Happiness Is Union With God

31 August 2001, Onam, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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Indha Pujyamaya Divasam Ella Janangalukum Endey Paripurna Anugraham Asirvadam (On this auspicious day of Onam, I confer my bounteous grace and blessings on all of you)

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WHAT happiness did the demon attain by stealing the and hurling abuses at God? What was the fate of the ten-headed who abducted the consort of ? What did , who refused to give the even as much land as would a needlepoint occupy, take with him at the end? What happened to the wicked ultimately who indulged in the gruesome act of slaying infants? The same will be the fate of the wicked today. If not today, at least tomorrow, they are bound to meet their doom. Oh man! Do not entertain excessive desires. Better that you lead a life of moderation.

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(Truth is that which remains the same in the past, present and future).

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Since ancient times has been able to enjoy peace and prosperity because its people adhered to truth. propagated the message of spirituality to the entire world.

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(May all the worlds be happy!)

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(there is no greater than adherence to Truth).

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Truth is the noblest of all virtues. You might have heard the story of king , who sacrificed his kingdom and even his wife and son for the sake of truth.

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Truth may sound like a simple word, but it is very important to know its greatness. All that is, is embraced by (truth). The entire universe is dependent on truth. If the very basis is lost, what is left of our life? There is no place where truth does not exist.

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Emperor based all his actions on truth. Looking upon his subjects as his own children, he performed his duties. was a very generous person. He was compassionate and was a shining sun of truth. The very fact of his reign in the land of is the cause for the prosperity and happiness of the people there. He had conquered all the lesser Gods with his great prowess. He performed a sacrifice called , in commemoration of his victory, on the banks of the river .

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The Lord incarnated as at that time. He was born as the son of the saintly couple and . They lived in a hermitage known as . The young walked towards the site where was performing the sacred ritual. The boy was brilliant and effulgent, and everyone looked with wonder at his great beauty. was the very personification of the attractive magnetic field. , the daughter of saw the young boy and developed a desire in her mind to have Him as her own child and fondle Him in various ways.

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But, in the meantime, as you know, had pushed down into the (netherworld). This event turned her love towards into hatred and she felt that she could kill the child herself. The all-knowing noticed what was passing through the mind of and pronounced (may it be so!).

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Sarvatah Panipadam, Tat Sarvathokshi Siromukham, Sarvatah Sruthimalloke Sarvamavruthya Thishthati (God, since He is omnipresent, with hands, feet, eyes, heads, mouth and ears pervading everywhere, He permeates the entire universe).

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He is constantly pronouncing this blessing on all. Nothing escapes His attention. That is why we should always keep our minds filled with good thoughts. He told , “Mother, you first desired to breast feed Me. But seeing your father’s downfall, your desire turned into hatred. You felt like feeding poison and killing Me. You will be born in as and feed Me with poisonous milk, and you yourself will die.” Therefore, it is essential for all of us to have constantly good thoughts as God is pronouncing blessing of fulfillment incessantly. In view of the ignorance of this reality, mankind fills its mind with many forms of evil thoughts.

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Hence, if your thoughts are pure, you are blessed with purity. We fill our minds and spend our time in activities and associations replete with evil; but when we reap the consequences and suffer, we are filled with misery. As every thought emanates from the mind, its consequences are determined. Such was the fate of . When you are subject to misery you blame God, but do not realise that your distress is the consequence of your own thoughts. This is why you should have good thoughts and seek good company.

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Was An Adherent Of Truth Emperor was the personification of generosity. To uphold his promise, he sacrificed everything. Young requested three paces of land. promised without a moment’s hesitation.

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His preceptor however dissuaded him. He told , “The person before you is Himself. Once you promise Him anything, you cannot transgress it. So, do not make any hasty promises.” replied to that there was no greater sin than going back on one’s words and, notwithstanding the specific command of his own preceptor, he upheld the promise made to .

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was prepared to undergo any misery while maintaining truth. So, Lord sent him to the netherworld and gave him all the comforts of living. Being in , he attained eternal life. He however prayed to that He should return every year to the land of and grace it with His blessings. That is why the people of have named this day “” and celebrate it with fervour.

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Emperor was an extremely virtuous person. Though born in a family of demons, he was filled with divine thoughts. It is the consequence of the great merits of that is manifesting as the benefits that people of enjoy today. does not mean merely the preparation of sweet pudding, various delicious dishes, etc., and eating ourselves to the full. We must relive the experience of the encounter between and . Today is supposed to be physically present in the land of and hence this day should be celebrated with gaiety and joy. We should lead an ethical, moral and spiritual life.

