All of us living beings are differentiated expan-
sions of the Lord. But our affection for the Lord is
submerged within us, artificially covered by the
material quality of ignorance. Spiritual culture is
meant to revive this natural affection of the living
being for the Lord. The ingredients of fire are
already present in safety matches, and only mild
friction is needed to ignite a fire. Similarly, our
natural affection for the Lord has to be revived by a
little culture. Specifically, we have to receive the
messages of the Lord with a purified heart.

For spiritual realization one has to purify the
heart and know things in their true perspective. As
soon as one does this, the flow of one’s natural
affection begins to glide towards the Lord, and with
the progress of this flow one becomes more and
more self-realized in various relations with the
Lord. The Lord isthe center of all the affection of
all living beings, who are all His parts and parcels.

; When the flow of natural affection for the Lord is
clogged by desires to imitate His lordship, one is
said to be in maya, or illusion. Maya has no sub-
stantial existence, but as long as its hallucinations
go on, their reactions are felt. The Lord, by His
causeless mercy, displays the reality of life so that
our hallucinations may be completely dissipated.=
2 4 When the Lord entered the forest of Vm-

davana, all the inhabitants of the forest,
both animate and inanimate, were eager to receive
Him. He saw that the flowers of the forest, all fully
blossoming, were weeping in ecstasy, honey flow-
ing down their petals. The waterfalls on the hilly
rocks were gladly flowing, and one could hear
sweet sounds from the caves nearby.
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