1.
You should pray to God as much as it is possible, with
single faith, and performing your daily
duties.
2.
Lust, anger, and greed can
be eliminated only with belief in God and with prayer.
3.
Even unwillingly you
should practice in repeating God’s names.
4.
Of all the means to reach
freedom from reincarnation, such as: constant service to Vishnu
in the period of Satya Yuga, practice
of sacrifice in the period of Treta Yuga,
worship of God in the period of Dvapara,
our era of Kali Yuga has preserved
only glorifying the names of God.
5.
Hindu acknowledges only
reverence of cow.
6.
Him, who brings joy to people
through pure speech, fair judgment, decent behavior, and morality, God makes
His authority on Earth.
7.
When there is nothing left
– there is God.
8.
The purpose of taking a
meal is to unify body and soul. Amount of food should be limited.
9.
My son, you should always
remember the following: the root of sickness is excessive nourishment;
the root of suffering is excessive love; the root of poverty is greed, the root
of sin is wealth.
10. The remedy eliminating suffering is as follows: eating
proper food (what we eat, i.e. bread), taking walks (directly walking on foot).
When taken in the specified amounts, both become medication from suffering.
11. Observance of fasts stops destruction of the body and
makes it stronger. Such practice facilitates purification of the soul. Observance
of fasts is capable of bringing deliverance from illness and suffering, as well
as maintaining the internal balance of human organism. My son, look at the
lives of animals or birds. Once feeling even a little sick they stop feeding. They
do not take any outside medicine. They use protective qualities of the internal
powers of own bodies.
12.
Devotee, I will tell you about
an absolutely free and accessible pharmacy, a remedy for all ailments. These
remedies are earth, water, sun, and air.
13. My son, I will tell about yet another strong remedy. Do
not tell you family and friends about your illness. If your friend or relative
learns about the illness, it would not think to leave you. If well-wishers express
their sympathy with you, this would only spur the illness.
14. There is only one universal remedy, my brother, i.e. to
learn to laugh.
15.
Fame can be compared to the
pig’s excrements, majesty – to the infernal flame, pride – to debauchery. That
is why you should abandon them.
16. Dear soul, whatever you look at, nothing is what it seems
to be. You are not this body, you are eternal, and you are divine. That is why
you should not be bothered by condemnation or insult.
17. If you do not respond to the insult, a piece of happiness
of the insulter will pass to you.
18. Awakening of the energy of kundalini shakti (primordial
cosmic energy, present in every living being) is called gomedha yagya, opening of manipura-chakra (chakra in the
navel area) – ashvamedh yagya, opening
of anahata (chakra in the heart area)
– shayena yagya, and opening sahastrara
(area on the top of the head, where kundalini
energy meets God) – soma yagya.
19. When mind (following cognition) becomes mature, in yoga
teaching it is called dharma-medha samadhi.
20. Guru-tattva (existence of the spiritual
teacher, his essence, nature), as well as the Almighty God is omnipresent, i.e.
it exists everywhere. There is no difference between them. Spiritual teacher is
the form of God.
21. The land of Bharata-varsha will be prosperous. No evil
will happen to it. Mother-cow protects it. On the land, where Rama was born, a temple will be built
in the joint effort of the Hindu, the Muslims, the Sikhs, and the Christians. I
bless everyone, and grant everyone my grace. Even after I leave my body, my
soul will continue to live on the land of Bharata-varsha and take care of its
prosperity. The world belongs to me and I belong to the world.
22. A steady habitude of soul is called unmani or turyavastha.
It is also called samadhi.
23. Sound «Om », Gayatri-mantra
– are both equal to God Almighty. Sound is the form of Brahma (Brahma,
the world spirit, divine substance).
24.
For family people
practicing yoga is not a law. They should simply pray. This practice is yoga. It
helps mind to concentrate. This state is called bhava-samadhi (the sate,
which is reached by bhaktas with the help of strong divine emotion). It
enables strengthening connection with God.
25. Love and hate are roots of all conflicts in the world. Precisely
because of them world has so far failed to reach perfection. If man refuses them
and will be able isolate from them, he will be free from all suffering.
26. If a person, who practices other religion, begins to
worship Lord Rama, becomes his devotee and calls himself kshatriy,
he will not be mistaken.
27. Don’t ask about some yogi’s age, but always know his
state. My state is the one, who merged with Brahma, i.e. with God. (Note: Baba himself was the Supreme Absolute.
Brahma, or the world spirit, was in him). Precisely for this reason, one
should touch his feet for three times and repeat the following words: «Gurusakshata
para-brahma taramai sri gurudeva namaha, taramai sri guruve namaha, taramai sri
guruve namaha», because he is the Supreme God above Brahma, Vishnu
and all of the demigods.
28. Not a single human wish is fully fulfilled. The wish of
king Dasharatha was not fulfilled completely, he was deceived. My grace is one
thing. Your enjoyment is another thing. Sickness, grieve, death are completely
different things. All of them are independent. A man can die but my grace is
infinite, eternal.
29. The prayer to God should be only for Him to show us the
way and not to let us fall down. He is a sanctuary. This is his mystic nature.
30. Wherever we go, we should consider the way as a religious
procession around the temple. Whatever we look at, should be considered as
spiritual contemplation of different forms of God.
31. Respectability means not only to accomplish good deeds and
to abstain from committing wrongness. Its particular significance is performing
all instructions of shastra (the
Scripture) and authorities.
32. As a man cannot live without food, so life without a
prayer is compared to non-existence. Food is «garment» for the body, while the
prayer is “garment” for the soul.
