Glimpses of Divine Vision - Swami Ramdas -2

Glimpses of Divine Vision

Swami Ramdas

(Anandashram, Anandashram PO

Kanhangad)

PEACE

The peace you crave for is ever within you. If

you seek for it without, you will never have it

anywhere. This is a great truth which very few

realize.

Surrender is the only way to peace. So, in all

circumstances of life, submit to the will of God,

and be free from the touches of worry and anxiety

of every kind. All happen as determined by the

Lord. Do not assert your will and expect

everything to take place as you wish. Unpleasant

situations are the common lot of mankind. Yours

is to resign yourself to the Lord and remain

unaffected by them.

When the mind rests in peace by a complete selfsurrender,

the heart’s desire is realized without

any delay. The longing ceases by a perfect selfabandonment,

and then no time is lost for its

fruition. This is the secret of realization.

The one predominant hunger of the soul is for

absolute peace and bliss. You can have this peace

and bliss only when your mind rests on the bosom

of the Infinite Reality. So, a constant

contemplation or thought of the great Truth

whose attributes are immortal bliss and peace

can alone completely satisfy the yearning of the

soul. Direct, therefore, all the forces of your

mind and intellect towards the All-merciful Lord

of the universe, and put yourself entirely into His

hands. There is no path easier than selfsurrender.

He who trusts the Almighty never

comes to any harm. This is the rule of God that

knows no exception. Do therefore walk the path

of pure and simple devotion. Be conscious that

the Lord seated in your heart is your all-powerful

protector. Keep Him ever in your remembrance.

Tune your thought and life with His radiant

existence, and thus permit His divine energy to

flow into you and transform your life into one of

peace and joy. Don’t give yourself away to

dejection, doubt and despair.

To experience the stillness of the all-pervading

Spirit who is at once the witness of this world of

manifestation and the world- manifestation itself

is to realize God in His all-inclusive nature and

being. Behold Divinity everywhere. Rise above

all conditions and dwell ever in union with the

immortal Truth who has become all. Everything

is His doing because all, all is He alone. Ramdas

has nothing beyond this to tell you. Realize that

you and all beings, creatures and things in the

world are utterly divine.

It is absolutely of no avail for a man to bewail

over his worldly lot and his unstable attachments

to worldly friends. Seek the true life in God, and

the friendship of the Eternal-the highest; both

are everlasting. The real peace can never come

to the share of man so long as he thinks that the

adjustments of external life can grant him

happiness. Disappointment and misery must be

his lot wherever he be. Take thought and know

once for all that real freedom and peace lie only

in the close communion with the immortal Truth

dwelling in your heart. Take complete refuge in

God through constant remembrance of Him, and

thus be content in all situations He places you.

Don’t embitter your life with thoughts of worry

and care. Make God your friend and aid. Once

you become His, He never gives you up. He takes

you to the seat of immortality and bliss. This is

the way and there is no other.

True it is that until a man or a woman has found

in his or her heart the beloved Lord of the

universe, there can be no real peace and liberation

for the struggling soul. Therefore, feel always

that the divine Presence is ever with you and in

you. Let the stream of His remembrance flow

continuously in your mind, and may you attain

the supreme blessedness of perfect union with

Him.

LOVE

Love begets love. Love is life, love is Truth. The

highest attainment is love, the loftiest goal is

love.

The cosmic vision held out in the Gita alone can

enable you to attain universal love. This vision or

love grants you never- fading joy and peace. To

love God is to love all, and to love all is to love

God. This is the secret of Self-realization and

liberation, and Ram Nam is the way.

