THE DIVINE INSURANCE COMPANY
Swami Chidananda
Long ago, when this ashram had only seven or eight inmates, Gurudev established a school for children—Sivananda Primary School. It was inaugurated in the year 1942, and the school room was the first room in the press building, just behind where you now enter the press. Next to it was a smaller room where the teacher lived. The teacher was revered Satchidananda Maithaniji, the retired manager of the Sivananda Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Works. He had about 12 to 15 students, and he was called Masterji. Many of the students are still in this area.
Occasionally Gurudev would drop in, and he would often give the students a brief four-line lecture on one of the yogas or on divine life. One of the lectures went: “I shall now deliver a lecture on bhakti yoga is divine live. Sing like Mira. This is my lecture.” Another lecture was: “Insure your life with God. All other insurance companies may fail. But the Divine Insurance Company will never fail. This is my lecture.”
So, insure your life with God. Insure you life, not with LIC or any other public or private company, but insure your life with God. Companies may fail. Even banks and large industries fail; you may lose your investments. But the Divine Insurance Company will never fail.
There is a story of a Muslim fakir whose cottage was destroyed by monsoon rains. He lived near Delhi, and as the emperor Akbar was known to be a generous man, he approached him. At the time, the emperor was at prayer, and as he listened, the fakir overheard the emperor praying for all sorts of things—more money, larger armies, etc. After listening for a while the fakir quietly left. The emperor, sensing that someone had been near him, had his guards call the fakir back so he could enquire as to what he wanted. After being questioned, the fakir told him: “I came to ask you for something, but when I found that you yourself were asking for something from someone else, I thought that if the Being is so great that my emperor is asking for things from Him, why should I not directly ask from that Being myself. Why not ask from the Highest rather than ask from someone who himself has to ask for things.”
These thoughts occurred tome this morning because there is a tradition, a custom, which takesw place all over the north, especially in Punjab, U.P., etc., where, upon this full moon day, people tie a shining contraption upon their brother’s forearm. If they don’t have a brother they somethimes tie it on some close friend whom they regard as an elder brother. This friend thus becomes their well-wisher, their protector, their friend in time of need. He becomes a support to them, an insurance of safety, security, protection and help. They call this shining thing, made of various patterns of silk and tinsel, raksha.
And, today is the day of Rakshabandhan. Rakshabandhan is adopting a brother, as it were, depending upon someone to grant you security, protection and help, to be a support, a source of assurance that “I am not alone, I am protected.”
Now, it has occureed to me that instead of making a human being your source of protection, support, security and help, why not tie your raksha to the Supreme Being? As Gurudev said: “Insure your life with God. The Divine Insurance Company will never fail.” For if you depend upon a human individual with all his inevitable foibles and shortcomings, you may find that just when you need help, the other person may be in a condition where he himself needs help. He may need help more than you do. Such things happen. It happened to Arjuna, a person upon whom a whole army was depending. He broke down and started crying. At that time, if some lady, who had tied a raksha to Arjuna, went to him for help, what would she have got from him? He was a nervous wreck, in a state of collapse.
So, when you want to have one hundred per cent security, unfailing, absolutely assured security and guaranteed help, support and strength, then make th eDivine all this and even more. Tvameva sarvam mama deva deva. Then you are aboslutely secure. For He declares: “kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati—O Arjuna, know this well, My devotee never comes to grief. I will not allow him to come to grief.” When He says that, because He is omnipotent. His assurance is one hundred per cent absolutely certain. Therefore, the famous ending lines of a Sanskrit verse: anayatha saranam nasti tvameva saranam mama; tasmat kaunyabhavena raksha mahasvara; raksha raksha janardana (There is no refuge for me elsewhere; Thou art alone my refuge. Therefore, out of a sense of compassion protect, protect, O Supreme Lord; protect, protect, O Lord Janardana).
Time and again in our scriptures, in the Puranas, episode after episode proves this to be true, totally true. All other support may fail, but never the divine support. Draupadi proved it. Markandeya proved it. Savitri proved it. Many others proved it. And it is not only in the context of Indian spiritual history. It has been proved in the lives of mystics throughout human history, in the West and in all parts of the world—the unfailing hands of God.
Therefore, this should be the firm conviction in the heart of a believer, in the heart of a devotee: “When I have God, what do I lack? Even if I have everything in this world, but have not God, I have nothing. I am lost. I am finished. But if I have God, even if the whole world is against me, I have everything.
“Jako rakhe saia, mar na sake koi—One who is protected by God, no one can even harm a single hair on his head.” This is the experience of the great devotees and mystics, the real, dedicated devotees and mystics, who always dwelt in God and for whom God was sufficient, their all-in-all. God alone was their wealth. He alone was their support, strength, helper—everything. “When I have You. I have everything.”
Thus, one of my psalms in the Old Testament says:
The Lord is my shpherd, I shall not want;
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
he restores my sould.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.
Thus the prophet tells about God’s protection when he befriends a man: “When I have Him, I shall not lack anything. He will make me invincible. I shall go through the valley of death fearlessly. He will support me. My enemies cannot approach me.” Then man has nothing to fear. Be fearless!
These assurances are given here and there in different parts of scriptures like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas. Many thrilling episodes are there, when those who interfered with the lives of true devotees had to realise their mistake and apologise for it. Someone tried to interfere with a great devotee called Ambarisha. He was also not an ordinary man, but he had to pay for his arrogance. He had to eat humble pie and kneel before Ambarisha in order to escape the wrath of God, because he tried to interfere with the life of one who had totally surrendered himself into the hands of God.
So this practice of Rakshabandhan or tying a raksha around someone’s hand gave rise to this thought in this new direction. Is it not one hundred per cent better tomake the Supreme Being our protector, our helper, our support, our brother, our friend in need? What wiser step could one take then to make of Him what you are trying to make of a frail, imperfect human being?
So, just as Gurudev taught in his lecture to the children, “Insure your life with God. He is unfailing, even so, with perfect faith and belief really and truly make God your all-in-all. Then you have nothing to fear. You are absolutely secure. No harm can befall you.
This has been the experience of many bhaktas. And what has been, is true even today, and shall always be true in the lives of firm believers and true devotees of God who do atmanivedana or atmasmarpana (self-surrender). As long as the sun, moon and stars shine in the sky, this will be a fact that can never be cancelled, never be falsified. It will be proven again and again. It is an eternal truth: on who depends upon God lacks nothing.
Therefore, if you want to have a sure, certain, unfailing and fully capable supporter, helper, well-wisher, you can depend upon Him. He will be the most unfailing, absolutely certain and totally capable helper to you, at all times, in all circumstances, amidst all difficulties and problems. For, some things may be possible fo rman and some things may be impossible for man, but nothing is impossible to God.
Therefore, the greatest thing you can do is to tie your Rakshabandhan to your divine father, mother, brother, sister, friend, helper, supporter, well-wisher, protector, security. What could be wiser then this? Let us, therefore, be wise and rejoice and be carefree in the sure protection, the unfailig protection, the omnipotent protection of God, who is our nearest and dearest!”
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