AT THE FEET OF GOD Swami Ramdas -1

At the Feet of God 

SWAMI RAMDAS 

   

ANANDASHRAM

KANHANGAD

PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION

Ramdas himself has honoured me by asking me to write a preface to

his book.

If one were asked what the whole world, or a man, was seeking, one

could answer truthfully – HAPPINESS.

Ramdas has found that happiness; that intense, never-fading joy; that

perfect bliss which comes from God-realisation.

I have watched him sunk in this bliss. I know it is no pose. I see the

wonder, and have listened to the secret. It lies in these fragments he has

written; but it lies more in the pure human heart if it will open itself out to

GOD.

Ramdas stands out in our desert life like those little white flowers

that grow in isolated clumps in sandy deserts, and we too would wish to

know from what unknown source comes the sweetness; that we may also

drink, from that deep, hidden nourishment.

The source is devotion to God by whatever name you choose to call

Him: Devotion to Him and His Glorious Name.

This is Ramdas’ creed; he has no other.

Hindu, Mohammedan and Christian have stood abashed before his

gentleness. He is loved alike by one and all. He loves equally.

Still I hear the refrain of his voice singing, always singing OM SRI RAM!

JAI RAM! JAI JAI RAM! and the silent hills of Mt. Abu seem to take up the

refrain.

Simple, child-like Ramdas! Of such is truly the Kingdom of Heaven.

Shri Krishna Nivas,

Limbdi. ELIZABETH SHARPE

31st January, 1927.

POEMS

THE SONG ETERNAL

We are the ripples on the face

Of the infinite ocean bright;

We are the tiny glow that strays

From the eternal blazing light.

We are the sparks that flit and spring

From a pageant vast of fire;

We are the dulcet notes that ring

Upon the eternal lyre.

We are the whispers - the echoes

Of the thunders of space;

We are the twinkling star that goes

To deck the heavenly face.

We are the whiffs, struggles and gasps

Of a world in mortal throes;

We are a puny child that clasps

Delusion - as its mother’s brows.

We are the drops - the dripping drops

Of the drizzling monsoon rain;

We are the tender blades of crops

That feed the million train.

We are the dust - the sands that make

This Earth - the sphere of strife;

We are the dreamers that long to wake

From the empty dream of life.

We are the moments lone of Time -

Single breaths of eternity;

We are the blossoms that fade and pine

In the garden - Divinity.

We are the fickle shifts of wind -

That subtle cloak of Earth;

We are the silken cords that bind

The Universe in its birth.

We are the fading, crumbling leaves

Of a mighty Book - of sad line;

We are the golden thread that weaves

The fabric of Life Divine.

We are the stones that form to shape

The pyramids of old;

We are the tiny gems that gape

In the ornaments of gold.

We are the little acts that move

The worlds in their destined run;

We are the simple rays of Love

That crowd around - the One.

We are the transient shades that float

On the measureless space and air;

We are the little cries that dote

Upon glossy things of care.

We are the thrills that are absorbed

In the trembling of the spheres;

We are the dew-drops golden-orbed

In Nature’s early tears.

We are a slender touch of Thought

Of the Universal Mind;

We are a gleam - a flash that is caught

From a Vision Illumined.

RAM

Ram is the softness of moonlight

Ram is the glint of stars at night

Ram is the blaze of sun on high

Ram is the blueness of the sky.

Ram is the whiteness of the cloud

Ram is thunderous voice proud

Ram is lightning’s blinding flash

Ram is the raining downward dash.

FREEDOM

O mind, swim in the ocean of Love,

Spreading below, around, above;

O mind, bask in the flood of Light

That dispels the darkness of the night;

O mind, bathe in the fountain of Bliss,

True delight wilt thou never miss.

Let Truth be thy shield,

Let Light be thy guide,

Let Love be thy weapon,

Let Bliss be thy aim,

Perfect freedom then attain.

FEAST

Perennial springs of Love are bubbling everywhere.

Continuous streams of Joy are flowing everywhere.

Unbroken waves of Light roll on everywhere.

The great Truth itself holds the feast everywhere.

* * * *

MOTHER

O Mother, how sweet is the smile on Thy face,

That lovely sign of Thy infinite grace!

O Mother, how soft is the touch of Thy palm,

That soothes the pains as a cooling balm!

O Mother, how pure is Thy spotless heart,

That yearns and yearns like the aim, the dart!

O Mother, how pleasing is Thy tuneful voice,

That makes the heart for ever and for ever rejoice!

O Mother, how gentle is Thy entwining arm,

That guards and saves from every harm!

O Mother, how kind, how loving you are,

The child is ever secure in Thy fond care!

LORD

O Lord, how glorious is Thy potent name!

It speaks of Thy might and extols Thy fame

O Lord, how kind, merciful and just!

Carest for all who place in Thee full trust.

O Lord, how grand, majestic is Thy form!

In wind and rain Thou livest in storm.

LOVE

Love gilds the rays of the blazing sun;

Love softens the moonlight rays;

Love peeps through the twinkling stars;

Love cools the blowing breeze;

Love hovers over hills in hazy mist;

Love lends greenness to the leaves and grass;

Love sings sweetly through the tiny throats of birds;

Love dances nimbly in the flowing stream;

Love fills the heaven above and the earth below;

Love alone survives and all passes away.

For Love is Ram - Ram is only Love, Love, pure Love.

Live the real life - full of love - full of bliss.

Love shines in the rays of Light;

Love sings in the passing breeze;

Love hovers over the scented rose;

Love tunes the throats of birds;

Love tints the green and yellow leaves;

Love lends the blueness to the sky;

Love smiles upon the baby’s face;

Love grows as verdure on the plain;

Love softly flows as running stream;

Love drips through the martyr’s wounds;

Love peeps through the mother’s eyes;

Love soothes the striving soul;

Love wakes the hero’s valour;

Love softens the tyrant’s heart;

Love gains over very hate.