Indeed every movement of your mind in thought,

every movement of your tongue in words, every

movement of your limbs in activity or works, is

the play of Shakti. Shakti is nothing but God’s

love. When we realize that all movement is the

movement of that supreme love, we live

continuously in a state of divine ecstasy which is

simply inexpressible. Then, Prem fills us through

and through, in other words, we are soaked in

Prem. The quality of Prem is Anand. There is

also the witness of this play of love or Shakti -

the immutable, changeless, all-pervading, static

aspect of your being, whose quality is ineffable

peace. On this unaffected screen of eternal peace

dances in flitting forms, infinite love producing

sweet intoxicating music of Anand. Every particle

of your body and the whole universe is thrilling

with Sri Ram’s love. So, there is nothing but

Anand in all movement, change and activity.

There is nothing but peace in the depths of all

forms-result of movement and change. So,

eternal peace and bliss are the only Reality.

Everybody wants to eat only sweet things. The

thought of bitter things is repulsive to all. Lovepure

and glorious love-the immortal divine lovemakes

us drink always sweetness and joy.

Therefore, to open your hearts to the inflow of

this intoxicating love and remain ever in the

rapture of it is the supreme blessing and purpose

of life. All things pass away-your petty ambitions

and unregulated aspirations are things of the

moment. Your pleasures and pains, your successes

and failures, your exultations and depressions,

and your desires and fancies, all, all pass away.

The one thing that remains unaltered, permanent

and eternal is divine Love.

Love does not rest content with merely loving,

but flows out in acts of service. Love is blissful

only when it freely gives itself away. Therefore,

it is truly said-“The giver and the receiver are

both blessed.”

Love must ever be revealed in service; otherwise,

love has no value, or love is no love. Love

cheerfully sacrifices; love willingly suffers. Where

such love is, there is real peace and joy. Such a

love illumines and blesses life.

O Love! There is nothing greater than Thee!

Love is Truth. Love is God. Love is all. The

name of this love is Ram. So, to repeat this

name is to realize this supreme Love-is to enjoy

everlasting bliss.

THE LORD’S NAME

Depend upon it that the Lord’s Name is all65

powerful. It will not only shield you from all harm,

but also grant you the power of endurance and

peace. To take refuge in the Name is to take

refuge in God, because God and His Name are

not different. With the Name on the lips you

can withstand all the storms of life, you can brave

all the dangers, all the disappointments and all

the losses that attend on life.

In regard to repetition of the Name, give up

keeping any account. Counting distracts the mind

from the central ideal of adoration and you fail

to attain the needed fixity of mind or

concentration. Make it a rule to repeat the Name

at all times and in all places. There are no

restrictions with regard to taking the divine

Name.

Believe always that, by whatever name you

remember Him, you are in close communion with

the Reality who is universal Spirit, the inner

Controller and Master of the worlds. The mother

is He, the master is He. Your supreme Beloved is

He.

Where the Lord’s Name is uttered, there all

purity, power and goodness reside.

The power of the divine Ram Mantram is

inexpressibly great. By its aid you can defy death

itself. Be ever fearless and free. Take always

that God who is the source of all strength and

peace, is your Mother, Friend and Lord, and He

is ever with you, to protect, help and guide you.

The Name “Ram” has an intrinsic value of its

own, although the other names of God are as

great and powerful. For a Mantra, rhythm is a

most important factor: because the soothing

melody of the repeated word or combination of

words has a marvellous effect on the distracted

mind. Of all the words, the word “Ram” produces

a most charming sound. No two letters linked

together could, by their harmonious music, lull

and bring peace to the mind as the letters in the

word, Ram. Again it is rightly said that “Ram” is

equal in power to the most sacred “OM”. Then

again for the devotee who strives to reach God

through, his Saguna or manifest aspect, “Ram”

is the name of an incarnation of God. For these

reasons, Ramdas thinks, the name Ram is more

widely accepted for Japa than any other name of

God.

Purity is the greatest asset of a human beingpurity

in thought, word and deed. Purity is

attained when the mind is filled with

remembrance of God. A pure mind always reflects

kindness, forgiveness and love towards all.

The name of Sri Ram is glorious indeed! The

name is Brahman Himself. So the Vedas declare.

To have this holy Name permanently stamped on

the mind is therefore to realize Brahman.

