Complete surrender confers Bliss

23 November 1999, Birthday - 74, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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The , the very source of all spiritual principles, have been enlightening the whole world from ancient days from this holy land of (India). They are the very forms of God. Divinity pervades everything, living and non-living. - from the microcosm to the macrocosm, the entire universe is pervaded by Divinity. This (cosmos) is the form of Divinity. From dawn to dusk, you experience this form of the Divine, and yet you fail to realise this fact.

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You are seeing God in the form of the world every moment. Since you lack divine feelings, you see God as the world instead of seeing the world as God. Once you understand that (the universe is the form of ), you will certainly be able to see the world as God. (as the feelings, so is the result).

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“ (the whole world is pervaded by God).”

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Lord protected , who constantly chanted His name and contemplated on Him. But he became the Lord of Death for , who had no God consciousness and led a worldly life. So, both God and (Lord of Death) are one and the same. He acts according to the feelings of the individual.

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Even the most evil of men have some good in them. This goodness is the aspect of Divinity in them. The say, E

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(God is the indweller of all beings), (God pervades the whole world).

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Do not be misled by various terms like , , , , etc. These are all different names of one and the same Divinity.

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The term stands for Divinity. What is the inner meaning of this word? The syllable stands for effulgence, ga stands for one who gives, and van means one who is capable. So, means the one who is capable of spreading light and effulgence to the world.

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This Divinity is latent in you. The principle of is one and the same in all, be it a (renunciant), a (pleasure seeker), a (itinerant renunciant), or a (dispassionate one). It is present in theists and also in atheists. Forgetting this all-pervasive Divinity, you undertake various spiritual practices, limiting Divinity to a particular name of your individual preference. Spiritual practices should confer the awareness that Divinity is all-pervasive. Just as fire is needed till the rice is cooked, so also spiritual practices are needed till you realise the innate Divinity.

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Before partaking of food, you offer it to God by chanting the following (verse) from the :

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Where is ? He is very much present in you. That is why you get the reply immediately from within:

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Aham Vaishvanaro Bhuthva Praninam Dehamasritha Pranapana Samayukta Pachamyannam Chathurvidham.

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God is present in you in the form of . He digests the food that you partake of and distributes the essence to all parts of the body. God, who is present within, is called , and the all-pervasive Divinity is known as .

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“ (think of God at all places, at all times, under all circumstances.)”

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Every cell in your body contains the details of your whole being. In fact, every cell in your body holds your whole form. There are billions of cells in your body. While your form is immanent in each cell and in each limb in the microcosm, your body is your own macrocosmic form. In the same manner, each one of you is the cosmic divine form (). You must make efforts to fully appreciate this reality.

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The name leads you to the form You go to a village to see your friend, but you do not know his address. How can you expect to meet him unless you know his correct address? Here is another example: Many people have gathered here now. You want to meet a particular boy. You say that he is wearing a bush coat and pants and has got a good hairstyle. But this information is not sufficient to trace the boy, because there may be many boys in this crowd who fit this description. Instead if you announce his name, say , from the stage, immediately he will get up from the crowd. It is the name that leads you to the form.

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That is why the ancient sages and seers started (continuous contemplation on the Divine Name) to have the vision of God. They undertook various spiritual practices with total devotion and earnestness. Do not dismiss this effort as meaningless.

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The other day, I spoke about . symbolises (steadfast devotion), and stands for (faith). You can achieve anything in life if you have steadfast devotion and faith. Since this world is the very form of , it is called (androgynous). It is on this basis that we use to address women and to address men. The ancient sages and seers said,

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“ (only the devout can attain wisdom.)”

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You should consider (faith) as your (life breath).

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God has many names and forms. and are two of these names of God. is one who creates everything taking nature () as the means, and is one who sustains and protects the creation. Telugu-speaking people use this word for husband, but actually means master, sustainer and protector.

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Body is gifted to make proper use of time People waste their time and do not make any effort to know Divinity. Out of twenty-four hours in a day, you should allot six hours for personal work, six hours for social service, six hours for sleeping, and the remaining six hours for spiritual practices like , , and . Some people say they do not have time to think of God, but they waste hours together in mundane matters. Life becomes meaningless if you do not think of God.

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The body is gifted to make proper use of time. Body will be sanctified only when it is used for sacred activities. You should understand the relationship between (body), (time), and (responsibility). Do not waste even a single moment.

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used to contemplate on the Divine Mother day in and day out. Before going to bed, he would feel sad thinking that another day had passed without the vision of the Divine Mother. He used to think, “Perhaps my heart hasn’t become ripe to deserve divine grace. What is the use of eating an unripe fruit? I shall ripen my heart and offer it to the Mother.” That is the true spiritual practice in its subtle essence.

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No one can question the powers of God There is no constraint of time, place, distance, or complexity to the actions of God. No creature can impose limitations or constraints on God. God is utterly selfless. All His actions are sacred, whether they seem pleasant or unpleasant to you. Students are sometimes confused. They feel that if is God, will He do this or that? How can you decide what God should do? No one has the authority to question the powers of God. He alone decides whether to reward, punish, protect, or destroy anything.

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Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya Glanir Bhavati Bharata, Abhyutthanamadharmasya Tadatmanam Srujamyaham.

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God incarnates from age to age, whenever righteousness is on the decline. (truth) has to be upheld and (untruth) is to be destroyed. is to be protected, and is to be destroyed.

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How do we expound the unity principle ()? There are three forms of this principle of oneness: unity of substance, unity of matter, and unity of action. This piece of cloth is a single entity. There is yarn in it. The yarn is made of cotton. When the yarn is woven, you get a piece of cloth. If you shred the cloth, the yarn and cotton fall apart. When such a combination of matter in different forms is made, a simple object is produced. This is one kind of unity - material unity.

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While the names and forms are different, the elements () of all bodies are the same. All are suffused with the same five sensory perceptions (, , , , and ) and the same five life principles (, , , , and ). No matter where you are, your body is composed of the five elements only. There is no sixth element anywhere.

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This body is a heap of filth, full of diseases, continually changing. How can it cross the ocean of ? Oh mind! For certain, this body is transient. Keep your mind firmly on the Feet of the Lord and surrender to Him. [Telugu Poem]

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The body is (field of activities) and the heart is (field of righteousness). When Divinity is enshrined in the heart, it forms (field of ). So, to understand the pure , it is necessary for you to purify your , that is, your heart.

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and are in the same body. That is why the begins, “....” All thoughts arising in the mind also pertain to (). Thus, and are performed in the same field of the body, which comprises and . Divinity intervenes and separates from (). A man of discernment is able to make this discrimination between and .

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Sacrifice leads to Once, asked whether he had seen God. emphatically replied, “Yes, I have seen God. I have seen Him just as I am seeing you and you are seeing me.” “Then why I don’t see Him?” asked .

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gave an appropriate answer, “You weep for your family, you suffer for your business and wealth, but do you ever weep or yearn for a vision of God? Do that and you will certainly see God! All the time I am pining only for the vision of God. Therefore, God is visible to me at all times in every human being.” The purpose of our birth should be achieved by the sacrifice of everything. Therefore, the say,

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(sacrifice alone ensures immortality).

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Thus, in sacrifice also there is satisfaction. In fact, there is (bliss) in sacrifice. The practical man of today questions the usefulness of sacrifice. Man is so selfish that he refuses to give even a handful of food to a starving beggar. How much joy is experienced when one is able to satisfy the hunger of a hungry person! Would you not feel joy when some starving people are fed? In human society, narrow-minded selfishness is rampant.

