By absorption in God, loving Him intensely, one is able to realize God.

Sri Ramakrishna’s Kathamrita (Gospel) with Shri Vidyasagar continues…

"One must have faith and love. Let me tell you how powerful faith is. A man was about to cross the sea from Ceylon to India. Bibhishana said to him: 'Tie this thing in a corner of your wearing-cloth, and you will cross the sea safely. You will be able to walk on the water. But be sure not to examine it, or you will sink.' The man was walking easily on the water of the sea — such is the strength of faith — when, having gone part of the way, he thought, 'What is this wonderful thing Bibhishana has given me, that I can walk even on the water?' He untied the knot and found only a leaf with the name of Rama written on it. 'Oh, just this!' he thought, and instantly he sank.

"There is a popular saying that Hanuman jumped over the sea through his faith in Rama's name, but Rama Himself had to build a bridge.
"If a man has faith in God, then he need not be afraid though he may have committed sin — nay, the vilest sin."

The Master continued: "Faith and devotion. One realizes God easily through devotion. He is grasped through ecstasy of love."

With these words the Master sang again:

“How are you trying, O my mind, to know the nature of God?
You are groping like a madman locked in a dark room.
He is grasped through ecstatic love; how can you fathom Him without it?
Only through affirmation, never negation, can you know Him;
Neither through Veda nor through Tantra nor the six darsanas.
It is in love's elixir only that He delights, O mind;
He dwells in the body's inmost depths, in Everlasting Joy.
And, for that love, the mighty yogis practise yoga from age to age;
When love awakes, the Lord, like a magnet, draws to Him the soul.
He it is, says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother;
But must I give away the secret, here in the market-place?
From the hints I have given, O mind, guess what that Being is!”

While singing, the Master went into samadhi. He was seated on the bench, facing west, the palms of his hands joined together, his body erect and motionless. Everyone watched him expectantly. Vidyasagar, too, was. speechless and could not take his eyes from the Master.

After a time Sri Ramakrishna showed signs of regaining the normal state. He drew a deep breath and said with a smile: "The means of realizing God are ecstasy of love and devotion — that is, one must love God. He who is Brahman is addressed as the Mother,

"Ramprasad asks the mind only to guess the nature of God. He wishes it to understand that what is called Brahman in the Vedas is addressed by him as the Mother. He who is attributeless also has attributes. He who is Brahman man is also Sakti. When thought of as inactive, He is called Brahman, and when thought of as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, He is called the Primordial Energy, Kali.
"Brahman and Sakti are identical, like fire and its power to burn. When we talk of fire we automatically mean also its power to burn. Again, the fire's power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept the one you must accept the other.

"Brahman alone is addressed as the Mother. This is because a mother is an object of great love. One is able to realize God just through love. Ecstasy of feeling, devotion, love, and faith — these are the means. Listen to a song:

As is a marl's meditation, so is his feeling of love;
As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain;
And faith is the root of all.
If in the Nectar Lake of Mother Kali's feet
My mind remains immersed,
Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.

What is needed is absorption in God — loving Him intensely. The 'Nectar Lake' is the Lake of Immortality. A man sinking in It does not die, but becomes immortal. Some people believe that by thinking of God too much the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true. God is the Lake of Nectar, the Ocean of Immortality. He is called the 'Immortal' in the Vedas. Sinking in It, one does not die, but verily transcends death.

Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.

If a man comes to love God, he need not trouble himself much about these activities. One needs a fan only as long as there is no breeze. The fan may be laid aside if the southern breeze blows. Then what need is there of a fan?

 

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What are Vasanas?

Vasanas are a bundle of tendencies or desires which drive man to think, feel and act according to the nature of the vasanas. Thus, it would be perfectly right, to say that a man is what he is because of his vasanas. Vasanas create desires in the intellect. If the person does not use his discrimination but permits the desire to ‘gain strength’ or to ‘take root’, the intellect passes it on to the mind where the desire produces agitations. Emotions and feelings become so strong that the body is then ordered and forced to carry out actions to satisfy the desire!

Extracted from “A manual of Self Unfoldment” by Swami Chinmayananda, pg 173

Vasanas are also called as ‘dissatisfied desires’.

Vasanas (desires) = Guna (nature) = sanskar or samskara (tendencies, qualities – I do Not know the exact word).

Vedanta says everything in this universe is created from tri-gunaatmika maya (Maya with 3 gunas – Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). Each one of us is born with these qualities or Gunas. Out of 3 Gunas, a person has one pre-dominant Guna.

Three types of Vasanas / Gunas

The nature of a person depends upon these vasanas. But vasanas cannot be seen. They are invisible. Vasanas are subtlest form of action and action is the grossest form of vasanas. So a person acts, according to his vasanas. By studying his actions, one can judge which type of vasanas a person has; at least pre-dominant desires can be known.

Vasanas or gunas can be broadly classified in 3 types.

Sattva guna: pure intellegence and goodness, Quality of renunciation, love for god, and other divine qualities. Saints have more percentage of sattva Guna

Rajas guna: fire of desire or spiritedness, Warrior class, Demands attention and credit, egoists, glory, glamour, zeal and spirit of doing some work, etc

Tamas guna: dullness or inertia. Negative qualities like revenge, killing of innocents etc.

So the evolution of mankind is the transformation from Tamas to Rajas to Satva. i.e. from animal nature to the divine nature.

3 gunas also stand for Creation, preservation and destruction.

Say, for example, a person has 70% Sattva, 20% Rajas and 10% tamas Guna. So he can be considered as a sattvik person. Such person devotes more time for God, helps others, and is engaged in other noble work. Generally, people have the maximum percentage of Rajas Guna.

Spirituality is for everybody. Each one of us has 3 gunas, a person also will have a sattva Guna, even though it may be in a very low percentage. The only difference will be that a sattvik person can grasp spiritual instructions very fast and easily, but a tamasic person takes more time as mind is not purified (sattvik) and is not neutral. Depending up on the pre-dominant Guna, a Spiritual Master or Guru chooses the best path suitable to a particular person.

Again the percentage of these gunas keeps changing. While sleeping Tamas Guna is predominant, while working in day time, Rajas Guna is predominant and just after the sleep is complete and work is not yet started, there is sattva Guna (in the early morning). Again in the day time, the percentage of these Gunas keeps changing. When one is attending a spiritual discourse / retreat/ satsanga, his mind is calm and temporarily, he is receptive and accepts the teachings of a saint. But later, after the discourse is over and we are again engaged in our worldly activities / duties, rajas guna is pre-dominant. At this time, if a person again thinks of the teachings, his Ego reacts and may reject the teachings. The purpose of all Karma Kand (service to God and humanity) is to make a person sattvik i.e. to increase and make sattva Guna as a predominant Guna. This is the purpose of religion and spirituality.

Pre-Determined Destiny and Free Will

Some desires are predominant, some are dormant. At the time of death, there may be many desires, but the predominant desire and the riped fruits of his past actions decide the direction of life of next birth. If a person has a desire to earn money and enjoy his life, to fulfill his desire, he is re-born in a rich family. Soul gets the body, parents, and environment such that his predominant desires can be fulfilled. This is his pre-determined destiny. God has also given us the ‘Free Will’. Human beings can use the power of discrimination and can choose to act wisely. This can shape his future. But he has to pass through some incidents and phases of life, weather he likes it or not, because of pre-determined destiny. According to Gita (chapter 15), a soul at the time of dying, takes with it all 5 senses and mind and re-incarnicates in another body. He gets a fresh body, but his mind is old. So a person is born with a particular kind of nature or vasanas or desires.

Sincere spiritual practices like meditation, service attending discourses, makes ones mind calm and receptive.

