MANEUVERING THROUGH DISTRACTIONS

"Attraction to distraction causes serious inhibition in one's devotion."

When someone practices spiritual life sincerely, he or she is given all facilities for comfort and enjoyment. Why? For the simple reason that God wants to award the best of the best facilities for His sincere devotee. But, it is the onus of the devotee to use these facilities carefully for rendering better and better service to the Lord and not get allured and strayed away from the path of unalloyed devotion to God because settling for anything other than service to God is settling for less than the best. 

THE OCEAN OF DISTRACTION

Therefore, it is so important for devotees to refocus on a daily basis by diligently reading scriptures, by sincerely offering heartfelt prayers, by rendering menial service and by humbly associating with saintly devotees and thus remind ourselves on, what is truly valuable and what is a mere distraction to achieve that which is truly valuable. The illusions of this world is too tempting for anyone to resist. Only those who are extremely sincere and humble can hope to cross this ocean of unlimited material distractions and reach the shore of unlimited spiritual attraction to the Supreme Lord.

THE ISLAND OF ILLUSION

The scriptures are filled with examples of devotees from ancient times to recent times, who have showed integrity and focus on higher principles in the midst of irresistible temptations and allurements. We will see two such examples. One from ancient times and one from recent times. The first example and probably one of the best examples of a servant of the Lord who passed the test of distraction is the celebrated monkey god, Hanumanji. In his mission to search for Mother Sita, he had to inspect all the most beautiful and enchanting women of Ravana scrutinizingly studying them from top to bottom, trying to find out who Sita was. After all, one has to look for a women in amidst women, isn't it! 

But, the greatness of Hanumanji is that, not for one moment, he lost his focus on his goal and tried to enjoy these damsels even mentally in the name of service. Many times, where the service mentality ends and where the enjoyment mentality begins is very difficult to ascertain. Only one who is thoroughly honest and sincere can understand the difference between the two. No wonder, Lord Rama chose Hanuman to do this service. If it was for any other monkey, they would have probably not returned. The would have obtained a permanent visa for Lanka, the island of illusion and become a servant of Ravana and forsaken the service of Lord Rama. Probably, this is one of the reason that millennia later also people worship Hanumanji as one of their favorite deity because of his unwavering focus to worship his favorite deity, Lord Rama. 

THE PERSONIFICATION OF ILLUSION

The second example of a devotee from recent times who showed extreme focus and devotion to the Lord despite insurmountable distraction is Naamachrya Haridas Thakur. Once, Maya Devi herself, who is the personification of all illusion came to allure Haridas in a secluded place with all her prowess. Just imagine. We are attracted helplessly to a glimpse of Maya's power, what will it be if Maya appears in front of us and voluntarily proposes to enjoy with us? Just imagining is scary, what to speak of witnessing it. Anyway as the story continues, Haridas was so focused on his chanting the Holynames of Krishna that he was unshaken by her charms and gestures showing the world through his example that, the only way to safeguard oneself from the onslaught of illusion is to keep oneself busy and absorbed in the service of the Lord. The greatness of Haridas Thakur is that, Maya Devi fell at his feet, surrendered to him and became his disciple. 

THE PRAYER AGAINST DISTRACTION

Thus, let us be inspired by these heroes and try to be as focused as possible in our devotion to God and develop attraction towards Him that we can overcome the unlimited distractions of this world. I am ending this article with one prayer that can help us be focused on a day to day basis while maneuvering in this world of distractions. This is a super-excellent prayer from Sri Chaitanya Shikshashtakam chanted by Lord Chaitanya Himself.

na dhanaṁ na janaṁ na sundarīṁ

kavitāṁ vā jagad-īśa kāmaye

mama janmani janmanīśvare

bhavatād bhaktir ahaitukī tvayi

"O Almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor to enjoy beautiful women. Nor do I want any number of followers. What I want only is the causeless mercy of Your devotional service in my life, birth after birth."

 

- Achyut Gopal Das