See the divinity of the devotee's practical life. In actuality the touchstone of devotion is the way you conduct your life. Worship and reading of scriptures, repetition of mantra, visit to temples and pilgrimages, etc. are instruments or steps of the ladder. The practical conduct is the laboratory of devotion. Have a look at this verse with utmost attention. To agitate and get agitated is a norm in normal life. When actually it benefits none-neither for the doer nor the one subject to it, neither on level of conduct nor on the level of the Truth nor spirituality. When devotion becomes an experience, then oneness with God is felt. Then inside ourselves and outside, in ourselves and others the presence of the one Lord is felt. There this state is naturally reached-

In sugar lumps there is no bitterness; in the sun there is no darkness; similarly through the life of divinely graced saintly person good is done to everyone, the light of good qualities and good feelings is shed; one gets the sweetness of divine love and divine name. By a true devotee none can be agitated or troubled under any situation. Because of mental narrowness and lack of understanding a person may take it that a particular saint has agitated him. If due to Meera's divine state Rana is agitated it is not because of Meera but because of his narrow mentality! Meera wanted Rana's welfare in any case. Hiranya kashyapu is agitated because of the engrossment of Prahlad in the name of the Lord but that is because he is in the grip of the disease of narrow-mindedness; Prahlad prayed for his deliverance in any case!

Several times people with narrow thinking, start envying and having ill-will towards saintly persons and try to agitate them. The devotee of the divine, taking this as the sport of the Lord does not allow this to have any effect on him. By positive thinking he makes this more firmly a stepping stone on the path of devotion. One sage has said-

People on seeing me took up stones

Out of them I made my home

One cannot stop winter from coming, but one can arrange to protect oneself from it. It is not possible that agitation causing situations do not arise, and that nobody should attempt to cause agitation either! Firmly established in the divine one can save oneself.

The acid test of a devotee's life is this-an agitation-free mind! People can also try and situations can also arise. The dearness of the Lord is availed only when neither one gets agitated nor causes agitation. Not only this, in favourable situations extreme elation and if there is a more favourable situation in another's life then jealousy, the nature of being fearful in any and every situation; lest this or that event should happen-absolute freedom from all this, every activity His play, seeing the Lord in everybody and equality towards all, good feelings for all, keeping the state of the mind peaceful, serene in all stales, circumstances is what are dear to the Lord! Let us see the divinity of devotion described in the Gita in greater depth and keep understanding-