O, what can Love not do?

Love makes a heaven of hell.

O Love, All hail! All hail!

SELF-SURRENDER

Offer thy all to Ram, and rest content;

No sorrow then dare approach thee.

Thou art secure under the powerful protection of Ram.

Behold! Ram’s will alone is supreme;

Bend and bow to that will.

Come what may, it is Ram who does all,

And He does all for good.

For Ram is kind, Ram is love, Ram means always well.

Let the thought of Ram ever dwell in thy mind;

Never Him forget; thou art freed, thou art saved.

THE GOAL

Seek the feet of the Lord alone;

There find true rest and peace.

For all the past do atone;

Strive the Lord to please.

Thou art a mere thing of clay;

The Lord dwelleth in thee.

The world is but His divine play,

Ever His servant be.

The Lord is ever kind and good;

He points the right path.

Take it and struggle on;

And give up greed, and lust and wrath.

CONCENTRATION ON RAM

O Mind, dwell not amidst scenes that pass away;

Let Ram - the Supreme Being - ever on thee hold His sway.

O Mind, give up all desires

That sting thee like scorpion bites;

Take up the thought of Ram and soar to Elysian heights.

O Mind, wander not,

Struggle not to reach the fruitless quest;

Be steady, fixed on Ram, and earn eternal rest.

O Mind, all thoughts are fraught

With pains, fear and cares,

Except the one of Ram the stamp of bliss ever bears.

THE PATH OF BHAKTI

The radiant path that leads to the holy feet of Ram is found.

No need to grope in the dark;

No need to perplex the mind.

The royal road is straight and short; it is easy to tread.

No thorns - no obstacles - beset the smooth and flowery way.

Bhakti leads thee on with the light of faith.

Love Ram with all thy might; Ram is the goal.

Resign, surrender thy all to Ram, and remain ever free.

Then Ram gives thee bliss eternal;

Permanent peace is thine.

Give up all other paths; take this alone for once.

Thou art saved - Ram saves - the blissful feet of Ram are reached.

No struggle, no pains, no self-imposed trials need be.

WAKE UP

Ram’s glorious voice speaks;

Wake up, wake up to the Reality.

The sun is rising in the east,

To shed a flood of His resplendent light.

The clouds are lit, the silver lining shines

The heavens above - a vast blue dome;

O wake up, wake up to the Reality.

Behold the wavy line of distant hills,

The horizon is painted with the bronze hue.

The new day has come - a beauteous day,

That heralds Hope, Love and God;

O wake up, wake up to the Reality.

The green fields smile at the advent of the day,

The dewy grass seem as though bestrewed with pearls,

The leaves of trees flutter in the cool morning breeze.

The water in the valleys sings as it flows, her charming song;

O wake up, wake up to the Reality.

Birds - the sweet minstrels of the air - are on the wing,

The herd of cows slowly wend their way to the pasture land,

The night is gone, the day has come,

The day of joy - the joy that never fades;

O wake up, wake up to the Reality.

OFFERINGS

O tongue, you have no other speech than

To chant the sweet and charming name of Ram.

O ears, you have no other music than

To listen to the glorious voice of Ram.

O eyes, you have no other vision than

To see the Divine image of Ram.

O mind, you have no other thought than

To meditate upon the Beloved Ram.

O body, you have no other occupation than

To wear yourself out in the service of your Master, Ram.

LOVE, LIGHT AND BLISS

Love pervades all and that is Ram,

Light shines upon all and that is Ram.

Bliss deluges all and that is Ram.

Love, Light and Bliss mingle together and that is Ram.

II. TALKS WITH THE MOTHER AND HER SOLUTIONS OF THE CHILD’S

DIFFICULTIES

- 1 -

Q: What is the goal?

A: To attain Ram.

Q: What is self-surrender?

A: Resignation to the Will of God.

Q: How can we attain this?

A: By continued remembrance of God.

Q: What is Ram?

A: He is at once Light, Love and Bliss. He is the only eternal Truth.

Q: Where can we seek Him?

A: Seek and find Him in ourselves and in the whole universe about us. God

has manifested Himself as the universe. The one supreme Paramatman, who

is by nature formless, and without qualities and ever existent, has assumed

the variety of forms that we see in the universe. Let us see Him in all things

and beings as the One Imperishable Reality.

Q: What is the result of self-surrender?

A: Self-surrender brings pure everlasting bliss.

Q: How?

A: When the human will is given up for the Divine Will, all the responsibility

of the instrument - the devotee - ceases and the consciousness of the

individual ego is merged in the Divine consciousness. Then all his actions,

thoughts and words emanate from the Divine source, leaving him entirely

free from all doubts, desires and bonds. In fact, the devotee becomes filled

with supreme bliss, on which alone his mind constantly dwells. The ego

being absent, there is nothing on which his actions, words and thoughts can

leave any impression. He is now free from all sin and sorrow. He is merely a

witness, dispassionate and blissful, of the grand play or Lila of God - the

universe and all that is in it.

Q: Can we see God?

A: Yes, we can see Him in His works; in His manifestation He pervades all.

There is no place where He is not. Every object is none other than He.

Q: If God is one why does He appear in different names and forms?

A: The One has appeared as many for the working out of His Lila or play.

Q: What underlies the appearance of many?

A: The qualities, Satwa, Rajas and Tamas. The objects appear different

accordingly as any one of these qualities is predominant in it.

Q: What relation do these qualities bear to our complete resignation to the

Will of God?

A: In the condition of perfect resignation to the Will of God, the devotee

rises above the three qualities and becomes essentially Divine. He becomes

a mere instrument in the hands of the Almighty God. He then fulfils the

work of God; he is made to exist only for that purpose. Truly he is then an

incarnation of God Himself as Sri Krishna, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Buddha,

Sri Krishna Chaitanya and other Mahapurushas.

- 2 -

Q: O Mother, Your name is Ram. What is Your form since name and form

always go together?