Brahman is eternal existence, knowledge and bliss.

He is the source of all goodness, purity and power.

This mighty name-Sri Ram-stands for all this. All

glory to Him!

The easiest way to reach or realize Sri Ram is

surely to repeat His most powerful name. Smaran

is to remember what you have forgotten. You

have forgotten that you are His Swarup. You are

always He, but your ignorance has made you forget

your real nature. Continuous and ceaseless

Smaran of Sri Ram is to remove your ignorance

and make you realize ultimately that you are all

He and He alone. There is none but He. To

attain this, your mind must be spotlessly pure.

Repetition of His great name is again the only

means or Sadhana. A pure mind is the first

preliminary to your surrender to Sri Ram.

Conceive a strong and intense love for Sri Ramthe

more intense your love for Him, the more

continuous and unbroken your remembrance

becomes automatically; because it is your nature

to remember that which you love most.

A purified mind alone can realize Sri Ram who is

the one Supreme Truth, all-pervading, changeless,

the highest, the best, the greatest goal of your

life. Your intense desire to attain this goal, i.e.,

Sri Ram, is Bhakti. The more intense your desire

for reaching this goal, the more rapidly you

advance towards it. Therefore, incessant,

ceaseless remembrance--Smaran--is the only

Sadhana. Smaran of what? Smaran of your real

Swarup--which is Sri Ram--who is Sat-Chit-Anand.

This real Swarup is the entire universe. The

universe is Brahman, Sri Ram.

Make your faith in the Name quite unshakeable,

and repeat the Name at all times. You will know

in the course of time that a mysterious power

within you is awakened and is infusing courage,

strength and joy in all your activities.

All Mantras have the same power. The Shiva

Mantra is as powerful as the Ram Mantra. Don't

make any distinction between Rama and Shiva.

The name stands for the Purushottama of the

Gita - who is Purusha and Prakriti at once and

also the Supreme One beyond both. Meditate on

His infinite attributes. Seek to realize Him in your

heart, and then everywhere in the universe. Do

not cling to any form. Do not doubt and bring up

any questions. God in your heart is your guide

and protector. He is your father, mother and all.

34

Devotion to God who is seated in the hearts of us

all is the one path that leads the struggling soul

to the haven of perfect peace and joy. Bereft of

devotion, life is dry and tasteless. Devotion

sweetens life and frees it from the bond of

ignorance. Devotion means loving remembrance

of God. Blessed indeed is the heart which adores

the Lord and are the lips which utter His nectarlike

name.

For the man who has attained the supreme goal

of perfect Self- realization or liberation, the

repetition of the divine mantram is optional. He

may or may not repeat the Mantram, since the

continuous repetition of it has yielded him the

fruit, viz., the supreme consciousness which is

eternal peace, bliss and knowledge. The liberated

soul, after he drops off his body, may or may not

be born again. If he does, he will become a

potent power for awakening mankind to the

inherent glory of their immortality.

CONCENTRATION

For concentration it is essential that the mind

should fix itself on one thought to the exclusion

of every other. So, one sound ringing in the ear

and the heart, and one ideal or Ishta meditated

upon in the mind-both representing or symbolizing

the great ultimate Reality-must be adopted for

practice. If this is not done, concentration, which

itself denotes one-pointedness of mind, will be

impossible. This does not mean that one should

dislike other Ishtas or names standing for God.

Faith and practice combined can enable an

aspirant to overcome any and every difficulty that

confronts him in his struggle for control of mind.

Surely, the Kripa or grace of a saint is essential.

Under his guidance and influence, the Sadhaka

progresses rapidly towards the goal. But your

own effort is also as essential. Tamasic inactivity

or Rajasic activity are obstacles. A selfless and

one-pointed endeavour is alone conducive to real

concentration and the ultimate attainment. Your

life is in your hands: elevate it, purify it and fill it

with the bliss of immortality. May God within

you be your guide.

