Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan - Aug.27

Contentment, a Quality of Mind, not Body

Contentment can only come to one who sees that Rama, or God pervades everything. On the other hand, God can only be found in a home where contentment rules. He will experience true contentment who will genuinely try and live for a year with a firm faith that everything in this world is the result of Rama's will.
Contentedness is an attribute of the mind, not a quality of the body. I yearn to find a man who is so contented in his heart that he has nothing to say about his worldly life and matters. Such a person will be acclaimed by the whole world.
Contentment is not a thing that can be made over by one person to another. It calls for faith of the highest order. The Kauravas in the midst of the luxuries of the palace did not have the contentedness enjoyed by the Pandavas in their hermit's life in the forest. The conclusion is that we should accept the condition of life in which God chooses to place us.
A divine gift must be pleasant, sweet, from all angles. Wealth, obviously, is not a divine gift because it entails worry and a thirst for, more. The only really divine gift is contentment. There is no telling how much money will suffice a particular man, whereas, if one has the frame of mind to be contented, whatever is there, is enough. There is more pleasure in giving than in receiving. Besides, the more one receives, the more is the whetting of greed. Giving, on the other hand, has an end; for, when one gives away one's all, complete contentedness is the result. Today we are completely enveloped in upadhi; if we shed one upadhi! after another, our true nature, namely, oneness with the Cosmic Spirit, will become apparent, with its characteristic attribute of undisturbed contentment.
Every action of a man is done with some aim in view. About the actual result, however, he will be virtually indifferent if he has the conviction 'Thy will be done'. We have much theoretical knowledge about the philosophy of life, but lack the wisdom an actual occasion calls for. The one good point about the present times is that simple constant awareness of God achieves what more difficult sadhanas can achieve.


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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Aug 27

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Aug 27

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Aug.26.

True Happiness is Independent of Cause

There is evidently a joy in being alive. How, then, is it that we suffer misery? The reason is that we become oblivious to the true objective of human life. We want things in order to make us happy, but instead of remaining the means they become the goal in life. All things in the world are perishable, impermanent, and therefore illusory. The gladness they bring is consequently, fleeting, momentary.
That everyone desires joyfulness is a clear indication that unification with God is a universal need; for God is the fountainhead and the storehouse of joy. We have contracted a habit of extracting joy from something; that is to say, keeping our joy dependent on something or other. Every person hankers for joy; but we seek to get it through the medium of prapancha, that is, through a medium fraught with misery. We should therefore learn to extract joy which exists by itself, not because of something else. Joy which comes because of something must necessarily be short-lived, because that something is itself short-lived.
In order to acquire supreme, causeless beatitude, one should practise to sit quiet, silent, actionless, for a while. This kind of purposelessness is really a very high achievement, far superior to being active. It is, indeed, far more difficult than action; for it signifies total unison with the Cosmic Spirit, complete annihilation of the pride of doership.
If you keenly yearn to be happy, then learn to be happy under all circumstances. If a desired thing does come about, you may feel contented, but not rapturous. Conversely, suppose there is someone who delights in vexing us; our reaction should not be one of annoyance; our joy should continue unbroken. To be doing our duty happily, unexpectantly, in the awareness of God, is the hall-mark of a fruitful human life.
Trust not people who try to dislodge your faith in nama. Listen not to sterile philosophy. Every repetition of nama is a reminder of God; so consider nama as the be-all and end-all of life. The omnipotence of nama will become apparent only to those who repeat it ceaselessly. Pilgrimages to holy places or to saints are not for acquiring material ends, but for acquiring undisturbable satisfaction, and nama-smarana is the infallible means to it.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Aug 26

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada -Aug 26

Sri Brahmachaithanya Maharaj-Aug.25.

The Purpose of Human Life is to Attain God

A dream appears an undoubtable reality while it lasts. So, too, this illusory world seems an unquestionable fact so long as God is not realized. Actually, that which stands the test of time, that is, what is eternal, can alone be called the truth. We can go towards that truth even if we only realize that we have missed the way. We cannot experience true contentment because our mind clamours for sensory interest; and where contentment is not realized we can conclude that we are following the wrong path. The large black ant sticks so tenaciously to a lump of sugar, that even if pulled off, it will not let go of the piece, no matter if it snaps at the head and neck. Equally tenaciously do we stick to sensual pleasures and aspirations. Those who learn from experience and sagacious thought give up all hankering for satisfaction of the senses; and it is such people who realize the futility of the pleasures of the senses.
What is the basic cause of our discontent? It can be traced to the desire to have something, be something, different from what is today. A thing can never be found in a place where it is not, no matter how assiduously you search for it. Real contentment rests only with God.
The fact is that our mind is completely preoccupied with circumstances, and cannot, therefore, remain steady at all, and that is what upsets its contentment. Dissatisfaction with the existing leads him to doing something, which invariably lands him into trouble. It is best, therefore, to learn to be happy in what is, rather than hanker after what is not.
Man generally becomes contented when he succeeds in accomplishing the mission undertaken. That one does not find contentment dearly indicates that one's objective has been misunderstood, mistaken. That our strenuous effort does not yield satisfaction evidently shows that the objective of sense pleasures is wrong, that true contentment is to be found in God, that to attain Him will alone yield contentment. The mind, therefore, should be firmly fastened to Him; it should think of Him; the sadhaka should keep in nama-smarana, talk only of His noble qualities and deeds. Let no other thought enter the mind. The desire to unite with God is the objective of human life.

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