Develop Firm Faith In The Living Presence Of God

29 April 1996, Sai Shruti, Kodaikanal, TN

Published English.

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Sweeter than sugar, tastier than curd, sweeter indeed than honey is the Name of . Constant repetition of this sweet Name gives one the taste of divine nectar itself. Therefore, one should contemplate on the Name of incessantly.

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God has the form of bliss which is eternal and indestructible. But man does not have deep and firm faith in this. A student was to appear in an examination. He was weak in Mathematics. Since the exam was the next day, he worshipped Swami and went for the Mathematics, Part I exam. He failed in this paper. So, he removed Swami’s photograph from the altar and placed it in a cupboard. Second day, he had Mathematics Paper, Part II. That day, he worshipped ’s photograph. He fared even worse. Third day, he was to go for the Accounts examination. Thinking that Mother Goddess would be more benevolent compared to other gods, he brought ’s photograph and did . That day, he could not even understand the questions in the examination. He came back and put this photograph also in the cupboard. Fourth day was Accounts Paper, Part II. Realising that is the remover of all obstacles, he brought incense sticks, coconut and garlanded the idol. When he lit the incense sticks, the smoke began to waft towards the cupboard in which the discarded photos were placed. Then he thought, “I brought incense sticks for ; why should I let the benefit of the fragrance be experienced by these gods – , and , who have betrayed me”? He went into the house and brought a piece of cloth to tie the nose of , and .

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Having assured himself that the fragrance would not reach them, he sat down for prayer. At that very moment, , and appeared. He was amazed and questioned the deities: How is it that You did not appear when I worshipped You and now that I have punished You, You have appeared before me? Then replied: “Son! Till this day you had limited Me to a picture. Today you have got the feeling that this photograph is a living entity and so tied a cloth around the nose to prevent the fragrance from reaching Me. The photographs will not help you. Picture will remain a picture. You may worship picture as God, but not God as a picture. Today you have begun to believe the picture as God Himself and tied the cloth. So, I have appeared before you”. Nowadays, we worship God as a picture. It is only when we take picture as God in form that our desires will be fulfilled. It does not matter what form you worship or what name you chant. Realise that all names and forms are His. Nothing wrong with any name. All are the forms of the same Godhead. Your prayers will not reach God if you offer worship to the idols and pictures without believing in the Living Presence of God. When you believe that the idols and pictures you are worshipping are throbbing with life, then only your desires will be fulfilled. If you accept that God is present everywhere without exception, and at the same time, you do not feel His Living Presence in His pictures and idols, then you prove your disbelief in His Living Presence in the photos and idols.

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Is it possible to build a temple for the One who pervades the entire (cosmos)? Can anyone give a name to the One who is present in all beings? Is it possible to give a bath to the One who is present in all rivers? Can anyone offer food to the One who has the entire in His stomach? Man out of his ignorance and delusion is unable to know the reality of the Cosmic Being who is, in fact, the master of the entire cosmos.

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On reaching home, he told his mother, “! There is someone who is teasing me and making me angry. He insults me by mimicking my voice and by singing the song sung by me. When I searched for him, I did not find anybody”. The next day, the cowherd’s mother went with him to the mountainous region and understood the entire situation. She was a wise woman and made his son understand the reality. She said to him, “Dear son! There is nobody else who is abusing or insulting you. It is the echo of your own voice that you are hearing”.

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Our True Nature Is The Form Of Conscience Everything that we experience in this world is the reaction, reflection and resound of our own feelings. We think that somebody is hurting us. But this is our mistake. It is the echo of our own feelings of hatred that we hear. Where is the reality? It is in our own heart. Whatever we speak from our heart is a form of truth. This is called conscience. Our true nature is the form of conscience. We should not modify or alter our conscience to suit the world. When conscience takes human form, it is called an . If you want to know the true nature of the , you should have the faith that it has eternal life. Whatever idol or picture of the you worship, you should consider that it has the power of life. In your house, you think, this is your dining room and that is your prayer room. But you should consider that every room is your prayer room or shrine. God is present at all places, at all times. It is not the place that is important. It is your feeling that is important. God takes into consideration your feelings, not your external considerations. It is your great good fortune that an who is the embodiment of eternal life and Divine power is before you.

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Install God In Your Heart There are presently so many people in the world. Similarly, there were many people when and incarnated on earth. Did all of them worship and ? Did all of them have firm faith in their ? No. If you have a photo or idol of God before you, you should believe that it has life force. That is the truth. God is present in man in the form of consciousness. Your heart is the place where you should install Him. (I reside where My devotees sing My glories, ) said Lord to Sage . said to :

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Mam Namaskuru, Mam Te Priyo'si Me.

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( )

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Lord says that He resides in the heart of the aspirant who sings His glory and constantly thinks of Him. “If you wish to attain My grace, first become My devotee, meditate on Me, bow down to Me and believe that I am endowed with life force. All your worship is of no use if you do not believe in My Living Presence”. Thus says the Lord.

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There are many people who study scriptures. Similarly, many people recite the . But they do not realize the Truth. What is the reason? The reason is the ego of erudition and scriptural knowledge. So long as they have ego, they cannot experience the Living Presence of God. The feelings of awareness of the life force of God in idols and pictures of God will be enshrined in their heart once they get rid of their ego.