By practice or Abhyas you can attain everything

you aspire to. What is needed is determination

and perseverance. Don’t feel weak. The infinite

power of God is within you. In all practices draw

strength from this source. Nothing can be

achieved without struggle and effort. To control

the mind you require indomitable energy. This

you can gain by a steady practice. If at first you

cannot fix your mind by Japa, don’t be

disheartened; continue Japa with persistence and

you will gradually find that the restless nature of

the mind is quelled. Court solitude during off

hours, and the society of the devotees of God.

You need not keep account of Japa. This will

distract your mind. Have the Name of God always

on your lips. Don’t read literature that disturbs

your mind. Have system, regularity, and discipline

in your life. Have meditation or silent mental

repetition in a place free from noise. Rise early.

Don’t fritter away your mental and physical

energies. Be moderate in all things that you do.

Your progress depends on yourself. Truth cannot

be handed over by one to the other. Each has to

work for it by his own initiative and strength;

because Truth is nowhere else, but in each one

of you. Believe God’s blessings are ever on you.

March forward and reach the goal of immortality

and peace-a state which is your own real being.

Any symbol of God that you place before you for

adoration should, through a gradual process,

awaken within you a sense of immortality; and

when the ultimate state of sustained Godconsciousness

is attained, there should not be

any need for an external symbol to hang on. God

as teacher from outside can only awaken you to

the Reality; but the necessary condition for such

an awakening has to be created by your own

aspiration, struggle and discipline. The teachers

point to the path that leads to the highest goal

of human life. But it lies in the aspirant to walk

the path. A discipline of self-control can alone

grant you the necessary strength for moving boldly

on this path.

Through a discipline of concentration alone the

mind regains its lost powers. You must strictly

regulate your life and give up all dissipating

activities of both the mind and the body. The

uncontrolled and ill-used faculties are responsible

for the confusion that besets life. Make it a rule

to get up early in the morning, and devote some

time for the contemplation of the great and

immortal Truth who is all power, knowledge, peace

and bliss dwelling within you. By a practice of

such a meditation, you will recover the fading

powers of your intellect. You may depend upon it

that your memory will become keen, and the

assimilating strength of your mind will be

marvellously increased. Lead a pure and simple

life filled with an activity which is beneficial to the

people around you. Let your heart cherish noble

ideals. The teachings and lives of great and selfless

souls infuse energy and enthusiasm in your life. In

short, be a power for good in the world.

Solitude is an invaluable help to keep the mind

ever in tune with the indwelling infinite Reality.

It is something like recharging the exhausted

battery of life, so that life's mission in the world

may bear ampler and more glorious fruit. May

the Lord make you a supreme instrument in His

hands for the magnificent service to humanity.

In fact, service is the keynote of a selfless and

dedicated life. The spirit of love and service

daunts every danger and boldly faces and endures

hard toil and great suffering which it meets in

the path towards its fulfilment. Trials and

obstacles are only to steel the will for the purpose.

For concentration of mind and control of senses,

a steady and uninterrupted course of meditation

and utterance of the divine Name is prescribed.

This is an unfailing Sadhana.

MEDITATION

At intervals, during the periods of mental

repetition of Ram Nam, thoughts of the great

attributes of God as the all-pervading, infinite,

changeless, formless, eternal Truth, and also as

the universal manifestation, must be dwelt upon

by the mind. Know, in the first place, that the

supreme Reality is within your own heart and that

He and you are one.

By concentrating your mind, i.e., by making all

thoughts converge up to one point, revert your

gaze within. Therein lies the splendour of your

soul which animates all your thoughts. This

splendour is the divine consciousness within you.

Then you behold the immortal consciousness within

you. Then you behold the immortal root of your

existence and of the world, from which your mind

and all manifestations derive their light and

movement. In short, to turn your gaze within

and see your own eternal Self is to see God.

Repetition of Ram Nam simultaneously with

meditation on the great Ideal is perfectly right.

