Spiritual speeches
Spiritual truths are very subtle and cannot be perceived through the cross intellect and an impure mind. Our senses have limitations and cannot go beyond a certain distance.
The katha Upanishad says that thought the Atma is present in every being; it does not reveal itself to one and all. Even great scholars fail to comprehend it, because it is subtle and hidden. It can however be realized by those who cultivate a sharp, discriminating and concentrated intellect. Because we can not perceive it through our impure mind, we can not deny the existence of truth. We have to have faith in the scriptures and in great people who had direct experience of it. While defining Sraddha, Shankaracharya says in the Vivekachudamani ` a firm conviction, based upon the intellectual understanding that the teachings of the scriptures and of one’s masters are true, is called by sages the faith which leads to realization of the reality.’
In the Chandogya Upanishad, there is beautiful dialogue between Aruni the teacher and Svetaketu the disciple. Our ancient sages were very thoughtful. They knew that unless the disciple develops subtle understanding, it will be impossible for him to grasp the subtle truths. So they explained reality with the help of illustrations. One such illustration is depicted. Svetaketu requested his teacher to explain the truth with the help of illustration, since he was not able to understand it.
The teacher asked the boy to fetch a fruit from the banyan tree. When the boy brought it, the teacher asked him to break it. When it was broken, the teacher asked him to make one mere seed and break it. When Svetaketu broke it, the teacher asked him to see what was there in the seed. When Svetaketu replied that there is nothing whatsoever, the teacher corrected the boy saying, ` dear boy, and this subtle essence which you do not perceive, out of this subtle essence the large banyan tree stands. Have faith, dear boy; out of that being which is this subtle essence, the whole universe has come. That is the truth. That is atman’’.
It is true that in the world of practical life, you cannot do with out wealth. But do not attach more importance to money than it deserves. Never for get that money is only a means of happiness and not happiness it self.
God is ever telling us through his great teachers. But do not continue to make the same errors. Learn from every experience if you burnt your fingers once, he intelligent enough not to repeat that painful experience.
Happiness is a state of mind does not depend on the quality or quantity of external possessions. A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet to be unhappy. Another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world.
What is need is absorption in god, loving him intensely. The `nectar lake’ is the lake of immortality. A man sinking in it does not die, but becomes immortal. Some people believe that by thinking of god too much the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true. God is the lake of nectar, the ocean of immortality. He is called the `immortal’ in the Vedas. Sinking in it, one dies not dying, but very transcends death.
Sri Ramakrishna said; the mind of the yogi is always fixed on god, always absorbed in the self. His eyes are wide open with an aimless look, like the eyes of mother bird hatching her eggs.
A spiritual aspirant, though engaged in various activities, keeps his mind fixed on the divine with in. now and then, he peeps within to have a glimpse of the divine light. Sri Ramakrishna compared thee mind of such a yogi with a bird with an inward look and expressed a desire to have a picture of such a bird. He said: the mind of the yogi is always fixed on god, always absorbed in the self. You can recognize such a man by merely looking at him. His eyes are wide open, with an aimless look, like the eyes of the mother bird hatching her eggs. Her entire mind is fixed on the eggs, and there is a vacant look in her eyes.
The greatest aid to this practice of keeping god in memory is, perhaps, music. The lord says to Narada, the great teacher of Bhakti, `I do not live in heaven, nor do I live in the heart of the yogi, but where my devotees sing my praise, there am I’. Music has such tremendous power over the human mind; it brings it to concentration in a moment. You will find the dull, ignorant, low brute-like human beings, who never steady their minds for a moment at other times, when they hear attractive music, immediately become charmed and concentrated. Even the minds of animals, such as dogs, lion, cats, and serpents, become charmed with music.
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