DEVOTION PURIFIES OUR SOUL

There’s a temple that takes cleaning very seriously. I often see the temple staff scrubbing and mopping the floor. Even with routine cleaning, we discover that filth and/or unclean water leak out. I have never seen the water being clean and clear after the cleaning procedure. I want to see the day when the cleaning procedure leaves the water clean (i.e., no dirt is released). But given how many devotees and items enter and exit the temple on a daily basis, this does not appear to be feasible. Similarly, we encounter the internal and external flow of worldly ideas that contaminate our hearts. A clean heart may become polluted very quickly. Take a look at how pure or innocent a youngster between the ages of two and three is. After then, impurity rises with each year that goes by. The youngster picks up on lying from the elders, and a number of negative traits start to show out in his actions. It takes a lot of work to cultivate kindness in the spirit and intellect and to learn it via observation. However, negative things quickly and effortlessly lodge in our minds and spirits. It is really hard to ingest virtue and to maintain it. However, because negative things are ingested naturally and don’t need our intervention, they are relatively simple to maintain. We must take several safeguards and make great efforts to ensure that negative things do not attach to us. It takes a lot of work to get rid of the negative things that are in our minds and spirits. Thus, having unadulterated devotion to the Lord is the simplest approach to accomplish this. Because of our dedication, the company of the Lord maintains our mind and spirit pure and orderly. The company of the Lord has an exceptional and distinct ability to purify our mind and spirit on its own. analogous to how computer anti-virus software works in the background to remove viruses and prevent unauthorized items from accessing the system. Similarly, dedication keeps harmful things and pollutants out of the mind and spirit and purifies them from the inside out. Nothing in the world has the strength or capacity to purify our mind and spirit. This strength, this power, is found only in the devotion to God. For instance, someone who is devoted to and fearful of God would never act in an immoral, unethical, or unprincipled manner. because he is aware that his immoral deeds will bring him punishment when he dies and that his tarnished soul prevents him from passing through the gates of God’s kingdom. As a result, his love and dedication to the Lord purify his mind and spirit to the point that he spends his life on Earth shunning all negative things. Such a person will not engage in bribery or corruption, nor will he commit commercial malpractices, adultery, or the dishonest theft of another person’s rights. We shall never see a day in this world when our souls do not get tainted. The world will constantly spread impurities, and the only way we can consistently purify our souls is with commitment. the act when we refuse to be drawn to bribes, when we uphold our morals and ideals in life, when we refrain from engaging in unethical business activities, and when adultery is only conceivable because of our strong commitment. These are the real qualities of unadulterated devotion. If the outcome is different, then our commitment is fake rather than genuine, and it will not help us. The only and simplest approach to fight off dirty thoughts, unjustified cravings, and desires is to have unadulterated devotion to the Lord. The key to pure thinking, faultless conduct, sincere wants, and selfless desires is pure devotion to the Lord.