Friday, May 31, 2013

DON'T QUIT

                                Don't   Quit

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low,
and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have’to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit- Rest,
if you must,
but don’t quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
— You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
— The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
— It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

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ATMAN


                                              ATMAN

The Atman (Self) is most ancient, hard to perceive and abides secretly in the innermost cave of the heart or intellect. This Atman or supreme soul fills all with his radiance. This Atman is incorporeal, pure, invulnerable. He is untouched by evil. The Atman is the supreme seer and thinker, immanent and transcendental. This
Atman is the immortal spirit, the common, unifying entity present in all. You live, because the supreme Atman is. You understand, because the Atman is intelligence. You enjoy, because the Atman is bliss.

Atman is the reality itself - it is of the nature of pure consciousness. It is undifferentiated, pure awareness and pure experience. Atman is secondless; it alone is; all else which appears to be is not. Atman is the one which appears divided; the changeless as full of change; the timeless as temporal; the infinite as extended and fragmented in space.

Atman is one. It is the root, the reality itself. Atman is pure consciousness, calm and infinite like the waveless ocean. That Atman which is impersonal, changeless, like unto space, by nature purity itself - verily, verily, that am I. The one who is the eternal, the Atman, exists. He is all in all. This Atman is so mysterious that it cannot easily be grasped. This Atman can easily be grasped when the science of the Self (brahmavidya) is taught by a guru who has attained Self-realisation.

This Atman is subtler than the subtlest and so is not attained by arguments. Like butter hidden in milk, this mysterious Atman is hidden in every being. Realise this Atman by the churning of meditation. The Atman is unborn, ageless, immortal, deathless and fearless. He who knows this Atman becomes Brahman, the fearless.

Atman is Brahman - absolute, infinite, the supreme being. It is existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute. It is self0 delight and self-knowledge. It is bodiless, formless and without gunas, all-pervading, all-full, imperishable. It has neither beginning nor end. It exists in past, present and future. It is self- existent, the source for body, mind, senses, prana, the vedas and the universe itself. No one can deny it; it is the inner Self of all beings.

ARJUNA's COMPLEX

                         Arjuna's Complex

Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Radiant Immortal Atman! Beloved sadhaks and seekers! You have become aware of the presence of a thing called spiritual life and have been urged by wishes and desires to lead a life other than the merely secular life of pursuit of earthly things, of normal sense pleasures and worldly activities. You have been endowed with an aspiration to lead a higher life, a life which somehow you have been made to think is a better or more preferable or a superior one to the one which you had been living. Therefore, for reasons best known to each one of you, best known to yourself and to none other, you chose to adopt a way of life different from that lived previously in this incarnation.

Having thus chosen a certain way of life, it behoves each one of you to be sincere in leading that life, to be honest with yourself and to be earnest in the pursuit of this new life—wished for by you, chosen by you, and adopted by you. There should be loyalty and devotion to your choice, made after much deliberation and through coming to a certain inner decision. It behoves you to pay the requisite attention to it, to be one-pointed in the pursuit of it, and be prepared to overcome obstacles on the path, to face difficulties and keep on, keep on, bearing adverse circumstances and enduring certain trials and tribulations inevitable in any way of life, whatever it may be.

When one enters into an arena of one’s own choice, one has to face problems, one has to face difficulties. No one is free from them, either in the business or the professional field or in the domestic field. Each one has problems of their own. For one it may be a problem of strikes, for another it’s a partner who cheats him, still another faces bankruptcy. A professional man may make a mistake that costs lives, and a family man may be enduring an impossible household situation.

In this way, no field of activity is free from its own peculiar types of difficulties. Difficulties are the order of the day in human life. And thus when one has made up one’s mind, made a choice and entered into a way of life, one should also be prepared to endure, to face difficulties and problems, deal with them and overcome them, and sometimes be defeated by them, but yet not accept overall defeat—go on, push on.

To fight, to declare war on the Kauravas was the Pandavas’ own choice. Krishna did not compel them. They could have gone back to the forest. But, having decided and willingly entered into the fray, it was expected that Arjuna would be prepared to face everything that comes, that is part and parcel of the choice, that is in-built, implied and already there in the choice.

“I did not know it would be so. I did not know that my uncle would be looking at me, or my cousin-brother and nephew would be standing against me in the opposite camp.” Nothing is to be unexpected. Everything is to be expected, because the future is always unknown. So when one ventures on a course of action, it is no wisdom to take anything for granted. It is irrational. It shows a puerile attitude. Because when you make a choice you have to take what comes. It is puerile to say, “I did not expect it would be this way.”

Arjuna demonstrated this childishness. That is why, in spite of Arjuna’s terrible clinical, physical and psychological condition, Lord Krishna talked to him with a smile on His face. He said, “This is irrational, this is puerile.” For when one has entered into a field of battle, there is nothing unexpected. There is no such thing as suddenly being taken by surprise. Everything is part of the bargain. And so Krishna did not sympathise with Arjuna’s mind.

And He said: “Difficulties and tribulations are part of this life, this struggle. Tan titikshasva bharata—O Arjuna, endure, endure, be strong within, weakness will not pay. In this path, in this field where you have entered, either to kill or to be killed, to do or die, there can be no attitude other than firmness, stout-heartedness, strength and courage.” All these things Lord Krishna says in so many words, thus giving us a hint as to what should be the attitude of a Yogi, a seeker, a sadhak, who of his own free choice has adopted a certain way of life. There is a saying: “If you want the rose you have to put up with the thorns,” and in Hindi: “If you decide that you want the honey, you must be prepared for the bee-sting.”

And thus the situation of the Gita fairly and squarely makes us take a look at ourselves. Because, here is a young man, entered into a course of action of his own choice, determined for it, having weighed the pros and cons and now appearing very, very unwilling and trying to back out. Not once in our lifetime, but several times during the course of our life we create for ourselves the Gita complex. If any one of these things is lacking—honesty of purpose, earnestness, full attention to the chosen path—then difficulties arise. We find ourselves in the Arjuna situation, the Arjuna fix. And the Gita comes to us with a great light.

Therefore, never forget what a treasure you have. The Gita is full of psychological guidance, psychiatric guidance. It is full of inspiration also, full of sympathy and understanding of your position, and it is full of great assurances. It infuses strength, clears the way, throws light upon the path. Because the human situation was not unknown to the Creator. “I know, I know this is the situation with human life, and here, therefore, I put everything that is necessary for your guidance.” Therefore, it is a manual of life given by the Universal Soul to the individual soul. So Adi Sankaracharya said: “Every day, without fail, read a little bit of the Gita, even half a verse.”

But there is a quality in the jivatma, which is the essence of the jivatma, and that is an unhealthy focusing of all one’s consciousness upon one’s own individual personality, “I-ness.” We have sold out to the “I”. There is a total inclination only to support the “I”, only to follow the “I”, only to give importance to the “I”, only to do what it is urging us to do. Therein is also a greater vexation: a deep fundamental unwillingness to let go of the “I”. And Vedanta says that this is the essence of the jivatma.

In addition, just as you cannot see your own eyes, you cannot see your own jivatva. And it is the jivatva that is the problem. You cannot see it and yet it dominates; you are completely under its subjugation. That is the problem, that is samsara. It is very difficult to open your eyes and know that there is a greater wisdom, a greater intelligence, a greater understanding, in following which alone you can come out of darkness and in surrendering to which alone you can liberate yourself from yourself.

Arjuna was not able to liberate himself from himself. He was caught in his own view of things, in his own sentiments, in his own emotions, in his own reactions. He was caught and he was in a pitiable condition. And it required all patience and effort on the part of Jagad-Guru Sri Krishna to free Arjuna from himself and to enable him to see himself in the right perspective and to be fully and willingly prepared to follow the lead of Sri Krishna. Then the problem gradually began to resolve itself. Arjuna found that he was able to free himself. From whom? From himself. That is the inner tattva (truth), outcome, fruit of the Gita—not I, not I, but Thou.

But Arjuna did not yield, did not give up his self-opinion easily. Difficult was the task. He made Bhagavan go through sixteen chapters of teachings before he finally saw the wisdom. He especially got this clarity after the tenth and eleventh chapters. So deeply one must ponder these two chapters. For all of us have within us the situation of Arjuna in some way or other. It is the crucial problem of the jivatva—its unwillingness to renounce itself for a higher light, higher wisdom.

Arjuna was not initially aware of this situation, this aspect of his problem. He was trying to prove Lord Krishna wrong and to prove himself to be very, very rational, logical and wise. He accused Lord Krishna of misleading him, taking him on a terrible path, one that was wrong and would lead to hell. Afterwards he had to apologise and say: “I did not know to Whom I was talking, please forgive me.”

Jesus, at the last moment, at the peak of His career, as His life reached the grand finale of fulfilling His purpose on earth, faced one terrible night in the garden when He hesitated, there was a conflict: “Should I allow myself to be sacrificed?” How difficult it is to say “Yes.” And so He was tormented, He was tortured, He was in agony. Every pore of His skin perspired, but not with perspiration, with blood. He went through an agony which is difficult to even imagine, because it was the struggle of the “I”. That “I” principle felt great reluctance to lose itself, and Jesus says: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” He appeals to the Universal Soul. It is only when He says: “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done,” that the agony ends and a certain peace once again comes, along with the inner strength to face anything and everything.

Sitting under the Bo-tree, after taking a terrible resolution, there was a last assailment upon Buddha. Something similar to the agony in the garden took place which shook Buddha to His foundations. And it was only when He saw through it, made a great decision and stood firm that enlightenment came.

So hints are given as to how reluctant the jivatma can be to yield to the Universal. If it can happen to souls of such calibre, super souls, what about you and I? We must have the humility and wisdom to recognise where we are, what the problem is, and where the solution lies.

Thus we pay homage to Bhagavan Sri Krishna Who has given to humanity for all times a deep understanding of the individual soul’s situation and problem. He has also given a sympathetic teaching on how to deliver ourselves from ourselves and stand filled with strength to carry out the will of the Divine. So the Gita is something personal to you. It has an immediate relevance, is an immediate help to all individual seekers and souls. Let us all ponder, let us all recognise the Gita for what it is, for it is available to you as you are today. Let us be wise and benefit from it, benefit from Arjuna. Let us also benefit from Lord Krishna.

May the benedictions of Holy Master grant us all that is required to do whatever is needful to come out of ourselves, be triumphant and rejoice in the proximity of the Lord, rejoice in His great goodwill for us. “Having pondered well these teachings of Mine, now you decide, O Arjuna”—thus the Lord says. Arjuna took the right

decision and rejoiced. May that be so with each one of us. God bless you!

source : http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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DHARMA KSHETRA IS KARMA KSHETRA

            Dharma Kshetra is Karma Kshetra



Swami Chidananda Saraswati




Worshipful adorations to the all-pervading presence of the ever-present Reality we call Brahman, God, Bhagavan, Allah, Ahura Mazdah, Supreme Tao, the Kingdom of Heaven. Worshipful adorations to that all-pervading Reality, the ever-present Universal Being in Whom we live, move and have our being. May the grace of the Almighty enable you to understand life and make it the means of liberating yourself forever from bondage, fear, sorrow and the darkness of folly.

Radiant Immortal Souls! Beloved sadhaks and seekers upon the path of divine life! Freedom is your birthright. Bliss and blessedness are your birthright. Fearlessness is the way. Dharma kshetra is karma kshetra.

We are not only what we think; ultimately our life is what we manage to put into practice, bring into action. A thinker once said: “Let not virtue wither away for want of its exercise.” We may have all the virtue in our heart, but if we do not actively express it in action, upon the outer field of our life, then we fail to reap the benefit of it.

There is a concept in the Upanishads: When a thought arises that you know is contrary to the Law do not act, postpone it, brush it away. Direct your mind elsewhere. Engage yourself in doing something else. When a thought arises which is in consonance with dharma, in accordance with dharma, do not wait, do it immediately. Do not allow any interval to lapse, to intervene between your good intention and its corollary, the corresponding good action. Do it immediately.

Great wisdom is behind this direction, wisdom deriving from experience. So in this trite saying, dharma kshetra is karma kshetra, a world of meaning comes into being. Anything contrary to dharma should not be translated into action. It should not take the form of karma because it will rebound upon you in the form of sorrow. Whereas when any dharmic impulse or thought arises, immediately it should be translated into karma. Dharma kshetra is karma kshetra.

Our actions, mental and verbal, decide our destiny or future. Great scope has been given by the Supreme Intelligence, Whom we call God, for the exercise of wisdom and of restraint. You should exercise both wisdom as well as restraint according to the direction in which you are propelled and impelled, from within and without. A constant wakefulness, a wise alertness and a promptness are ingredients of a devotee of the Lord, a sadhak upon the path, a Yogi engaged in yoga abhyasa, of one who aspires for perfection in life. Constantly think before you take a step upon the path. Reflect and act. This is the wisdom teaching.

The Kathopanishad brings it out very beautifully, very early in the renowned conversation between the Lord of Dharma and the brilliant young seeker, Nachiketas. Sreyas and preyas (the good and the pleasant) are the two paths that present themselves before man, before the individual soul at all times. One leads to lasting renown, to your highest good; the other leads to that which appears to be pleasant and attractive, but is only a temporary titillation of the nerves. The wise choose the former and turn away resolutely from the latter. That is the thesis, the declaration of the Kathopanishad.

Base your life upon the wisdom and direction of the Kathopanishad. Go forward in life with the ideal of the Kathopanishad. Above all, be absolutely fearless. Be absolutely fearless. Know fully that God has given you all the potential to overcome everything. That is His bestowal to you. “I am the Self within all, O Arjuna, seated in the centre of their being. I am their all in all.” This is His bestowal, that of Him which dwells within you as your own innermost Self. In that lies all potential for overcoming, all potential for the highest wisdom in daily life, the key to blessedness, the strength to overcome, the will to choose one’s direction.

Be absolutely fearless knowing that you have infinite strength within. The world cannot overcome you if you have courage. Your senses cannot overcome you if you know that you are strong. Nothing in this universe outside has the power to attract, ensnare and enslave you, if you are fearless in the knowledge of your own divine strength. You abide ever in that vast reservoir, in that inexhaustible source of divine wisdom and power. Fearlessness is the key to blessedness. Everything follows automatically if you are fearless and therefore strong.

“Tell me not in mournful numbers that life is but an empty dream. Dust thou art and to dust returnest was not spoken of the soul.” It means that “to dust returnest” was not spoken of you, because you are the Immortal Soul, the invincible Spirit Divine. For you everything is possible, achievable, practicable. That is the truth. That is the centre of the philosophy that has been inherited by the fortunate human race, thanks to our ancient sages and seers, thanks to the Upanishadic experience. Therefore the call: uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata (Arise, awake, reaching the wise become enlightened).

The great call of the Upanishads to all mankind is strength and fearlessness, the two factors that make for certain success, unfailing achievement. Nayamatma balahinena labhyah (This Atman cannot be attained by one who is without strength). And the central command of the Gita is: tasmat uttistha kaunteya yuddhaya kritanischayah (Therefore, stand up, O Arjuna, resolved to fight). Arise fully resolved, determined to engage in the necessary and right action, to initiate the action whose ultimate fruit and result will be your own highest blessedness, to attain which you have come into this arena of evolution which you call the planet earth. It is also called mrityu bhumi. It means this plane of death, which has a very beautiful, inner, esoteric significance also. It is this beautiful, wonderful plane where you can die to the little self and inherit everlasting life. Here alone it is possible, not even in heavens. Because here the inner spiritual process of dying to the false self and emerging into eternal divine life can be worked out if you are wise, fearless, strong and resolute.

That is the sadhana, that is the message, that is the teaching. That is the order, that is the command, that is the directive. They have left us in no doubt. Liberation is possible now and here. This is the ultimate conclusion, proven conclusion, based on direct personal experience. Therefore a sadhak ultimately works out his liberation, not in some post-mortem plane of existence, but here, now, in this plane of human life which is both the dharma kshetra as well as the karma kshetra.

Engage in the desired action and reap a divine destiny. Engage in the desired action and whatever you aspire for will be yours, is yours. This is the truth.

source : http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED

                      You Have Been Called
SWAMI CHIDANANDA SARASWATI
Glorious Immortal Atman! Beloved and blessed children of the Divine! Blessed and fortunate sadhaks! The Universal Being has called you to a life higher and nobler and more sublime than a life of mere self-seeking, pleasure seeking, a life of mere searching after name and fame, a life of hankering after mere objective sensual pleasures, which are ultimately the sources of pain and sorrow, restlessness and despair. The Supreme has brought about an inner awakening, opened your eyes, and made you realise the fleeting and temporary nature of worldly objects, the evanescence, the transitory and perishable nature of all things created. Knowing their hollowness you have understood the great declaration of Vedanta: “Whatsoever is perceived is verily perishable, therefore seek the Eternal. He who seeks the Eternal Being, bright as the dazzling sun, beyond all darkness, the great Infinite One, such a being attains immortality.”

The great Reality, the Being beyond all darkness, has come into your life. You have felt a vocation, a calling, and you have heeded that call and entered into the life sublime. Constantly be aware of this dimension of your life, this true inner situation of your life. You are one who has been called. You are one who has been fortunate enough to answer that call. In you the Voice that has called has not been drowned by the clamour of the senses, the harsh and strident demands of your lower nature and sense appetites. In spite of the inner clamour you have listened to the Voice. You have come into the life sublime where you seek something that is not merely gross. You seek something beyond, something subtle, noble and divine, and that is verily the central truth and fact of your life.

And therefore ceaselessly your life should be a determined quest of that which is the supreme, transcendental Reality, that which is the eternal and great, beyond all things. “I seek That which is beyond all things”—this inner aspiration is to be ever present in you urging you onward and ever onward towards that glorious and grand consummation. Each day, each dawn, each effort put forth, each step advanced, will be a gain. That is the greatness of your life, and that is the true treasure that you have to put by: a steady, unceasing, unfailing, unwavering, unhesitating, determined movement towards the Divine.

Keep on this movement. You all have the same power, the strength, the force to do this. The eternal call keeps ever recurring in a thousand different ways from all sources, all around you. From all the scriptures, the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, Upanishads, and the saints of this inspiring land comes the reiterated call of the Divine: “Arise, awake and attain illumination, enlightenment.” Therefore be awake, keep your eyes open, keep your ears open, recognise the signs, hear the voice and call. In this lies your supreme blessedness.

In this lies the way of wisdom, not to think always of the distant future, the great Goal. It is good sometimes to contemplate the great Goal and become inspired, but not to be obsessed with that ultimate experience and then lose the immediate present. For the ultimate experience depends upon the here, the now, the immediate present which constitutes life. How are you? What is the state of your heart and mind? How are you living at this moment? It is this that decides what you will really become, what you will be, what you will attain.

The immediate present is the key to the ultimate attainment. Therefore all attention has to be paid to the immediate present which is the now aspect of your life. Not what was, or what you aspire to be in the future, despite the fact that they both have their place, but the thing of essence, the most vital aspect of your life is the here-and-now present, today, this hour and this minute. That is life, and the striving has to be done in that life which is immediately present. This has to be properly grasped. It is within your power to bring all your faculties, all your attention, all your concentration, all your strength and all your energies to the immediate present, the here-and-now present. It is not given to you to project yourself into the future. You cannot live in the future; you have to live in the now.

It is important for every seeker, every aspirant, every Yogi to realise that sadhana is now. This minute is the moment of sadhana. This hour is the moment of sadhana. Today is life to be lived. Today is Yoga to be practised. You may draw lessons from the past, but you have to live in the present. Thus realise the vital importance of making the present a time of sadhana, making the present a time of striving, making the present a time of abhyasa (practice), Yoga. And where there is sincerity, where there is earnestness, where there is determination, there God is present, there God’s help is available. There you will find His blessings in abundance—kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati (Arjuna know for certain that my devotee never perishes). Devoted to this ideal, fearlessly move forward on the great path of Light. Thus indeed you will crown yourself with glory.

source : http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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THE KEY TO HAPPINESS

                      The Key to Happiness

Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Almighty Lord, prompt these sadhaks, prompt these devotees of Yours to ever walk the path that leads to their own highest blessedness. Prompt them to live their life in such a way that it creates for them a spiritual karma that liberates them forever from all karma. That is my humble prayer at this moment.

Radiant Divinities! We receive from others what we make them do. It is not people who do things to other people, rather it is people who make other people do things to them, in a way which they have worked for, whether known to themselves or not. If you have keen introspection, analysis, then after a situation has occurred you find, “Yes, indeed, it is I who worked for it.”

Sometimes we invite temptations, sometimes we invite aggravated situations by working for them, many a time half knowingly. We play with life in such a way that things do not merely happen to us, but we make them happen to us. Most of the time this is so. Karmic occurrences and experience are there no doubt; we do not deny it. But over and above, in addition, it is we who many a time bring about situations through our folly or through our wantonness.

It is said: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” And that is why many a time mystics have prayed to God: “O Lord, save me from myself.” This is a point seekers should be aware of. We, by our behaviour, our thoughts, our intentional acts, attract to ourselves situations. People act towards us in certain ways, not because they wanted to do it, but because we invited them to do it.

We then complain to God: “Why, how could this happen to me?” Why not? You have asked for it; you have worked for it. Therefore, when they speak of trying to discriminate between what is favourable and helpful to our spiritual life and what is not helpful, it is not only in regard to outer things and people, outer factors and environment, but also we have to discriminate within as well, find the very subtle, little known, hidden motivations for our actions.

If, day after day, a young girl in a house, instead of busying herself with helping her mother and trying to be a useful member of her family, continuously comes out on the balcony and attracts the attention of a neighbouring youth who then starts whistling at her, whose fault is it? Is it the fault of the person on the street, or is it the fault of the person in the house? She will say: “Father, that young person watches me and whistles to attract my attention.” Father will lodge a complaint with the police. They will go and interrogate the young man. And they will never know that the whole situation was brought about not by anyone else, but by the so-called aggrieved person who caused it by her own actions.

In this way, from inside, we many a time harbour thoughts and motives that attract towards us certain situations, and then we blame God, take a report to God: “How can this situation come to me? I am doing japa, I am worshipping daily, I am reading the scriptures, meditating.” Yes, you are doing all these things, but the fact is, that inside, you are also doing something else that no one knows. But you should not think that God does not know. Other human beings may not know, but there is Someone within you and He is nothing but Consciousness, knowing, knowing, knowing everything from all the ten directions. Even if something misses you, it does not miss Him. He is awareness—prajnana. He is jnanasvarupa (full of knowledge). Nothing misses Him.

So when this is the situation, how can you complain: “How can this happen to me?” How can anything else happen to you when inwardly, by stages, you have worked for it, you have created it outside from inside? Therefore, it is necessary that seekers and sadhaks be wise, not go into self-deception, not be asleep inside. Gurudev said: “Even inside, you must decide what is favourable to me, what is unfavourable, what are the deep, hidden motivations of my actions. Know yourself in this level, in this sense also and make the requisite adjustment, requisite change within.”

A deep thinker said, “Life is a mirror.” You see in it what you show into it. If you stand before a mirror and make a pleasant face, a pleasant face looks back at you. If you make an unpleasant face, an unpleasant face looks back at you. What comes to you from inside the mirror is created by you standing outside. Because happiness and misery, favourable environment and unfavourable environment, to a large extent depend upon our state of mind, how we look at it. Happiness is not contained in things, situations or the environment outside. Happiness or unhappiness is in how we look at it through our mind. It is, therefore, the situation within. It is the state of our mind that makes our happiness or unhappiness.

If that inner state is adjusted and corrected, then nothing has the power to give us any experience except that which we give to it. We give it the power to affect us in either this way or that way by the state of our mind. If our state of mind is right, then even a situation which may put an unwise person into sorrow or unhappiness will not have the power to put us into sorrow or unhappiness. Because our mind approaches the situation in a different state.

It is told that a traveller into a rural area asked a shepherd: “How do you think the weather will be today?” “Oh, it will be weather that I like.” “How do you know it will be weather that you like, how can you say that?” The shepherd answered: “It is like this, sir, knowing that over such things as the weather I have no control, knowing I cannot change it, long ago I decided that whatever weather comes I will like it. And therefore, now I am at peace. I am always sure that I will get weather that is to my liking 365 days of the year. Because I cannot change it, I have started liking whatever I get. Instead of always trying to get only that thing that I like, I decided that it is wiser to like whatever thing I get. Therefore, I always like the weather I get.” So it was not the weather that mattered, it was his inner state of looking at it, relating himself to it, perceiving it, that mattered. So, he had the key to happiness.

The key is inside. It is a state of mind that we diligently create within us that ultimately has the effect of creating happiness or misery for us. Therefore, mind alone is the cause of bondage and liberation. Mind is the cause of pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. Whatever it is, mana eva karanam manushyanam—for human beings, mind itself is the main cause. And in the higher metaphysical sense, Vedanta says: “manahkalpitam jagat—this world is created by your mind.”

That is too high for us, we need not bother about it. Let us not look upon it now from this great truth. Let us look upon it from a psychological angle, an immediate angle, that which is of relevance to us here, now, today. Today let us apply this truth, find out this truth: “I make my day; I make my happiness and misery; I make my darkness and light; I from within create it.” A picture does not paint itself. It is the artist with his brush who paints it. If he dips it in green, he cannot expect blue to appear on the canvas; if he dips it in red, he cannot expect yellow. So what he uses, that appears for him. Apply this truth and then see what happens. God bless you!

Source : http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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GOD's GRACE AND HUMAN EFFORT

                God's grace and Human Effort


Swami Chidananda Saraswati
Radiant Immortal Atman! Beloved sadhaks and seekers! You have had the good fortune and blessedness of entering into that path which gradually leads beyond sorrow, liberates from bondage, grants infinite joy, eternal bliss and bestows upon you divine perfection—the experience, the permanent experience, perennial and inexhaustible experience of wisdom-consciousness, a state of divine consciousness characterised by eternal existence, transcendental wisdom and bliss, sat-chit-ananda.

You have entered into that path that puts an end forever to darkness and groping, uncertainty and vagueness. Flying as an arrow swiftly towards its target, you must make up your mind that through earnestness, sincerity and sustained exertion you will go straight to the supreme Goal. That is your duty.

Divine grace must be matched, must be responded to, must be augmented by human endeavour and effort. God’s grace and human effort bring about divine experience. A matchstick alone cannot produce fire; a matchbox alone cannot produce fire. Fire results when they work together; it is a bilateral process. One cannot sit idle thinking that Divine grace will do everything. Nor should one commit the blunder of saying: “By human effort alone I can achieve everything.”

Divine grace and human effort are supplementary and complementary to each other. They are twin factors that produce a certain ultimate experience. It is not contradicting Vedanta to say that they produce an experience. We know that the ultimate experience is never produced; it is always there. When a devotee realises God, he does not produce God, he does not make God. God is always there, God is always here, God is always everywhere, God is always within you. But yet what you are experiencing is something which is the direct contradiction, the denial of God. God is bliss, man goes about weeping. God is peace, man is restless.

So you prove for yourself that there is the possibility of the absence of the experience of God, even in the presence of God—even as you live, move and have your being in God. Therefore, whether the non-experience of the ever-present Reality, ever-present peace and joy, is factual or just imagination does not matter as long as you cannot get at it, as long as you are not experiencing it in this state of consciousness. Due to some reason or other the ever-present Reality is not realised. So there is something coming in the way. It is precisely to get rid of that which is coming in the way that self-effort is needed.

In a great feast and festival, a thousand people are enjoying themselves—music is going on, dance is going on, people are talking to each other, some are eating and drinking. One has fallen deep asleep. So far as that person is concerned, all these things are not going on. He may be dreaming that he is alone in a jungle. For him the jungle alone exists, not this festive place. That does not mean that the outer scene does not exist. It very much exists; it is existing all around him. But something is coming in the way—his sleep, his slumber. Someone has to shake him, wake him up. Therefore, the effort that is necessary is not to produce the festivity, but to get rid of something in this individual which is depriving him of this ever-present experience.

Sometimes the government comes to help some village. They offer fifty thousand rupees for some project, but the village has to match the fifty thousand rupees from its side. It is called a matching grant. In this way, one must realise: “I should not sit idle, I should not expect everything to be done by someone else.” Therefore, purushartha (self effort) has been given a very great place in the context of India’s spiritual life. Early in his life, Gurudev sang a song: “Do real sadhana my dear children, do real sadhana”—purushartha.

Purushartha, sadhana and abhyasa are all one. They are the great need. In the Gita, Lord Krishna plainly states that that which is seemingly impossible is possible, and that state can be attained, by sustained abhyasa. Patanjali Maharshi in his Yoga Sutras also stresses the need for sustained abhyasa. If you have a dripping faucet, the drip, drip, drip will gradually wear a hole in the slab of stone underneath, even if it is granite. And in the low wall around a well, after many years, you can see a groove in the rock where the rope has been pulled to draw water. This is the power of a persistent process.

A poet has said that the great enemy of man is indifference, lethargy, laziness dwelling within his own body. And it is purushartha, regular, persistent effort, practice, that is the ultimate power, force, that overcomes this great enemy. Sadhana must become second nature. It should also be progressive. Just as the waxing moon starts as a small sliver and bit by bit becomes a full orb, so should be your sadhana, your abhyasa, your purushartha, until your life is filled with effulgence and you become “a light unto yourself and a lamp unto the feet of others.”

Therefore, purushartha, self-effort, should be understood as a complement and a supplement to God’s grace. And purushartha does not mean egoism; it is not egoistical effort—this has long been understood. We pray and thank God each day for all the grace, for all the opportunities and facilities, for all the benedictions and blessings He has showered upon us. Now we say: “Grant me the ability to humbly realise its value, to humbly utilise all these factors, this grace that You have showered, for my effort, for my purushartha.”

Purushartha is undertaken fully realising the magnitude of God’s compassionate grace, the magnitude of God’s love and blessedness and with a feeling of constant gratefulness. Thus, in a state of extreme humility one resolutely should undertake purushartha. Then purushartha will not give a false sense of kartritva abhimana (pride of doership). You will strive manfully, diligently, resolutely, determinedly, but with humility, with simplicity of heart, recognising that it is a gift of God. May God bless you all!

source : http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING

         When You Wake up In The Morning


Swami Chidananda Saraswati

Radiant Immortal Atman! Beloved devotees of the Lord! You are aspiring souls who aspire after the good life—a life that justifies our existence as rational beings, a life that is worthy of our existence as beings who are aware and who are endowed with the power to think and reason, to observe, understand and infer, to whom there is no limit to knowledge, and as beings who know how to profit by our existence.

Infinite possibilities lie within the reach of the human individual, purely because the human individual is an amsa or a part of the Cosmic Being Whom we call God. You are a part of that Being Whom all religions, all philosophies, all illumined and enlightened realised souls have known, have experienced to be, and have declared as being omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Your very nature, your true identity, your svarupa, is identical with, none other than, essentially one with, the Supreme Being Who is also described as sarva ananta guna sampanna (having all virtues to an infinite degree).

How many of you make this truth the basis of your life? How many of you remember this truth, ponder this truth, first thing every morning when you wake up? How many of you constantly affirm this truth, assert the truth that you are inseparably linked up with the Divine, inseparably related to the Divine, inseparably a part of the Divine? Why do you not do it? Why do you not wake up and immediately become filled with the awareness “I am part of the Universal Spirit, anantakoti brahmanda nayaka, paratpara tattva (the Lord of innumerable crores of universes, the Supreme Truth, the Supreme Principle)”? Why do you think immediately of something mundane, something prosaic, something outside of you, something gross, material, earthly, bound in time and space? Why?

Have you ever wondered why “when I have the ability and the potential to enquire, seek and find, and when I have been given the opportunity, when the doors have been thrown wide open for my ascent into a state of absolute Divine-consciousness, why it is that I am still grovelling in this level in which I was born?” If you do not ask yourself this question and reflect upon it, who will do it for you?

Because all the scriptures, all the great realised souls, all the masters of wisdom again and again seek to declare to you: “You have neither birth nor death, neither bondage nor liberation; you have no name nor form; you are the Supreme Being, you are one with the Divine. Why are you unnecessarily weeping and wailing?” Jnanis say it, devotees say it, Sant Tulsidas says it, Kabirdas says it. Even the great acharya Ramanuja says that we are all like sparks that have come from a great blaze. A spark can also burn; it is fiery. Just as fire burns, you have got a potential; a spark has got a potential to create a blaze. When you have this ability, why is it you only think of small, ordinary, humdrum, mundane things which the Upanishad declares are alpa (little), in which there is no sukha (happiness) and which are asat (which have no enduring, permanent existence)?

The scriptures answer this question. It is because of the achintyasakti (inscrutable power) of parabrahman. It is because of maya. When Lord Narasimha came to Prahlada, Prahlada trembled and said: “O Lord, I am not afraid of You. The whole world is trembling before You because of Your terrific man-lion form—Narasimha avatara. But I am not afraid of You, I am afraid of Your maya. I am afraid of Your power of delusion, maya.” If Prahlada, who constantly thought about God, constantly uttered His Divine Name, constantly longed for Him and Him alone, if he says, “I am afraid of Your maya,” if he feared maya, how much must you be cautious, how much must you fear it.

Therefore, always endeavour to somehow or other constantly retain your direction towards God, your inner awareness of your divinity, of being a part of Him, in order that maya may not delude you completely. That is the one thing needful if you do not want to allow this delusion, this maya, to fill your heart, pervade your mind and take possession of your consciousness.

The Lord Himself says: “This divine maya of Mine is difficult to overcome.” But, it is not that He only brought maya into being and did not show the way out. It is not so. Mameva ye prapadyante mayametam taranti te (Those who take refuge in Me alone, they cross over this maya). The supreme Cosmic Being has very clearly indicated how She can be crossed and who can cross Her.

The conclusive and ultimate assurance, ultimate declaration from the Gita is: “ma suchah—do not grieve. You have nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. I will see that maya cannot touch you. Do not grieve.” The Gita starts with grief, terrible grief and agony—the tormented soul of Arjuna. But the supreme culminating point of the Gita is: “ma suchah—O Arjuna, do not grieve.” And grief-stricken Arjuna was no more grief-stricken.

Our constitution gives us the right to vote. Even a beggar exercises his franchise when

So, waking up in the morning should not merely mean waking up into this maya-bazaar, waking up into this temporary world of pain and death. It should not only mean waking up into this little, confined, outer earth awareness. It should also simultaneously mean waking up into the awareness of your divinity which has been temporarily suspended in sleep. And keep up that inner wakefulness along with your outer physical wakefulness of the senses and the mind. Keep up the inner wakefulness of your svarupa. That is the great thing needful. That is what will make your life divine. That is what will take you, day by day, higher and higher towards the Goal Supreme. And this you have to do for yourself, with wisdom.

It is possible only if there is a keen longing for that Goal, a keen faith in your ability to reach it. Because there is the ability to reach it, God has made you educated, brought you into contact with scriptures, with great realised sages and their wisdom teachings, and brought you into an environment favourable, conducive, suitable and helpful to the unfoldment of your radiant divine nature. What has that supreme Cosmic Being not done? That Being has done everything; there is nothing that that Being has not done. We have to reciprocate, not emotionally or sentimentally, but earnestly and sincerely in life, in a living manner through jijnasa, mumukshutva and sadhana (desire to know, intense longing for liberation, and self effort, spiritual practice).

That is our privilege, our great privilege. If we lose this privilege then great is the loss. Therefore, we must realise every day, every dawn, every moment, the preciousness of what we are, the unparalleled, unique preciousness, value, the worth of what we are. If moving away from this awareness we think of things outside as being more worthy, more important, more precious, then deplorable is our lot. If we shift our sense of values from what is within, what we are, to something that is a passing appearance, phenomenon, then great is our loss. To allow this to happen would be throwing away an unparalleled golden opportunity that the Cosmic Being is proffering to us, offering to us.

Ponder this well. When you wake up in the morning, what do you wake up to? When you come into a state of awareness, what is that state of awareness? What is its level, what is its plane, what is its content, what purpose does it serve? Think deeply about it, and be a true jijnasu, a true mumukshu, a true seeker, a true devotee of the Supreme. Be a true part of Divinity, a true amsa of paramatma, and make your life divine. This is the greatest way in which you can bless yourself.

Just as there is full potential within each one of you for divine perfection, even so, like all the nine gems upon a golden plate, all things necessary for the supreme attainment have also been given to you. There could be no greater good fortune. Not to recognise this good fortune and fail to utilise it—there could be no greater misfortune than that. Both good fortune and misfortune are at our finger tips, in our hands. We must recognise the difference and do what is needful. That is the important need of the moment!

source :http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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FAITH , HOPE AND CHARITY

                    Faith , Hope and Charity




Swami Chidananda Saraswati

Radiant Divinities! When an individual soul comes into this world, that individual soul, from a relative point of view, from an earthly angle of vision, comes alone, makes this journey of life alone and departs alone. All scriptures and philosophies declare, all saints and sages again and again reiterate: “Alone thou art, alone thou comest, alone thou goest.”

In this lone journey we seemingly have companions. But each one is intensely preoccupied with himself or herself. For each one, the most important person in the universe is oneself. A little attention is diverted outside, all other attention is directed upon oneself; morning till night one is centred in oneself, constantly thinking of oneself, self-preoccupied. This is individual consciousness, individual life. This is the truth about each individual. From the moment you wake up you are engaged and concerned in things pertaining to yourself—your eating, your drinking, your activities. Whatever you have planned for that day, that comes first.

This involvement in oneself—one’s own concern, preoccupation and constant thought of oneself—is called one’s subjective life. But willy-nilly, whether we want it or not, whether we like it or not, we are also pushed into relationship with others. Because, we do not live in a wilderness, in a desert or in a deep jungle. We live in communities of beings; wherever we are, we live amongst others.

In this too, one keeps up these relationships primarily for oneself—perhaps later on for others, but primarily for oneself. We are concerned with those who cook our food because they cook our food. If they cooked for themselves only and said, “Nothing for you,” then we will not have any relationship. We go to the bank not because we are interested in the bank, but because our money is in that bank. So relationships are there, but arising primarily out of our relationship with ourselves.

And thirdly, whether we want it or not, we have a relationship with that Being Who ultimately is our only resort. Because, before we came here we were related to Him only and no one else, and after we go we shall have Him only to fall back upon and no one else.

Therefore, we must have some norms to govern this triple relationship which constitutes life, which is an inescapable part of life. This triangular relational pattern of each individual soul going through this life journey towards the Divine was not unknown to our ancients. They had something to say about it. The Bible too speaks of the cardinal virtues of one who wishes to attain the Supreme Being.

In so far as our relationship with God is concerned, Jesus said that one who wishes to attain the Father, the Kingdom of God, must have absolute, unshaking faith in the Supreme Being. When someone started losing faith, Jesus said: “O ye of little faith, shame upon you, open your eyes. Can you not see? When a child asks for bread, the father does not give a stone. When an imperfect person like a human father, who has got selfishness and so many defects, fulfils the faith of one who turns to him in faith, do you think that the Supreme Being, Who is Lord of the whole universe, Who is omnipotent, omniscient, full of compassion and kindness, full of justice, do you think He will deny you your due?

“Even if a contractor is corrupt, dishonest, yet when he has employed labourers he gives them their labour’s due at the end of the day. Shame on you that you do not repose faith in that all-perfect Being.” So He chastises them, takes them to task: “O ye of little faith, have faith. The result of faith is seen by you, day by day, all around you, even in this world. Why do you hesitate in reposing faith upon that all-perfect Being?”

“Towards Him,” Jesus said, “have absolute faith.” And in his list of prime virtues, Sankaracharya listed sraddha—faith in the Supreme. Long before Sankaracharya, Lord Krishna said: “sraddhavan labhate jnanam—that wisdom that releases, banishes the darkness of ajnana and grants liberation, is for him who has firm faith.”

The second dimension of relationship is our relationship to this world—to other beings, to other people, men, beasts, everyone, all things. Be considerate. You wish others to be considerate of you, so be charitable. Do not sit in judgment, do not condemn, be charitable. “It is Mine to judge. Do not usurp My place, My function. Leave judgment to Me.” Be charitable.

That is why Magdalene became eternally grateful to Jesus. And when others condemned the woman caught in sin, He refused to condemn. When others were about to throw stones at her, Jesus looked upon her with compassion. And when she asked, “Do you not condemn me?” He responded: “I am not concerned with your past, I am concerned with you today, at this moment in time, and I am concerned with your future. Go forth, walk the path of purity. Everything will be alright.” So exercise charity all the days of your life, every moment. Think how you would feel if you were being condemned. And therefore bear, forbear, tolerate—exercise charity.

And the third relationship, dimension, is how you relate yourself to yourself. Are you a good companion to yourself? Can you tolerate yourself when you are alone, or is it a mass of self-pity, self-hatred, self-condemnation, self-accusation—a turmoil, a mass of negativity inside? Or is it serene positivity? One said: “Hope, forever hope, while there is life, there is hope.” Santushtah satatam yogi—a Yogi is always contented. Be full of good cheer. Have hope, have faith in yourself also. Never despair, face the Light. When you have reposed faith in Him, all will be well. Have absolute hope, always be positive.

An English poet said: “Life is not an empty dream, heart within and God overhead. From dust thou art and to dust returnest was not spoken of the soul.” Like that, heart within, rely upon yourself, be confident, do not despair. Have faith in yourself and absolute trust in Him. All is well, take heart. And thousands of years ago someone said: “You must lift yourself up by yourself. Never allow the spirit to be depressed. Have faith in Me, rely upon Me, think upon Me. You will have nothing to fear. Na tvam sochitum arhasi, ma suchah—it is not proper that you should grieve, grieve not.”

Thus the cardinal virtues arising out of the context of the Christian religion are faith, hope and charity—charity towards all of God’s creation which you have to encounter day after day, morning till night. Ever have a hopeful attitude towards yourself in your subjectivity; let your heart be filled with hope, never negative despair, never darkness. And in your relationship with that Being, have absolute faith. Similarly, in the Indian context we have sraddha (faith), atmavisvas—faith in yourself, self-reliance, ever a hopeful attitude, ever an optimistic view of life and daya (compassion). Tulsidas says: “Compassion is the root of righteousness, pride is the root of sin.”

“Yes, whatever has gone by has gone by. Now I shall work for a better future, and He will help me. He is all-powerful, all-wise, all-blessed. And while I thus live with absolute faith in Him, hope, reliance and confidence in myself, I shall be charitable towards others.” Faith, hope and charity—never let go of these. Always let them be enshrined within you—faith in the Supreme, hope for yourself and charity towards all.

Thus finish your journey and you will attain the Goal. The journey will take you to your destiny—your divine destiny, the fulfilment of which is the most important thing in life. All other things come afterwards; they are secondary. In this way, understand your life, understand yourself, understand your relationship to the Maker, and understand your relationship to the rest of creation.

May God bless you to understand. We have to live with wisdom, we have to live with understanding. That alone can take us to where we can ultimately shower ourselves with blessedness. Our intellect has been given to us to be exercised and to enable us to live wisely.

God bless you all! May you ponder these cardinal points of your life’s journey—charity towards God’s creatures, absolute hope about yourself, and absolute faith in the Being Who has brought you into being, Who has placed you among His creatures, so that you may become like Him and you can attain Him as your supreme Goal!

source :http://divyajivan.org/ponder_these_truths/index.htm

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