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Get Rid Of Ego And Doubts People in the world perform spiritual practices and worship in a variety of ways. God is not attracted by your method of worship. He sees the yearning and anguish in your heart. Does He need your worship? No. He is the Creator of the universe. The tree of human life has many fruits. It also bears the fruit of wisdom. The fruit of wisdom contains a sweet juice. That is the principle of love. In order to get the sweet juice of this fruit, it is necessary to remove the outer skin and the seeds from within it. Then only can you enjoy the bliss of this nectarine juice of . The bitter outer skin of the fruit of wisdom is ego and the seeds are doubts. Unless you remove the bitter skin of ego and seeds of doubt, you cannot have the (pure), (unswerving), (selfless) essence of . This nectarine juice is sweeter than sugar and tastier than curd and honey. Constantly chant the Name of every day with devotion and faith to enjoy the sweet taste of this nectareous juice. You cannot experience divine bliss if you do not get rid of your ego.

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Once the of decided to go to . They boarded a boat on the river in the evening in order to reach by next day morning. They rowed the boat by taking turns while singing the divine glory of , sharing their experiences and conversing about the sweet music of ’s flute.

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At dawn, they saw the rising of the sun but they were surprised that they had not reached ; they were in only. When they examined the cause, they found that in spite of rowing the whole night the boat had not moved at all as it was tied to a big pole. They realised that they had forgotten to untie the knot of the rope of the pole. This is the knot of attachment which prevented them from meeting . Man performs spiritual practices like and meditation and listens to Discourses. But what is the use unless he unties the knot of worldly attachments? Ego follows attachment and this leads to many bad qualities.

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Dedicate Your Body To God’s Service You do not own this body. If you think it is yours, why are you not able to cure the diseases which afflict it? Human body is the gift of God. Since it is a boon bestowed on you by God, you should dedicate it to His service. There is no greater , or penance than this. What is the use of performing , and other spiritual practices if they are not dedicated to God? It is like rowing a boat which is tied to a pole. Therefore, offer body attachment to God. This is what did in the end. He stayed with for 83 years. But all this time, he considered as his close friend. He never revered as Divine Presence. Later, he realised that was the Supreme Being. Then he said:

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Nothing Can Happen Without The Will Of God We go to many temples. But God is not only in temples. He is everywhere. He is the embodiment of (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss). A large number of devotees go to . They carry with them a bundle of desires. They get their heads shaved so that their desires are fulfilled. Why do you think God wants your hair? Instead, you should offer your heart full of love to God.

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Nothing can happen in this world without the Will of God. When was imprisoned by in , she waited in great anguish for some good news from . Once came and said to her, “You cannot have any more”. He showed to her the severed head of , which he had created by his (illusory power). For some time, was plunged in sorrow. But soon she realized that was the epitome of (serene quality), and He was Lord Himself who had taken the human form of . So, none could win over Him. She realised that that was the illusion caused by the illusory power of . then took a small piece of grass and put it in front of , saying, “Your entire prowess is like this blade of grass. Nothing can happen on earth without the Will of ”.

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Oh God! People do not understand that nothing can happen without Your Will. They do not try to understand what is behind the Will of God and what will happen later. Why should they say this and that? You pervade everything from an ant to Brahma. They do make an attempt to find out, understand and inquire about this. They are full of ego as they pride over their intelligence. They do not know what is going to happen to them due to their past .

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is responsible for the birth, existence and death of man. It holds sway over all stages of his life as the very deity of human existence. It is responsible for the joy and sorrow of man.

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Godliness Manifests In You When You Develop Love Everything that happens is the reaction of your actions. Even your mind will not function without the Will of God. You may decide something with the help of your knowledge, wealth, physical strength and intelligence. But God can change everything. He can change earth into sky and sky into earth. He can change sand into gold and gold into diamond. Therefore, cultivate love which will melt God’s heart. Love is the fundamental cause for everything. Love is God. Live in Love. Godliness, which is full of power, enters you when you develop love. But there is a specific time for it. People wait for a long time to receive the grace of God. But they do not get it. They get it only when time comes for it. Until the fruit is ripe, it will taste sour. It becomes sweet only when it ripens. Time is everything. God is the form of time.

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, , , , , (salutations to time, to the one who is beyond time, to the one who has conquered time, to the one who transcends time, to the one who is the embodiment of time, and to the one who ordains time).

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sang, “Oh ! I shall not let You take even one step forward if You do not fulfill my desire”. appeared before with a plate full of food and said to him, “You have been starving for the last four days. Take this food”. said, “I do not want any food. I want only Your Lotus Feet”. Without knowing it, brought a gold chain before his eyes. Being a man of sharp intellect, said, “Are You trying to give this to me with one hand and run away? You are everything for me; I have none else except You”.

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There are thousands of devotees who have studied the , and . A child looks at the . A (scholar) also looks at it. The child focuses on the beautiful pictures of , while the tries to understand the meaning of the text as he turns the pages. Even though the child does not understand the meaning, he fixes the mind on the form of . You should fix the mind on the form of God. What is the use of knowing only the meaning? What do you understand by saying God is ? is not in the words; it is in the form. Therefore, enshrine the form of God in your heart and experience bliss.

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( brought His Discourse to a close with the , “ Nahin…”)