Remember Who you Are

Chant the name of God day in and day out. That alone will protect you at all times. Just as air is all pervasive, God is present in you, with you, around you, below you, above you. Hence, be in constant communion with Divinity. When you develop faith in Divinity, you will naturally have unity. Consequently, there will be no scope for enmity. You need not perform any rituals in order to win the grace of God. It is enough if you do namasmarana (chant the Divine Name) from the depth of your heart. Hari Bhajana bina sukha shanti nahi… (You cannot attain peace and happiness without singing the glory of God). If you incessantly chant the divine name 'Rama', no harm can ever befall you. Do not fritter away this opportunity but put it to the best use. Remember that God is always with you wherever you are.

Baba (thought for the day)

How do we feel about that first sentence, but here at work and also at home there is no way I can chant the name of God day in and out. So for me it is the question how to understand it. Even if I would try, it would not work out.

Listening to Baba's words what comes in my mind are some old saints walking around chanting and singing and praising the name of the Lord all day and it was kind of like that with the Hare Krishnas, they were singing Kirtans and dancing in the streets and for it was a challenge to be part of it and to stand on the street and sing and dance and I was not very happy about it. I didn't like to be the object of curiosity for all passing by people and to stand up to it in that obvious way. In Paris it was easier, because nobody knew me probably and it was Paris and not my hometown and Paris is beautiful and we got like that another sight of the city than if we are just a tourist.  

It was hard and I had the feeling I would like more discretion and less openly demonstrating what had to do with believe and internal affairs and I was not used to that at all and I didn't get the taste for it. Our discussion when I had been younger turned around another theme, it was the question if God exists at all and not if we want to sing and show our ecstasy openly in the streets. And it was not the question if I wanted to do it, but they told us to do it and that felt even more awkward because we were expected to obey and to jump if they said jump and to stay if they said stay.

Three Types of Karma

If the world is real, it must be cognized even during the stage of dreamless deep sleep, but we are not conscious of the world during sleep. Hence, the visible world is as unreal as the dream world. The Universe is a reflection of the Divine (Brahman). The sky might be reflected in a pot of toddy but that does not defile it. Similarly, in this vehicle called body, the Atma dwells pure and undefiled. The fruits of action, good or bad, adhere to the vehicle and not to the indweller. When such wisdom dawns, the dark shadows of the three types of Karma flee before it (The three being Sanchita - the entire accumulated Karma; Prarabdha - the Karma whose effects we undergo in the present and Aagami - the Karma we perform now whose results will be felt in the future). The suffering and travails of this world are illusory and transitory. Fix your mind firmly on this great fact and set out bravely on the path of spiritual practice, the practice of devotion.

Baba (thought for the day)

In the first sentence we have the message. Is there anybody in the West of all the scientist getting to that conclusion that the world is not real, because we cannot cognize it during the stage of dreamless deep sleep?
We are not conscious of the world during sleep. So why not everybody recognizes the message in Baba’s words and listens to it?

If the world is real, it must be cognized even during the stage of dreamless deep sleep, but we are not conscious of the world during sleep. Hence, the visible world is as unreal as the dream world.

Divine Grace can Nullify the Effects of Karma

Scholars say, it is impossible to escape karma. What they say is true to a certain extent. Now, you may wonder if there is a way to escape from the consequences of karma. Yes, it is possible for everyone, if they ‘earn’ the grace of God. Once you deserve and receive God’s grace, you will not be affected by karmaphala (consequences of Karma). Hence, strive to earn divine grace. When you earn Divine grace, even if you have to experience the consequences of karma, you will not feel the pain. Consider the example of a bottle with medicine. The medicine will have an expiry date. After the expiry date, the medicine will lose its potency. Likewise, God’s grace will make the karmaphala ‘expire’, and nullify the effects of karma. The most important aspect here is to ‘deserve’ His Grace. You must cultivate necessary strength and willpower to deserve divine grace, and be free from the shackles of karma.

Baba (thought for the day)

If we think over that thought for the day, what are the questions we have to ask?

Scholars say, it is impossible to escape karma. Who are the scholars? Does Baba agree with it or not?

What they say is true to a certain extent.

He is telling us that it is only true to a certain extent and why only to a certain extent?

Now, you may wonder if there is a way to escape from the consequences of karma.

It means Baba is making us wonder if the scholars are not right and what do we have to do that they are not right? Is there a way to escape from the consequences of Karma?

Yes, it is possible for everyone, if they ‘earn’ the grace of God. Once you deserve and receive God’s grace, you will not be affected by karmaphala (consequences of Karma).

And here he is giving us the answer. It is possible to escape from the consequences  of Karma if we earn the grace of God.
How do we deserve and receive God’s grace to not be affected by the (consequences of Karma)?

Hence, strive to earn divine grace.

