Grace

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

"Grace is there all along.

Grace is the Self.

 

It is not something to be acquired.

All that is necessary is to know its existence.

 

In the sameway, the sun is pure brightness.

It is ever there and shines

and you are surrounded by sunlight;

still, if you want to know the sun, you must turn

your eyes in its direction and look at it.

 

Similarly, grace is only to be

found by effort,

although it is here and now.

 

We cannot attain realization of the Self by our mind,

unaided by God's grace."

 

 

- Ramana Maharshi

[Guest guest]

Q. Is Isvara Prasad ( Divine Grace) or the jiva's own efforts

necessary to attain That whence there is no return to the wheel of

life and death?

 

A. Divine Grace is essential for Realisation. But this Grace is

vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has

striven hard and ceaselessly for freedom.

 

Does distance have any affect on Grace?" asks an American visitor.

Bhagavan : Time and space are within you. You are always the Self

you are seeking. How do time and space affect it?

 

Note: The visitor, a typical Westerner, follows the above question by

the analogy of the radio broadcast, which, he says, is clearer to the

nearer receiving station and dimmer to the farther. He does not

indicate where he holds the transmitting station of the Grace he has

in mind to be located - in the Pacific, the Atlantic, or in the

Himalayas, or perhaps in Thiruvannamalai. If he means the last, in

the person of Bhagavan, then he is right to want to be sure on this

point. For the constant proximity of the Sage makes a great

difference to the rapid purification of the mind and its inclination

towards meditation and concentration. The opportunity to be in that

proximity is an act of Grace. If Bhagavan annihilates distance in

the transmission of Grace, he means that the Self is above time and

space. Moreover Bhagavan does not like to discourage the visitor,

whose prarabhda keeps him at a distance. Yet the Grace whish the

visitor has in mind has a definitely determined field of action. To

be always with the Master - occasional absentments expected, - I

repeat, is due to a distinctly high grade of Grace, for it quickens

the maturity for Realisation. There should be no mistake about

that. We have here evidence of the Srutis, of all yogis, of Bhagavan

himself. We read again in the Bhagavatam (XI, xii, 1-7) that when

Sri Krishna took leave of His foremost disciple Uddhava before

leaving this world, one of the first messages He left with him was to

seek always Sat sanga, for, He said, nothing pleases Him more and

nothing produces quicker results on the Path than the company of

sages. The company of the guru is the greatest Sat sanga.

 

-- Ramana Maharshi

 

Hari Aum !!!

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

"A musician alone can bring out the fine touches in melody. The

strength of an elephant could be demonstrated only by that stately

animal turning out gigantic work. The wealth of a monarch can be well

recounted by NONE but himself. It is only given to the Descension

(Incarnation) of God to REVEAL all of His Divine splendours and

Glories.

 

The revelation of God comes purely by His Mercy. He is the sun of

Knowledge. It is possible for a SINGLE ray of His to enlighten the

WHOLE world. We are therefore able to understand one another and to

acquire knowledge in all of His forms.

 

More than all these, we get to KNOW Him by His Divine Grace ONLY."

 

-Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

Devotee: How to achieve all that you have mentioned in your book `In

Quest of God'?

Papa: The simple answer is that it all happened by God's grace. It is

God's grace that came to him and transformed him. That alone produced

the miracle. Our effort is useless. His grace must come to us. Then,

things happen as they should happen for our uplift and for our

ultimate illumination and realization. It is not due to our merit. We

can turn our mind towards God only if and when He wills.

We must contact His devotees and saints. That will quicken our

aspiration for Him. So it is emphasised that the primary thing needed

for an aspirant is the contact of a God-realized soul. Grace can flow

to us through saints. What we have to do is only to pray for His

grace. That is all we can do, and the rest must be done for us by

God. Even the prayer we offer is because He makes us pray, but we do

not know this at first. Later on we come to know that we do

everything, even praying, by His grace. Otherwise, we have no

thoughts or words to pray. The devotee says, "O God! You have put the

words on my tongue for this prayer."

Devotee: There is high and low. As we are human, we have ups and

downs.

Papa: It is true at first one's progress is not always steady. We are

in contact with Him for some time and then we lose the contact. This

is inevitable in the early struggle. We cannot constantly keep our

mind in tune with God. Sometimes there are breaks and separations,

causing pain and agony. During prayer and meditation our mind is

drawn inward; at other times it is restless. When the mind is not

still we feel miserable. We must then pray to Him that we may stay

our mind on Him. Even when we are working or doing anything, our mind

can be with Him. This constant dwelling on Him is Self-illumination

or Self-realization. This is God experience. God is not far away from

us. He is within us. We now have the world too much with us. The ego

is a great obstacle. It must be surrendered to God so that He may

take possession of us and grant us pure peace and joy. Sometimes, the

ego does not yield; it is obstinate.

