Thursday, December 26, 2019
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan -Dec.25
Essence of any Sadhana is Remembrance of God
Two carts left a village on official duty. One carried cash, the other building materials. Both were bound for the district headquarters, so they journeyed together. On reaching the destination at the end of the day, the drought animals were unyoked and all equally fed with same hay. Similarly, to God the learned and the ignorant are equal. The one with a head crammed with intelligent thoughts or beautiful ideas or a plethora of information is no nearer or dearer to God than the one with an empty head. Both have enough pride to take them to ruin. Learning for its own sake is evidently to be roundly decried; instead of making it becoming the goal of life it should be a means to attainment of God. The so-called learned often spend the whole life in just hairsplitting argument, whereas a plain man may merrily pass through life with nama on his lips and attain God. The learned man tries to first find out the attributes and properties of God, how we stand in relation to Him, whether He is aware of nama as we utter it, when nama came into existence, how it should be chanted, and so on and so forth. They carry this scrutiny to the end of their lives, which leaves no time for practising nama, and enjoying the pleasure of it. It would therefore be wise for a learned man to carryon his investigations into God and nama concurrently with chanting the latter; the doubts will get automatically resolved in course of time.
If a person is egoistic, God will mete out proper atonement for a sin committed by him; but He looks with kindly forgiveness on one whose ego is not dominant. If we commit a mistake unknowingly, and approach God in a spirit of repentful surrender, He will surely forgive us. If we dedicate all our past actions to Him with genuine remorse, He undertakes to guide us in the future.
Many, indeed, are the approaches to God; however, they involve much trouble for the body and the mind. Nama, on the other hand, is simple to chant, provided it is done with unswerving faith. Constant remembrance of God is the very core of all sadhanas; and it is the prominent aspect of nama. It is so powerful that all doubts are gradually overcome by persisting in chanting it.
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Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Shri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Dec.24
Unflinching Faith is essential to Realize God
One has learnt nothing from association with a saintly person if one has not imbibed implicit obedience to him. Such implicit obedience will not obviate destiny, but it will take a more convenient, bearable form. This destiny, this prarabdha, is truly irresistible; it affects one's action and even way of thinking, to bring about what is in store. If we take care to be on guard and implicitly obey the suggestions and behests of the saintly person we follow, the effects of prarabdha will certainly be moderated. Prarabdha may generate ungodly thoughts in the mind, but it is in our hands whether to put them into action; indeed, it is this faculty of discrimination that distinguishes the human being from other animals. This faculty is best trained by implicit obedience to a saintly person.
One may first approach and adore God for some worldly objective. This adoration and love will gradually grow into selfless love for God, and the importance of worldly things fades out. So, never relinquish God when once you have approached Him. That is achieved by nama-smarana; and that is why time and again I exhort you to take to chanting nama. How unremittingly we toil for prapancha, and with what disappointing return! It is far otherwise in paramartha ; the more you do it, the more you are requited in the quantum of contentment.
Whether one follows the path of knowledge or the path of devotion, the goal is the same, namely, to discover the true 'I'. Today it is the delusive 'I' that dominates the mind. This domination has to be overthrown. When this delusive 'I' is routed, the true 'I' does not have to be sought, for it is already there, latent, in every heart. To remove the delusive 'I', it is essential to become a true servant, a slave, to God. God cannot be attained without singleminded dedication; such dedication eventually becomes real devotion. Nama-smarana is the means to produce a sense of love and dedication; it is the mother of devotion. My repeated exhortation is, chant nama repeatedly, with faith and pleasure in the heart.
Whatever Sadhana you adopt, you have to pass through the gate of nama-smarana; why, then, procrastinate? Why not begin right away?
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One has learnt nothing from association with a saintly person if one has not imbibed implicit obedience to him. Such implicit obedience will not obviate destiny, but it will take a more convenient, bearable form. This destiny, this prarabdha, is truly irresistible; it affects one's action and even way of thinking, to bring about what is in store. If we take care to be on guard and implicitly obey the suggestions and behests of the saintly person we follow, the effects of prarabdha will certainly be moderated. Prarabdha may generate ungodly thoughts in the mind, but it is in our hands whether to put them into action; indeed, it is this faculty of discrimination that distinguishes the human being from other animals. This faculty is best trained by implicit obedience to a saintly person.
One may first approach and adore God for some worldly objective. This adoration and love will gradually grow into selfless love for God, and the importance of worldly things fades out. So, never relinquish God when once you have approached Him. That is achieved by nama-smarana; and that is why time and again I exhort you to take to chanting nama. How unremittingly we toil for prapancha, and with what disappointing return! It is far otherwise in paramartha ; the more you do it, the more you are requited in the quantum of contentment.
Whether one follows the path of knowledge or the path of devotion, the goal is the same, namely, to discover the true 'I'. Today it is the delusive 'I' that dominates the mind. This domination has to be overthrown. When this delusive 'I' is routed, the true 'I' does not have to be sought, for it is already there, latent, in every heart. To remove the delusive 'I', it is essential to become a true servant, a slave, to God. God cannot be attained without singleminded dedication; such dedication eventually becomes real devotion. Nama-smarana is the means to produce a sense of love and dedication; it is the mother of devotion. My repeated exhortation is, chant nama repeatedly, with faith and pleasure in the heart.
Whatever Sadhana you adopt, you have to pass through the gate of nama-smarana; why, then, procrastinate? Why not begin right away?
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