As the approach, so the reward

“Petrol provides energy for the car to move. The manner of harnessing this energy is left to man. He can either reach his destination or meet with a mishap. If an accident happens, it is due to the driver’s fault, not that of the fuel. The job of the fuel is only to provide energy to the engine as and when it is required. Petrol has neither affinity nor hatred towards the driver”.

This lucid example by the revered Swami Chinmayananada aptly exemplifies the statement in the Gnana Yoga chapter of the Bhagawad Gita in response to the question of whether God too has any partiality towards certain people when he grants them an exalted life of high spiritual attainments and not to others. “I respond to the prayers of devotees in a manner proportionate to the sincerity and fervency of their appeal. If their wish is merely for materialistic needs, so it will be. Those who seek higher spiritual knowledge and growth will be rewarded suitably. But note, in the end, everyone is seeking only me”. 'Seeking me' is an echo of the Upanishadic dictum that every man loves his 'self' the most, 'self' meaning the indwelling divinity in him that is constantly enlivening his senses.

The nature of this inner divinity is happiness or bliss. So Divinity or God and bliss or happiness are synonymous. Thus, when the Lord says every man is finally seeking only him, it means man is only in search of bliss or happiness. And this is the observed phenomenon too in our practical lives. Everything that we do is ultimately for a gain or reward that we hope will bring us joy or happiness. Most of the time, such seeking is only for mundane, materialistic desires or wants. It is only those rare few who seek higher things like moral and spiritual growth. It is thus that the Lord says, "My response to the seeker’s appeals will reflect the type, nature and fervency of his appeals. My grace is always there, irrespective of anything else. How to attain it is left to man”. Again, as Swami Chinmayananda says, "electricity is available. Whether to use it for running a fan, a radio, a heater or something else is left to the user. Instead of expending your energy in seeking frivolous, impermanent things, utilise it for your emotional and spiritual evolution,” is the message here.