But the remembrance must flow in the mind

without break like the stream of oil poured from

one vessel into another. This must continue until

you lose yourself entirely in the infinite Reality,

and rising above the body- consciousness, feel

one with all lives and existences.

During meditation, repeat mentally the Ram

Mantram; you have to bring up in it the glorious

attributes of God. After some practice, let even

the repetition of the Mantram stop so that the

mind may be perfectly still without any waves of

thought rising in it. Thus be self-absorbed for

some time. You may see lights at this stage, or

hear sweet sounds from within. Go past these

until you transcend the body-consciousness. Go

on steadily in your course. Cling firmly to the

Lord’s Name. It will save you from all pit-falls

and temptations.

By concentrating your mind on the sound of the

Name, the mind absorbs the Name, and

thereafter mental repetition starts. This mental

practice at a certain stage ceases, bringing on

inner stillness and peace. Meditation on the great

attributes of the Lord should go on side by side.

Then, the pure and waveless mind merges in the

great Truth, and you attain Self-illumination. This

experience takes you still higher and grants you

the rare cosmic vision which is the goal of your

life.

You have to realize that you are the whole and

all-inclusive Truth. You get thrills of bliss when

you have completely merged your individual sense

in God-the universal consciousness. If you could

maintain this supreme consciousness at all times

you will ever live in the Eternal, and be ever in a

state of perfect freedom and ecstasy. Rise above

  and form, and you experience your oneness

with all existences. The sense of duality-be it

between you and the world or between you and

God- is the offspring of ignorance. So soar to

the height of the transcendent Truth where all

forms and lives resolve into one.

Divine Name is a ladder by the help of which you

ascend to the supreme zenith of the above

described state. When through the repetition of

the Name, the mind gets dissolved in the ocean

of stillness and peace within you, repetition of

the Name is no longer necessary. Of course, off

and on, you can drink the nectar of the charming

music of the Name, but do not depend entirely

upon this music for your peace and bliss. Because

no joy which is conditioned and dependent can

be permanent. Through the power of the Name,

let the bliss of the eternal Atman, which is selfexistent

and independent, reveal itself within you,

so that you can experience it at all times and in

all states. Find joy in the non-repetition of the

name as much as in the repetition of it, by

realizing that all the activities of your life are

tuned together by the divine Shakti to produce

the sweet music of the Name. Listen to this

music in all sounds and movements in yourself

and the world. Verily, all the worlds and beings

move and act to the grand symphony of God’s

own music.

If you unite yourself with your all-powerful and

immortal Self through meditation, you will gain

untold strength and will conquer every weakness.

Go on with the practice. By continued effort you

will succeed.

The end and aim of all spiritual Sadhanas is to

merge your individuality in the great universal

Reality beyond name, form and movement. So,

enter still deeper in meditation so that your bodyconsciousness

may entirely leave you, thus,

granting you an experience of the Nirguna aspect

of God. Let all the waves of Sankalpa and Vikalpa

be totally subdued. Transcend all sounds, lights

and forms that appear before your mental vision

in meditation. After gaining this realization of

the inmost truth of your being, come out of it

with a transformed vision that beholds every being,

creature and thing in the visible manifestation,

as the image of that great Truth whom you have

experienced in the depths of meditation. See the

whole Prakriti and the power that works in it as

belonging to the Divine Mother- -Shakti who is

the manifest aspect of the Lord who is both this

aspect and also the unmanifest, unaffected,

invisible, all- pervading, motionless, changeless,

all-peaceful and ever blissful Truth. Feel

thereafter all your actions and thoughts, all your

impulses and feelings, as the expressions of the

Divine Mother- Shakti Herself. Now you will know

that the ego no longer exists in you and all your

actions start only from the great universal centre-

Shakti. This is the height of realization which

you have to reach. March onward until you attain

to this highest goal. May the Lord grant you

courage and strength and lead you to this loftiest

consummation of life.