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(speak the truth, speak pleasantly and do not speak unpalatable truth).

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These three values are ethical, moral and spiritual, respectively. All the three values ultimately depend upon truth. Following the path of truth and without swerving from a spiritual life, we should work for the welfare of the whole world. has the political identity of being communist. However, every individual Keralite, irrespective of his political colour, never swerves from the daily duties of a purifying bath, smearing of holy ash on his forehead or wearing a sandalwood paste mark, visiting the temples, etc. Their divine love and devotion is unmatch ing. is a beautiful state. People there are replete with spiritual attitudes. But time has had its toll and the tender hearts of people have turned hard. Why is this? It is our own attitude that is responsible. The good and bad habits of the individual of a region have their effect on the whole land.

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(That all-pervasive God is present within and without)

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is an expression of this truth. The principle is the expression of this unity. The inner flow is continuous. This symbolises . You may have seen the rivers and . is the invisible undercurrent. The eternal inner flow of the principle represents speech.

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Our faculty of speech is the divine principle and, as such, should not be abused or misused. Control of speech is of vital importance. If your feet slip and you fall, there is no great harm; but if you slip in your speech, it causes irreparable damage. Of all the human faculties, speech is of great importance and should be used with extreme carefulness. Never speak in a manner as to hurt anybody or untruly. One may think that it is a difficult job, but it is very easy. In fact, more than your teeth or other parts of your body, your tongue is under your control. It is extremely flexible and has no bone in it. You can turn it any way you want and the words you utter seem to dance to any tune that you make. Therefore, you must utter only sacred words through it: (attributeless, pure, final abode, eternal, unsullied, enlightened, free and embodiment of sacredness).

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(God is the embodiment of sound, mobility and immobility, light, speech, eternal bliss, supreme majesty, delusion and wealth).

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Emperor attained his eternal life through truth and love only. While the body perished, the mind remained eternal. Body is like water bubble, mind is like a mad monkey; don’t follow the body, don’t follow the mind; follow your conscience. This is the lesson of ’s life.

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Conscience is deathless. The universal consciousness has neither birth nor death. It has no beginning, middle or end. He is omnipresent as the of everything. (Telugu Poem)

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Get Attuned To The Divine Vibration The sounds that you think you produce are allpervading. All the fine things that were spoken here and the sweet songs that were sung had reverberated through this hall. Where have they all gone? They are all parts of the divine vibration. They are pervading and existing in every soft or hard article or object here. Occasionally, you hear some words or music from here or there, but the divine vibrations are eternal and omnipresent. That is why the declare, “ ...” this divine vibration pervades all of us from top to toe. Only if you practise consistently the proper use of your speaking faculty, divine vibrations will fill you and you will feel divine bliss.

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What is the source of all the violence and disturbance in the world? Individual’s existence is a reflection of the world’s condition. If each individual is good, then the world is peaceful. Speak well and act well. Transform your life into a sacred one. In this manner, distribute goodness all around. Talk with love. Sing with love. This is what the sang.

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In this barren land without love For the seeds of love to sprout With all the emotions and the downpour of love, For the incessant flow of rivers of love, Oh, ! Sing for us. (Telugu song)

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(mind alone is responsible for both bondage and liberation of man).

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(Truth is one, but sages refer to it by many names).

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The people of must, endeavour to preserve their ancient culture. All the seeds for the cultivation of their culture are still alive and strong. Emperor was the one who encouraged pure and sacred thoughts and activities. He was called , as he was truly great in every aspect of his character. , established by such a great personage, is not to be reckoned lightly. In the map of the world, may look small, but it is a centre of great divinity. It is full of bliss. This land gave birth to , and it was where performed intense penance and revealed the sacred which is prefixed with the triple syllable . Bhur represents materialisation, Bhuvah-vibration and Suvah-radiation.

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You are not one, but three, namely, the one You think you are (body), the one others think you are (mental) and, the one you really are (the ).

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Only when you recognise these realities, you achieve your humanness. Do not get too much attached to your body. So long as you are alive, you must keep your body in a healthy condition. For , body is the basis. For meditation and worship, mind is the basis. For realisation, heart is the basis. You must recognise the unity of all these three. There are several three-fold unities that can be recognised, for example,

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Trigunam Trigunakaram, Trinetramcha Triyayudham; Trijanma Papa Samharam Eka Bilvam Sivarpanam.

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Always Remember You Are Divine What is the proper offering to God? It is said, (a leaf, a flower, a fruit and water). What are these? Your body is the leaf; your heart is the flower, your mind is the fruit and the tears of bliss is the water. Instead of attaching undue importance to this ephemeral body, emphasise on the (Atmic principle). The body is also to be surrendered unto God. How? By acts of worship and other sacred deeds.

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(body is the temple and the indweller is the eternal God).

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God is not to be found in the temple or in a palace. Find Him in your heart. All of you are embodiments of Divinity. As the says,

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(with thousands of heads, thousands of feet and thousands of eyes, Divinity pervades everywhere).

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(the knower of becomes verily ).

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If you perceive yourself as Divine, you become Divine. If you consider yourself a human being, you will remain so. While your form is that of human being, there is the Atmic principle in you. To recognise this , you have to keep your heart pure and empty. To purify our hearts, we celebrate these festivals. The main aim of these festivities is purification of the mind. Where there is unity is very important for humanity. Perform your daily duties in the light of the principle of love.

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These days there are many impediments in the path of spirituality. But these are temporary and surmountable. Man’s mind is, by nature, wavering, and the world adds opportunities to enhance this. Focus your mind on one goal and do not allow it to waver. You have to hold on to it till the very end. Such fixity of aim is not common these days. What is the reason? There is a host of so-called spiritual guides with various names of , and . Because of this, man’s mind gets confused. There is only one Divinity. Stick to any one God of your choice and hold firm to it. Unnecessarily, do not go around to various places, confuse yourself and ruin your faith. If you keep transplanting a sapling from one place to another frequently, how can it grow healthily into a tree? You have to plant it in one place and feed it with fertiliser and water regularly until it grows into a firm, strong tree. This is true devotion. If you keep changing your spiritual guides frequently, your devotion gets adulterated. Do not resort to such a course. Choose any one and trust that God is in all. As the says,

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(the eternal in all beings is a part of My Being).

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What difficulties and did not go through? But they held themselves firm to their faith and never deviated from their chosen deities. ’s husband the himself found fault with her and sent her out of the palace. was taken by surprise for a very brief moment, but she recovered her composure very quickly. Consoling herself, she thought of going to the banks of and .

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( rendered the in His Divine voice, “...”)

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We have to develop such staunch devotion. also taught in a similar way. He advised a wayside against wasting his time learning by rote some grammar rules and asked him instead to concentrate on the name of . “You fool, concentrate on worshipping , for when the time comes for to call you, your rules of grammar will not come to your aid. So, worship .”

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(the one Lord has many names).

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Worshipping the Lord with a thousand names, you should be fully aware that it is a single Divinity you are addressing. , , , , Jesus, etc., are all names denoting the same Divinity. Hold this faith firmly in your heart and make your life worthwhile. Live ever in bliss. Happiness is union with God. Worldly connections only lead to pain and misery. Your life is shattered to bits.

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Several people come to Me asking for peace. I tell them, “Son, peace is not outside, what you find outside are only pieces.” You are the embodiment of peace, you are the embodiment of God, you are the embodiment of Truth and you are the embodiment of (righteousness). When you are yourself the personification of peace, why are you looking for it outside? Follow your heart and you will reach your goal. Understand the unity of all . With that your life will be sanctified.

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Man runs into several difficulties. Birth is a pain, living on the earth is a worry, worldly life is a worry, death is a worry, youth is a worry, old age is another, every inauspciousness is a worry, your is your worry, difficulties are another worry, even happiness and wonder are worries. All these worries vanish when your mind is turned to God. (Telugu Poem)

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Why Dig Wells When The Ganges Is Nearby? If you dig a well by the side of the sea, you will get only brine. If you dig a well near , you will get pure water of the Ganges itself. When the pure waters of the Ganges flow nearby, why waste your efforts by digging wells here and there? God is like in floods. There is no need for any well anywhere. Be near God and be dear to Him and enjoy bliss.

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The people of are lucky. Staying in their homes, they would perhaps celebrate this occasion each in his own small way. They will not get the opportunity to celebrate it in this fashion with several thousands like this. The people of are the subjects of and are blessed by . Hence, they are all very lucky and full of merit. Keep in mind your ancient culture. That is your life and your sustenance. These days our culture is declining. If you lose your culture, what are you left with? Everything is lost.

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