Divine Messages - 119 : Words of Wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani

Some words of wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani.

• Let me rejoice in the success of others even as I would in my own.
• Faith is the plus quality of life. Without it we cannot live a full life!
• Come what may, never lose your patience, your courage and your faith.
• Guru is the 'Inner Prompter', who makes us aware of the presence of God within us.
• Our ego is our biggest enemy, but we keep hugging it to our bosom...
• The greatest blessing of life is that we can love!
• Peace of mind is your richest treasure. See that you do nothing which may rob you of your peace of mind. Regulate your life in such a way that it adds to your inner calm and does not take away your peace.
• If in the midst of fear and frustration, worry and anxiety, depression and disappointment, trial and tribulation, I cling to the Lotus feet of the Lord, I shall be in perfect peace.
• The sign of a true bhakta is that he prays before eating in thanksgiving, as prasad (sacred food).
• A concentrated and controlled mind is man's best friend.
• The love of God is brighter than the sun, cooler than the moon and sweeter and more fragrant by far than honey and musk.

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Web Site - sadhuvaswani.org

Divine Messages - 118 : Words of Wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani

Some words of wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani.

• Why wander here and there? The truth is within thee!
• Man is a pilgrim, man is a traveller.
• "Clasp God to your heart, and with your hands be busy in helping as many people as you possibly can!"
• The greatest power lies in Prayer and Recitation of Name Divine. Both are very powerful and if done daily can put you on the road to greater success...
• Overcome fear the moment it appears or it will overpower you.
• There is no corner too remote for God's help to reach us!
• The person who holds a grudge hurts himself more than the one against whom the grudge is held.
• A friend is one who knows my faults and failings, my weaknesses and imperfections, my limitations and lapses and yet loves me.
• If I have but one atom of the love divine in the heart within, I shall not care for the highest paradise!
• Upgrade yourself by all means. But never degrade another.
• What matters is not how long you live but how you live.

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Web Site - sadhuvaswani.org

Divine Messages - 117 : Words of Wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani

Some words of wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani.

• Whoever has attained, has attained it inside......the Beloved in his heart.
• Which is nobler? To feed on animals or to feed an animal?
• To have real fun we must surprise others by being extra loving and kind to them.
• Humanity suffers from illusions - Greatest of them is death.
• Get up in the morning with a smile on your face and the words, "Good morning, Lord!" on your lips. This will colour your entire day.
• Don't expect anything from anybody and you will be happy.
• The most wasted of days is that in which we have not helped someone in need.
• Do you wish to achieve success? Make God your partner. Go to Him, again & again. He is ever ready to help you!
• Harsh words can cause more wounds than sticks and stones.
• My Master once said - More than bread is faith, the food which nourisheth man, keeping him young and strong.

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Web Site - sadhuvaswani.org

Divine Messages - 116 : Words of Wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani

Some words of wisdom by Dada J P Vaswani.

• You will not be truly happy until your heart is warmed by the spark of love.
• Whenever you are passing through tough times, do your best and remind to yourself: "God is in charge" !
• Life is full of joy to the man who thinks positively, speaks positively and acts positively.
• In every situation, do the very best you can, and leave the rest to God.
• Where is God? Where God is not
• Our deepest source of power and perfection is prayer. Alas, it has been left miserably underdeveloped.
• You cannot overcome your ego by yourself, seek His help in overcoming it.
• Life becomes sweet in the measure in which we understand others.
• The secret of harmony is respect the other person and in non-essential matters, yield!
• Hand yourself over in child-like trust to the lord!

Sadhu Vaswani Mission Web Site - sadhuvaswani.org

Divine Messages - 115 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Personal God for Devotees

Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)

Personal God for Devotees

"The Saguna Brahman is meant for the bhaktas.  In other words, a bhakta believes that God has attributes and reveals Himself to men as a Person, assuming forms.  It is He who listens to our prayers.  The prayers that you utter are directed to Him alone.  You are bhaktas, not jnanis or Vedantists.  It doesn't matter whether you accept God with form or not.  It is enough to feel that God is a Person who listens to our prayers, who creates, preserves, and destroys the universe, and who is endowed with infinite power."

"It is easier to attain God by following the path of devotion."

BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "Sir, is it possible for one to see God? If so, why can't we see Him?"

MASTER: "Yes, He can surely be seen.  One can see His forms, and His formless aspect as well.  How can I explain that to you?"

Intense longing enables one to see God

BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "What are the means by which one can see God?"

MASTER: "Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money.  But who weeps for God? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties.  But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother.  Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms."

Why so much controversy about God?

BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "Sir, why are there so many different opinions about the nature of God? Some say that God has form, while others say that He is formless.  Again, those who speak of God with form tell us about His different forms.  Why all this controversy?"

MASTER: "A devotee thinks of God as he sees Him.  In reality there is no confusion about God.  God explains all this to the devotee if the devotee only realizes Him somehow.  You haven't set your foot in that direction.  How can you expect to know all about God?

Parable of the chameleon

"Listen to a story.  Once a man entered a wood and saw a small animal on a tree.  He came back and told another man that he had seen a creature of a beautiful red colour on a certain tree.  The second man replied: 'When I went into the wood, I also saw that animal.  But why do you call it red? It is green.' Another man who was present contradicted them both and insisted that it was yellow.  Presently others arrived and contended that it was grey, violet, blue, and so forth and so on.  At last they started quarrelling among themselves.  To settle the dispute they all went to the tree.  They saw a man sitting under it.  On being asked, he replied: 'Yes, I live under this tree and I know the animal very well.  All your descriptions are true.  Sometimes it appears red, sometimes yellow, and at other times blue, violet, grey, and so forth.  It is a chameleon.  And sometimes it has no colour at all. Now it has a colour, and now it has none.'"

"In like manner, one who constantly thinks of God can know His real nature; he alone knows that God reveals Himself to seekers in various forms and aspects.  God has attributes; then again He has none.  Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can appear in various colours, and he knows, further, that the animal at times has no colour at all.  It is the others who suffer from the agony of futile argument."

"Kabir used to say, 'The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my Mother.'"

"God reveals Himself in the form which His devotee loves most.  His love for the devotee knows no bounds.  It is written in the Purana that God assumed the form of Rama for His heroic devotee, Hanuman."

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org

Divine Messages - 114 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Four Classes of Men

Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)

Four classes of men

"It is said that there are four classes of human beings: the bound, those aspiring after liberation, the liberated, and the ever-perfect."

Parable of the fish and the net

"This world is like a fishing-net.  Men are the fish, and God, whose maya has created this world, is the fisherman.  When the fish are entangled in the net, some of them try to tear through its meshes in order to get their liberation.  They are like the men striving after liberation.  But by no means all of them escape.  Only a few jump out of the net with a loud splash, and then people say, 'Ah! There goes a big one!' In like manner, three or four men attain liberation.  Again, some fish are so careful by nature that they are never caught in the net; some beings of the ever-perfect class, like Narada, are never entangled in the meshes of worldliness.  Most of the fish are trapped; but they are not conscious of the net and of their imminent death.  No sooner are they entangled than they run headlong, net and all, trying to hide themselves in the mud.  They don't make the least effort to get free.  On the contrary, they go deeper and deeper into the mud.  These fish are like the bound men.  They are still inside the net, but they think they are quite safe there.  A bound creature is immersed in worldliness, in 'woman and gold', having gone deep into the mire of degradation.  But still he believes he is quite happy and secure.  The liberated, and the seekers after liberation, look on the world as a deep well.  They do not enjoy it.  Therefore, after the attainment of Knowledge, the realization of God, some give up their bodies.  But such a thing is rare indeed."

Worldly-minded forget their lessons

"The bound creatures, entangled in worldliness, will not come to their senses at all.  They suffer so much misery and agony, they face so many dangers, and yet they will not wake up."

"The camel loves to eat thorny bushes.  The more it eats the thorns, the more the blood gushes from its mouth.  Still it must eat thorny plants and will never give them up.  The man of worldly nature suffers so much sorrow and affliction, but he forgets it all in a few days and begins his old life over again.  Suppose a man has lost his wife or she has turned unfaithful.  Lo! He marries again."