SELF-SURRENDER

The path of pure and simple Bhakti is one of the

easiest means to reach the all-powerful feet of

the Lord. Self-surrender is the goal. Pure

aspiration and ceaseless meditation constitute the

path. All else is secondary.

Take refuge in the Almighty God who resides in

your heart. Surrender yourself entirely to Him

and you will gain inexhaustible strength, for

overcoming the passions, Kama and Krodha, that

assail you. Feel always that you are in His hands,

and therefore always safe. With the weapon of

God-remembrance with you, you can dwell in the

very midst of temptation and remain unaffected.

By constant practice, keep your mind ever tuned

to the infinite Truth.

Self-surrender denotes a life lived in accordance

with your exalted spiritual nature. Dwell in the

Divine and act as inspired by Him within you,

having no doubt or fear. No movement in your

nature-revealing in action-is by itself either evil

or sinful. True life depends upon the standpoint

from which it is lived. Self-surrender is therefore

a state in which all your actions are performed in

utter dedication to the indwelling Reality. Here

the question of good and evil does not arise. Life

is then regulated automatically, ever tempered

with moderation and self-control. Doubt and

hesitation have then no place here. Be a child in

the hands of the Divine Mother. Know that at

the basis of your life stands the immutable and

unaffected spirit of God, and that your eternal

nature is the very nature of the Mother who is

but the manifest aspect of the supreme Lord.

Dependence on and submission to Him in all

matters contribute towards the realization of

eternal peace.

Rest assured that the spiritual struggle of an

aspirant ceases, the moment he puts himself

entirely into the hands of God. This is the

culmination of all Sadhanas. Give up all thought

of your slackness or the insufficiency of your

spiritual practices. Rest completely on the bosom

of the infinite Mother. You are after all Her alltrusting

and ever dependent child. Her guidance

and protection are all that you need to wish for.

She is so benevolent and merciful. Be ever

conscious that you are eternally Hers, and Hers

alone.

Realization of God is the fruit of self-surrender,

i.e., handing yourself over to Him totally with

the result that you have no care or anxiety left

to harass your mind. So long as you are impatient

and fretful, you push away from you the goal of

attainment. Be calm and self-sufficient, and you

are face to face with your ideal.

The secret of Tapasya and solitude lies in your

feeling about them. The moment you realize

that all your activities and works belong to the

supreme Lord of your heart and of the universe,

you will become conscious that you are at once in

solitude in the midst of the crowd and that you

have reached the end of all Tapasya. Believe, in

all things that you do, you are driven by a power

which is all masterful, all loving and all beneficent.

Don’t crave for a state of external renunciation

of activity; but for the victory of peace and

resignation in the midst of activity. This is possible

when you are grounded in the truth that you are

merely a willing and submissive instrument.

To always keep the name of God on the lips or in

the mind is not the whole thing in the matter of

God-remembrance. Constant repetition of the

name ultimately takes you to the consciousness

of God wherein remembrance of Him as such

ceases. Thereafter you maintain a steady

consciousness of the indwelling Reality. Selfsurrender

denotes this supreme state.

The end of all Sadhanas is total self-surrender

which means giving over your individual life into

the complete control and guidance of the supreme

Lord and thus remain ever in a state of perfect

oneness with Him. It is He alone, within you and

without you, that makes you act every part in

this world-game. Realize this and be free from

all bondages, and enjoy the ecstasy and peace of

immortality.

Complete surrender to God denotes the

divinisation of life. In this life there is neither

acceptance nor rejection. Life must flow

spontaneously like a river. Whatever act you do

will, in this condition, be utterly divine. Don’t

have any misgivings or doubts. Push on until the

great Truth within you reveals itself in all its glory

through every part of your being. This is the

attainment and this is the goal.

The perfection in spiritual attainment lies

ultimately in the total dedication and surrender

of yourself to the supreme Beloved who eternally

dwells within you and pervades the entire

universe. This surrender grants you a vision of

your eternal Beloved in all beings, creatures and

things, nay the universe itself as the visible image

of the Beloved. When you have experienced the

ineffable delight and ecstasy of this exalted state,

you will have reached the end of your Sadhana.

