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[Dr. Nikhil said “My spiritual classmates did not become householders but I became a householder. All of them are lucky to have salvation.” Swami replied “Only you are going to get salvation because you became a householder. Nikhil was astonished and asked for clarification. Swami continued:]
The psychology of people is to get attracted towards things, which are far, and to get detached from things, which are very close. In fact, this is the general psychology of souls and even angels are not exceptions as said in the Veda “Paroksha Priya ivahi devah pratyaksha dvishah”, which means that even angels like any item, which is far, and dislike any item present...
The unimaginable God requires a medium for expression. When the medium is charged by God, the medium is treated as God directly and service to this medium is the direct service to God. When a wire is charged by electric current, touching the live wire means touching the current itself. But if you touch the picture of a live wire on paper, you are not touching the current. It is only an indirect representative model of the live wire. Service to the charged medium is called as sakshat upasanam, which is direct service. Service to the representative model is called as pratika upasanam, which is only indirect service. Indirect service is a total waste because neither are you experiencing God in the model, nor is God experiencing...
[Shri Phani raised a question “Between sacrifice of work (karma samnyasa) and sacrifice of the fruit of work (karma phala tyaga), which is greater?” Swami said “Tell me your opinion on this”. Phani replied “Certainly sacrifice of the fruit of work is greater than sacrifice of work because the fruit is the essence of work. Cutting the bond with the fruit is very difficult”. Following is Swami’s detailed discourse that followed.]
Certainly sacrifice of the fruit of work is greater than the sacrifice of work in the case of householders, who have the option for doing both. The reason is that the bond with the fruit is very strong. Generally, money or wealth is the fruit of work. Therefore, the Veda says that sacrifice of the money and wealth is the real essence of sacrifice and stands as the proof of real love...
[This morning, Swami composed this song spontaneously in Sanskrit and was singing it. He also explained the meaning of the song.]
Naasadhyamasti kimapi te Datta
Nacha karanamapi karunayaste Datta.
Oh Lord Datta! Nothing is impossible for Your infinite power
And there is no reason for the kindness that You show form me.
Papi shailamuddhartum shaktiraparacha
Ayogyashikharaa yapya karana karunacha
Mahyam dwyamida mavasara bhavyam bhavatihi.
Infinite power is needed to uplift me, the mountain of sins
And reasonless kindness to protect me, the most undeserving
I, in need of these two infinite divine qualities, praise You
In this creation people are running after money thinking that it can solve all problems. But if some incurable disease attacks a person, no amount of money can solve the problem. Therefore, Artha (money) is not a power that is applicable in every place. The next one is kama (sex), which only destroys the person both physically and mentally, and no problem can be solved by it because it is the source of several problems...
When the child cries for milk, the mother does not mistake the child for its desire for milk saying that love should be without desire. The same mother (if wise) will find fault with her grown up daughter asking for her ornaments because ornaments are not basic needs like milk. The wise mother will say that she will give the ornaments to the daughter only after her death. But the same mother will not say that she will give the milk in her breast to the child after her death because the dead body cannot give milk and moreover the child cannot wait for the milk for a long time. Similarly, God will not mistake a pure soul asking for the basic needs of life, especially when the soul is participating in the divine service. For a mother the cry of the child...
God acts as the Father as well as the Teacher (Guru) of any soul. Since God created the soul, He is the Father. But at the same time, He is the teacher who trains every soul to come up in the spiritual path. Generally in the world, the father is different from the teacher. But here, in the case of any soul the real Father and the real Teacher is only one, and that is God. Therefore, God is always kind as the Father and strict and harsh as the Teacher. But the harshness of the Teacher is only apparent and in reality the harshness is kindness alone. Hence, basically God is always kind. God only appears harsh as the Teacher and kind as the Father. Since, the Teacher is basically kind, even in his harsh attitude, God is always kind...
