Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! We are here in Your presence because of Your Infinite Grace and Mercy. Your Blessings have brought us all here. We bask in the sunshine of bliss bestowed on us by Your Divine darshan, sparshan and sambhashan. Do we still need merit from past lives and the samskaras?

Bhagavan: The present state of bliss and the merit from past lives are both essential and they should go together. They are closely interrelated. Take this example. Here the soil is sandy. When there are heavy rains, water sinks into the soil or gets absorbed in the soil. The same is the situation with you at present. Therefore, devotion doesn’t remain steady. But, suppose there is a flow of river water, what happens when it rains? Water will flow with greater vigour than before. Similarly, your present blessed opportunity of being with Me is like rainwater. If you have good samskaras from your past life like the water flow of a river, the blissful state you are experiencing now will continue with more vigour.

God’s Grace is like a shower of rain. Your merit from the past will enable you to contain it. So, I tell you often to retain the good luck, the opportunity, and the privilege given to you. You draw water out of the well in a bucket. But you have to pick up the bucket full of water yourself. On the other hand, if you drop it in the middle, what happens? You can’t collect water, can you? However, there is one important thing. If you love God intensely, you can achieve anything. As human effort increases, God’s Grace also lends strength and intensity to the effort, which ultimately leads man to success.

Source: ‘Satyopanisad’ by Prof. Anil Kumar Kamaraju