Life 46 (Aug 23 - May 24)

[winston]

Why do we feel that we are not receiving the Divine’s Grace?

You stay far away and complain that Grace has not come! You do not scrape off, by the process of repentance, mud and rust that prevent attachment.

You come near for some time and stray away into the distance. I don't mean physical distance at all. You may be physically far but mentally by His side.

He does not measure distance in miles or metres; He is with you, in you, beside you, ever; only you must be aware of Him and make use of His presence.

You must become an Artha (wealthy person), torn by intense suffering to sense the Divine.

Suffer the pangs of distress. You must realise that mere suffering is fruitless, without the knowledge of the path to attain the Divine. You have to be transformed into a jijnasu, a seeker.

Analyse the four Purusharthas (four goals of life) and realise that Moksha (Liberation) is the goal, the culmination.

Start craving for that, as an Artharti, the lover of the truest gain. Seek that which, when secured, all else is secured!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 03, 1965.

Let all the pining and all the attachment be for the Divine; He alone is eternal, the source of all joy.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the secret to enduring peace and bliss?

There is nothing greater than pure love. You have all been drawn to the Divine by this love.

To give love and to receive love is His business. No income-tax officer knows the extent of ‘income’ derived from this ‘business’.

There is no limit to His Ananda (Divine Bliss). This is because His bliss is associated with love and not any material objects.

If you follow this path, you will also derive ineffable bliss. You will realise peace of every kind.

Look with an equal mind on good fortune and misfortune, on happiness and sorrow, loss and gain. These are products of nature like heat and cold, summer and winter. They have their purposes to serve.

Similarly, the ups and downs of life have lessons to teach us. In fact, without reverses in life, we will not experience Divinity.

Without darkness, we don’t value light. Without experiencing difficulties, we will not enjoy benefits.

It is a lack of peace of mind which compels us to seek the means to realise enduring peace. The Scriptures declare that through renunciation alone, is immortality to be attained.

Learn to practise renunciation and discover the secret of enduring peace and bliss!

- Divine Discourse, Apr 06, 1983.

Fixing their minds on the insecure changing love, how tragic it is that people forget the cultivation of the disciplines that will give them the permanent bliss of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Never pollute your speech with falsehood; never poison your thoughts with hatred and greed; never degrade your body with violence in any form. - BABA

[winston]

Even the evil ones can teach us lessons.

When man fails to use his attainments for the welfare of others, he becomes a demon.

In a competitive race for individual glory, he is only condemning himself. He spends billions to get to the Moon and bring rocks from its crust, instead of feeding millions who starve down below and promoting the prosperity of backward nations.

Even the best of things can be misused by men. The demons in the ancient legends had vast scholarship, enormous economic, military power and even immense yogic and occult skills won by years of austerity and disciplined living.

But, they could not earn one skill, the skill to suppress the ego, and so, they became too obstinate, too obstructive and too dangerous to be allowed to live and prosper.

The lesson taught is that man should be the master of his ego, if he is to succeed in the art of successful living.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 25, 1973.

Let Compassion and Sacrifice be your two eyes; let Egolessness be your breath and Love be your tongue. Let Peace reverberate in your ears.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the feeling with which we must chant the "Name of the Divine"?

When you repeat the Name, all the sweetness of the Form and its associated glory, must come to memory and just as your mouth waters when you remember some sweet dish you relish, your mind must ‘water’ when you contemplate the Name.

Choose the Name that captivates your heart. Why run after riches when all the pleasure and satisfaction that riches can offer - and even a hundred-fold more - can be got by dwelling on the Name?

The Divine has said that where His Name is sung, “There I am present”. He establishes Himself there! He will not move from that place. So, the tongue is enough to win Him, the tongue that speaks the language of the pure mind.

The Divine is a Wish-fulfilling Tree. You must approach Him and develop attachment to Him. You must win His grace and be ever near Him, keeping back all the forces that draw you away from Him.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 29, 1963.

The Name will cleanse your mind as well as those who hear it. Keeping it on the tongue is akin to keeping a lamp lit on the entrance door step leading to your house.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the demonic trait we must seek to destroy within?