Remember the Divine, Remember 'Who I am'

People yield to delusion and become one with the darkness caused by false values and attachment to the unreal, the ‘me’ and ‘mine’. But the scripture (Shastra) is like a mother; she does not give up. She persists and pursues; she reminds you of your goal so that you will be saved. The scriptures are to be considered as the cause of the awareness of the incomprehensible, immeasurable and inexpressible Brahman. The scriptures are numberless, and a lifetime is too short. Aspirants are plenty; doubts and hesitations are numerous; steadfastness is meager. As a result, no one can claim full mastery. But you need not drink the entire ocean to know its taste; one drop is enough. Similarly, it is impossible to understand all the contents of the scriptures. But it is enough to grasp the important lesson that it teaches and put it into practice. The lesson is: constant remembrance of the Divine.

Baba (thought for the day)

How do we become one with darkness? 

It is caused by false values, looking for happiness and the solution to problems on the wrong level, what is due to attachment to the unreal, what we think we are as Baba tells here the ‘me’ and ‘mine’.

What we think is all ‘mine’ or ‘my family’ is part of it. Why it is like that, because it is not permanent and just passing by in our next life it will look different. If today we are very rich on inner values with Baba and maybe on outer richness, next life we will have maybe nothing if the Karma is not good and we will not even remember, that is just passing by values, but the divine reality is real and will also be the same next life and it has been the same in our past life, therefore, we should focus on what is real only.

What is unreal is what is passing by. We were born somewhere and now we live somewhere else and next life we will live again in an all different environment and we will have no memory and we lived in a different way in our past life, it has no value, we cannot take it with us.

The only thing that has value and is good Karma is the divine and our work and sacrifice for the divine values and that means his message, not our message. Our message it is not eternal and based on truth is no message, as it is also passing by and temporary.

We will not remember it; we will just have good or bad Karma left.

People yield to delusion and become one with the darkness caused by false values and attachment to the unreal, the ‘me’ and ‘mine’.

The Macrocosm in the Microcosm

Many people slander image worship, but its basis is really one’s capacity to see the macrocosm in the microcosm. The value of image worship is testified by experience; it doesn’t depend on one’s imaginative faculty. What is found in the form of the Lord (Virat-swarupa) is also found, undiminished and unalloyed, in the image form (Swarupa). Images serve the same purpose as metaphors and similes in poetry. They illustrate, amplify, and clarify. Joy comes not through the shape of things but through the relationship established. Not any child but her child makes the mother happy. So it is with each one and all things! With each and every thing in the universe, if one establishes that kinship, that Godly love (Iswara prema), then truly an overpowering joy can be experienced! Only those who have felt it can understand.

If it is about our capacity to see the macrocosm in the microcosm, it is about intelligence and someone who goes to the Lord and is in his presence for that much time and has not the capacity to realize that he is with the macrocosm and he is going back to his place and there he is again in his small world of microcosm and he doesn’t realize the that it is not the same or that something is wrong, such a person, whatever it looks like at the outside level, he cannot be awake, he is dull and stupid and that were Baba’s words in the insight he said, ‘stupid’.

He uses always the best words to describe something.

Many people slander image worship, but its basis is really one’s capacity to see the macrocosm in the microcosm.

Also in the Bible is said that we should not make an image of God. To be able to see the macrocosm in the microcosm is based on intelligence, we can call it pure intelligence or creative intelligence, but it is intelligence. 

The value of image worship is testified by experience; it doesn’t depend on one’s imaginative faculty.

Intimate Friendship

God is omnipresent and is within you. The primary requisite to find Him within you is having pure and selfless love. Chant His Name with love. All living beings are bound by karma in this world. God loves the human form. Hence Avatars come in human form. You can experience His vision by following your duties (Karma marga), as declared in Bhagavad Gita. The Divine is being worshipped as a decorated idol or image, with an artificial form. You should experience the Lord in His natural form, in a natural manner. All the ornamentation a devotee resorts to does not please God. It may please the heart of other devotees, but God's heart is not moved thereby. Only through love can God's heart be moved and softened. Every devotee has that power. Instead of resorting to extravagant adulation of God or seeking petty favors from God, yearn for God alone and you will get everything. Endeavour to make God your intimate friend. 

Baba (thought for the day)

  

Baba said, first discrimination, second seeing it in our own life and third we have to go on no matter what obstacles are there.

How do we do that? This morning during meditation was a cross in the insight on a light blue background, it didn't feel okay, it was rather scary and it has to do with everything what is not permanent, just passing by and it was like the light blue background was what is permanent and non-changing. Years ago Baba had said in my insight that I could go on when it was light blue, it was the only indication I had and everything what happened before somehow seemed to not work out.

Not long ago there was also Baba and two devotees I know quite well and it turned into a catastrophe that was even less great to get aware of it. And I remembered that I had that catastrophe seen above the head of my father. Now what it turns out looking back in my life as he said we should and by doing that I get aware that it was not possible to talk to him.

