Contents

Introduction

We are very happy to present this book, the second in the Thus Speaks series of quotations from the three spiritual masters of the Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga. The series has been compiled to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary, on 30th April 1999, of Babuji Maharaj (Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur), which is being celebrated at the Babuji Memorial Ashram at Manapakkam, Chennai, India.

The release of this series coincides with a time when more and more people in both the East and the West are turning inwards to solve the great problems of life. Men and women everywhere are discovering the benefits of meditation in their daily lives and realising that a balance between material and spiritual concerns is essential for our continuing evolution. It is, therefore, to all of humanity that these messages speak, in the universal language of love, acceptance and aspiration for the Highest.

May sincere seekers everywhere gain solace and insight into their inner spiritual selves from these inspiring quotations from Babuji, Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, the Founder-President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission.

About Babuji

Babuji was born in the north Indian town of Shahjahanpur, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, on 30 April 1899. He was named Ram Chandra after one of the great figures of Indian history. His father was a lawyer and noted scholar who educated his son extensively in English, Urdu and Persian, perhaps hoping that he would follow in his father's footsteps. But from an early age Ram Chandra displayed a craving for spiritual realisation which overshadowed all other interests.

Ram Chandra became a babu, which in his native tongue designates a clerk, and it was from this profession that his affectionate nickname arose. (The suffix “ji” is an honorific, an expression of respect often appended to names or titles in India.) He held the position of court clerk in the district court of Shahjahanpur for more than thirty years. He was married at the age of nineteen and his wife, Bhagwati, bore him two daughters and four sons before her death in 1949. Babuji's life was that of an ordinary householder, never that of a renunciate or sannyasi. He considered the home and family to be the very finest training ground for spirituality, and it was in this light that he approached his familial responsibilities.

He began his spiritual education on his own, experimenting with the forms of devotion available in the Hindu religion and with certain yogic practices such as pranayama (the control of the breath). In June of 1922, at the comparatively young age of twenty-two, he first met his Master, a man with the same name as himself who lived in the town of Fatehgarh, not far from Shahjahanpur. Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh, affectionately known as Lalaji, was a saint of the highest calibre. He recognised Babuji as the man who had appeared to him in a dream years before, the one who was destined to succeed him as the leader of the great spiritual renaissance which he, Lalaji, had already initiated.

Though teacher and disciple met only a few times before Lalaji's death in 1931, Lalaji became the sole centre and purpose of Babuji's existence. The thought of his Master remained constant in Babuji's mind and heart from their first meeting until he himself passed on to the brighter world in April 1983. His conversation was punctuated by Lalaji's name, and no honour that Babuji could show his Master was enough to express the great love that existed between them. “I went on with it regardless of all other things,” wrote Babuji in his autobiography, “till I reached the level expressed by my Master in the following words in a dream when he left the mortal frame: I became 'Thee' and Thou 'I'. Now none can say that I am other than thee or that thou art other than me.”

Babuji was by nature the humblest of men, yet moved by a vast pride in his great Master. The communication established between them after Lalaji's transition continued throughout Babuji's life and filled his diaries with both astonishing visions into the nature of reality and practical instruction on how to lead a spiritual life. He was perpetually striving for balance, to be neither pleased by good words nor displeased by bad, to maintain a temperament of humility but to avoid the habit of excessive modesty. It was his conviction that the ego, being the production of God, cannot be annihilated. Rather, through utter surrender and devotion to his Master, he was able to modify the ego, identifying it not with the body but with the soul.

Of his spiritual condition he wrote, “There seems to be uniformity in love. Ties of relationship seem to have been severed. I have as much respect for my servant as for my respected father. I have as much love for the sons of other people as I feel for my own son. I have as much regard for a dog as I have for my own person, as if my own existence and that of a dog are identical. I also consider gold and earth to be the same. I see the pious and the wicked with one eye.”

Following Lalaji's death, Babuji began to use the gift of transmission, or pranahuti (a yogic technique rediscovered by Lalaji and passed on to his successor as the basis for the Sahaj Marg system of raja yoga) all over India. He would travel alone to places where he had no friends or acquaintances, tour the city or town transmitting divine energy, and leave without a word. The fruits of this labour are now visible in the widespread network of Sahaj Marg centres throughout India.

In 1945, Babuji founded the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in honour of his Master. Convinced that God is simple and can be arrived at by simple means, he began travelling outside of India to bring the method of the Sahaj Marg (the natural path) to the cultures of Europe and America in 1972. He was accompanied on these travels by his attendant and long-time general secretary of the Mission, Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari of Madras. Parthasarathi, known by his associates as Chariji, was chosen by Babuji to be his spiritual representative and to carry on the work he had started.

Sahaj Marg is a living practice, and as such it has been adapted by each successive Master to suit the times in which we live. At its core, however, it remains unchanged, with an intent that is both pragmatic and divine, described by Babuji in this way:

“We have set up a tiny creation of our own, in the form of our individual material existence, having layers after layers of grossness and opacity. What is now to be done is to shatter off those layers of opacity one by one and assume the absolute state as we had at the time of creation. This is all the gist of the philosophy of our system, Sahaj Marg. We are, so to say, to dissolve this tiny creation of our making or to unfold ourselves.”