33. My son! I am neither a human, nor a kinnara (a mythical
personage with a head of a horse, half-god and half-human). I am neither a gandharva
(a kind demigod, divine singer and musician), nor a nag (a demon with a
face of a human and tail of a snake), nor a demigod, nor a demon, nor Shiva with hair folded in a flock on
the top of his head. I am a form of knowledge of God, and, as well as this sky,
I am omnipresent.
34. Repetition of guru-mantra (prayer, mantra, for
which a spiritual teacher provides initiation to a man) in any form brings
merit.
35. Mantra, received from a spiritual teacher, or a bija-mantra,
is most useful, as it is a mantra of wisdom, and with its help one experiences
immediate sensation of the shining mind.
36. Kundalini energy is paravack, which is represented by sound «Om ». On the other hand, it is first of all, pasyanti (the
second state of sound, when sound is not perceived physically). Madhyama (audible
sound, «brute» sound), and also vayshva (unheard sound, «delicate» shound)
– are separate. In the state of pasyanti manasa-japam (mental
prayer) transforms into akhanda-japam, in which word form and meaning
are connected. This is called ajapa-japam. This is a natural super consciousness
state of yogi. It is called japam-siddhi or ishta-darshana. However,
in the sound madhyama word and sense are united, that is why it is
possible to recognize it as manasa-japam. Whether loudly spoken or sounded
in a whisper, both mantras are part of vaikhari
(uttering the mantra aloud), as in mantra the word and sense are separated. When
mantra is spoken, first vaikhari is
created, then madhyama and eventually, pasyanti. Vibration of kundalini
energy represents the sound «Om ».
37. Meditation about an inextricable link between jivatma (the
individual soul) and paramatma (the Supersoul) is called the state of samadhi.
Jivatma is eternal, while paramatma – is filled with bliss. Awareness
of one’s own initial eternal and blissful is the state of samadhi.
38. In the state of samadhi all desires retreat and jivatma
is united with paramatma. In the state of samadhi bonds of all
desires are broken. Freedom from chains of desires leads to destruction of karma,
which generates awareness of one’s own primordial spiritual form (svarupa).
39. It is not possible to receive all of the worldly comforts
and find God simultaneously.
40. Wherever you go, consider it as fulfilling parikrama (a
religious procession around the temple or God’s statue). Whatever you drink, enjoy
it as you would enjoy nectar from the Lord’s feet. Whatever food you eat, take this
meal as prasad (food, which is first offered to God, and then eaten by
His faithful devotees). When going to sleep, accept it as a respectful bow to
God, as a rest on His hands.
41. Never forget that you live for God. My son, the main
thing is complete devotion to God.
42. My son, a conflict between two ladies starts a burning
flame. One of them is heart, the other one is the name of God. If the name of
God continuously touches one’s heart, this person will start to directly perceive
God. This is beyond any doubt.
43. The eternal energy of paramatma is called maja.
It is neither real, nor unreal. It is beyond understanding. When it starts
embracing you, do not even try to understand it. Running from it as far as you
can is wisdom, and also it is salvation. It is good to know it, but it is
dangerous to challenge it, because it is very strong. When you drop the veil of
maja you can get the opportunity to see God. Maja is only afraid
of devotion to God. That is why devotion to God is of particular importance.
44. Why do you seek salvation from maja? Is it so
necessary to start a confrontation with it? It runs the Universe. It is head
over ears in this work. Its mere wish will put you face to face with God. It’s
not wise to challenge it. It will be a mistake to take pride in one’s knowledge
and austerity.
45. Never forget about God. Even if He for some moment
forgets about you, your worry in this case will also be devotion to Him.
46. Love of God starts with sorrow over separation with paramatma.
Tears of love come to the eyes and
the whole world becomes hostile.
47. Gradually, as connection with the spiritual teacher or God
grows, senses will come to balance, and little by little there will not remain
even the slightest notion of the difference between the thought and the object,
towards which this thought is aimed. In this state breath will slow down and
become regular. This state is called janabhava--samadhi. This state brings
liberation from false identification of self with own body.
48. In the field of devoted love of God mainly dhyana-samadhi
(the state achieved through concentration of mind, meditation) represents all, as
even one moment of this state generates
more bliss than even yoga-samadhi (going deep inside one’s own self with
the help of yoga practice).
49. Appearing in the shadow of God, maja conceals its
power – this is a rule.
50. My son, this (my) nature is immense. I am present
everywhere. These words you hear now are the words of God.
51. In order to punish the sinners God sends suffering, grief,
torments, diseases, etc. Sometimes, exhausted by diseases or suffering, man, like
the elephant-leader, disregarding any obstacles, starts to pray. In this way he
is liberated from suffering and finds belief in God. Thus, the grace of God is
contained in His punishment.
52. Therein, where there is temple of God
53. Worship of the stone statue is the first stage of the
ladder to God, a road to the training of mind.
54.
Because of own stupidity man
considers ishta-mantra (mantra of the selected patronizing deity) to be
merely a combination of sounds, and God’s statue to be merely a stone. A
spiritual teacher often estranges from such man.
55. Who offers his ownership to God, who uses his knowledge for
virtuous deeds, who speaks for the benefit of others; he will become tilaka-ornament
on God’s forehead.
56. When sadhak (observing,
performing, practicing spiritual activity) takes control of his senses and his own
Self, completely confides in his teacher, 5 million times reads mantra, he
meets God.
57. Even years of praying do not bring such benefit as
feeding the hungry, and comforting the tears of the one who cries.
58. God is patit-pavan (correcting the sinners). He
annihilates all of the sins. By all means He will correct you. You need not be
afraid of the memory of your sins. He will through you into fire and all of
your sins will turn into ashes.
