Posted on: 12 Feb 2017
Leaving for Holy Places in Oldage
22—05—1994, 05.30 am
In the old age people think to go to holy places and live there so that they think that they will be far from the worldly issues involving their grand children. First of all you are wasting your energy and time by such thoughts in your house. Do you think that all those who stay in holy places got salvation? Do you think that all those who stayed in their houses did not get salvation? There is one psychological clue here. When you stay in congenial atmosphere, your mind will run to the opposite atmosphere. When you are at home, your mind goes to the holy place. When you are in holy place, your mind goes to home. Your mind always gets repelled by whatever is before you and is attracted to whatever is far from you! The attachment of your mind is very important because that alone generates practice. When Arjuna asked Krishna in the war, the excellent Gita came out from God. But, when same Arjuna asked same God in a peaceful atmosphere, God refused saying that He cannot repeat it! Two devotees are going to Kashi. One went to Kashi and worshipped God every day. The other fellow was captured by a prostitute in the way and did not go to Kashi. The mind of person in Kashi was always on his friend enjoying the prostitute. The mind of another person enjoying prostitute is always on the first fellow worshipping God in Kashi. After death, the first fellow in Kashi was taken to hell and the second fellow with prostitute was taken to God! Hence, the external place is not important. Only internal mind is everything. Anyway, you test this point practically by staying in a holy place just for few days and then decide your program. You can get the grace of God now and here itself. Mind has nature of variation. Hence, change the modes of worship from time to time to suit to the unstable nature of the mind. This is the effort congenial to the mind. The effort done by forcing the mind against its nature is not possible. It will throw you away from your effort. Repulsion to anything present before your eyes and attraction to anything far from your eyes are also characteristics of mind. Once repulsion starts, change the atmosphere and don’t force the mind.
Variation is Inevitable and Helpful
22-05-1994, 06.30 pm
When you are in holy place, you are inspired on the first day. Gradually the inspiration gets reduced and on 10th day you will find total repulsion. On 11th day you will travel to your house after purchasing gifts for your grand children. You give them gifts with lot of inspiration. On 10th day your inspiration for your grand children is fully subsided. On 11th day you will again travel to the holy place! Hence, variation is inevitable. Note that this variation is also given by God for your inspiration to be stopped by intervals. The water flowing in canal is stopped by culvert and when it falls again, it picks up double speed! This disturbance is in positive direction only. This hurdle (maya) is created by God to help your effort and not to stop it. Māyā is the servant of God and hence always helps you only. If you understand this, you are not disturbed by these worldly bonds, which are culverts for the flow of your devotion. Nārada mentioned this disturbance by forgetting God (Parama vyaakulateti) in the Bhakti Sutras.
Avoid Waste and Offer Real Service
22-05-1994, 10.00 pm
When you print these messages and propagate My spiritual knowledge, that is My service and these coconuts, camphor etc., are not in My service. Even in the foolish service you are behaving as the biggest fool. Let us take the example of a coconut offered to God in temple. You have purchased coconut for Rs.10/- and offered it to God. You are given half coconut-shell and the other half is taken by priest. The coconut water is lost and got wasted on the floor. This water is good for health and if you give it to a poor devotee or at least a poor person to help his/her health, how much God is pleased! The half coconut-shell costing Rs.5/- is taken by priest and is sold in hotel for Re. 1/-. He collects Rs. 5/- by selling five shells and with that amount, he purchases some vegetables to be used in cooking food. Therefore, you have taken Rs.5/- (for using half shell for food in your house), gave Rs.4/- to hotel (purchased half shell from priest for Re. 1/-) and gave Re. 1/- to the priest. Apart from this, you have wasted the most valuable coconut water! The funniest misfortune is that the devotee, who did like this, is a Professor of Economics working as Chairman of Planning Commission of the country to allot finance to different channels without any wastage!! Hence, the offering should be always in the form of money only and not in the form of material. The receiver may have that material and may need other type of material. Then the material offered by you is sold for half rate and gets half of the required material since the result of your offering is only half! When you offer money (Dakshina), it is the best and wisest. Hence, the Veda also says offering of money (Dhanena tyaagena....) with which any required thing can be purchased. One may not be in need of any material and may be in need of a medicine to be purchased for health. The Gītā also says about sacrifice of fruit of work, which is money only anywhere. The Moon on Purnima (full moon-night) indicates the round metallic coin representing money. The Moon is white showing coin of silver or some other white metal. In the evening the moon is slightly red indicating a copper coin. Knowledge means the analysis of your practical step before its implementation.
