Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-May.1.

Motive for any Action Must be Clean
Of the three gunas, tamas, is the most akin to inert matter; and therefore its effects are most easily, widely, and quickly perceptible. Tamas directly vitiates thought and desires. Man, however, has the capability of purifying the mind, by profusely repeating nama; for, this leads to the development of sattwaguna which gradually purifies the mind. That God can be attained by mere disciplinary practices and mortification of the body and the mind, is a mistaken notion; were it correct, workers toiling in the scorching sun to break stone into road metal would have been among the first to attain God. We should remember, God concerns Himself with a man's disposition and the state and tendencies of his mind and heart, rather than with mere physical acts like mortification.
One may create in people's eyes an image or impression of great devoutness by mortification exercises like say, fasting, and yet secretly entertain a mundane objective. God, who resides in all hearts, cannot be so deceived. We should, therefore, aim at practising what we preach or say; in the path of spirituality nothing is more harmful than hypocrisy. To get lost in contemplation of God and thus forget to take food is far better than intentional fasting. We should get so engrossed in spiritual meditation that we acquire constant, unbroken awareness of God's presence. It matters not, in this state of mind, whether the body does or does not take food. On the other hand, mere fasting without such awareness of His presence will only lead to weakness of the body.
It is the motive behind any act that determines the intrinsic value of the act. God will readily condone an unorthodox action if the motive prompting it is pure. On the other hand, an apparently good action with an ulterior motive may keep God away. An action free from expectation of any kind will be highly appreciated by Him. We should strive to win God purely for His own sake. Indeed, if He were to present Himself before us and to offer to grant our desire, we should only ask for His name; this is true desirelessness. A manifestation of God may disappear some time or other, but His name abides for ever. As long as His name is with us, it is incumbent on Him to come to us.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-May 1

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-May1

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-April.30

Saints Dwell where Nama is chanted
God is certainly far away so long as we look up to the world with expectation; He cannot be reached while we are addicted to worldly matters and pleasures. Loving worldly life will lead to certain ruin. We are so completely identified with worldly matters that we find it virtually impossible to disentangle ourselves. Worldly pleasures and pain, respect and disrespect, all arise from selfishness, egoism, which makes us forgetful of God. Pleasure and sorrow, good fortune and bad, are the flows and ebbs of worldly life. We cannot dislodge maya unless we realise our true self. Now gird up your loins and resolve to overcome maya. Whatever we see outside is but a reflection of our own mind. Remember that the realization of the Supreme Being can alone give perfect contentment.
We find that sorrow arises from the very thing wherein we seek pleasure. Man can attain his real goal if he follows the correct path. To the person from whom we have some expectation, we naturally have to become subservient. The body is made of pancha mahabhootas, the five primary elements, and is therefore perishable. Do not be attached to the cognizable world, because it is impermanent; contentment can only come by God's grace.
Not circumstances but the attitude of our mind is the cause of our bondage. You cannot be a complete devotee of Rama without categorically abandoning worldly pleasures. A mind which is devoid of interest in sensuous objects will alone attain bliss. It is in your interest to strive for ultimate good. He is a brahma-jnyani who is always in deep, loving contemplation of nama. Freedom from attachment to woman and wealth is the true mark of a saint. None can equal him who sees God in all creation and loves Him in His myriad forms. He is jeevanmukta, liberated while yet in the body, who gives food free to all who come, who chants nama, and who has realized Rama in his heart. One who aspires to be a 'Ramadasa', a servant of Rama, should completely abandon all expectation from the world.
A tranquil, unruffled mind is the mark of a saint. Saints are to be found where there is continuous chanting of nama. There can be no better fortune than to surrender oneself unreservedly to a saint. Practise nama to secure the company of saints.
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Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Marathi-April 30

Sri Maharaj's Pravachan in Kannada-April 30

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-April.29

Abandon Attachment for Money
Lust and greed for money, are both harmful to spiritual life. But if I am asked to name the one more harmful of the two, I would unhesitatingly say, "money, because it greatly weakens faith in God". Whatever money God has given us, can we honestly say we really merit it? Therefore, do not unnecessarily wrangle with a beggar in giving him alms; for, it amounts only to an attempt to evade giving him anything.
A man may renounce all his possessions but not his 'self', his ego. Actually it does not matter even if he retains the possessions, provided he really surrenders his 'self'; but the converse is not true. In other words, all giving is in vain if there is a feeling "I donate ". The main thing is to divest oneself of the very concept of ownership, doership, or attachment; it is this that gives pure happiness.
If we try to raise the superstructure of happiness on the shaky, insecure foundation of the frail, mortal body, how can we hope for success? I call this body 'mine', but am unable to prevent it from getting fever or suffering an injury. I say, 'I am perfectly able to look after myself,' but if I stumble and fall, I have to be carried home by others. That shows the hollowness of my boast of independence ! How can any work done egoistically achieve success, no matter how hard the body toils for it ? Achievement will only come if God wills it. Samartha Ramadas first annihilated all egoism and worked only as directed by God, and that is why he succeeded. Only that will achieve success which is done by one dedicated to God, and only he gets real contentment.
How can one entertain conceit of wealth when we see even princes reduced to poverty? Wealth gives rise to feuds even between close relatives and friends. So I exhort you to steer clear of attachment for money. An easy way to achieve such detachment is to remain in company with the godly. We doubt the existence of saints in today's world, but we fail to find saintliness anywhere because we do not sincerely long for it. People approach saints in the hope of betterment in worldly affairs; how many approach him for the purpose of dedicating themselves to him?

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