Sadhana Some Inputs Based on the teachings of
Sadhana - Some Inputs Based on the teachings of Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas of Anandashram, Kanhangad, Kerala, India.
Struggles Lead To Search • When life is smooth and easy, we hardly remember God, though, as a habit or a part of rituals and traditions, we might routinely go to temples, do poojas, sing bhajans and pray. • But, when we are confronted with inner and outer struggles and challenges at the family / professional / social levels, over which we have no control, we start deeply thinking about God, hoping that He can help us out from the helpless situations. • Often, at such times we happen to read or hear about certain spiritual Masters and institutions; we get to know of how their grace and guidance have brought peace and harmony to many lives. So, our search for inner peace leads us to saints and ashrams.
Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas’ Life For nearly a year, Ramdas struggled on in a world full of cares, anxieties and pains. It was a period of terrible stress and restlessness – all of his own making. In this utterly helpless condition, full of misery, ”Where is relief? Where is rest? was the heart’s cry of Ramdas. The cry was heard, and from the Great Void came the voice, ”Despair not! Trust Me and thou shalt be free! –and this was the voice of Ram
Finding God Within • Right from our childhood, we are given an impression that God is outside of us. When we go to temples and worship the deities, that feeling gets affirmed. • Similarly, when we go and seek blessings from Gurus, we cherish those moments; we may not understand that Guru is not only a person (Vyakti) but also an indwelling Divine Presence (Shakti). • So, when the aspiration to dwell on God gets intensified, efforts naturally become outward, and because of that, even after a long and arduous struggle, the goal – God, remains still as a concept and not as a Reality.
Frequently Asked Questions • How do we turn inward and seek the Divine within? • How can we withdraw our senses which are habituated to going out and wandering? • How do we experience that God is not an intellectual concept but an indwelling Reality? These are some of the questions that might haunt the devotees and aspirants as they embark upon an inward journey. This presentation is an exploration of these themes, based on the life and teachings of Beloved Papa and other saints.
How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life • The pleasures I derived from the objects of the senses were not only transitory but were also accompanied by pain and grief – a fact I came to know too well. • So, I engaged myself in an all-round effort to divert the mind from the ephemeral objects to the eternal source of life – God, who is absolute existence, consciousness and bliss, is within me. Withdrawing the mind from the unreal – external things of life – I let it flow continuously towards Him through a steady remembrance brought about by a ceaseless chanting of His holy name. Constant remembrance purified and controlled my mind.
The Goal To Be Scaled • The end aim of all spiritual Sadhanas is to merge your individuality in the great universal Reality beyond name, form and movement. 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 images of that great Truth. This is the height of realization which you have to reach.
A Right Conception Of God • There are many who are doing Sadhana. They do not know why they are doing it. Their conception of God is very limited and narrow. They must have, in the first place, a right conception of God before they try to attain Him. • • • God is Truth God is Love God is Awareness God is Peace God is Intelligence God is Creative power God is eternal happiness God is personal and impersonal God is the Witness God is All-pervading Existence God is the doer and Non-doer God is all these and beyond
Where to seek Him first? • God is within us. We are not separate individuals; we are universal life and truth. • The goal or God, or your immortal status, is ever with you and in you. • When the Lord is in your heart he is there with His feet as well. So catch hold of His feet. Why, you are ever living, moving and having your being at His feet. • The Leader of leaders, the Guru of Gurus, is ever seated in the hearts of us all. Ours is to seek Him. • Seek within and know thyself; this is the command of Rishis. • The search for God outside us goes on, until we make the lifediscovery that our heart is the shrine in which Lord Vishwanatha, dwells in all His glory.
Morning Prayer – Praatah Smaraami ������������������ � ������������� ����� � � ���� �� � Praatah Smaraami Hrdi Samsphurad-Aatma-Tattvam Sac-Cit-Sukham Parama-Hamsa-Gatim Turiiyam | Yat-Svapna-Jaagara-Sussuptim-Avaiti Nityam Tad-Brahma Nisskalam-Aham Na Ca Bhuuta-Sangghah ||1||
Meaning • In the Early Morning I remember (i. e. meditate on) the Pure Essence of the Atman shining within my Heart, • Which gives the Bliss of Sacchidananda (Existence. Consciousness-Bliss essence), • Which is the Supreme Hamsa (symbolically a Pure White Swan floating in Chidakasha) • And takes the mind to the state of Turiya (the fourth state, Super consciousness), • Which knows (as a witness beyond) the three states of Dream, Waking and Deep Sleep, always • That Brahman which is without any division shines as the I • And not this body which is a collection of Pancha Bhuta (Five Elements).