We Know that we don't Know

For this universal ailment of the cycle of birth and death (bhava-roga), listening to spiritual discourses (sravana) and singing God's name (kirtana) is a mandatory prescription. God's Name, Vedas and Puranas must be recited and listened to. Performing all these, if you do not awaken your own inner consciousness (antah-karana), you will fall into perdition. Hence, to attain God's Grace, the feeling of 'I-ness' (ahamkara), which makes you say, "I am the doer", should be rooted out from your heart. Everyone learned or illiterate, should feel an overwhelming urge to know God. God has equal affection toward all His children, for to illumine is the nature of light. So too, uttering God's name, one can progress in the realisation of God, another may perhaps do wicked deeds! It depends on your usage of the light. Remember - the Lord's name is without blemish, always and forever. 

Baba (thought for the day)

To attain God’s grace the feeling of ‘I-ness’ (ahamkara), should be rooted out from the heart. There is no such thing as ‘I’ and whenever we think, ‘I know the answer’, we are in the ego. It is about intelligence, Maharishi called it ‘creative intelligence’, if we know that there is an universal ‘I’ and that is in everybody and we should realize our higher self, we have to first get aware that the ‘I-ness’ doesn’t exist in the body. I am the doer is that feeling of ‘I-ness’ and when Baba said in the interview room, how do you feel, he made me aware of it – that it is a feeling. Do you know how easily that feeling is there and we don’t get aware of it?

So first we have to get aware of it and then we are able to realize that he is the one. The man in the dream who is there to awake us, is not giving us the answer that we can tell, ‘I know the answer’, he is awakening us and that is not the same thing as giving the answer.
If the man in the dream is there, it is a reflection of truth and an ‘insight’, to understand that ‘insight’ we have to go the following step and that is also ‘he’, we have to listen to his words and these words we find the reflection of the insight. One reflection is an insight and the man in the dream, it is like looking in a mirror and in the mirror everything looks like words in mirror writing and when we listen to him we see in our inner view inside in the heart the reflection of it. It is like looking in a mirror and it is mirror writing and therefore, it doesn’t make sense and we look or listen to Baba’s words and by that we look in the mirror of our heart and we see the reflection, but this time we can read it, because it is no more mirror writing.

So the man in the dream who is there to awake us talks to us in mirror writing, these are insights, pictures reflected in the mirror and only when we see the same pictures in his words, when he is talking about it, we recognize ‘truth’ and are able to recognize, ‘I am that’.

Difference between Form and Formless

The Gopikas did not concern themselves with the question whether the Divine was attributeless or full of attributes. They preferred to worship the Divine in the form of Krishna and they wanted their forms to merge in the Divine. "Thereby we shall be formless," they declared. It is when we forget our form that we can merge in the Formless. The Divine cannot be experienced through Dhyana (meditation) or Japa (recitation); this is a delusion. These practices may give momentary peace of mind. To experience permanent joy, develop your Divine nature. For this, your environment must be congenial and have pure and Divine vibrations. It is not necessary to go to a forest to concentrate on the Divine Atma dwelling within your heart. The key to inner peace is within you and not outside. In the atmosphere of a sacred divine presence, you can promote your quest for peace more effectively.

Baba (thought for the day)

If the Gopikas did not concern themselves with the question whether the Divine was attributeless or full of attributes, they also didn't question if there was a difference between non-conceptual and conceptual really, but nevertheless, they had to use discrimination.

As Baba is telling us that they preferred to worship the divine in the form of Krishna and they wanted to merge with the divine. And they said that they will be formless and the discrimination was about form and no form. How do we get to the formless if we just have a desire to merge? If we don't question that attributes, but it is still the difference between form and formless, there is actually a big difference and the question is how we get into a relationship with the formless.

Love is in our imagination usually directed towards a person or a form, we have to go over a form to get to the level when it is formless.

The Gopikas did not concern themselves with the question whether the Divine was attributeless or full of attributes. They preferred to worship the Divine in the form of Krishna and they wanted their forms to merge in the Divine. "Thereby we shall be formless," they declared. It is when we forget our form that we can merge in the Formless. The Divine cannot be experienced through Dhyana (meditation) or Japa (recitation); this is a delusion.

Love alone is the Fruit of Love

The Divine has comes as Avatar only to teach mankind the truth about love. Love alone is the fruit of love. True Love has no trace of self-interest and knows no fear. The world displays the diversity that has emanated from the One. The Divine demonstrates the unity that subsumes the diversity. Recognition of this 'Unity in Diversity' can be learnt only from the Divine. Wherever you go, whatever you do or see, cultivate the sacred feeling that you will do only those actions which pleases God. The Gita has declared: Bear no ill-will towards any living being (Adveshtaa Sarva Bhoothaanaam). Hatred towards anyone is hatred for God. The scriptures have also clearly declared: The salutation that you offer to anyone reaches the Divine. When you fill your hearts with love, you will have no hatred towards anyone. Cultivate the faith that the Divine is in everyone and surrender unto Him in a spirit of true dedication.