A: I am without name and form. To realise me, as without these, O Ramdas,

you have first to assume me as having them.

Q: You are one, but the universe is full of diversity; it is made up of millions

of forms. How is this, Mother?

A: I am one, formless and nameless. I choose to be many. Hence I have to

assume forms without which I cannot be many.

Q: You are eternal, but how is it that Your forms are perishable?

A: It is as it should be. When One is real, many must be unreal. So form is

born, remains for a time and then dies: birth, change, growth and

dissolution - that is the nature of forms.

Q: How can You exist, O Mother, when Your forms perish?

A: Just as, child, the gold remains even after the ornament is melted,

during which process it loses its form, as also in the case of a lump of ice,

which loses its form under heat, but the water, of which it is made,

remains.

Q: Why did You wish to be many?

A: I desired to have a play, and a play cannot be, unless there be more than

one. Hence I had to manifest myself as many.

Q: What do You gain by this play?

A: Anandam - supreme bliss.

Q: How can You speak of bliss, O Mother, when the world is seen to be full

of misery?

A: Understand, my child, it is I myself acting as miserable, happy, angry,

etc.

Q: How can You be acting as miserable and remain unaffected at the same

time?

A: Acting is always an appearance; it does not affect the actor. An actor

pretends to be weeping while all the time he remains internally, at heart,

unmoved. So also with all other feelings and emotions.

Q: What is this play of Yours made of?

A: It is made of three qualities, Satwa, Rajas and Tamas - harmony, activity

and dullness.

Q: How is variety seen in this diversity?

A: By countless modes of combinations of these three qualities. These three

Gunas make together what is called Prakriti.

Q: O Mother, are You separate from Prakriti?

A: O child, Prakriti exists because of me, but I am not in Prakriti.

Q: Is Prakriti eternal?

A: Individually not, but collectively she is. Bear in mind always that Prakriti

has only a relative existence and not absolute. I am the only Absolute.

Q: If sorrow and pain are unreal, why should there be sympathy,

compassion, charity, love, truth, goodness, purity and such virtues in this

world?

A: Realisation of the state in which this world is witnessed as a play, can be

attained only by recognizing me as one, appearing as many. The three

Gunas have to be transcended before absolute unity is realised. Now this

oneness is attained only through the practice of universal love, purity,

truth, compassion and charitable deeds.

Q: What is this realisation?

A: This realisation makes you only a blissful witness of the play of the three

Gunas and thus remain always free from all the effects of pleasure and pain

and other pairs of opposites, yourself, untouched and unaffected. Then it is

that you will have realised the fact, ‘You are as myself’.

- 3 -

Q: Now, what is action, O Mother?

A: A movement of the mind in thoughts, of the tongue in talk, and of the

body in deeds, is action.

Q: What relation do words, deeds and thoughts bear to each other?

A: Sometimes thought alone works, without expressing itself into words and

deeds; at other times thought works expressing itself out into words only.

Again thought works itself out into words and deeds; and lastly thought

works out directly into deeds.

Q: How many kinds of action are there?

A: Action is of two kinds - personal and impersonal - Sakama and Nishkama.

Q: What is Sakama or personal action?

A: Action, performed with the desire for the fruit of it, is Sakama.

Q: What is Nishkama or impersonal action?

A: Action, performed without the desire for the fruit of it, is Nishkama.

Q: Which is the proper action?

A: Nishkama action is the proper action.

Q: Why?

A: Because Nishkama action alone frees one from the fetters of pain and

grief.

Q: How does Sakama Karma forge these fetters?

A: Every fruit you desire for your action is fraught with pain, since all

objects you wish for are perishable in their nature. Besides, they have also

the power of giving you pain during possession.

Q: Then why are people in pursuit of those objects and why do they perform

action only for such things?

A: Ignorance of the truth of things is the cause.

Q: What is the truth?

A: Truth is that the pursuit of these things always ends in misery.

Q: How can this ignorance go?

A: Only by recognising the existence of an eternal, all powerful, all

pervading, all blissful, all peaceful, all loving God as residing within your

own heart, and by realising that you are not the body.

- 4 -

Q: O Sriram, O Mother, You have made Ramdas assume Sannyas with the

object of consecrating his whole life - in thought, word and deed - to You

and to You alone. You have also blessed him with the realisation that You

are the sole doer, and that Your will alone is supreme. Now if Ramdas’ mind

wanders, who is responsible? How is it, O Mother, You allow Your child’s

mind to wander?

A: All, all is Myself, O child; wherever your mind wanders, it wanders in Me

and rests on Me.

Q: True; but why then the thought in Ramdas that it wanders? It shows that

Ramdas is still not firm in his faith that You are all; otherwise he would not

say his mind wanders. Why have You kept him, O Mother, so weak in faith?

A: When you say it wanders, my child, it is only an expression of a process

which you cannot understand. I am permeating, pervading through, all; in

fact I am everything. All forms are Myself. All acts are Myself; all thoughts

are Myself. You cannot reason why and how this is so; but it is the one great

Truth. You cannot comprehend it; but you can realise it.

Q: Why should Ramdas not comprehend it?

A: Because it is a thing beyond understanding, beyond the range of the

intellect.

Q: Then explain, O Mother, why should there be an intellect at all and what

are its functions?

A: The intellect exists, O Ramdas, only to know that you do not know

anything.

Q: Now what is this life?

A: Know once for all that it is only a dream. I am one indivisible, eternal,

formless Being. You also are the same. To realise this, you have, for a time,

to assume that I am the sole doer and that I am all forms; but really I have

neither form, nor am I the doer.

Q: What are you then?

A: I am simply incomprehensible and cannot be described in words. This also

is merely a dream, that you question and I reply. There are no two but only

one, one always.

Q: You say, O Mother, that this life is a dream; but things appear so real,

especially pain and misery.

A: They only appear so, child; just as a mirage appears real; they have no

real existence.

