http://www.anandashram.org/media/ebooks/e-books-in-english/
“God-vision is nothing but to realise and feel His presence within yourself and everywhere about you;
because God is an all prevailing spirit, permeating the entire universe.
The manifested worlds are not different from Him, since they are but His own expression in terms of name and form.”
....
“The saguna you are after is an image of your own mind and it cannot satisfy you.
You ought to rise beyond all forms of sight and mind.
The true saguna or body of the Lord is the universe itself in which He is immanent and by His power He is causing, in this manifestation, birth, growth, and dissolution of all beings and things.
He is also transcendent as pure spirit. Your body is one of His expressions.
Your activity has its inception in the infinite power of God.
Don’t be deluded by a desire to behold things which are conditioned and momentary - mere phantoms of your mind.
Have the true longing to realise your immortal nature and your union with the omnipotent and omnipresent God, who is the supreme Lord of the universe.
Purify your mind and heart by proper discipline and entitle yourself to this glorious vision, and attain perfect freedom and eternal bliss.”
.. The pathless path
56 pdf pgs
If you are a real spiritual aspirant, your longing for Him should be sufficiently intense to call down His grace.
You should be free from the illusions of this ephemeral world.
Your soul should hunger to realise its inherent divine nature.
There is no purpose gained by calling yourself this or that, and by donning robes of a particular religious denomination. Masks are useless. Pretension and hypocrisy is self-deception. Break off from all clutches. Come out from the cages of your own making.
Come into the open with an unfettered mind, and with the ego vanquished, resign yourself to the supreme Truth residing within you.
Let your vision expand and envelope the universe and beyond. Let your heart embrace all beings in the folds of infinite love. Let your body work imbued with the omnipotent power of the Divine. Let every atom of your frame thrill with spiritual ecstasy and produce universal harmony. All else is unprofitable talk. All other ways lead nowhere. Do not be deceived.
Do not be a slave of wealth, name and fame. All earthly attainments and possessions pass away. Make God your aim and your goal. You are one with Him. Know this and attain real happiness and peace.
...
THE GOAL OF HUMAN LIFE
Life is short. Make the most of it by living in God. Everyday that passes brings you nearer to the end, when you shall have to depart from the world leaving behind everything which you hugged as your own.
Life lived in the thought of God is a life lived in true joy and peace.
Else it is a lengthening chain of woe that drags you ultimately to the terrifying jaws of death.
Human life is solely intended for the enjoyment of eternal bliss.
If, on the other hand, a man makes it a hotbed of cares, anxieties, fears and doubts, he would only be wasting a rare and precious gift which God has granted him.
Man’s greatness lies not In fading laurels won In earthly riches gained In days of wanton revelry. Man can rise above man To everlasting glory To deathless beatitude To immortal Life and Joy.
9 The object of human life is to realise the joy and peace of the indwelling God. Man’s quest for happiness can end only by his realising the fountain of Eternal Joy residing within himself.
Human life is a magnificent gift of God. Raise it beyond the range of mental conceptions and cogitations.
Lift it beyond the relative, conditioned and fettered entanglements of the ever changing phenomenal life so that it might know itself as the ever free, ever blissful and ever existing Reality.
The upward flight of the soul is always towards its perfect identity with the Great One who is the same through and in all.
The river of life struggles through all obstacles and conditions to reach the vast and infinite ocean of existence – God. It knows no rest, no freedom and no peace until it mingles with the waters of immortality and delights in the vision of infinity.
Man is miserable because he seeks joy and peace in external conditions and objects which are in their very nature incapable of yielding the perfect state for which the heart of man longs.
Your happiness or misery depends on your state of mind and not upon your external conditions or circumstances. When your mind impelled by desires is flitting from object to object, craving for possession and enjoyment, it lives in a state of restlessness which itself is misery. After possession of the object, come cares and anxieties, after its loss follow grief and pain. The small amount of happiness you derive here is like a tiny, flickering light in a thick, vast mass of darkness; it dies out in a moment only to envelope you in the worst enthralling gloom. Know this: the object you crave for is perishable and transient in itself. How then can lasting peace be derived from it? Hence when the mind wanders in the midst of this ever-changing, impermanent medley of forms and things, it experiences nothing but pain and sorrow.
Now then, direct your vision inward and behold God within – that eternal seat of all bliss and peace.
Peace is in that heart in which no wave of desire of any kind rises, and it is to be understood, that the true aspiration of the heart is completely to quell and still down all desires that lurk in it and which cause dissatisfaction, turmoil and misery.
Peace, peace, peace is the cry of the heart – a peace which wants nothing, a peace that is self-existent – a peace that is immortal.
This eternal peace is your real existence – it is not a state or truth to be attained but to be realised; because you are ever That.
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Renounce all desires of the mind and intellect and enjoy the bliss of the Atman even though you may, for its sake, live in a garret, or even turn into a wandering and naked mendicant.
The path to the source of your and the world’s being is not without.
You have to go within yourself.
You must go past your senses, mind and intellect;
you must traverse beyond all your ideas and ideals;
you must transcend all limits, conditions and tastes,
and then alone will you have the fullest vision and realisation of your immortal root.
This immortal root is also the root of all that exists – the visible and the invisible worlds and all beings and creatures in them.
Spiritual realisation is a question of individual effort and struggle.
The man of true religion when he is on the path, is mainly concerned with his own internal struggle for liberation and peace.
A steady, persevering and concentrated effort and struggle alone can lead the aspirant to the realisation of God.
So long as a man is hankering after the pleasures of the senses, his progress on the path is slow and erratic.
He must be undaunted in his endeavour and determined in his purpose. He must leave no stone unturned to subdue and eventually eradicate the impure passions of his heart and mind. A purified and enlightened Buddhi alone can entitle the Sadhaka to enter the kingdom of eternity
What is required principally is the withdrawal of the mind from without to within,
which means that the restless and roaming nature of the mind must be totally curbed
by right thought, right contemplation and right meditation.
The mind has to settle down and its uncontrolled dynamics must be brought under subjection.
Perseverance and an unflagging endeavour are the qualities of a true aspirant or seeker of Truth.
Lassitude, idleness and heedlessness are the enemies of spiritual progress. Awareness, watchfulness and effort are the true qualities of a Sadhaka.
By a saint’s contact thousands are saved from the clutches of doubt, sorrow and death. He exerts a wonderful influence and creates in the hearts of ignorant men a consciousness of their inherent Divinity. By his very presence he rids the hearts of people of their base and unbridled passions. The society of saints is the most effective means to awaken the heart to the consciousness of God. The aspirant should approach them in all humility and with an attitude to receive their enlightening influence. Saints are always sympathetic and gracious. They radiate Love, Peace and Joy, for they are the very embodiments of God on earth. The presence of a saint works like a charm upon the mind.
It is at once freed from impure thoughts and attains calmness and serenity. A new light and joy is experienced by the aspirant.
He transcends time and space and becomes filled with a rare spiritual ecstasy. The God-realised man is God Himself in human form. Ignorant souls cannot recognise divinity in the man in whom the Universal Spirit is realised and attained.
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Take the Name as Brahman Himself and using it as a ladder ascend the summit, the supreme God-head with whom you are eternally one.
The Divine Name is a powerful boat that takes man across the whirlpools of life to the haven of his eternal and spiritual nature.
His Name transforms man from the human to the Divine. The Divine Name is the one sovereign panacea for all physical, mental and intellectual ills that have created the sense of diversity and misery in the world. To be in tune with the Name is to be in tune with the Infinite Truth and thus to transmute the lower, stumbling and ignorant human nature, into the glorious self-illumined nature.
The Divine Name purifies the mind of its ego and desires, and floods the whole being with light and joy. Repeat the Name constantly so that its enthralling music should thrill, illumine, elevate and sweeten your entire life. The Name arrests distracting thoughts, subdues unregulated desires and enlightens the intellect. After enabling its devotee to achieve thorough concentration of mind, it helps to draw the mind inward and attain complete absorption in the Eternal Reality,
which in its turn takes him to the supreme goal of self surrender.
The Name unlocks the fountain of your heart and floods your being with immortal light, knowledge, peace and joy.
