Sri Maharaj's Pravachan- Nov.2

We Should Have Attachment for God Alone

We should never run down any religion. Rites and procedures are prescribed by every religion, because they are essential.
We go for a dip in the local stream, saying that we are going to the Ganga for a bath. Where is the sense in bathing in the river Ganga unless we purge the mind of all evil, unholy, polluted thoughts? The restrictions prescribed by the shastras aim at preventing the restrictive effect of all actions. For instance, the practice of offering of some money before the idol in a temple is a tacit prayer that the offerer's mind be purged of covetousness.
No man can stay perfectly still, inactive. If one were sentenced to cessation of all movement, it would be the severest of punishments. If one must do something or other, why not better do what is proper? Anything done with pride of doership causes binding, militates against liberation. What, after all, does our religion ask us to do, but that everyone should discharge his duty conscientiously? What, again, does this duty seek to achieve? Briefly but essentially, God.
What will really conduce to a happy mankind? That everyone should perform his duty, with full faith in God. The so-called progress and industrial advancement has basically brought more sense pleasures within the means of more people. This has only made man more dependent on more things. And dependence never makes for happiness. The present-day education is really not knowledge, but ignorance masquerading as learning. Real education must either bring true contentment or assure adequate income. Present education does neither. Even a scholar has to apply and beg for a job.
Fresh air, good water, proper shelter and clothing, adequate food, are the basic necessities of life. Adequate effort for these must be made. Of other things, some are a matter of personal choice, some others give social prestige. A person who can afford them may acquire and 'enjoy' them. One should not feel dependent on them or mentally attached to them. Truly happy is he who has neither friend nor foe. One who depends on nothing, nobody, and who is hindered by nothing, is a truly liberated person.

* * * * *

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Nov.2

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Nov.2

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan-Nov.1

The Bhagavadgeeta is the Mother of all Scriptures
The Bhagavadgeeta is the mother of all books. It is superior even to the vedas, because while the latter were the result of God's exhalation, the former emanated from His own lips. What is the subject of the Geeta? It discusses both the theoretical and practical aspects of philosophical ignorance and its removal. It begins with the misconception that overtook Arjuna: he had a fit of discontentment owing to the pride of doership, and this gave rise to doubts about what to do and what not to. The Geeta ends with the clarification of these doubts; that is, the pleasure and regret both disappeared with the restoration of the knowledge that it is God who is the real doer.
The exposition of the Bhagavadgeeta in the Jnyaneshwari is so masterly that one can only think that the exponent was but a re-incarnation, centuries later, of the Lord Himself. The exposition, no less than the original, was from the same divine source of inspiration. We should try to practise its preaching, which, very succinctly, is that God is the real doer and we have only to act without a feeling of ego and pride.
If a marriageable girl goes to attend the wedding or betrothal of a friend or relative, she watches the ceremony with a mind crowded with hopes and aspirations about herself. Similarly, as we read, or listen to the reading of, a book concerning spiritualism, we should ponder over the descriptions about the various stages of spiritual advancement and how we can attain them.
Prarabdha will take its due course concerning the body and its conditions, but we should maintain a psychological unconcern or mental detachment. In a law suit an advocate pleads vehemently to defend his client's position, but is mentally unconcerned with the joy or sorrow of winning or losing the case; he may outwardly share the joy or sorrow of the client, but he gets the stipulated fees nevertheless. We should keep a similar attitude.
I behave in a similar way with my disciples in their moments of elation or despondency. Treat prapancha as a game: a win or loss is of little consequence if, all the while, we maintain constant awareness of God. However, we should play the game in all seriousness. This becomes very easy if we continually chant nama. This is why day and night I din into your ears that, come what may, one should never forget nama.
* * * * *

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Nov.1

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Nov.1

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan-Oct.31

The Very Purpose of Human Life is to attain to God
There is only one thing that God looks for: He loves one who bears Him devotion. Caste, creed, and such other things don't count. In normal life, one who has wealth is considered fortunate; actually, he is fortunate who has realized God. To realize God is, indeed, the very purpose of human life. What hinders the realization is neither want nor abundance of money, but the individual pride, the 'I' ness. One who says 'I serve God' really serves not at all, for the sense of doership destroys all sense of service. Whatever we do while thinking of Him is a meritorious act. So always entertain the awareness of God. What is done with faith will bear fruit.
However, prayers and meditation done without full faith, do not go to waste, provided these are done with the aim of generating devotion, and not merely as a pastime. There aren't a few who do good acts, but often there is a selfish motive underlying it. To perform good acts without expecting a return is a step towards devotion.
Paramartha, in essence, is to realize that it is God who activates everything. It is synonymous with the realization of God within one's own self. One should understand that He is the prime mover behind everything. When a person dies, we say 'he is no more'; we are then referring not to the physical body, but to the departed 'Soul'. It is a tacit but obvious recognition that there is some unknown thing which owns and 'animates' the whole system which we call 'the body', a something that passively watches all activities including wakefulness, sleep, and dreams.
I call the world 'mine', but pay no attention to what animates me. Let us first try to be aware of the 'God', whose presence in me makes me, keeps me, alive. This presence is realized by inference as well as by experience.
We celebrate the beginning of the fresh year with the New Year's Day, the joy of living, with the birthday, and each fresh day, with the morning. So, too, we should begin devotion with nama. We shall thereby get immediate proof of joy, making both the beginning and the end joyful. The sky is common to all, irrespective of status, caste, creed, and such other distinctions; the aim of human life is, similarly, regardless of religion or nationality, the same, namely, the attainment of God.
* * * * *