Darshan: Sight of Truth

The path to God is difficult, but you can win. Let God do whatever He wants. Surrender to Him and say, “I brought nothing with me! Whatever You have given me, I offer it back to You.”

You may think your parents gave you the body. Who put life into your body? Who makes your heart tick incessantly? You may feed the body with tasty food but who digests all the food you eat? Who is the driving force behind the circulation of blood? God Himself regulates every single act within every living being.
The eye that is not even an inch long can clearly perceive the stars, far away in the sky. Who gave this little eye, this big strength and power? God alone has conferred and is conferring everything upon you. With your little ego, you are confused that you are the doer. This is the greatest ignorance. Whatever He gives, accept it, it is for your highest good.

Baba (thought for the day)

It was my first interview with Baba. He took the group in the interview room and someone said that are the people from your country, you should go. 

I was the last one walking fast over the place to the mandir and the last one going through the door. Baba was standing at the door and asked, ‘where do you come from?’ And I answered, because I thought it was about the country, ‘Switzerland’. 

In the back of the room was some place to sit down and it was filled with people and he closed the door behind and walked in front to this chair. 

It was amazing, because I saw him the first time materializing things that close, he made for someone a ring and something else and out of his hand came sweets and he gave some of it to all people present.

And he asked the country groups in the second smaller room behind and there we sat and it came all by surprise to me when he said, ’what do you want’? He felt that close, it was an incredible feeling and I tried to explain it. 

Sharing good Things

Always help the poor and those suffering and in distress. Once upon a time, in Tamil Nadu, lived a poet saint who squatted on the small veranda of his hut and chanted beautiful songs to the Lord. One day, it was raining heavily. Another man came and asked him if he could also take shelter there. The devotee said, “There was place just enough for me to stretch out, but now that you are here we will both sit erect.” Later, another man stopped by and asked for shelter. The devotee again agreed saying, “There was place for the two of us to sit. Now that you also have joined, let us all stand.”

He thus taught the principle of helping everyone and not sending anyone away who needed help, even when the means are limited. Cultivate this attitude of sharing with others any good thing you have. Thus you can practice daily, the great principle of finding God in every being.

Baba (thought for the day)

In our center we always have problems to put that in practice, because we do not find the poor on the streets like in other places and it seems rather they are hidden and alone and like abandoned mostly in the cities and to find them seems nearly impossible and we cannot impose ourselves on them if they do not ask for it.

There are always people trying to do more and they don’t know how to put it into practice.

But thinking it over we find another meaning in the thought for the day. In whatever situation we are and we have to share our shelter with another one, even if there is no room and it gets uncomfortable, but we still do it and accept it as a gift of the Lord.

It can be that we are in a crisis and life is not at all as we thought it should be and we begin to doubt and ask, ‘why Lord you are giving me that plight and it is that uncomfortable how you can do that do me?’

We can share with others the good things we have instead of sharing the bad and even if the means are limited. It means even if we have nothing to give we still can give something, but it doesn’t mean that we expect others to do good to us, what seems often the case, it seems they take it literally what Baba uses as example here to show how we can keep a good way of seeing things, even if we have limited means.

Difference between Good and Bad

Who is a bad person? Anyone who sees evil in good is bad; stay away from them. If you join bad company, knowingly or unknowingly, you will lose good qualities. Many have reaped poor fate due to bad company.

Who is a good person? Anyone who sees good, even in a bad person, is good. You must develop friendship with the good. There may be some evil qualities in you; do not worry or become weak because of this. Develop good qualities increasingly. God will always be in you, with you, around you and will take care of you.

Whatever task you undertake, discriminate carefully, follow the noble path and always do good acts. Keep your heart sacred and pure. Never fill it with bad thoughts and feelings. You must start early, drive slowly and reach safely. When you develop good qualities, your journey to the future will be smooth.

Baba

I was impressed getting the answer like that. 

