Life 44 (Sep 22 - Jan 23)

[winston]

When the wisdom and bliss that we seek are transcendental, is it necessary to foster this body and mind?

A man who seeks to enjoy the fruit of a tree, cannot be content with nourishing only the flowers. He has to nourish the roots, trunk, branches, leaves and the flowers.

Likewise, the man who seeks the highest Jnana (wisdom), has to nourish the body, senses and feelings appropriately.

For this purpose, the nine forms of devotion have been prescribed for seekers.

The mind, it has been said, is the cause of bondage or liberation. The heart is like a lock and the mind is the key.

When the key is turned towards the Divine, there is detachment. When it is turned towards the world, there is attachment. Thus, the mind is the cause of either liberation or bondage.

Therefore, the mind has to be directed towards what is holy and pure. Then you will lead a free, joyous, and blissful life.

The man who has developed such an attitude will be in a permanent state of bliss. He will be the embodiment of bliss.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1989.

Attachment to the world can be destroyed only by attachment to the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

True Understanding of the Mind

The true understanding is that the mind includes everything;

When you think something comes from outside, it means only that something appears in your mind.

- Suzuki Roshi, “Small Mind, Big Mind”

[winston]

Taking a Break from the Cushion

There might be periods—a year or even two—when we can’t get to the cushion but that doesn’t mean we have to give up.

We can still carry meditation inside, still see and feel as a meditator, but physically practice differently.

- Natalie Goldberg, “Rules for a Long-Term Relationship”

[winston]

Seek Nothing

We do not seek anything in the whole wide world while sitting.

We take sitting, as a matter of profound trust, to be itself the action and embodiment of Buddhas and ancestors.

- Jundo Cohen, “The Backwards Wisdom of Shikantaza”

[winston]

How should we pray? What must we do to ensure that our prayers reach the Divine?

Christmas means the Mass that is held on the birthday of Christ. It is fundamentally a sacred religious rite.

To deal with it as if it is a festival for drinking and dancing or even for recalling Jesus to memory, is very wrong.

The day must be spent in prayer; not merely this day, but cultivate the spiritual discipline (sadhana) of prayer as a normal way of life.

Prayers for worldly ends do not reach Him. They will reach only those deities who deal with such restricted spheres.

But, all prayers arising from pure love, unselfish eagerness to render service, and from hearts that are all-inclusive will reach the Divine. For, He is the very Embodiment of love.

We know that we have to see the Moon only through the moonlight. So too, He who is love can be seen and realised only through love.

Love is the Divine, live in Love.

- Divine Discourse, Dec 24, 1980.

What the world needs today is the redeeming and unifying force of love - love which continually expands and embraces more and more people.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we tame the most powerful instrument we possess, our mind?

The mind hops from belief to doubt, from one conclusion to its negation and it causes turmoil and confusion. But, there is one method by which it can be conquered.

The black bee can bore a hole in the hardest wood. But, when dusk intervenes while it is sipping the nectar from the lotus flower and, as a result, when the open petals close in on the bee, it finds itself imprisoned, with no hope of escape. It does not know how to deal with softness!

So too, the mind can play its tricks and jump wantonly in any arena; but when placed on the lotus feet of the Divine, it becomes inactive and harmless.

In order to offer the mind entirely to Him, deep detachment from worldly desires is needed.

Superficial devotion or shallow steadfastness cannot succeed. To fell the hard sandalwood tree, a heavy axe of steel is needed.

- Divine Discourse, Dec 24, 1980.

Detach the mind from the temporary and attach it to the eternal.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the prerequisite for self-inquiry and discovery of the Atma (Inner-Self)?

The benefit we can derive from anything, is proportional to the faith we place in it.

From adoration of the Divine, pilgrimages to holy places, uttering mantras or resorting to doctors, we derive benefits only according to the measure of our faith.

When someone gives a discourse, the more faith we have in them as a scholar and an exponent, the more clearly and directly we can draw the subject into our hearts and understand the discourse deeper and deeper.

For the growth of faith and for the fostering of understanding, an essential requirement is the purity of the heart, or purity of the kshetra (field), or purity of chittha (consciousness).

Without this purity, the sudden effort of self-inquiry or investigation into the self-existent Atma, while in the midst of diverse worldly and material entanglements, will be rendered fruitless, since it will not stem from an eager will.

The chittha must first be withdrawn from the objective world and turned inward toward the awareness of the Atma.

- Vidya Vahini, Ch 9.

The one who discriminates well before engaging in any activity will naturally
be righteous in conduct and behaviour.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Of what avail is prayer? Does the Divine really respond to prayers or is He just a witness who dispenses what we are destined to receive?

If the devotee has dedicated everything - body, mind, and existence - to the Divine, He will Himself look after everything, for He will always be with the devotee!

Under such conditions, there is no need for prayer. But have you so dedicated yourself and surrendered everything to Him? No!

When losses occur, calamities come, or plans go awry, devotees blame Him. Some, on the other hand, pray to Him to save them!

If you avoid both of these, as well as reliance on others, if you place complete faith in Him at all times, why should He deny you His grace? Why should He desist from helping you?

People do not rely fully and unswervingly on the Divine. Though you must be the agent and the instrument doing everything, continue to pray with devotion and faith.

Faith is the product of peace, not of haste and hurry. For acquiring Hia grace and the resulting awareness of His reality, the quality of peace is the prime need.

- Prasanthi Vahini, Ch 7.

The Divine no doubt can help but He expects you to use the strength and talents
given to you before seeking Divine help.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Letting Go of Control

To maintain a deep, sustained practice of mindfulness, is to consistently disidentify with the experience of self as willing agent, to let go of the obsessive need to discriminate, judge, and choose.

- C. W. Huntington, Jr., “Are You Looking to Buddhism When You Should Be Looking to Therapy?”

[winston]

How can we perform our duties as a true instrument of the Divine?

The see-er should not attach himself to the seen; that is the way to get free.

The contact of the senses with the object, arouses desire and attachment; this leads to effort and either elation or despair; then, there is the fear of loss or grief at failure and the train of reactions lengthens.

With many doors and windows kept open to all the winds that blow, how can the flame of the lamp within survive?

That lamp is the mind, which must burn steadily unaffected by the dual demands of the world outside.

Complete surrender to the Divine, is one way of closing the windows and doors, for, then, in that stance of "complete surrender to Him", you are bereft of ego and so, you are not buffeted by joy or grief.

Complete surrender makes you draw upon the grace of the Divine, for meeting all the crises in your career and so, it renders you heroic, more stalwart, and better prepared for the battle.

- Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1965.

Devotion and faith are the two oars with which you can take the boat across the sea of worldly life.

Source: radiosai.org