Amma's latest discourse.

[Guest guest]

Namaste All,

 

Again I suspect that Amma is some kind of Bhodisattva, considering

the amount of activity she performs in the world...I respect her for

what she does.........ONS...Tony.

 

Question – Will all the brahmacharis and brahmacharinis residing

here (in the ashram) attain realization?

 

Amma – The children who have come here have come for two different

reasons. There are those who make the decision to come because they

have developed total detachment towards the things of the world, and

then there are those who are imitating that group and come here out

of an initial fervour. But if they make the effort, they, too, can

absorb spiritual samskara and make progress. Haven't even some of

those who were living in evil ways come to the right path through

satsang [association with great souls]? Valmiki was a forest dweller

who robbed and murdered people. Through satsang and his subsequent

effort, he became a great sage and our first poet. Satsang also had

a great effect on Prahlada, who became the foremost of devotees,

despite being born from a lineage of asuras [demons].

 

Even if some people come here because of nothing more than an

initial fervour, they can truly change if they try to grasp the

teachings, assimilate them, and apply them to their lives. Isn't it

possible to learn all about a craft by constantly associating with a

person who is a master of that craft? But without staying close to

the adept and observing him or her, you won't learn anything.

Similarly, by being here at the ashram and taking part in ashram

life, a person can progress in due course, and a spiritual

disposition will be created within him or her. If there is no change

in a person even after a long period of association, then we will

just have to accept that it is the result of that person's karma

from previous lives. It is pointless to blame anyone.

 

In a certain village, a sannyasi sat under a peepul tree every day,

meditating and repeating a mantra. The villagers brought him fruits

and pastries and offered their services. A young man who observed

this day after day started thinking that surely life would be free

from problems if he were to become a monk like that. So, he went to

a nearby village, donned the ochre robe of a sannyasi, sat down

under a tree and started meditating and repeating a mantra. Soon

people began arriving to offer their respects to the sannyasi.

Fruits and sweet dishes arrived in plenty. There were many beautiful

women among those who came to see the young man. After a few days he

disappeared. He had taken off with one of the women.

 

Those who come here only to play a game of pretence won't get away

with it. Only those who have total faith and surrender will attain

the ultimate state. The others will eventually go their way. Why

worry about them? This is a battlefield. If you can succeed here,

you can conquer the whole world —the whole universe will be under

your control.

 

 

 

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Around Amma Rameswaram