The miserable life of worldliness - A Summary
“For one who has conquered his mind, a mind is best of friends, but for one who has failed to do so, a mind is the greatest enemy.” - Lord Krishna
Taken from "Thus spake Sivananda" - by Swami Sivananda
There is something dearer than wealth, there is something dearer than wife, there is something dearer than the son, there is something dearer than your life itself. That dearer something is thy own Self, Inner Ruler, Immortal.
Who is wife? Who is son? Who are you? Who am I? Wherefrom have we come? Think deeply on these. Leave off this world, which is a dream, and seek the one, eternal, undivided essence of Brahman.
Will your son or daughter or friend or relative help you when you are about to die?
Will they accompany you to share your miseries? Have you got one sincere, unselfish friend in all this world?
All are selfish! There is no pure love. But that Lord, your real Friend of friends, Father of fathers, who dwells in your heart, will never forsake you, though you may forget Him. Adore Him in silence, that God of gods, that Divinity of divinities, the Highest of the high!
Selfishness retards spiritual progress.
If anyone can destroy his selfishness, half of his spiritual Sadhana is over. No Samadhi or meditation is possible without eradication of this undesirable negative quality.
In the whirlpool of fleeting sensual pleasures, you have forgotten the purpose of life and its goal. In your pursuit after the phantom-shows of worldly vanities, you have annihilated the spiritual instincts and longings of the Soul. What a sad state! Mysterious is Maya! Mysterious is Moha!
You do not know even a single Sloka of the Gita or the Upanishads.
You do not know how to sit on Padmasana. You do not know the efficacy of Mantra, Kirtana. You do not know anything about self-analysis, mind-control, self-restraint, concentration and introspection. You have lived in vain! You have wasted this precious life. Hotels, restaurants, cinema houses are your abodes of immortality or Vaikuntha Dhama. Really you are leading a miserable life. If you can talk something on dry politics, you think you are a great hero!
Time is fleeting.
The night is wasted in sleep and pleasure. The day is wasted in idle talk, amassing money and maintenance of the family. Days, months and years are rolling away. Hairs have become grey. Teeth have fallen. You are attached to perishable objects through Moha. Tell me, friends, how long will you be a slave to the fleeting things of the world? How long are you going to repeat the same sensual enjoyments?
How long do you wish to worship mammon and woman? When will you find time to meditate on the Lord and to do virtuous deeds? Think and reflect.
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Everything has to go
“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” - Socrates
"Thus spake Sivananda" - by Swami Sivananda - Part VII
Kings and lords will pass away. This world will pass away with all its occupants. The sun, moon and stars will pass away. All joys and sorrows will pass away. Wife, children, wealth, property will pass away. The five elements, the earth and heaven will pass away. Only Brahman, the Pure Satchidananda, will shine eternally.
O man! Wealth, vehicles, sons, women, dominions, property are worthless! They are all perishable. Seek the lotus feet of the Lord and attain immortality, eternal bliss and supreme peace!
It is due to the veil of ignorance that you have forgotten your real essential nature, the Sat-Chit-Ananda state. It is not at all necessary for you to renounce the world and run to some Himalayan cave to regain your lost divinity. Here is an easy Sadhana by which you can definitely attain God-consciousness, even while living in the world amidst multifarious activities.
You need not necessarily have a separate meditation room or fix some time for meditation.
Close your eyes for a minute or two once in every two hours and think of God and His various divine qualities such as mercy, love, joy, knowledge, purity, perfection and so forth during work and mentally repeat Hari Oum or Sri Ram or Ram Ram or the Ram Nam (*Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Oum) or any other Mantra according to your taste.
This should be done even during night whenever you happen to get up from bed to micturate or on any other account.
Though you are not in the habit of getting up from sleep, you should do this practice at least occasionally when you slightly change your posture during sleep. This sort of habit will come only by repeated practice.
Feel all along that the body is a moving temple of God, your office or business house is a big temple or Brindavan, and all activities such as walking, eating, breathing, seeing, hearing, reading, etc., are offerings unto the Lord. Work is worship. Work is meditation, when done in the right spirit.
Work for work’s sake without any motive, without the idea of agency and without expectation of fruits.
Feel that you are an instrument in the hands of God and that He works through your organs. Feel also that this world is a manifestation of the Lord or Visva Brindavan and your children, wife, father, mother and other relations are the images or children of the Lord.
See God in every face and in every object. If you develop this changed angle of vision and Divine Bhava by protracted and constant practice, all actions will become Puja or worship of the Lord. This is quite sufficient.
You will have God-realisation soon. This is a dynamic Yoga. This is an easy Sadhana.
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If You Would Know The Guru
Part 5
Those devotees who so looked at Guruji as an incarnation of God that they used to analyze his every utterance. They would debate, "What did he mean by that?" Even if he made some casual remark, some would worry, "He said this to me. Oh, my, what did he mean? What have I done?" Or, "Now, there must be some deep spiritual meaning in what he has said. If I can just get at the core of it, I'm going to have divine realization." Or, because something unusual would happen, "Did you know Master performed a miracle?" To these devotees, every thing Master said had to be a divine revelation that was going to shake the world; and every fortuitous oc currence had to be a miracle he had performed!
We certainly saw Master perform many remarkable workings of divine law—many healings, many miracles. But to think constantly that everything that was happening was due to Guruji's manipulating the laws of nature, that again was not the right attitude, because those devotees would soon become disillusioned: "I needed this miracle; why didn't he do this for me? It was such a little thing, and then I would have been free of my mood, or my temptation, or my problem." Or, "If Master had worked some divine intercession,.... would not have to go through this trouble now. Why didn't he perform that miracle?
What I am trying to show you is this balance of what it means to be God incarnate in this world. "God incarnate" means just that: The divine consciousness incarnates in a human body to play the lila, to dream the dream; yet keeps one side of that consciousness awake, so that while playing this lila that divinity can also show through and reach out and inspire and bless and light the way for all to follow.
To be continued
Sri Mrinalini Mata
YSS Magazine, 2003
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"Love is one of the greatest stimulants to the will," Gurudeva said "Under the influence of love the will can do almost anything." for God, love for others, love for the work you do will energize your spirit. By meditation, attune yourself with the Source of all love.
Draw fearlessness from constant remembrance of the One who love you unconditionally and watches over you every instant of your existence.
No matter what you encounter, have implicit trust that He will see you through. Then, instead of being thrown off balance by the shifting sands of this uncertain world, you will stand steady on inner bedrock of the joy and security you have in the Beloved of your soul.
Feel the smile of His love within, infusing you with His strength and peace; and let that all-conquering smile shine through your eyes and your smile upon all you do and all whom you meet.
Sri Daya Mata
YSS Magazine, 2001
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