Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Feb.7

Devote Maximum Time to Thinking of God

People generally aim at acquiring more and more of those things which give pleasure to the senses, in the belief that this will result in greater happiness. This belief is not, however, substantiated by experience, for we do not find that those who have such things in abundance are happy. In fact, the more we have of them, the more is the greed for such things whetted. Besides, as a person ages, the body and its senses grow steadily weak and lose their capacity to derive pleasure. Thus, one never acquires real contentment.
A Wise man should therefore, studiously practise and learn to keep his happiness independent of external things, by focussing the mind on God instead of on such things. God is eternal, complete in Himself, and ever blissful; meditating on Him, therefore, instills these qualities in the mind. For one who acquires this divine bliss, life has a sweetness that passes our imagination.
A person who lives and works in the mundane world often finds it difficult to reconcile the demands of practical life with the practice of spirituality. It is common belief that one cannot do justice to both at the same time. For such a person, it would be advisable to do his worldly duties conscientiously and to devote all spare time and energy to contemplation of God. At present, we do not apply to God and to spirituality even such free time as we do have. Let us, therefore, resolve to dedicate at least some minimum time every day to chanting nama, the divine name. There are many things which interfere and prevent; reluctance itself constitutes a major impediment. We should be wary of such impediments and interferences, and persevere in chanting nama, disregarding the world's adverse influence and comments.
We should make it a practice to read every day some portion of a book or books by saints, concerning the divinity. We should meditate on what we read, and try to see how it can be put into practice. One who does this will progress rapidly in spirituality and attain true contentment which, in other words, constitutes divine bliss.
We should treat worldly life like a sport; pay proper attention to it, but without much concern for success or failure, holding God in the heart as the focal point.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Feb.7

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Feb.7

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Feb.6.

Nama, Self-surrender and God-realization

Complete self-surrender is the only means for God-realization; such self-surrender is best achieved by nama-smarana, or constant remembrance of nama. Remembrance and forgetting are both properties of the mind, not of the body; besides, they are both involuntary. They are both devoid of "doership" or ego, since there is no bodily action involved. Nama-smarana is, in this sense not 'done', it 'gets done' by the grace of God or the guru. Consequently, nama-smarana is most effective in surrendering oneself to God.
Self-surrender has another sense, namely, to stop activity of one's own volition in respect of action, speech, and thought. This, however, is not easy. Slow cycling for instance, is more difficult than normal or fast cycling. Desisting from doing a thing may often be more difficult than doing it. Self-surrender to the sadguru means effacement of ego, that is, of the pride of doership. Nama-smarana done at the behest of the sadguru eliminates the sense that '1 am doing it'. Indeed, it is the sadguru who is prompting me in it, and therefore He is the doer, not I. Nama-smarana is the means par excellence for achieving thorough self-surrender.
In the Bhagavadgita, the Lord asks Arjuna, "Simply surrender yourself to Me". Now such surrender is not possible without first eliminating body­consciousness. Attachment for worldly grandeur, and realization of God, do not go well together. It was therefore that Shrikrishna directed Uddhava to retire into solitude and meditate on nama if he was really keen to attain Him. This means that God is not attainable unless one turns one's back on the world and its lures.
The laws for attaining to God differ from those applying to the acquisition of worldly things. To do the necessary bodily acts and to dispose material things accordingly, to satisfy a desire arising in the mind, is the worldly way; it calls for translating an abstract idea into concrete act. With God, the situation is the reverse. Because the Supreme Being is extremely subtle, to attain to It is going from the concrete to the abstract. The instrument to achieve this must, therefore, be one that takes the concrete to the abstract. Nama, being physical on the one hand, and close to the subtle on the other, is the one such instrument.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-Feb.6

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-Feb.6

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Feb.5

Nama-smarana with Genuine Sincerity

Usually we find it easier to repeat nama while we are in happy circumstances. If anything goes wrong, however, our attention is distracted, and it repeatedly reverts to whatever has gone wrong. The reason is that our chanting lacks genuine sincerity. Repeating nama with true faith is only possible if we have an intense conviction that God is our all in all; then, and then alone, shall we be able to maintain steady nama-smarana despite ill health, pain, reverses, set-backs. We read in the Mahabharata that Lord Krishna rushed to Draupadi's rescue only when she called out to Him with the conviction that it was He that was her last and true resort, her sole supporter and protector. We, too, must think of Him with the same sincere conviction, the same singleness of heart with which a child calls on his mother for help. It is only adversity that reveals on whom we really rely for help.
The practice of nama consists of three stages: one, chanting nama superficially, casually, in happy circumstances; two, remembering nama in adversity, with the unflinching trust that God is the sole support; and three, ceaseless remembrance of nama, after that trust becomes ingrained. In the first stage, one prays that calamities be averted. Saints, on the other hand, pray God to send calamities, because they know that it is in adversity alone that God is remembered with ardency.
We should feel as sure of the existence of God as we are of our own. We get only occasional glimpses of the presence of God; the idea will only become translated into practice if the mind is thoroughly convinced that God dwells everywhere. Only then shall we come to do nothing but what He likes or approves of.
We should get up early every morning, bow to God in submission, visualize Him in the mind, and pray, "O Lord, please caution me whenever I happen to forget You, for You are my only resort."
Whatever and wherever a man may be, he will surely get peace of mind if he remains absorbed in contemplation of God. One who lives for God will never get bored with life.
The joy of sensual pleasures is like the euphoria produced by an intoxicant, and has an aftermath of enhanced misery. Real joy can be experienced only by one who lives in God.
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