Here he is telling us that he comes only as Avatar to teach the truth about 'love', nothing else. He is teaching love. The Avatar didn't come to teach us to not talk or to keep silence, as he tells us here; he comes only to teach the truth about love.  

The Divine has comes as Avatar only to teach mankind the truth about love. Love alone is the fruit of love.

Love is the fruit of love; therefore, there is nothing but love. The universe is filled with love and why? If we don't have the experience, imagine it is a pure being state. We transcend the mind and our thoughts and experience pure being or pure consciousness, it is unlimited and non-conceptual, and it is unchangeable and everywhere present. It is the same with love; 'pure love' it cannot be transcended; only it needs more than just meditation to make the experience of pure love.

True Love has no trace of self-interest and knows no fear. The world displays the diversity that has emanated from the One. The Divine demonstrates the unity that subsumes the diversity.

His Words and the Divine Presence

There is no need for a new religion or a new culture or a new philosophy, what is needed is only a pure heart. You should not give room for impurity or pollution in the heart. You can make your life sacred by following the golden rule: ‘Help ever; hurt never.’ Speak softly, sweetly and truthfully. There are two eyes to see different things, two ears to hear good and bad, there are two hands to do good and bad, but there is only one tongue to speak only the Truth. Embodiments of Divine Atma! Spend your life in cherishing sacred thoughts, listening to good things, speaking good words, and doing good deeds. If all of you adopt this path, happiness and prosperity will reign in the world.

The relative world or multiplicity is a mixture of absolute and relative and to be able to see the difference, first we go from multiplicity to duality. In our TM-meditation it said it was about 200 percent living, hundred percent relative and hundred percent absolute. There had to be meditation to get to the awareness of the 200 percent, as long as we don’t meditate, it is just a mixture and multiplicity.

It doesn’t work if we do not meditate and that is what Baba calls here churning the milk to get to the butter. If we don’t churn, the milk and the butter will not be separate and he is not churning it for us. We have to do it.

Every struggle to realise the unity behind all the multiplicity is a step on the path of Divine Life. You have to churn the milk if you wish to separate and identify the butter that is immanent in it.

Calmess and Courage

Three types can be recognized among those who seek to do good deeds and tread the path of self-realization - those who are too frightened by troubles, losses, and difficulties to even begin the endeavor; they are of the lowest type. The next are those who, after having undertaken the journey and gone some distance, are depressed and defeated by obstacles and disappointments and give up in the middle; they are of the middling type. Lastly, those who steadfastly adhere to the path with calmness and courage, whatever the nature of the travail or however hard the road; these are, of course, of the highest type. This steadfastness, faith and constancy, is the characteristic of the devotee. You may be deluded by attachment to this illusory world and attracted by temporal joy, but never barter away the means of achieving permanent and complete happiness. And carry on your spiritual duties with full devotion.

Baba discriminates between three types of people, those who are too frightened and don’t even begin with and he calls that the lowest type.  

Three types can be recognized among those who seek to do good deeds and tread the path of self-realization - those who are too frightened by troubles, losses, and difficulties to even begin the endeavor; they are of the lowest type.

For my experience after I began it was not possible to stop anymore, so I actually sometimes think when I am not feeling good and nothing seems to work out as it should that I should never have had the courage to begin with, but as we did it long ago there is no way to go back and to not do it.  

We began on the path of meditation and on the way there was no stop and the negative experiences felt like hell and it was not possible to stop and we had to get aware of it that it was not the right path and there was a reason for it and it took a long time to get aware of it. It was not exactly a joyful experience and we didn’t expect that we had to get aware that it was not right and what was not right and after thinking that we did the right thing and everything felt wonderful and perfect and it had a big value in our life and we get aware that something was missing and that it was not as we would have liked it to be and that on this level we would not get the right answer. We got it finally with Baba and he came from the inside and enlivened the ideal, the principle in it and by that we get aware of the real value in it, but there was no chance whatsoever to get to that insight on that path alone, it is only due to Baba that it is finally understood right.

But it was real hard and bad surprise when we had to get aware that it was not what we had hoped it would be or what we were told what it should be.

The next are those who, after having undertaken the journey and gone some distance, are depressed and defeated by obstacles and disappointments and give up in the middle; they are of the middling type.

The Atmic Principle and Peace

Every aspirant who seeks the Divine through the path of devotion should strive to keep away from the turmoil, cruelties, and falsehoods of this world and practice truth, righteousness, love, and peace. Those who seek union with God and the welfare of the world should discard as worthless both praise and blame, appreciation and derision, prosperity and adversity. They should courageously keep steady faith in their own innate reality and dedicate themselves to spiritual uplift. No one, including a Maha-purusha (Avatar), can ever escape criticism and blame. But such people do not bend, but hold on to truth. Those who indulge in criticism or blame later wade through unbearable trouble and then realize the real nature of great ones and start to praise them. Their weakness and ignorance is the root-cause for such criticism. So, keep away from doubters and ignorant people and desist from discussing your beliefs with them.