"Or take the instance of a mother: her son dies and she suffers bitter grief; but after a few days she forgets all about it.  The mother, so overwhelmed with sorrow a few days before, now attends to her toilet and puts on her jewelry.  A father becomes bankrupt through the marriage of his daughters, yet he goes on having children year after year.  People are ruined by litigation, yet they go to court all the same.  There are men who cannot feed the children they have, who cannot clothe them or provide decent shelter for them; yet they have more children every year."

"Again, the worldly man is like a snake trying to swallow a mole.  The snake can neither swallow the mole nor give it up.  The bound soul may have realized that there is no substance to the world-that the world is like a hog plum, only stone and skin-but still he cannot give it up and turn his mind to God."

"I once met a relative of Keshab Sen, fifty years old.  He was playing cards.  As if the time had not yet come for him to think of God!"

"There is another characteristic of the bound soul.  If you remove him from his worldly surroundings to a spiritual environment, he will pine away.  The worm that grows in filth feels very happy there.  It thrives in filth.  It will die if you put it in a pot of rice."

 

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org

Divine Messages - Now enabled for browsers on handheld devices

Dear Divine Soul,

A new feature has been introduced by the blog where "Divine Messages" are posted. You can now also view these messages in easy to read screens on your handheld devices.

You just need to use your browser on your handheld devices to view the blog. The address is the same "paarshad.blogspot.com".

Thank you and continue to pray for you to have a enriching spiritual experience !

Divine Messages - 113 : The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M'ahendranath Gupta - Tendencies from Previous Births

Extracts from the book “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” by ‘M’ahendranath Gupta (conversations between Sri Ramakrishna, the Master, and his disciples / devotees)

Tendencies from previous births

A boy named Vishnu, living in Ariadaha, had recently committed suicide by cutting his throat with a razor.  The talk turned to him.

MASTER: "I felt very badly when I heard of the boy's passing away.  He was a pupil in a school and he used to come here.  He would often say to me that he couldn't enjoy worldly life.  He had lived with some relatives in the western provinces and at that time used to meditate in solitude, in the meadows, hills, and forests.  He told me he had visions of many divine forms."

"Perhaps this was his last birth.  He must have finished most of his duties in his previous birth.  The little that had been left undone was perhaps finished in this one."

"One must admit the existence of tendencies inherited from previous births.  There is a story about a man who practised the sava-sadhana.l He worshipped the Divine Mother in a deep forest.  First he saw many terrible visions.  Finally a tiger attacked and killed him.  Another man, happening to pass and seeing the approach of the tiger, had climbed a tree.  Afterwards he got down and found all the arrangements for worship at hand.  He performed some purifying ceremonies and seated himself on the corpse.  No sooner had he done a little japa than the Divine Mother appeared before him and said: 'My child, I am very much pleased with you.  Accept a boon from Me.' He bowed low at the Lotus Feet of the Goddess and said: 'May I ask You one question, Mother? I am speechless with amazement at Your action.  The other man worked so hard to get the ingredients for Your worship and tried to propitiate You for such a long time, but You didn't condescend to show him Your favour.  And I, who don't know anything of worship, who have done nothing, who have neither devotion nor knowledge nor love, and who haven't practised any austerities, am receiving so much of Your grace.' The Divine Mother said with a laugh: 'My child, you don't remember your previous births.  For many births you tried to propitiate Me through austerities.  As a result of those austerities all these things have come to hand, and you have been blessed with My Vision.  Now ask Me your boon.' "

Suicide after the vision of God

A DEVOTEE: "I am frightened to hear of the suicide."

MASTER: "Suicide is a heinous sin, undoubtedly.  A man who kills himself must return again and again to this world and suffer its agony."

"But I don't call it suicide if a person leaves his body after having the vision of God.  There is no harm in giving up one's body that way.  After attaining Knowledge some people give up their bodies.  After the gold image has been cast in the clay mould, you may either preserve the mould or break it."

"Many years ago a young man of about twenty used to come to the temple garden from Baranagore; his name was Gopal Sen.  In my presence he used to experience such intense ecstasy that Hriday had to support him for fear he might fall to the ground and break his limbs.  That young man touched my feet one day and said: 'Sir, I shall not be able to see you any more.  Let me bid you good-bye.' A few days later I learnt that he had given up his body. "

Sri Ramakrishna Web Site – belurmath.org