Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-June22

Happiness Lies in Detachment

We feel disappointed, miserable, when we fail to obtain what we desire. The best, the only remedy is, therefore, to renounce all desire. Be contented with what He is pleased to grant you, desiring no more, nothing else. This, in truth, is true renunciation, vairagya. As it is, we are sinking in the quagmire of mundane desires; to desire more of them is to hasten the sinking. What else can we conclude from this except that true and permanent happiness lies in abandoning desire, not in indulging it?
Why do certain things make us restless? Because we treat them as real. We should go about in life treating it as an actor treats his part in a play. True happiness is to be found only in what is real and lasting, not in what is unreal or transitory. Experience of mundane pleasures indulged in so far clearly indicates that they do not yield contentment; does it not mean that the pleasures they are supposed to yield are but hollow, illusory? And yet you continue to ask me what will make you happier in mundane life! How can you extract happiness from what is basically devoid of it?
Two little girls were playing at house-keeping. One, the daughter of a poor family, made simple bread and ate it with simple mango jam; the other, who belonged to a rich family, made cakes and sweets; but everything being only make-believe, which of the two could satisfy real hunger? Evidently, neither. So it is with prapancha. A wife and children are not indispensable for prapancha; anyone who seeks pleasure from anything tangible indulges in prapancha. So even an unmarried, single person lives in prapancha. In short, prapancha involves more than one; now, since each one has his own individuality and idiosyncrasies, how can they all meet the pleasures, whims, and fancies of any single person?
Prapancha needs a multiplicity of things; there can never be enough of them, for everything has in it the germ of the need for something else. God, on the other hand, is unique and complete, and independent of anything else. Attainment of God is, therefore, the fruition, the fulfilment, of all desire.
To feel that one is happy because of a certain thing, situation, or person, is futile, unreal. True happiness is independent of cause.


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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-June 22

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-June 22

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-June.21

Faith is the Foundation for Paramartha

Just as money is a basic requirement for prapancha, faith is a basic need for success in paramartha. Prahlad believed God to be present everywhere, so He manifested Himself even in a wooden post. Saint Namadeo's faith made even the stone idol of Shri Vitthal eat the food offering that he had brought. For success in paramartha we must also have the same genuine, unflinching faith in God. We say only verbally that God is omnipresent and omniscient; if we genuinely believed this, could we ever dare to commit sinful acts, or even to entertain immoral thoughts? It clearly means that we pay only lip service to Him, and our faith is not firm and genuine. We claim to be believers in God, and feel we need Him, but He is not considered indispensable. Prapancha we must have, while God we would like to have; the former is a necessity, the latter is a desirable superfluity. This, really, should be the other way about. We should feel that God we must have, prapancha we may or may not. We should have a liking for the duties of prapancha, not for prapancha itself; the body may be kept engaged in these duties, but the heart should be kept riveted on God.
We can control passions if we desist from doing anything that bites the conscience. We should do only such things as will not shame us in the eyes of God.
Those who have a lot of worldly business, toil, and turmoil to face, complain about it; but, then, those who are free from these are found equally complaining and unhappy. Wherein does happiness lie? Does money give it? Making money is not easy; and after all, money cannot last forever. The same is the case with all worldly things. And do we ever come across a person who has all kinds of happiness all the time? Everyone has one complaint or another, one deficiency or another. Everyone hopes to be happier tomorrow; this hope is never fulfilled, and the complaining never ends. And thus goes on the endless cycle of hope and frustration; for all things in the world are imperfect and perishable, and therefore, result in misery or unhappiness. It is in this sense that prapancha is illusory. One who thinks on this experience and remains unattached to prapancha can alone be happy; one who disregards this experience remains unhappy.

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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-June 21

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-June 21

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-June.20

Worry is Harmful to Paramartha

He is a good son who never blames or despises his parents for their defects and shortcomings, but who keeps them contented and pleased. In all actions his main aim is to secure their satisfaction. A mother has the most tender feeling for her child. Her heart grieves if the child is in grief, and buoyantly responds to its joy. So the child should ever be cheerful, free from sentimental upsets. The child should not get irritated if a parent happens to say harsh words or unpleasant things; it should itself, however, always speak pleasantly, pleasingly. It is necessary for everyone to work and earn his livelihood. One may even amass wealth, but should not be under the illusion that it is the wealth that is the means for all happiness. One should always avoid ill-considered acts or speech which may lead to loss in worldly life.
Give food to all who come to you, turn no one back empty-handed. Never feel frustrated or disappointed; never give up hope. Pay due regard to necessities of practical life, but never lose sight of the goal of human life, namely, the attainment of God. Remember that one who does not face practical life courageously cannot achieve much in paramartha either.
Worry about family life acts against paramartha like white ants. One who trusts in the Lord need have not an iota of anxiety. One who lives in God does not even think of pain, misery, or worry. One who realises that his true self is identical with the Brahman will cease to entertain worry. Trust in Rama as your protector and saviour, and say 'good-bye' to worry. One who attributes all doership to Rama worries not about sin and merit. Assuming oneself to be the doer is the basic cause of anxiety. Where is the anxiety for one who dedicates himself body and soul and assigns all doership to Rama?
What is past is, after all, past; what the future holds we do not know, nor can it be evaded; it is, therefore, improper to indulge in futile worry. Whatever I think belongs to me is really that of Rama and should, therefore, be consigned to His care, and the mind thus freed from worry. Rather than worry about the children, the family, etc., we should aim at doing what Rama will like.

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