Such a cleansed heart is the most appropriate altar, or tabernacle. In that fragrant bower, the Lord will establish Himself; at that very moment, another incident too will happen; the group of six vices that had infested the place will quit without so much as a farewell.
When these vices quit, the wicked retinue of evil tendencies and vulgar attitudes which live on them will break camp and disappear, without leaving even their addresses! Then, man will shine in his native splendour of truth and love (Sathya and Prema); he will endeavour without hindrance, to realise himself; and, finally, he will succeed in merging with the universal and eternal. He will liberate himself from the tangle of ignorance, or Maya. His mind will fade away; the long-hidden secret will be revealed to him; he will discover his Madhavathwa (divinity).
Man's nature is Prema, love. He cannot survive a moment when deprived of love. It is the very breath of his life. When the six vices, to which he was attached so long, disappear, love is the only occupant of the heart; but love has to find an object, a loved one. It cannot be alone. So, it is directed to the dark-blue divine child, the charming cowherd-boy who is purity personified, who is the embodiment of service, sacrifice and selflessness, who has taken residence in that cleansed altar. There is no scope now for any other attachment to grow. So, step by step, this love for Madhava becomes deeper, purer, more self-denying until at last, there is no other need for thought and the individual is merged in the universal.
When Vaasudeva enters the heart of man, Vasudeva has no longer a place therein. In other words, when the Deva of Vasu or wealth is seated in the heart, the divine Vaasudeva or Krishna cannot dwell therein.
Any attempt to accommodate both in the heart is bound to fail. Darkness and light cannot exist at the same time and in the same place; they cannot continue together. Dhanam and Daivam cannot be joint ideals; when Dhanam or riches are sought, Daivam or God cannot also be achieved. If both are sought by man what he will achieve will be neither Dhanam nor Daivam but Dayyam (the devil).
It is creditable if man behaves as man; it is laudable if he behaves as the Madhava, he really is. But, to behave as a demon or as a beast is despicable indeed. For, man was long born a mineral and died as a mineral; then, he promoted himself as a tree. He was long born a tree and died as a tree; but, in the process, he got promoted as an animal; but he has now risen to the status of man. This rise from one scale to another has been acknowledged by science and spiritual experience. Now, alas! He is born as man and dies as man. It is a greater shame if he slides into a beast or a beastly ogre. Praise is his due only if he rises to the divine status. That is real fulfilment of his destiny.
Therefore, avoid contact with vices; develop attachment to virtues; transmute the heart into an altar for the Lord; destroy all the shoots and sprouts of desire; then, your Manasa-sarovaram (the lake of your inner consciousness) will be sublimated into a Ksheera-sagara, (the pure ocean of milk, whereon the Lord reclines on the serpent-couch). Your real self will, like the celestial Hamsa, revel in the placid waters of that lake, thus transformed. It will discover endless delight.
