God is waiting for us…
The Mahabharat war is over. Shri Bhishmaji painfully lies on a bed of arrows in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Pitamah Bhishma is ready to depart his soul from the mortal body. All the sages, saints, politicians, family members and the Pandavas have come to visit him during his end time.
Bhishmaji has been eagerly waiting for Lord Krishna, who now stands with a mesmerising smile on His face in front of Pitamah Bhishma.
Ordinarily, God awaits us from the moment we separate from Him and begin to walk the path of life. When we walk into a temple, we see God standing in front of us. God is not seated. This symbolises that God is waiting for us. When will my devotee come? When will I see my beloved devotee?
There is a popular true story about saint Dadudayal. One day, it was raining heavily. Dadu was seated in his shop. Due to the rain, there were no customers. Dadu was doing his accounts. He was struggling to find the error so that his accounts could balance.
In the meantime, Dadu’s Guru arrived. Gurudev noticed that Dadu was busy inside the shop. Dadu’s Gurudev stood outside drenching in the rain without disturbing Dadu. Half an hour later, Dadu identified the error in his accounts, completed them and glanced outside the shop.
He immediately saw his Gurudev drenching outside in the rain. On knowing that his Guru had been waiting for so long, Dadu fell at his Guru’s feet. Gurudev lifted Dadu, looked in his eyes and said, “You were pained to have seen me standing outside and waiting for you for the past thirty minutes. Then look Dadu, God has been waiting for you for many births. How long will you keep God standing?”
Dadu awakened on hearing this. He detached himself from the material world and dedicated his life to God.
Pitamah Bhishma said to God, “Please don’t leave. Stand here and wait for me to depart.”
God is waiting for us too! Let us spend at least ten percent of our day with Him. If not, at least ten minutes in a day with Him and show Him our gratitude and love.
Happy Makar Sakranti!