The Guru Is Also Within Yourselves You must be established in pure Self-awareness by your own Sadhana though the Guru may awaken you by his touch and turn your mind towards God within you. Through prayer, when the aspirant comes to know that God is within, the next step is to understand who the Guru really is. Beloved Papa makes it clear, “The Guru, that you seek, is in reality, within yourselves. Ramdas is only an instrument in the hands of the Divine Guru, who is the all-comprehensive Reality, to inject into those who come in contact with him, the Ram Mantra which brought him face to face with the supreme Guru. ”
Guru Stuthi ������ �������������� ������ �������� ������������� �� ����� � Brahmanandam paramasukhadam kevalam jnanamurtim Dvandvaateetam gaganasadrusam tatvamasyadi lakshyam
Meaning He who is: • the source of the eternal and all-enveloping bliss, • the source of supreme happiness, • the only one, • total personification of wisdom • beyond the dualities of this material world, • as infinite as the space (formless), • the sole aspiration and goal of life, • the only one, eternal, • pure, • unmoving, • witness in consciousness in all beings, • beyond emotions & thoughts, • beyond the three gunas (satva, rajas and tamo guna) I salute to that Great Master.
Seek Him Within • Ramdas has already said that when we are repeating the name of God we must be conscious that we are repeating the name of One who is within us, who is our true being and existence. • External worship is a distant means of realizing God. • You have to seek Him within yourself.
You Are The Self • In taking Ram Nam you think you are taking the name of the deity living in some far-off heaven. But you are really repeating the name of your own immortal Self, that is, Atma Ram. • You do not know that you are Ram. So, you must ceaselessly remember Him until you are awakened to the consciousness that you are Ram yourself. • Life is the expression of Atman; and though seemingly two, they are one. • Ram is a synonym for Self or Atman. You are already the Self. You can be conscious of the Self by constantly remembering the Self.
The Core Of Our Being • A Mahatma said, “We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience. We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. ” • The core of our being is the Spirit, Self, the Atman which are synonyms of God.
How Do We Experience The Spirit Dwelling Within? We must think, feel and realize that we are not merely bodies but we are Immortal spirit. Many people go with the impression that they are only the visible appearance that is the body made up of the five elements. It is not so. There is the Spirit within us. It is that Spirit that makes us walk, talk and do everything. Now for instance people think when they give and receive, with the hands that they are doing these movements and these actions themselves, as if they got an independent power to do these things.
How Do Experience The Spirit Dwelling Within? A noble person said: There is a place in all of us that has remained innocent, uncorrupted and untouched by the world. We have to locate that most delicate place. It is a very sensitive place, it’s where we feel love – where tenderness and compassion arise, free from self-interest. This place is the hole we have to fall into and disappear for ever.
Experiencing The Spirit At The Physiological Level The Spirit within us is the power responsible for the vital functions taken place in our body: • Our heart beats about 1, 000 times a day and It pumps six litres of blood through 1, 20, 000 kms of blood vessels in a day. • In a second, we are producing 1. 2 millions of red blood cells to replace an equal number that die. • Our digestive and metabolic systems have the remarkable ability to transform the food we eat into blood, bone and body structure. • The air which we breathe, contains oxygen which is exchanged for the excess of carbon dioxide inside and then thrown out.
Experiencing The Spirit At The Psychological Level The Spirit within us is the power responsible for the various functions of our mind as well: • Our mind has a screening mechanism to ensure that relevant things come into our stream of consciousness, shutting out the disturbing and unwanted elements. • Our waking self is confined to the waking state. It has no place in dream and sleep. The dream self is confined to dream, having no reference to waking and sleep. Both waking and dream selves disappear in sleep. Yet there is one entity witnessing all the three selves and registering their deeds. It is that which says, “I dreamt, I woke up, and I slept”. That “I” is not the waking, the dreaming or the sleeping “I”.
The Individual ‘I’ & The Eternal ‘I’ • In us there is an individual self as well as the eternal Self. That means, while the individual self identifies itself as an adolescent, a youth, an adult, a middle aged person, etc. , there is also the eternal Self watching these changes. These are the appearing self and the Real Self respectively. There is the “I” and there is one who witnesses the “I”.