Asuras (demons) have another name in Samskrit - Naktanchara, one who moves in the dark.

This is a fair description of their pathetic condition. They have no light to guide them; they don’t recognise they are in the dark; they don’t call out for light; they are unaware of light.

Their intellect has become the bondslave of their passions and their senses, instead of establishing itself as their master.

When at last, truth appears before them and overwhelms them, they recognise the One and merge happily in it. The lamp is not merely a symbol of knowledge of Truth. It is also the symbol of the One, the Atma that shines in and through all this multiplicity.

Just as with one lamp, a thousand lamps can be lit and the One is as bright as ever despite thousands deriving light from it, so too, the Atma (soul-spirit) illumines the jiva (individual self) and shines in and through them, without undergoing any diminution in its splendour.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 25, 1973.

If there is no sorrow, one cannot know the value of happiness. If there is no darkness, the value of light cannot be appreciated.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should we hold on to the Sadhana (Spiritual Practice) of singing and chanting the name of the Divine?

Meditation, sacrifice and worship, were prescribed as the primary means of liberation.

Namasmarana (remembrance of the name) is the easiest path to liberation in this Kali Yuga. Therefore, people born in this yuga, are more fortunate than those that lived in the other three yugas. But, unfortunately, people today are not able to follow such an easy path.

You are unable to sit steadily even for a couple of minutes. Then what sort of penance can you perform? It is impossible.

Therefore, take refuge in namasmarana. There is no greater sadhana than this. When you continuously sing the Divine Name, it drives away all your evil qualities.

You yourself can see how blissful you become when you sing the Divine Name. That is why He is described as a lover of music.

There is so much bliss in singing. It captivates one’s heart so that one is lost in ecstasy. That is why singing is considered most valuable.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1996.

Have the Divine’s name on your tongue, the divine form in your eye, the divine glory in your heart - then even thunderbolts will pass you by quietly.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why and how should we chant the Name of the Divine?

Just as calcium and vitamin tablets are given to cure anaemia, take "Repetition-of-the-Name" tablets to get rid of mental anaemia and other illnesses.

There are some throat pastilles, which you must carry in your mouth and whose taste you must slowly swallow to relieve cough; similarly, repeat the Name on your tongue and imbibe its taste slowly to get rid of troublesome upsurge of passions and emotions.

Keep the Name lit on your tongue; it will illumine your interior and the exterior. It will cleanse your mind as well as minds of those who hear the Name when you recite it.

Keeping it on the tongue is like keeping a lamp lit on the doorstep at the entrance to your house. Repetition of Name (Namasmarana) is the best spiritual discipline; the most beneficial good action. It is the highest prayer and most profitable spiritual exercise.

Fill the Name with your love whenever you repeat it; saturate it with devotion. That is the easiest path for all of you.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 29, 1963.

The wealth derived from repetition of the Divine’s name and meditation are good qualities (sadguna).

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the significance of repeating the Name of the Divine?

Believe that the Divine’s Name is the boat, which will take you across the sea of worldly life.

The Name is more efficacious than the contemplation of the Form.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1965.

We who are crossing the ocean of Samsara, need to cultivate the art of swimming through contemplation on the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

As aspirants, what is the most important lesson that we can learn from young children?

The Scriptures teach the path of devotion and surrender. They ask that man should do every deed in a spirit of dedication.

Allow the wind of doubt or the sun of despair, to affect the pot of joy (ananda) you have filled, and it will evaporate quickly. But keep the pot in the cool waters of good company and good deeds; it can be preserved undiminished forever!

Ananda too grows when you dwell on it in silence and recapitulate the circumstances which yielded it. That is why recapitulation is held so important a part of spiritual effort.

Like the child which throws off its toys and starts crying, you too must realise the paltriness of the toys of fame & fortune and call out for the mother!

The child feels that all else is trash before the love of the mother and the blessedness of her presence. One should not aspire for anything less!

- Divine Discourse, Jul 02, 1966.

You must look upon the Divin as an ‘Old friend’. There is no greater friend in the world than Him.

Source: radiosai.org