 In the last thoughts for the day Baba mentioned quite often that material attitude leads to downfall and how do we avoid it and put it into practice?

He tells us here that we should strive to keep away from the turmoil, cruelties and falsehood of this world and how can we do that?

We should only keep good company, but not even the people around him we can trust and what about the world around us if we don’t even find it in the ashram?

I had always that not very pleasant idea that we should stay like a recluse alone to not be subjected to the movement, but that’s not it.

We cannot practice truth, right action, peace and love in taking just a nice attitude.

As he told us, if we want to experience pure love, we have to understand peace and we have to accept right action and if we accept the path of right action, we have to accept truth. Only if we have those three things, truth, right action and peace, we can make the experience of pure love.

He should tell us more often about those three steps.

He is always talking about human values, but when we see it in three steps we can better understand it. The fifth of the five human values is the result of the presence of the four others, ahimsa – non-violence.

What do we find in those words? It has something to do with time and action and reaction.

When we understand peace, what has to do with purification of the mind and pure consciousness, if we understand it right, we have to accept right action, it means there is no choice, we have to meditate or do Sadhana and that has always the purpose of purification of the mind, he also said not long ago that the material world is only good for purification.

Every aspirant who seeks the Divine through the path of devotion should strive to keep away from the turmoil, cruelties, and falsehoods of this world and practice truth, righteousness, love, and peace.

Peace, Joy and Inner Fulfillment

The entire Universe is suffused with Divinity. Since your mind is steeped in Prakruthi (worldly objects) you are not able to see Paramatma (Divine). Just as when you focus your attention at a necklace, you shut your eyes to what it is made of, similarly as long as you look at the world with a materialistic attitude, Divinity shuts itself off from us. Once you gaze at the world with a divine attitude you see only Divinity. Who are the thieves that steal from every human being their peace and joy? They are the thieves of desire, pride, greed, infatuation, anger and jealousy, who rob a man of all his riches. But the worst of all thieves who inflicts the worst damage is matsarya (envy). We must win over our internal enemies and turn our gaze to Divinity who pervades the entire Universe.

What is touching to me in reading Baba’s words is first that he talks about the universe, no matter how we hink our personal divinity is, he is telling us the Universe if full of it. 

So we actually should be possible to make that experience, but how do we get the universal experience of it? We have to get the right insights. 

It is also called the expansion of the heart or the expansion of consciousness. 

If we don’t have that experience, we cannot imagine it, but we probably would like to know how to make the experience that the whole universe is nothing but love.

Since your mind is steeped in Prakruthi (worldly objects) you are not able to see Paramatma (Divine).

Thieves of Peace and Joy

There are three stages of sadhana (spiritual practice). They are concentration, contemplation and meditation. Concentration entails fixing your gaze on one form. Contemplation occurs when you are able to perceive the form within you, even in its absence. Meditation means when, as a result of this exercise, this form is permanently imprinted in your heart. If you continue to meditate in this manner, the form will constantly be fixed in your heart. You should not confine your spiritual practices only to concentration and contemplation. While it is true that these are the first steps in your spiritual practices, you must progress further; you must transform concentration to contemplation, and then contemplation into meditation. When you carry this out, you will continue to visualize the form of God at all times. The ancient rishis (seers) adopted this form of meditation. That is why God manifested before them whenever they wished, talked to them and fulfilled their desires.

Concentration is the focus on the mantra and the repetition of it and meditation is the state beyond the mind. Concentration is therefore fixing our gaze on one form and name, in every name is the form.

Contemplation occurs when you are able to perceive the form within you, even in its absence.

Contemplation is when we are able to perceive the from within us, even in its absence. Do we understand it or do we have to practice first to understand it? 

He is the man who comes in our dream to awake us, he is absent in the form and he is present in the dream and he is in the heart.

The insights seem to be part of contemplation.

Meditation means when, as a result of this exercise, this form is permanently imprinted in your heart. If you continue to meditate in this manner, the form will constantly be fixed in your heart.

If that form is permanently imprinted in our heart, we continue to meditate in this manner and we are constantly in touch with him inside.

You should not confine your spiritual practices only to concentration and contemplation. While it is true that these are the first steps in your spiritual practices, you must progress further; you must transform concentration to contemplation, and then contemplation into meditation.

Think it over Again and Again

The entire Universe is suffused with Divinity. Since your mind is steeped in Prakruthi (worldly objects) you are not able to see Paramatma (Divine). Just as when you focus your attention at a necklace, you shut your eyes to what it is made of, similarly as long as you look at the world with a materialistic attitude, Divinity shuts itself off from us. Once you gaze at the world with a divine attitude you see only Divinity. Who are the thieves that steal from every human being their peace and joy? They are the thieves of desire, pride, greed, infatuation, anger and jealousy, who rob a man of all his riches. But the worst of all thieves who inflicts the worst damage is matsarya (envy). We must win over our internal enemies and turn our gaze to Divinity who pervades the entire Universe.

