Being Carefree

Master watches over us like a loving parent caring for and protecting his child. Maharaj Charan Singh compares this to the mother, who continually keeps an eye on her baby while she goes about her business. As long as the baby is content and playing with toys, she lets the child play; but when the baby tires of the toys and notices his mother’s absence, he begins to cry. Then the mother goes to the child, picks him up, and comforts him. The child only thinks about his mother when he grows tired of the toys, but the mother is always watching the child even though the child is unaware of the mother’s presence. She cannot be indifferent to him.

We have an even stronger connection with the Lord. The Lord is never unmindful of us for even a second. We are never alone. When we sense Master’s loving presence, we know that we are safe and secure and that he is watching, guiding, and protecting us at every step. When we realize that the Lord is watching over us like the mother and her baby, then our behaviour changes. We begin to behave so that he will like what he sees, and we will win his favour.

Yet, there are times when we forget that the Master is watching over us, and cares and worries take control of our mind. Stressful situations arise, and we can easily forget him. The Master encourages us to remain positive and to refrain from fear even in stressful situations. Perhaps we first experienced this feeling of separation when we left our true home and identified ourselves as separate beings in the creation.

Fear is very different from love. In love, we feel unity with the Lord; in fear, we act as if we are separate from him. Love is the only reality. Saints assure us that love is our inherent nature. It is a spark of God that is placed within us when he created us. The remedy for fear is love. Dr. Gerald Jampolsky writes in Love is Letting Go of Fear:

“To give is to receive” this is the law of Love. Under this law, when we give our Love away to others we gain, and whatever we give we simultaneously receive. The law of Love is based on abundance; we are completely filled with Love all the time, and our supply is always full and running over. When we give our Love unconditionally to others with no expectations of return, the Love within us extends, expands, and joins. So by giving our Love away, we increase the Love within us, and everyone gains.

Master’s love flowing through us detaches us from all the shadows of life – all that we fear or find hard or difficult to bear – and makes us carefree. Spiritual love is our means of rising above the false, dense nature of maya. In this love, we find abundance. Rather than feeling that something is lacking, we realize our unity with the Lord within us.

On the spiritual path, we demonstrate and grow our love by doing our meditation. Meditation is essential for us to learn to let go and become carefree. We don’t know what’s best, but he does. As we evolve spiritually, we learn to trust him. When we faithfully do our spiritual work – our meditation – we realize that Master is the one in charge, and he will get things done according to what is best for our spiritual development. We must devote our time to meditation and learn to let go of the world and its problems. Hazur states in Legacy of Love, “If you give your problem to the Master, then there’s no problem. We give it to him to solve it – but we remain obsessed with the problem. That is not giving it to the Master.”

Over time, we learn to trust in the Divine and to give up our obsessions, worries, and cares. When we truly give our problems to him, surrender ourselves to him, then our problems become his, not ours, and no matter how dire the situation, we can be at peace with whatever results occur. In life we neglect many things – why not forget to worry? Instead of worrying, we can do simran and remember Master with love and faith. This attitude, born of spiritual awareness, will make us carefree and bring peace. The Master knows what we need. We can leave the results to him and focus on doing our best with faith and trust.

Paltu explains so beautifully in his poem “The Watchman,” how disciples become carefree when we develop the awareness that the Lord is always watching over us.

Paltu sleeps carefree –
  the Lord himself is his watchman.…
Stretched full length, he sleeps relaxed;
  at his sight, his enemies flee.
When the Lord himself stands guard,
  who can harm a hair on Paltu’s head?
Unconcerned am I– what is mine is his;
  it’s for him now to take care of me.
I have no further worries;
  all my cares are now on his shoulders.
Not for a moment does he forget me –
  he is in touch with me at all times.
One who has passed on his burden to the Lord
  and cares not what others think,
Sleeps, O Paltu, carefree,
  for the Lord himself is his watchman.

How fortunate are to have a true Master to watch over, teach, and guide us every step of the way. By following his instructions, we become carefree.