reminiscences

The Joy of Feeding someone to His fill and seeing him contented is Indescribable.

While ShriMaharaj was once travelling in Karnataka, along with him was a doctor from Bombay. One day, in one of the towns, they had an occasion to partake of snacks at ten or twelve different houses. On being urged to eat more at yet another house, the doctor lost his patience, and he said, "Do you mean to overfeed us and burst our tummies? Enough of this urging to eat more!" When ShriMaharaj heard of this incident, he said, "Doctor, if these people invited us, it was not from a practical stand­point that we are in want of food, or to show off that they have more than enough. They invited us only out of love. It was with the intention that they may experience the joy resulting from what we eat or what we accept, that they urged us to eat more. To be able to experience the joy of giving away of food, that is, for one to feel joy when someone else has eaten, is nothing but grace of God. You haven't enjoyed, in all your life, an occasion to give away food. It is because you do not know what joy it brings that you lost your temper for a bit of urging to eat more."

reminiscences

NAMA AND ITS GLORY ARE FOR ALL TIME

Someone started a tape - recorder to record ShriMaharaj's words when he would begin to speak. Re­ferring to that, ShriMaharaj said, "Sir, for whom is this machine meant ? Men in today's politics make promises and Later say that they had not made them; they deny their utterances. It is so that they may not be able to do so, to repeat back to them in exactly the same words what­ever they have said, that this machine has been invented. This is not applicable in my case. Ever since I was able to speak, to this moment, I have spoken of nothing other than the glory of the Name of God, and there is no possi­bility of this ever changing. Therefore, there is no use for this machine in my case. Even so, I have no objection to starting the machine to keep all of you pleased,"

reminiscences

THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF A SAINT HAS NO IMPORTANCE

   While Shri Brahmananda Maharaj was at Beldhadi, a scholar learned in the scriptures came to see him. On

noticing the spots of leucoderma on the feet and legs of ShriBrahmanandamaharaj, a misgiving arose in his mind. After a little while Aarati was performed before Rama, in the temple. After it was over, ShriBrahmanandamaharaj on purpose took upon himself to serve Tirtha. Ganeshbhat, the priest, followed him, serving Prasad. When, while serv­ing Tirtha to all, ShriBrahmanandamaharaj came upto the learned pundit he turned to Ganeshbhat and said aloud, "Look, it will not do for the learned pundit to re­ceive Tirtha from my hands. So you serve him Tirtha and Prasad."

TO TREAT LIFE LIKE A PLAY IS KARMAYOGA

A professor of Sanskrit once asked ShriMaharaj, "The Lord says in the Gita: 'To action alone hast thou a right, and never at all to its fruits'. How can one observe this in everyday life?" ShriMaharaj said, "It is a maxim, and one does follow it in everyday life, but one does not real­ize it. Sometimes one plays a game of cards; many a time one does not get good cards for maybe two or three times in a row. In spite of this, one does not throw the cards down and quit. One continues to play with all diligence with whatever cards one gets in each deal. To retain the state of mind which prevails at that time, in all actions in life, is called Karmayoga. This is what the Lord has told in this verse."

TT

* A rendering of Sanskrit : (Gita, 2.47)

One Should appreciate that God sustains One’s Household

A very good disciple of ShriMaharaj remained without any gainful employment after the age of retirement. The amount of pension being meagre, the household expenses were being met from the earnings of his son. ShriMaharaj said to him, "Can you make both ends meet every month? I do not want the answer, 'You are taking care of every­thing.' Tell me what is the real condition? The son said, "The last ten days of the month are difficult." Upon this ShriMaharaj said, "That is a very good thing. At least in those ten days a realization prevails that God provides sustenance for one's household. Such a realization should be considered grace of God." About the total amount of wealth in the world ShriMaharaj used to say, "One fourth of the globe comprises of land, and three - fourths of wa­ter. The total quantity of water remains constant, it does not change. Similarly, when there is an inflow of money on one side, there is an outflow of it on someone else's side. One should definitely presume that prosperity on one's side is adversity somewhere else. This means that accumulation of wealth by one is from another's state of want, or misfortune. Therefore, to enjoy that wealth is not in the interest of any devotee of God."

Because of Money, Corruption usually occurs in the Mind’s Functioning

ShriMaharaj used to employ the word 'Paika', for money, to indicate his contempt for it. Someone asked him, "Why do you use that particular word for money, instead of the commoner word "Paisa?" ShriMaharaj said, 'I use it to show my contempt.' The person again asked him, 'Is it not that God Himself has created money ? Then why do you consider it contemptible?' ShriMaharaj said, "I do not show contempt for money as an object. But because of money the mind's functioning becomes corrupted. Although one's subsistence is derived by the grace of God, money creates an illusion that it is derived from money. Because of temptation for money, one forgets God. This is what I do not like. No matter how much money he ob­tains, the person who retains a constant awareness that it has been obtained by the grace of God should be consid­ered a very fortunate person. Secondly, other undesirable pursuits have limitations imposed by the body; money does not have them. Man never suffers from possessing 'surplus' money."

One’s Wish Ought not to Differ from Rama’s

A young widow had lived in the monastery of ShriMaharaj for some years. She contracted some dis­ease. Medication was given for about one to one - and - a half months, but with no avail. Then she said to ShriMaharaj, "There is no one who will weep for me upon my death. There is nothing to which my heart binds me. Even if you were to give me death right now, I am ready to depart from this world gladly. At least I will be free of this physical agony." ShriMaharaj did not like this talk of hers. He said, "You say that you now wholly belong to Rama. Such a person ought not to talk about departing from this world as long as Rama lets him be; likewise, when He comes to take him away he should not talk about staying on in this world for a minute longer. But man behaves exactly contrary to this."