Suppose there is no free will, then as the prarabhdha karma (i.e. ripe fruits of his past actions) and his dissatisfied desires (carried from past life) extinguishes with time, a person experiences calmness. Free will makes a person more and more active and makes the mind restless. If he gets success due to his efforts, he will be tempted to do more and more. If he fails, he will try to find another solution or will be dishearted by failure. This will again make the mind restless.

Free will is the culprit, if the free will is surrendered to the God then things become easier. A person excels in spirituality. Free will increases the Ego, while surrender of free will to God decreases the Ego. A person, who has surrendered his free will to God, does not have any expectation of the results of his works. So he remains unattached to the results and stays calm. Such a person is a true karma Yogi. He leaves everything on God and keeps working without expectation nor does he work for honour or pride.

Meditation also helps. Till now, mind knew only 2 attributes i.e. to select and reject. Meditation takes mind into the third attribute or direction of stillness / calmness and a state of an observer.

Surrender to the God, Immense Faith in God, Guru, Shastras and yourself,  study of Shastras, Service and Reverence to Guru and meditation (sadhana / japa) triggered by the desire of moksha (liberation) are the means to SELF Realisation. The fruits of SELF Realisation are deep peace, eternal bliss and off course the knowledge that you are not the mere body, but an immortal. I am SAT-CHIT – ANANDA. SAT is Existence (Truth), CHIT is Consciousness and ANANDA is Eternal Bliss.

 

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God cannot be realized through mere scholarly reasoning

Sri Ramakrishna’s Kathamrita (Gospel) with Shri Vidyasagar continues…

Vidyasagar: "Has He endowed some with more power and others with less?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "As the All-pervading Spirit He exists in all beings, even in the ant. But the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings; otherwise, how can one person put ten to flight, while another can't face even one? And why do all people respect you? Have you grown a pair of horns? (Laughter.) You have more compassion and learning. Therefore people honour you and come to pay you their respects. Don't you agree with me?"

Vidyasagar smiled.

Sri Ramakrishna continued: "There is nothing in mere scholarship. The object of study is to find means of knowing God and realizing Him. A holy man had a book. When asked what it contained, he opened it and showed that on all the pages were written the words 'Om Rama', and nothing else.
"What is the significance of the Gita? It is what you find by repeating the word ten times. It is then reversed into 'tagi', which means a person who has renounced everything for God. And the lesson of the Gita is: 'O man, renounce everything and seek God alone.' Whether a man is a monk or a householder, he has to shake off all attachment from his mind.

"Chaitanyadeva set out on a pilgrimage to southern India. One day he saw a man reading the Gita. Another man, seated at a distance, was listening and weeping. His eyes were swimming in tears. Chaitanyadeva asked him, 'Do you understand all this?' The man said, 'No, revered sir, I don't understand a word of the text.' 'Then why are you crying?' asked Chaitanya. The devotee said: 'I see Arjuna's chariot before me. I see Lord Krishna and Arjuna seated in front of it, talking. I see this and I weep.'

"Why does a vijnani keep an attitude of love toward God? The answer is that 'I-consciousness' persists. It disappears in the state of samadhi, no doubt, but it comes back. In the case of ordinary people the 'I' never disappears. You may cut down the aswattha tree, but the next day sprouts shoot up. (All laugh.) "Even after the attainment of Knowledge this 'I-consciousness' comes up, nobody knows from where. You dream of a tiger. Then you awake; but your heart keeps on palpitating! All our suffering is due to this 'I'.

… Sri Ramakrishna continues

O Lord, I am the servant; Thou art the Master. I am the child; Thou art the Mother.

"Once Rama asked Hanuman, 'How do you look on Me?' And Hanuman replied: 'O Rama, as long as I have the feeling of "I", I see that Thou art the whole and I am a part; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. But when, O Rama, I have the knowledge of Truth, then I realize that Thou art I, and I am Thou.'

"The relationship of master and servant is the proper one. Since this 'I' must remain, let the rascal be God's servant.
"'I' and 'mine' — these constitute ignorance. 'My house', 'my wealth', 'my learning', 'my possessions' — the attitude that prompts one to say such things comes of ignorance. On the contrary, the attitude born of Knowledge is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and all these things belong to Thee. House, family, children, attendants, friends, are Thine.'
"One should constantly remember death. Nothing will survive death. We are born into this world to perform certain duties, like the people who come from the countryside to Calcutta on business. If a visitor goes to a rich man's garden, the superintendent says to him, 'This is our garden', This is our lake', and so forth. But if the superintendent is dismissed for some misdeed deed, he can't carry away even his mango-wood chest. He sends it secretly by the gate-keeper. (Laughter.)

"God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, 'Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy.' God laughs, saying to Himself, 'I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!' The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, 'This side is mine and that side is yours.' He laughs and says to Himself, The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.'

"Can one know God through reasoning? Be His servant, surrender yourself self to Him, and then pray to Him.

(To Vidyasagar, with a smile) "Well, what is your attitude?"

Vidyasagar (smiling): "Some day I shall confide it to you." (All laugh.)

Sri Ramakrishna (laughing): "God cannot be realized through mere scholarly reasoning."

 

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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Does a man after Samadhi speak anymore?

A Devotee: "Suppose a man has obtained the Knowledge of Brahman in samadhi. Doesn't he speak any more?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Sankaracharya (One of the greatest philosophers of India.) retained the 'ego of Knowledge' in order to teach others. After the vision of Brahman a man becomes silent. He reasons about It as long as he has not realized It. If you heat butter in a pan on the stove, it makes a sizzling sound as long as the water it contains has not dried up. But when no trace of water is left the clarified butter makes no sound. If you put an uncooked cake of flour in that butter it sizzles again. But after the cake is cooked all sound stops. Just so, a man established in samadhi comes down to the relative plane of consciousness in order to teach others, and then he talks about God.

"The bee buzzes as long as it is not sitting on a flower. It becomes silent when it begins to sip the honey. But sometimes, intoxicated with the honey, it buzzes again.

"An empty pitcher makes a gurgling sound when it is dipped in water. When it fills up it becomes silent. (All laugh.) But if the water is poured from it into another pitcher, then you will hear the sound again. (Laughter.)

"The rishis of old attained the Knowledge of Brahman. One cannot have this so long as there is the slightest trace of worldliness. How hard the rishis laboured! Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage, and would spend the whole day in solitude, meditating on Brahman. At night they would return to the hermitage and eat a little fruit or roots. They kept their minds aloof from the objects of sight, hearing, touch, and other things of a worldly nature. Only thus did they realize Brahman as their own inner consciousness.

"But in the Kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say, 'I am He.' When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman.' Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea, 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion.

"The jnani gives up his identification with worldly things, discriminating, 'Not this, not this'. Only then can he realize Brahman. It is like reaching the roof of a house by leaving the steps behind, one by one. But the vijnani, who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more. He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks, lime, and brick-dust. That which is realized intuitively as Brahman, through the eliminating process of 'Not this, not this', is then found to have become the universe and all its living beings, The vijnani sees that the Reality which is nirguna, without attributes, is also saguna, with attributes.

"A man cannot live on the roof a long time. He comes down again. Those who realize Brahman in samadhi come down also and find that it is Brahman that has become the universe and its living beings. In the musical scale there are the notes sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni; but one cannot keep one's voice on 'ni' a long time. The ego does not vanish altogether. The man coming down from samadhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnana.

"The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love. The path of love, too, leads to this goal. The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love.

"The vijnani sees that Brahman is immovable and actionless, like Mount Sumeru. This universe consists of the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas. They are in Brahman. But Brahman is unattached.

"The vijnani further sees that what is Brahman is the Bhagavan, the Personal God. He who is beyond the three gunas is the Bhagavan, with His six supernatural powers. Living beings, the universe, mind, intelligence, love, renunciation, knowledge — all these are the manifestations of His power. (With a laugh) If an aristocrat has neither house nor property, or if he has been forced to sell them, one doesn't call him an aristocrat any more. (All laugh.) God is endowed with the six supernatural powers. If He were not, who would obey Him? (All laugh.)

"Just see how picturesque this universe is! How many things there are! The sun, moon, and stars; and how many varieties of living beings! — big and small, good and bad, strong and weak — some endowed with more power, some with less."

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Brahman cannot be expressed in words

Sri Ramakrishna: "A man had two sons. The father sent them to a preceptor to learn the Knowledge of Brahman. After a few years they returned from their preceptor's house and bowed low before their father. Wanting to measure the depth of their knowledge of Brahman, he first questioned the older of the two boys. 'My child,' he said, 'you have studied all the scriptures. Now tell me, what is the nature of Brahman?' The boy began to explain Brahman by reciting various texts from the Vedas. The father did not say anything. Then he asked the younger son the same question. But the boy remained silent and stood with eyes cast down. No word escaped his lips. The father was pleased and said to him: 'My child, you have understood a little of Brahman. What It is cannot be expressed in words.'

"Men often think they have understood Brahman fully. Once an ant went to a hill of sugar. One grain filled its stomach. Taking another grain in its mouth it started homeward. On its way it thought, 'Next time I shall carry home the whole hill.' That is the way shallow minds think. They don't know that Brahman is beyond one's words and thought. However great a man may be, how much can he know of Brahman? Sukadeva and sages like him may have been big ants; but even they could carry at the utmost eight or ten grains of sugar!

"As for what has been said in the Vedas and the Puranas, do you know what it is like? Suppose a man has seen the ocean, and somebody asks him, 'Well, what is the ocean like?' The first man opens his mouth as wide as he can and says: 'What a sight! What tremendous waves and sounds!' The description of Brahman in the sacred books is like that. It is said in the Vedas that Brahman is of the nature of Bliss — It is Satchidananda.

"Suka and other sages stood on the shore of this Ocean of Brahman and saw and touched the water. According to one school of thought they never plunged into it. Those who do, cannot come back to the world again.

"In samadhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman — one realizes Brahman In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.

"Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. (All laugh) It wanted to tell others how deep the water was. But this it could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted. Now who was there to report the ocean's depth?"

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

 

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Brahman

Sri Ramakrishna: "Brahman is beyond vidya and avidya, knowledge and ignorance. It is beyond maya, the illusion of duality.
"The world consists of the illusory duality of knowledge and ignorance. It contains knowledge and devotion, and also attachment to 'woman and gold; righteousness and unrighteousness; good and evil. But Brahman is unattached to these. Good and evil apply to the jiva, the individual soul, as do righteousness and unrighteousness; but Brahman is not at all affected by them.

"One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.

"You may ask, 'How, then, can one explain misery and sin and unhappiness?' The answer is that these apply only to the jiva. Brahman is unaffected by them. There is poison in a snake; but though others may die if bitten by it, the snake itself is not affected by the poison.

"What Brahman is cannot be described. All things in the world — the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, the six systems of philosophy — have been defiled, like food that has been touched by the tongue, for they have been read or uttered by the tongue. Only one thing has not been defiled in this way, and that is Brahman. No one has ever been able to say what Brahman is."

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

 

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Prapanna Gita - The Song of Surrender

The Prapanna Gita, also known as the Pandava Gita, is a beautiful compilation of quotes from many great personalities, from the puranic age, that glorify the Lord in an inimitable manner. This text is in the form of Prayers. Although small in size, since it has only 83 verses, each verse of the Prapanna Gita has a depth of devotion and total surrender which inspires a spiritual seeker to become immersed in the ocean of love for the Lord.

The name Pandava Gita derives from the fact that these verses of prayers stem from the whole Pandava Clan; the five brothers and their relatives. It is known as the Prapanna Gita from the element of complete surrender at the feet of Lord.

Another beautiful feature of this work s that it glorifies the names of Prahlada, Narada, Parashara, Pundarika, Vyasadeva, Ambarisha, Sukhdeva, Shaunaka, Nhishma, Sage Dalbhya, Rajarshi Rukmangada, Arjuna, Vasistha, Vibhishana and many others praising their sincerity and devotion. This text even contains the prayers of Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kaurava brothers and the beauty of his love for God, in spite of his character flaws.

This text transports spiritual seekers to a state of devotion and love, surrender and sacrifice.

There are several texts referred to as Gita, numbering up to 24 which are mostly the extracts from Mahabharata, Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Skanda Purana etc. Other Gitas are Guru Gita, Ashtavakra Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Addhava Gita, Gopi Gita, Rama Gita, Ishvara Gita, Hamsa Gita, Sannyasa Gita and Anu Gita.

Source: From the Preface of Prapanna Gita by Paramhansa Prajanananda of Kriya Yog

Contact Info

Country	Website / Email
India	http://www.prajnanamission.org/ pmission@sify.com
USA	http://www.kriya.org/ institute@kriya.org
Austria	www.kriyayoga-europe.org Kriya.yoga.centre@aon.at
Netherlands	Kriya.yoga@worldonline.nl

 

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Blogs of note and search engine updated

Following blogs are added to the “Blogs of Note” and “Indian Spiritual Blog Search Engine”

 

Sangha of Buddhas

Hindu Devotional Blog

 

Aum

 

INDIASPIRITUALITY

Pit-falls in Japa

Japa is not physical but it is mental and is to be raised to a still deeper level. Neither a mere rolling of the beads, or nonstop muttering of the sacred-mantra in the mouth, can by themselves constitute the Japa-Yoga

Japa generally enchants the unwary practitioner into the jungles of the unproductive thought-wanderings. If the student is not diligent enough to detect it and arrest the flow of thoughts (not by force but by awareness and silent and smooth shifting of awareness from the thought to the mantra), it is possible that Japa ends him in a dark ditch of frustration and stupor.

Initially, Japa should not be over practiced, but has to be gradually increased.

Another difficulty is common to ninety percent to Japists, is an irresistible attack of sleep while doing Japa and shamelessly evident tendency to express bad temper soon after the Japa-Sadhana. The seeker should not get annoyed at himself on these symptoms. He should learn to patiently fight these tendencies and win over them.

Sleep comes because a mind in Japa is at rest. Train the mind not to sleep in calm environment within.

Bad temper comes because of 2 reasons- suppression of tendencies and consequent fatigue. Former starts with the Japist’s own annoyance at his own mind wandering here and there during Japa. Some of them even stop the Japa in the middle which is not advisable. One should note that thoughts are technically not coming, but they are going, just let them go and be aware of Japa Mantra. The latter is caused by exhaustion, because, to hold the mind on mantra is a great strain to the beginner and therefore, his mind gets fatigued.

But both can be get rid of by constant disciplined practice. Regularity and sincerity are secrets to success in spirituality. A learner in swimming gets tired after sometime. Later, he swims to relax and remove tiredness.

Profit-motive action is the strongest urge in man in all his strenuous activities. Japa is also polluted by his profit-motive and cannot end in spiritual effulgence of the one doing even if Japa is done sincerely.

Japa with an expectation for success and profit-motive attitude can be get ridden by surrendering ourselves and all our actions to God.

Extracted from “A manual of Self Unfoldment” by Swami Chinmayananda

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Power of ‘Ram Naam’

‘Ram Naam’ is a blessing which millions of Hindus have treasured in their hearts since ages past. It is the supreme purifier of the mind of man, the bestower of perennial joy, the giver of peace and the key to the gate of Immortality. The Ramarahasyopanishad says that the letters ‘Ra’ and ‘Ma’ are the essence of the two most important Mantras, viz., Ashtakshara and Panchakshara, which, when the letters ‘Ra’ and ‘Ma’ are removed from them, respectively, not only lose their primary meaning but give the opposite meaning. When Ram Nam is chanted, a significant change takes place in the entire organism of the person chanting it. There is a twofold effect product by the utterance of the Divine Name.

