Sad Vani | Teachings of Anandamayi Ma 3

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36

In order to become pure white, one must make one's mind a blank or else lose oneself in the immensity of the All.

Whiteness is the result of a complete re­flecting of the combination of all colours; thus the formless is white. In order to be snow-white one must be straight and simple.

Endeavour to be as white as milk, both inwardly and outwardly, by abiding in the stronghold of truth and sincerity. Then, not only will you yourself be happy, but also become a source of happiness to all who contact you.

Renunciation implies immacu­late purity and sincerity. If you live in the world, free from pride and selfishness, people will vie with one another in provi­ding for all your needs. At the same time your ideal way of working and your spirit of dedication will serve as an example wherever you may be.

In these days of material pleasures and luxury, uprightness sanctified by renunciation is sorely needed. Perfect renunciation is in very truth perfect enjoyment.

37

If you can make your life like a running stream that swiftly and steadily flows towards its goal without ever halting, not only will no impurity of any kind be able to accumulate within you but even other people will be cleansed by your presence.

Fire flares up high into the sky yet there is a point beyond which the flame cannot retain its own nature and is converted into smoke.

But the current of ceaselessly flowing water is so powerful that, undeterred by the trees and rocks without number which get in the way, rivers and streams traverse thousands of miles until they arrive at their final destination.

If you want to attain to Truth, you must, as a river, keep on advancing indefatigably with great single­ness of purpose.

38

From every creature in the world some­thing or other can be learned. In this sense everybody is everybody else's Guru. But the Supreme Guru is He who guides man in his search of God or Truth.

When, as a result of meditation and satsang a person begins to yearn for God, He Himself appears to him embodied in the form of the Guru. A true disciple is one who by complete surrender at the Guru's feet comes to realise Who the Guru actually is.      

The disciple must devote himself to the service of the Guru and always obey His orders implicitly.

The Guru's grace and benediction stream down on the head that bows low before Him. The more one-pointed and the humbler the disciple grows, the quicker will develop his capacity for progress.

Another word for son is "ātmāja", self- begotten. On the spiritual path, as soon as the relationship between Guru and disci­ple has become indissoluble, it is appro­priate to call the disciple the real son, ātmāja, of the Guru.

39

If you wish to become a chieftain you need along with your sword and shield the strength and capacity to use them. You clamour so insistently for self-government (swarāj). When you are inwardly ready for swarāj, you shall certainly have it.

On a foundation of ethics and morality build up a life of religion and righteousness (dharma jīvan); keep God first and foremost in all your undertakings. In this way you will be filled with Divine Power (Mahāśaktī), and then, who will be able to interfere with your independence?

When you have no mastery over yourself, how can such a vast multitude of subjects be ruled? If you become monarch in the kingdom of the mind, earthly government will automatically fall into your hands.

In truth, the world rests upon dharma. Dharma is the very life of the world.

40

Medical students have first of all to make a detailed study of the skull, the bones, and the different organs of the human body. This is done with the help of models which they dissect and investigate in various ways.

Likewise, in order to learn the first steps of the science of spiritual life, all kinds of practices and rites are necessary. The physical and mental discipline that these outer observances provide, usually serves as an aid to the inner Guest.

In order to get to know what lies within, it will not do to ignore what is without; for behind the semblances of the world the Supreme has concealed Himself.

This universe may also be called a reflection of the One who is ever wakeful. Do not let the fleeting pleasures of the world entice you; endea­vour to abide in Him, the Supreme Dweller of the heart.

41

Many people say: "I do not like the clangour and agitation that are characteristic of kīrtana. I prefer to sit quietly in a solitary place and meditate.”

As a matter of fact, if in solitude you can obtain com­munion with God, it is excellent. But watch and note carefully whether your mind is seeking God or wandering away among the perplexities of the world?

If you take no notice of the boisterousness of the kīrtana but concentrate on God's Name; if you do not listen to the various tunes and to the rhythms of the drums and cymbals, but let yourself be wafted away at the final note of the music, you will become aware that a contemplative mood has spontaneously awakened in you.

For the average person it is most important to raise the vibrations of his physical body in order to be able to penetrate into subtler levels of consciousness.

Bring together your friends and relations whenever you can and unite with them in singing God's Name or His praises; or, if this is not possible, visit places where religious music is being performed.

By chanting God's Name regularly and repeatedly, you will get into the right mood for kīrtana and by engaging in kīrtana you will become more and more disposed to practise japa, meditation and contemplation.

To be effective, all worship must be carried out with faith and regularity; kīrtana also should be practised with a similar attitude. It will be very good if those who take part can keep in tune and rhythm.

Invoke the Presence of Him Whose name you are chanting, otherwise it will be merely a musical pastime instead of Nama Kīrtana.