Thus Speaks Babuji

God

God is not to be found within the fold of a particular religion or sect. He is not confined within certain forms or rituals, nor is He to be traced out from within the scriptures. Him we have to seek for in the innermost core of our heart.

---

When God feels that there is one in quest of Him, the Divine grace is set into motion to take him in. If the quest continues with a pining heart it becomes so very forceful that the Lord Himself sets out in quest of him. The intensity of eagerness together with restless impatience creates within him a vacuum for the divine grace to flow in, establishing a connecting channel between the two.

---

If we remember God frequently or for the most part of the day, we will automatically develop love for Him, which if continued with earnestness will create impatience in our heart to secure union at the earliest.

---

God is simple and can be achieved by equally simple means.

---

If we divert our attention towards God and feel realisation as the primary object of life, naturally we shall begin to look upon it as the first and the foremost thing in comparison to everything else in the world.

---

God helps those who help themselves is a common saying which is literally true.

---

Realisation of God means the same as the realisation of Self and vice versa.

---

Fix your Goal which should be complete oneness with God. Rest not till the ideal is achieved.

---

The popular belief that God can be sought for only in the midst of the forest, as if He is but a forest dweller, is vain and absurd. I believe He can better be sought for in the midst of one's own heart.

---

Naked form of God appears only to those who really go swimming in the waves and reach near about the Centre.

---

Even God who is thought to be the object of worship does not have mind.

---

Difficulties arise when people do not take God just as He is, but fit Him into numerous artificialities created in their own minds to suit their own taste and likings, and thus put Him completely within the sheath of maya [illusion].

---

Before creation there was only 'space' all over. The being of God was a later development and it took some time for its appearance.

---

God loves him who has seen Him but remains at a distance from Him. That means one must keep His remembrance alive in his heart, remaining ever within the sphere of devotion, in full cognisance of his own status of humanity.

---

We can as well say that our free will extends so far as our limited sphere goes, and God's will extends as far as His unlimited sphere goes.

---

God has no mind and requires human mind for connecting with Reality as it has evolved.

---

We know that God is completely devoid of grossness, so the realisation of God must mean the attainment of a state of similar subtleness to the last possible degree.

---

There are so many among us who have the idea that simply knowing of God is enough. This is their wrong conception. Having God is the real subject of spirituality.

---

Our job is to remain firm and sincere to our duty and the result rests with God. To feel resentment for what He gives or what He does not give is against the principle of true love and devotion.

---

There are many methods of loving God and many ‘bhavas' are resorted to, e.g., paternal sentiment (pitr bhava), friendly sentiment (sakhya bhava), etc. In my opinion there can be no relation better than that of the lover and the beloved. If an abhyasi thinks himself to be lover and takes God to be beloved and proceeds with the same sentiment the result will be that God himself will become the lover and the abhyasi the beloved in the long run. But if one thinks that one has realised the goal at this stage it will be a serious blunder. What remains further cannot be stated, for it is related to practice only.

---

I may assure you that you can win laurels in the spiritual field if only you turn your attention towards God and proceed with will, faith and confidence, no matter how adversely you may be placed in, surrounded by all the worries and miseries of a household life.

Spirituality

The end of religion is the beginning of spirituality; the end of spirituality is the beginning of Reality and the end of Reality is the real Bliss.

---

Spirituality is in fact such a superfine state of mind that every other thing will seem to be heavier or grosser in comparison to it.

---

The right course of training for an aspirant of spirituality, therefore, is to proceed along the path of realisation under the guidance of a true and worthy master in the most natural way, with due regard to inner cleanliness or purification of chakras and complete moderation in the exercise of the senses and other faculties.

---

We have to arrive at the real thing which is unadulterated spirituality, for the present age is a more complicated age than previous ones, requiring a complete transformation of man all over the world in all his attitudes.

---

No country or nation will survive without spirituality as its base, and every nation must sooner or later adopt the same course if it wants to maintain her very existence.

---

Service and sacrifice are the two main instruments with which we build the temple of spirituality, love of course being the fundamental basis.

---

Come with faith and confidence in the spiritual field and be prepared for the practice, throwing off the self-conceited ideas.

---

Treating this human form as a boat and the space it is plying in as the ocean of spirituality, it is but essential to put up the helm in order to be able to ply through the vast ocean successfully. In the spiritual field the helm is our strong determination which helps us to steer on to the destination.

---

One on the path of spirituality should necessarily be as light in mind and spirit as possible.

---

When the drop merges with the Ocean it becomes itself transformed as ocean. This is the final extent of love so far as spirituality is concerned.

---

Spirituality is a very easy thing, and its achievement does not take much time. One should only increase faith and devotion. And devotion is generated by remembering again and again.

---

So long as materiality does not end, a man does not get soaked in spirituality.