Today is full moon day of this Māgha month. You observe the full Moon and enjoy the scene!
[The couple started seeing the full moon and Swami started reciting Saundarya Laharī and Shivānanda Laharī composed by Śaṅkara. In the full moon, Goddess Bhramarā appeared dancing with Lord Śiva. Divine music was heard in accordance with the dance. Then, Lord Śiva is transformed into God Datta. Then, Sarasvatī and Lakṣmī appeared and merged with Goddess Bhramarā. Then, Goddess merged with God Datta. Finally, God Datta disappeared!]
Diverting Emotions to God
15-03-1994, 05.00 am
Control emotions because due to emotions lot of energy is consumed. Hence, try to be always in a balanced state. This advice is about the world and not about God. Whatever energy is lost in the emotions for God, double of it is given by God immediately. I have asked you to save the energy by controlling worldly emotions only for spending it emotions for God.
Prahlāda left father, Śaṅkara left mother, Rāmānuja left wife, Mīrā left husband and Buddha left wife, son and wealth for the sake of God. Remember these divine personalities every day. Love is the essence of life, which must be dedicated to God only. You give this spiritual knowledge to your family members also so that they will also get salvation being your family members. Don’t love anybody except God and don’t expect love from anybody except from God. When every trace of your body, mind and words becomes like a tiny crystal of sand burning in summer in your love for God, such state is called as mahābhāva or samādhi. The simile given here was the external atmosphere and the devotee mentioned here was Rādhā walking on burning sand in summer in her last minutes!
Donation and Worship
24-03-1994 04.00 am
Giving food in your presence to a hungry soul (Annadānam) is the best since none can misuse as in the case of money offering. The receiver of food must be old or child or disabled or diseased. You must donate work for earning to a poor person, who is young and healthy. Apart from food and work, you must give shelter, cloths and medicines for diseases. All this is called as beggar home. You must start your sacrifice from the bottom most level and not from higher levels. You must see that none of this humanity to suffer for food, shelter, cloths and medicines. When you become successful in the lowest level to find no beggar exists in this world, then only, you should start helping poor. This is the plan of service, if is to be done truly. This should be the procedure for Government, trust of temple and even groups of individuals. You can’t do any service sincerely unless everybody gets rid off the most powerful virus called as corruption. In this social service, if you keep God as basis and goal, it will be successful. Atheists don’t like God and are for mere social service so that every fellow can loot the funds like a bandicoot. In the olden days, when food is given to somebody, the house holder requests the receiver of food to rest for some time and then only to go. The idea here is that as soon as one goes out after taking food, he may do sins using this energy. In such case, you also become a share-holder of sin since you are the donor of the energy through food. You must have lot of analytical knowledge in donation (Samvidaa deyam— Veda). The deserving receiver is the most important factor and not the place and time. Donation is double edged knife giving good fruit for donation to deserving and bad fruit for donation to undeserving!
Don’t put rules in the worship, in which case, the mind having inherent free nature revolts and drags you to the other side. Do worship with full freedom of mind. Don’t fix place and time-span for worship. Let it be any place and the time span shall be as long as the free mind follows it. The best worship is to get inspired by the divine personality of God in devoted discussions with limited number of devotees (Satsanga). Worship does not mean taking bath, wearing silk cloth, sitting in worship room, putting flowers to photos and statues, reciting prayers containing full lies to fool God and offering food materials to inert photos and statues so that the food offered is totally eaten by all of you only. Every step here is totally waste because there is no inspiration for God anywhere. Even if inspiration exists, it is only artificial because you are acting as emotional for getting some benefit from God. Your emotion is about the fruit and not about the God!
When you are dragged in to world by māyā (illusion), you will go back after some time to God with reinforced devotion provided you are already a strong devotee. If you are a weak devotee, you will be carried away in to the world forever! This is very important point to be noted. You must treat your mind like your young son giving advices only not orders.
Service to Lord Datta Exceeds Salvation
01-04-1994 04.00 am
Salvation means liberation from worldly bonds so that one merges with Me. Without relief from the previous institution, you can’t join a new institution. Relief from world is Moksha or Salvation and merge with Me is union with God (Saayujya). All think that the soul dissolves in Me. This is wrong. The souls never dissolve in Me. The union of the soul with Me takes place by My will only and in such case, I will dissolve in the soul. If the soul has to dissolve in Me, it should disappear because when the soul merges with Me I am not increased. I always remain constant. This means that the soul has to disappear, which is a terrible loss to soul. Therefore, the soul doesn’t dissolve in Me and I only dissolve in it. Dissolution of Me doesn’t affect Me since I am unimaginable whereas dissolution of imaginable soul effects it. When I dissolve in the soul, it becomes human incarnation to do My service. Therefore, salvation followed by union with God ends again in My service only and hence feel always that you are My servant keeping Hanumān as your goal.
Some think that salvation means not to get rebirth in this world. It is totally mistaken concept. People utter this (“O God! Give me salvation so that I will never have rebirth here”) foolishly without analysis. God takes rebirth in human form in this world again and again to uplift devotees. Are you greater than God to avoid rebirth here? You think that you will move in divine atmosphere with full happiness as we see the salvation shown in cinemas! They show that the soul after salvation is moving in glittering clouds with full enjoyment! Those clouds are only fumes glittering by hidden electric bulbs arranged in the shooting! Don’t be fooled by such silly scenes! After salvation, you will participate in My service here only. No rebirth means that you will not be entangled in these births bound by worldly bonds. You will be born here to assist Me in the divine program and these worldly bonds can’t bind you at any time in any way. Sometimes, I will use you to become human incarnation here. I assuredly tell all My true devotees that everyone will get the opportunity of human incarnation in My future programs.
Salvation becomes complete when the ‘I’ gets crossed. When ‘I’ disappears, ‘My’ also disappears just like the branch (My) of the tree (I) on destruction. Then, ‘I’ stands for God and the meaning of ‘My’ becomes entire humanity as his/her family to work for the uplift of every human being. I shall enter in to such soul. This is salvation while alive (Jivanmukti). Death is not salvation at all. Salvation never comes after death. When you get salvation while you are alive, such salvation continues with you after death also. Similarly, merge with God also comes while you are alive, which continues after your death also. You may have all bad qualities. I don’t mind all your bad qualities while I merge with you. I hate only one bad quality i.e., selfishness. If this bad quality alone is not with you, I will merge with you. Sacrifice for the sake of others is the only good quality I like very much. Selfishness with all good qualities is like a palace with very bad odour. Will you enter it? Sacrifice with all bad qualities is like a petty hut in which very pleasant scent is pervaded everywhere. Will you not enter it? I have the same policy as you have in the entry! Propagation of true spiritual knowledge is urgent need of this hour. Devotion is tremendous, service is marvellous and sacrifice is excellent. These three are increasing day by day. But, none of these three is based on true love to God in which aspiration for any fruit is absent! What is needed is the true understanding of the right direction in spiritual line. Hence, participate in propagation of this true spiritual knowledge needed by every soul in humanity for right direction.
Don’t give importance to place, time and mode of worship. All these are for beginners only to divert them at least in some place, on some day through some attractive mode of worship. Your practical sacrifice and practical service scented with true love (theoretical devotion) are the two chains binding My legs and hands to follow you like your slave. This is higher state than human incarnation, in which you remain as devotee only, but, you become My master and I become your slave. In human incarnation, you are God to become equal with Me. In the climax of nivṛtti-devotion, you are the greater master than Myself-servant!
The black crow and black cuckoo look alike (since the cuckoo lays its eggs in the nest of crow and cuckoo is grown up by crow by the illusion that it is also a crow), but, when this spring season comes, the harsh voice of crow and sweet voice of cuckoo come out differently. The crow and cuckoo are differentiated only in the spring season. Similarly, the soul will differentiate Datta and other worldly bonds at the time of death only. The essence of My test is only that whether you select bond with Me or with world. I know very well that you like only worldly bonds and not Me. You require Me only as an instrument for the welfare of yourself and of your worldly bonds only. These worldly bonds will leave you after this one birth. But, I will not leave you in any number of births provided you vote for My bond!