Q: But the pain is felt; it cannot be avoided; under pain a man cries.

A: So also you cry with pain or fear in your dreams; but after waking you

appear so silly in your own eyes for having done so. Your experience there is

as unreal as your experience here.

Q: But how to realise this truth?

A: Either by directly recognising yourself to be that which is always free

from all pleasure and pain, or, before reaching this state, by realising

yourself to be all bliss itself without a touch of pain.

Q: What about pain then?

A: Pain will be no pain to you. It will not affect you at all, or it will be felt

as pure bliss.

Q: How to realise this?

A: Meditate always on Me as eternal peace, or as bliss, or as both; then you

will have both peace and bliss under all conditions.

Q: What is this state of bliss or peace?

A: This state is beyond Dwandwas, beyond the three Gunas, therefore

eternal in nature, with two apparent aspects, the positive and the negative

ones. The positive aspect is bliss, the negative one is peace.

Q: How can one attain the positive aspect or bliss?

A: Bliss can be enjoyed only by partially accepting the illusion of the

universe as existent. It exists only for a short time. Take it as a form

assumed by Me for the sake of play or Lila, and take yourself also as a form

of Mine.

Q: Now, how to attain peace?

A: Peace is complete absorption of your mind in Me. For then there is no

play to witness. You discard it entirely as illusion. By stilling all your senses

and the activities of your mind, you merge in unshakable and eternal peace.

Q: Which is the better state; of peace or of bliss?

A: Both are equally good.

Q: What should your child choose?

A: All are My children; let them have bliss as long as their body lasts and

then let them enter into peace.

Q: What must be done to attain bliss?

A: Take the whole universe as Myself. First have intense love for Me; then

that will be for the universe as well; because I am the universe itself. Move

in it, feeling yourself one with it, i.e., one with all things and beings in it.

The result of this union through love is bliss.

Q: How is peace attained?

A: By merging yourself in Samadhi which is complete absorption in Me.

Q: Can one have the experience of both states?

A: Yes, one can remain either in eternal peace or in eternal bliss, as one

chooses.

Q: Then this world is both a play and a dream?

A: It is neither a play nor a dream; it is simply nothing; only I am.

Q: You are a puzzle then, O Mother. What is the solution of it?

A: The only solution is to say, “I am a mystery.”

- 5 -

Q: O Mother, what is Karmayoga?

A: The state, in which action is performed by an individual while he remains

all the time in union with me, is Karmayoga.

Q: What are the conditions for such action?

A: Such action is possible only after the attainment of perfect knowledge or

Jnana. Then action becomes spontaneous. The Divine energy in all its

potency and glory is then flowing through you, transforming itself into

action.

Q: What is the nature of such action?

A: This action covers a vast field, like a mighty wave; the main object of it

being to establish Love, Unity, and Dharma in place of hatred, dissension,

Adharma.

Q: What is the test of Karmayoga?

A: Perfect equality, and welfare of the world are the tests.

Q: How can one fit oneself for such action?

A: One has to surrender oneself entirely to My will. One’s individual

consciousness must merge into the cosmic or universal consciousness. One

becomes then the chosen instrument in My hands. Great works proceed from

Me, then, through individuals. The great Vibhutis, the Divine workers, such

as the Avatars, prophets, messiahs and saviours of the world are individuals

of this type.

Q: Now, what is the ego or Ahankar or the “I”?

A: Ego is a false superimposition of a separate individual entity on

Existence.

Q: Why should there be this “Ego”?

A: It is there because of ignorance. I have, in order to have My world-play or

Lila, put on the veil of this ignorance and have thus multiplied Myself into

innumerable forms retaining in each of them this ego, born of ignorance.

Q: How can this ignorance go?

A: By My grace, at the dawn of knowledge or Jnana.

Q: What is Jnana?

A: Jnana is the realisation that I alone am real, that I am one, indivisible,

eternal Truth, that I am seated in the hearts of all beings, that I am the sole

doer. This Jnana drives away ignorance, and along with it the ego. It is then

realised that diversity is only apparent. All these varied forms which are

inconstant, transient and perishable are only the manifestation of one

everlasting Reality.

Q: What is the attitude of a Jnani towards the world?

A: A Jnani sees Me everywhere as everything. “That Thou art - all art Thou -

O Mother” - he says.

Q: Who is a Bhakta?

A: Bhakta is My devotee who has attained Jnana.

Q: What is the attitude of a Bhakta towards You?

A: “He is distinct from Me, but ever united with Me.” I am in Him and He is

in Me. He seeks My fellowship, My company, and worshipping Me through

love receives in return My boundless love.

Q: What is his object?

A: His object is to maintain a thin ego of a devotee of Mine, and, by the

intermingling of our love, to enjoy eternal bliss.

Q: How does he move in the world?

A: He looks upon the world as Myself, and loves all alike, thus creating a

very ocean of love, and ever swimming in it to his eternal joy.

Q: What is the nature of a Bhakta’s ego?

A: It is the ego of a child, a servant, a lover or a friend as directed towards

his mother, master, lover, or friend. A Bhakta has “love, service and

humility” as the keynote of his life. He is perfectly unselfish. He is ever free

from all desires of the senses. He is pure, forgiving, calm, peaceful,

contented, harmless, compassionate, truthful, humble and blissful.

- 6 -

Q: What is self-surrender?

A: Complete and unqualified submission to the Divine will is self-surrender.

Q: How to attain this?

A: Realise once for all that the Divine will alone is the reality, the sole

truth, and that that will alone prompts, actuates, guides, leads, and works

in all beings, in all creatures, in all things in this world; that your thoughts,

words and deeds are the thoughts, words and deeds of that Divine Power

that resides in, and permeates, your whole being. Know that you are

entirely under the control of that beneficent, ever-active, all-loving and allpowerful

eternal Power.

Q: But doubts arise. How to prevent them?