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Even human life has little value in today’s society Once, in , , Dr. , and were going from to the city. As a beggar approached, gave him a two-rupee note. The beggar threw back the note, saying that it would not fetch even a loaf of bread. This is the state of our society today. Money has lost its value. Why money alone, even human life has very little value in today’s society. People struggle hard to amass wealth, comfort, and happiness, even risking their own life. When somebody dies in an accident or calamity, the government gives a few thousand as compensation for the life lost. Is human life worth a few only? Has it become that cheap? No, human life is worth a lot more. When the body is dead, the life principle is not altogether lost.

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God Himself intervenes when His devotees are in distress in the performance of their functions in society. You all know the story of and . When they were confronted with impossible tasks, God helped them in person; He completed their task of making pots or weaving cloth.

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God is capable of taking any form that He Wills. Hence, He is known as the . The (in the ) says, ... while describing the . The has innumerable limbs.

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Cultivate your faith and make it firm Become worthy of His love. You can achieve everything. This is possible only through (selfless love). By cultivating such selfless love, you become Divine yourself. And this Divinity is nondual. Hence, it is said, “ (perception of non-dual Divinity is true wisdom).” Cultivate your faith and make it firm. There should be no ups and downs in this faith. If you allow such vacillations, you are likely to lose whatever faith you have. A firm faith results in your attaining (divine bliss). The happiness experienced with the body is human (). The joy felt in the mind is (mental pleasure). is much greater than the bodily happiness (). When the mind is transcended, the joy experienced is , which is immeasurably greater than the joy of the mind. You are needlessly losing your opportunity of attaining this level of bliss. Step by step, you have to rise through these levels of happiness until you attain . In this way, you merge your personal bliss into the universal bliss of , which is eternal.

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Surrender you heart to God One has to experience this bliss, which is none other than . is being, which is eternal. is total knowledge, i.e. omniscience. When these two are united, total joy, i.e. , is realised. Since , , and are present in each individual, it is said that God is present in everyone in the form of . Therefore, you need not perform any , and if you are following some such practice, there is no need for you to abandon it. But in any event, surrender your heart to God. This is called (surrender).

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Once, told that all his wealth, family, possessions, and his very body was for the service of . said, “I do not need all this. What use have I for all these? Just purify your thoughts, words, and deeds and your heart. With that, you will experience heaven itself.” Happiness is heaven itself. Happiness is obtained by the control of the senses. So, you can attain heaven by controlling your senses. Many people say that they experience the very heaven in . How long will this happiness last? This will vanish the moment you leave this place. True heaven is inside you. This again is described as immortality.

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Divinity is within your reach Be fearless. Lead your life without fear disturbing it. Do not be guided by the opinions and advice of others around you into actions not in line with your conscience. There are a few who piously place the mark of on their forehead while at home but wipe it off the moment they step out. Some are even ashamed to say that they are coming to and tell their friends that they are going to . Why should you worry about their opinion? Is it something wrong to come here? There are so many wrong things that people do without any fear, then why are you afraid of saying that you are going to see God? One should never be afraid of expressing one’s faith in God. Be courageous and bold. These days, people are afraid of performing their cultural and spiritual practices as also good deeds.

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message for you today is that is you and you are . In fact is not separate from you.

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Who invited you here? You have all come here out of love for . Out of this love alone, so many thousands have assembled here. Here is , ready to be taken away by you. Carry Him away with you as you like.

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Those who love wholeheartedly, to them He belongs wholly. All that asks of you is your wholehearted, unconditional love. Recognise this truth and lead your life filled with love. Take this as ’s gift to you. Do not hate anybody. Hating anybody is no different from hating God Himself. Surrender your whole being to God. Experience unalloyed divine bliss.

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Never forget God Students! Pursue your study diligently. Obtain good position in your examination. Get good jobs in your appropriate chosen fields and serve your motherland. has no desire to stop anybody from working in any profession or getting married or going abroad for study or work. Go wherever you please. Do whatever job that is your lot, but never forget God. Anything you do with God in your heart is pleasing to Me. Forgetting God is no different from forgetting yourself.

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