Experiencing The Spirit At The Outer Level The Spirit expresses itself through: Sustaining Power, Creative Force, Motivating Power, Overall Intelligence, Ever-Present, All-pervading Spirit – which binds everything in the universe together and gives life to everything. We see the wind blow, the sun giving light, the trees grow, and birds sing on the trees. In other words We should see the Lord sleeping in the mountains, smiling in the flowers, singing through the birds and up and awake in man. We need to see Him by default like a screen saver.
Experiencing The Spirit At The Outer Level Another Mahatma said: If you are not able to perceive the miracle of God through a soft blade of grass coming out of this hard earth, or the whole effulgence of the mighty Sun, reflecting through an innocent, delicate due drop, where else are you going to perceive? Where else are you going to search for Him? Which other miracle are you waiting for? Do you want him to descend as thunder and lightening?
Sreemad Bhagavad Gita On That Power In the Bhagavad Gita there is a sloka in which Lord says, "It is my will and power that prevails through the entire earth. And to know this world means my Self, causing all movements in it, all changes in it. " And so, He is at the inception, at the growth of things and at the destruction of things. Therefore, all we need to do, is to train our minds to meditate on Him every moment of our lives until we see Him in everyone and in everything. He has given us time, space, cause, material, idea, skill, chance and fortune. Why then do we feel as if we are the doers?
How To Experience The Presence Of That Power The Triune path prescribed by Beloved Papa for experiencing the presence of THAT POWER is as follows: • Nama ( Chanting of His holy and all-powerful Name) is to remember That Power who is behind everything inside and outside. • Dhyana (inward journey) is to feel the presence of That Power first inside and then outside. • Seva (less and less of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and more of ‘we’ and ‘us’) is to dedicate all actions to That Power.
Nama • The Name is the link between the devotee and God. It brings the devotee face to face with Him. • The object of repeating the Name is to purify the mind and thereby get the awareness of Him within us. • We must knowingly repeat the Mantra and become conscious of God by understanding the object of such repetition. • The Name first quietens the mind and then instills into it an intoxicating sweetness • When we tune ourselves with the Name, we tune ourselves with God. That is the purpose of repeating the Mantra; without it the repetition becomes merely mechanical and does not help us in any way.
NAMA CHANTING Stilling the mind can be achieved through a three-way process in chanting, viz. vocal, silent and mental: • First close our eyes, chant vocally and try to hear our own chanting. This will slowly arrest the wandering mind. • After achieving sufficient progress, silent chanting can be resorted to without the emanation of sound, but with the movement of lip and tongue, oneself hearing one’s own chanting. By regular and committed practice this can be achieved, thus raising the level of concentration. • Final stage, the mental chanting is without the external gross sound from the mouth, in the absence of any movement of lip and tongue, even as the chanting goes on mentally, all the time intently listening to it internally, the level of concentration being at the peak.
4 Ways To Stop The Wandering Of The Mind 1. Chanting the Name aloud. When the sound attracts the mind through the ears, the mind is absorbed in it so much so the dissimilar thought currents fade away. 2. Bearing in your bosom the form of your chosen deity or Guru who has awakened you and repeat the Mantra. By this the mind ceases to wander. 3. Identifying every object on which your mind dwells, with God. By this it is meant that we try to go to the sources of these objects. By reflection we find that everything has sprung forth from That Source alone. 4. Being the witness of the mind. By watching the mind, we detach ourselves from the mind and become witness of the mind. As we begin to watch the mind it will gradually cease to be. The witness or awareness alone remains
Transition From Chanting To Dhyana • When we sit silently, we have to be conscious, in the first place, that the God we seek is in our own heart. • Then mentally repeat His Name. Make the mind repeat the Name until all its waves cease and it becomes perfectly still. • If it does not easily become still, we have to continue the repetition of the Name mentally with an attitude of selfsurrender. • We try to develop a witness-consciousness. It is a state of awareness of the immortal and radiant Truth within us. • In fact, this awareness itself is God-realization.
Witness-Consciousness • Be a witness to all movements. Detach yourself from them and become the observer of them; then you will realize that you are the eternal witness and the body is not yourself. Identification with the body will go and witness-consciousness will be attained. • Many rules have to be observed for control of mind; observance of silence is one of them. Who is observing silence? Let us try to find out. Sit silent, detach yourself from the mind and watch its activities. The watcher is the real you – the Self Immortal.
Seva / Service • The peace and liberation of an individual is surely based upon his or her contribution towards the collective human happiness and harmony. • As none will be able to involve wholly on Nama and Dhyana throughout the day, the discipline to stretch our efforts to experience the presence of THAT POWER should be directed to all other activities also, which is called the Seva attitude.
