You Should Feel the Support of Sadguru
We must face any situation that arises, with an undaunted, unaffected mind. The mind is unmoved by any extraneous thing or circumstance if it remains absorbed in contemplation of God. We can achieve this by dint of steady practice, but without worrying about it. Think lovingly of God, leave your cares to His able shoulders, and keep your mind in unperturbed restfulness, joyfulness. Inherent propensities are not controlled by command; they are purified and ennobled by diverting them towards God. Remember always that everything that happens is by His will. Ascribe calamities as well as pleasing happenings to Him, and be contented to live as He wills you to.
Some kind of apparent cause is required to stimulate the love of God that is dormant in the heart. Pilgrimage to holy places, and association with holy persons, are such a common cause. Even shree Rama performed such pilgrimages and met holy persons.
To associate with saints and the saintly, with some ulterior motive at the back of the mind, is not the proper thing to do. A saint may occasionally grant a mundane wish, but by and large, his object is to create in you disgust for worldly interests, and thereby, the heart may be purified and elevated by mere association with such noble minds. The divine name itself provides such association, because at the back of it stands God Himself. An upsurge of mundane desire is the effect of maya, or forgetting God; whereas, remembering the divine name is a sign of remembrance of God.
The ultimate aim of all religious austerities, all penance, is a burning desire to surrender unreservedly to God. One who so utterly surrenders himself no longer remains distinct and separate; his identity merges into God. To achieve this is the goal of paramartha.
You should never feel hesitation in admitting that you are the disciple of your sadguru. You may be sure you are under my protection. I am immune to both pleasure and pain; and yet I feel sorry when you feel distressed or depressed. So take care never to feel distress or depression. I am perfectly aware of the common man's worries; and it is with this full awareness that I exhort you to devote yourself to nama-smarana. I have said it before and I say it again, be what you may, but never give up the Lord's name.
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