Importance of mother's grace

19 November 1999, Ladies Day, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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More fragrant than the sweet-smelling flowers like the Jasmine and the , Softer than cheese and butter, More beautiful than the eye of the peacock, More pleasant than the moonlight Is the love of the mother. [Telugu Poem]

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Embodiments of Love! This world, with its movable and immovable objects, is nothing but the Cosmic Dance of (). This blissful is full of awe and wonder and is beyond human comprehension. The dualities of night and day, pleasure and pain, birth and death are endless. Just as birth and death are natural, so also is the existence of and (righteousness and unrighteousness). When is on the rise, is on the decline, and vice versa. Men and women are responsible for the rise or decline of and . Man, unable to realise the divinity within, is under the delusion that divinity is different from him.

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Principle of could even stop the sun from rising to save the life of her husband. could bring her dead husband back to life. Wherefrom did they derive their strength? It was the power of their devotion and chastity. When man worships Divinity with devotion and earnestness, the divine qualities - (truth, goodness, beauty) manifest in him. This resplendently shining divine power is latent in man. When tried to kill his own sister , her husband came to her rescue. It was possible because of his innate divine powers. You need not make any special efforts to acquire divine powers. They are immanent in you. They will manifest only when you contemplate on God, forgetting yourself.

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Man, forgetting his own divine nature, thinks that God is separate from him and undertakes various spiritual practices to attain Him. People adore Him by different names such as , , Jesus, and . But there is only one fundamental power, which is the very form of . This principle of is all-pervasive. This world has a very significant name, . means (steadfast devotion) and means (faith). It is to say that the world is based on the twin principles of and . and are inseparable, interdependent, and all-pervasive. So, the whole world is the form of (androgynous). It is on this basis that the terms and are used to address women and men, respectively. denotes and symbolises .

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Whatever may be the name and form you worship, you need to have steadfast devotion and faith. Without these two, you cannot achieve anything in life. (only the one with steadfast devotion attains wisdom). It is only through faith that one can realise the divinity within. Divinity in man is the combination of and .

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God is the witness to all that you do The whole world is a combination of (will power), (power of action), and (power of wisdom). is related to the mind, to the body, and to the . That is why it is said that you are not one person, but three: the one you think you are (physical body), the one others think you are (mental body), and the one you really are (principle of the ). You are essentially divine, but you are unable to understand this. The declare: (with His hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, and ears pervading everything, God permeates the entire universe). God is the witness to all that you do. You may hoodwink anybody, but not God because He is always in you and with you.

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Without the grace of , all your efforts will be futile. Names and forms are not important because they are subject to change. Body is like a water bubble, mind is like a mad monkey. You cannot rely on them. But there is something within, which is true and eternal. That is divinity. In order to manifest this latent divinity, you need to develop devotion, which in turn strengthens your faith. Tree becomes bigger and stronger as the roots go deeper. Likewise, faith becomes stronger as the devotion increases. No name and no form can ever help you if (faith) and (steadfast devotion) are lacking in you.

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There is infinite divine power latent in everybody. If you can manifest it, you can even stop the sun from rising, as did, and you can even bring the dead back to life, as could do. When you manifest divine power, you become God.

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God will give you whatever you deserve The is all-pervasive. In order to experience the , you need to have steadfast devotion and faith. Today people pray, (may all the people of the world be happy)! It is possible only when and are fostered.

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Joys and sorrows are like passing clouds. They come and go. It is only the morality that comes and grows. So, develop morality. Do not aspire for wealth, position, and power. God will give you whatever you deserve. Develop love for God. That is the highest (spiritual practice).

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Today, people undertake various spiritual practices to attain God. But all these confer only mental satisfaction. Sage propagated the nine paths of devotion: (listening), (singing), (contemplating on God), (serving His Lotus Feet), (salutation), (worship), (servitude), (friendship), and (self-surrender). These practices cannot confer everlasting joy. Have unflinching faith that the universe is the very form of God (). is the cause and the is the effect. These two are inseparable.

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The declare: (though immobile, He is apparently mobile). Here is an illustration. In the dream state, you may visit various places and experience happiness or sorrow, but in reality your body remains steady on the bed - immobile.

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So, all that you see and experience in this world is but a dream. Only the is true and eternal. The is (permanent) and the world is (changing). Human life is the union of and .

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(human birth is the rarest among all beings). All beings are not fortunate to get human birth. All human beings do not experience Divinity. Some people undertake spiritual practices like idol worship to attain Divinity. Gradually one should turn one’s vision inward and experience the oneness of the .

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Experience the endless bliss of the It is not all that important how much you love God; what is more important is how much God loves you. God is the embodiment of . means that which is eternal. is total awareness. When water and sugar are mixed with each other, you get syrup. Likewise, the combination of and results in (bliss) The that you experience out of worldly pleasures is momentary.

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You will attain true and everlasting bliss, only when you turn your vision inward and experience the . It has no form, but is full of bliss.

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Embodiments of Love! You should experience the endless bliss of the .

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Adore the mother as God The declare: (revere the mother and father as God). Once , General Secretary of , came to Me with the plea, “Kindly let us know the birthplace of so that we can construct a temple there.” I replied, “The true birthplace of is the womb of .” Mother’s womb is the birthplace of one and all, be it a commoner or the Himself. Therefore, adore the mother as God. Uphold her name and respect her.

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Today is 19 November. It is celebrated as Ladies Day to remind you of the importance of the mother. You should conduct yourself according to the wishes of your mother. Do not disobey her. , the great devotee of Lord , married on the insistence of his mother, though he was not in favour of marriage. But as fate would have it, passed away soon after the marriage.

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His mother, , felt very sad for having got him married against his wishes. told her, “This is what happens when one goes against the dictates of one’s conscience.” So, if you feel what you are doing is correct, then try to convince your mother, but never hurt her feelings.

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In the epic , there is a story of a queen, , who wanted to marry . But was reluctant to marry her. sent her commander-in-chief to capture . waged a fierce battle against , ultimately captured him, and brought him to the presence of . She requested him to marry her, but refused to marry even if it were to cost his life. was a great devotee of Lord , and so was . Both of them prayed fervently.

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, being the director of the cosmic drama, had his own master plan. He appeared there, called and to his side, brought their hands together, chanted the , and solemnised their marriage.

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God can do anything and everything God can do anything and everything. He can transform earth into sky and sky into earth. But man lacks devotion and faith in God. He has faith in worldly matters, not in spirituality. There is nothing superior to (devotion). In the word , the letter stands for lustre and luminosity, and denotes that which attracts. From , you get (power) for the body, mind, and spirit. Through this and , you get immersed in (attachment) toward God and develop (detachment) from the world. Then God confers on you (food) and also (liberation). Thus, man has to travel from to .

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As I told you yesterday, human life is a journey from ‘I’ to ‘We’. In order to go to , , , and , you may have to take great pains and travel long distances. But the journey from ‘I’ to ‘We’ is very short in the sense that you have to detach yourself from the body and develop attachment towards the Self. For this, mother’s grace is very essential.

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God comes whenever the need arises When was in the womb of his mother , used to tell her many stories. One day, was explaining to her the intricacies and nuances involved in entering (a military formation in the shape of a lotus). Before he could explain to her how to come out of the , Lord , the supreme director of the cosmic drama, entered the scene. God comes whenever the need arises and plays His role appropriately.

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asked , “What a mistake you are committing! It is not , but it is the child in her womb who has been listening to you all the while. Where is the necessity for you to teach the child about ?” He took away with him.

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Later on, in the war, lost his life in , since he did not know how to come out of it. Why did do this? It is because had to attain (heaven of the heroes). In fact, when the challenged to enter , he came to his mother and sought her permission and blessings. tried her best to dissuade him from going to the battlefield. She said, “My dear son, it is not an ordinary task to enter and come out of it. Moreover, your wife is in the family way, and your uncle and father are not here. So, give up the idea of going to the battlefield.” But did not pay heed to her advice. He said “Mother, I am a (warrior) by birth. There is no greater insult for a than to shy away from the challenge posed by the enemies. In fact, you should encourage me and enthuse me to fight and annihilate the enemies. It is not proper on your part to discourage me from going to the war.” knew what he was doing was correct, but he did not understand his mother’s love. He lost his life because he went to the battlefield against the wishes of his mother.

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was good, whereas was great. put into practice whatever he had studied and thus earned a good name. But was immersed in ignorance, because he did not practice all that he had studied. As a result, he did not earn a good name. Man needs to have fear of sin and love for God to earn a good name. Since man lacks fear of sin and love for God, humanness is on the decline. This is the cause of restlessness in the world today.

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Embodiments of Love! God is and (one who is attracted by singing). Poems and prayers do not attract God as much as songs sung with devotion do. All of you have listened to the melodious singing of . She has earned the title . I have also seen her play the role of , when she was very young.

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Many artistes have earned name and fame in dance. was such a great dancer that one could hardly see his two feet on the ground while he danced. His wife, daughter-in-law, and other disciples have come here and will be staging a dance programme tomorrow.

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I am showing you by My example all that I preach. Some people feel that does not talk to them because hates them or is angry with them. It is nothing but their imagination and guilty conscience. I do not hate anyone. In order to put you on the right path, sometimes I may pretend to be angry with you. But in reality, I have no anger or hatred toward anybody.

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Some people do (service in the villages) with the expectation that I should fulfil their desires. Is that enough to please Me? Give up all desires and cleanse your heart. Then I will grant you all that you require without your asking for it. How can you expect positive results without giving up negative thoughts? Fill your heart with positive thoughts. Fill it with love. Then all your thoughts, words, and deeds will be suffused with love.

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All are the children of Embodiments of Love! Never forget the love of your mother, and under all circumstances make her happy. I am pleased with you only when you make your mother happy. As pointed out, make efforts to understand the oneness of all. If you think that you are separate from others, then there will be scope for hatred. Realise that you and I are one. Bodies may be different, but you are bound by the same love principle.

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Just as your mother loves you, you should love everybody. All are the children of (universal mother). All are brothers and sisters. You should not have any differences whatsoever. The sun is one and the same for all the worlds. Just as the sun is reflected in a water tank, in a river, in an ocean, likewise the same Divinity is reflected in the hearts of one and all.

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(truth is one, but scholars refer to it by different names). It is not correct to say that you like only or or or . There is only one God, and He is omnipresent. Do not hate other religions. A should become a better , a Christian a better Christian, and a Muslim a better Muslim. The one without love can be called neither Muslim nor nor Christian nor . In fact, he is verily a demon on this earth. Only those without love give scope to differences based on religion. You will find the unity of all religions only when you fill your heart with love.

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The culture of (India) has given utmost importance to the mother. One refers to one’s country as motherland, not fatherland. Lord declared: “ (mother and the motherland are greater than even heaven).” Country is the mother and the culture is the father. Never forget your country and its culture.

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Since ancient times, the culture of has been propagating the message of peace and love with the prayer, (May all the people of the world be happy)! You have to uphold this sacred culture.

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