---

The main purpose of our Mission is to install spirituality in place of the prevailing non-spirituality, through Sahaj Marg, pronouncing Master's message: “Awake, O sleepers, it's the hour of the dawn."

---

Spirituality is something, while power is something else. It is very easy to gain power, but it is very difficult to acquire the thing needed for spiritual elevation.

---

I do not want you to dwell in an imagination that if you repeatedly read the scriptures you will become the master of spirituality. By so doing you can become a philosopher or learned man, but you cannot be a yogi without actual practise with love and devotion. It is very difficult to put a practical thing in words, just as you cannot describe the taste of wheat although you have eaten it many a time.

---

Only the torch of spirituality can remove the oppressing gloom and restore the real man. Let the light of the Real shine in the heart of everyone so that we may rise up to the expectations of the Divine!

Guru

God is the real Guru or Master and we get Light from Him alone. But as it is extremely difficult for a man of ordinary talents to draw inspiration from God direct, we seek the help of one of our fellow beings who has established his connection with the Almighty.

---

Godly work is always accomplished through the agency of some human being of high calibre and not direct. The reason is that God does not possess mind which is the only instrument to bring things into action.

---

A true Master can be he and he alone who possesses such wonderful power and can at a glance create a state of light in an aspirant, diverting his thought from darkness to light till his tendencies, which were previously directed towards darkness, begin to absorb brightness within them.

---

The selection of a worthy Guru is no doubt a very difficult job. On the basis of my personal experience I may give you an easy method of judging. When you happen to come into contact with one, try to understand whether his association promotes in you a feeling of peace and calmness, and silences, for the time being at least, the restless tendencies of mind without causing any weight or effect upon it. If it is so, you should conclude that he can be a fit man to lead you on the path.

---

The real test of a Mahatma or Guru is not his miracles or his extraordinary ways and manners but only his practical attainments on the path of realisation.

---

Only a man who is himself free can release you from the bondage.

---

A Guru or teacher must banish from his heart even the slightest feeling of greatness and superiority and consider himself as the humblest associate or a servant of humanity.

---

The idea of Guru as the Supreme Divine force is very helpful in spiritual pursuit.

---

Realisation cannot be achieved by mere abhyas [practice], for the reason that at higher stages the conditions are such that even if one ascends a little by self-effort he quickly slips down because of the strong push from above. Hence, so far as our entry into the higher regions is concerned the help of Master is indispensable.

---

The need of a Guru or Master, grows greater and greater as we go on advancing and securing higher stages.

---

If we get a good guide who pulls out the inner poison then the nectar alone remains.

---

It is, therefore, essential that the guide we select must be one of the highest calibre and worthy of the task of tearing off the intricacies at a glance with the aid of the extraordinary power at his command. It can only be one who has himself attained perfection or complete negation of self. Hence we must connect ourselves with such a great power by feelings of love and attraction. It does not matter much what conception of him we entertain in our mind. We may call him our friend, Master, servant or whatever we might be pleased to choose. But he remains after all our guide or Guru, as he is commonly called.

---

The conception of a guru as mother is in my opinion by far the most appropriate and advantageous to a disciple. A mother is the very embodiment of love and affection. Only a mother's heart can bear with patience all the troubles and miseries caused to her by her child, thinking all the while of trying to provide for her child's comfort and happiness. The same is the position of the real Master or guru who is the spiritual mother of the disciple. As such the guru is always on the lookout for the spiritual welfare of the child, the disciple.

---

Throughout my spiritual life I could never even for a moment imagine that the vast spiritual treasure possessed by my Master was not mine in any sense, exactly like a child who always thinks of his father's wealth to be his own.

---

We should be as light as cotton so that we may start our flight towards Him with the help of a single push from a capable Master.

---

The conception of the Guru as a spiritual mother promotes within us the feelings of love, reverence and surrender which are the main factors of a spiritual life.

---

Really the position of Guru is very strange. If he feels himself as a Master and hence far above his associates, it will be an ahankar [egotism] of the worst type in a Guru. It is really the lookout of the disciple to devote himself to the service of his Guru with love and devotion and not the right or privilege of the Guru to demand it. A Guru must, therefore, necessarily be quite devoid of any personal motive or selfish interest. He must be totally free from all feelings of pride or greatness. He must be a selfless man and a true servant of humanity at large, teaching people out of pure love without any ulterior selfish motive of name, fame or money. He must have his access up to the farthest possible limit and must have the power of Yogic transmission. Such a man we must seek for as our guide if we want complete success.

The problem of practising devotion, surrender, etc., in a natural way is there. For this purpose it is said that one can love another person of his own species best. So the guru is taken into account as the personification of the Supreme. In my case my Master was the only object of my love. I was not a lover of freedom or peace or perfection or any thing, but only of Him and Him alone. My Master was no doubt worthy of it, being the fittest man to be meditated upon and be devoted to. He was altogether free from egoistic feelings, desires and worldly entanglements, and devoted wholly to his ‘own self'. This phrase refers to a spiritual state of a high order not commonly bestowed upon man. That was the reason why I loved him as best as I could. I tried heart and soul to get myself merged in him in toto, and this had been the life pursuit for me. It was because I got a Master who was unparalleled and matchless. For the results achieved therefrom, I have no words to express.