It grants you the loftiest vision and experience.
Fixing the mind on the sound of His Name is the easiest way for concentration. Take it that the sound of Name is itself a symbol of God. By gradual practice, the external repetition will lead to an automatic functioning of the Name in the mind. When thus the Name comes into the mind constantly, you will attain concentration. By Sadhana the restless nature of the mind is curbed.
When the Lord’s Name is on our lips, we need not be afraid of anything in this world or in any other world. The Name is simple. It unveils layers of the deep-seated ignorance that had made you oblivious of your divine existence. It acts with a sure, steady and unfailing purpose. It is the real means for bringing about a complete state of self-surrender. Even from the start of the repetition of the Name, you begin to taste the nectar of immortality. As you go on, your joy increases and when this joy turns into ecstasy, it takes you beyond the body-idea and you become conscious of the Divine within you.
Your individual sense disappears, as darkness in the presence of light. When this stage is reached a Sadhaka becomes a Siddha, i.e., the aspirant attains divine perfection.
The Name brings you self-absorption, and meditation becomes automatic, i.e., you are lost in the sweet rapture of the Spirit the moment you sit silent by yourself.
The struggle the Sadhaka usually passes through, to keep the mind centred on the Truth, is not there for the votary of the Name. He starts with joy, walks on the path with joy, and reaches the goal which is joy, and ultimately becomes Joy itself. This is the sweetest consummation, all comprehensive perfection and the highest experience of the God-head which the Name grants.
Mantra is a combination of words that stands for the Supreme Reality. It is so set that by the utterance of it a rhythmic sound is produced which has a marvellous effect on both the mental and physical system. The sound of the Mantra produces mental equilibrium and physical harmony. It tunes the entire human being with the eternal music of the Divine. It lulls the feverishness of the mind. This equanimity in turn awakens the sleeping Divine Consciousness, bringing the soul in direct contact with the in-dwelling and all-pervading Reality. One great advantage of Mantra Yoga over other methods is that it is a discipline which is at once self-sufficient and independent. Truly, one who keeps the Mantra always on his lips can attain the infinite power, wisdom, love and vision of God.
Just as an unshaped stone can be fashioned into a beautiful image worthy of adoration and worship only after it has received many a stroke of the chisel, so also a distorted and inharmonious life has to pass through many a trial, suffering and tribulation, before a great change could come over it, before the life of ignorance could be transmuted into a life of immortal splendour and joy, fit to be revered and adored.
Don’t ruminate over the past. All that happened in the past has been for good. So no thought need be taken of it. Have no thought or anxiety about the future. What is to happen does come to pass in spite of yourself. Be prepared to stay in any and every condition calmly and coolly. No worry or anxiety can change the course of things as ordained. And for the present, think only of Ram and perform all actions as offering to Him
27
Conceive a thirst and hunger for God. Feel discontented for want of that hunger.
A lukewarm desire does not result in much progress.
Pray to God to give you that keen hunger.
If you do Sadhana, you will get the hunger.
Only be thorough and steady.
Do not do things on and off.
Do your Sadhana every day with greater and greater intensity.
While in the period of Sadhana, never bother yourself with the thought of Siddhis.
Realise God first, and all else will come to you automatically.
All doubts depart as Sadhana becomes regular. The path of the spiritual aspirant is not an easy one; but one who is determined to progress along it, is sure to reach the goal.
31
Whenever dejection overtakes the aspiring soul in his struggle, let him ward it off by surrender to the indwelling Spirit.
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https://www.advaita-vision.org/the-creation-myth/#more-6561
A. Gaudapada kArikA:
1. Verse 3.48:
न कश्चिज्जायते जीवः सम्भवोऽस्य न विद्यते ।
एतत्तदुत्तमं सत्यं यत्र किञ्चिन्न जायते ॥ — 3.48
Meaning: No jIva is ever born. There does not exist any cause to produce it. The highest Truth is that nothing is ever born.
This verse is repeated at kArikA 4.71 by Gaudapada, showing thus its primacy and importance in the teaching of Advaita.
Shankara writes in his commentary at 3:48:
“All these ideas about the discipline of the mind, evolution resembling the creation of forms from iron and clay, as well as the ideas regarding devotional exercises, are given as a means to the realization of the nature of the Ultimate Reality. They have no meaning in themselves whatsoever. The truth regarding the Ultimate Reality is that “no jIva is ever born.” The jIva whom one knows as the agent and experiencer is not born in any way whatsoever.”
Shankara in his commentary on the same verse at 4:71 adds:
It has already been stated that the appearance of birth, death etc. of the jIva-s are possible in the empirical plane, as is the case with dream beings.
But the Ultimate Truth is that no jIva is ever born.
The rest has already been stated.
2. Verse 3.31:
2. Verse 3.31:
मनोदृश्यमिदं द्वैतं यत्किञ्चित्सचराचरम् ।
मनसो ह्यमनीभावे द्वैतं नैवोपलभ्यते ॥ — 3.31
Meaning: All these dual objects, comprising everything that is movable and immovable, perceived by the mind (are mind alone). For, duality is never experienced when the mind ceases to act. (Translation Swami Nikhilananda).
Shankara in his commentary on the above kArikA says:
रज्जुसर्पवद्विकल्पनारूपं द्वैतरूपेण मन एवेत्युक्तम् । तत्र किं प्रमाणमिति, अन्वयव्यतिरेकलक्षणमनुमानमाह । कथम् ? तेन हि मनसा विकल्प्यमानेन दृश्यं मनोदृश्यम् इदं द्वैतं सर्वं मन इति प्रतिज्ञा, तद्भावे भावात् तदभावे चाभावात् । मनसो हि अमनीभावे निरुद्धे विवेकदर्शनाभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां रज्ज्वामिव सर्पे लयं गते वा सुषुप्ते द्वैतं नैवोपलभ्यत इति अभावात्सिद्धं द्वैतस्यासत्त्वमित्यर्थः ॥
Meaning: “It has been said that it is the mind alone which appears as dual (objects) like the appearance of snake on the rope.
But what is its proof?
Our answer is this:
We make the statement on the strength of an inference following the method of agreement and difference (anvaya–vyatireka).
The proposition is that all this duality perceived as such by the imagination of the mind is, in reality, nothing but the mind.
The reason for such an inference is that duality is perceived when the mind acts and it vanishes when the mind ceases to act; that is to say, when the (activity, i.e., the vRitti-s of the)
mind is withdrawn unto itself by the knowledge got through discrimination, repeated practice and renunciation – like the disappearance of the snake on the rope – or during the deep sleep.
Hence on account of the disappearance of duality, it is established that duality is unreal or illusory. That the perception of the duality is due to the action of the mind is further proved by this kArikA.” (Swami Nikhilananda).
Thus with the help of a syllogism, Gaudapada and Shankara reiterate in 3.31 that the observed world originates with the mind and folds up when the mind is not there. In other words, a created world does not exist out there.
3. Verse 2:32:
न निरोधो न चोत्पत्तिर्न बद्धो न च साधकः ।
न मुमुक्षुर्न वै मुक्त इत्येषा परमार्थता ॥ — 2.32
Meaning: There is no dissolution, no origination, none in bondage, none aspiring for Knowledge, no seeker of liberation, and none liberated. This is the absolute Truth.
In his bhAShya Shankara says:
न हि मनोविकल्पनाया रज्जुसर्पादिलक्षणाया रज्ज्वां प्रलय उत्पत्तिर्वा ; न च मनसि रज्जुसर्पस्योत्पत्तिः प्रलयो वा, न चोभयतो वा । तथा मानसत्वाविशेषाद्द्वैतस्य । न हि नियते मनसि सुषुप्ते वा द्वैतं गृह्यते; अतो मनोविकल्पनामात्रं द्वैतमिति सिद्धम् ।
Meaning: “There is no origination and destruction of the rope-snake (which is just a mental concoction) in the rope. Nor is there its origination and destruction in the mind. Even so, dvaita (dvaita prapancha) is non-different from the mind. For, in the mind controlled (by meditation) or during deep sleep one does not experience duality (dualistic world). Therefore it stands established that duality (dualistic world) is only a mental concoction.”