The Mantra Sakti or the power generated by the juxtaposition (dictionary meaning: The act of positioning close together) of the letters of the Mantra and by the utterance of the same, the whole nervous system of the chanter of the Mantra is set in vibration—a vibration which brings about rhythm, harmony and equilibrium in it. When the nervous system is in such a harmonized state, the breath, too flows rhythmically and the mind rests in a state of tranquillity. It is in this peaceful state of the mind that the divine Consciousness is reflected and the supernal joy of the Eternal is experienced.

The idea of the Divine Being generated in the mind at the time of the repetition of the Name, gives a direct fillip to the mind in its attempt to unite itself with the Divine Being. The nervous system is in a state of perfect harmony when the vibration produced by the chanting of the Divine Name pervades it with a force of integration. The Divine Name is not merely a sound; it is a force which can overcome all the destructive forces in the human system and render it pure and make it fit for the experience of Sattva, the highly transparent medium through which the Immortal Being is reflected.

Ram Nam like the Ashtakshara or the Dvadasakshara Mantras, is a powerful aid in destroying the animal passions in man. Passions are agitative forces, and Ram Nam is a tranquil force. When one adheres to Ram Nam with exclusive and genuine devotion, it becomes the destroyer of all pains. But one’s faith must not be divided between two or more Mantras. One should stick to ‘Ram Nam’ with full confidence in it. The more the faith and concentration, the quicker does the Lord’s Name destroy the evils in man. The votary of Rama prays:

"Apadam-apahartaram dataram sarva sampadam; Lokabhiramam Sri Ramam bhuyo bhuyo namamyaham—I prostrate myself, again and again, before Sri Rama, the Saviour from all calamities, the Giver of all prosperity, the Delight of the world." Such is the glory of Ram Nam. It bestows on one the beatitude of Absolute Independence or Kaivalya. But Ram Nam should not be used for the sake of obtaining worldly ends. Ram Nam is the saviour of man from the afflictions of mortality itself. It raises man from all penury and exalts him to the status of an undaunted sovereign over himself. Why do you use a gun to destroy a mosquito? Ram Nam can cure the disease of Samsara itself; what to speak of lesser wants and turmoils. Therefore, use Ram Nam as a Moksha Mantra and not as a servant to fetch you the glittering glass-pieces shining in the form of the objects of the world. Ram Nam is the guardian in your body, protecting you at all times against all attacks, preserving your purity and virtue, and warding off the inimical urges of desire, passion and anger.

The repetition of the Mantra should be done with Bhava or deep feeling. A tremendous effect is produced when repetition of the name is attended with a consciousness of the relation of the chanter to the deity of the Name. This, however, does not mean that a mechanical repetition of the Mantra without feeling is absolutely devoid of all beneficial results. The Name is potent enough to cause a change in the psychological and the physical being of man even when it is mechanically repeated. Ram Nam is a Mantra, and a Mantra is formed by significant letters, which by the very fact of their being uttered, produce a result, even if this result may not be directly connected with the consciousness of the chanter of the Mantra. There is a very peculiar process of physical and psychical transformation taking place at the time when the Mantra is repeated. Unconscious and mechanical repetition produces no direct psychical change, but causes biological change through the nervous system which is immediately influenced by the vibrations set up by the chanting of the Mantra, and these biological changes indirectly, bring about psychological changes; for these two natures in man are related to each other as effect and cause, respectively and the effects are so intimately related to their causes that any change in the effects will be felt by the causes, and vice versa.

The devotee should not test the Lord by the chanting of His Name. For example, one should not use the Name as an excuse for the deliberate perpetration of evil acts. The Name can overcome the effects of even such acts, but the implications of such acts would be that the devotee who uses the Name thus has not genuine aspiration and devotion to the Lord, and his mind is still being attracted to things other than those that pertain to the Lord and to His Way. Hence the condition for chanting the Divine Name is well laid out.

"Trinadapi sunichena tarorapi sahishnuna, Amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih—He who is humbler than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, who does not crave for respect, but respects others, is the one fit to repeat the Name of Hari."

God helps those who help themselves. The best possible effort that one is capable of exercising under the intellectual circumstances provided by God should be put forth, and only beyond this effort, should one seek the grace of God. Idleness is not self-surrender. Surrender of the self to God becomes complete only when the individual consciousness is flooded over the love for the Divine. God’s grace descends when the efforts exercised are found to be inadequate for the realisation of God.

Ram Nam has a transforming effect not only on the psycholgical but also the biological personality. Even physical ailments can be overcome by the chanting of the Divine Name. Ram Nam is unfailing in its action, infallible in its operation. Ram Nam, properly understood, is the same as Omkara, the symbol of the Absolute, and Rama to the true devotee is the Absolute itself. Sri Rama is all-pervading; He is in the heart of all beings as the Antaryamin. What a power and glory should His Name possess! Even ordinary names of things of the world have the power of stimulating a corresponding mode of consciousness in man. How much more powerful should the Name of God be!

Saint Tulasidas says: The name is even superior to the Lord, because the Nirguna and Saguna aspects of Brahman are tasted and realised by the power of the Name. Rama delivered a single woman, Ahalya, while His Name has purified crores of wicked people. Rama gave salvation to two of his faithful servants, Jatayu and Sabari, but His Name has been the saviour of countless wicked persons. Blessed is the son and blessed are his parents who remember Sri Rama in whatsoever way it may be. Blessed are even the Chandalas who repeat the Name of Rama day and night. What is the use of high birth to one who does not repeat Ram Nam!

What a mighty power is latent in Ram Nam! Only those who are endowed with devotion know it. The scientists now declare that sound vibrations have such a tremendous force that they can direct this power to silk fabrics and clean them of all dirt more thoroughly than a washerman can.

The moment you utter the word Rama, the form of the Lord is aroused in your consciousness. So the advanced devotees say that the Divine Name is the exclusive support of those afflicted by the tribulations of Samsara.

The Valmiki Ramayana is the standard history of Sri Ram:

"Vedavedye pare punsi jate Dasarathatmaje; vedah prachetasadasit sakshadramayanatmana.—Verily, a Veda by itself was revealed by Maharshi Valmiki, in the form of Ramayana when the Supreme Being, to be known through the Vedas, manifested Himself as the son of Dasaratha." The Ramayana of Valmiki is a majestic epic, expounding Dharma by way of depicting the great heroic life of the ideal person, Sri Rama. The greatness of the Valmiki Ramayana cannot be adequately described. It is a huge didactic poem which has its main aim in constraining people to follow the path of righteousness, and towards this end, it employs the popular technique of appealing to the hearts of people by narrating in a homely style, the story of a life devoted to Dharma. The picturesque life of Sri Rama described by Valmiki is a grand glorification of the greatness of Sri Rama. Hence the Ramayana is in a way an expanded form of the Name and glory of Sri Rama.

The hearing or the study of the Ramayana is a contemplation on the various divine qualities of Sri Rama, which purifies the mind of man and renders it spiritual.

May Sri Ramachandra bless all with spiritual illumination, prosperity and Kaivalya Moksha!

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/books/es226.htm

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Is light music / incense / candles helpful in mediation?

No. Music is an external stimulus, which takes the sensory system and mind in the direction of external awareness, rather than towards the internal focus of meditation. Concentration on some pleasant , external stimulus  such as a rose or soft music – can be quite soothing, but it doesn’t lead you in the direction of the highest state of consciousness within. Enjoy at other times, but do not confuse this with meditation.

For the same reason, burning a candle or incense can be a distraction.

Candles that flicker can also be a distraction.