---

The real cry of the painful heart of a true seeker brings the Master to his door.

The Goal

The goal of life means nothing but the point we have finally to arrive at. It is in other words, the reminiscence of our homeland or the primeval state of our present solid existence, which we have finally to return to.

---

For an abhyasi the only important thing is to seek his goal within his own self.

---

Impatience or constant restlessness to reach the goal in the shortest possible time is, thus, by far the most important factor which contributes to our speedy success. We must not rest even for a while till we have gained the real object, the eternal peace and calmness.

---

The most important factor in realisation is self-confidence in our own capacity and power to achieve success. It is absurd to think, even for a moment, that we are in any way too weak or deficient to acquire the highest state of perfection ever attained so far even by the greatest sages of the past.

---

It is very essential for everyone to fix his thought at the very outset upon the goal which he has to attain so that his thought and will may pave his way up to it.

---

God is completely devoid of grossness; so, realisation of God must also mean the attainment of a similar state of subtleness and purity.

---

A seeker should be one who is blind to the charms of the world, is inspired with one object and one purpose, and thinking all the while of that alone which may be helpful to him in the attainment of the ideal.

---

All sorts of grosser means and mechanical practices should be given up. When we find ourselves growing lighter and lighter day by day we must conclude that we are proceeding right towards that which is the lightest and subtlest.

---

For the attainment of that highest point it is necessary to shatter the limitations which impede our progress on the path. If the ideal is firmly established in the mind, every unwanted thing will lose its charm and one would be relieved from its entanglements.

---

Sit in loneliness for some time, and think of God with at least as much power as you have bestowed to your own difficulties. What then? It is as easy to realise your own God as it is to realise the worldly things in crude form.

---

There are three signs which indicate that we are nearing the goal. They are Divine action, Divine wisdom and Divine thoughts.

---

When craving is created (may God will it so!) the attainment of the goal becomes a question of no time.

---

People hanker after peace; so how can they be induced to take up restless longing for the realisation of the object? I may assure you that the charms of this restlessness are far greater than those of peace.

---

The easiest way to increase the intensity of craving is to take it up even in an artificial way if it is not actually present in the mind. In course of time, by constant practise, the artificial feeling will become true and genuine.

---

One who dives deep, gets the pearls. The burning desire for Realisation brings the goal nearer.

Meditation

Meditation is the foundation of spirituality. If you meditate having your real goal before you, you are sure to arrive at the destination.

---

People may ask why it is necessary to proceed with meditation at the first stage of raja yoga. The answer is quite plain and simple. We are now gathering ourselves at one point so that our individual mind may leave its habit of wandering about, which it has formed.

---

Meditation — a part of raja yoga — is the only thing that can lead you to the end. There is no other means of approaching the Centre.

---

By constant practise in meditation the mind will become calm and peaceful and the unwanted ideas will cease to trouble you.

---

We must go on with meditation unmindful of the foreign ideas that happen to come to our mind at the time. The flow of ideas is due to the activities of our conscious mind which is never at rest.

---

By meditation we create a temporary lull in our mind and calmness prevails for the time during which we are in touch with the divine force.

---

The most appropriate point for meditation can be only that wherefrom the current flows on, either upwards or downwards. It can only be the heart and nothing else.

---

It is an established fact that meditation is a subtle method, provided the object of meditation is not concrete. That is why under Sahaj Marg we advise to meditate supposing the presence of Divine Light in the heart.

---

If one feels inwardly devoted to God, meditation becomes a part of his duty and then there is no question of inclination or lack of absorption.

---

Thoughts during meditation are just like the children playing on the road. When your attention is not towards thoughts, they are wholly ineffective and are of no value. Actually, thoughts do not disturb you, but you yourself feel disturbed. I have very often said that the best way to get rid of them is to be unmindful towards them and treat them as you treat uninvited guests. They rise for the sake of fall.

---

We proceed with meditation on the heart thinking of the Divine light within, and by so doing we gradually begin to rise or, to express it better, to dive deep into the inner consciousness, with the result that an abhyasi begins to feel expansion, this being the first phase.

---

Whatever condition develops during meditation, whether it is liked by the abhyasi or disliked, is beneficial every way.

---

If we are deep-rooted in meditation, we connect our link with the innermost thing desired. Devotion of course increases the capacity and smoothens the way.

---

The basis of meditation is purely spiritual, while that of concentration is only the ego. When you mean to concentrate ‘you' are there, quite definitely, but when you meditate, you wait for something higher, hence you are away from the idea of self.

---

The means we adopt for worship or meditation should be such as may manifest true love in our hearts.

Prayer

The most important and unfailing means of success is the prayer. It connects our link with God to whom we surrender ourselves with love and devotion.