The same shloka as at 2.32 Gaudapada kArikA also appears in many other Upanishads as follows:
mantra 10, amRitabindu Upanishad,
mantra 10, (5), tripura tApini Upanishad,
mantra 31, Atma Upanishad,
mantra 8, avadhUta Upanishad, etc.
B. brahma sUtra-s:
4. In the sUtra ( 2-1-33), लोकवत्तु लीलाकैवल्यम् ॥
Shankara says at the end of his Commentary:
न चेयं परमार्थविषया सृष्टिश्रुतिः ; अविद्याकल्पितनामरूपव्यवहारगोचरत्वात् ,
ब्रह्मात्मभावप्रतिपादनपरत्वाच्च — इत्येतदपि नैव विस्मर्तव्यम् ॥
We should not forget that the creation shruti-s are not absolutely true.
He gives two reasons:
” i) The creation is seen to be endowed with mere name and form imagined due to ignorance (ignoring the Truth). [For example, little girls build castles in the sand on the beach, imagine their dolls as real princes and princesses, celebrate marriages and birthdays etc. as a part of their fun and enjoyment.]
ii) The main purpose of creation shruti sentences are only to establish the Oneness of brahman and Atman.”
5. Gaudapada kArikA III-15 and Shankara commentary there on.
मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गाद्यैः सृष्टिर्या चोदितान्यथा ।
उपायः सोऽवताराय नास्ति भेदः कथञ्चन ॥ — verse 15, Ch 3, G. kArikA
[Meaning: (The scriptural statements regarding) creation as illustrated by the examples of earth, iron, sparks etc., or otherwise, serve the purpose of (ultimately) explaining the unity of (jIva and brahman). (Really speaking) multiplicity does not exist in any manner.
Shankara bhAShya:
ननु यद्युत्पत्तेः प्रागजं सर्वमेकमेवाद्वितीयम् , तथापि उत्पत्तेरूर्ध्वं जातमिदं सर्वं जीवाश्च भिन्ना इति । मैवम् , अन्यार्थत्वादुत्पत्तिश्रुतीनाम् । पूर्वमपि परिहृत एवायं दोषः — स्वप्नवदात्ममायाविसर्जिताः सङ्घाताः, घटाकाशोत्पत्तिभेदादिवज्जीवानामुत्पत्तिभेदादिरिति । इत एव उत्पत्तिभेदादिश्रुतिभ्य आकृष्य इह पुनरुत्पत्तिश्रुतीनामैदम्पर्यप्रतिपिपादयिषयोपन्यासः मृल्लोहविस्फुलिङ्गादिदृष्टान्तोपन्यासैः सृष्टिः या च उदिता प्रकाशिता कल्पिता अन्यथान्यथा च, स सर्वः सृष्टिप्रकारो जीवपरमात्मैकत्वबुद्ध्यवतारायोपायोऽस्माकम् , यथा प्राणसंवादे वागाद्यासुरपाप्मवेधाद्याख्यायिका कल्पिता प्राणवैशिष्ट्यबोधावताराय ; तदप्यसिद्धमिति चेत् ; न, शाखाभेदेष्वन्यथान्यथा च प्राणादिसंवादश्रवणात् । यदि हि वादः परमार्थ एवाभूत् , एकरूप एव संवादः सर्वशाखास्वश्रोष्यत, विरुद्धानेकप्रकारेण नाश्रोष्यत ; श्रूयते तु ; तस्मान्न तादर्थ्यं संवादश्रुतीनाम् । तथोत्पत्तिवाक्यानि प्रत्येतव्यानि ।
कल्पसर्गभेदात्संवादश्रुतीनामुत्पत्तिश्रुतीनां च प्रतिसर्गमन्यथात्वमिति चेत् ; न, निष्प्रयोजनत्वाद्यथोक्तबुद्ध्यवतारप्रयोजनव्यतिरेकेण । न ह्यन्यप्रयोजनवत्त्वं संवादोत्पत्तिश्रुतीनां शक्यं कल्पयितुम् । तथात्वप्रत्तिपत्तये ध्यानार्थमिति चेत् ; न, कलहोत्पत्तिप्रलयानां प्रतिपत्तेरनिष्टत्वात् । तस्मादुत्पत्त्यादिश्रुतय आत्मैकत्वबुद्ध्यवतारायैव, नान्यार्थाः कल्पयितुं युक्ताः । अतो नास्त्युत्पत्त्यादिकृतो भेदः कथञ्चन ॥
The gist of the above bhAShya is: “If it is held that before creation the Unitary brahman alone was, post-creation there is the multiplicity caused by the manifold jIva-s. In other words, before creation there was advaita, post-creation there is dvaita.
This objection/doubt was already settled in the earlier discourse: The creation shruti-s have a different purport (than conveying the idea that multiplicity is created). Just as multiplicity is experienced when a person dreams, being projected by that very single person… and just as many pot-spaces are observed owing to many pots being created, even though only one space is there really…
Now, condensing the purport of all the differently speaking creation shruti-s (various creation shruti-s speak of creation with different analogies), it is stated: all the different creation shruti-s have the teaching of the identity, aikyam, of the jivAtma and paramAtma. Therefore, there is no way one can adduce any other meaning to the creation-shruti-s (such as teaching the multiplicity, dvaita). Hence there is no duality whatsoever (owing to the creation-shruti-s).
In the above kArikA bhAShya it is clear that the creation shruti-s such as the vAcArmbhaNam (clay, iron) and the muNDaka/brhadaranyaka analogy of fire-sparks are alluded to. It is also clear that these shruti-s have the teaching of aikya alone and not the actual coming into being of any new effect. From the bhAShya examples of dream and pot-space, it is clear that what is perceived is not real and there is a truth underlying that uninvestigated perception. In other words, the analogies of clay, iron etc. apparently giving rise to manifoldness and difference, is not the truth of those analogies but the statement of the truth of the cause alone and the unreality of the effect is what the purport is.”
6. In the gloss on brahmasUtra bhAShya, the ratnaprabhA summarizes the Vedanta siddhAnta thus:
सृष्टिर्दर्शनमदर्शनं लयः
Meaning: Perception is creation and non-perception is dissolution.
Therefore, creation story has the objective of establishing jIva-brahmaikya and not to teach creation.”
C. brihadAraNyaka Upanishad:
7. Commenting on the mantra at 2.1.20 of brihadAraNyaka, Shankara writes:
तस्मात् एकरूपैकत्वप्रत्ययदार्ढ्यायैव सर्ववेदान्तेषु उत्पत्तिस्थितिलयादिकल्पना, न
तत्प्रत्ययकरणाय ॥
Meaning: “Therefore the mention in all Vedanta texts of the origin, continuity and dissolution of the universe is only to strengthen our idea of Brahman being a homogeneous unity, and not to make us believe in the origin etc. as an actuality.”(Translation – Swami Madahavananda)
D. About mAyA:
8. Shankara mentions in his commentary on Gaudapada KarikA, IV – 58:
माया नाम वस्तु तर्हि ; नैवम् , सा च माया न विद्यते । मायेत्यविद्यमानस्याख्येत्यभिप्रायः ॥
Meaning: (The Opponent) : Then there must be something real known as mAyA.(siddhantin) : Not so. That mAyA is never existent. “mAyA” is the name we give to something which does not (really) exist (but which is perceived). (Translation: Swami Nikhilananda).
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32 Pathless path continued
To increase Bhakti, three things are necessary:-
• Constant repetition of Ram Nam;
• To see Ram in all objects and beings;
• To undergo all difficulties in a spirit of resignation and renunciation.
Steps that lead to surrender:-
• Acknowledgement of God’s will as supreme;
• Realisation that God is always good and loving;
• Acceptance of the fact that God has assumed the form of the Universe, of all creatures, of all beings and things in it.
There is no greater victory in the life of a human being than victory over the mind.
He who has controlled the gusts of passion that arise within him and the violent actions that proceed therefrom is the real hero.
All the disturbances in the physical plane are due to chaos and confusion existing in the mind.