Serving God By Serving Humanity • It is not merely by doing Japa that you are serving God, but also when you are serving others honestly, conscientiously and in a spirit of dedication to Him. Then you will have the same peace and joy as you get by chanting or writing Ram Nam. • Let your service be done in a spirit of spontaneous love, which is by itself a great balm and a source of unlimited joy and peace. True service lies in your not being conscious of having done anything to anybody, while you are busily engaged in relieving the pains and sorrows of people around you. A marvellous depth of patience, a spirit of never-failing forgiveness and a capacity to suffer cheerfully for the sake of others--all these will then be yours. • Indeed, there is no life greater than that which is devoted to the service of God in humanity. The vision of God in the universe and beyond is the basis for this glorious life.
Periodical Evaluation Along with Nama, Dhyana, and Seva, periodical introspection is essential for an aspirant. A Mahatma said, “Let him know where he stands, what he is, what his inner cravings are, what is the disease that has seized his soul, what are the impurities lurking in his mind, what is the great obstacle that stands between him and the immortal bliss and peace, and what are the bonds that keep him tied down to the low levels of life and prevent him from soaring into the heaven of his real life and being — the eternal Truth. When he has thus, by deep reflection, discovered what he is, he can through prayer, self-discipline, company of great souls, and acts of love and compassion, get rid of all impediments, mental obsessions, nay, darkness that envelops his soul, and realize the splendour power, peace and joy of the great Truth that dwells within him. ”
Crystalized Selfishness Go to the root of your existence. Realize your Self, then your whole life and outlook will be transformed. If we do not achieve this goal, we live a life no better than of animals. Usually our whole existence is centred in the ego. The ego is crystallized selfishness. We toil day and night in order to get something only for ourselves and our kith and kin. Our vision is thus circumscribed. Outside that circle the world is not ours. So long as the ego is strong in us we cannot be happy. If we work, it must be for the good of all mankind. We have to universalize our vision. In that vision the ego is lost and we will then be truly happy.
What Is Crystallised Selfishness? • Too much of body consciousness, and image of oneself. • Assertion, anger, frustration, possessiveness, distrust on others, • Insensitive to the suffering of others, jealousy, greed • Lack of humility to acknowledge of the bounteous gift of God in the form of one’s own body / mind / intellect and the other creations. • Running after name and fame and sense gratification • Not compromising on any personal comfort and only bothered about the care and concern of those who serve that individual and is obedient • Resorting to even violence in thought / word / deed to safeguard one’s own interest
Ego – Swami Chinmayananda The ego, born out of me, has now become a mighty power ruling over me relentlessly, and in front of this usurper of my bosom, I am but a slave. To free myself from this great inner tyrant, I need now a mighty friend, a powerful and sympathetic friend. And who can it be, except You, my Lord. Save me…help me, please. And even here, what right have I, the slave of my own passions, the non-believer all these years, to seek Your help now? True, I have no face to meet Thee. O Lord, I have nothing to offer Thee except my own tears. I have nothing to claim for myself except the fatigue of my indulgence, t the stink of my selfish acts, the sweat of my passions, the chords of my attachments. In fact, I don’t deserve to be saved. Yet, Lord, I am tired – beaten out completely, exhausted thoroughly, repentant fully, helpless wholly. I surrender myself to Thee and Thy Grace. I claim a hearing and expect help from Thee. Are not Thou the ocean of Kripa – of Grace, of kindness and of love? Won’t Thou, in Thy kindness, take pity on me and once more destroy the old enemy, Mura, in my bosom – the bundle of my own wretched Vasanas. ”
Surrender Is The Only Way • Surrender is, ‘I am nothing. You are everything’. By this way you will be empty completely. • Someone enquired of the flute the reason for its being so much loved by Lord Krishna who governs the whole universe. The flute replied, “I have made myself hollow from head to foot (by destroying my egoism and selfishness). I have within me the life and breathe of Krishna. My tune is His tune. I have harmonized myself with Him. ” • Surrender comes when you no longer ask: “Why is this happening to me? ” • Surrender denotes a life of perfect contentment. A man of surrender has no prayers to make to God for himself. He is perfectly satisfied with what God has given him. He is ever peaceful and happy. • Surrender must be of every part of your being – a total, integral, complete surrender. Your heart, mind, senses, body – all should be offered up to the Divine. Then you are guided by Him from within and you act as He wills. You are happy whatever be the circumstances in which you are placed.