---

In prayer we stand before Him as an humble suppliant presenting to Him our true state and completely resigning ourselves to His will.

---

We should always pray to the supreme Master the Omnipotent and the Omniscient alone with a mind totally absorbed in love and submission to Him forgetting even ourselves altogether. This is the proper way of offering prayer which in such a state seldom goes unrewarded.

---

It is a folly to pray to God for petty worldly ends except in most exceptional cases when peace of mind is greatly disturbed for want of bare necessities.

---

This pointed attention upon the Real may be taken as the essence of prayer.

---

The state of prayer is that of a devotee and it is strengthened by love.

---

The prayer must be offered in a way as if some most miserable man is laying down his miseries with a deeply afflicted heart before the Supreme Master imploring for his mercy and grace, with tearful eyes.

---

The reason why prayer should be offered with a heart full of love and devotion is that one should create within himself a state of vacuity so that the flow of Divine Grace may be diverted towards him. A poet has said, “O, thou thirsty for the Divine intoxication! Empty thy heart for the purpose, for the head of the bottle of wine bows down only over an empty cup.” Constant practise brings a man to a state in which he begins to feel himself in prayer all through.

---

If you find any difficulty or entanglement, or even an unbearable excitement of emotion, just refer that to Him through prayer at any time or from any place, and it shall go away at once.

---

We must snatch a few minutes from our hours of rest (preferably at bed-time) and pray to God with a sincere heart for His guidance and support on the path of duty.

---

Do pray and try to get drowned in it to the extent that the begging bowl alone remains in the hand while the begging also is lost in unawareness. If you create such a condition your prayer shall never go unheeded.

Faith

Faith is really the foundation of the entire structure of spirituality. Faith in reality, faith in the right course you have adopted for realisation, faith in the worthy Master whom you have submitted to, this is the rock upon which you must build your edifice of spirituality if you really aim at success.

---

Really a disciple should formally be initiated only when true faith exists in him and Divine love takes prime root in his heart. Initiation signifies that the disciple's link has been connected with the Supreme Power. In that case the spiritual force begins to flow to the disciple automatically according to the absorbing capacity he develops in himself.

---

We should never come to a hasty conclusion without due consideration and trial, through the help of reason and experience. When we are finally convinced of the merits of the thing, we may stick to it with faith and constancy. Faith thus reposed shall be genuine and lasting, while faith promoted by inducement offered by outwardly attractive features and display of pretty materialistic achievements is no faith at all but may rightly be termed as persuasion. It has no stable foundation to rest upon and disappears under ordinary adverse circumstances.

---

Faith is greatly helpful to us in our spiritual progress. It dispels clouds of doubt and uncertainty and removes difficulties and obstructions from our path.

---

It is very essential for every one to fix his eyes on Absolute Reality with faith and confidence and to adopt ways helpful and conducive to self-realisation. We then march on up to the final point where we assume the same pure form we had at the time of creation.

---

Faith, in true sense, is a lively link connecting the mortal with the Immortal. It is no doubt effected through the medium of the Master who is himself connected with the Immortal. The link when once connected cannot be broken under any condition and subsists all along during the course of our march up to final point.

---

True faith is really an unspeakable virtue which is beyond the scope of religion, it is the dauntless courage which leads us on to success, it is that ubiquitous force which makes our path smooth, it is in fact the only thing that solves our problem of life.

Devotion

We practice bhakti or devotion in order to achieve communion with the Supreme Master.

---

Bhakti is the means of achieving the goal and not the goal itself.

---

When our mind is directed towards God we naturally begin to feel ourselves in touch with the Supreme Power in all our actions and workings. When this state of mind is permanently established within, every act we do will then seem to be a part of devotion or Divine offering and we shall thereby be in constant remembrance of God all the while.

---

Devotion makes our passage smooth and creates a channel for the Godly current to flow into our heart. It removes dirt and refuse from our way and facilitates our march along the path.

---

Devotion and love, of course, remain so easy and yet so difficult of achievement at once. Real devotion has no tinge of affection in it and goes hand in glove with enlightenment. In the initial stages the devotee may be conscious of his feeling towards the object of his love; but at higher stages the foam and fury is dimmed to the extent of an almost total loss of its awareness at the Ultimate stage.

---

As regards bhakti, so far as my inner reading goes I can safely say that what people generally think to be bhakti is only flattery in the real sense. In fact real bhakti is widely different from flattery. It is simple attachment, strong and irrevocable attachment, to the Divine.

---

To practise devotion to please God in order to secure worldly comforts or gains is but a mockery.

---

True bhakti is devoid of any physical desire related to the senses. It is actuated by the real craving, a craving which when fulfilled does not give rise to another in its place but ends all cravings. It is in the true sense the reminiscence of the Homeland which is the final end of our journey. Attachment with it may otherwise be interpreted as ‘constant remembrance' and that is what bhakti implies in the true sense.

---

The superfine level of devotion may be spoken of as total self-surrender, from which the awareness of surrender has entirely been withdrawn by the grace of the Supreme Master Himself.

