Bible Discourse 29 Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness The sermon on the Mount, Part lV

Discourse 29

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and His Righteousness

The sermon on the Mount, Part lV

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or elso he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.   Are ye not ye much better than they?

“which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And I say unto you, that even the Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye little faith?

“Therefore take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink? or, ‘Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’ (For after all these things do these Gentiles seekJ for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of ieself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”                                                           --Matthew 6:24--34      

No one can serve two contradictory ideals with equal devotion. Either man who has more devotion and attraction towards spirituality and God can not deviate his devotion towards material things.  God and mammon are two different ideals. God is reality, eternal, and forever. Mammon is temporary. He/she was not there yesterday, He/she is present now, and He/she she may not be present tomorrow. Those who hold to the one –attached to material wealth, will despise the other—will abhor the requisites for seeking God.

Jesus said: Do not pay more attention to material things instead of giver of life. Man’s principal thought should be on God the Father. Seeking the kingdom of God first is the cardinal message of Jesus.  It is the surest way to finding lasting peace and happiness. To possess God is to own the universe.

Ananyaas chintayanto maam  Ye janaah paryupaasate

Teshaam nityaabhi yuktaanaam Yogakshemam vahaamyaham    Gita 9--22

Those who do not have any other feeling expect Me (God), doing karma fixing their mind firmly on Me, and meditating incessantly on Me, are being guarded and guided by Me.

Man should seek God first and then material possessions. “Take no thought for your life.’  Jesus did not excuse reckless disregard for the principles of healthful, successful living. Why to desire for material wants when life itself comes from God. 

Jesus said: “Behold the fowls of the air…”   They do live or living as God feeds them from nature’s bounty.  They do not have store houses or riches in the bank.  Sparrows and ravens made to live due to the mercy of God. Humans are more important living beings. Hence definitely man should get his alms.  If he loves and trusts Heavenly Father beyond his life, then God definitely loves him in return.

Man thinks that he can live on his own and as such he cannot be equal to God. God’s laws can be transcended unto him if he does Kriya yoga or some other equivalent ancient Yoga techniques that makes him united with God.  He cannot add one cubit unto his stature.

Man is directly sustained by God,  Nature, and on his own effort.  Man cannot get earn or get everything by himself. The basic realms of life i.e., air, water, and sunlight has to be provided by God the Father. Man cannot make grain though he wields God’s laws to propagate it.  Man cannot make the power to digest food, nor the life force that transforms the grain chemicals into his cellular tissues.  Remember that all things are evanescent. 

“O ye of little faith” see how God clothes the grasses with green attire for their short span of life. “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all the things”.   “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” is to concentrate on the Eternal Life.  Houses, money, automobiles may be necessary to modern existence. It does not mean that without them man cannot survive. Try to keep your wants to bare minimum so that you will be able to allot or allocate more and more time for God.

A wandering sadhu need not need not renounce everything or he may not retreat into a mountain cave.  “na prajaya na dhanena na tapasa tyagenekaiva amrutasya manasuhu”   By renouncing the world and its temptations and living in remote seclusion man cannot find God.  He will be hunted by past habits of past incarnations. You cannot keep the mind idle and as such keep the mind busy with meditation.  Live happily with Yogi’s life rather than becoming a monk.   Monk’s life is well suited for very few people.

Nakarmanaa manaarambhaa naishkarmyam purushosnute

Nachasannya sanaadeva siddhim Samadhigachchati   Gita 3--4

Without doing Karma, actions, man will not attain the actionless state of soul wisdom. Merely relinquishing Karma, no one can attain liberated state.

35 or 40 years of continuous Government service shall make you eligible to get pension. Then only one will be able to eat without doing any service.

Sri Bhagavan uvaacha:--

Anaasritah Karmaphalam Kaaryam Karma karoti yah

Sa Sanyaseecha yogeecha naniragnirnachaakriyah     Gita 6--1

Sri Bhagavan said:--

The one who does his Karma without expecting any results, he is a sannyasi, and Yogi.  