Constant Reminder To An Aspirant Side by side with Nama, Dhyana, Seva and periodical evaluation, it is imperative that the aspirant keeps on reminding himself or herself of the following points, so that, subservience to and constancy in remembering THAT POWER is maintained. • It is by His grace that we think about a spiritual life • It is He who is prompting us, guiding us, leading us • It is He who is making us think, feel, say or do • It is He who is making us take up the Sadhana • It is He who makes us remember (or even forget) Him • It is He who is making us connect with the rest of the creation • It is He who is making us feel a sense of struggle
How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life • Now the mysterious grace of Guru – which awakened me in the first instance to seek God – completed its task by removing the mask of ignorance which enveloped my soul for ages, with the result that a flood of illumination poured out, permeating my body, senses and all the worlds. In this splendour my soul was lost, followed by the dawn of a cosmic consciousness and the knowledge of my still and allpervading Atman or Self. Yet another vision, more exalted, more perfect and more joyous awaited my illumined Self and this is the fusion of the Atman with the universal manifestation; in other words, I realised that the Atman and the universe are one. This magnificent vision and experience, based on the realisation of the absolute Self, transformed me, the human being, into the veritable embodiment of God in all His aspects.
How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life • As my soul stepped from the animal into the human, it now stepped from the human into the Divine - the Purushottama, a spiritual-cumphysical evolution - the grandest finale - the supreme fulfilment of God’s will to reveal Himself in all His sublimity in this human being. Verily, God is the seeker and God is the sought. This is His inscrutable Lila. Truly, my soul and God – Jiva and Brahman – are one. All victory to Him! • Yet the highest spiritual possibilities are not exhausted. The sweetest and dearest relationship with Him - near and personal - which I maintained all along the initial struggle and aspiration, has at present become real, intimate and permanent. He is now my constant companion as a careful Mother and beneficent Master. In the face of man, beast and bird - nay, of all creatures and things also, I behold Him - my Beloved. Again all victory to Him!
God – Your Companion • Having realised God as the immanent and transcendent Spirit who has become manifest as all beings, creatures and things, He can still be to you an intimate, ever-present companion, friend and protector. This personal relationship with Him sweetens your life in a marvellous manner. His presence enthuses and guides you at all times. He makes you the vehicle of His infinite love and mercy. He uses you as His instrument for spreading peace and goodwill on the earth. You are one with Him and at the same time you are His free and cheerful servant and pure and radiant child.
God – Your Companion • You may reach the height of His impersonal nature. You may dissolve your little self in His all-pervading and infinite consciousness. You may behold Him everywhere, but communion with Him as a personal truth and ideal is a rare and exalted experience. Now you can converse with Him, play with Him and be ever joyful in His company. • In this state, you never feel lonely even in the most desolate solitude. You feel His presence not only there but even in the midst of multitudes. He is your never-failing friend. It is strange that He is not a person in the sense in which you see and feel about the forms of beings about you in this world. Both the devotee and his God belong to a realm other than the one which is gross and material.
God – Your Companion • This eternal Beloved of yours is not only an embodiment of love and joy but also a personification of power. It is for this fellowship, you discard everything else. It can remain unbroken even after you realise your identity with Him by the merging of your separate individuality into His cosmic existence. Before this blessed state is attained, there is the tug-of-war, there is the hide-and-seek, there is the touchand-go, and the resultant moments of pain, longing and despair. These things are not for you who have achieved the grandest consummation of your spiritual quest by making God as your own – your one true, constant and immortal companion. It is a mystic union, a dual role of the same supreme Truth – at once personal and impersonal.
God – Your Companion • You look upon Him in various ways, as a friend, a master, a mother, a father, a comrade, a lover and even as a child. Whatever the mode of relationship, the continuous presence and contact with Him brings you a unique peace and joy compared to which every other delight pales into insignificance. • So, the first thing you do in order to know and love God, is to become aware of your kinship with Him. Verily, you are born of Him – a spiritual offspring inheriting the great Originator’s nature and qualities. This recognition of relationship with Him through continuous thought and meditation of Him, dissolves the screen that separates you from Him and thereafter you always bask in the sunshine of His Divine Presence and feel that the Beloved is always with you, never losing Him for a moment, ever enveloped by His love and radiance.