---

A devotee is one who loves his guru intensely. He always keeps himself internally connected with his guru. Men of this type possess all those qualities that should be present in a disciple.

---

Now by effect of devotion, that which is with the Master begins to flow towards the self through the medium of the connecting link set up between the two. Gradually everything of the Master begins to flow into the self.

---

The effect of our deep devotion begins to resound in a way that we feel the Ultimate is remembering us. That is the justice of Divinity.

---

Every one must be prepared to meet his end. That means he must attain the highest spiritual level as early as possible so that he may not have to regret when his end comes. Devotion and constant remembrance are the only surest means thereof.

---

Through thinking of the Divine, devotion and love develop. I will certainly say this development of attachment is your job, and your very important duty.

---

The perfection of human nobility lies in the devotee being always within the sphere of devotion.

Love

Love is not the feeling of reality, it is the way to reality!

---

Do not feel surprised if I say love and hatred are the same. Love is only positive thinking and hatred is negative thinking.

---

Lalaji explained to me: “Love is of two types. Direct love with God, and love through the medium. I am an example of love through medium. Benefit is accrued in proceeding through the medium only.”

---

I feel happy when the words ‘universal love' come from the mouth of any person. Generally the saints of the day preach universal love but they do not find ways to tell you how it is acquired. Only remove the hatred, I say, and universal love is there. Suppose a man is a liar and he wants to get rid of this habit, he should start speaking truth because a sort of character will be formed with concentration at the bottom in a natural way. If you attempt to be attentive on lie to be removed, it would indirectly make it stronger and stronger because concentration is there by which they get power. So is the case with universal love. It is there like a silkworm in a cocoon.

---

The fire of love and devotion alone burns down trivial trash, and wins the gold from the dross. The burning of love may, however, have three stages. The first is the suppressed smouldering giving out thick smoke. The second has occasional sparks in it; and the last one gives the bright burning flame, capable of reducing everything to ashes in a moment's time. There is the electric fire as well, which bypasses the first two stages, and appears only in the final state, free from smoke and vapour. If you can light up such a fire within you, your progress shall be by leaps and bounds.

---

If there is real love, every particle of the body should get transformed within seven years.

---

Love is really a wonderful thing. On developing real love the considerations of high and low, great and small, would all vanish, and all would appear equal.

---

We should love all without getting soiled with attachment. Really speaking, in this way we learn non-attachment attachment. Life in a family is a life worth having, because in it we learn how to love others. It is a school for training for real life. You have to remove only the brokenness and you will feel the love flowing equally to one and all, and it becomes universal.

---

We should live a life like the coots and ducks in the water, which when they are out of water, have no effect of water on their wings. Similarly, we should love our parents and everybody in the family without being soiled by attachment. That is the spiritual way of expressing the idea.

---

Service and sacrifice are the two main instruments with which we build the temple of spirituality. Love of course being the fundamental basis.

---

Mould your living so as to rouse a feeling of love and piety in others.

---

If an abhyasi thinks himself to be lover and takes God to be beloved and proceeds with the same sentiment the result will be that God himself will become the lover and the abhyasi the beloved in the long run.

---

They say that one must love his guru as much as he loves God. In my view that is quite impracticable for there can never be two parallel objects of love. The human heart is not a caravanserai where any and every one may come in to have his stay. Love admits of no dual loyalties not to speak of multiplicity. It has no room even for the duality of the lover and the beloved.

“When I was there, thou wert not; now thou art there, I am not. The love-lane is very narrow and cannot contain two (I and Thou).”

Such is the path of love.

---

A true devotee is one who loves Him not for any favour or worldly interest but merely for love's sake.

---

Restlessness: It means impatience, and reaches up to the reality of love.

---

When we are in deep love, we shall naturally feel impatient to secure nearness with the loved object. When we are greatly in love with any of the worldly objects its idea comes to our mind again and again, and we think of it over and over again. Now in order to develop Divine love in our heart we have only to reverse the process. If we remember God frequently or for the most part of the day, we will automatically develop love for Him, which if continued with earnestness will create impatience in our heart to secure union at the earliest. Another way of developing love with God is to play the part of a lover as if you are enacting a drama. But it is only for those who are almost incapable of finer means. The method though artificial will shortly bring you to reality and feeling of true love and impatience will begin to agitate your heart.

---

In my case my Master was the only object of my love. I was not a lover of freedom or peace or perfection or any thing, but only of Him and Him alone.

---

Even as the harshness of the Beloved is appealing to a lover since it contains a gentle tenderness which reflects love all through and attracts him all the more, the rebukes of the Beloved are very pleasant to him and offer him greatest joy.

---

The greater the love or affinity, the more does one advance towards Him.

---

Love makes every task easy and paves the way for the shower of Master's grace to smoothen the way to the Ultimate Goal.

Constant Remembrance

The only way to develop love is constant remembrance.