59. Most people in this world are sinful. Direct your body to
help other, to make everyone happy.
60. Grace of saint people, mahatmas (mahatma – great
soul), which has no cause and no passion, is granted to each according to one’s
inclinations, diligence and needs. Its amount cannot be conditioned by the
quantity of prasad that you
offer.
61. My son, in order to find God it is necessary to have a
pure soul. This will help to reach material welfare. Leading your life in
accordance with the instructions from shastra, try to take all of the sadness
and suffering on the chin. In due time this will take you to God.
62.
My son, Guru-tattva has
a great significance. It is extremely mysterious. Owing to its grace it is
possible to grasp understanding of both worlds (i.e. material and spiritual). The
natural state of yoga is also conditioned by the favor of your spiritual
teacher. In sastra guru-tattva is valued even more than ishvara-tattva
(aseity, His nature). However disciple’s aptitude is conditioned by the
favor of his spiritual teacher.
63. My son, if you board on a boat with me, then you should
take inside a bundle of all your earthly anxieties, as they are no more your
concern.
64. God is compassionate to all. His natural grace flows
constantly, as the rain does. So what should a man ask God for? Then he forgets
about a prayer. This is a greatest tragedy.
65. My son, when my body ceases to exist, then without any
fuss put it directly into Yamuna. My eternal grace covers all of my bhaktas.
(Sri Baba left an order to his followers, so that as far as possible they
should refuse taking meals with onion, garlic, beans, vegetable marrow, and
observe ekadashi fasting).
Don’t give way to despair, my devotees. I will come to existence again.
66. Disobedience to a spiritual teacher, censuring Veda
and Shastra, distrust to the words of acharya (aharya – spiritual
leader, guru, founder), treatment of the name of God and His glory as empty
words, commitment of evil deeds, behind a prayer, these all are sins, a
deliberate crime. Souls of such worshippers with never purify.
67. He, who concentrates his mind on God, on paramatma,
which is always present in his soul, has performed ablution in all of the holy places,
like king Bali has given presents to all honest brahmans, has received benefits
from ten million sacrificial offerings, has also received benefits from a
righteous divine service, has pleased his forefathers with the offering of
delicious food, has helped them to reach divine planets.
68.
Considering the names of
God contains a wonderful power. With His involvement a soul can see the divine
light, all of its vices subside, and gradually it receives the sensation of
being whole with paramatma. With the power of the name of God many rishi
(wise man, prophet of truth), muni (wise man, ascetic, a man who keeps
silence) Dhruva (epic hero), Prahlada (king of demons) and
other bhaktas of God have been
liberated from reincarnation. In the age of kali there is only one way to
receive purification, and it is considering the names of God and meditating
upon Him. Kali yuga is only based on the name, that is why you should
always remember this, and always righteously consider the names of God.
69. Soul should also be considered as light, concealed by the
five sheaths of rough physical body. Likewise, taking into account the three states
of body – wakefulness, sleep and deep sleep without dreams – it should be
considered pure, invariable and eternal.
70. He who celebrates humility, and also he, whose humility
is celebrated by his devotees, is a magic sound «Om »,
which contains all of the names of God.
71.
So you should gain control
of your body, and give priority to the sound «Om »,
and also study it with diligence. Then God will appear like the hidden flame.
72. When you are free from your «Self» and «My», you will
reach closer to God. This is a true delight.
73. Hand over to God everything you own. You will see that
the day will come, when God gives you all. If a believer truly relays on God,
then He will undoubtedly preserve this support.
74. Inferior social casts spring from the lotus feet of
Vishnu and belong to Ganga (River Ganga;
Goddess of the River Ganga). Thus, from the point of view of shastra, all
of them are brothers of Ganga .
75. Gyana (knowledge), karma (activity)
and worship of God are the three parts of whole. There’s no principal
difference among them. Gyana and karma –are the integral
properties of strong faith. Similarly inevitable is the obstacle on the way to get
knowledge, and namely, concentration on the benefits that are generated by
activity, which is also the basis to worship of God. Unavoidability of karma
has been proved, but through it one can also see the capacity for devotion
and rejection. The difference is only in the point of view. What, from the viewpoint
of antarmukhi (turned inwards, thought-immersed, meditating of divinity),
is inconceivable (has no form), that, from the viewpoint of baharmukhi (turned
outwards, inclined to outward consciousness) has many forms. That is why both yogi
(who is practicing yoga; a disciple in any field; an advocate for union with
God) and gyani (sage; the one who has knowledge of God) equally receive
enjoyment. Yes, mostly it is possible to say, that the greatest achievement of bhakta
is reaching the highest bliss and that the finite goal of gyana and yoga
is the same. Following virtaka (thought) and vichara (thinking)
there is a state of bliss. Virtaka is doubt and hesitation. By immersing
into virtaka, yogi learns the properties of substances, and by immersing
into vichara his vision can reach the soul, the essence of the five
universal elements and their primarily forms.
76. A word contained in Self, Self contained in mind, mind
contained in mahatattva (principle of mind or buddhi; Hiranyagarbha or Brahma), mahatattva,
contained in the soul are the means of reaching svarupa.
77.
Exploitation of human body
has only one reason, which is listening to the word of God and, by following it,
developing the ability to get knowledge of Him. He who develops this ability
will reach Him.
78. The man of truth experiences neither joy nor sorrow. By becoming
chaitanya-svarupa (aware of own true nature), he fully immerses into a
primordial and natural state of bliss.
79. Human being is an embodiment of love, mercy, worship and
bliss.
