Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-April.29

Abandon Attachment for Money
Lust and greed for money, are both harmful to spiritual life. But if I am asked to name the one more harmful of the two, I would unhesitatingly say, "money, because it greatly weakens faith in God". Whatever money God has given us, can we honestly say we really merit it? Therefore, do not unnecessarily wrangle with a beggar in giving him alms; for, it amounts only to an attempt to evade giving him anything.
A man may renounce all his possessions but not his 'self', his ego. Actually it does not matter even if he retains the possessions, provided he really surrenders his 'self'; but the converse is not true. In other words, all giving is in vain if there is a feeling "I donate ". The main thing is to divest oneself of the very concept of ownership, doership, or attachment; it is this that gives pure happiness.
If we try to raise the superstructure of happiness on the shaky, insecure foundation of the frail, mortal body, how can we hope for success? I call this body 'mine', but am unable to prevent it from getting fever or suffering an injury. I say, 'I am perfectly able to look after myself,' but if I stumble and fall, I have to be carried home by others. That shows the hollowness of my boast of independence ! How can any work done egoistically achieve success, no matter how hard the body toils for it ? Achievement will only come if God wills it. Samartha Ramadas first annihilated all egoism and worked only as directed by God, and that is why he succeeded. Only that will achieve success which is done by one dedicated to God, and only he gets real contentment.
How can one entertain conceit of wealth when we see even princes reduced to poverty? Wealth gives rise to feuds even between close relatives and friends. So I exhort you to steer clear of attachment for money. An easy way to achieve such detachment is to remain in company with the godly. We doubt the existence of saints in today's world, but we fail to find saintliness anywhere because we do not sincerely long for it. People approach saints in the hope of betterment in worldly affairs; how many approach him for the purpose of dedicating themselves to him?

* * * * *

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-April 29

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-April 29

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan.April.28

Earnest Yearning is an Invitation to a Saint
We shall feel the need for a saint only when we feel disgust for the unsaintly. Sensuous matters continually plague us, but we do not see how to get rid of them. Only he who feels he has lost his trail in a forest will think of inquiring about the right way. We shall keenly feel the need to meet a saint only when we feel that we are advanced in age, that death may claim us any moment, and that Rama is our sole support. Outwardly we seek the company of the saintly, but inwardly we are all for worldly things. We have to go to a saint in order to forget our 'self', for that means remembering God. We feel anxious in the absence of a letter from a relative who is away; do we feel equally anxious to meet God who has been away from us since our very birth? We perform nama-smarana, but have we ever cared to know the One whose nama we take? How can we meet Rama so long as we cling to His opposite, namely, the sensual world? How can we simultaneously have both when the two are mutually antithetical?
We cannot renounce action so long as we are conscious of the body; only, while acting, we should ascribe all authorship to God.
One who has realised the Truth will talk little or not at all about it. Another may have experienced the reality, but may talk about it only because otherwise we, the poor ignoramuses, will never know what It is. But those who indulge in empty, pedantic verbosity only, without any first-hand experience of the Ultimate Truth, are the lowest order of men. That man alone can lead the world who neither deceives others nor permits himself to be deceived.
Some saints hurl stones or abuses at others, and are still followed by people, because even such actions from them turn out to be blessings. There are many, however, who do not realise this. A father may smack his own child while he condones another's for the same offence; this is because he has his child's true interest at heart. A saint's heart always overflows with concern for the weak of the world. He has no selfishness, and is sincere and solicitous to the core. We must, therefore, place full trust in what he says.


* * * * *

Sri Maharaja's Pravachan in Marathi - April 28

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-April 28

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-April.27

Things to be Avoided by One who Practises Nama
Our thoughts should be free from selfishness, for it produces and pampers pride and vanity. A selfish person never can be happy. Observe the moral code. Look on another's wife as your mother. Householders who never think of other women except as a mother are virtually brahmacharis Covet not another's wealth, look on it with disgust. You have no idea how deeply harmful such covetousness is. Slandering others is the third major point which should be scrupulously avoided, because in discussing others' faults we concentrate our attention on them and thereby inculcate them in ourselves, and thus assist in our own fall. Take these major precautions, and love for nama is bound to arise. Never fail in doing your duty towards your parents, other elders, children, etc., without attachment to anything that you do. Duty is an act done without egoism or attachment, and without expecting any return. Never neglect your duty, observe the moral code meticulously, and carry on your worldly life in the remembrance of God; then your ordinary life itself will constitute a spiritual exercise, and love for God will arise in your mind; you may take this as a solemn promise from me.
Worldly life is like salt. How much of it do we add to the dough for bread? Only a pinch, for taste. If we reverse the proportion, how will the bread taste? But that is like what we do, treating worldly life as the main goal and spiritual duties as merely secondary. When a man realises true contentment, he treats family life like a game or diversion, caring nought whether he succeeds or fails, and quite willing to call a halt to the play at any time.
Worldly life demands and offers numerous things, but they never suffice, because obtaining one thing itself contains the seed of the requirement of another. Not so with God; when once we obtain Him, it is the end of the search. Suppose we go to a big store which stocks many things, except the one we need: then the store may be very big but not to our purpose. Similarly, if one possesses many faculties but God is not there, all the rest is of no avail. Instead of trying to drag God down for assistance in worldly pleasures and purposes, we should spiritualize our worldly life; it is in this that true ability lies.
* * * * *