Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-June.4

Pride is the Prime Obstruction in Spirituality

The shastras set out in detail the way to succeed in worldly life as well as in spirituality. We, however, treat the former as pressing, the latter as a matter of leisure and convenience. Both require guidance by a knowledgeable person. One capable of giving guidance in spirituality is called sadguru. He alone can be guided adequately who concedes his ignorance. It is personal pride, ego, that prevents us from going to God in submission while, strangely enough, even in petty worldly matters we prefer a 'specialist' in the particular field!
We think that the world in which we live is a real one because it is tangible, experienceable, to human senses and logic, whereas the other, spiritual world is unreal, being only inferable. Isn't it funny that we remain addicted to worldly life discounting our repeated experience that altogether it is far from happy, is indeed, full of misery and disappointment? It is evidently duplicity, then, to plead lack of experience and experimental proof for not taking to spirituality.
'We conduct our life in a very straightforward manner, without deceit, dishonesty, or sin; where, then, is the need to do anything by way of spiritual quest?' This is a question posed by some. It should be understood that however pure worldly life may be, it cannot lead to the divine unless it is completely divested of 'self' or ego, that is, unless all doership is assigned to the Lord. The 'body-am-I' feeling is identical with ego, and rises from desire. He who kills, annihilates desire alone qualifies for divine knowledge.
It is most harmful to be a pseudo-saint; it is by far better to honestly remain a plain, well-behaved householder. Our contentment or otherwise depends on the nature of our outlook on life. What really counts in spiritual progress is, not worldly splendour or prosperity, but the balanced, composed outlook on the world and on life; and the sole way to achieve a steady mind is constant awareness of God.
The 'body-am-I' feeling make's one behave in a very strange manner. Such a person disdains worshipping the tangible image of God as militating against his habit, and a thing out of tune with the times. He decries nama-smarana as being too simple to be effective; and he disapproves of 'anna-daan' as indiscriminate free feeding of the undeserving !
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-June 4

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-June 4

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan- June-3

How to succeed in the spiritual quest

The easiest, quickest, surest way to achieve the spiritual goal is utter surrender to Him from Whom maya came into being. What is it that obstructs such surrender? Evidently, it is the impregnable screen in the form of 'I', 'me', and 'mine'. We go ostensibly to see a saint, and plead that my sick wife may get well; can we honestly call this a true meeting with the saint? The saints advise us to do nama-smarana for attaining God, and we try to obey. But when we see that a near and dear one cannot be saved from death, the faith in nama-smarana and in God is shaken, is lost. Does this not plainly mean that our faith is not genuine, not pure, and that it is looked upon only as a means for some worldly gain? We pray ostensibly for being absolved of sensate desires, and do not succeed, obviously because we do not sincerely wish it at all. A man stops at nothing in having his passion or vice catered to; and yet, when asked to do sadhana to attain to God, he pleads all kinds of excuses for not doing it! A man spends two decades for education which may qualify him for a mere pittance; and yet, he loses patience and faith in the prescribed sadhana because it failed to achieve the end in two years' time. Is this not truly unjustifiable?
Composure of the mind is a sine qua non for pursuing the path of God. It calls for a clear view of the object and the means, not mere strenuous or rigorous physical discipline and chastisement, nor merely a course of repeated reading of certain books, hymns, and such other things. Even the strenuous pilgrimage to Badri Narayan and similar spots in the Himalayas may be of no avail. Far more important and effective will be constant awareness of God.
The quest for God is a study to be pursured by each one singly, personally. This neither needs nor can be aided by any external instrument or situation. It is a study involving a purification, an ennoblement of thoughts, tendencies, instincts, and desires. The less it is exposed to others' view the more advantageous it is. Publicity in this regard is positively harmful. To live to please the world is worldliness; to live for God's approval and acceptance is godliness.


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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-June 3

9

sri brahmachaithanya pravachan - june 2

Love the Lord without any Expectation

Nothing is lost by being uninformed about the world and its affairs. Indeed, it will be of great advantage in approaching God. Unless we give up this worldly knowledge, that is, realize its transitory nature and insignificance, we cannot have true regard for God.
When the son is to set out on a journey, the mother provides him with victuals; so, too, does God furnish an adequate fund of the sense of contentment when sending a soul out on its worldly journey; it is upto the soul, however, to avail itself of it. Where discontentment prevails, evil geniuses and evil tendencies can work rampantly. Contentment, on the other hand, provides a congenial atmosphere for good powers to assist us. If we stick to nama, adverse situations will leave us unaffected. The mind is intimately connected with the heart and the body; a contented mind will therefore substantially help in keeping good health and prolonging life.
In the process of freeing oneself from selfishness, a person may appear to be a misfit in the frame of pragmatism, for he will treat everyone with affection; but when he becomes truly and fully spiritualistic, he will be selfless while still appearing practical to the world. Spirituality is a logical, consistent science. It is absolutely unnecessary to abrogate worldly life; but because our thought and attention are easily enticed by sensate pleasures, they should be kept linked to God. A veritable passion for God should arise; for spirituality is nothing but intense, unexpecting love for Him.
Spiritual pursuit calls for patience and sanity. A certain man began seeing the figure of Rama all around. That led him to conclude that his quest had come to fruition, and that he had attained God. But this is far from the ultimate goal, which is, feeling His presence all the time everywhere. Impatience will not help in the spiritual journey; it will, in fact, create obstructions. Progress on the spiritual path should be steady and all-round, just as all the limbs grow proportionately with youth. It is foolish to try to gauge progress every now and then; how will a plant grow if we uproot it every day to see how much it has grown? The spiritual progress can be assessed from a man's talk and the light in his eyes.

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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-June 3