Truth Is God We see before us the wonderful world-film unreeling itself before our eyes, picture after picture, throwing every receding picture into oblivion. Behind this universal play there is the great changeless Truth which ever remains serene, calm and unaffected when all things in the manifestation appear and disappear in quick succession. That Truth is the basis of our life and the world manifestation. When our life is attuned to Truth, we do not feel that we are mere creatures revolving like automatons in the whirling movements of nature and its creation around us. Truth is our being; Truth is joy and peace; Truth is wisdom and power; Truth is love and light; Truth is God!
Ishaa Vasyamidam Sarvam � ��������� ������� �� �������� Om Ishaa Vasyamidam Sarvam Yat Kincha Jagatyaam Jagat Tena Tyaktena Bhunjeetha Maa Gridhah Kasyasvid Dhanam. God pervades all this that we see in the Universe. Therefore we must give up the idea of 'I' and 'Mine', accept gratefully whatever is given to us by God and use it sharing it with our fellow beings. Eschew all feelings of greed and selfishness. Remember that everything really belongs to God alone. To make it clear Beloved Papa said: “Nothing is yours; everything is God’s; do not forget this!”
The Great Obstacle The sense of possession is a great obstacle to the realization of God. The idea of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ must disappear entirely before the aspirant can find absolute freedom and peace in union with God. Verily, everything belongs to the Lord who dwells in the hearts of all creatures and things. Attachment to any external object narrows our vision, fosters egoism and gives rise to the false notion that we are separate from God, i. e. , from the universal life and spirit. The whole universe is permeated through and through with God. The visible and invisible worlds are all He. There is nothing and none but He. All, all is He. Such is the Truth; where then is room for the ideas of ‘I’ and ‘you’ – ‘mine’ and ‘yours’? All are He!
The 4 Books The titles of the books brought out by Beloved Papa itself reminds us on the steps on the spiritual path: • IN QUEST OF GOD: Keen Aspiration • AT THE FEET OF GOD: Self Surrender • IN THE VISION OF GOD: Realising His presence in and around us • WORLD IS GOD: Realising His presence everywhere
Behold God Within • Ramdas sees many a struggling aspirant still in the clutches of certain Sadhanas, depending on externals and hugging them with dogged pertinacity, thus setting up a stumbling block in their progress towards the supreme goal of perfect liberation. • The external vision, however glorious, is not the true vision, if it is not based upon the internal. This they do not know - sometimes do not want to understand. The supreme Truth, by the realization of which alone the soul attains the real peace and bliss - which is the sole object of its quest - can be reached only by throwing up all external crutches and aids of every kind - however useful and necessary they might have been at one time. • So Ramdas hammers on: "Behold God within you and then behold Him everywhere, as all the manifested worlds. Don't adhere to the lower planes and seek satisfaction there. Soar up into the regions of your transcendent Being. Aspire – aspire – until the highest goal is reached. "
Meet The Eternal Within • When the false conventions and ostentatious observances are broken through, the soul is liberated. For realizing the Truth no external paraphernalia is necessary. No garb, no sigh, no cult and no creed can help you. The day will come when you have to leave all these behind, and go to meet the Eternal in the perfect nakedness of your Spirit, shedding all make-believe forms, customs and traditions. • Simplicity, spontaneity and humility become the guiding principles of your life. You move freely with all. You love all alike. You break all boundaries set by the calculating and selfish human mind. You soar like a free bird in the infinite expanse of the spiritual firmament. You look upon all beings and creatures as the embodiment of the one divine all-pervading Spirit. Temples, Ashrams, mosques, churches, synagogues, Viharas, etc. , cannot imprison your soul. You find your soul’s delight and joy at all places—in the best as well as the worst.
How Does God Realization Become Expressive In One’s Life? Even after reaching this great height of the all-comprehensive vision of the Reality in which all diversity is dissolved into one, the God-realised soul assumes a position separate from the great Truth. He calls himself the son, child, servant or devotee of God. Here the duality is assumed, knowing that the devotee and God are truly one. Why this assumption? Because, in the sphere of activity the God-realised one prefers to play the part of a lover or servant in order to enjoy the ineffable bliss of love. Love works only on the plane of duality. All his actions, great or small, bear the stamp of love, for love is his being and love is his life, and in love he finds the fulfilment of his existence. Based upon the realisation of his oneness and identity with the supreme Spirit, the devotee still plays the part of a servant or child and acts in all manner of ways as the very incarnation of God. His touch or sight redeems the fallen soul – brings light and happiness where there is darkness and sorrow. He is the real saviour of mankind.
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