Therefore to conquer the mind through the awareness of the great Truth that pervades all existence is the key to real success and the consequent harmony and peace in the individual and in the world. Any amount of patch-work on the surface for the attainment of equilibrium and tranquility can be of no avail. The heart should be purged of its base ambitions for material wealth, fame, possession and power at the expense of others.
The true soldier is he who fights not the external but the internal foes.
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MEDITATION
Mind is a veil that shuts you from the splendour of the immortal spirit, which is your real being.
Tear up this veil by means of constant meditation and self-surrender.
Retire within yourself from time to time and lose your little ego in the infinite consciousness of your supreme Self.
You are verily the embodiment of Truth.
Wake up to this awareness
Meditation:- Side by side with the repetition of the Mantram bring into the mind the glorious attributes of God. “God is within me – God is Infinite – God is Bliss, Purity and Peace – God is Light of lights and the Power of powers – God is the Master of worlds – God is the Doer and the Non-doer at once – God is Knowledge, Love, Compassion and Forgiveness – God is the one Truth and one Reality.
The Universe is God’s Self- revelation – God dwells in all beings, creatures and things – God fills all spheres and planes of life – my body, mind, senses and intellect and soul are all God’s – God permeates my being – I am God’s very image – both as the Revealed and Unrevealed – There exists nothing but God – God is all in all – GOD IS ALL.”
Meditation is nothing but a method of auto suggestion.
The veil of ignorance which is an obsession can be removed only by a continued hammering on the mind, of the Immortal nature of your true being.
Successful meditation requires a well-controlled and concentrated mind, for which the following rules have to be observed :-
• Diet, Sattwic food, i.e. Non-irritant foods. • Solitude. • Society of Saints. • Devotional music. • Reading the lives and teachings of saints.
Posture and Method for Silent Meditation:- • Sit up in any steady Asana suitable for you with your Spinal cord and head erect.
Shut your eyes but internally direct your gaze between the eye-brows and gradually to the crown of the head. Sit fixed in this gaze.
• Repeat the Mantram mentally for some time to stop the wavering mind. • Then when the mind is calmed down, mentally repeat the great attributes of God one by one. • This process repeated from day to day will bring on self-absorption giving you the vision of light, etc. • Go still deeper into the realm of utter silence and stillness of your higher self or spirit, and rise completely above the body. Now you will realise the undifferentiated aspect of God bringing on the experience of your absolute identity with God.
• Come out of this state – which would be difficult in the beginning but can be possible by the exercise of a strong will and for you the world outside will now stand transformed as the very expression or manifestation of God – everywhere the Light of God will dazzle your eyes; even in the apparent diversity and activity of nature you will strangely be conscious of an all-pervading stillness and peace of the Eternal – a consciousness which is unshakably permanent. You will also feel that you are liberated from the harassing dualities of life followed by the crowning experience of an abiding state of ineffable ecstasy
Ineffable Ecstasy:- The ineffable bliss experienced when the individual sense is dissolved in the Supreme Consciousness of God is the highest acquisition of human life.
When the source of immortal joy is opened within us, it flows and saturates every fibre of our being, internal and external, and makes our life at once a waveless peace and ceaseless thrill of ecstasy. Death, fear, and grief have then no significance for us. You see and feel a round of joy and delight in all movements, in the visible expressions of the undivided and eternal life and Truth. The one splendour of Divine light envelops and pervades all forms and things; the one VISION OF ENDLESS PEACE AND BLISS dazzles and enchants you everywhere. Nay, you realise that you and the Universe are form and substance of the Infinite Truth. Oh! the sublimity of this exalted state – indescribable state – blessed indeed are those who are filled with this inexhaustible nectar of Immortality
The Saguna you are after is an image of your own mind and it cannot satisfy you. You ought to rise beyond all forms of sight and mind.
The true Saguna or the body of the Lord is the Universe itself in which He is immanent, and by His power He is causing, in the manifestation, birth, growth and dissolution of all beings and things.
He is also transcendent as pure Spirit. Your body is one of His expressions. Your activity has its inception in the infinite power of God. Don’t be deluded by a desire to behold things which are conditioned and momentary – mere phantoms of your mind. Have the true longing to realise your immortal nature and your union with omnipresent and omnipotent God, who is the supreme Lord of the Universe. Purify the mind and heart by proper discipline and entitle yourself to this glorious vision, and attain perfect freedom and Eternal Bliss
Until the aspirant of immortality goes beyond name and form to the height of the impersonal God that dwells within him,
until he tunes his mind and life to the Divine symphony or movement thrilling through the Cosmos,
until he is freed from all limitations of thought,
time and circumstance,
until he beholds the entire universe as the veritable expression of his own infinite Self,
he cannot realise and experience the all-comprehensive glory and the all-absorbing splendour of the greatest Truth – God!!!
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Even after reaching this great height of the all inclusive vision of the Reality in whom all diversity is resolved into one, the God-realised soul assumes a position separate from the great Truth. He calls himself the son, child, servant or devotee of God. Here the duality is assumed knowing that the devotee and God are truly one. Why this assumption? Because in the sphere of activity the God-realised one prefers to play the part of a lover or servant by which he can enjoy the ineffable bliss of love. Love works only on the plane of duality. All his actions, great or small, bear the stamp of love, for love is his being and love is his life and in love he finds the fulfilment of his mission.
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THE ATTRIBUTES OF MAN ENDOWED WITH COSMIC VISION
Firstly, he knows he is immortal, being one with God.
Secondly, as a corollary to the first he is fearless of death and all else.
Thirdly, he transcends the conventional sense of virtue and vice. When a man dwells in the presence of God, all vices cease and he becomes crystal-pure.
Fourthly, his ego is obliterated and he transcends the three Gunas, Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas.
Fifthly, he is all joy, having drunk the divine nectar.
And finally, he develops a sweetness of personality which, as a magnet, draws people to him, not to bind them down even to himself but to free them in the truest sense of the term.
INNER VOICE
Inner voice speaks in the devotee when he has surrendered up his body, mind and soul into the keeping of the Divine who dwells within him.
In this state the body becomes the willing instrument,
the mind is enlightened with divine radiance,
and the soul unites and identifies with the Supreme Spirit.
Now God’s guidance is felt at every step and the devotee’s life becomes a spontaneous expression of Divinity in all its modes of activity.
His consciousness becomes one with the universal Consciousness and he transcends the limitations of time and space.
His vision becomes all inclusive and all embracing. Equality of vision becomes the background of the devotee’s life and this outlook illumines his entire external life.
JIVANMUKTA
Jivanmukta is he who has totally surrendered himself to God; so much so, that God alone works through him, his individual ego having been conquered.
He always lives in God and God lives in him.
He craves for no fame, no wealth, no earthly pleasures of any kind.
In the inner consciousness of his being he finds the source of all bliss, and so lives contented under all conditions;
no change of any kind in his life disturbs the even tenor of his mind.
He remains under all conditions at peace with himself. Nothing daunts him. If he undertakes any work, it is always without any selfish motive; and no threat or pain or even death will prevent him from the performance of such work, since he takes it that the work is enjoined on him by God Himself. He may often not have even the feeling that God is working through him but he does all work without the least sense of egoism. People in general will extol him at one time, and speak ill of him at another. He is bound by nobody’s opinion. He is free – ever free. Om Sri Ram.
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What is necessary as the first step on the Divine Path is Bhakti.
Bhakti means a keen burning desire to realise immortal peace and freedom.
The Bhakta must be seized with a discontent which never ceases until the Goal is reached.
But how could awakening in the heart of a being come? What does shake him to his very foundation and create in him this longing for the Eternal? The answer is ‘the society of real sages is the thing’.
A sight and touch of him works on the Bhakta like a magician’s charm.
As the bird unconscious of its captivity remains in its cage, apparently quiet and contented, but the moment it discovers that it is imprisoned within it, it leaves no stone unturned in its struggle for freedom;
so also the soul of an awakened man flutters and trembles within him and becomes so restless that it is drawn inevitably on the path of vigorous discipline for self-liberation.
This hunger of the soul which grows in volume day by day, gives rise in him to the second essential step on the path – Vairagya.