A: Doubts signify that the surrender is not complete. You have to give them

up. Rise above the body consciousness and your doubts vanish. Remain in

this state always in waking, dream and sleep states.

Q: How to rise above the body consciousness?

A: By making your mind dwell always on Sriram, who is eternal, who is

without form, who is one, one sole Truth.

Q: What about the movements and actions of the body?

A: The movements and actions of the body, then, take place spontaneously

without the mind taking any notice of them, without its planning for, or

calculating on them. Then actions leave no impression on the mind.

Impressions on the fettered mind give rise to doubts. Let the mind find its

freedom, purity, peace and bliss in Sriram.

Q: Then how can the Divine will be working?

A: When you dwell always in the one concentrated - nay, intoxicated -

state, in Sriram, and all your actions resolve into a perfect harmony, then it

is that the Divine will of Sriram works in you. You do not now offer any

resistance to the free play of His will. You are in perfect tune with Him. He

is ever pure. He is ever free. So your actions, your words, your thoughts

become pure and harmonious. Now your self-surrender is complete.

Q: What is necessary, first and last, for perfect self-surrender?

A: Unshakable faith in Sriram and His will. Nothing short of this. Take

thorough refuge in Him. Give up all fear, all anxiety, all doubts, all thoughts

of weakness. You have put yourself under the guidance and control of an allpowerful

being. Let Him do what He pleases with you. Give up ‘I and mine’!

Make no plans. Let nothing of the past and future disturb you. Sriram is the

sole doer, and you are His child, His servant. Your ‘I and mine’ has no

existence. It is all He, He alone. Submit, resign, surrender yourself to Him.

Be always cheerful, peaceful and blissful. In this state you should always

remain. This is your goal. Sriram is always in you and you are always in Him.

He and you are one. This is the Truth.

VISIONS, THOUGHTS AND TEACHINGS

1. VISIONS

There was a Vision - the boy Krishna was seen dancing, playing upon

his flute. He was slender, blue in colour; except a yellowish cloth worn

round his waist he was bare of clothing; on his neck was hanging a string of

pearls. His head was adorned with a crown of gold set with gems. His black

curls of hair were falling over his shoulders from beneath the crown. There

were gold bracelets on his arms and gold belt set with gems round his upper

arms. The flute was of gold and at both ends of it were hanging clusters of

pearls strung on red silk thread. His ankles were adorned with bangles made

of gold. His face – Sri Krishna’s face! There was a heavenly glow upon it. The

eyes – Oh, the look of them was simply bewitching, enchanting. The lips -

those sweet charming lips were smiling, Oh, what a smile - a smile that can

draw to him all the worlds. His cheeks - Oh, how soft and radiant are those

cheeks; the reflection of those enchanting eyes and of the smile of those

charming lips was dancing on those lovely cheeks. Those half-opened bloodred

lips were revealing the finest set of milk-white teeth. Those beautiful

ears were decked with rings and pendants set in diamonds, emeralds and

rubies. What a gait when Krishna dances! He is swimming in the air. Oh, the

sweetness of the music that was coming out of that blessed flute! It sent

thrills after thrills of unutterable bliss into the soul of the hearer.

Altogether he was a veritable personification of the most heavenly music.

Ecstasy, bliss and love seemed to have assumed human form. His wellshaped

small feet were dancing, keeping time with the eternal music of his

magic flute. Oh - what a sight, the very Gods might envy such a sight!

Glorious, glorious indeed is Thy play, O Krishna.

Another Vision - Face of Buddha. Oh, what a face! The eyes were

closed, the lips were shut, the broad forehead was smooth and bare, the

cheeks were full but softly curved, the chin was chiselled to a perfect

shape, ears were exquisite in symmetry. Serenity was stamped upon these

lowered eyelids. The lips were indicating nothing but peace. There was a

cool lustre upon those soft cheeks. Calmness and firmness reigned upon that

chin. Nobility and grandeur were enthroned upon that vast forehead. The

bare head presented coal black wavy hair gently resting on his majestic

shoulders. His marble neck was superb and handsome. Oh, what a face!

Heaven was upon that face. To look on it is to enjoy everlasting peace. O,

blessed face - thou art Shanti personified.

Yet another Vision - there was a hazy light in a room. On an armchair

was sitting the world-renowned Mahatma Gandhi - a short piece of white

khaddar covered his waist. He was dark in colour, lean and bent, but on his

face was the very light of God. His eyes were brilliant and there was a

contemplative look in them. Ramdas was sitting on the floor about two

yards in front of him. Wonder of wonders - almost visible rays of irresistible

attraction were issuing out of him. Ramdas felt he was being drawn towards

him with a powerful force, as though a strong magnet was drawing towards

it a tiny needle. Ramdas could sit no longer. He stood up, but could not

maintain the posture. He was unconsciously drawn to Mahatma Gandhi. Now

his erect posture changed and he stood at an angle - his head leaning

towards the Mahatma. To avoid a fall he moved towards the chair and

walked up to the back of the chair and there he stood in a state of trance.

2. RAM

Ramdas was out walking up to the hills. The sky was cloudy - a heavy

downpour of rain was expected. Ramdas would not mind the rain. He

carried no umbrella. He was going heedless of the coming rain. Ram thought

that if he was thus allowed to wander on the hills he would get drenched in

rain, Ram is always kind and loving. His concern about His humble devotees

is so great that He is ever on the watch to take care of them. Ramdas was

halfway. He was going on one of the roads of Kasaragod leading to the hills

when suddenly he was apprised by a passer by - Ram Himself - of a call for

him from a certain direction. He turned round and found a widowed mother

beckoning him from a compound to his right. Immediately, Ramdas retraced

a few steps and entering the compound went into her house as invited. He

was heartily welcomed by four mothers in the house, and they asked him to

sit down on a mat spread for him. Ramdas took his seat. The kind mothers

then put him several questions on Bhakti and God. Ramdas was happy to

speak on those subjects. While he was doing so, it commenced to rain

heavily accompanied by a terrible storm. O Ram, as you did not want your

slave to be caught in the storm, you brought him for shelter under the

hospitable roof of your loving devotees. Your kindness and love, O Ram, are

indeed boundless.