42

We do not know one another, He alone knows us all.

Stand near a mountain and you will observe how earth, rocks, trees, roots, creepers are interlaced in such a way as to give the impression that if one of them gets loose and falls off, the whole conglomeration will follow. But does this happen? The mountain to which they be­long has hugged them all to its bosom and holds everything in its place.

When an earthquake or a similar catastrophe shakes the mountain, no particle of it will remain unaffected.

In the same way, though you may think you have built up and are holding together family, society, civilization and so forth, in actual fact He alone is the Great Preserver who controls the fabric of life. Hence to know Him is essential. To know Him means to know all and thus to be freed from the conflict of want.

43

Merely to cry out: Give me power, give me strength!" is not sufficient to make one grow strong.

How numerous and varied are the devices and contrivances in a hospital for giving relief and encouragement to patients. Yet can the pangs of an inner disease ever be cured by outer expedients?

Relief must come from within and for this everyone has to depend largely on his own efforts.

Live according to the precepts of the Śāstras and the sages; then, when the time is ripe, power and strength will develop from within.

Those who lack a sense of duty and firm­ness of character look to others for help and energy. When you are able to manage all your worldly affairs on your own, why should you be in need of vigour just at the time of prayer or meditation?

With great faith and patience concentrate while engaging in spiritual exercises and power will automatically awaken.

However, should you feel quite unable to proceed, examine the causes for your incapacity and eradicate them with a grim resolve. Otherwise you will only go on multiplying unnecessary obstruc­tions within yourself and then expect some external power to come to your rescue and take you in tow. Is such a thing possible?

A great deal of energy is required by a horse or an engine to force carriage wheels to revolve over an uneven track. Similarly, to wrench the mind away from its attach­ment to sense pleasures, it has to be directed towards spiritual interests and preoccupations by a determined effort of will.

44

First of all it is necessary to become acquainted with Him whom you wish to invoke.

Constantly think and talk of Him, look at His pictures, sing His praises or listen to sacred music, visit places of pil­grimage, seek solitude or associate with the Holy and Wise, so as to become familiar with Him.

When this has been achieved, you may call Him "Father" or "Mother". Some relationship of this kind has to be established with Him, because people of the world do not feel affinity unless their bond is defined in such a manner.

You are accustomed to ties of kinship in worldly life, this is why you have to bind yourself by some sort of relationship in the religious field as well.

Even though at the start you may not feel deep devotion, learn to invoke Him unceasingly and with perseverance by repeating His name or by any other method, until gradually He will fill your heart.

However, prayer, meditation, alms offered in His name, and so forth, are necessary even after the bond of love has been forged, so as to keep it unimpaired. In this way the awareness of Him will become your second nature and never leave you to your last breath. This is what is termed communion with God.

45

If someone says: “How will my people get along without me?" it only proves that his attachment to his family is as strong as ever.

Really speaking nobody is indis­pensable to another. It is simply not true that one can be at ease only when a certain person is by one's side and becomes reduced to helplessness without him or her.

Where such a condition prevails, rather than uselessly appealing to others for support, one must through self-introspection discover the source of one's weakness and try to bring into play one's own inner strength.

No one likes misery and suffering, but to work out for oneself a way of release from their grip does not seem to occur to people.

From the cradle to the grave man lives his life in a most haphazard manner. For fear of the burden that a family represents, many avoid marriage, but whether this brings them contentment is difficult to determine.

In this imperfect world nothing can give perfect peace. Therefore, throughout life's journey, it is absolutely imperative to seek shelter in Him alone. This should be man's sole ambi­tion, his one supreme and ultimate goal.

46

So long as there is coming and going there will be birth and death. He who is jubilant at the birth of a child, must be prepared for tears of grief at the time of death.

While everything in life is uncertain, it is an undeniable truth that every man must die. To end this ceaseless coming and going there is only one expedient: the realization of the One Supreme Being.

Un­less through sādhana the mind becomes purified and absorbed in Him, one cannot enter His Kingdom of Peace. The path to this King­dom is strait and perilous like a Himalayan mountain track.

Yet, braced by their over­whelming desire for the vision of the deities, so many men and women decrepit with age and infirmity accomplish on foot the tedious journey to the famous places of pilgrimage. Not heeding the difficulties of the steep climb they trail on day after day, without food, without rest, harassed by the severe cold. Equally intense must be the earnestness and patience of those who are out for the Vision of the Self (Ātmā-darśana).

47

Accept as Divine Dispensation all work that comes to you in the natural course of events and carry it out joyfully. Verily, everything in the world is achieved by will­power.

If by determination and endurance someone can bring his ideal to life, his actions will be inspired. Such a worker is backed by Divine Power.

