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Bhagavān Rāma explained and spoke in many ways to Lord Śiva. As the merciful Lord, he told him about the incarnation of Pārvatī. God Rāma described her many beautiful qualities—how pure she is, how truthful she is, how divine she is. Śiva was happy to listen to this. Whatever Viṣṇu said, Śiva listened to very carefully. "Yes, Lord. Yes, yes." He became a yes-man. Sometimes you don't lose anything by saying yes. And sometimes you also don't lose anything by saying no. We should know when to say yes and no. God Viṣṇu is trying his best to prepare the situation. In modern psychology, we would say Viṣṇu was giving mails in Śiva's brain. Not blackmail, but white mail. It is called suggestion. Though they both know what is going to happen, they know that it will happen, and they know why they are doing it, it is just for us to understand. So, God Rāma, who just appeared in front of Śiva for only a few minutes, would again disappear. You never know if those minutes will come again. When he appears, then you should take 100,000% benefit of the time. Do not miss even half or a quarter of a second. Be alert and aware, for who knows how many yugas and yugas you will have to wait? You never know where destiny will take you when the leaf falls down from the tree. Now, leaves have already fallen from the tree, and the wind has blown them away. This separation between the branch and the leaf never knows if it will come together again. And the branch, a tree without leaves, looks ugly. Can you imagine? Cold, foggy, windy, dark November and December months. Even birds are sad. For birds, it is not necessary to be sad; they do not have all these problems that humans have. But it is completely depressive. So you never know when the chance will come again. Keep it in your heart that a divine experience, even if it lasts only some minutes, or a second, or hours, can nourish you for many, many lives. That nourishment is for many, many yugas. Lord, will you come again? When will that be? That minute will be. Therefore, though Rāma was in a hurry to go again, he did not forget why he came there. Not only because of Śiva's sādhanā, but also the sādhanā of Pārvatī. He came to prepare the mind of Śiva. But Śiva is now represented as full of vairāgya, rejecting everything. Carefully, Viṣṇu is approaching the heart of Śiva. And now he says, Viṣṇu says to Śiva, "I have one request. I have one suggestion. It is not my suggestion, but I would say it is also a request. The suggestion is because of Śiva, and the request is because of Pārvatī. Both are My bhaktas. Both are Mine." Therefore, how to unite them? So you go to suggest someone on behalf of others as a request. Now God Viṣṇu said to Śiva, "Lord Śiva, if you love me ... " Look, this is psychology. Śiva dedicated himself completely forever to Viṣṇu, and all the time he has only Viṣṇu in his heart. And now He comes and asks, "Do you love me?" What a question. What a condition He is putting. "If you love me, I have one request. Then listen to my request, please. Can you fulfill my wish?" God has no wish. But for the sake of the bhakta, He takes upon Himself the duties of the wishes of the bhakta. So the wish of the bhakta is the wish of God. The will of the bhakta is the will of God. God has no will. For the sake of the bhakta, God becomes a beggar. Begging has different ways. And now you see, the Lord of the whole universe, Viṣṇu Himself, asking Lord Śiva, "If you love me, then please listen to me. Can you fulfill my wish? I came to beg something from you. Say yes or no to me. No? Do not waste time, because I know you are in deep sādhanā. I do not want to disturb your sādhanā, and I also have many duties. If you follow my instruction, my suggestion, in every aspect it is the best for you. Fulfill my wish. Marry Pārvatī." It went like electricity through his whole body. You know how long it took to say one word? Why could He not just say it directly and disappear? He could have come and said, "Śiva, mediparvati hari oṃ," and He would have been finished, gone. But sometimes we need to approach something systematically. So in every aspect, in every way, Viṣṇu has bound Śiva, so that now he has to make the commitment. --- Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar