Keep Your Focus On God Constantly

18 April 1993, Kodaikanal

Published English.

1

All names and forms are manifestations of the Supreme Being, who is the embodiment of peace and auspiciousness. He is Existence, Knowledge, Bliss Absolute, and non-dual. He is (Truth, Goodness, Beauty). (Sanskrit verse)

2

3

4

What stands between Self and non-self ( and ), worldly and spiritual, good and bad, and merit and sin is the human mind. It is like a wall in the mansion of life, which causes division in unity. One can experience unity when one removes this obstacle of the mind. The One willed to become many ( ). Only one manifested into many. People see diversity in unity due to the mental delusion caused by their ego and attachment.

5

6

7

Negative thoughts arise in the mind when it associates with all that is worldly. Involvement of the mind in worldly scenario increases mental agitation and anxiety. Negative thoughts develop more and more because of mental anxiety. Positive and negative thoughts are just like the warp and woof of cloth. If you remove the threads, you can do away with cloth. When there are no thoughts, there is no mind. It is the negative thoughts that harm people. These can be controlled only by constant practice. Once, asked , “, the mind is very fickle. It is also very powerful. It is not that easy to control the mind.” He prayed to the Lord to teach him how to control the mind. said, “Oh madcap! In this world, nothing is easier than controlling the mind. Wherefrom does the mind originate? It originates out of thoughts. If you make your thoughts proper and good, you will never have any problem with the mind. What practice should you do? Only one practice. Have full faith that the entire universe is the very form of God. Recognise that there is one divine principle in the entire diversity of many names and forms in this world.

8

Jewels are many but gold is one. Cows are many but milk is one. Beings are many but breath is one. Flowers are many but worship is one. Religions are many but goal is one. Beings are many but is one. (Telugu poem) Bulbs may be of different wattages and different colours, such as red, black, and blue, but the electric current in all of them is one. LikeDivine wise, beings have different names and forms but Divinity in all of them is one and the same. Just as there is one current in all the bulbs, the same is in all beings.

9

We have to practise this and recognise, “I am the Self, I am the .” But “I am the .” is also a thought. Even that thought should not be there because it means I and are two entities. It is duality. Where there is duality, there is ignorance. A man with a dual mind is half blind. Today we are not totally blind. We don’t have clear vision. We are just half blind.

10

To get away from this half blindness, we should get away from this dual feeling of I and Self. We should say, “I am I.” We should enter the path of oneness. also followed this path.

11

12

13

14

You want liberation. You want bliss. You want peace. You want to experience Divinity. How do you experience it? You want to drink milk, water, or sweet pudding ( ). For this, you need a tumbler or a vessel. Without a container, you can’t take the material. So, you need a container for everything you partake of. When the container of the body receives bliss, you can experience it. Divinity is also like a liquid; to experience it you need the container of your body. You cannot make use of this liquid otherwise. If you have no container as such, at least you should join both palms and make a container.

15

Hence, container is most essential. That is the body. In the temple of the body, the Self is the eternal indweller. The body is a temple and the indweller is God ( ). It is not enough to merely think of God. You have to make appropriate effort.

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Turn your mind Godward Today you are all listening to ’s Discourse; you see and experience the bliss. How long does this truth last? It lasts up to the time you return home at night, take your food, and go to bed. After you go to sleep, you have many dreams. In the dream, this waking state is not there. Believing all that happens in the dream, you experience pleasure and pain. But how long does the dream last? It lasts until you wake up. In the waking state, there is no dream. In dream, there is no waking state. But you are there both in the waking state and in the dream state. You are omnipresent. What is that omnipresence? That is Divinity. You are the very form of Divinity.

23

24

25

The mind is the cause of bondage and liberation of humanity ( ). said this many times.

26

27

The other day, mentioned individual practice, family practice, and community practice. The world will progress through these three practices. What do you mean by individual practice? It is the spiritual practice done by the individual themself. What is the practice - is it chanting, meditation, or spirituality? No! None of these. It is the full blossoming of the individuality of a person.

28

29

30

31

You say, my eye. In this word eye also there is I. You say, my hand, my body, my stomach, my mind. I is there in all of them. So, I is everywhere. That I denotes your true personality. You say, “I have come.” Who is the one that has come? The one that has come is the body. When you say, “I came yesterday,” you mean the body. So, that I identifies with the body. But the divine I is beyond name and form. Though it shines in different ways, it remains one. Truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names ( ). It is only one, not two. That is your true Self. In the English alphabet, you must have seen the letter I. In numbers also, one is written as 1. So, 1 and I are similar.

32

However, if you add up I plus I, I plus I a million times, its total will be I only. But when you add up 1 plus 1 plus 1, you get millions. So, I will remain one only. That is the . But when you write it as number 1, it becomes millions. There is unity in diversity. When you consider the body as I, you get multiplicity. When you realise as I, you get unity. The teach you to understand unity in diversity. Beings are many, breath is one. Nations are many, earth is one. You should never say, “I am an American, I am an Australian, I am a Britisher, I am an Indian.” Not like that. No! All belong to the same earth. Divinity in all of you is the same.

33

What is this earth? In Sanskrit, we call it . But in the spiritual sense it is called which means unlimited . The earth is not permanent but is permanent. Understanding this truth connotes true spirituality. However, do not consider the world as an obstacle in the path of spirituality. Living in the world, do your duty, discharge your responsibility, but keep the focus on the goal; never forget it.

34

35

36

Always remember that you are the You may be a householder; you may be a student or a businessman. Whatever task you may be engaged in, keep your focus on your aim of knowing the . That is spirituality. Spirituality is not merely limited to spiritual practices. Keeping the mind focused constantly on the and experiencing bliss in the heart is true spirituality. Then whatever you do, it will become sacred and worthwhile. But you have to keep a watch on the mind because the mind stands as an obstacle in everything. Keep the mind aside. Tell the mind, “Don’t stand between God and me. You relate to the world. My relationship with God is sacred and spiritual.” Pacify the mind in this way and keep it cool.

37

There is a very good ideal in the . While walking in the forest, followed , and followed to protect her. It was not a royal road; they just walked one behind the other on a narrow path. At one point, desired to see . But in between was . He could not dare to overtake or show anger toward her lest it should displease , because she is the very property of . So, if he prays to mother , “Mother, please give me the way, so that I can see ”, she will certainly oblige. Then will be happy, will be happy and will also be happy.

38

This anecdote illustrates a profound truth. is the individual Self ( ), is illusion ( ), and is . All three are one behind the other. When the individual Self wants to see God, illusion comes in between as obstacle.

39

You should not have hatred for illusion ( ), because illusion is the vesture of God. Instead, pray wholeheartedly. Then there will be no illusion, and you will see God. You can never overcome illusion through hatred. You have to make friendship with illusion. With good words, it will give you the way, and you can see the Lord.

40

Illusion ( ) is, in fact, our own delusion. Otherwise, it has no existence. It is our imagination. That imagination should go.

41

42

The snake has not gone, the rope has not come. First, the rope had not gone and the snake had not come. It is not that the snake ran away as you switched on the torch. Then and now it was and is the same rope. That which came and disappeared was illusion. Illusion ( ) has no separate form as such. It is only thoughts that constitute it. Fill your thoughts with love and proceed on the path of sacrifice. Then you will never be affected by illusion. But you struggle for your selfish interests. You are afraid what others would think, what others would say. Why should you have fears like this? If you do not chant the Name of the Lord now because of such baseless fears, then who will come to your rescue when the messengers of death take hold of you?

43

When the messengers of (god of death) put the noose around your neck and start dragging you away, saying, come, let us go. When your relations tell your family members to take you out of the house, saying your end has approached.

44

And when your wife and children start weeping and wailing, How can you chant the Name of ? (Telugu Poem) Start early, drive slowly, reach safely. Don’t delay and waste time. Start now. Experience the bliss of chanting the Divine Name now. Later is later. Next is next. Do not waste time at all. Engage your mind in the practice of sacrifice. Take to the path of renunciation with due practice. This is the right attitude of the mind. In the midst of all kinds of thoughts and activities, always remember that you are the and nothing but the . Never forget these divine feelings. Have the feelings at all times, at all places, everywhere that you are divine. There is no other spiritual practice greater than this. Nothing more is necessary. You don’t need to leave your duty and responsibility. Discharge your duties with divine feelings. Then only will you attain lasting peace.