Krishna in Bhagvad Gita says, "Four types of virtuous devotees worship me: the distressed; the seekers of wealth; the one who seeks knowledge of God; and the Jnani (wise)."
A distressed person is the one who has never yet given a serious thought about God. And hence there comes a time in his life when he suffers a tremendous amount of suffering. This is a result of his or her previous Karma. And then, his suffering alleviates day by day by performing even more Karma. Eventually at some stage in his life he realizes: "I am helpless; there is nothing more I can do. The situation cannot be retrieved." This makes him cry out in distress: "Oh God save me." He prays to God to forgive all his wrong-doings. He who till now, had never given any thought …show more content…
He prays for even more. Observing that God is doing him well, he asks for more. By doing so he evolves into the second stage, that of a seeker of wealth. As he thus prays to God, his virtue (Punya) increases. At some time he is able to acquire some wealth. What does he do next? He addresses God as following: "Thank You God. However, do remember that I have two sons. Therefore, I need some more wealth." He continues to pray in this manner. This act of worship further diminishes his accumulated sins and increases his store of virtues. Thus, he makes further gains in happiness (Sukha) and is able to acquire more wealth. In this level the Bhakta continues to ask from God and has all his desires …show more content…
Thus alternating from distress to seeking prosperity, he is finally jolted by divine inspiration to see the futility of it all and become a seeker of knowledge. The third stage Bhakta starts by asking the correct questions: "Why have I taken birth? What is the purpose behind this world?" and so on. These are true marks of a seeker hankering after knowledge. Thus is his life fundamentally altered. Such a seeker realizes that there is nobody in this world who is constantly happy, nor anyone who is always unhappy. These things take place in cycles and happen to everybody. He understands that the only important issue is whether one is spiritually progressing or not. Once he is at this level, there is no going back or falling down for the Bhakta. He continues to get to hear from great saints answers to his queries, and is all the time inspired to perform more and
A distressed person is the one who has never yet given a serious thought about God. And hence there comes a time in his life when he suffers a tremendous amount of suffering. This is a result of his or her previous Karma. And then, his suffering alleviates day by day by performing even more Karma. Eventually at some stage in his life he realizes: "I am helpless; there is nothing more I can do. The situation cannot be retrieved." This makes him cry out in distress: "Oh God save me." He prays to God to forgive all his wrong-doings. He who till now, had never given any thought …show more content…
He prays for even more. Observing that God is doing him well, he asks for more. By doing so he evolves into the second stage, that of a seeker of wealth. As he thus prays to God, his virtue (Punya) increases. At some time he is able to acquire some wealth. What does he do next? He addresses God as following: "Thank You God. However, do remember that I have two sons. Therefore, I need some more wealth." He continues to pray in this manner. This act of worship further diminishes his accumulated sins and increases his store of virtues. Thus, he makes further gains in happiness (Sukha) and is able to acquire more wealth. In this level the Bhakta continues to ask from God and has all his desires …show more content…
Thus alternating from distress to seeking prosperity, he is finally jolted by divine inspiration to see the futility of it all and become a seeker of knowledge. The third stage Bhakta starts by asking the correct questions: "Why have I taken birth? What is the purpose behind this world?" and so on. These are true marks of a seeker hankering after knowledge. Thus is his life fundamentally altered. Such a seeker realizes that there is nobody in this world who is constantly happy, nor anyone who is always unhappy. These things take place in cycles and happen to everybody. He understands that the only important issue is whether one is spiritually progressing or not. Once he is at this level, there is no going back or falling down for the Bhakta. He continues to get to hear from great saints answers to his queries, and is all the time inspired to perform more and