---

Constant remembrance, in fact, is a natural development of meditational practice and it acquires efficiency when the abhyasi has become devoted to the object of meditation or constant remembrance. It then ceases to be dry abhyas and becomes a luscious all-absorbing engagement.

---

Some people think that constant or even frequent remembrance of God is not practicable when a man in life is surrounded by numerous worries and anxieties caused by worldly attachment and responsibilities. But practice and experience will prove to them that it is a very easy process and can be followed by any and every one in spite of all worries and engagements only if they divert their attention towards God in the real sense.

---

Mere consciousness of God cures many of the evils of the mind and removes difficulties from our path.

---

The method for cultivating constant remembrance is to think with firm conviction during your leisure hours whether in office or at home, in the street or in the market that God is pervading all over and everywhere and you are thinking of Him. Try to remain in the same thought as long as you can.

---

If you cultivate this feeling and maintain the outlook that your Master is doing everything in your place, you shall not only be in constant remembrance all the while, but your action will cause no impression whatsoever and very soon you will cease making further samskaras.

---

We must feel ourselves connected with the Supreme Power every moment with an unbroken chain of thought during all our activities.

---

Retaining the remembrance of God at all times engenders in us a deep attachment to the Divine and leads to the state in which love for Him develops and overflows.

---

That one thing — remembrance — brings everything in its trail. If remembrance is there, take it for granted the remembered one is close to you.

---

Let closeness, in the trail of increasing heat of remembrance, be enhanced; and then behold what bliss and ecstasy follows, and also how quickly you reach There, with its help.

---

A sense of sameness having been developed by the effect of remembrance, it begins to appear that He Himself is absorbed in our remembrance. This feeling having become permanent introduces the condition which Kabirdas has described as “Mera Ram Mujhe Bhaje, Tab payun bisram.” “My mind can be at rest only when the Lord gets busy with the remembrance of me.” This is a transcendent state of devotion. At this stage the lover himself becomes the beloved and this must necessarily be when the guru and the disciple are correlated in the real sense. As a matter of fact, remembrance is almost akin to the vibration which had developed at the time of creation for the purpose of bringing existence into being. To get oneself merged in that primordial state of remembrance (the vibration) is not everybody's job. Only a rare personality may be capable of this. But that does not mean that others should not try for it.

---

Waiting is also a sort of intense remembrance which is greatly beneficial to spirituality. A poet too has written, “ The delight which I found in waiting for the beloved I could not have in the meeting.”

---

Remembrance should be in a way that we feel the thought of remembrance oozing out from the objects everywhere.

---

During my leisure hours I remain mostly busy with cleaning the abhyasis under my training, in order to develop in them the remembrance of God all through, and this service is for me a substitute for God's worship, hence my foremost duty.

---

When remembrance has progressed to the extent that the awareness of remembrance itself is lost, then the form of remembrance gets changed, and this we know on moving beyond it.

---

I may assure you that you can achieve the goal very easily if you go on persistently with constant remembrance.

---

Remembrance brings a lover close to the beloved.

Impressions

Our belongings are a pile of samskaras (impressions) with their resultant effects in the form of complexities and the diverse coverings which we have gathered round the soul and which are the results of our thoughts and actions.

---

When we do something by applying our head and heart we form impressions thereof at the base, which remain there in seed-form till they are washed off by the effect of bhogam (the process of undergoing the effects). The bhogam is thus essential and indispensable.

---

We have ourselves formed the samskaras, which have become coverings upon coverings and succeeded in covering us up like the silkworm in the cocoon.

---

The effect of samskaras is the commencement of feelings of comforts, miseries, joys and sorrows. Our likings for joys and comforts and our dislikings for sorrows and miseries have created further complications.

---

We have to renounce necessarily all our belongings of samskaras, maya [illusion] and egoism, and grow lighter and lighter at every step.

---

We can attain liberation, as our scriptures say, only when we are free from the coil of past samskaras or impressions.

---

When we remain in contact with ideas and thoughts of different kinds, they leave impressions upon our emotive feelings and senses.

---

Now, when we give place to that important idea — the pious one, on the mind of ours — the impressions we had made begin to lose their density, and in course of time we are free from these things.

---

Taking up for the ideal the simplicity of Nature, which is before everybody's view, you should set to work for the attainment of the Goal in a way that all senses having merged in, may become synonymous with that which remains after the fading away of the previous impressions.

---

I have now come to the conclusion that suffering and disease are the boons of Nature in disguise which helps deliverance from the effects of samskaras.

---

Physical ailment is really meant for the cure of spiritual diseases because thereby it consumes some of the samskaras and increases the power of endurance as well.

---

It happens that sometimes during meditation the abhyasi feels absorbed, while sometimes he does not. The reason is that the samskaras which are firmly rooted in their ‘field' come towards the heart to go out.

---

At higher stages of advancement the indriyas [senses] having been regulated and balanced, assume a purified state and their actions become dormant. One then does not remain the doer of things and consequently the formation of samskaras stops.

Will

Will, faith and confidence are the elementary factors which contribute to an easy success on the path of realisation.

