Friday, May 15, 2020
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-May 15
Give Love to all, Hurt Nobody's Heart
Whoever wants to save money should begin by never incurring a debt. After that, he should try to curtail his spending, and thus start saving. The same process works for love. Begin by 'burying the hatchet'; next, ensure that you hurt nobody; you can never be too careful in this regard. A physical injury may be healed in course of time, and if we beg his pardon, the injured person may forgive us. But if we hurt the feelings, restoration is next to impossible. It is hurting God Himself, because in recounting His various manifestations in the Bhagavadgeeta, the Lord says, "Of the organs and faculties, I am the mind."
The vow to tell "the truth and nothing but the truth" is highly laudable, but it must be tempered by discriminating thought. If a man says, "I will tell the absolute truth even disregarding the mother, the father, God, and the guru," he may land himself and others into an impasse. If observance of this vow involves offences against venerable persons how can we justify such a vow? Should we tell the truth to a person who has come for the purpose of thieving? In short, everything needs circumspective consideration.
Suppose a man has four sons: one has a sweet tooth, the second likes sour things, the third relishes fried dishes, whereas the last likes sharp-tasting articles. Now if they start quarrels on the score of difference of taste, they can never come to terms, and the house will become an arena of conflict. They can only avoid the situation by overlooking and tolerating the difference in taste. Secondly, they should build up mutual love by the thought that they are sons of the same father, who deserves their allegiance and affectionate regard. If each one in the family decides to live together amicably, the home will enjoy peace and contentmnent. The house of a spiritual aspirant should overflow with love. A guest or visitor should be so charmed with it that when departing he should long to return to that atmosphere.
There is nothing to equal the misconception that I am the body, whereas I am really part of the Cosmic Soul. Although beset with difficulties of one kind and another, one does not think of renouncing worldly life: what greater, more poignant instance of the sway of maya do we need?
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Thursday, May 14, 2020
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-May.14.
Give Up Pursuit of Sense-objects, Public EsteemWhen we attach ourselves to Rama, He undertakes to look after us. It is we ourselves, however, that hinder such attachment, because of our own liking for sense-objects and public esteem. It is a corollary of this liking that we have a dislike for Rama. Do we not disregard and set aside the needs and entreaties of the wife and children in order to attend the office punctually? With what justification, then, can we plead them as an impediment for sadhana?
The saints have been dinning it into our ears that woman and money are the enemies of spiritual advancement. On this one may ask why at all God has created them. The answer is, that, it is the use we make of a thing that commends or condemns it. The match-stick that can light a fire for cooking can also be used to set a house ablaze.
A certain person once said to me, "Domestic life disgusts me and makes me feel I should quit it." I replied, "Do you think quitting home life will create detachment? What you need for it is proper discrimination between good and bad, permanent and impermanent. What will suffice for the present is to give up the sense of ownership and doership."
Righteous acts may prove a hindrance in spiritualism. One may feel ashamed to own an improper act, but of a good one we boast with pride. People often say," The misery I am undergoing is owing to sins committed by me in a previous life; I perform good acts in this life so that I shall have a happier life in my next incarnation. " But does this not imply desiring for a re-incarnation instead of for absolute liberation from the almost endless cycle of births and deaths? A bad act may possibly lead to repentance and make one turn to God; but there is no knowing what downfall the pride of a good deed may lead a man to.
How can a bitter gourd yield a sweet taste? Likewise, how can sensual pleasure make life sweet and happy? It is begging the question to say that you will take up devotion when love for God will arise. For mere fleeting pleasures we toil and drudge; but we do not care to repeat the nama sincerely, and yet complain in despair that we still do not feel love for God!
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan- May.13
Endeavour to Improve Yourself
To do nothing, not to feel that you are doing something or have something to do is real spiritualism. It has become a habit with us to be doing something physically and mentally. To sit inactively is difficult; to keep the mind inactive is more difficult; and to keep the mind detached, while keeping the body busy in action, is most difficult of all. Really speaking, the mind seeks equanimity, but it can only be acquired by dint of strenuous effort. Mental equilibrium is upset by one of three causes; a happening contrary to one's desire; recollection of the past; and anxiety for the future. As for the first of these, when we consider that everyone in the world wants things to shape after his heart, how can we expect that they take place only after our heart? Things are bound to go against our desires. So, to preserve our mental composure, we should train ourselves to efface all desire, not wish for a particular thing to happen, give up greed and expectation, and ascribe everything to Rama. Such ascription is equivalent to living in constant awareness of God.
How deep our ego has percolated into our thought! How casually we connive at even obvious facts when it suits us to do so! When a man's son goes astray, he blames some other person for enticing or misleading him; he does not want to blame his own son. If a man's son gets spoilt under his own nose, we can imagine the tremendous influence of association. How, then, can we explain why we remain unaffected by the company of the saintly? The plain, obvious reason is that we do not at all attempt to improve ourselves; Not that we do not understand what is good for us, but we lack the urge to improve ourselves. Therefore, born as we are in desire, we also die in desire. The only dependable means to extricate ourselves from the clutches of desire, is to repair to the Lord in utter surrender. Pray to Rama that now you have no other recourse but Him, that you will be content to live as He pleases to keep you, and that you desire nothing but love for Him; and ever maintain His name on your lips. Be sure that He will not fail to shower his bountiful grace on you.
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