Baba (thought for the day)

In this thought for the day Baba talks about the entire universe suffused with divinity and if we focus on the world, divinity will shut itself off from us. 

The difficulty is, the mind cannot get it.

The whole universe is everything around us and it’s huge, but when Baba is telling us he is God, we have a person in front of us and only love and if it is about the universe, there is nobody. He is an entity in a body and the universe not. 

He is love and we experience that love in him, but if the entire universe is love, why we don’t experience that love, there should be only love. I remember the time in his presence I went back to Zurich and wondered why in his presence was only love and in our world we don’t even know that it exists.

All those questions coming up in just reading the first sentence, hopefully he will tell us later on why. 

And how do we get an answer to all those questions coming up already in the first sentence? We have to go on listening, he will tell us, but maybe not today, but maybe tomorrow. 

Om Tat Sat - and our life

God is not found separately in a temple or in an ashram. Truth is God. Love is God. Dharma is God. When you worship God by following these principles, He will manifest Himself then and there. Do not doubt this. Love God wholeheartedly. Pray to God and make friends with Him. You can achieve anything if you have God as your friend. Learn today to fill your heart with love and adorn your hand with the ornament of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the jewel for the hands. Truth is the necklace one should wear. You must develop the habit of adorning these jewels. Develop divine love and foster peace in the country. Pray with a broad feeling: Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu (May the whole world be happy)! Start every day with this prayer. Then, you will lead a blissful and peaceful life which is full of enthusiasm. Love God and make friendship with Him, and you are bound to be successful in all your endeavors.

Baba

God is not found separately in a temple or in an ashram.

The first sentence in that thought for the day I didn't mention really. If we don't find it in a temple or in an ashram, were do we find him? In our own heart, it is the temple of God. 

And what he is telling us if we worship God and believe in him wherever we are, he will be then and there. That was for me the higher self in the dream. It had the nature of God and it felt also like that. The nature of God is as Baba said not long ago, existence, luminescence, attractiveness (asthi, bhathi, priyam).

Expansion of the Heart

God is not found separately in a temple or in an ashram. Truth is God. Love is God. Dharma is God. When you worship God by following these principles, He will manifest Himself then and there. Do not doubt this. Love God wholeheartedly. Pray to God and make friends with Him. You can achieve anything if you have God as your friend. Learn today to fill your heart with love and adorn your hand with the ornament of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the jewel for the hands. Truth is the necklace one should wear. You must develop the habit of adorning these jewels. Develop divine love and foster peace in the country. Pray with a broad feeling: Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu (May the whole world be happy)! Start every day with this prayer. Then, you will lead a blissful and peaceful life which is full of enthusiasm. Love God and make friendship with Him, and you are bound to be successful in all your endeavors.

Reading Baba's words I feel like in Prasanthi, there is the mandir and we sit in Darshan or sitting in a big crowd listening to him perfectly happy to just sit and listen and looking at him who is telling us,

'God is not found separately in a temple or in an ashram. Truth is God. Love is God. Dharma is God.

Put it into Practice

The scriptures are as affectionate to us as a mother. They teach lessons as a mother to her children, in conformity with the level of intelligence and according to the needs of time and circumstance. A mother of two children gives the healthy one every item of food for which it clamours, but she takes great care not to overfeed the sick child and gives it only items that can restore it soon to good health. Can we accuse her of being partial to one and prejudiced against the other in conferring love? The scriptures also draw the attention of those who know the secret of work (karma) to its innate value. Karma can improve life and set its ideals aright. Everyone must be instructed on how to transform work into beneficial activity. Yet, work is not all.

Baba (thought for the day)

Can we tell that knowledge is practiced if people do not listen to Baba? The knowledge is there, but if we do not think it over, we do not practice and as Baba is telling us here, it is like food that is not digested.

We might do some devotional songs, what feels good on the heart level, but if there is no knowledge and we don't listen to Baba, we do not understand what we are signing, we just sing, everybody can just sing.

The Nature of God

When the moon is just a little arc in the sky and one desires to see it, a person indicates it by pointing a finger towards it. Or, when one desires to look at a particular star, a person says, "There, just above that branch of this tree." The moon is far away, and the star is much farther. At the moment it could be seen just above the branch, but that is only a temporary location. Soon, the location changes. The finger can no longer be correct, for the star or moon moves across the sky. But the genuine characteristic never undergoes change. The form may suffer change; the name may change; times may change; and the space it occupies may change. But the core of Truth will not change. That core is denoted as existence, luminescence, and attractiveness (asthi, bhathi, priyam) in Vedantic texts. The above three together are the nature of God. On these as the basis, forms are constructed by the mind, and names for the forms follow.

Baba

What a beautiful picture in that thought for the day and the problems we have in the center we can explain just like that. The finger is pointing at the moon and it is above the branch of this tree, it is a temporary location and so it is with agreement we had once ten or even twenty years ago in the center and the finger is still pointing at that place, but the moon has moved away long time ago, only the finger not it is still pointing at the same place.

