Realisation of Supreme Being

Among the innumerable and varied portrayals of the Supreme Being in our scriptural lore, one depicts Him as a farmer, describing how he tills the ground, removes weeds, takes precautions to prevent stray cattle from grazing and ultimately while harvesting, sits near the field unmindful of the climate.

The Epics and Puranas act as the pesticides to sift Dharma from unrighteousness and the hymns of the spiritual guides serve as barriers to deny entry of vicious thoughts. Still laymen, spiritually infirm as they have not acquired knowledge, may feel it impossible to reach God straight. God may indeed extend them the help but they on their turn may not be in a position to make use of it properly, even as a needy person will feel bewildered when he is presented with a herd of elephants as he will have neither the capacity nor the power to control them. But trained elephants will be found to hand over voluntarily the iron chain to their masters, knowing that they are to be bound by their masters. God has given the bond of "Bhakti" to enable a sincere devotee to realise Him. Also, like the same animal bending its knees to help a man climb on its back, a penitent who holds to the feet of Lord and offers his total surrender (Prapatti) is sure to attain His abode.

In his discourse Sri Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar referred to God's compassion towards His own creations by His manifestations amongst them directly or through consecrated idols. He also resides in the heart of every individual. To help the devotee to experience His presence inwards, several methods are prescribed, one of them being the recitation of His glorious traits. The scriptural texts like the Mahabharatha, particularly the "Sahasranama" showered by a great devotee, when chanted will make one enjoy the Bliss.
                                                                                April 29, 1978.

Avarice leads to ruin

A person becomes rich either by inheritance or by self- earning, but the tendency in general, is not to remain contented but to possess all that one can as soon as possible. In the course of such a temptation, some may not even hesitate to commit unlawful acts to achieve their desires. The insatiable greed to amass wealth, the eagerness to consume delicious dishes, the inclination to befriend women and to drink intoxicating beverages are the chief causes for the destruction of man. Greed is like a flame which can reduce to ashes any quantity of hard wood, if not nipped in the bud, it will annihilate the avaricious. Two parables serve to bring out the consequences of greed, one from Jain scriptures and the other from Panchatantra, according to Muni Sri Rajyash Vijayaji in his discourse. Three young men and an elderly person travelling through a jungle came across an ant hill. Under it was a treasure of silver, guarded by a cobra. Disregarding the elder's advice, the youth killed the reptile and carried the booty with them. A little ahead, a similar ant hill with a treasure of gold was found and again, despite the old man's warning, the youth killed the cobra and took away the bundle of yellow metal, with a feeling of joy that they had grown richer. But when they came across a third treasure of gems, they were fatally bitten by a giant-sized cobra. The elder one who managed to escape, retrived the entire treasure and spent it for charitable purposes. A fox in a forest was lucky to find a hunter and a peacock lying dead and was happy that it could get enough food for winter. But in its anxiety to satisfy its immediate appetite, it tried to chew the string of the hunter's bow, when the string forcibly hit the animals, resulting in its death. Contentment alone can fetch peace and happiness while desire can lead to a man's ultimate ruin.
                                                                                January 21, 1980.

Sine qua non of a spiritual aspirant

The majority of people call themselves believers in God. They visit temples, read religious texts, listen to discourses: and observe religious practices and feel satisfied. However, it is for each one of them to judge how far his varied day- to-day activities conform to his faith, in the existence of the all-pervading and all knowing God. There is another class of people, rationalists, who dispute the existence of God. They are guided purely by "reason". As a matter of fact, "reason" and "faith" are like the two eyes of a person. Both are necessary for acquisition of true knowledge and wisdom. The spiritual aspirant should have his feet firm on the strong and secure foundation of faith.

The doubting and questioning Narendran, w ho later came to be known as Swami Vivekananda, was completely transformed by Sri Ramakrishna. The illustrious disciple came to regard his master as a Divine incarnation. All rationalists cannot have the rare good fortune that Narendran had. Hence, the importance and relevance of Sri Ramakrishna's teachings to the rationalists. The teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, who experienced the presence of God, have a massage for the believers too. The Bengali saint only re-discovered and re-interpreted the eternal truths handed down to mankind by the ancient seers and sages of India. The incidents in his life confirmed the spiritual experiences and exhortations of those venerable sages.

Swami Tapasyananda, in a discourse said that because of his proximity (Ramakrishna lived in the last century), and the fact that incidents in his life were duly recorded by those who observed him from close quarters, Sri Ramakrishna is specially relevant to modern times. He laid stress on the fundamental unity of all religions and his ideas accommodated the different schools of philosophy.
                                                                                March 18, 1983

Self-centred modern man has no inward peace

The modern man, under the impact of western civilisation, is crazy about accumulating a variety of goods to make himself happy. Hence earning more and more money becomes an obsession with him. But the pity is, even after acquiring them, he continues to remain dissatisfied. He does not experience a sense of fulfilment, a feeling of joy. He possesses many things, but lacks the most important inward peace and quiet. His mind is always restless.