Source: Extracted from “Meditation and it’s Practice” by Swami Rama (Page 80)

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Japa Yog: Saral chintan and Viral Chintan – Road to salvation

Stages in Japa can be classified as:

1. Verbal (aloud). Swami Chinmaya has even advised to keep eyes open and focuses our vision to any idol of god along with chanting of mantra

2. Verbal but in very low volume

3. Mental chanting.

4. AJAPA JAPA - Observe the Japist. Japa continues on its own.

5. Be aware of the origin or the source of mantra.

6. Merging / dissolving of the mantra in its source. This is Nirvikalp Samadhi.

7. Again, like Phoenix [1], the mind raises it’s head, still the mind is not destroyed i.e. there is Mano Laya and not Mano Nasha.

8. By repeated entering into Samadhi, there is mano nasha.

9. Sahaj Samadhi.

Till the 3^rd part, i.e. mental chanting, japa is done with the help of mind. Later the awareness is shifted to the heart. It is different then the physical heart. Heart is defined as the origin or the source. Raman Maharshi in Raman Gita says that Heart in the body is located 2 inches right from the centre of the chest.

Initially, there is a mental effort. To chant, one needs to concentrate. Mind shows its power and drags the awareness away from the mantra, creates images and scenes. Mind slips into this mental creation and Japa mantra is sidetracked. After some time when the force of the thought becomes weak, meditator realises that he is sitting to meditate. Once again, he shifts the awareness and tries to concentrate on the mantra. DO NOT force to shift the aware, but gently shift the awareness to the mantra. This type of meditation is called Viral Chintan, like continuous falling of water drops from the kalasha above Lord Shiva. Since there is an effort, so there has to be a saturation point of the mind. Hence there is a time limit, i.e. one cannot meditate or do the Japa for as long as he likes. Just as the person learning how to swim, he gets tired in the beginning, but later he swims to release the stress and begins to enjoy swimming. Similarly, in the beginning, a person feels that he/she cannot meditate more, finds it difficult to meditate. Many a times feels to stop / discontinue the meditation. But if he/she holds on and makes a firm decision to meditate regularly, then the efforts reduces, time of meditation increases, enjoyment increases and mind begins to relax. Initially, in 45 minutes of meditation he hardly meditates for 10-15 minutes. Now with constant practice, the mantra has equal force as that of thoughts, so he can observe both mantra and the thoughts. A wise man always chooses to continue chanting the mantra and neglects the thoughts. Later the force of mantra is greater than thoughts, so the number of thoughts decreases; mind remains quiet for a longer period and when a person comes out of meditative mood, he surprisingly realises that he has spend 3 hours in meditation. He thinks that he has meditated for maybe 1 ½ hour, but he has actually spent double time. Ironically, initially, feels that he has spent too much time, but when he sees the clock, it is just 1 hour or sometimes 30 minutes. This is due to too many thoughts.

Initially the target should be 10-15 mins. Increase it to 45 minutes, when one regularly meditates for 45 minutes, he is considered fit for meditation. i.e. he can sit in one place for 45 mins. Later the target is 3 hours. When a person can meditate regularly for 3 hours, he is said to achieve ‘asana siddhi’. Such a person has good control over mind and once he takes decision, he just goes for it. Mind does not change the decision of the intellect. When the person has surrendered to the god, he will definitely make progress. The efforts have reduced a lot, but thoughts still pop-up in mind. It is the beginning of Saral Chintan. Slowly, along with the quantity (amount of time spend in meditation), quality (depth of meditation) increases. God gives him a lot of clarity about his goal of life. If god wishes, by Gods grace he has the first glimpse of samadhi. Till now he just had information from shastras, but now, just as trailer covers entire movie and gives a hint how a movie is, so does a man have experienced the path, as described in the shastras, which is an organized collection of the experience of innumerable saints from time immemorial.

Next target is six hours. A person can reach this target only if the one and only goal of his/her life is SELF Realisation / Moksha /God realisation or to have divine vision of God. He should be ready to renounce each and every worldly thought and desire. Sri Ramakrishna says that once a lady is pregnant, she is given less work as the no of months of pregnancy increases. After 7^th month, the work is greatly reduced and after the delivery, she is not given any work. She only takes care of the baby. In the same way, as a man nears the Self Realisation, he/she becomes less active. It is not necessary to become a monk. He/she can be in the society but is no more socially active and works only when it is necessary. Rest of the time he/she remains surrendered to the god and keeps chanting the mantra. There is mental renunciation. Technically it is called ‘tatvik ekanta’ i.e. to experience ekanta (be alone, feeling that you are alone as mind is empty) even in the busy hours, when he/she is surrendered by the society and work.

For such a person who can meditate regularly for 6 hours, God takes control of his life. Now the next stage is ‘Dyeya Siddhi’ i.e. to be aware of the Goal. God makes him experience Samadhi regularly. He knows the road, now he only needs to walk on road and he will certainly reach his destination i.e. ‘Moksha’. So he drops shastras, as the purpose of shastras to give clarity and show the path are done. There is no time limit for meditation. Just as Sri Krishna took the “lagaam” (dictionary meaning: mouthpiece or bit of bridle; bride; reins; control; curb.) of Arjuna’s life, so has the God taken all the burdens of his beloved devotee. By God’s Grace, he is constantly aware of the eternal bliss and peace and knows that he is definitely not a body nor the mind nor the intellect. Such a person is indeed rare and is a ‘kripa patra’ [2]i.e. beloved of God (selected by God), and does Saral Chintan. He/she is the most deserving of Moksha.

[1] The phoenix (Ancient Greek: Φοῖνιξ, phoínix) is a mythical sacred firebird which originated in the Sub-continent of India.

A phoenix is a mythical bird with a colourful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple and blue, according to some sources). It has a 500 to 1,000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of myrrh twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.

Source: Wikipedia

[2] Generally, we say that if we are surrendered to God, then Gods grace will flow. But sometimes, it is reverse, Due to God’s grace one can surrender to God. God gives him a Guru. So we are generally like duryodhana of Mahabharata, who tried to bring Krishna to his side. But was Arjun who wished to be in the side of Krishna. So he surrenders to him. As a result, mankind gets the one and only unique Doctrine of Self Realisation, that too from the middle of Battle field. No other shastra in the world has originated from the battlefield and showed the path of eternal peace.

Our surrender is a conditioned surrender and we offer something to the god so that god fulfils our wishes. Blessed are the souls who have nothing to surrender, since they have already surrendered themselves (mind, body and soul) to the God. Blessed are the souls who have surrendered their Free Will to the God and merged it with the will of God.

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Should I use alarm clock to time my meditation?

From the beginning, you should learn to strengthen your sankalp shakti (power of will) by resolving that you will wake up on time and meditate foor 10, 15 or 20 minutes. The mind is the greatest of all timekeepers, and as you progress, you will find that the mind wakes you up for your meditation. Nothing external is really needed when you have decided that you want to awaken and meditate at a particular time.

Generally, it is not necessary to use an alarm clock to time a meditation itself. It’s also rather unpleasant to end a tranquil meditation with the jarring tone of alarm clock. If you are concern about time, keep the alarm clock in view so you can check the time, or better still, try to set up your meditation session so that you don’t feel so much time pressure. Meditate earlier in the morning, or in the evening when there are no more duties or responsibilities awaiting you. (i.e. do not keep your schedule too much tight. This will help you to relax and meditate properly without tension.)

Source: Extracted from “Meditation and it’s Practice” by Swami Rama (Pages 82-83)

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What is meditation?

The word meditation is used in variety of ways. According to Swami Rama:

Meditation is a specific technique for resting the mind and attaining a state of consciousness that is totally different from the normal waking state. In meditation, you are fully aware and alert, but mind is not focused on the external world or the events taking place around you. Neither is your mind asleep, dreaming or fantasizing. Instead, it is clear, relaxed and inwardly focused.

