earnestly - Sincerely

Points to ponder:
- An Anadimukta appears to spread the knowledge of Shreeji Maharaj among the living beings and to guide them on spiritual path.
- One of the qualities of an Anadimukta is that he has answers to all the questions of a seeker.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. How old was the child?
2. What did the child ask Mama?
3. What did Mama say about his sunsign?
4. What could a person perform who has Divine Power of Maharaj?
5. How does God join us eternally?
6. How could children get united with God all the time?
7. Whose guidance is required to attain the Divine Power of God?

Fill in the blanks:
1. Divine Power means _____________ of God.
2. Eternally means __________ eternal unity with God.
3. Imagine the greatness of ___________ work for a few years, isn’t it?