80. I saw false differences, and in order to show union in their
temporarily distinction, I have presently started to consider Narayana-mantra
(mantra, addressed to Lord Narayana, i.e. Krishna )
and Rama-mantra (mantra, addressed to Lord Rama) together. I
would like to consider them right now.
81. Taking a meal or milk one should accentuate the right
side; and while drinking water one should accentuate the left side. Otherwise
the body will get sick.
82. When one gets to know own nature, the veil of maja falls
and he can see his own divine nature. This is called svabhava. One can grasp
it by glorifying the names of God, concentrating upon Him (meditation), and
reading mantras. One, who comprehends it, becomes bhakta. Svabhava transforms
into love. When it opens, it naturally helps mind to penetrate the realm of
soul. Then mind starts into motion. This is the mystery of prema-bhakti
(overwhelming love of God). When this state is achieved, synna, adjapa, anahata-nada
disappear. Whereas syrti
(constant contemplation over something) flows unto nyrti (great love
of, going deeply into something) and djiva merges with Brahma.
83. Taking natural food and wearing clean clothes contributes
to the purity of mind. Thus, if a person having small income starts to eat meat,
fish and other likely poor food, wearing expensive clothes, then he will have
to seek more means to support his existence and existence of his family.
Eventually it will become difficult for him to maintain purity of mind. Perhaps
he will have to turn into an unbeliever. Likewise, if a person receiving extensive
remuneration starts eating unworthy food, he will have to take an unrighteous
path.
84. It is said that at the battlefield of Kamadhenu (magic
cow, fulfilling wishes) an ear was cut off and where blood fell into the ground,
there tobacco plan sprout and then grew all over.
85. True gyani knows that he is not the body, so
there’s no need to be proud of it.
86. If a person who prays, commits bad deeds, and thinks that
all of his sins will be purified, then he is deeply mistaken. It is said that this
sin becomes a striking arrow of Indra (king of the sky) and even Yama
(king of the underworld beyond the grave) fails to wash off such sin. Sin is
the destruction of everything that helps to entrust yourself to God, and
receive His protection.
87. Desires are the root of all sorrows. Cut it down! But you
can cut it down only with the axe of knowledge.
88. If food is not clean, blessed and simple, then ego becomes
stained and generates vicious thoughts.
89. A healthy Self exists only in the healthy body. And only
he has healthy body, who has put his senses under control.
90. The union of Self, word and action is always maintained
by food.
91. The majority of illness is generated by Self. If it is
sick then body aches as well.
92. Therefore, do not let it get sick, do not allow for
degradation of mind. Self is the supreme sense of perception. It is the form of
God. It is filled with infinite power and force. Merely protect it from
depression and be in joy. Whether Self is out of spirits or in joy, conditions
endurance and purity of mind.
93. Delusion is the root of all illness. And doubt often
comes upon their “invitation”.
94. Self-control also contributes to maintaining good health.
95. Wealthy is the one, who possesses spiritual knowledge.
96. If instead of ailing someone you will put a ring on a
right leg finger, a sense of quiescence will come.
97. If when dying of rheumatism, bile (hepatitis) or phlegm (pneumonia),
my bhakta loses his spirituality and forgets about me, then I forget him
not and bring him to paramapada (supreme state, moksha).
98. Earthly benefits are distributed among men according to
their deeds in the past life. In turn, they are directly based upon actions (karma).
Thus, earthly happiness depends upon actions.
99.
My son, like forge bellows
fan fire, with each breath fan fire of bhakti (devotion, love of God). All
sins will be burned in it.
100. Until mind is connected to Self, the soul cannot purify. Try
to keep mind connected to the soul.
101. Sharanagati (devotion) means being satisfied
with own income in full faith and trust, accepting them as His grace (faith + trust
+ satisfaction = God’s grace).
102. Considering every action as service to God, and
consequences of these actions as prasad, being equally truthful and
decent with everyone, getting rid of anger and greed is service to God. (every action
+ consequences of actions as prasad + equal treatment for each and
everyone + liberation from anger and greed = service to God)
103. My son, I am omniscient. There is nothing that could
conceal from me.
104. When the sick drinks water, blesses with my name, he will
be healed.
105. A person gets benefit from yoga in accordance to
his abilities. As the light of sun rays he absorbs different knowledge
corresponding to his abilities.
106. Friendship with a happy person helps to get rid of envy. Sympathy
for the unfortunate help to get rid of desire to treat others badly. Meeting with
a well-mannered person and efforts to be like him help to get rid of jealousy. Ignoring
sinners helps to get rid of anger, aversion, etc. This is the life code of a
spiritual disciple (sadhaka).
107. You should take meal seated, quickly finding a place to
stay in private and removing it from the sight of the others. You should eat in
silence. You should eat food faced to the East, while drink faced to the West. Seated
in front of your meal you should bow hands fold.
108. Energy of God rules the world. He endows His bhaktas with
His grace in accordance to their actions. However, the energy of a spiritual
teacher us a boundless ocean of sympathy and grace.
109. When sadhak (yogi, muni) tires
of constant penetration into the essence of divine, of studying the Scriptures like
“Ramayana”, and his mind fails to think, paramatma endows him
with such powerful mind and gift of prophecy, that having grasped its (paramatma)
nature he finds wealth and all of these difficult tasks will be completed
easily.
110. As the daylight prevents from seeing the stars, so beyond
the dazzling light of avidya-maya (ignorance, lack of knowledge; power
of illusion in Brahman) it is not possible to see God. The dual nature
of joy and sorrow, emerging as a result of desires and hostility, is
interpreted by the majority of people as ignorance.
111. But he, who is fond of meditation, receives the highest
grace of paramatma, which destroys the root of ignorance in his heats
with the light of knowledge. Such bhakta can see the nature of paramatma and he is filled with it.
112. That is why bhakti is the way, following which
with the grace of God, it is possible to conceive His mysterious nature. With mere
knowledge of Veda, Purana and other Scriptures, or merely
studying these texts it is not only difficult but also impossible to conceive
the nature of paramatma.
113. (It is important to remember) that God is the ocean of
mercy. He cannot bear the suffering of his bhaktas. (You are not taking
off the veil) God reveals himself.
114.
These Self and mid are the riches of God. Don’t
consider them to be yours, give them out under His protection – «take! Me Self
is Yours, my mind belongs to You».
115. All of the intrigue is in Self, isn’t it? It will not remain
yours, and will not disturb you. With the grace of God it will come to the
state of rest and then he will open up to you.
116. Going deep into meditation, try to receive the grace of
all-loving God. Undoubtedly you will receive His grace. And when you will
receive it, God will come into your consciousness.
117. Do not give way to despair. Concentrate upon the prayer. He
brings closer those, who follow this road.
118. Do not worry over changes that occur in the world. Taken prisoners
of earthly joys and sorrows, we turn away from God, while He never turns his
back on us.
119. Everything happens because it’s the will of God and will
continue to happen notwithstanding your desire. There’s no one who could delay
the world. That is why it is necessary to completely turn away from the world sansara
(material world, the Universe, perishable world; the worlds of continuous
reincarnation) and address God as often as possible.
120. If you remain under the influence of the world sansara,
then you will have to laugh and cry. Try to come under the fascination of
illusion as little as possible. This is wisdom.
121. It is wonderful when the spiritual teacher guides the activity.
The object of meditation can be God, guru, some definite object, and also the
one who meditates.
122. Meditation is one for the forms for concentration of soul
and intellectual modification. In meditation of God it is important to have
concentration both on His name, and His form. Concentration upon the name of God
leads to concentration upon His form. Communication with bhaktas and grace of the spiritual teacher are
very important in order to develop the capacity of concentration upon God.
Without these two things it is impossible to reach bliss.
123. If during meditation on the image of God you will perceive
several images, you should see them as ishta (object of desire, selected
ideal, a special form of God) or a spiritual teacher.
124. Meditation on God should be considered the supreme means
of worship of Him. But upon one condition: devotion should be kept only towards
one of the images, while the rest should be considered to be merely variations
of it.
125. In meditation thoughts and feelings are everything. (Feeling
is the primarily image of thought) When once you experience joy in meditation, then
sattva-guna will start to
develop (one of the three guna, symbolizing something light and
bright, like for example, kindness and sanctity). Development of sattva-guna
leads to concentration, whereas concentration is love and God himself.
126. When sattva-guna is developed w start to perceive all
of our earthly duties as happiness and fulfilling the most laborious tasks
brings joy.
127. The birth of sattva-guna is the revelation of God.
128. When a strong bond to the object of mediation is developed,
there are no rules left.
129. Bhava-samadhi also originates from concentration upon the object of meditation. In this process
Self, speech, breath, and body come at rest.
130. Gyana, karma, bhakti,
religious ceremonies, and divine service, all sorts of worship of God, facilitate
spiritual духовному development, whereas, meditation upon God is the best method of all and the
best spiritual practice.
131. Regular study of Veda is also one of the types of meditation,
as they also provide knowledge about the true nature of the object of
meditation and help developing attachment to His qualities.
132. During Kaliyuga kirtany have a great importance (celebrating the name and glory of God).
During kirtana chanting the
power of sound is perfect. Imagination weakens also.
133. If bhakta fails to find time to study Veda,
rituals and other spiritual activity, and also lacks intelligence because of
ignorance, he will find the remedy in glorifying the names of God. It is very
important to go deeply into this practice. Sadhak starts to rhythmically
glorify the names of Gods, thereby developing animadika (animadika –
the supernatural ability to reduce body weight, one of eight Siddhi – supernatural
abilities).
134. He, who has no self-confidence, has no confidence in God.
135. When glorifying the names God or a spiritual teacher, bhakta
and the name of God merge together. Kirtana is the flame of word. With the
help of kirtana the body becomes brahman (one possessing knowledge,
bliss, and the absolute) and achieves such fortune, that even God is indebted
to him.
136. Whatever states are mind, speech and body of djiva (living
being), mind should always remember God, speech should be continuously directed
to glorify His names, and body should be guided to perform the divine service. This
is worship of God.
137. All universal knowledge is contained in Gayatri (a
type of verse for Veda writing;
the most sacred Hindu mantra). At the same time Gayatri itself is
part of all knowledge, magnitude and purity of the world.
138.
It
is good to know Maja, but it is dangerous to
challenge it, as it is very powerful. Tearing away the veil of Maja it
is possible to find the ability to see God. Maja is only afraid of
devotion to God.
139. When mind is diverted from everything and concentrated only
upon God, then comes the sense of sadhana (spiritual practice, perform
rituals, etc.) and in this and following incarnations all of desires are
purified.
140. Main rituals that were performed in the past incarnation ensure
a meeting with a good spiritual teacher in this life. Otherwise it is very hard
to receive a good spiritual teacher.
141. It is hard to achieve renunciation of sensual pleasures, direct
experience of the soul, and sahedjavastha (supreme state, that has
become natural and constant) without the grace of spiritual teacher.
142. A word or name liberating from ignorance is called mantra.
Thus, under the influence of mantra and accelerated by it, human life becomes
what it should be like.