Meditation involves a type of inner attention that is quiet, concentrated and at the same time relaxed. There is nothing difficult or strenuous about creating this inner attention; in fact, you will find that meditation is a process that is restful for the mind. In the beginning, the greatest difficulty is that the mind has never been trained to create this inner attention

Meditation is a different, subtle and precise approach. It is the simple technique of learning how to pay attention to and understand the various levels of yourself – the body, the breadth and the mind. As time progresses, you enjoy positive results of meditation – increased joyfulness, clarity and awareness – as much as you enjoy the relief you will experience from releasing the physical, nervous and mental symptoms of stress.

Meditation helps relax muscular tension and the autonomic nervous system, and provides freedom from mental stress.

Meditation helps strengthen immune system by limiting its reaction to stress and strain. Meditation will also decrease your need for sleep and will energize your body and mind.

Meditation also has an important influence on health. In modern world, most deceases can be classified to some degree as psychosomatic, having their origin in or being influenced by thoughts and emotions. These deceases cannot be cured by conventional external therapies since they originate in the mind and your emotional reactions. How can an external therapy remedies alone restore your health. If you rely only on external remedies and do not seek to understand your own mind and emotions, you may merely become dependant upon therapist or physician for help. In contrast, the method of meditation makes people self-radiant and helps them attain the inner strength necessary to deal more effectively with all of life’s problems.

Source: Extracted from “Meditation and it’s Practice” by Swami Rama (Pages 1-4)

 

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Three Paths

Sri Ramana Maharshi, in Sri Ramana Gita says, SELF can be realized by 3 paths

1. MaargaNa: Vichar Marg, Self Enquiry, Jnana Marg

2. Majjan: To dive within (dictionary meaning). i.e. To merge, dissolve yourself in the source of Mantra. Bhakti Marg

3. PraaNa Rodh: To stop breath (dictionary meaning). To observe, control and slow down the breath. i.e. Breath Control. Yog (Raja Yog)

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Is it ever possible to realize God while leading the life of a householder?

Neighbour: "Sir, is it ever possible to realize God while leading the life of a householder?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Certainly. But as I said just now, one must live in holy company and pray unceasingly. One should weep for God. When the impurities of the mind are thus washed away, one realizes God. The mind is like a needle covered with mud, and God is like a magnet. The needle cannot be united with the magnet unless it is free from mud. Tears wash away the mud, which is nothing but lust, anger, greed, and other evil tendencies, and the inclination to worldly enjoyments as well. As soon as the mud is washed away, the magnet attracts the needle, that is to say, man realizes God. Only the pure in heart see God. A fever patient has an excess of the watery element in his system. What can quinine do for him unless that is removed?"
"Why shouldn't one realize God while living in the world? But, as I said, one must live in holy company, pray to God, weeping for His grace, and now and then go into solitude. Unless the plants on a foot-path are protected at first by fences, they are destroyed by cattle."

Neighbour: "Then householders, too, will have the vision of God, won't they?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Everybody will surely be liberated. But one should follow the instructions of the guru; if one follows a devious path, one will suffer in trying to retrace one's steps. It takes a long time to achieve liberation. A man may fail to obtain it in this life. Perhaps he will realize God only after many births. Sages like Janaka performed worldly duties. They performed them, bearing God in their minds, as a dancing-girl dances, keeping jars or trays on her head. Haven't you seen how the women in northwest India walk, talking and laughing while carrying water-pitchers on their heads?"

 

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita (Gujarati)

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How to control the mind?

For average people, it is difficult to control the mind. Self Enquiry is difficult for beginners. So Maharshi ji in Sri Ramana Gita, out of compassion, has given us the steps how one can control his/her mind.

Maharshi ji says, due to strong attachment in the worldly issues, it is difficult to have control over the mind.

Such individual can take the help of Pranarodh to stabilize the mind. It is easier then controlling the mind directly. Just like a bird trapped in the net cannot do anything, with the help of breadth control mind cannot run in any other direction. It can be tamed. With the help of Breadth control, senses and desires can be under the control of mind and can be stabilized into the origin of the desires.

Pranarodh means to observe the breadth with the help of mind. With constant (prolonged) observation of breadth one can master kumbhaka (holding the breadth). If mastering kumbhaka is not possible, then by following the rules of Hatha Yog, one should master Kumbhaka.

Source: Sri Ramana Gita [6 (ManoNigrah – mind control), 2-6]

Please note that Maharshi ji later says that after having control over mind, an individual should turn towards Self Enquiry. So Maharshi ji has believes that pranarodh can be used as the tool, but is not the destination. Finally, a person gets the feeling of completeness and feels satisfied by establishing in the SELF. And this can be done by knowing our true nature. To know our true nature, one should inquire, ‘Who am I’.

Pranarodh can be used and is effective in taming the mind. It is definitely useful for beginners.

 

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Baba Neem Karoli

 INVOCATION

Om Sri Hanumate Namah.

Homage unto the Divine! Worshipful salutations unto the Supreme Almighty Being, the Wonder of wonders, the Beauty of beauties, the Light of lights, the Power of powers, the Eternal Truth of all truths. May His Divine Grace shower upon all and lead all beings unto joy, peace and illumination. May His love, compassion and blessings manifest upon us through His spiritual representatives, namely, the Saints and Holy Men.

---

Salutations to the holy memory of worshipful and beloved Sri Baba Neem Karoli—the wonder mystic of Northern India. He is one of the most unique phenomena among the religious fraternity of Saints, Sages and holy Fakirs of Northern India. It would not be a wonder to me, if, as I am sitting and dictating this article on a mildly warm summery afternoon at Jaipur, in Rajasthan, at this moment Babaji is perfectly aware of this fact and knows exactly where I am staying, what words I am dictating, to whom I am dictating them and precisely at what time I am doing this; and this in spite of the fact that revered Baba Neem Karoli is physically no more amongst us and has left his body very recently, just about a couple of years back. Though this statement may seem rather extraordinary and would surprise many of the readers, yet, it is nevertheless true that many of Babaji’s close disciples and devotees had personal experience of the fact that revered Babaji seemed to be aware of whatever they had been saying and doing in distant places, far away from him, and Babaji was actually in some other place at that moment. This has convinced most of his closest followers that Sri Baba Neem Karoli was a ‘Siddha Purusha’ (perfected being) and knower of the past, present as also of the future—Trikala Jnani.

The last time I had the good fortune of meeting revered Baba Neem Karoliji was in the month of October 1973. This was when I visited him at his secluded Ashram at Kainchi near Nainital, U.P., in the Kumaon Hills. I was driving from Almora to Nainital during a tour. It was late evening and, when we arrived at Kainchi, it was dark. The season was autumn and it was beginning to get chill as it was near night-fall. One of our party went ahead to ascertain and find out whether Babaji was in the Ashram. Babaji was present and sent word that he would receive us.

Myself with my companions went down from the road with the help of flash lights and, crossing the little bridge that spans the mountain stream, we entered the Ashram. The entire place was totally deserted and absolute silence prevailed. The Temple Pujari (priest) received us in the courtyard and conducted us into a little room. The revered Baba Neem Karoli was seated on a cot and was wrapped in a simple blanket. He received me and my party with a very kind and benign look and motioned us to take our seats on the carpet spread near the cot. I knelt down beside the cot and offered my homage, laying my head upon his lap where he had tucked up his foot, being seated cross-legged. Babaji softly said "All right, all right, very good" and signed to me to be seated. One of our tour party, Sri Yogesh Bahuguna, a very idealistic young man and a sincere spiritual seeker, had brought with him 7 or 8 oranges in a little towel. There was an empty basket by the side of Babaji and Sri Yogesh Bahuguna placed these oranges in the basket as an offering. We then sang some Sankirtan and sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Before taking leave after enquiring about Babaji’s health and answering a few queries by him, Babaji started to distribute the fruit as Prasad to us. By this time some other workers and devotees of the Ashram had gathered near the door. Sri Yogeshji was taken aback and was overcome by surprise when he observed that Babaji continued taking oranges from the basket even after he had already given away 8 oranges and went on distributing this Prasad to all the members of our party plus the assembled Ashram Staff and ultimately he had given 18 fruits in all. From where the additional 10 oranges came into the basket is something we could not explain. Perhaps only Babaji knows this.