Follow one ideal and make a habit of referring everything to God. By consistently pursuing the highest Good, this practice will become your second nature and even if heterogeneous thoughts arise, they will not be able to disturb you.

The formation of good habits is the only means to counteract indolence and negligence in the performance of one's duties, for man is a slave to habit. The great interest everyone is taking in the welfare of the world at large has also been acquired by practice in previous lives.

Although it takes time to build up a good habit, one must never lose heart, but keep on with firmness and perseverance. It is a fact that spiritual exercises performed with regularity even for a short period daily, gradually create an ardent longing for God. The culti­vation of sincerity and purity is an indispensable prerequisite to Self-realization.

48

The dual process of breaking-down and building-up is inherent in the movement of time (kāla); but Mahakala, the great God who sits enthroned above Time, is perfect as the One Whole Being and perfect as manifested in the Many.

Therefore, creation and destruction are equal to Him and because of this equality He is the Fountain-of-Good­ness and the object of worship of the happy as well as the care-worn.

Without creation there can be no destruction and vice versa. Consequently both are unavoidable in the round of earthly existence.

But we, shut up within our shells like prisoners, have become limited and narrow-minded and we cannot transcend the sense of 'I' and 'mine'.

At the birth of a son we shout for joy, and if he dies we shed bitter tears, if for a moment we can forget the ties of flesh and blood, the distinction between father and son will disappear. In actual reality there is neither father nor son: He alone, the One, is embodied in all appearances, everywhere.

49

Whenever you have to accept anything from others, take only just as little as you actually need; but when you are the giver, try your utmost to satisfy fully the person who receives.

Widening your shrivelled heart, make the interests of others your own and serve them as much as you can by sympathy, kindness, gifts and so forth.

So long as one enjoys the things of this world and has needs and wants, it is necessary to minister to the needs of one's fellowmen. Otherwise one cannot be called a human being.

Whenever you have the opportunity, give to the poor, feed the hungry, nurse the sick. But if you are incapable of doing any­thing else, you can at least cultivate goodwill and benevolence towards all and pray for their welfare.

Forgetting your body try to concentrate on the Self and do service as a religious duty and you will come to know by direct perception that the person served, the one who serves and the act of service are separate only in appearance.

At the root of service lies renunciation; so long as there is a desire for personal happiness, craving for enjoyment or the expectation of a reward, real service is impossible. These three kinds of desire must be relinquished by him who would serve God.

Service can be rendered by body, mind or speech. Start with any one of these and adhere to it faithfully; it will in time carry you to the confluence of all three in the ocean of complete self-dedication.

50

That which calms the breath, lays at rest all conflict and doubt and awakens a quiet confidence in man's heart is called FAITH.

Faith always goes together with reverence and truthfulness. The faith that is based on the opinions of others or on belief in the law of cause and effect will serve its purpose only in material pursuits.

Genuine faith emerges from within by fixing one's mind on the Supreme Being. One's consciousness thereby becomes centered in truth and a deep serenity enters the heart and infuses one with great strength and indescribable peace which is unaffected by the whims of fortune.

All spiritual endeavour is based on faith; thus faith is the first necessity.

One's search for the Unknown, the Unfathomable, has to start with faith and reverence. There is no other means by which to embark on the quest after Ultimate Truth.

51

He who is perfect and holy, endowed with greatness and all virtues, is alone fit to be the ideal; from this point of view no other ideal exists except God.

Neverthe­less, for the practical purposes of the active as well as the spiritual life, each one should let himself be guided by the example of some saintly person.

Teaching obtained from Scriptures can never influence the imagina­tion as powerfully as a living ideal; in other words, such inspiration as may be drawn from what one perceives with one's own eyes can never be had from what is known merely by inference or speculation.

First of all one has to decide which path one will take and then choose one's ideal accordingly and follow it.

If by some special good fortune one is able to contact a real Sage or Saint and has the privilege of living in His presence, one must develop desirelessness and serve Him devotedly, and by His grace and benevolence try to elevate oneself.

If you ever keep before you the essence of all ideals which is God Himself and carry out faithfully the teachings of the Holy and Wise, the road to attainment will be made smooth.

52

All men hanker after peace but it occurs only to a very few that unless HE awakens in our heart, nothing at all will bring perfect peace.

Neither through wealth nor through family, position or fame can peace be won, for these, as all earthly things, are subject to constant change like day and night: they come and quickly flee away.

This is why it is so important to gather wealth which cannot be destroyed and when gained will once for all blot out desire. This wealth is none else but God alone whom we do not know although He dwells in everybody's heart.

When, through Śatkarma (spiritual exercises and the service of God) the darkness that clouds our consciousness is made to dissolve. He stands revealed in His bewitching beauty: thus will be ushered in the reign of perfect peace.