Thereafter, you are utterly in His hands, and your

whole life is filled at all times with the light and

power of the Beloved. The Asana, Dhyana, and

even Smaran, performed as Sadhana, ceases,

because you now attain to a consciousness which

is ever surcharged with divine bliss, and all your

actions will be done in a state of Samadhi, which

is called “Sahaja Samadhi”. Achieve this

perfection, and be ever free, cheerful, contented

and active. See the Lord in all, love the Lord in

all and serve the Lord in all. Be such a Mahatma

who, Gita says, is very rare to be found.

Identify yourself with the immortal Purusha-the

witness-beyond the Gunas and Dwandwas-on one

hand; surrender all your actions to the divine Shaktiwhose

manifestation is the universe of name, form

and movement-on the other.

Lastly, realize that the inactive Purusha-the witness,

and the active Shakti or Prakriti-the witnessed,

are the eternal aspects co-existing in the ultimate

Godhead-the Purushottama, who is at once Purusha

and Prakriti and beyond both.

The first two processes effectually eradicate the

ego-sense, take you to the Impersonal, and then

lead on to the still higher Impersonal Person-Nirguna-

Saguna. This is the complete, all-comprehensive

Truth. This glorious realization makes it natural

with you to love all alike and to enjoy the bliss of

universal love. You love yourself, in all, and as all.

Surrender to God’s will denotes the assertion of

your higher will which is one with the will of God.

God resides in you. When your individual will

ceases to exist, the divine will starts to work in

you, or you become conscious of a divine

possession, and thereafter in all your actions,

great and small, you are controlled and guided by

your own omnipotent will. Here there is no

conflict, but a transmutation of the human into

the Divine Will.

GENERAL

You can conquer the effects of Prarabdha by

absorption in the Almighty Spirit through constant

meditation. In fact, by this practice you transcend

the notion of the body and remain unaffected by

the pains attending on it.

Man at first goes in search of God to various

Tirthas, and sacred places, but at last finds the

supreme quest of his life in the shrine of his own

heart. Even in such places, when he experiences

Anand, it is due to the overflow of it from the

immortal source within himself. The Truth is

within you. Keep up this consciousness always by

constant remembrance. There are many who

have attained God-realization without resorting

to caves and jungles. Don’t think that, by dwelling

in caves alone, man could attain salvation. Resort

to solitude for meditation is of course necessary.

This you can have wherever God has chosen to

keep you. Travel is meant for gathering that

experience which you may not get by remaining

at one place. Forget not, wherever you go, you

can carry with you the thought of God as ever

dwelling in your own heart.

Really when hundreds of people assemble together

at a spot in the name of God, there you realize

the true spirit of universal love and brotherhood.

In such an atmosphere, you get the taste of that

supreme joy which is beyond the plane of

distinctions and diversity of every kind. In short,

it is here the immortal Reality of your existence

is revealed, and you are absorbed in the ineffable

bliss of it. Human life is mainly intended for the

one great purpose of knowing God. To know

God is to know one’s Self. God and universe,

God and soul, are not different. He is the one

great Truth who is, and has become all.

The word ‘desire’ in common parlance is used

for the cravings of the senses. This desire must

be subdued by substituting it with a burning

aspiration of God. If desire could be used in both

cases, we can say that the desire for worldly

things must be substituted by the desire for the

Eternal. In the last stage, when the Divine is

attained, you become perfectly desireless, having

neither a hankering for sense objects nor a

longing for the Divine.

Lust, greed and wrath are verily the enemies on

the path of the spiritual aspirant. To destroy

these passions, as far as they relate to the sensual

feelings for the satisfaction of the ego, does not

mean to turn into an inert log of wood. In the

cause of truth and righteousness, liberated sages

do utilize or assume anger and such other moods,

for correcting the ways of erring souls, from a

purely impersonal standpoint. For instance,

righteous anger for serving a good cause, you

will admit, has a place in the life of even a Godrealized

soul.