I first came to hear about revered Baba Neem Karoli in some detail in the early fifties about 23 years ago. It took place this way. Worshipful Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji’s Ashram is situated in Tehri-Garhwal district. At that time the District Magistrate was Sri R.K. Trivedi, an able and outstanding officer. He later on became one of the very first Directors of the National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. Sri R.K. Trivedi’s old father used to stay with him at Narendranagar, which is the district headquarters of Tehri-Garhwal. The father was an old man, a very pious and spiritual Sadhaka who had developed a good inner life. He expressed a desire to visit Sivananda Ashram to meet Gurudev. Sri R.K. Trivedi, D.M., had great respect for Sri Gurudev and he gladly brought his old father down from Narendranagar and they met H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj in his little cottage on the bank of the Ganga. Being General Secretary at that time, I had to conduct the two visitors into revered Gurudev’s presence. He asked me to stay on while they were with him and it was then that Mr. Trivedi’s father told us that his Guru was Sri Baba Neem Karoliji of Nainital. When requested to tell us something about his Guru, the senior Trivedi narrated many things about Babaji and his experience about him as his disciple. He said, "Swamiji, right at this moment Babaji knows where I am, what I am doing and what exactly I am saying to you. When I meet him next time he will repeat my words to you and tell me that I was here at this time. He knows everything. He is listening to me now."

This is what the old gentleman declared and in this manner did I come to learn these details about Babaji’s unusual personality and extraordinary powers. Later on, these statements have been corroborated by certain other of his devotees whom I had the occasion to meet afterwards. Several times close devotees of Baba Neem Karoli have seem him simultaneously at two different places, at one and the same time. In both places it was not merely a matter of just seeing him but Babaji was very much with them, talking to them and even partaking of some refreshments offered by them.

One particularly unusual thing about Babaji was the manner of his coming and going. He would suddenly walk into your presence unannounced. While leaving, he would take leave and go out and walk along the road and tell people not to follow him. The moment he went out of sight, it was impossible to trace him out even if one ran after him or went in a motor vehicle. It may even be just a hundred yards away where he turns around the bend of a road and was hidden from sight. This was enough. The next moment he was totally untraceable anywhere within a radius of a mile. It is believed that he had done Upasana (worship) of Sri Hanuman and attributed many of his miraculous deeds to ‘Siddhi’ (psychic power) through his Upasana.

This may be quite true because it is a well-known fact that Babaji has prompted and supervised the construction of several beautiful and very impressive Hanuman Mandirs. These temples enshrining Sri Hanuman are powerful attractions to innumerable devotees. One such most attractive and impressive Hanuman Mandir is in Lucknow. Sri Hanumanji shrined in Baba Neem Karoli’s Ashram at Kainchi is also a centre of worship. In Brindavan also there is a beautiful Hanumanji temple.

Some devotees even say that Babaji had conquered space and that he could be anywhere and in any place he wished within the twinkling of an eye. Also, he was characterised by a total non-attachment to anything on earth. Even as freely blowing wind is unattached to anything he was also unaffected by his environment, even as the pure blowing breeze. However, despite his non-attachment and unaffected attitude he was yet very compassionate to those in trouble or distress. He would not refuse an earnest request. He was all loving kindness to people in trouble and helped them out of their trouble by the influence he had in high circles.

Babaji was very austere in his personal life and moved about with only a blanket around his body. He had great goodwill towards all spiritual institutions. I also feel that he had hidden inner spiritual contact and connection with a number of other spiritual teachers and saints who were his contemporaries. His work was not completely an individual and isolated one. It formed part of a wider work in which many other saints were actively engaged in and were in spiritual co-ordination. Despite his taciturn nature and outer reserve, Babaji was capable of great deal of affection expressed even by a mere gesture or gaze. He gave courage to many a fainting heart and brought solace to countless souls. He endeared himself as a family member in the homes of many of his sincere devotees and true disciples. Thus his passing was felt as a keen personal loss by thousands of his followers.

Babaji’s coming into public notice dates back several decades ago in the pre-independence era during the British regime. There is a story in this connection which is a very close parallel to a similar story connected with another great Siddha Purusha of Southern India, viz., Sri Nityananda Avadhuta hailing from Kerala who later on settled down at Vajreshvari near Bombay. These two incidents are almost identical in their details.

Babaji was once wandering somewhere in Eastern U.P. At one place he passed by a railway station. The train happened to be at halt. He had a fancy to travel some distance by train. He got into a nearby coach and sat in an upper class compartment. After a while the train started and continued its journey. Some time later, a Travelling Ticket Examiner saw this somewhat uncouth, rustic-like person occupying the upper class seat and approached him and asked for his ticket. Babaji just looked up at him once and paid no further attention to his query. He continued to remain silent in contemplation. The Ticket Examiner was annoyed. He demanded to see the ticket. It was those days when most of the railway staff was either British or at least Anglo-Indian. Babaji shook his head and spread out his empty hands. The Ticket Examiner understood the situation and decided to take action. Soon after, the train stopped for a brief halt at a small way-side station in the country-side. Babaji was ordered to get down. He promptly obeyed, left his seat, got down out of the carriage and walking a few steps along the dusty platform went and stayed under the shade of a tree. He seemed absolutely unconcerned of whatever had happened. He paid no attention to what was going on around him. In a couple of minutes the bell rang, the railway guard blew his whistle and waved the green flag. The engine driver sounded the whistle and started the engine. Nothing happened. The engine did not move and the train continued to stand where it was. After a few minutes the guard got down and walked up to the engine driver to enquire what the trouble was. No trouble could be detected. Everything seemed to be all right. The engine driver checked everything and tried again. No result. More time passed. The Station Master became anxious. Another train which was due to come by was held up at some station up the line. Telegraphic messages started coming. 15 minutes, 20 minutes and then half an hour passed. Anxiety built up. Then a subordinate member of the staff very timidly approached the Station Master and pointing to Babaji sitting under the tree insisted that the whole situation was due to having shown disrespect to the holy man. He suggested that the only way out of the impasse was to approach him and beg his forgiveness and request him to continue his journey without any hindrance. This was conveyed to the guard and the engine driver. At first they vehemently refused to do any such thing but as more time passed, better reason prevailed. They respectfully approached Babaji, saluted him, asked to be excused for their rudeness, requested him to bless the train and invited him to continue his journey. Babaji looked up and glanced at them for a moment and said "All right, Chalo. Hum chalenge, Hum chalenge" ("All right, Go. I shall come along, I shall come along") and got up and re-entered the train. Immediately the engine gave a jerk and the train started to move as though nothing had happened. A little crowd, which had gathered there, in the meanwhile, loudly acclaimed Babaji with awe in their voice. From then onwards no Railway Officer ever interfered with Babaji’s free movement in any train he fancied.

Source: http://www.dlshq.org/saints/neemkaroli.htm

 

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Why does a man have sinful tendencies?

Neighbour: "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "In God's creation there are all sorts of things. He has created bad men as well as good men. It is He who gives us good tendencies, and it is He again who gives us evil tendencies."

Neighbour: "In that case we aren't responsible for our sinful actions, are we?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Sin begets its own result. This is God's law. Won't you burn your tongue if you chew a chilli? In his youth Mathur* led a rather fast life; so he suffered from various diseases before his death.

"One may not realize this in youth. I have looked into the hearth in the kitchen of the Kali temple when logs are being burnt. At first the wet wood does not burn well, but a dry wood will immediately burn.