The study circle is very important, because it has the aim to listen to Baba’s words and to think it over and it seems there is someone, she is a passionate violin player and she makes always music, but that is not the same as thinking over Baba’s words and listening to him.

I guess it feels like she did the study circle in the same way practicing only during the circle telling her thoughts not in listening to Baba’s words really and sharing it with others, but in responding to the circle. So when we were sharing insights, she said she could not tell anything anymore and she felt that negative, but she was that used to her way of doing it that she thought she was right and we had to be wrong, what put everything upside down.

It is like a feeling that we don’t understand the world anymore, she didn’t enjoy to listen to Baba’s words, she was on an all different place like not part of the circle, but somewhere else and that was again the case in the last circle.

Baba tells us, ‘without enthusiasm, courage, devotion, energy, readiness and sincerity nothing can be achieved’.

He Who Realizes the Divine becomes Divine

The Divine is the base, and also the superstructure. The beads are many, but the interconnecting, integrating string of the rosary is one. So also for the entire world of living beings; God, the permanent, omnipresent Parabrahman, is the base. The scriptures proclaim, "He who realises Divine verily becomes Divine (Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi)". The bubble born of water floats in it and bursts to become one with it. All the visible objective worlds are like bubbles emanating from the vast ocean of Divinity, Brahman. They are on the water and are sustained by water. How else can they arise and exist? Finally, they merge and disappear in water itself. For their origination, subsistence, and mergence, they depend only on water. Water is the basis; bubbles are delusive forms of the same imposed on it.

The Divine is the base, and also the superstructure.

What does Baba mean with the base and superstructure?  If we read the first sentence, we get the idea of it, but we are not really able to answer, probably we know he talks about Atman as it is always about Atman, but do we know Atman enough to be able to tell what it is? If we feel that we are not sure, we are able to not even go on reading it, because we cannot answer it.

But there is a way to answer it. We take the second sentence.

The beads are many, but the interconnecting, integrating string of the rosary is one.

 He compares it with the beads and the string is only one. We can look for other examples like God is one, people are many. Gold is one, golden jewelry or coins are many. Heart is one, lovers are many or love is one, lovers are many etc.

So also for the entire world of living beings; God, the permanent, omnipresent Parabrahman, is the base.

You and I become We - Cultivation of Feelings

When you perform an activity (kriya) as an offering to the Lord, your own good, what is good for others, and the highest good (swartha, parartha, and paramaartha) all merge! First, you and I become we. Next we and He becomes One. The individual soul, the ‘I’ (jiva) should accomplish identity first with the creation (prakriti) and then with the Supreme Divine (Paramatma). This indeed is the significance of the mantra Om Tat Sat (which connects the identity of the individual with the Universal Brahman). ‘He’ and ‘I’ are always there; the spiritual practice (sadhana) is always there too. Just as the sun is inseparable and is never apart from its rays, under no circumstances should any aspirant part with one’s sadhana. It is only then they can be said to be one with Om. (Prema Vahini)

  

 Baba is telling us here that we merge; all merge when it is good for all.

First, you and I become we. Next we and He becomes One.

There is no He if there is no We. And if there is only ‘I’ as he said no more husband nothing left but an empty Western shoe, there has to be someone and he took care of it that there is someone else.

We don’t exactly know why just an empty shoe, but he is one, no doubt about that or two shoes in the insight, old, brown and worn out, used old Western shoes.

He makes you and I become ‘we’. What is ‘we’? A relationship or just a ‘we’?

If we take it just as a ‘we’, we get to the conclusion that only if there is a ‘we’, there will be ‘he’. To make we and He one, we have to go on to be ‘we’.

‘You and I’ are We and we is He. That is what he said and it was an insight after he left the body. In the insight, (dream) there was a deep dip and we went down that dip and there was only little water left and it went up again and on the way up he dropped the body and it fell into  dust and it went further up and on top was Krishna and his brother. There was not only Krishna after he dropped the body, but ‘we’ it was Krishna with his brother or brother in law, Arjuna.

Not only one, not only Krishna, not only Baba, but ‘we’ to be ‘he’, two people actually, that is why I repeated it again and again, it was kind of triggering me as well, I mean, I only got aware of the importance of that ‘we’ after he left the body.

If we come with the Avatar it is just because of that reason, he doesn’t come alone, he is incarnating with some souls near and dear to him. To be able to get the message that God and devotee are One, there are not two only one, but there are two first to become one. It is not possible to become one if there are not two first.

The individual soul, the ‘I’ (jiva) should accomplish identity first with the creation (prakriti) and then with the Supreme Divine (Paramatma). This indeed is the significance of the mantra Om Tat Sat (which connects the identity of the individual with the Universal Brahman).

