Saturday, May 9, 2020
Friday, May 8, 2020
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-May.8
Maintain Constant Consciousness of God
An old, worn shoe needs repairs every now and again. Our body, in advanced age, similarly, suffers from one trouble and another. This is only natural. We should give it the treatment it needs, but should not worry. Indeed, the physical trouble and handicaps should be turned to good account by making us more aware of the presence of God. Illness and old age should be used to divert the mind from the body and the world and its activity, towards God and spiritual thought. If we can maintain awareness of God, we shall be able to enjoy happenings in His creation – even the perils and difficulties – as we enjoy watching the changing fortunes of a sporting event. One who knows swimming will not find fun in just tame, straightforward swimming; he will dive now and then, change his course, and so on, to create interest. Similarly, one who lives ever conscious of the presence of the Lord will enjoy even the devious course of events in His creation.
Once we recognize a thing and understand its nature it ceases to cause a feeling of dread. Similarly, passions and desires lose their dread once we recognize them and their nature. If we always remember that everything that happens is by God's will, all that we have to do is to control our reactions and responses. Actually it is we ourselves, that is, our reactions and reluctances, that obstruct our progress on the path of spirituality. Since God is omnipresent, He is also where our responses spring from; consequently, remembering the Name of God gives a proper direction to the responses. We should always remember the Lord or the sadguru and pray to Him in all humility, "These temptations I cannot resist and overcome except by Your grace. My experience has convinced me that there can be no peace or happiness but with You, and yet my responses, untrained and uncurbed, obstruct me in my approach to You. This is sheer ignorance on my part. I realize that my ultimate goal is to know You, that is in the last analysis, my own true self. Be You gracious and grant me that my mind and heart reside at Your feet. I desire nothing but what You will; let Your name ever be on my tongue. I shall try my best, but do You help me."
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Thursday, May 7, 2020
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-May.7
Get Rid of the 'Body-Am-I' Conviction
The root of the desire of public esteem and respect lies in vanity. It arises when the mind creates an impression of one's own greatness. It is this vanity that stands between us and God and obscures Him. The remedy is complete surrender to the sadguru, implicit obedience to him, and whole-hearted performance of the sadhana prescribed by him. Further, it is important to perform the sadhana without any feeling of doership, to avoid the cropping up of vanity, which may be dormant but ever watchful for a chance to raise its head and become active. Indeed, even apparently innocent words like 'I obey the master implicitly,' 'I scrupulously perform sadhana,' 'there is now not even a trace of vanity in me,' or suchlike, are a sign of the presence of pride. Honestly speaking, what is it for which we may feel proud? Are there not others in this world who possess more money, or more strength, more intelligence, more authority, more celebrity, than us?
If we look into the genesis of this feeling of self-importance, the basic cause is seen as the identity one feels with the body. Consequently, we have to eradicate this 'body-am-I' conviction. Now if we want a tree to die, we must stop nourishing it with manure and furnishing it with water. To desire that others should not blame me or find fault with me, or that they should appreciate me or esteem and respect me, is like nourishing my basic pride. What we should do, therefore, is to ascribe all doership to Him; and to pass on to Him all the resultant fruit, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, without letting the mind be affected either way. The pragmatic world does, it is true, call for a little sense of doership, but it should be assumed only temporarily, for the purpose required. We can achieve this by submitting entirely, unreservedly, to the sadguru. We should at least force ourselves to do it until, eventually, it becomes ingrained in our nature. The sadguru will certainly eradicate the pride, or the 'body-am-I' feeling in course of time, without your being aware of it. To give up 'I-ness' and the pride which is its by-product, is true yajnya or sacrifice.
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