Reminiscences

A gentleman was visiting Gondavale. He deposited his luggage in his room and went to see ShriMaharaj. ShriMaharaj expressed pleasure, and enquired,' Where are you putting up? He said that he was putting up in his own room. Upon this Shri Maharaj said rather jokingly, "One comes to Godnavale to lose the feeling of I and 'mine'. but you seem to have brought them along with you!

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Reminiscences

A sadhaka asked, 'Maharaj, why is so much impor­tance attached to companionship of the virtuous in at­tainment  of God ?' ShriMaharaj said, 'The mind is fickle, and it is very difficult for it to remain firm. God's grace plays an important part in it. So one should not associate with hypocritical persons and atheists. Because of them, resoluteness is shattered, and when that occurs, one can­not restrain oneself. It is possible only for the very ad­vanced to maintain one's stand even in bad company. A very minor cause can suffice for the shattering of reso­luteness, and that brings about one's ruin. That is why importance is attached to companionship of the virtuous. One should not let one's devotedness to nama  diminish even if Brahmadev (the Creator) himself were to descend to confront one.'

Reminiscences

Someone asked, 'Maharaj, is the business of life easy, or is attainment of God easy ?' ShriMaharaj said, 'Attain-

ment of God is easier than the business of life. In the business of life one deals with many, while in attainment of God, one has to deal with the one God. No one has attained happiness by pursuing the business of life, and no one has been sorry for having pursued attainment of God.'

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj once said, 'My guru has bestowed upon me the knowledge of three arts. Firstly, whichever knowledge I want at a given time, occurs to me at that time spontaneously. Secondly, I can be at whichever place I want at whatever time I want. And thirdly, I can ensure deliverance precisely in one's hour of death,' On hearing this, a devotee asked, 'Maharaj, what is it that you do when you ensure deliverance in the hour of death ?' Upon this ShriMaharaj said, 'He who, throughout his life, chants nama imparted by me, journeys beyond heaven to a bet­ter world. I elevate him who chants nama off and on, to a better state, so that he feels as when being promoted from a lower class to an upper one.'

Reminiscences

A well - to - do lady met ShriMaharaj and said, 'My husband has an irascible nature. My nature is also simi­lar. Therefore when he gets angry, I too lose my temper, and there follows an exchange of harsh words. What to do about it ?' ShriMaharaj said,' Losing your temper when your husband loses his is like lighting a torch in the house when it is on fire. It is necessary that one of the two withdraws and remains calm. At the time you should re­member Rama and firmly carry on namasmarana. Thereby your reaction will remain under control, and equanimity can be preserved. After some days, he will feel ashamed that he gets angry for trivial reasons. Then his irritability will also gradually diminish, and peace will reign at home.

Reminiscences

A sadhaka asked ShriMaharaj, 'Maharaj, in spite of everything, one has sometimes to lie in everyday deal­ings. How much may a person working for attainment of God while engaged in the business of life, lie?' Upon this ShriMaharaj said, "It is not at all a moral fall to lie a little in case of a deed which will have a good and benefactory result, and in which one has no selfish inter­est. On the contrary, it is even more proper to do so. A little copper is required to be added when making a gold ornament. In practical life one is permitted to lie in a proportion like the proportion of such added copper."