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Glimpses of Divine vision
110 pdf pgs
Try to enter into the mysterious origin of your and the world-life. To know who you are in reality is the real quest. To arrive at this truth you have to, by a systematized process of thought and discipline, transcend all human limitations set by the body, mind and intellect, and then, embarking on the realm of the Spirit, realize your immortal, changeless and blissful nature. This constitutes religion.
What is required to set life free and make it blessed is to do all actions in the spirit of perfect surrender to the will of the all-wise Master-the master of your being and of the world- existence.
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In the depths of samadhi, the Yogis get the experience that the world is not,
because in the Nirguna there is no name, form or movement.
But after coming down to the external consciousness of life the visible universe is experienced as the revelation of that absolute, silent and immutable Spirit-”Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma”
When you remember God in a particular form, you worship Him as Saguna, and when the image dissolves in your mind, raising you beyond the sense of duality, then you realize Him as Nirguna. Both are the aspects of one Truth
Truly when you become the smallest child of the Divine Mother, you merge your little individuality in Her cosmic personality. Here you realize that the Mother and the child are one. Here again in your play as a child, if you wish to remain so, you are ever basking in the sunshine of Her divine grace and protection. Mother is no mother if you do not understand Her in the true light, and submit to Her will and guidance in all matters. Really, what She wills is ever for your good. To revolt against Her will always knocks out of you a good deal of your strength and peace.
This Divine Mother is the Heart of your heart, the Soul of your soul.
Being universal, She is the supreme deity ever having Her place and seat within you. Her revelation of the world-phenomena is simply marvellous.
God’s will means God’s power.
God’s power is the manifested universe. All movement, all change in it, belongs to that power.
To realize this truth is to surrender to the power or will of God.
The individual “I” is utterly unreal.
He and His power are the truth.
His power is infinite love and infinite joy. Just as the Sun’s power lies in the heat and light he gives, so God’s power expresses in love and joy. God and His power are at once one and different, like the milk and its whiteness. God stands for absolute stillness and peace, His power for eternal movement and joy.
The whole universe is indeed a blissful manifestation of Sri Ram. Every form in it is a wave and movement of His infinite love.
Diversity and discord are unreal-off springs of a mind deluded by ignorance.
Unity and harmony are the true attributes of that Truth, in whom God, universe and man are one.
There is no existence but He.
He is eternal truth, love, power, light and bliss. What words can describe Him, who transcends all speech and thought!
As devotee you are at once one and different from God. You are like the river. The river is one with the ocean; still it is ceaselessly flowing towards the ocean. This is the wonderful mystery of God and His Bhakta. You are all He. To realize this is the common aim of you all- the one real end of this human existence. When God puts you in situations, in which you are forced to remember Him and to pray to Him earnestly to take you to His holy feet, is He not kind? Is He kind when He gives you some transient baubles of this world which bring pain and misery? He does grant these things also when you pray for them. But He warns you at the same time-”You have asked for the perishables; but you cannot have permanent happiness from them. Pain, anxiety and sorrow are always associated with them. Seek the Eternal-seek Me alone. I am Sat-Chit-Anand, infinite existence, consciousness and bliss.” So, pray for His grace and vision. You are already free and immortal. Pray to Him to give you this knowledge-to give you this realization.
The Divine Mother who presides over all activities, events and happenings in the universe means always well. The sole purpose of Her work is only to bring about harmony and peace.
The doubting mind sees discord and confusion in Her activity.
The Mother is a veritable personification of love. So, none of Her actions can be for anything but good. The sun by his very nature can shed only light and is incapable of producing darkness. Similarly, the Mother’s doings are always in every way beneficial. In Her there is no evil. The so called evil is the product of a mind that has no faith in Her. Pray to Her this wise-”Oh, Mother of the worlds, I am Thy ignorant child. Guide and control me as Thou wilt. Thou art my only protector and I am Thy child. I am ever Thine. Bear me always in Thy bosom as Thy eternal child. This is the refuge I seek. Eternity is the link that unites me to Thee. Being ever in tune with Thee, let me be Thy child
God arranges all things in His own way and at the time He appoints. Yours is to work in the free and cheerful spirit of a child, leaving all the results to be determined by Him. God himself is a child, playing this universal game. Everywhere is He and everybody is He.
Sri Ram is infinite love, light, power and bliss. He is the most loving Mother and the most powerful Master of the universe. He is seated in all His glory in the hearts of you all.
THE TRUE VISION
The true vision means the vision of the Reality within.
The man of ignorance is ever busy clinging to external forms for support.
So long as a man does not see the great Truth he is in search of, within himself, he can never know peace.
Aim at the universal vision,
i.e., behold the manifested universe as the very form and image of the Lord seated in your heart.
Transcend all names, forms, lights, sounds etc.,
and merge yourself in the infinite ocean of divine peace and joy.
Rise above the body idea, the Gunas and all mental states and enjoy the bliss and freedom of immortality. You and the supreme Lord are not different. You are His essence, nay His very form, because there is none and nothing but He. This is the truth. Realize.
The way to escape from the clutches of Dwandwas, when you live in the consciousness of the world of name and form, is to behold all things and objects as the revealed forms of the one Eternal Truth.
The divine power emanating from the Truth has manifested as the entire universe. All movements and activities of Prakriti are Hers. All your thoughts and play of the senses and body are Her lila.
Behold everything as God Himself-manifest.
By surrendering up your ego to the Divine Shakti you can attain to this vision.
This vision will absolve you from all doubts, and your actions will have the nature of spontaneity and, therefore, full of bliss and ecstasy.
The light of God will now dazzle in your eyes and you will behold Him everywhere. The Nirguna Swarup of the Atman and the Saguna Swarup of the universe will be the same to you. Verily, they are the two aspects of the same Reality. Be the child of the Eternal Mother-ever free and blissful-feeling conscious all the time that the Mother and the child are one Truth, although, in the play of love, they are assumed to be different. This is the supreme goal, the height of God-realization. “Vasudevah Sarvamithi” be your realization.
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Do not forget for a single moment the immortal and all blissful nature of your true being. This consciousness or remembrance you can keep up only when you are in constant touch with saints. Be kind, forgiving and charitable towards all who come in contact with you.
Don’t be like the dumb-driven cattle.Assert your innate divine nature and allow it freely to illumine your personality and all activities. You have by association with divine men understood the supreme purpose of life.
Let nothing throw a veil over the light and knowledge which you have gained by such communion. May the Lord bless you and keep you ever in His divine presence.
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FAITH
“Faith in God means faith in your own higher Self who is your real being.
The main qualities of this faith are
absolute fearlessness,
freedom from worry and anxiety of every kind,
through a complete surrender in all things to the Almighty will of this supreme Self.
To attain to this surrender you have to keep your mind dwelling constantly on God, not permitting it to come down to harassing thoughts about your body and other matters.
This highest Truth that resides in you is all compassionate and merciful. What you have to do is to trust this great Truth and give up all cares. ‘Faith can move mountains’ is a trite saying.
Keep to a life of strict discipline by adjusting your food and rest according to a set system. Above all, maintain strictly a life of Brahmacharya.
Merely praying to God without the corresponding effort on your part cannot avail you anything.
Life is granted for the achievement of a great ideal which is freedom and cheerfulness in selfless service and sacrifice.
The mere dedication of life to this exalted purpose will liberate it from all distempers.
When you have once taken complete refuge in God, you ought to give up all doubts and worries.
You have to consider that, whatever way He decides the course of events in your life, it is always for good.
Worldly honour and disgrace have no bearing on His decisions.
You must freely and unreservedly put yourself in His hands.
He can never come to your rescue if you do not cease from worrying and restlessness.
Self surrender means a state of perfect peace and calmness, attained through complete submission to the Divine Will.
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Fears and anxieties cannot affect you in all your undertakings, provided you are sure and firm in your faith. God is the great provider and he who trusts Him is never lost. Only you have to tune your will with His will, mingle your consciousness with His divine light and wisdom, merge your life in His eternal existence; then you are perfectly safe in all situations of life.
The divine power manifest and working in great Mahatmas is capable of performing wondrous miracles.
By faith alone you could attain high and ambitious ideals.