That thought for the day was a highlight and it seemed to explain about everything. Following the inner light and the inner master trying to know how it got into self-enquiry in these words is the reason why some insights were good and others bad, why some were light and others dark. 

In the experience it is not that easy to get aware of it, it is even very difficult to understand Tamas, upside down, if evil is seen in good.

It was not as we might think how we get into self-enquiry; it was not a decision, but the result of watching. 

We didn’t go to Baba and he said, you have to do self-enquiry. 

It was by practice that we got into it. 

In doing we got aware of it. 

The insights were there, but not understood and he said in the dream that he is the insight and the following step.

It began with the higher self in the dream and it had to be understood, that was clear, only not where and how to get the right wisdom.

First time I had met the Maharishi, he was a yogi, I hoped he would tell me how to understand insights and there was one outstanding insight and there were others I was not even aware of it that it was the level of insights.

It went from one TM-course to the next, always hoped to find it in the next course and it was all in vain, only more insights and no answers and when I finally realized that there would be no answers at all, it was too far gone, no way back, it was just deception and illusion.

And finally after being with Baba, sure that it was at the right place, still there were no answers. 

And Baba said, ‘wait, wait, wait’ and time went by and nothing happened.

And in an interview he said, ‘follow the master, fight to the end, finish the game’ and by that it was clear that we didn’t know how to listen to the inner master, even less how to fight to the end and what about finishing the game?

It felt all like theoretical wisdom and the question was how to put it into practice.

The Witness and Divine Love

God dwells in each and every one of us. Do not criticize anybody, you will accumulate sin. Do not hate anyone. Never deride anyone’s action or ridicule them on the grounds of caste, race, gender, religion or community. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart. All of you must understand and internalize this. Become an ideal person from today. Develop faith in the ‘Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God’. Do not worry about the past, forget it. This will lead you to real bliss. Thus I bless you!

In the beginning with Baba it felt like only ‘love, love, love’ and it made me go into the feeling and there it ended, it felt like I couldn’t think anymore. We didn’t know where to begin and how to be able to get that experience of love.

It was present during the time in the ashram as we had every day two Baba Darshans, but when back in our Western world I tried in vain to find it and why it felt like gone. It could not be possibly just go away and what was it?

When I first met with other Baba devotees we were three people singing together with a tape recorder, and I went to India because I wanted to know more.

Face Troubles develop Courage in the Self

When you face troubles develop courage in yourself. Do not think, “Why should I be troubled like this?” Develop broadmindedness. Firmly believe that whatever happens is only for your good. Never forget that trouble, loss, illness, etc. come only for your good. Do not see bad in good. Always see good in bad. Light has much more value when there is darkness around. The value of joy is realized only when there are troubles. During the rainy and winter season, we want heat. In summer times, we look for coolness. You need both heat and cold, depending upon the circumstance. No matter in which situation you are, you must develop good feelings. You must start this habit of always having noble feelings from a very young age. Whatever thoughts and feelings you develop then, will last forever. Develop good thoughts and give up bad company.
Baba (thought for the day)

Spending the day at the emergency ward, after a major fall and still hoping it would get okay soon, and that is should get better, after all, we had to face fact, that is was not getting better but worse, it was a bone fraction.

In the mind a vacation and the intention to travel to India next week, all that should not be happening now, that was clear.
There must be something wrong about the travelling plans or something else, but what was it? There has to be something wrong about it, if everything turns upside down in no time and how to see good about it? That is exactly what Baba is talking about in this thought for the day.

Holistic Wellbeing

The word ‘Health’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Helig’ meaning holistic or wholeness of the spirit. You are made up of sense organs, mind, intellect, consciousness and the indwelling spirit. ‘Wholeness’ includes all these elements. Your mind should be in a state of fullness; there should be no room for confusion or depression. To achieve such a state of mind, it is necessary to connect with the Divine and understand the situation. For instance, students should not get depressed if they did not score as well as they expected or perhaps failed in an examination. Instead, they should examine the reasons for the result – whether they studied well or understood the subject correctly. If the conclusion is inadequate preparation, then the resolve should be to do better in the next opportunity. You must develop your moral and mental strength by practicing Sadhana for disciplining the mind and achieve holistic wellbeing.