Satguru is the preacher of spiritual knowledge and is the human form of God. God is hidden in Him like electric current in a live wire. God is indicated by the word Hiranya (gold) which means the best and most precious. Hiranyagarbha is the name of Lord Brahma, who is the first spiritual preacher or the first Satguru. He is the energetic form charged by the hidden God, given (Datta) to angels. He is the first energetic human form of God given to the creation for correct spiritual guidance. Today all the false spiritual preachers also deserve the name of Hiranyagarbha. This word also means that gold is hidden in their stomachs. It means that they are simply swallowing money for preaching false spiritual knowledge...
[Shri C.B.K. Murthy asked Swami about the way to conquer the Ahamkara (ego) and Mamakara (attachment to the world). Swami replied as follows.]
The only way to conquer ego is to always keep your self in the Dwaita of Madhva. Always remember Hanuman as your guide and the ghost of ego will run away. Remember that Hanuman always says that He is the servant of Rama (a human form of God) even though He is made the Creator (God). Attachment to the world can never be broken without tasting the attachment to God. In such a case there is no need of any special effort to break the attachment...
[On the occasion of Yugadi or New Year according to the Indian Calendar] The devotion to Lord in the theoretical phase as well as the practical phase should be done by making God as the final goal. Only such devotion is real, and the real devotees are Hanuman and the Gopikas, who should be our guides in the spiritual effort. But very few human beings can attain this level and God says in the Gita that one in millions alone can attain such a state. In this real spiritual path, all items except God are only the means, whereas pleasing God is the final goal. But the majority of human beings is reverse to this real path. Most human beings make God as means to achieve their self-pleasure by crossing the difficulties...
[Shri. G. Lakshman came from Mumbai to have some spiritual discussion (satsanga) with Swami. His first enquiry was about the limitation of the soul in meditation and as well as in deep sleep. Swami compared pure awareness in meditation to a lump of gold, which becomes inert energy in deep sleep and can be compared to a lump of iron. This comparison was given in the poem, which was sent to Dr. Nikhil as a reply to his poem entitled Selfless Love. On this point, Shri. Lakshman raised the concept of the limitation of the soul even in the deep sleep, in which the soul is considered to be in its original state as per Advaita philosophy. According to Advaita the self becomes the unlimited Brahman in deep sleep as said by Shankara (Sushuptyeka siddhah). Following is Swami’s reply.]
Shankara said that Brahman is achieved in deep sleep. The meaning of this statement is that Brahman is unknowable or unimaginable. In deep sleep nothing is known and nothing can be imagined. Such a state indicates that Brahman is unknown and unimaginable. In this state, the soul looses its awareness...
Identification of the contemporary human incarnation and selfless service to Him is the total essence of the entire spiritual knowledge. The starting point is the direct atheist or the scientist (an indirect atheist) misled by ambition and is a follower of Advaita. Whenever the Veda uses the word Atman in the context of God, it means only the particular individual soul, which is charged by God and is called as human incarnation. When it is said in the Veda that space was generated by the soul, the word soul means the human being charged by God like Krishna, who came as the human incarnation. Krishna says that He is the source of the entire creation and the first item of this creation is space, which is the first of the five fundamental...
All the hectic effort in spiritual discussions (to analyze God, the soul, the link between God and soul, the link between God and the world and finally the path to become God if possible, or at least to become the dearest servant by pleasing God to get salvation or at least some benefit here) is only for some selfish advantage. The effort is hectic with a hope to find out the path to become God or to please God by some analytical knowledge and theoretical devotion without doing any action and without any sacrifice. If this single point is answered, all the effort made for only discussion and only theoretical devotion vanishes. In such a case, the devotees will not be worried whether God is unimaginable or imaginable...
The message from Lord Shiva can be understood from the lives of the two divine incarnations of Lord Shiva, which are Anjaneya [Hanuman] and Adi Shankara. The life of the human incarnation is always the message of God. Anjenaya did personal service of the Lord in human form and Adi Shankara did the social service through the propagation of divine knowledge. In fact, social service is also the personal service of the Lord since this entire world is His own family as He is the Divine Father of all the souls (Aham Bija Pradah Pita—Gita). The family of the Lord like Sita, Lakshmana etc., is nothing but the inner most circle of the family of the God...