If you are earnestly after spiritual illumination, you must strenuously work for it by concentrating all your thoughts on the supreme goal of life, the immortal Reality that dwells within you.
Merely running after Gurus, without faith and a sincere aspiration for being benefited by their contact, will be of no use.
The peace you crave for is ever within you. If you seek for it without, you will never have it anywhere. This is a great truth which very few realize.
Surrender is the only way to peace.
So, in all circumstances of life, submit to the will of God, and be free from the touches of worry and anxiety of every kind.
All happen as determined by the Lord.
Do not assert your will and expect everything to take place as you wish.
Unpleasant situations are the common lot of mankind.
Yours is to resign yourself to the Lord and remain unaffected by them.
When the mind rests in peace by a complete self surrender, the heart’s desire is realized without any delay.
The longing ceases by a perfect self abandonment, and then no time is lost for its fruition.
This is the secret of realization.
The one predominant hunger of the soul is for absolute peace and bliss.
You can have this peace and bliss only when your mind rests on the bosom of the Infinite Reality.
So, a constant contemplation or thought of the great Truth whose attributes are immortal bliss and peace can alone completely satisfy the yearning of the soul.
Direct, therefore, all the forces of your mind and intellect towards the All-merciful Lord.
of the universe, and put yourself entirely into His hands.
There is no path easier than self surrender.
He who trusts the Almighty never comes to any harm.
This is the rule of God that knows no exception.
Do therefore walk the path of pure and simple devotion.
Be conscious that the Lord seated in your heart is your all-powerful protector.
Keep Him ever in your remembrance. Tune your thought and life with His radiant existence, and thus permit His divine energy to flow into you and transform your life into one of peace and joy. Don’t give yourself away to dejection, doubt and despair.
To experience the stillness of the all-pervading Spirit who is at once the witness of this world of
manifestation and the world- manifestation itself is to realize God in His all-inclusive nature and being.
Behold Divinity everywhere. Rise above all conditions and dwell ever in union with the immortal Truth who has become all. Everything is His doing because all, all is He alone.
Ramdas has nothing beyond this to tell you. Realize that you and all beings, creatures and things in the world are utterly divine.
It is absolutely of no avail for a man to bewail over his worldly lot and his unstable attachments to worldly friends. Seek the true life in God, and the friendship of the Eternal-the highest; both are everlasting.
The real peace can never come to the share of man so long as he thinks that the adjustments of external life can grant him happiness.
Disappointment and misery must be his lot wherever he be.
Take thought and know once for all that real freedom and peace lie only in the close communion with the immortal Truth dwelling in your heart.
Take complete refuge in God through constant remembrance of Him, and thus be content in all situations He places you.
Don’t embitter your life with thoughts of worry and care.
Make God your friend and aid.
Once you become His, He never gives you up.
He takes you to the seat of immortality and bliss.
This is the way and there is no other.
True it is that until a man or a woman has found in his or her heart the beloved Lord of the universe, there can be no real peace and liberation for the struggling soul.
Therefore, feel always that the divine Presence is ever with you and in you.
Let the stream of His remembrance flow continuously in your mind, and may you attain the supreme blessedness of perfect union with Him.
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The easiest way to reach or realize Sri Ram is surely to repeat His most powerful name. Smaran is to remember what you have forgotten. You have forgotten that you are His Swarup. You are always He, but your ignorance has made you forget your real nature. Continuous and ceaseless Smaran of Sri Ram is to remove your ignorance and make you realize ultimately that you are all He and He alone. There is none but He. To attain this, your mind must be spotlessly pure. Repetition of His great name is again the only means or Sadhana.
A pure mind is the first preliminary to your surrender to Sri Ram.
Conceive a strong and intense love for Sri Ram the more intense your love for Him, the more continuous and unbroken your remembrance becomes automatically;
because it is your nature to remember that which you love most.
A purified mind alone can realize Sri Ram who is the one Supreme Truth, all-pervading, changeless, the highest, the best, the greatest goal of your life.
Your intense desire to attain this goal, i.e., Sri Ram, is Bhakti.
The more intense your desire for reaching this goal, the more rapidly you advance towards it.
Therefore, incessant, ceaseless remembrance--Smaran--is the only Sadhana.
Smaran of what?
Smaran of your real Swarup--
which is Sri Ram--who is Sat-Chit-Anand.
This real Swarup is the entire universe.
The universe is Brahman, Sri Ram.
The name stands for the Purushottama of the Gita - who is Purusha and Prakriti at once and also the Supreme One beyond both.
Meditate on His infinite attributes.
Seek to realize Him in your heart, and then everywhere in the universe.
Do not cling to any form.
Do not doubt and bring up any questions. God in your heart is your guide and protector. He is your father, mother and all.
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...Then you behold the immortal root of your existence and of the world, from which your mind and all manifestations derive their light and movement.
In short, to turn your gaze within and see your own eternal Self is to see God.
Repetition of Ram Nam simultaneously with meditation on the great Ideal is perfectly right.
But the remembrance must flow in the mind without break like the stream of oil poured from one vessel into another.
This must continue until you lose yourself entirely in the infinite Reality, and rising above the body- consciousness, feel one with all lives and existences.
During meditation, repeat mentally the Ram Mantram; you have to bring up in it the glorious attributes of God.
After some practice, let even the repetition of the Mantram stop so that the mind may be perfectly still without any waves of thought rising in it.
Thus be self-absorbed for some time.
You may see lights at this stage, or hear sweet sounds from within. Go past these until you transcend the body-consciousness. Go on steadily in your course.
Cling firmly to the Lord’s Name. It will save you from all pit-falls and temptations.
By concentrating your mind on the sound of the Name, the mind absorbs the Name, and thereafter mental repetition starts.
This mental practice at a certain stage ceases, bringing on inner stillness and peace.
Meditation on the great attributes of the Lord should go on side by side.
Then, the pure and waveless mind merges in the great Truth, and you attain Self-illumination.
This experience takes you still higher and grants you the rare cosmic vision which is the goal of your life.
You have to realize that you are the whole and all-inclusive Truth.
You get thrills of bliss when you have completely merged your individual sense in God-the universal consciousness.
If you could maintain this supreme consciousness at all times you will ever live in the Eternal, and be ever in a state of perfect freedom and ecstasy.
Rise above name and form, and you experience your oneness with all existences.
The sense of duality-be it between you and the world or between you and God- is the offspring of ignorance.
So soar to the height of the transcendent Truth where all forms and lives resolve into one.
SELF-SURRENDER
The path of pure and simple Bhakti is one of the easiest means to reach the all-powerful feet of the Lord.
Self-surrender is the goal.
Pure aspiration and ceaseless meditation constitute the path. All else is secondary.
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By constant practice, keep your mind ever tuned to the infinite Truth.
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Self-surrender denotes a life lived in accordance with your exalted spiritual nature.
Dwell in the Divine and act as inspired by Him within you, having no doubt or fear.
No movement in your nature-revealing in action-is by itself either evil or sinful. True life depends upon the standpoint from which it is lived.
Self-surrender is therefore a state in which all your actions are performed in utter dedication to the indwelling Reality.
Here the question of good and evil does not arise.
Life is then regulated automatically, ever tempered with moderation and self-control. Doubt and hesitation have then no place here.
Be a child in the hands of the Divine Mother.
Know that at the basis of your life stands the immutable and unaffected spirit of God, and that your eternal nature is the very nature of the Mother who is but the manifest aspect of the supreme Lord.
Dependence on and submission to Him in all matters contribute towards the realization of eternal peace.
Rest assured that the spiritual struggle of an aspirant ceases, the moment he puts himself entirely into the hands of God.
This is the culmination of all Sadhanas.
Give up all thought of your slackness or the insufficiency of your spiritual practices.
Rest completely on the bosom of the infinite Mother.
You are after all Her all trusting and ever dependent child.
Her guidance and protection are all that you need to wish for.
She is so benevolent and merciful.
Be ever conscious that you are eternally Hers, and Hers alone.
Realization of God is the fruit of self-surrender.
i.e., handing yourself over to Him totally with the result that you have no care or anxiety left to harass your mind.
So long as you are impatient and fretful, you push away from you the goal of attainment.