How wonderfully magnificent is Thy Glory, O Ram! In the terrors of

the storm, in the tremendous rush of the waters, in the awful midnight

silence of the hills, in the dreadful sweep, moan and hiss of the wind, in the

dead stillness of the far away solitude, Thou residest in all Thy grandeur and

majesty. Thy power and greatness are made manifest in these inspiring

works of Thine. Away, away the petty thoughts of an insignificant worldly

life. Rise, O mind, to loftier heights, and lose thyself in the Almighty Ram -

the first and the only Cause, the Truth, the Reality, that has manifested

itself as this limitless universe. Thou art indeed the creator, the preserver

and the destroyer of the worlds. All hail! All hail!

O Ram, Thy greatness is indeed unparalleled. Thou art the one loving

parent of the whole universe. Thou art extremely kind to those who place

all trust in Thee. Thou art love, love, pure unalloyed love. Thy greatness lies

in Thy infinite love. To know Thee as love, pervading all the world, is to

enjoy continued bliss. Thy love makes the whole world kin. To see Thee in

all beings and things is to love Thee and receive Thy unbounded love in

return.

O Ram, Thou art mighty beyond calculation. Thou art wise beyond

measure. Thou art good beyond comprehension. Thou art love beyond all

bounds. Thou art light beyond all lights. Thou art bliss beyond all emotions.

Such a Supreme Being has assumed the form of the whole universe and is

ever flooding it with His might, wisdom, goodness, love, light and bliss.

Thou art eternal Brahman, sexless, desireless, unmoveable,

unlimited, unchangeable. Thou art perfect knowledge, everlasting bliss,

endless peace, all absorbing love. Thou art the all-pervading eternal

witness. Thou art eternal freedom. Thou art Nirguna, devoid of qualities.

Thou art Trigunatita. Thou art infinite Shakti, power, energy. Thou art the

light of lights.

“Sword cannot pierce Thee.

Fire cannot burn Thee.

Water cannot wet Thee.

Air cannot dry Thee.”

Thou art one imperishable Truth. Thou art the same in cold and heat,

pain and pleasure, honour and dishonour. Thou art the same to friend and

foe. Thou art above good and evil, love and hate, success and failure. Thou

art fearless, firm, all-powerful. Thou art the one indivisible Brahman. Thou

art formless, nameless, incomprehensible, unthinkable, indestructible. The

sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the worlds, the whole universe is Thy

Divine manifestation. Thou art incomparable, inexhaustible, invincible,

undefinable. Thou art beyond Sat and Asat, being and non-being. Thou art

the sound Om. Thou art the supreme Lord of all gods, men, Rakshasas,

spirits, all creatures, all things, all beings, all, all.

Prostrations to Thee, O God of Gods!

3. ALL IS RAM

The body is Ram, the mind is Ram, the Atma is Ram; feeling is Ram,

impulse is Ram, thought is Ram. Eyes see Ram, tongue tastes Ram, ear hears

Ram, nose smells Ram, skin touches Ram. Sun is Ram, moon is Ram, stars

are Ram, sky is Ram. Air is Ram, fire is Ram, water is Ram, earth is Ram.

Man is Ram, woman is Ram, child is Ram, every creature is Ram, all things

are Ram. There is nothing but Ram. Ram is Love, bliss, wisdom and eternal

existence.

* * * *

The seer is Ram, seeing is Ram, the object seen is Ram; the knower is

Ram, knowledge is Ram, the object known is Ram; actor is Ram, action is

Ram, the acted upon is Ram, Ram is the sole doer. Ram has assumed the

illusive forms of every being and every object in the universe. Surely Ram

has manifested Himself in the form of the whole universe. Ramdas has

surrendered himself to the will of Ram. Ramdas lives, moves and has his

being in Ram. Ram lives, moves and has His being in Ramdas. Ramdas is

another name for Ram. ‘One’ is the reality; ‘two’ is unreal. Das and Ram are

one; therefore the combination, Ramdas, is equal to Ram. The eternal union

of Ram and Das! The eternal oneness! It is the grandest truth.

O Ram, you are saluting yourself, you are honouring yourself, you

watch your own play. The mother feeds the baby; the mother is yourself,

the baby is yourself, and over both, you yourself watch in silence.

Rely only on Ram. Ram is the sole doer. He is the only sovereign Lord

over all. He makes and unmakes things. He brings things into birth, protects

them and destroys them. He is all in all.

Ram is our mother, father, master, friend and all. He is our sole Lord.

He is kind and loving. We are all His children, His servants. We do all things

as He bids us do. We are only carrying out His behests. To realise this

condition of things, we must be thoroughly pure and sinless. To become

pure and sinless we must receive His grace. To get Ram’s grace, we must

pray to Him in full faith. Our heartfelt prayers are always heard. At times

we may have to weep and cry bitterly to Him to remove our internal

obstacles that prevent the acceptance of His grace.

Feel always that you are His child and servant and that He is both

your mother and master at once. You are ever under His protection. Live

secure, confident and happy. All conditions in which you are placed are

good, since they are brought about by your loving mother and master. Every

incident in your life has been beautifully arranged, planned and worked out

by Him. Have no cares; do all things as commanded by Him. Your false

responsibility must cease. A man who has surrendered himself to God is

happy beyond measure, for he has found the fountain of eternal bliss within

himself. Seek and find out this centre of bliss, Ram.

4. RAM THE SOLE REFUGE OF BHAKTAS

O Ram, You are the Sole Refuge of all who always meditate upon You.