143. There are three important kinds of faith: faith in
oneself (self-confidence), faith in God and faith in the grace of God.
144. God is Creator, not
me, and all belongs to Him, not to me – as this will penetrate your
consciousness, Self will retreat.
145. The most sacred place for pilgrimage is your own soul. It
doesn’t accept gifts from anyone, while is content with what it gets
conditioned by achievements in past incarnations.
146. With this memory the soul becomes mature. Meditation
helps to enforce this memory. That is why meditation is also considered to be
one of the types of yoga, as well as dhyana-samadhi.
147. In the field of bhakti dhyana-samadhi is all, because
a single moment of dhyana-samadhi brings infinite delight, which is even
more than that, which is achieved in yoga-samadhi. Also in the field of bhakti
memories, continuous remembrance, or memory repeating time after time, is a
necessary element of meditation, i.e. it is a primarily form of love. As love (of
God) is developing feelings start to balance, and gradually there will be no
slightest hint of the difference between the meditating person and the object
of meditation. In this balanced state your breath will also slow down and will
become regular. This is called bhava-samadhi. In this state comes
liberation from the false identification of self with the body.
148. My son! Such is the sequence of earthly lives: love (of God)
is developed through meditation, then develops a desire to receive it, further
one finds himself under the influence of anger (extreme ignorance) this brings
memory into ignorance. Ignorance of memory causes destruction of intelligence, followed
by complete destruction. But all of the abovementioned states are only possible,
when there is desire of benefits, received from the object of worship, i.e. not
desire fore the object itself (vishayakar
vritti), but to the benefits that it brings (phalakar vritti). I’m telling
that if there is only yearning for the object of worship, then even the
greatest sinner can receive freedom from reincarnation, because in vishayakar vritti there is only the game
of senses, whereas in phalakar vritti there is desire for benefits and
their utilization. (Naturally Baba meant that it is out of question lest
feelings, memories, meditation, etc. should not even mention benefit. Computing
benefit means the end of vishayakar
vritti. You should keep commitment to your spiritual teacher or God, remember,
practice meditation, cherish love, but do not consider any benefit in these
activities).
149. (Baba continues) Those beasts and birds, which,
like the saints, adhere to vishayakar
vritti are better than modern men.
Vishayakar vritti means that meditation
is merely concentration upon the object and nothing more, neither concern for
the body, nor worry for the words in mantra and their meaning. There are only memories,
continuous memories, memory of the image, name, and nothing else.
150. Then body, breath and mind become whole. This is vishayakar vritti.
151. There may be a question: vishayakar vritti is free from concentration upon benefit but still
there are desires. Sri Baba says: «Yes, my son! It is impossible to
fully eradicate desires, as they may appear in the form of phalasakti (desire
to use benefits, results).
152.
There are to ways to stop
them. The first way is yoga, the second one is bhakti. In yoga the object
loses its qualities by merging into triputi (triad: observer – sight – object).
This eradicates desires as well.
153. In bhakti there is the following: the true nature
of the object is separated from it. The object of worship disappears, but the
attachment to it cannot disappear. Gita says: niraharasya dehinaha vishayaha
vinivartante sarvadjanam (which means: by separating the true nature from
the object of worship, the soul continues to enjoy its benefits).
154. (In this case) To the best of one’s ability it is
necessary to separate body and mind. I.e. no need to concentrate upon neither physical
needs, nor any of its particular activities, as in both of the abovementioned
cases mind develops attachment to the body.
155.
If your mind will be directed
towards the object of meditation, like the thick stream of oil, then it will separate
from the body on its own and cause kevalakumbha (sudden breath-holding
without prior inhale or exhale). Asana
(pose, position) or ability to perform pranayama (regulation and control
of breathing) are yet another ways to stop activity of the body. This practice
of bhakti is called krija-yoga.
156. Thus, when ishta, or the object of worship, becomes the center of all desires there
will appear the ability for recollection of memories and meditation. When all of
desires and activities are put under control, what is left is knowledge, which
is for bhakti the form of aspiration
for the image of God.
157. My son, there are four stages to reach bhakti: name,
image, lila (divine games) and dharma (pious way of life, as
written in the Scriptures). In the majority of bhakti trends these
stages possess a great significance.
158. You need help of faith and trust for your spiritual
activity. Thus, a spiritual teacher is also an important link. At the first
stage of spiritual activity, while you are reading the mantra, given by the
spiritual teacher, you have to go fully and deeply into the image of your
spiritual teacher. In order to do this you need a keen vision of a talented
artist.
159. The proof of stable attention (in meditation) is what is
in the kingdom of mind of sadhaka: 1. The main start is meditation of guru-lila
(of the works of spiritual teacher). 2. At the second stage of spiritual activity
feelings start tot melt, a feeling of attachment to lila is developed, imagination ceases. 3. At the third stage of spiritual activity
one experiences the state of bliss. 4. At the fourth stage samarpana emerges (gifting, offering, handing
in, i.e. entrusting ones’ property to God), and the feeling of love of ishta.
160. Life energy in the state of spiritual meditation should
be directed inwards Self, which will gear development of sattva-guna, and
turn Self to the quiescent state. Ego of the ordinary sadhaka submerges into the life energy, which causes development of
imagination, and also the ability to glorify the names of God.
161. A union of the soul and God is the final goal of bhakta.
Achieving it without the grace of the spiritual teacher is impossible either in
the past, or in the present, or in the future.
162. When mind if concentrated, then by cognition and thought (cognition
is the simple form of thought) it becomes stable.
163. In the field of bhakti
communication with other bhakta and regular studies of Veda also teach cognition and thought.
164.
Shankaracharya writes about the rules of
meditation: You should make your mind
stronger by keeping it at the point of concentration; you should control your
feelings. Keeping your body motionless, do not worry about its desires or needs.
What use is there in vain talk?
165. It has long become the custom: If a weapon is used for
good, this is not considered to be a sin. Thus, if a soldier, who fights at the
border, has killed several people, he is not regarded to be a killer. Quite the
contrary, he is honored as a hero. However, if somebody uses this weapon to
kill, he is considered to be a sinner.
166. Only an objective, but not a subjective, view of things gives
understanding of their true nature.
167.
What can one refuse in the
world? – Desire of wealth and lust. What is worthy of being in the body – energy.
If there’s so much pleasure in bursting it out, you should think of how much
more pleasure should be contained in keeping it inside. Energy is life. When it
disappears it is death.
168. Of all the ways to free from the three sins of the
material world, meditating upon the names of God is the most simple and
accessible - namayvadeva sarasham siddhantam sarvada shivam.
169. Only meditation of the wise men makes possible control
over feelings and finding paramatma.
170. When you do your daily duties thinking about Sri
Narayana at every moment,
you can find God.
171. Listen, my son! With regards to other mantra, Shastra
doesn’t allow those, who are in the state of ashoucha (desecration, a
state of the family after childbirth or death of a close relative. In this case
they cannot touch strangers and involve into charitable work for some time) to
read them aloud or to themselves. Instead of benefit this will only cause harm.
But this doesn’t cover celebration of the name of mantraradji (the king of
mantra) Lord Hari. The name of God Sri Narayana should be glorifies
hands raised and so loud to make those who chant and who listen experience the
state of bliss. You can consider the names of God in any position. As the sun
doesn’t need help to clear the dark, and tiger doesn’t need help to catch its
prey, so sadhak от рождения has a birth-given ability
to glorify the names of God.
172. Kaliyuga cannot enter the house, in which the names of God are
continuously celebrated.
173. In each house where bhakta
lives, glorify the names of God together with him and his family. When you do
this, faith and love of God will grow inside of you, as well as mercy, purity,
composure, patience, sense of equilibrium, tolerance, kindness, knowledge, austerity,
modesty and other virtues.
174. When a man repeats the names of God he is liberated from
reincarnation, but when he sings them aloud, he receives the right to set free
the whole Universe from it. That is why you should always repeat: Sri Rama, jaya Rama, jaya jaya Rama.
175. Self is disposed to deception and lies. It controls
feelings and all are under its power. It is the root of material progress and
ever increasing desires. Through senses it introduces all of material things to
the soul, inducing it to partake of them, and thus making it similar to oneself.
Even if mind has potential to control feelings, as it is the commander-in-chief
(it has its weapon, which is the spiritual activity), however, if Self is
corrupted (the king is corrupted), then it breaks away and overrides not only
sense, but also mind and soul (as a king and commander-in-chief) and causes
their suffering in the material world.
176. As in time a pauper becomes a millionaire if he systematically
gathers coins one by one, so in time sadhak
gains control over Self and achieves samadhi in the grace of his
spiritual teacher through and through regular practice.
177. Under the guidance of a spiritual teacher it is possible to
“correct” Self. When Self is under control, feelings also come under control. Yoga-Shastra
says: as with the help of practice Self comes into a quiescent state, so
breath, speech, body and look also quiet down.
178.
Listen, my son! When his heartbeat
is for ishta, then sadhak receives the ability to day and night
concentrate upon Him, meditate at Him and acquires knowledge of intimacy with
Him. Such devoted bhakta finds God very soon.
179. Make service to God with the feeling of dasya (dasya
is one of the variations of bhakti, when the believer considers himself to
be slave to the worshipped deity), trust Him with the feeling of sakhi (the
believer considers himself friend to the worshipped deity), love Him as gopi
(girls-shepherdess, girl-friends of Krishna
and His most devoted servants). Undertake all of the material actions only for
Him and His satisfaction.
180. Devoted service brings knowledge. Knowledge is the result
of devoted service.
181. Always rest under protection of God. Be devoted only to
Him.
182. Gyani has to renounce the whole
world. Then he achieves supreme bliss.
183. Bhakta is constantly in the state of being, he keeps his
emotions.
184. In practice gyani does everything, but as he
experiences the feeling of sakhi, he has to apply own efforts to
cross the ocean of the existence. Gita says: gyani, чей whose mind is in balance, considers that Vasudeva
(one of the names of God Narayana)
is all and all is in Him – sarvam iti.
185. My son, Brahma, paramatma and Bhagavan
(God. Narayana or Hari) appearing as whole from the point of view
of substance, are a ternary system from the point of view of perception. а) When the sun of knowledge rises in the mind of sadhaka,
the light of God penetrates Him. This is Brahma. б) When its an accumulation
of light, like vishvarupa (cosmic form, variety that
includes all forms) that penetrates the sould of sadhaka, then it is called paramatma. Both Brahma and
paramatma are parts of bhagavata tattva (divine essence, existence
of God). в) When Brahma appears in His form of virata
(macrocosm, physical world, which we
see, God in His form of revealed universe) – all of this is Bhagavan.
186. Through devoted service to God finding gyana and yoga becomes possible on itself.
187. From the point of view of one, who has form, God is Bhagavan,
from the point of view of one, who has no form God is paramatma, and
from the point of view of knowledge He is Brahma.
188.
Bhakta naturally receives knowledge and impartiality, as his
thoughts are always turned into one and only direction. He, who impedes suffering, is always by his side.
189. Delight is a distinctive feature of this supreme power. Delight
is Brahma. It is from delight that all living beings appear.
Having come into life they live, experience delight, and die, submerging back
into bliss.
190. The wise man measured the field of rice. He has left
behind laziness and disputes. The wise man gained memory and happiness. He has
left behind all anxieties. He prays. He says: Let the All-Forgiving grant patience.
Let Self be eradicated, Let lie disappear, Let it be only truth. Let mind rest
in balance. Body rests in the material world, whereas the sole is near Lord Hari. Material benefits always
bring suffering. Let the Universe rest in the state of a dream. Let the name of
Lord Hari be in the state of
wakefulness.
191. Question: why Baba pays more attention to the rich, to
those who hold high positions and are more influential. The matter is that those,
who have more stick harder (in material needs). Those are sick most of all. And
those who are sick more than the rest should get help first.
192. My son, there are three kinds of karma: sanchita
(total amount of all actions, performed during past incarnations), prarabdha
(a part of sanchita, which determines the present life), kriyamana (what
has been done, the effect of actions of the present life, that will be received
in the future). Everything that we have done is accumulating. This is sanchita.
Those fruits of sanchita-karma, which are have ripened and became destiny,
are called prarabdha. In order to live our destiny, we are predetermined
with our bodies and life span. Besides, those fruits of actions in the past lives,
which have nit ripened yet in this life in the form of destiny, also appear as sanchita.
Thus, prarabdha is what accompanies us and the fruits of which we enjoy.
However, sanchita is like money, which is kept in the treasury and comes
into circulation, when the near source runs dry. In these three types of karma
there are two varieties, i.e. the bad and the goods one. Those, whose prarabdha-karma
can be called good, prosper, even if their kriyamana seeds prickle for their future. On the
contrary, those, whose prarabdha-karma can be called bad, experience
sufferings and sorrows, destroying their innate abilities.
193. Desire to find freedom from suffering sooner or later brings
paramatma, which brings revelation from the sins of hundreds thousands
of incarnations (notable, that in front of Sri the sins of hundreds
thousands of incarnations are also obliterated. Having received protection of God,
Baba himself has said: «Speak,
my son: the world of sansara has been left hehind. You stand in front of
Rama-Janaki-Lakshman and Hanuman». (In addition to the
fact that he himself has destroyed hundreds thousands of sins, the spiritual
teacher has maintained the ability to turn others to God, alongwith the
infinite grace to help momentarily leave behind the world of sansara in one moment).
194. Yogi sees this life in the heart
as a garland of lights and perceives it as penetrating everywhere managing all.
195. With the help of prema-bhakti it is possible to
always see God, everywhere and in all possible forms.
196. In reality there’s no significant difference between gyana
and bhakti. The supreme point of gyana is bhakti and the supreme point of bhakti is gyana.
197. Even to mahatmas
Shi Baba told that
they break prarabdha exactly when they experience it. But because they are
free from the bonds of karma, they
also break free from krijamana, and their good sanchita-karma is
shared by their admirers, while the bad one is shared by their ill-wishers. Thus,
either sanchita, or prarabdha
do not appear any more.
198. Bringing evidence to prove existence of sanchita-karma,
Sri Baba says that in the time of king Dhritarashtra (the
blind king, hero of Mahabharata) the kingdom suffered from famine. In his
garden he created one hundred cooked eggs out of laughter and fed the hungry neighbors.
As a result, in his present life he was blind, and one hundred of his sons died.
As a result each of them had to pass one hundred reincarnations.
199. Those unworthy scriptures, which are about to appear in
the future, will disappear forever from the sight of God.
200. My son, if you constantly keep your heart connected to
the name of God, and then undoubtedly you will see the divine light. Do not
have doubt about it. Repetition of the names of God is like learning and then
mastering the ride on a bicycle. First, man has troubles. But when he learns, then
traversing in the mob, he even gives a ride for the others and doesn’t have any
inconvenience. Getting experience, he easily reaches his goal. Under the
influence of repeating the names of God everything which is bad leaves your
heart, and all of the troubles leave your worldly life.
201.
My son, there is salt in
each drop of water in the Sambhar lake. The impersonal form of Brahman (nirakara)
is the same. When salt is extracted from water, then its personal form appears
(sakara). There is no difference between nirguna (one that has no
attributes or qualities) and saguna (имеющий атрибуты, качества). The matter is merely about understanding.
202. Listen, my son. If you take a look at the denomination, this
is merely a paper. It acquires value only when it is marked with a government
sign. Marks contain value, but not the paper. Similarly the statue of God
acquires value only when it is filled with life. Then it is considered to be
the form of God. However if the statue is broken, this will not cause God to
disappear. It is also true that the sky will never disappear.
203.
Sri Baba said thus about the stolen, i.e. stealthily picked up flowers:
«today you desired flowers and you picked these flowers, tomorrow you will
desire something else. Those flowers that you picked were not yours. Do you
think that God doesn’t see that you picked them for Him? But how can He be
satisfied with this? God is omnipresent. He sees each of our deeds. To present flowers
to God is dharma (righteous behavior, as assigned in the Scriptures; faith,
religion), but you should never present Him with the stolen flowers. This is
the essence of dharma.
204.
A man seems to be free and
powerful. But if you think, you will realize that he doesn’t exist at all. The whole
existence is Brahma. As it is His will that generates existence of every
soul, then there is no sense in considering that you creator. That is why Lord Sri
Krishna says to Arjuna (the hero of «Mahabharata», son of
king Pandu, friend of Krishna ):
«All of them are already dead. You be only the executor».
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