"So one should be careful about anger, passion, and greed. Take, for instance, the case of Hanuman. In a fit of anger he burnt Lanka. At last he remembered that Sita was living in the Asoka Vatika. Then ,he began to treble lest the fire should injure her."

Neighbour: "Why has God created wicked people?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "That is His will, His play. In His maya there exists avidya as well as vidva. Darkness is needed too. It reveals all the more the glory of light. There is no doubt that anger, lust, and greed are evils. Why, then, has God created them? In order to create saints. A man becomes a saint by conquering the senses. Is there anything impossible for a man who has subdued his passions? He can even realize God, through His grace. Again, see how His whole play of creation is perpetuated through lust. "Wicked people are needed too. At one time the tenants of an estate became unruly. The landlord had to send Golak Choudhury, who was a ruffian. He was such a harsh administrator that the tenants trembled at the very mention of his name.
"There is need of everything.

Once Sita said to her Husband: 'Rama, it would be grand if every house in Ayodhya were a mansion! I find many houses old and dilapidated.' 'But, my dear,' said Rama, 'if all the houses were beautiful ones, what would the masons do?' (Laughter.) God has created all kinds of things. He has created good trees, and poisonous plants and weeds as well. Among the animals there are good, bad, and all kinds of creatures — tigers, lions, snakes, and so on."

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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What is the good of holy company?

Sri Ramakrishna: "God and His glory. This universe is His glory. People see His glory and forget everything. They do not seek God, whose glory is this world. All seek to enjoy ‘Lust and Greed’. But there is too much misery and worry in that. This world is like the whirlpool of the Visalakshi. (A stream near Sri Ramakrishna's birth-place.) Once a boat gets into it there is no hope of its rescue. Again, the world is like a thorny bush: you have hardly freed yourself from one set of thorns before you find yourself entangled in another. Once you enter a labyrinth you find it very difficult to get out. Living in the world, a man becomes scared, as it were."

Devotee: "Then what is the way, sir?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Prayer and the company of holy men. You cannot get rid of an ailment without the help of a physician. But it is not enough to be in the company of religious people only for a day. You should constantly seek it, for the disease has become chronic. Again, you can't understand the pulse rightly unless you live with a physician. Moving with him constantly, you learn to distinguish between the pulse of phlegm and the pulse of bile."

Devotee: "What is the good of holy company?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "It begets yearning for God. It begets love of God. Nothing whatsoever is achieved in spiritual life without yearning. By constantly living in the company of holy men, the soul becomes restless for God. This yearnihg is like the state of mind of a man who has someone ill in the family. His mind is in a state of perpetual restlessness, thinking how the sick person may be cured. Or again, one should feel a yearning for God like the yearning of a man who has lost his job and is wandering from one office to another in search of work. If he is rejected at a certain place which has no vacancy, he goes there again the next day and inquires, 'Is there any vacancy today?'

"There is another way: earnestly praying to God. God is our very own. We should say to Him: 'O God, what is Thy nature? Reveal Thyself to me. Thou must show Thyself to me; for why else hast Thou created me?' Some Sikh devotees once said to me, 'God is full of compassion.' I said: 'But why should we call Him compassionate? He is our Creator. What is there to be wondered at if He is kind to us? Parents bring up their children. Do you call that an act of kindness? They must act that way.' Therefore we should force our demands on God. He is our Father and Mother, isn't He? It the son demands his patrimony and gives up food and drink in order to enforce his demand, then the parents hand his share over to him three years before the legal time. Or when the child demands some pice from his mother, and says over and over again: 'Mother, give me a couple of pice. I beg you on my knees!' — then the mother, seeing his earnestness, and unable to bear it any more, tosses the money to him.

"There is another benefit from holy company. It helps one cultivate discrimination between the Real and the unreal. God alone is the Real, that is to say, the Eternal Substance, and the world is unreal, that is to say, transitory. As soon as a man finds his mind wandering away to the unreal, he should apply discrimination. The moment an elephant stretches out its trunk to eat a plaintain-tree in a neighbour's garden, it gets a blow from the iron goad of the driver."

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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Gems of Gospel

Sri Ramakrishna says: "Mother, everyone says, 'My watch alone is right.' The Christians, the Brahmos, the Hindus, the Mussalmans, all say, 'My religion alone is true.' But, Mother, the fact is that nobody's watch is right. Who can truly understand Thee? But if a man prays to Thee with a yearning heart, he can reach Thee, through Thy grace, by any path.

From the Gospel

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4 classes of Men

Sri Ramakrishna: "In this creation of God there is a variety of things: men, animals, trees, plants. Among the animals some are good, some bad. There are ferocious animals like the tiger. Some trees bear fruit sweet as nectar, and others bear fruit that is poisonous. Likewise, among human beings, there are the good and the wicked, the holy and the unholy. There are some who are devoted to God, and others who are attached to the world.

"Men may be divided into four classes: those bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after liberation, the liberated, and the ever-free.

"Among the ever-free we may count sages like Narada. They live in the world for the good of others, to teach men spiritual truth.

"Those in bondage are sunk in worldliness and forgetful of God. Not even by mistake do they think of God.

"The seekers after liberation want to free themselves from attachment to the world. Some of them succeed and others do not.

"The liberated souls, such as the sadhus and mahatmas, are not entangled in the world, in ‘Lust and Greed’. Their minds are free from worldliness. Besides, they always meditate on the Lotus Feet of God.

"Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught in the net. They are like the ever-free. But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free themselves from it, and they are like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish that struggle succeed; A very few do jump out of the net, making a big splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout, 'Look! There goes a big one!' But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with the net in their mouths and lie there quietly, thinking, 'We need not fear any more; we are quite safe here.' But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net. These are like the men bound to the world.

"The bound souls are tied to the world by the fetters of ‘Lust and Greed’. They are bound hand and-foot. Thinking that ‘Lust and Greed’ will make them happy and give them security, they do not realize that it will lead them to annihilation. When a man thus bound to the world is about to die, his wife asks, 'You are about to go; but what have you done for me?' Again, such is his attachment to the things of the world that, when he sees the lamp burning brightly, he says: 'Dim the light. Too much oil is being used.' And he is on his death-bed!

"The bound souls never think of God. If they get any leisure they indulge in idle gossip and foolish talk, or they engage in fruitless work. If you ask one of them the reason, he answers, 'Oh, I cannot keep still; so I am making a hedge,' When time hangs heavy on their hands they perhaps start playing cards."

There was deep silence in the room.

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, is there no help, then, for such a worldly person?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Certainly there is. From time to time he should live in the company of holy men, and from time to time go into solitude to meditate on God. Furthermore, he should practise discrimination and pray to God, 'Give me faith and devotion.' Once a person has faith he has achieved everything. There is nothing greater than faith.

(To Kedar) "You must have heard about the tremendous power of faith. It is said in the Purana that Rama, who was God Himself — the embodiment of Absolute Brahman — had to build a bridge to cross the sea to Ceylon. But Hanuman, trusting in Rama's name, cleared the sea in one jump and reached the other side. He had no need of a bridge. (All laugh.) "Once a man was about to cross the sea. Bibhishana wrote Rama's name on a leaf, tied it in a corner of the man's wearing-cloth, and said to him: 'Don't be afraid. Have faith and walk on the water. But look here — the moment you lose faith you will be drowned.' The man was walking easily on the water. Suddenly he had an intense desire to see what was tied in his cloth. He opened it and found only a leaf with the name of Rama written on it. 'What is this?' he thought. 'Just the name of Rama!' As soon as doubt entered his mind he sank under the water.

"If a man has faith in God, then even if he has committed the most heinous sins — such as killing a cow, a brahmin, or a woman — he will certainly be saved through his faith. Let him only say to God, 'O Lord,! will not repeat such an action', and he need not be afraid of anything."

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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