Monday, July 15, 2019
Sunday, July 14, 2019
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-July.14.
Whatever the Guru Prescribes is Sadhana
Let me tell you in a nutshell what paramartha is. It is, in essence, going through worldly life without having a sense of attachment for any worldly thing or matter. We remain unaffected by pleasure and pain when we realize that what we call our prapancha really belongs to God, who gave it us. This can be easily achieved by constantly keeping on the lips the nama given to us by the sadguru.
That person alone can be called a sadguru who himself has and will lead us to, a permanent sense of contentment. This applies to all sadgurus in all places at all times. Do not attach value to his look and physique, but judge him by his teaching. The sadhana he prescribes should be carried out diligently. To do so is, indeed, paramartha. If you make an alteration in the prescribed thing, it will only mean that your ego still persists, and anything done egoistically is doomed to failure. So first bury your ego and place complete trust in the sadguru.
True paramartha does not consist in empty prattle or lofty preaching to others; it is for one's own sake. In fact, the less known it is to others the better. Public esteem is of no use, actually harmful. To be misled into feeling false greatness is injurious to our purpose.
One person opens a confectionery shop, another may sell coal. What difference does it make, so long as the business is profitable? Similarly, worldly status is of no count; what matters is the advancement in paramartha.
Any worldly situation can be put to use in paramartha, so long as our approach is same and steady. Control of mind coupled with strong devotion is what is of real consequence.
Paramartha, in fact, is easy to achieve. The fun is that it is neglected, not seriously attempted, merely because of its very simplicity. Remember that prapancha is by no means an impediment to paramartha; it can, in fact, be turned into a good aid. All that a sadhaka has to do is to accept his duties as prarabdha and carry them out to the best of his ability, and apply the mind devotedly to God. Let Him be ever in your heart, His name on your lips, and the body employed in doing your duties in prapancha: this, is, in essence, paramartha.
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Saturday, July 13, 2019
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-July.13
God and Nama are Indivisibly One
Do we learn even from our own experience? Do we show the practical sense of avoiding doing what our own experience has shown to be against our interest? It is this that is our most glaring, most serious fault. The great, however, behave otherwise. They put their experience to practical use, and rose to their present high status. Worldly pleasures are transitory and illusory; they are, in reality, misery masquerading as happiness. When the saints discovered this, they turned their back on this sham, and proceeded to search for true happiness, which, they discovered, lies only with God. They also found that the simplest means for attainment of God is namasmarana. From vedic times down to this day saints have been advocating nama as a matter of personal experience. The nama given by the sadguru, if repeated with love, devotion, and single-mindedness, inevitably leads to realization; this is the experience narrated invariably by all saints. Does our nama-smarana have that quality? Do we do it for the sake of nama alone or with some other, ulterior desire?
If we repeat nama with complete exclusion of any vritti, God is not far at all. Indeed, nama and God being identical, if the one is on your lips, the other cannot remain away. Children fly kites. Sometimes the kite rises so high in the sky that it gets lost to sight. And yet, the boy says, "1 have it at my command," for he holds the string. Similarly, so long as we maintain the string of continuous nama-smarana, God is assuredly with us. The moment that is broken, God slips away.
The one thing that is necessary to maintain the continuity of nama-smarana is the feeling that I cannot live without Him, I need Him so badly. The feeling that it is He that sustains my life, that I simply cannot live without Him, gives nama-smarana the edge of sincerity. We, on the other hand, treat nama as a superfluity. How should God respond to this? If we treat nama as essential for our living, our very existence, God will certainly respond positively, and we shall have achieved the highest aim of human life. So let us always carry with us the conviction that nama will never fail to take us to God. This alone can be termed genuine nama-smarana.
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