Adi Shankara made certain assumptions, which are hypothetical to preach the spiritual knowledge to the devotees at various levels. Generally the devotees are trained in the logic pertaining to the imaginable items in the world. The development of a concept by them is from a worldly example and also its application is to another worldly example. For example since the black color of mud (cause) enters into the pot (its effect), the conclusion is that the nature of the cause enters its effect. This conclusion is applied to another worldly example and they say that the bright color of the gold-lump (cause) must also enter the chain...
God created all the souls and has the attitude of a father towards His children. A human father may sometimes show partiality in loving his children. But God always has infinite love for all souls in an equal manner. Even the punishments in the hell are meant for the transformation of the souls from the lower level to the higher level. God always tries to help the soul even if a trace of possibility exists according to its cycle of deeds to justify God’s help. One soul need not recommend another soul to God and ask for His grace on that soul. If a child requests his father to look after the welfare of his brother, how foolish it looks! No soul should recommend another soul...
[Dr. Nikhil asked: How can one avoid the diversion of one’s attention towards bliss? People are attracted to bliss and not to God if God does not give bliss to them.]
The Veda describes the concept of bliss in the Ananda Valli. Certainly you must discuss about the subject of bliss. You must avoid the diversion of your attention to attaining bliss for your own self. But you must concentrate on the service to God that gives bliss to Him. This means that doing service to God in whatever way you like is not correct because God does not require your service in any way like a human being. One has to render the service in whatever manner God likes it. The service should be for the pleasure of God...
[Shri M. V. K. Murthy, a famous writer of novels came along with another devotee called Yogi. On seeing him, Swami started emitting an intense scent of camphor for a long time. He was amazed since this scent was not found outside that room. Yogi joked “So, Swami does some magic now and then!”. Swami joked “I am a professor of chemistry. I might have used some chemicals for generating this scent. You must search Me fully”. Then Phani said “A devotee here believed that the statue of Lord Venkateshwara is the only God. He argued with Swami on this point. Swami generated several types of scents. The devotee said that Swami being a professor of chemistry...
[Dr. Nikhil raised a point: To enjoy both happiness and misery, one should have a choice. A king has the choice to enjoy in the palace or in a hut, but a beggar has no choice since he cannot enjoy the palace].
To think that the palace belongs to the king is only a feeling, which is relatively unreal with respect to the status of the awareness or soul. The king is living in that palace only for some time with that feeling [of ownership] and goes to stay in a hut for some time for recreation. A servant also lives in the palace for more time in service without that feeling. Both permanently leave the palace or hut after death. If you go to the absolute level of reality, the king, servant, palace, hut etc., belong to the Lord alone as His movable...
Every one desires to have bliss. Bliss means very intense happiness, which exists continuously. Such bliss exists only with God. To get such bliss, you have to attain the state of God. But the main condition to attain the state of God is to not aspire for that state and hence to not aspire for bliss. One has to start in the spiritual path with this fundamental correction. But everyone starts with this fundamental mistake of aspiration for bliss. Some start to achieve the state of God with hidden a reference to this bliss. Anyway both are one and the same since bliss is possible only for the state of God. You have to get the clue from God alone to get such bliss. The clue means the special knowledge...
The Lord comes in human form in every human generation. All people may not recognize Him. Only a few devotees can recognize Him and get the benefit of liberation form these worldly bonds. The human form of Lord has no obligation to see that every body recognizes Him. Of course, He will try His best to give His identity and to reveal Himself slowly according to the speed of digestion of the devotees. The teacher comes to the class and teaches the class impartially to his level best in view of the capacity of digestion of the sitting students in the class. Some attend the class very carefully and get a first class. Some attend with less care and just pass. Some do not attend and fail. The student is responsible for the final result. Similarly, some recognize the human incarnation as the Lord. Some recognize the human incarnation...
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