(From the discourses of Pujya Sri Swamiji)

Compiled by Swami Datta Pada Renu

The Lord has classified His devotees into four. First is the sick man in distress, the second is one who is eager to know the Truth, the third is he who is a seeker after wealth and the fourth is the man of wisdom.

Although the devotee belonging to the first category, the man in distress has chosen to worship the Lord only for redressal of his grievances, slowly he will be inclined to lead a life fully devoted to God. The devotee belonging to the second category is a ëJijnaasuí, who has a curiosity to know the reality of the Supreme Godhead. He is a seeker after Truth. Out of sheer curiosity or eagerness to know the Reality, he continues the pursuit wholeheartedly. In course of time, he will also be inclined to lead a life fully devoted to God.

The third is the ëArtharthií, the one who seeks to enjoy worldly pleasures. He is full of desires to possess wealth, progeny, social status etc. His desires are so strong that he becomes an ardent devotee of the Lord with the purpose of having them fulfilled. Slowly, his faith in the Lord increases as a result of the fulfillment of his desires and he also becomes more and more devoted to the Lord.

The fourth one is the man of wisdom. He does not want material possessions or material knowledge. His devotion has not arisen out of sorrow, curiosity or desire to enjoy material pleasures. He may have some agonies or sorrows, but they do not have any power to upset him, because his mind is fully immersed in the thought of God. Such a devotee is a Jnani, a man of wisdom. Realisation of God, the Supreme Self is his goal. He spends all his time in reflection and meditation on the self.

"Of these, the wise man, ever steadfast and exclusively devoted, excels; for, I am exceedingly dear to him and he is dear to Me". (17-VII)

The distressed devotee worships the Lord for getting some relief from his agonies. The other one who is eager to know the highest Reality does so out of longing to know. The third one worships the Lord to secure some material object or pleasure. But the fourth has no desire whatsoever to satisfy and therefore he is a man of wisdom. (Jnani)

The wise man is ever steadfast (Nitya Yukta) and exclusively devoted to the Lord. His devotion to the Lord is so ardent that he does not have any interest in any partial godhead or cult except in the Lord. This type of devotion is called ëEka Bhaktií. He does not want anything from the Lord, not even mitigation of his sufferings, and not even knowledge or enlightenment. As he loves the Lord, he asks for the Lord alone and not anything from the Lord or through the Lord. So he excels or surpasses all others. For such a wise man, the Lord is exceedingly beloved and he too is beloved of the Lord.

"Noble indeed are they all, but the wise man, I regard as My very Self; for, with the mind steadfast he is established in Me alone as the Supreme goal". (18-VII)

Noble indeed are all those who worship the Lord even with the object of securing their own ends. Whatever may be the reason, they have chosen to worship the Lord and so they are good. But the wise manís devotion claims the Lord alone and nothing else, and so he is most dear to the Lord.

For the wise man, the Lord alone is the highest goal. Others seek different things - either material prosperity or removal of their diseases or acquisition of knowledge. But the wise man is different. He does not worship the Lord with any selfish motive. He worships the Lord because to him, there is nothing in the universe worth loving except the Lord. The Lord considers such a devotee as His very Self. The Lord further says:

"At the end of many births (of striving) the man of wisdom attains Me, realising that ëVasudeva is allí. Such a great soul is extremely rare". (19-VII)

The man of wisdom is he who has conquered all sorts of passions and desires belonging to the sensuous life. Therefore, his journey to Godhood takes place without any hindrance of any sort. He spends his time in the contemplation of God. He also serves his fellow beings without any selfish motive. He has been journeying along this road through many births. As a result, a time comes in his life when his mind becomes completely pure and he finds his own self getting united with the Lord, the Supreme Self. His vision expands. He sees divinity everywhere. He sees the unity of all things.