Pramukh Swami Maharaj was in Euclid, USA. Sureshbhai came with his son, Nilesh, who had stopped doing puja. However, since Nilesh was now travelling with the sadhus, he wanted to start doing puja again. So, he came to Swamishri to get his new puja set sanctified.

“Why did you stop doing puja in the first place?” asked Swamishri.
“Because I didn’t get good grades.” Nilesh’s excuse did not seem valid to Swamishri.

“When anything goes wrong, the first to go is always puja. If people get bad grades, what do they blame? Puja. If someone gets sick, the first thing they do is stop puja. When they are short on time, again the first to go is puja. They don’t think of stopping other unnecessary activities from their routine. You should not do this. If you cut puja from your routine, you are cutting God out of your life. God will also cut you from his list.”

“Listen… you didn’t get bad grades because you were doing puja. Bad grades come from not preparing properly, watching too much television, and not paying attention in class. From now on, if you want good grades, you had better do puja regularly. When you are travelling, you should always take your puja with you. Without doing your puja, not even drop of water should go into your mouth. Also, your tilak-chandalo should be clear and visible. Don’t be ashamed. Be proud. Only then will God and his Sadhu be pleased.”

After listening to such inspiring advice from Swamishri, Nilesh firmly vowed that he would do puja regularly.

INSPIRATION: Remember God’s generosity. To repay him, set out a little time everyday for him. Say thank you. Offer your devotion to God. Do puja daily.