The Devil in the Mirror

Desire and bondage to the objects desired and the plans to secure them are attributes of the individualized selves, not of the Self or Atma resident in the body. The sense of me and mine and the emotions of lust and anger originate in the body-mind complex. Only when this complex is conquered and outgrown can true virtue emanate and manifest. The sense of ‘doer’ and ‘enjoyer’, of ‘agentship’, might appear to affect the Atma, but they are not part of the genuine nature of the Atma. Things get mirrored and produce images, but the mirror is not tarnished or even affected thereby. It remains as clear as it was. So too, a virtuous person might be subjected to some contaminating activities due to a backlog of acts in previous lives, but they cannot obstruct the person’s present nature or activities. The virtuous person has these genuine, basic attributes: purity, serenity, joy and is ever cheerful.

Why are Baba’s words that important to us and full of wisdom?

What is happening when reading his thoughts?

It was already a great insight when he was talking about the pratibimba, such a great insight that I never forgot the expression, pratibimba. It felt like those syllables pra-ti-bim-ba would contain everything what matters to be a right answer to us, to fulfill all our desires and to tell us, it is just about ‘that’ and nothing else and if you know ‘that’, you know everything and there is nothing else to know.

A magic word – pra-ti-bim-ba, but it is easier if we call it only ‘that’, but the short word ‘that’ is really reduced to one thing only, in the pra-ti-bim-ba can by anything mirrored as image, it is the image and that would just be the process of it or the essence and that is ‘pure love’. But we have three words and we have to look at each word separate to get to the ‘insight’ of ‘I am that’.

We have to analyze it. Like with that dress yesterday. It looked white and golden and it was blue and black and a million people wondered about it and why it looked that different.

‘I am that’ is telling us that we are something, but it doesn’t tell us what. It is the principle and we have to ask first the right question, ‘who am I?’ – The answer is, ‘I am that’. Or Baba said in the interview room about Soham, the mantra with the breath, so – inhale, ham – exhale, the meaning is ‘I am that’ or ‘I am God’ or ‘I am Shiva’.  If we transcend the relative objective world we get in a state of transcendental awareness or pure being. What is a Samadhi? Sama means even and buddhi is the intellect, it means an even intellect or with other words equanimity.

If we are in that state of pure being, we just are, without thoughts, without feeling for time and space and when thoughts are coming back, we are in the mind again.

Desire and bondage to the objects desired and the plans to secure them are attributes of the individualized selves, not of the Self or Atma resident in the body.

Things get Mirrored and Produce Images

Desire and bondage to the objects desired and the plans to secure them are attributes of the individualized selves, not of the Self or Atma resident in the body. The sense of me and mine and the emotions of lust and anger originate in the body-mind complex. Only when this complex is conquered and outgrown can true virtue emanate and manifest. The sense of 'doer' and 'enjoyer', of 'agentship', might appear to affect the Atma, but they are not part of the genuine nature of the Atma. Things get mirrored and produce images, but the mirror is not tarnished or even affected thereby. It remains as clear as it was. So too, a virtuous person might be subjected to some contaminating activities due to a backlog of acts in previous lives, but they cannot obstruct the person's present nature or activities. The virtuous person has these genuine, basic attributes: purity, serenity, joy and is ever cheerful.

Yesterday was an amazing Bhajan and we had some good visitor's singers and they are always. The study circle to me more like a brain storming, we all put our ideas in it and in the end we let it be like it was.  

Desire and bondage to the objects desired and the plans to secure them are attributes of the individualized selves, not of the Self or Atma resident in the body.

Constant Practice

Spiritual practices should be done consistently with an ever expanding heart full of devotion and spiritual wisdom. There is no distinction between devotion to God (bhakthi) and spiritual wisdom (jnana). Just as materialization (sa-guna) becomes formless (nir-guna), devotion becomes spiritual wisdom. I don't agree that dedicated action (karma), devotion, and spiritual wisdom are separate. Dedicated activity is devotion and devotion is spiritual wisdom. So too, the individual soul (jiva), the Atma, and the Supreme Lord (Parameswara) are not separate; they are one and the same. Therefore, every single deed of yours must be full of the spirit of selfless service (seva), divine love (prema), and spiritual wisdom (jnana). Your life's activities must be saturated with dedicated action, devotion to God (bhakthi), and spiritual wisdom. This is verily the yoga of the Supreme (Purushothama-yoga).

I like to remember the good times we had in Prasanthi with Baba and waiting for him in Darshan.

Before I went to him, I had been a TM-teacher and when I went to him, my boyfriend was also with TM and I didn't wanted to do it wrong, so I asked him about it.

I had strange dreams or insights and he felt like a friend and therefore, I asked him in my first interview about it and I said, my friend is now in New Delhi with the Maharishi and I am here and that is a problem. And he asked, 'who is your friend, is your friend the Maharishi or is your friend with the Maharishi?' and I didn't know or I had the feeling afterwards to understand nothing at all anymore. I thought the boyfriend was the friend and that I had a feeling of friendship because they yogi was behind it and yogis are our friends, that made sense, but understanding it was something else.