Sunday, July 7, 2019
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Shri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan- July.6
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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Friday, July 5, 2019
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-July.5
Narrate Your Problems to Shrirama
I would urge you to persist in your spiritual quest with a firm faith that this quest is for your true ultimate good. Do not mind the cavils and quibbles of disbelievers. God is infinite, limitless in every way, and the quest for Him is bound to be arduous. Your spiritual strength must be of a high order if you desire to attain to Him. We certainly possess the potentiality to acquire that strength even if we do not have it today. Gradual heightening of devotion gives that strength; and ceaseless nama-smarana is the correct means to acquire it.
Treat Rama as your kith and kin. Narrate freely to Him your woes and worries; think of Him as your confidant. Stand before Him at least once a day in utter surrender; you will then pass the day in the joy of your faith and think lightly of worries. Our knowledge, might, authority, glory, are insignificant in comparison with His. So forget everything, surrender unreservedly to Him, and pray for His grace. Say to Him, "O Lord, I can see You only superficially, not essentially. I am full of defects and sin. The degree of my devotion is but small. Forgive me, I pray You and, utterly unworthy as I am, mercifully accept me as Yours. Difficulties and calamities may come, as a result of my prarabdha; I shall face them cheerfully, with Your name as my sheet-anchor. Please stand by me and see that my contentment and my faith in Your name remain unimpaired."
God is omnipresent; He is therefore with everyone, but is only perceptible if the faith is impregnable. One who possesses such faith is always confident of God’s support.
Two ways are open to man: faith, and self-experience. Faith is like a foot-track, short and direct. The path of experience is circuitous, like a motorway; just as progress is balked in case the vehicle breaks down or if there is an obstruction on the way, anything that goes wrong in the path of experience holds up progress. The common man should walk with perfect, undoubting faith in the words of the sadguru, and take to nama-smarana with affection and unquestioning trust.
Establishing God's name as a means of liberation is the greatest obligation which the saints have conferred on humanity.
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