Be calm and self-sufficient, and you are face to face with your ideal.
The secret of Tapasya and solitude lies in your feeling about them.
The moment you realize that all your activities and works belong to the supreme Lord of your heart and of the universe, you will become conscious that you are at once in solitude in the midst of the crowd and that you have reached the end of all Tapasya.
Believe, in all things that you do, you are driven by a power which is all masterful, all loving and all beneficent. Don’t crave for a state of external renunciation of activity; but for the victory of peace and resignation in the midst of activity.
This is possible when you are grounded in the truth that you are merely a willing and submissive instrument.
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To always keep the name of God on the lips or in the mind is not the whole thing in the matter of God-remembrance. Constant repetition of the name ultimately takes you to the consciousness of God wherein remembrance of Him as such ceases.
Thereafter you maintain a steady consciousness of the indwelling Reality. Self surrender denotes this supreme state.
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The end of all Sadhanas is total self-surrender
which means giving over your individual life into the complete control and guidance of the supreme Lord
and thus remain ever in a state of perfect oneness with Him.
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It is He alone, within you and without you, that makes you act every part in this world-game.
Realize this and be free from all bondages, and
enjoy the ecstasy and peace of immortality.
Complete surrender to God denotes the divinisation of life.
In this life there is neither acceptance nor rejection. Life must flow spontaneously like a river.
Whatever act you do will, in this condition, be utterly divine.
Don’t have any misgivings or doubts. Push on until the great Truth within you reveals itself in all its glory through every part of your being. This is the attainment and this is the goal.
The perfection in spiritual attainment lies ultimately in the total dedication and surrender
of yourself to the supreme Beloved who eternally dwells within you and pervades the entire universe.
This surrender grants you a vision of your eternal Beloved in all beings, creatures and things, nay the universe itself as the visible image of the Beloved. When you have experienced the ineffable delight and ecstasy of this exalted state, you will have reached the end of your Sadhana. Thereafter, you are utterly in His hands, and your whole life is filled at all times with the light and power of the Beloved.
The Asana, Dhyana, and even Smaran, performed as Sadhana, ceases, because you now attain to a consciousness which is ever surcharged with divine bliss, and all your actions will be done in a state of Samadhi, which is called “Sahaja Samadhi”.
Achieve this perfection, and be ever free, cheerful, contented and active.
See the Lord in all, love the Lord in all and serve the Lord in all.
Be such a Mahatma who, Gita says, is very rare to be found.
Identify yourself with the immortal Purusha-the witness-beyond the Gunas and Dwandwas-on one hand; surrender all your actions to the divine Shakti whose manifestation is the universe of name, form and movement-on the other.
Lastly, realize that the inactive Purusha-the witness, and the active Shakti or Prakriti-the witnessed, are the eternal aspects co-existing in the ultimate Godhead-the Purushottama, who is at once Purusha and Prakriti and beyond both.
The first two processes effectually eradicate the ego-sense, take you to the Impersonal, and then lead on to the still higher Impersonal Person-Nirguna Saguna. This is the complete, all-comprehensive Truth. This glorious realization makes it natural with you to love all alike and to enjoy the bliss of universal love. You love yourself, in all, and as all.
Surrender to God’s will denotes the assertion of your higher will which is one with the will of God.
God resides in you.
When your individual will ceases to exist,
the divine will starts to work in you,
or you become conscious of a divine possession,
and thereafter in all your actions, great and small, you are controlled and guided by your own omnipotent will.
Here there is no conflict, but a transmutation of the human into the Divine Will.
GENERAL
You can conquer the effects of Prarabdha by absorption in the Almighty Spirit through constant meditation.
In fact, by this practice you transcend the notion of the body and remain unaffected by the pains attending on it.
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In short, it is here the immortal Reality of your existence is revealed, and you are absorbed in the ineffable bliss of it.
Human life is mainly intended for the one great purpose of knowing God. To know God is to know one’s Self. God and universe, God and soul, are not different. He is the one great Truth who is, and has become all.
The word ‘desire’ in common parlance is used for the cravings of the senses. This desire must be subdued by substituting it with a burning aspiration of God. If desire could be used in both cases, we can say that the desire for worldly things must be substituted by the desire for the Eternal.
In the last stage, when the Divine is attained, you become perfectly desireless, having neither a hankering for sense objects nor a longing for the Divine.
Through Bhakti yoga, the Kundalini is awakened and made to rise upwards. You need not watch her progress.
Yours is to increase your devotion to God and so adjust your life as to keep Him always in your thought.
Adopt the path of self surrender to Divine Mother-Shakti.
Put yourself in Her hands and permit Her to transform your life from the human to the divine. Jivatman is the lower or individual self and the Paramatman is the higher or universal Self.
God’s creation is there before you just as you have the light from the sun; in other words, it is the very nature of God to reveal Himself as the entire cosmos. Here the question why and wherefore does not arise. If you look at the world from its source which is God you cannot but visualise all activities of creatures and things in nature as the lila of the Lord.
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Truth has, of course, to be accepted at first intellectually, but eventually, it has to be realized.
A burning aspiration to experience the bliss of the Truth is the one thing needed.
Have this, and you will come by that supreme joy and freedom which is beyond the pleasures of the mere intellect. Be ever courageous, free and cheerful.
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Thus speaks Ramdas
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SURRENDER
43. The only way to be always happy is to submit to God’s will, and leaving everything to Him, to be contented in the condition in which He places us. Surrender means inner contentment and peace. It means giving up of the ego-sense. Until the ego-sense is completely eliminated, we cannot realise God.
44. Self-surrender means that we throw the whole burden of life, our anxieties and sorrows on the Supreme Lord who is the Master of all and keep our mind filled with calmness and peace that comes from His constant remembrance.
45. Cling to the Lord in all situations. Do not worry about anything. Have complete trust in God. Give up all superstitious notions. Do not mind the opinions of the world about you. Court the society of pure and noble souls. Whenever changes come in your life, take them that they come by God’s will alone. Take to the changes naturally and cheerfully.
46. We are ever under God’s care and protection. We are never forsaken. God is all love. We have doubts about this because we are not conscious of His love. Let us know once and for all that He is our sole refuge. We are ever watched over, guided and lovingly taken care of by Him. So let us surrender ourselves to Him, keeping up His remembrance always.
47. Surrender to God as you are. It is not that we must purify ourselves first and then go to Him. He must purify us. We must go to him as a child to its mother. If the child goes to her in a dirty condition, the mother does not turn it away nor ask it to come clean. She herself takes the child and bathes it clean. God is more loving than the earthly mother.
48. When we surrender to God and allow ourselves to be guided by Him, all ‘obstacles’ that come on the way are found to be helpful and beneficial to our progress. Life is a battle for all. There is joy in winning as well as losing in this battle. Let your heart be ever in tune with God. Then winning and losing are seen as the play of the Divine.
49. Some persons say that surrender is a sign of weakness.
Ramdas says it is the path of the strong.
Surrender is not so easy as people seem to think.
It is very hard to eradicate the ego sense.
Surrender is the only way to root out the ego. It is the straight path that leads to God.
50. Really, man has no will of his own.
There is only one Divine will at work everywhere and in all.
It is a mistake to think that we, as individuals, have got any power to do anything. God is behind everything. His power does all things. If we know that His power is alone active in us and submit to Him, we shall be free from the ego-sense and realise that we are the infinite, universal Spirit.
51. Know once and for all that, as an individual actor, you do not exist.
It is the one Divine Shakti or Power that controls and guides all movements and changes in the world. You are the instrument actuated by God’s power; you are the very expression of God – nay, you are God Himself!
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54. So long as intuition has not dawned in you, you have to be guided by reason.
But reason is liable to go wrong. For, when reason works, the ego-sense is present.
But when intuition is working, the ego-sense is absent.
So intuition guides you unerringly.
Intuition is the voice of God within you.
55. It is very hard for others to know whether, in a particular case, it is reason or intuition that is working in a person. It is a matter of inner experience for that person. Others cannot know it. But it is possible to a certain extent to find it out from what the person does or says. Perfect unselfishness is a mark of intuition. The intellect often works as an instrument of the ego. But it is difficult to know.
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GRACE 60. God has made the law of Karma, but He can also set it aside. If He cannot brush aside His law, the law will be greater than He. This cannot be. For, He is the infinite, omnipotent Lord. So He must have the power to suspend any law. Generally God does not interfere. He allows the Karma to be worked out. But He may, in special cases, go beyond His law and by His grace free the soul from the bondage of Karma.
61. Our mind turns towards God only by His grace.
It is His grace that makes us yearn for Him. Grace is self-revealing.
When Grace comes to us, our heart becomes perfectly pure and we overflow with love for all beings.
We shall have no ill-feeling towards anybody. We shall experience a rare joy which we never had before.
62. Does faith come first or Grace first? It has been conclusively proved by saints who have had the highest spiritual experience that Grace comes first. Without Grace we cannot have faith in God. The true devotee says: “Oh God, I remember You because You remembered me first”.
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63. Our ego-sense makes us think we can attain Him by our Sadhana or struggle.
But we soon realise our helplessness and know that our efforts are by themselves of no avail.
Then we surrender to Him and depend on His mercy.
Thus we need His grace at the beginning, in the middle and at the end.
Grace is all-in-all.
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64. We cannot get Grace by virtue of our so-called merit. The worst sinners have received Grace and become pure and glorious. Purity is not a precondition for Grace. It is the flow of Grace that makes the heart pure. When grace comes, it comes, not because we deserve it, nor as a reward for our Sadhana, but only out of God’s boundless mercy and love. One who gets Grace never feels he is worthy of it.
65. The way of Grace is mysterious. You struggle for it and you do not get it. Sometimes, without any struggle, you get it. Its working is governed by something beyond all laws. It is not bound by any rules, regulations or conditions. You are wonder-struck when Grace comes to apparently undeserving persons, while the so-called deserving ones are still waiting for it.
66. Looked at from another angle, it must be said Grace is pouring on all alike.
Some receive it and some do not.
Some people open the windows of their hearts to receive Grace and benefit by it while others keep them closed and so they do not get it.
But even to keep the windows of the heart open, we require inner aspiration and longing which can come to us only through His Grace.
67. Grace is ever pouring on us from God, as the sun is ever shedding light on all objects – opaque, translucent and transparent. But opaque objects do not reflect the light, translucent things reflect it but partially, while transparent things reflect it fully. The difference is not due to the absence or failure of sunlight, but due to the difference in the reflecting capacity of the objects. Similarly, we imbibe Grace and benefit by it according to our capacity to receive, according to our preparedness and purity.
68. If Grace is all in all, and comes of its own accord, governed by no laws and conditions, what is the place of Sadhana in spiritual life? Why should we perform Sadhana at all?
The secret is that Sadhana is done to make us realise that by Sadhana alone we cannot attain Him.
So long as our ego-sense persists we cannot see God.
When we know we are utterly helpless in spite of all our efforts to attain Him,
our ego-sense is crushed and we throw ourselves at His feet.
69. It is difficult to know why God reveals Himself to some and plays the game of hide-and-seek with others. It is His Lila. He cannot be accused of favouring some and forsaking others. Let us always remember that He ever dwells in us and that we ever dwell in Him. He who reveals Himself to us is He. He who plays hide-and-seek with us is also He. Everything is He. Guru is He, Shishya is He, Player is He, Witness is He. There is none but He. Realise this great truth and rest happy.
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76. There are four stages of God-consciousness.
First, by total surrender, the ego is dissolved completely. Egolesness means realisation of the all-pervading Spirit or God. We know that we and that Spirit are one.
After that comes the universal vision of the Divine everywhere. The whole universe is seen as the expression of that Spirit. We see God everywhere.
In the third stage we see the manifest and the unmanifest as two aspects of One Truth
which is both and yet beyond both.
It is unthinkable, incomprehensible and inexpressible.
We can express something about the dynamic and the static aspects, that is, the Reality with form and without form, but that which is beyond these is incomprehensible and inexpressible. God is at once dynamic, static and transcendent.
Even after realising this supreme Godhead, there is a fourth stage in which we maintain a relationship with Him. It is purely personal. It is the best and sweetest relationship.
We become one with God and yet we remain His child, servant or lover – two in One and One in two.
LOVE
80. Divine Love is the highest attainment. All spiritual practices should end in this sweet consummation.
Love is the end of the quest.
See that you are absorbed in God who is Love and become an image of Him.
Let all our emotions be of love.
Life is dry and insipid if it is not filled with love.
Be intoxicated with love – the love that blesses you with a vision of your Beloved.
All beings are the forms of your Beloved.
Grace, Love and Bliss are synonymous. The three are one in your Beloved and you are He. Dance with joy.
84.
Love breaks all barriers. Even body-consciousness is transcended under the intoxication of love.
What to say then of man-made distinctions created by allegiance to creed, race and institutions? Love is a great unifying force. It is a solvent of differences and diversities. It creates unity.
But to love truly, one must have knowledge of the Self. On the basis of Self-knowledge alone one can love all with an equal eye.
90. A Sadhaka should be wide awake, alert and heedful. He should closely watch the movements of his mind to wean it away gradually from the path of ignorance and guide it on the path of knowledge.
He should develop a witness consciousness through meditation and self surrender. It is a state of awareness of the immortal and radiant Truth within him. In fact, this awareness itself is God-realisation.
91. All visions of lights and forms have to be transcended before the absolute Reality can be realised.
The visions are surely milestones on the spiritual path. But do not cling to them.
92. Give up doubts and churning of the intellect.
Feel you are a simple child of the Lord and thus enter into His being.
This is the easy way to reach Him.
Do not perplex the mind with questions.
Be humble, pure and cheerful, taking refuge in Him.
Follow the straight and simple path of devotion.
Open the flood-gates of your heart and allow Prem, pure love, that is in you, to flow over unimpeded to the holy feet of the Lord seated within.
Remember that God’s grace is ever with you.
Benefit by its redeeming influence, by opening yourself to receive it and becoming aware of the Amrita Vrishti – shower of nectar.
93. Some churning of the mind or intellect may be there.
But after some time, this process should stop so that the butter of Divine Bliss may be formed and collected.
After the impurities are eliminated, pure and divine emotions rise up.
Even this stage is passed when the infinite silence of the inner peace is experienced.
Here the rippling and dancing river mingles with the calm waters of the ocean.
That is the end of all Sadhana.
94. You cannot please everybody in the world. When the mind is drawn within and you are absorbed in the Self, you will be unaffected by what people say about you. Be true to the Atman within you
95. Cultivate the consciousness that keeps you detached from the mind and its antics.
This can be done only by your continued remembrance of the Divine Power that resides in you.
Despair and dejection are enemies on the path of spiritual progress.
Do not allow the mind to be depressed on any account.
Keep yourself cheerful by chanting the Mantra.
Your life must flow in a spontaneous and natural way.
Your nature should become childlike.
102. Adversity is not undesirable, because, it is only when you are down and out in life that you can realise its true value.
Face all the vicissitudes in life by throwing yourselves completely at the mercy of the Almighty Lord.
When you are made to go through the fire of suffering, you can come out of it purified and strengthened.
Such suffering constitutes real Sadhana for attaining God.
The more bitter it is, the more rapid becomes your spiritual progress.
God-realisation does not mean living in worldly comfort and opulence.
It means living in peace and freedom, whatever the external conditions may be.
For such a person misery has no sting. The lives of most of the great saints of the world clearly show that they had the worst of sufferings. When you are disowned by the world you become the acknowledged child of God.
103. Heroes are they who suffer and sacrifice for the sake of Truth or God.
Strange are the ways of the Divine!
His most beloved devotees, to whom He reveals Himself in all His glory, are made by Him to pass through great trials and tribulations both before and after they are accepted by Him.
Before they realise Him, these sufferings are for their own self-purification and after their realisation, they are for the uplift and redemption of mankind.
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ONE IS REAL
All life is one Stand apart from it.
And you are in a trap; Feel one with it And you are free.
Say, “I am life of all life”.
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I am you. How can we be two?
How untrue the two-ness,
How real the one!
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