The habits, values and the life-style of the people have undergone a sea change in the last two or three generations. Our dwelling places are no longer happy homes filled with spiritual aroma and characterised by elders associating every activity with God and the young ones imbibing that bent of mind from childhood. In those by- gone days, no one partook of anything before it was offered to the Lord. Every thing was God's "prasad". The entire family remained happy and contented. Those days, the people were not educated in the formal sense, but were knowledgeable; they knew what contributed to happiness and peace. Their lives were marked by simple living and high thinking and they shared their belongings with others. But, the educated modern man, highly self-centred, has not learnt how to be happy with himself and make others happy. Disappointed and dejected, he visits several places to get relief from stress and pain. All that he gets is only temporary titillation.

Sri Krishna Premi, in a discourse said one can get real peace and happiness only when one turned to God and sought the company of the pious and virtuous. If a person repeatedly listened to the narration of the lives of exalted persons marked by simplicity and unselfishness, he would be irresistibly attracted to them.
                                                                                January 7, 1984

The five evils man should keep off

Man suffers because of his own Senses. By yielding to temptations, he continues to be in bondage. Each Sense exerts tremendous pressure on him and the result of their combined attack can very well be imagined. "Listening" can do harm in the same way as the deer is exposed to danger when it lifts its earlobes hearing a noise and runs about. By the "touch" of the female, the male elephant gets excited and is caught by the hunter. The moth which "sights" the flame is attracted to it and it perishes by falling into it. "Taste" draws the fish to the bait. The "smell" of honey attracts the bee and its legs stick to the fluid as it sits on it. The cumulative effect of all these evils is that man is unable to escape from worldliness and is ever held in bondage. There is still a way out. A boat may float but care should be taken to see that water does not get into it through any hole.

Man can throw away his shackles by seeking the help of a spiritual guide, who out of compassion, will prescribe the steps. By adhering to them the aspirant can realise the truth within, feel the presence of the Supreme and ultimately reach the transcendental stage. Religion being the manifestation of Divinity within, each one has to seek it by himself. It is comparable to a patient taking the medicine to cure himself of the disease and not someone else. Also a person should himself see the full moon rising in the horizon to enjoy the scene. Even as the geologist locates gold or oil in the substratum with an instrument, the preceptor will help his disciple to identify the line of approach and the aspirant will have to dig out the truth himself. Once he does this, he overcomes worldliness and cultivates discipline, and can enjoy bliss within.

In a discourse Swami Ranganadananda explained that the study of spiritual texts like Viveka Choodamani will enable a person to snap worldly ties. When this is done, he will be contented even if poor I derive moral courage even if physically weak and treat all creations as equal.
                                                                                August 3, 1984

Choose your God, but never hate others

One of the glorious aspects of Hinduism is the emphasis on the Doctrine of "Unity in Diversity." No one is compelled to worship a particular deity; each is free to choose a God. Having made his choice, he is asked to repose total confidence in His dispensation and be steadfast in his devotion to Him, whether in adversity or prosperity. It may be that in times of distress, the devotee may be tempted to see boons from elsewhere but this should be avoided. At the same time, the scriptures say God is one and there is no difference between, His various manifestations. How then is man to reconcile the two apparently contradictory theories?

It is agreed that a devotee should be attached to his personal God like an ideal wife dependent on her husband alone. But, at the same time, being loyal and affectionate towards him does not mean that she should displease, or disobey, insult or be hostile towards his kith and kin. In fact, her affectionate treatment of his relatives and service to them will gladden her husband. Likewise, a devotee should never denigrate Gods other than those whom he worships. On the other hand, his personal God will feel pleased if h respects other deities. In the same manner, a person has to adhere strictly to the teachings of his spiritual guide but this does not imply that he should show animosity towards equally great religious leaders.

Thus one who has offered his surrender to a particular God should maintain a balance of judgment and never be antagonistic towards others. The Saivite saints, in their hymns, have not referred to Lord Vishnu and the Azhwars have not made any mention of Lord Siva in their verses but there is not even a tinge of mutual recrimination. This is the message spelt out through the Daksha episode in the Bhagavatham.

In his discourse Sri N. Neelabala Sarma referred to the several methods of devotion prescribed in the texts. Each one of them is equally efficacious and a devotee adopting anyone of them can experience the presence of God. His devotion should enable him to be taken gradually nearer God and the ultimate in the process is, to yearn for merger with Him.
                                                                                February 8, 1985