You pervade all the worlds. You are all light, all love, all bliss. To engage

the mind at all times on You is to attain perfect peace. To those Bhaktas

who have surrendered themselves to You, You are all kindness, all love, all

mercy, all forgiveness. When once Your devotee lays himself in all humility

at Your feet, You are his sole guide, protector and giver of all joy. Such a

Bhakta is blessed indeed; for You manifest Yourself in him, and, making him

a mere instrument in Your Divine hands, You Yourself work through him, talk

through him, think through him; Your mighty power wields him, to fulfill

Your Divine purpose. Such a devotee is ever immersed in Samadhi, i.e., in

complete union with You; that again means that he is enjoying an

everlasting bliss - unconditional, unlimited, imperishable bliss.

5. MOTHER AND MASTER

Realise God as your Divine Mother.

Realise God as your supreme Lord and Master.

As a child of God, receive His unbounded love and ever-ready

protection.

As a servant of God, be ever willing to obey His commands and serve

Him in all humility and faith.

Whenever you receive anything, it is the fond and loving mother,

Ram, that gives it. Whenever you serve anybody, it is the kind and merciful

master, Ram, that you serve. So you are to Ram both a child and a servant,

and He is to you both a Mother and a Master.

6. HIS INSCRUTABLE WAYS

Sriram’s supreme will works beautifully through the Universe. Ram’s

ways are so inscrutable that it is utterly useless to question the why and the

wherefore of what Ram does. Ours is only to submit to His will, taking it all

the time that Ram does everything always for the best. To keep up Ram’s

remembrance at all times without break or interruption is to submit to His

will. It means self-surrender. Let all our thoughts, words and deeds emanate

from Ram, ourselves having been offered, as mere instruments, to work out

Ram’s will. Let contentment and peace reign in us for ever and for ever. Let

there be no doubts and misgivings. Let all our trust, all our faith, all our

courage be in Sriram.

God’s purpose is hard to be gauged; therefore, His ways are

inscrutable and incomprehensible. The more God mystifies, the more He

attracts. The whole charm of it lies here. In these circumstances we have

only to submit to Him completely and take that everything He does in our

case is for our good. Full reliance on Him is strength and peace. O man,

don’t misunderstand God. He means always well. It is our attitude of mind

towards what He does that makes us miserable or happy. Let full faith in

Him be ours, and the rest He will take care of Himself.

Ram works through the universe in His own inscrutable ways. No two

men in this world are of the same nature. He has given each one his

individual nature. Nature or Swabhava is the accumulated result of Karmas

performed in previous lives. In this variety of Swabhava lies the Lila of God.

He works through each individual according to his own nature. If all were of

the same nature the Lila would cease to exist.

7. RAM KNOCKED AT THE PORTALS OF THE MIND

All hail, O Ram! What a glorious night! What a grand experience! Ram

knocked at the portals of the mind. Wake up, says Ram. Ramdas wakes up.

And in the dazzling light of Ram the darkness of the mind fled and the bright

flash of light illumined all. Ramdas basks in the brilliant rays of Ram in

supreme joy.

8. RAMDAS, WHO ARE YOU?

Ramdas, who are you?

You are not a man, nor a woman, nor beast, nor bird, nor plant, nor

earth, nor any other object that is seen or can be conceived of. You are the

eternally free, the nameless, formless one, the ever-existent Love itself,

Bliss itself, the one sole Reality, the one deathless Existence.

9. LOVE RAM

Love Ram with all your heart; give up all other thought; let the mind

get merged in the one Love for Ram. Then behold the whole universe as the

form or manifestation of Ram. You are now automatically, as a natural

consequence, made to love all beings and things that make up this universe,

with equal intensity. You then gain equal vision. In this Divine vision of love,

attain eternal bliss. Then you are always absorbed in an ocean of love,

which is after all another name of bliss. The first thing to do is to love Ram,

love Him beyond all other objects and things. The sign of Love for Ram is

that you remember Him at all times until you are completely lost in Him,

until you become one with Him, until your individuality is merged in the

Divinity of Ram. In this condition, friend and foe, good and evil, pain and

pleasure, do not affect you adversely. You stand above the contact of these

reflections. You are free, free, free. Then you love all, i.e., you love none.

You possess everything, i.e., you possess nothing. You have realised Truth

and have attained it.

Give up everything, sacrifice everything, forsake everything, abandon

everything, for the sweet, nectar-like love of Ram. It is so precious, it is so

mighty, it is so blissful. O Ramdas, swim in it, dance in it, be thoroughly

mad with it. There is no gain higher than this love; no achievement greater

than this love; no attainment more desirable than this love. Therefore,

Ramdas, live for ever and for ever in the ecstasy of this maddening love.

10. SEE RAM EVERYWHERE

To realise God is to see Ram everywhere, in all things, in all beings,

in all feelings, in all thoughts, in all actions, in all impulses. The mind itself

is Ram, the body is Ram; the Atma is Ram, the ten senses are Ram; the

twenty-four Tatwas are Ram. All, all is Ram. Good and bad, heat and cold,

joy and sorrow, love and hate - all, all is Ram. Man, woman, beast, bird,

tree, hill, stars, moon, sun, earth, the tiniest particle of dust, animal, plant

- all, all is Ram. Be sinless, be pure, be holy, be peaceful; be truth, love,

light and bliss. Be intoxicated with Ram; nay, mad with Ram. And this is the

supreme Wisdom and Truth. Live in God. Live in God.

11 PRAY, TO REALISE HIS PRESENCE

We need not pray to God to show Himself to us in any particular

form; because, the whole universe we behold before, around, above and

below us is one grand form of Ram. Let us pray to Him to make us realise His

presence in the world we see around us, in all beings, in all things. Let

every object we behold remind us immediately of the all-pervading, everexistent

and all-loving Ram. Reaching this height of realisation or Godvision,

how blissful it will make us to move and live in the midst of the

world, which can then affect us as nothing else but Ram in His varied,

picturesque manifestation! We are then enabled to love all alike, to look

upon every being and object with reverence and love. In this state of

realisation we create an all-flooding ocean of bliss, in which we swim for

ever and for ever. Ram, you are really grand! Ram! Ram! Blessed is the sight

that sees Ram everywhere! All glory to you! O Ram! O Ram! All hail! All hail!

12. GOD-REALISATION

When the fond mother embraces her new-born baby, for the time

being her identification with the baby is so complete that she feels

practically one with it, so much so that the senses of separation due to the

bodies is entirely annihilated. In this realisation of oneness, the mother

experiences the highest bliss. Here reigns love supreme. It does not ask for

anything. The highest enjoyment is here felt as an intoxicating peace, in

which personalities are totally lost. God-realised men are in similar

condition with the whole universe which is the form of God itself. This

feeling or experience of love towards, or oneness with, all beings, creatures

and things is realisation. To deny the self or the ego, to own nothing, to

acknowledge the will of God as the only reality - in brief, to rise above the

consciousness of the body, in the continued contemplation of the one

Divinity, informing everything, residing and pervading everywhere, is to

realise God.

13. NAME

O Ram! How can Ramdas describe the wonderful greatness of Thy

glorious name? To repeat constantly Thy name means—

1. To realise that Thou art the only Truth and that this apparent Jagat is

only Thy impermanent manifestation.

2. To realise Thy Divine presence in all things and beings. Thou art the

infinite Power that has assumed the varied forms of the universe.

3. To realise that Thou art the sole doer. Seated as Thou art in the

hearts of all beings and things, Thou actest and workest in Thy inscrutable

ways to fulfill Thy Divine purpose. Truly Thy will alone is real and supreme.

4. To be always immersed in a sea of perfect bliss and peace.

5. To offer oneself as a willing instrument in Thy hands and remain ever

free.

Thy glorious name is sweetness itself, bliss itself, truth itself, love

itself, knowledge itself, light itself - imperishable, above and beyond

everything. Thy name is the end and goal of all desires; it is the source of

all happiness, the end and aim of all existence. There is nothing like it. O

that nectar-like name - how sweet! The moment it is uttered, the moment

it is thought of, the moment it is remembered, all sense of duality is lost,

all sense of separateness is gone, and the body consciousness vanishes. The

mind is stilled to rest. Peace is gained, peace that brings pure Anandam,

pure bliss. What a powerful name is Ram! How wonderful is its potency! It

makes one mad of Thee, and in that intoxication, Thy radiant light is seen

to spread and envelop everything. All darkness is gone, all ignorance is

driven away, all pain and evil eradicated. What a marvellous name! It is the

one prop, one boat, one plank. Clinging to it firmly, in all faith, in all

determination, without letting it go, under any conditions, takes one across

the shoals, whirlpools, tempests and dangers of the wide and perilous ocean

of this transient and unreal world. What a grand name is Thine?

The name ‘Ram’ is a nectarine pill. Keep it always on your tongue

and be drinking, for ever and for ever, a continuous stream of bliss issuing

from it.

How powerful is Thy name, O Ram! The mere repetition of Thy name

destroys all ignorance, all desires. Thy glorious name pierces through Maya

and brings Thy happy devotee directly into Thy presence. The mere sound of

Thy name drives away all disturbing thoughts. It works like magic on the

fickle and roaming mind. After setting the mind at rest it fills it with blissful

nectar. Peace, peace, peace ever reigns where Thy glorious name is

chanted. Oh! the charm of that beautiful and sweet name! All pain is

transmuted into pleasure. The name robs the discordant sound of its

harshness and turns it into melodious music. It transforms the ugliest sight

into beautiful appearance. It turns an arid desert into a fertile place. The

Divine name changes hate into love, evil into good. Oh! the charm of that

name! It brings light where there is darkness, happiness where there is

misery, contentment where there is dissatisfaction, bliss where there is

pain, order where there is chaos, life where there is death, heaven where

there is hell, God where there is Maya. He who takes refuge in that glorious

name, knows no pain, no sorrow, no care, no misery. He lives in perfect

peace.

Ram’s name is most wonderful; its power is unlimited. Thorough faith

in that name means freedom from all sin, doubt, and pain. When you have

that name in your thoughts or on your lips, where is there any fear for you?

By the power of that name what can you not do? By taking refuge in that

supreme Being, bearing that great name, you can work wonders. You can

keep your body, senses and mind completely under subjection. Only have

unshakable faith in that name. It uplifts you from a state of misery,

restlessness and doubt, to one of unending bliss, perfect peace, fearless

assurance. You can cling to Ram only by throwing up everything, making

Ram your end, aim, ambition, goal, destination, your all in all. No looking

back! Go ahead! Sweep the past into oblivion and have no thought of the

future. Only live in the present, in Ram, for ever and ever.

The easiest method of concentrating the mind is to repeat constantly

the sweet, glorious and Divine name of Ram.

* * * *

To control the mind there is no method, no Sadhana, so effective and

easy as to repeat Your glorious name, O Ram! To repeat Your sweet name

means to still the disturbed mind, and plunge it into the ocean of bliss.

You may remain in the very thick of the battle of life; still you can

control your mind and senses, and keep the former firmly fixed on Ram,

provided you keep on remembering or repeating His Divine name mentally

or by mouth. Therefore wear always the irresistible armour of Ram’s name

and you may defy the enticing attacks of Maya. You can then easily

counteract the antagonism round about you by spreading a sweet influence

of love and peace around you, which will make you look upon all as Ram

who is all light, all love, all bliss. The terrible aspect of Maya will then

disappear, pain will cease and Ram’s glory will be visible everywhere. No

situation will then give you anything but pure Ananda.

Success indeed is to him who repeats Thy sacred, sweet and powerful

Name, because it drives away darkness and establishes Light. It drives away

misery and establishes Bliss; it drives away restlessness and establishes

Peace; it drives away untruth and establishes Truth. Therefore Thy name is

Jai Ram. It is indissolubly bound up with success.

 

Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued) 

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