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BHAKTI-YOGA.
140 worship God from fear of punishment. He is a great Being to them, with a whip in one hand and the sceptre in the other and if they do not obey Him they are afraid they will be whipped. It is a degradation to worship God through fear of punishment. Such worship is, if worship at all, the crudest form of the worship of the God of love. So long as there is any fear in the heart, how can there be love also ? Love conquers naturally all fear. Think of a young mother in the street. If a dog barks at her she is frightened ; she Alies into the nearest house. Now suppose the same mother is in the street with her child and a lion springs upon the child. Where then will the mother be ? Of course at the mouth of the lion—to save the child, Love does conquer all fear. Fear comes from the selfish idea of cutting one's self off from the universe. The smaller and the more selfish I make myself, the more is my fear. If a man thinks he is little or nothing,