Baba (thought for the day)

Yes, we call that helig – ‘heilig’, the wholeness of the spirit.

We know our sense organs, but everything else is not so clear, for the mind we do not have a good translation, the intellect is easier, but consciousness not and even less the indwelling spirit.

If it would be so easy to just contact that spirit, we would know how, but as it is inside and inside it is dark, we do not have any light to see, we look for it on the outside and there we cannot find it.

So we should get aware of it to be able in that wholeness to include all elements.

How do we get aware of the indwelling spirit?

If we see only part of it, our mind cannot be in fullness, that is just normal.

That is it what reflects in the inner view as colors, usually if it is black dark by experience it has to do with partial knowledge and usually some part of the whole is ignored.

If we don't Know our True Identity ...

All spiritual practices (Sadhana) will go in vain if you do not know your true identity. Instead of asking others, “Who are you?” ask yourself, “Who am I?”

We say, “This is my book, this is my tumbler.” Then, "Who am I? The feeling of ‘my’ is illusion (maya). All this ‘mine’ is matter; they are negative. You think you are the master of this material world. Master the mind and be a mastermind! Make an effort to know your true identity.

To know this, you should first give up body attachment. When I say this is ‘my handkerchief’, I am separate from the handkerchief. Similarly, when I say this is ‘my body’, I am separate from the body. When I say, ‘my mind’ it means I am separate from my mind. Then who am I? Constant enquiry on these lines would lead y ou to self realisation.

Baba (thought for the day)

We went into the practice of spiritual sadhana by regular meditation, twenty minutes morning and evening silent sitting, very simply, we just sat down and were thinking a mantra, repeating it and it was essential to do it regularly, and health will improve, we use more of our mental potential and life improves in many ways, and that will takes care of aging, we will get less old or we remain longer young etc.

That was all good and we could use it and it is what everybody wanted, there was no reason to not go for it, but not once it was about our true identity. But I was looking for the higher self and that is our true identity and I was thinking that it would still come, later on maybe, they always said it would come and there was that big deception, first it was all secret, we could only know in doing and afterwards, after we got it and it went from program to program, from course to course, but it never went beyond it and in direction of the higher self. In that sense it was similar to scientology, I have seen a movie not long ago and first it seemed to make sense, going beyond the mind and more in a state of being and then began the courses and more courses and training and it ended in a mental prison and it is nothing but brainwashing. 

Seeing the Divine in our Heart

Truth is that, which does not change with time. A policeman wears his uniform and performs his duty. When you see him, you think that is the truth. After his duty, he goes home and changes to a night-dress. Now too he is a policeman! Though the clothes he wore has changed, his body does not change. Similarly, ‘Dehi’ your indweller, does not undergo any change. Your body is associated with Satvic, Rajasic and Tamasic qualities. Remove them and you will see the divine ‘Brahman’.
In a cold hill station, you wear vest, shirt and then a protective coat on top of it. If you want to see your heart (chest), you must remove your coat, shirt and vest; only then you can see your heart. Similarly, the body of a human being is covered with many qualities. When you go beyond these, you will be able to see the Divine in your heart.

Baba (thought for the day)

In thinking it over and writing about it we can get deeper into the meaning of the wisdom in his words and find him. This is such great wisdom. First it tells us that we have to reach a non changing level, how do we do that? It helps to see it with the opposite value, we know it is not relative, because everything relative is changing, therefore, it is absolute. It cannot be limited by time and space, it has to go beyond it to be only one without a second. We can only recognize what is passing by, because there is something which is always the same and not moving. We see the limited, because behind is the ocean of consciousness and the unlimited being.