Through Bhakti yoga, the Kundalini is awakened

and made to rise upwards. You need not watch

her progress. Yours is to increase your devotion

to God and so adjust your life as to keep Him

always in your thought. Adopt the path of selfsurrender

to Divine Mother-Shakti. Put yourself

in Her hands and permit Her to transform your

life from the human to the divine.

Jivatman is the lower or individual self and the

Paramatman is the higher or universal Self.

God’s creation is there before you just as you

have the light from the sun; in other words, it is

the very nature of God to reveal Himself as the

entire cosmos. Here the question why and

wherefore does not arise. If you look at the

world from its source which is God you cannot

but visualise all activities of creatures and things

in nature as the lila of the Lord.

Incarnation of God is a special descent of the

Divine assuming a human body, imbued with all

the powers and qualities of God for the work of

directing the human vision towards the Divine.

Truth has, of course, to be accepted at first

intellectually, but eventually, it has to be realized.

A burning aspiration to experience the bliss of

the Truth is the one thing needed. Have this,

and you will come by that supreme joy and

freedom which is beyond the pleasures of the

mere intellect. Be ever courageous, free and

cheerful.

Service of the poor is the worship of God. This is

the real Yagna by which you expand your vision

of life and attain true freedom and happiness.

When all actions become a spontaneous and

blissful movement of your life, you experience

your inherent state of immortality and bliss.

Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram

GLOSSARY

Abhyas: Practice

Anand: Divine bliss

Asana: A seat or yogic posture

Bhakta: Devotee

Bhakti Yoga: Union with God through devotion or

the path of Devotion

Brahmacharya: Celibacy, continence

Brahman: The Supreme Being

Darshan: Visit or Vision

Dhyan: Meditation

Dwandwas: Pairs of opposites such as pleasure

and pain

Gunas: Three qualities of nature – Sattva, Rajas

and Tamas i.e harmony, passion and torpor

respectively

Guru: Spiritual preceptor

Japa: Repetition of the Divine Name or mantra

Jivatman: The individual soul

Kama: Lust or desire

Kripa: Grace

Krodh: Anger

Kundalini: The coiled up, dormant, cosmic energy

in the body

Lila: Play

Mahatma: A great soul

Mantra: Incantation

Maya: Illusion

Nirguna Swarup: Impersonal God

Paramatman: The Supreme Spirit

Prakriti: Nature-both gross and subtle

Prarabdha: Accumulated portion of past actions

now being worked out in this life

Prem: Divine love

Purusha: The unaffected witness-aspect of God

Purushottama: The personal-impersonal Godhead

Raga, Dwesha: Like, Dislike

Rajasic: Pertaining to rajas or the quality of action

Rama Darshan: The vision of Rama-God

Ram Mantra: An incantation of Ram’s Name

Sadhana: Spiritual practice or discipline

Saguna: Personal God

Saguna Swarup: Personal aspect of God

Sahaja: God-consciousness maintained in all

circumstances and at all times

Samadarshan: Equal vision

Samadhi: The state of eternal tranquillity attained

through abstract meditation

Sankalpa: The faculty of making resolutions

Satsang: Society of Saints

Shakti: Divine power

Shiva: One of the gods of the Hindu trinity

Shiva Mantra: An incantation of Shiva’s Name

Smaran: Remembrance

Swarup: True Being

Tamasic: Pertaining to tamas or quality of dullness,

delusion and darkness

Tapasya: Austerity

Tirthas: Places of Pilgrimage

Vasudeva Sarvamithi: This is all Vasudeva

Vedas: The four great original sacred books of

the Hindus

Vikalpa: Restlessness of mind due to desires

Yagna: Sacrifice

Yogi: A God-realized soul

 

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(End..) 

(My humble salutations to the lotus feet of H H Swami Ramadas ji   for the collection)