Leave the illusion that you will do something in your old age in spiritual line. I truly tell you that you can’t do anything in your old age since you become unable to do even the least normal activities in your old age. I may give human rebirth to an ignorant soul, but, I will never give human rebirth to a soul, who neglects spiritual line even on knowing its value. Avoid luxuries in the beginning itself since they grow more and more as you enjoy them and will never subside. If you put ghee more and more in the fire, it will flare-up more and more, but, doesn’t subside on drinking the ghee (na kaamah kaama bhogaanaam...). This one ..., this one..., so on, you are fired more and more in enjoyment of luxuries since enjoyment enhances desire and never satisfies you! I can give you any number of luxuries and there is no loss for Me. But, you are lost by those. A boy in fever is asking for sweets. The mother is not giving since the boy will go to more serious condition on eating sweets. She has plenty of sweets in the kitchen. She is not giving because the sweets exhaust but because of the serious condition of the health of the boy. Don’t run after worldly attractions, which run before you as you run trying to catch them. They are like your shadow running before you. If you turn to opposite side towards God, the shadow will run after you. Just practice this concept once and tell Me whether My word is true or not! Money, lust, fascination to issues desire for miraculous powers, aspiration for fame are the venomous serpents moving in this world-forest. Once you are bitten, there is no anti-dote for poison of these. Even if you pray Me, I don’t grant certain fruits, by which you must understand that My intension is only to save you. You try again and again for those only since your stony head does not grasp the truth!
Serve and sacrifice keeping the God as the goal. You also sprinkle your true love on God as pleasing scent by which God will sit on the climax of happiness, which is called as bliss. My bliss is only this and nothing else. Don’t use anaesthesia (false love) in the place of scent. The false love is the love based on aspiration for protection from hell and aspiration for more luxuries in heaven. Anaesthesia works only on relative awareness. It will not work on absolute-unimaginable awareness of unimaginable God. My devotee will move in the three highest upper worlds, which are Brahma Loka, Viṣṇu Loka and Śiva Loka.
Sacrifice for the Sake of God
11-04-1994, 05.00 am
Today is the starting day of New Year called as Bhava, which means thought of true love to be diverted to God only. The year gone by was called as Shri Mukha, which means ‘turned to wealth’. If you try to implement this in this New Year, you are blessed by God. The word ‘Mukha’ stands for face indicating both body (action) and word. Bhava indicates the mind. Bhava is the king whereas action and word are his servants only. As per mind (Bhava), your words and actions proceed. When your words and actions are towards wealth or world, it indicates that your mind is also towards world only. Don’t be hypocrite to say that even though you are in the world, your mind is always on God. Words and actions show your true mind.
A saint sacrifices everything and everybody for My sake. Rādhā sacrificed even her life on hearing My exit from this world. Rādhā is the top most saint. Rādhā means dhara (as per Varnavyatyaya), which means the continuous stream of love. Mīrā is the incarnation of Rādhā. Her heart is the real Sahya hill, which means firm like hill tolerating (Sahya) all obstructions. I live in such hearts, which are firm like hill and tolerate all My tests. Without understanding this truth, people are searching Me on a hill called ‘Sahya’. First, you stop the desire for new fruit and let this be the first step. We shall think about the second step after you climb the first step. Second step is sacrifice of fruit to Me already given to you!
Some people claim that they are in the worldly bonds without attachment like lotus in water (Padmapatramivaambhasaa- Gītā). Such state is possible to human incarnation only. Can a goat become tiger by covering itself with the leather of tiger? Hypocrisy should not be before omniscient God. It may be needed in the world, which is filled with many hypocrites. If you turn to spiritual side, the first requisite is that you should not tell lies before God. A human being appreciates another greater human being. But, shortly jealousy enters and criticism comes from his mouth immediately. Saint is always greater than the house-holder. This difference is based on the ability of sacrifice only. In the light of this truth, a soul may be saint in disguise as house-holder and vice-versa. Some become saints even before marriage imitating Śaṅkara or Lord Śiva, who came here on urgent work of conversion of atheism to theism. Some imitate Buddha and Rāmānuja by leaving young wife. Both these are also incarnations of Lord Viṣṇu. Some become saints in old age after coming to the end of family life. Which path is correct? Leaving the exceptional cases of human incarnations, the best path for all the human beings is only to become saint in the old age. The family life is real examination, in which the candidate has to attain pass marks. How can you avoid the examination and claim that you passed the examination? One shall enter fire and come out without burnings. If one comes out without burnings straight without fire, can you treat both to be equal? Both are equal in not having burnings. But, both differ since one passed through fire and the other did not pass through fire. An election between two candidates is the real election. A rowdy stands in election and no other competes with him for the sake of safety of life. Is such unanimous election a true election? You have to vote one between two or among several. If you vote one only and there is none else for vote, do you think that you participated in election? Saint is not by saffron cloth. I wear saffron cloth and I am married to Anagha. I have the sacred thread also. In Badari forest, confused sages asked Me about My status! “Are you saint by this saffron cloth? If so, how you have this holy thread and wife by your side? You are not celibate (Brahmachari) due to your wife. If you are house-holder, why is this saffron cloth? If you are Vanaprastha (going to forest in old age along with wife), you are young and also with saffron cloth!” I smiled and replied “I belong to the fifth status (ashrama), which is beyond all these four external identity cards.
This fifth status is like the fifth element, space, that pervades all the other four elements. This fifth stage is based on internal truth and sincerity”. The internal sacrifice is indicated by the external sacrifice, which is a proof. But, this external sacrifice is useless if it is not internal. The sacrifice of world has no meaning, if it is not sacrificed due to attachment with Me. Otherwise, even if you have sacrificed all the worldly bonds, you are just a stone, which has no single worldly bond. My tests also detect your internal detachment due to your attachment to Me, requiring external proof, which is detachment from worldly activities for the sake of God as seen in the case of Shri Ramakrishna Parama Hamsa and Mīrā remaining unburnt in the worldly fire.
Songs of Lord Datta
[Shri Swami sang the following two songs spontaneously composed by Him]
What can I Do?
What can I do? O soul! What can I do? (Chorus)
You fall on My feet for salvation,
When I cut your bonds, you weep,
You aspire for both world and God,
Can both fire and water stay together? (What can...)
You are asking for water from Me,
You say “why water is not burning?”
You mistake the water as the fire,
Speak words knowing their meanings! (What can...)
If I do miracle, you say it as magic,
Or probably the illusion of your eye!
If no miracle, you will not listen Me
Saying that what all I preach is gossip! (What can...)
If I come in human form, you repel Me,
My energetic form shown is eye-illusion,
If I appear in the divine dress, you say that
I am the best actor to shine in roles of drama! (What can...)
Coming from where? Going where?
O Soul! Coming from where? Going to where? (Chorus)
Why do you jump in this middle short time?
Your worldly bonds are blasted in your death,
Birth is hell, death is hell and life is also hell,
Three become heaven if you catch Me, Datta. (O Soul!)
When I think about you, I get shocked!
In your own case, you sleep like a log!
Don’t fear, My dear soul! Catch Me here
To hear Me always, but, be always sincere. (O Soul!)
Assume that your death is going to take place in five minutes! If you are in this mood forever, you are always attentive about God (as said in the Mahabharata). This is not mere assumption. Are you sure that this can’t take place? In any moment death can attack anybody at any place! If you are ready with the grace of Datta, you need not worry at all. A passenger having a ticket in his pocket need not fear for the checking squad, which may appear at any time. You need not fear for the cruel money-lender, if you are ready with cash to be paid as per the pronote. You need not fear for the attack of money-lender at any time.
Ungrateful Human Animal
21-06-1994, 04.00 am
Human being is ungrateful like an animal and hence is called as Pashu (animal). Both are enjoying this world created by God without any gratitude towards Him. Hence, such an atheist will be born as animal only forever. When both have same nature, what is the use of human rebirth for such soul? How much happiness you are receiving from the service of five elements created by God?
You are always trapped by the pleasant experience in enjoying the five elements. Why are you not thinking even for one minute about the creator of these elements in your service? Even before you are created, God created all these five elements for your service to give pleasure to you!
When you use soap, you become more clean in your bath. Try to use the Datta-soap while you take bath in this world-ocean. You are becoming more and more dirty by this worldly mud. A pig never bothers about bath or soap. It always is in pleasant state while immersing itself in the mud pond. You are going to holy places and dipping in holy rivers and lakes to become pure. If you are with desires for worldly fruits, all the holy places are mud ponds only! Vemana Yogi told in his poems that a pig will not become elephant by going to holy Kashi city. I am called Datta or ‘given to the world’ as a soap to remove your worldly dirt. My words are certainly harsh to you like painful injection for the patient. The words of false preachers are like sweets to bring serious illness for the same patient.