Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-July.17

Implicit Observance of the Guru's Dictates

Once it so happened that a boy was removed from his mother immediately on birth, and reared elsewhere. When the two chanced to meet after several years, they could not even recognize each other. We humans are in a similar situation. We are in utter ignorance about the purpose of our life, which, in reality, is to realize God, of whom we are part and parcel. What has happened is that we are so thoroughly given to the senses and their pleasures, that we never stop to think of anything else. The senses and the objects to which we look for pleasures are themselves transitory, and therefore incapable of yielding real, permanent pleasure. Consequently, devotion to God, who is eternal, is impossible unless and until we cultivate complete detachment from these transitory, unreal pleasures.
What is it that a guru does? He leads us to the conviction that sense-pleasures are transitory, that is, impermanent, and unreal. Consequently, it is in our interest to obey him implicitly. Whatever spiritual exercise you undertake, if it has not been prescribed by him, will only be so much futile trouble; it will not be of avail. The reason is simple; it means that we consider that the guru has prescribed something inadequate for us; that is, in other words, the guru's dictates, that is, his knowledge and judgement, fall short of perfection. We should never swerve from the conviction that the guru is omniscient, nothing short of God Himself; for it is this conviction that is the foundation of firm faith. The essence of what the guru tells is that nama is the palpable manifestation of the one Ultimate Reality, that is, God; and that nama-smarana is so perfect as a spiritual exercise that it does not need anything to supplement it. It is a hundred-per-cent truth that nama is the most perfect sadhana as well as the ultimate goal.
We should be as intently loyal to the sadhana prescribed by the sadguru as a chaste, devoted wife is to her husband. A person who does his sadhana with such loyalty, can alone be said to be devoted to it, and he invariably comes by unalloyed bliss.
If only we approach God with the yearning and expectation that we apply to mundane objectives, we will not fail to realize true bliss.


* * * * *

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-July.17

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-July.17

GURU POURNAMI LECTURE IN ENGLISH

Shree Guru-Pournima – 1

In the name of God I solemnly affirm that I always feel that everyone is activated by Rama, even the one approaching to me for initiation. The disciple may be inferior, deficient, humble, ignorant, and yet I have looked upon him as no less than Rama. I see no one as evil-minded.

I prefer little children and retired persons because both have no inhibitions. I have respect for the learned, but little love or preference for them; I respect the Goddess of learning, Saraswati, that inspires them. I have scant regard for the rich, because they tend to lean on the strength of wealth and to connive at God. Simple-minded, little-learned people are dearer to me than pedants. I prefer village life to urban life. I have stated my preferences, but these may vary from person to person. If you ask a person to set his eye aside before coming to see you, he can not comply. Similarly, I simply cannot exist in the absence of nama. Wherever nama exists, I am there. If there is anything to learn from me, it is to give up worry, in the faith that God is the sole doer. To young boys and girls, my exhortation is that they should obey parents and elders, learn to be sincere in whatever they do, never swerve from honesty and integrity, and never lose sight of God. Good, disciplined conduct in young age will make a really responsible unit of society in due course.

I know what goes on in the innermost thoughts of a visitor. I listen to everything with your ears. When anyone of you feels depressed, I feel disturbed; then I search for and discover source. I sincerely feel sorry when anyone of my people worries; everyone who calls himself mine should have unquestioning trust in me. I say as a matter of personal experience that if you conduct yourself in life with trust in God, you will lose nothing. Resolve to follow my guidance, and leave all care and worry to me. When I assure you that I am by your side, I do not mean that I am there in physical form; it means that God Himself is with you. Be sure that I am doing everything needed by you. On your part do what you can, but never pine for anything. Why not believe that I reside in your heart and prompt you in your thought and action? You should have firm faith that whatever you do is by my will, by me. I never feel despondent about anybody, for anyone born as a human being is bound to attain to God one day or another.

* * * * *

Sri Brahmachaitanya Pravachan-July.16

The Highest Duty is to Obey the Sadguru

Many are the means to attain to God, but one should only follow the path prescribed by the sadguru. If you follow it for a while and then shift to another, you will not reach the goal. If you change your doctor, naturally the responsibility of the first ends. The moment you are initiated by a sadguru, all your worldly and spiritual responsibilities become his, and all you have to do thenceforward is to obey him, provided of course, you sincerely feel so.
A poison is a poison, whether fed through this dish or that; similarly, self-conceit is harmful in practical as in spiritual life. If you realize your real self you have realized God, for the two are the same. God is infinite and attributeless, and we must also become so if we want to realize Him. In other words, we have to give up the sense of our individual self, or ego. To understand anything thoroughly requires that we identify ourselves with it, merge completely into it. To realize God, therefore, we should equip ourselves with similar characteristics, and put away those that are different, divergent. If by spiritual practice and discipline, we divest ourselves of all sin, we shall see the world also as sinless.
If we concentrate on God as having a certain form and certain qualities, we may realize Him in that form and possessing those characteristics; but by repeating and concentrating on the nama, we shall realize Him in his entirety. The nama therefore, is superior to all other types of sadhanas or spiritual practices.
Let us, then, live in nama, for therein we find all bliss. And what do we strive for in life but unalloyed, permanent bliss? I myself strove and searched for such bliss, and I found it, so I can say with the confidence of self-experience, that such bliss can only arise where there is unbroken awareness of God. I am perfectly, undisturbedly contented and so should you, be. I repeat, in conclusion, what I said at the beginning: whatever you may be, never give up nama, never forget nama. Do as much nama-smarana as you can; and what you cannot do leave to the care of Rama. He will certainly come forward to fulfil this desire.


* * * * *

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-July 16

pravachan - Gurupournami (Marathi)