---

Generally people go hesitatingly towards God, thinking themselves to be too incapable and weak to achieve the real thing. A powerful will made at the very first step and maintained all through, shall never fail to achieve complete success.

---

A firm will supplemented by an ever-increasing impatience or yearning to achieve the object will enhance the force of our effort and we shall thereby remain in constant touch with the same real thing, catching every hint conducive to our spiritual well-being and progress.

---

I may assure you very sincerely that realisation is not at all a difficult thing, only if you earnestly divert your attention to it. Iron will to achieve the goal together with proper means and guidance is the only thing required for the complete success.

---

How can will power be strengthened without any practice? The reply is: Take any one work to be important and all others as secondary ones. First of all, one should entertain a desire that his will power is to be strengthened. Then he should take up that work. The opposite idea should not be entertained.

---

Now I am telling the secret of success in all matters. Remove doubts and develop confidence in yourself, you will succeed in all your pursuits. Really speaking, if anybody wants to poison his will he should create doubt in himself.

---

Dejections and disappointments weaken our will and shatter our firmness. We should meet reverses with a brave heart and should never give way to the feeling of despondency which is the worst drawback and the deadliest poison to spiritual life.

---

As for myself I may say that whenever I am on with my spiritual work, I never feel doubtful of success in the least. For that reason I never had to face a disappointment in my entire spiritual career. An unflinching will was the secret of it. I want you all to develop that sort of unfailing will, and you can very easily do that.

---

Iron will and constant impatience and restlessness for gaining the object bring easy success.

Pearls

You will find many personalities in this world tearing off the veil of maya, but hardly one who could remove the covering of egoism. Even in lifelong ages this thing becomes impossible. That is the only veil hanging between man and God.

---

The man who is born in this world is sure to taste miseries. One cannot escape these. When I see the world, I find it very troublesome. Some are groaning with pain, a great number are anxious to achieve success at each step. We try to get rid of these by going into penance and rishis (sages) have devoted themselves thoroughly to it. All that is born of attachment is misery. Pleasure and pain both contribute to misery. There is no remedy for overcoming these miseries except devoting ourselves towards Godly thought of the purest nature. We need not renounce the world and go to penance in the woods. Let the material world and spiritual world go side by side, glittering equally. One cannot be a loser in any way, if doing his household duties, he brings himself up to the realisation of God as well. We should soar with both wings if we want to succeed.

---

The real problem before us is not to provide means for the spiritual training of a chosen few who have renounced the world but of people in general whose duties in the world besides devotional are manifold and which they cannot safely ignore.

---

Realisation is not possible unless moderation and balance are restored. It corresponds closely with the very real thing which existed at the time of creation, when everything was in a perfectly balanced state. Now after the lapse of time, degeneration crept in. Our senses and faculties lost the balance and everything went into disorder. What we have to do now is to control our senses and faculties in order to restore moderation in them. To cultivate moderation we have to pay special attention to external ways of life too, e.g., gentle and polite language, courteous dealing, sympathy and love with fellow beings, reverence to elders, unrevengeful nature and so on. These habits are greatly helpful in our making.

---

The next important thing to be kept in mind is the moral discipline which every one must be very particular about. He must never do a thing which might bring a bad name to himself or to the sanstha he belongs to. His way of living and dealing with others should be simple, unassuming and cordial, inspired by a feeling of love and sympathy for others. This will be a source of satisfaction and peace to him as well.

---

Divine help does come, no doubt, but only when the Supreme is convinced of the devotee's earnestness of purpose. When the reaction creates a stir in the Infinite it indicates that he has concentrated his thought in the Great Being. (This brings to our view the example of the lover and the Beloved.) It means that the distance between the devotee and the Lord is reduced, and the idea of remoteness begins to fade away. Our nearness goes on increasing up to the final limit where the very feeling of aloofness, having merged in the Reality, becomes completely extinct and assumes the form of the latent motion that existed at the time of creation.

---

As a matter of fact knowledge picked up from books or scriptures is no knowledge at all in the real sense of the word. It is simply erudition based upon other's experiences, attainment of the brain alone, and not the practical knowledge based on self experience and attainment of heart. Let this serve as a guiding light to the true seekers of the real knowledge. With me it was so, because instead of striving for the attainment of knowledge, I remained ever in pursuit of Him, my Divine Master, who was the storehouse of knowledge and perfection. This is the reason why I have never been off from Reality in all my thoughts and expressions. I had entered the field with a burning desire to see the end of love which I bore for my Master, and I did have it in full.

---

In a world of inner conflicts it is easy to raise the slogans of world welfare without preparing each for the welfare, for it is ever true that the problem of the universe is the problem of the individual.

---

Finally, love makes every task easy and paves the way for the shower of Master's grace to smoothen the way to the Ultimate Goal. “Love is the hunger of human soul for divine beauty,” according to Socrates; and “Love is the inner awakening to Reality,” according to me. Love Him who loves all, and thus everybody is automatically loved through Him.