Sat nyaasi sannyasi that the one who quests for truth is Sannyasi. The one who does fire ceremony and leaves fire or the one who does not do any karma at all, shall not become a

Sannyasi , or Yogi. 

One has to do the assigned kriyayoga karmas  and should go within. Without doing this, just by doing Physical sacrifices merely, one cannot become a Sannyasi.

Yam sannyaasamiti Praahuh yogam tam viddhi Paandava

Na hyasannyasta samkalpo yogee bhavati kaschana    Gita 6--2

He Arjun, the one that is being said as Sannyasam or renunciation in scriptures is known as Yoga.  Because the one who has not given up the results of Karma cannot become a Yogi.

Yoga means to meet. By using steady mind and  get united with Parabrahman is yoga. 

So one should do Karma and then sacrifice. Without Karma Sacrifice is useless. Even worldly knowledge i.e., commom sense also cannot be attained without doing Karma.  Then how pure wisdom can be got without Meditation. Meditation is called Dhyana Karma.

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In fact, the human MIND works on a simple fundamental principle, input and out..! We just have to be conscious and aware... as to what we "Think...., and choose Wisely..! " It takes a bit of practice..! What we "see," what we "read," what we "talk" and ultimately Do., becomes & manifests as.. what we call LIFE. The good thing is we are in charge of our own MIND.. if we choose to...!

"Sattva-shuddhih saumanasya ikagry endriyajaya atmadarshana yogyatvani cha "                        Pathanjali Yoga Suthra, 2.41

Meaning: The capacity for clarity, cleanliness, cheerfulness and intentness, as well as mastery over the senses, ultimately give rise to Aanada.

"Yatho Hasta thatho Drishti, Yatho Drishti thatho Manah Yatho Manah thatho Bhaava, Yatho Bhaava thatho Rasa"  Bharata Muni, Natya Sasthra

Meaning: ...where the mind goes, there is an expression of inner feeling (bhaava) and where there is bhaava, the emotional or aesthetic impression (rasa) ..is evoked..! 

One should not thrive for material comforts and neglect God.  Why give so much importance to something which has to be cast away at moment’s notice? Do not think of yourself as a mortal body. Swami sri Yukteswar, my Great kriya yoga Guru used to say give the  body its share of sleep, food, etc. Don’t give it a bit more than required.

Once you are completely understood the play of Maya or duality, then nothing will detract from the cherished spiritual goal. Right way of seeking God’s kingdom is by way of yoga science of meditation.

Jesus had the ultimate realization and said: “I and my Father are One.”   That is how he could feed five thousand people with two fishes and five loaves of bread, and could re-create his body after death.  No scientist could duplicate it.

Man’s efforts are bound by the laws of cause and effect.  He cannot get more than he deserves. Christ’s way to happiness is in seeking God within and keeping material life simple.  “To be one with the Supreme Being is to have destroyed all the roots of suffering”. That is real freedom. If you wanted to live like Christ, you must meditate first, material life simple, and attend to your duties dutifully.

The spiritual life may be difficult but so is the way to material life.  To become a master in Engineering, and medicine etc is a difficult task.  One may be rich but if he is spiritually poor then what is the use?  One must keep his body and mind strong to aid one’s efforts to find God.  That is why Jesus said:  “Seek ye God first then everything will be added unto you.”          

“God alone, and “His righteousness,” is the sole source of all real happiness.  It is the foundation of the many commandments given by Jesus: “Ye who are wise, ye who are thinkers, seek God first; for to find Him is to open the door to all His gifts of health, power, financial sufficiency, wisdom.  God is no miser wilfully withholding His everythingness from His children.  Man has but to learn how to receive”.   

One must put God first in one’s daily life.  “He who watcheth Me always, him do I watch.  He never loses sight of Me, nor do I lose sight of him.  He looks at Me through the riches of space, and I behold him through the pores of the sky.”   

Yomaam pasyatisarvatra sarvancha mayipasyati

Tasyaaham na pranasyaami sachamena pranasyati            Gita 6--30

The Sadhak who beholds himself in all beings, and all beings in himself, then definitely he can find me, and also I will not lose sight of him.

Jesus summarized: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”