Devotee: When we are very eager to destroy the ego, is it not a

danger in itself?

Papa: It is no danger at all. For, by surrendering our ego to God,

we only become His children and attain full freedom. In this there is

no danger. On the other hand, to have the ego is dangerous. There is

danger in not having Him. Until we surrender ourselves to Him we are

in a state of peril, as we shall be subject to many fears and

anxieties. So the best thing is to hand our life over to Him. When we

are under His protection we are fearless. It is just like a child

being under the care of its mother. So, when we are conscious of God,

we are protected; we feel secure. There is an oft-quoted Sloka in the

Bhagavad Gita, the great scripture of the Hindus, wherein Lord

Krishna says:-

"Ananyaaschintayantho maam

ye janaah paryupaasathey

teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam

Yogakshemam vahaamyaham"

"To those who worship Me alone, thinking of no other, to such

devotees, who are ever united with Me in contemplation, I bring full

security, fulfilling all their wants and taking care of them."

So, those who take refuge in God are ever fearless. There is for them

a sense of security - both spiritual and physical. This is absolutely

true; there is no doubt about it. Ramdas can bear out this truth from

his own experience. God took him up and made him His own thirty-three

years ago. From that time onwards, he has been experiencing wonderful

protection and security in all circumstances and situations. Whenever

there were difficulties, God made him face them as meant for his own

good and the result was that he found they were no difficulties at

all. We should not ask God to remove our difficulties, but only pray

to Him to enable us to see His will in them, in all our trials and

hardships. God is all love and kindness and He means no ill. He is

also the sole doer. If we have this faith, and surrender, we can

remain happy and cheerful in all conditions. Good and bad are

according to our mental attitude. Nothing is, by itself, good or bad.

Everything happens for the best. What is good for us at one time is

not good for us at another; what is good for one is not good for

another. So we have no real standard for good and bad, applicable in

all cases, conditions and situations in our life. They change as our

mind changes. What appears to be an ideal thing now is not so after

some time, because the mind has changed. So happiness and misery are

our own creations, based on our mental attitude towards events. If we

transcend this relative plane, all states will be good for us.

Therefore, the best way for us is to dwell in the Divine, in the

highest consciousness, which we can develop by constant practice of

self-surrender. Self-surrender is the way. We should feel and say: "I

am nothing, O God, it is You who make me talk, walk and do all

things. Verily, it is by Your power this body, mind and senses are

active." It is now that our life becomes blissful and our actions

spontaneous. There will then be in us no lust, greed or wrath. Our

life will be thoroughly purified and illumined with divine light.

This is the aim of human life. Life is not intended to be lived in

subjection to our lower nature, but to be raised and transformed into

an expression of divine power and joy.

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

'Rainwater does not accumulate on HIGH, ELEVATED PLACE. IT flows

away to a LOW REGION.

Even so, the GRACE OF THE LORD DOES NOT DESCEND IN THE HEARTS OF THE

HAUGHTY AND VAINGLORIOUS.

IT DAWNS IN THE HEARTS OF THE LOW AND MEEK.'

 

'How does one shall attain God's Grace?

 

Can you with a distressed heart PRAY TO HIM FOR HIS GRACE AND

REVEALATION?

You shed pots full of tears for the sake of your spouse, children and

property.

HAVE YOU SHED A DROP OF TEAR SEEKING THE LORD?

 

As long as the baby is interested in toys, the mother minds her own

business. But as soon as the baby throws away those things and

SCREAMS, the mother rushes to attend on it.

 

YOU BEHAVE LIKEWISE TOWARDS GOD; AND HE WILL REVEAL HIMSELF TO YOU.'

 

-Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

Hey Pyari_H, Please tell me about women and Shree Shaligrama. Can they touch

them? Let me know what you think please.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey! Namaste.

 

"However much you may try to you will not achieve anything if you do

not get the GRACE of the Lord. That Grace again, is NOT easily

obtained.

All EGOISM ought to be WIPED OUT as a PRELUDE to it. If the egoistic

feeling, "I am the DOER," takes possession of your heart, that

ATTITUDE will ALIENATE you from Iswara (Lord).

 

The Lord REMAINS HIDDEN in that heart which is TAINTED by EGOISM."

 

- Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa