Parable

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Parable of the Necklace, A Story Told by Anandamayi Ma

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A precious necklace was seen flashing from the bottom of a lake. Many

felt tempted to recover the valuable ornament and dived deep into the

water for it, but found no necklace anywhere. Yet it was clearly

visible to everyone from the edge of the lake. They were all puzzled.

Eventually they realized that there was no necklace at the bottom of

the lake; what they saw was its reflection in the water. They looked

up and discovered the precious ornament hanging from a tree. A bird

must have picked it up from somewhere and deposited it there.

 

God who dwells within you is the source of true happiness. In the

objects of the senses this happiness is merely reflected. The

individual, misled by birth after birth by having only a glimpse of

this reflected joy, thinks that this is the real thing, namely

sensuous delight. So long as one believes that true happiness can be

had in sense objects without searching within, one will never taste

true happiness. The kingdom of God, hence of happiness, is within you.

 

 

 

Place of Destruction and Ruin

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Questioner: "How is the idea of a benevolent God compatible with ruin

and destruction in the history of peoples and lives of families and

individuals"?

Ma: "Do you believe that God is the creator of this world and

therefore its Lord"?

Questioner agrees.

Ma: "Very well, If God is the Lord of the world, He can do with it as

he pleases. Suppose you have grown beautiful flowers in your garden,

but decide to plant fruit trees in their place, won't you have to

remove the flowers? If you have a fine house, but wish to build a

larger and better one on the same plot, you demolish the old one. The

freedom that is yours in small things, God exercises in great ones.

In both is He, in destruction as well as in construction. The history

of nations, families and individuals is the great Lila (divine sport)

that He stages with Himself."

Ananda Varta Quarterly XIII/3/94

 

 

 

 

On Meditation and Union with the Eternal:

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The spiritual aspirant should practice dhyana (steady meditation) in

the proper posture (with the back straight) and deeply meditate on

his Ishta (beloved deity). He should purge himself of all outside

thoughts and consider himself pure. Once he is absorbed in genuine

dhyana, worldly attractions lose all their appeal and then worldly

enjoyments cannot possibly touch him. Meditation opens one's true

being to the Light, to that which is Eternal. In true meditation,

Reality is contacted. When the movement of your true nature sets in,

then, because it is directed solely towards God, the knots of the

heart will be unraveled. Then you should know that the current of

your life is turned towards the Eternal. Give yourself up to the

wave, and you will be absorbed by the current - having dived into the

sea, you do not return any more. The Eternal Himself is the wave that

floods the shore, so that you may be carried away. Those who can

surrender themselves to this aim will be accepted by Him. But if your

attention remains directed towards the shore, you cannot proceed -

after bathing you will return to the shore. If your aim is the

Supreme, the Ultimate, you will be led on by the movement of your own

true nature. There are waves that carry away and waves that pull

back. Those who can give themselves up will be taken by Him. In the

guise of the wave He holds out His hand and calls you.

 

 

 

 

On Silence:

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Even when speech is supressed, the activity of the mind still

continues. All the same silence helps control the mind. As the mind

dives deeper, its activity slackens off, and then one comes to feel

that He Who provides for everything will arrange matters. When the

mind is agitated by thoughts of worldly things, the benefit that

should be gained by abstaining from speech is lost. When the mind is

centered on God, it keeps advancing steadily, and along with this

emerges purity of body and mind. To let thoughts dwell on objects of

the senses is waste of energy.

 

By constantly dwelling on the thought of God all the granthis (knots)

that make up ego are unraveled, and that which has to be realized

will be realized.

 

To say 'through silence He is realized' is not correct, because

Supreme Knowledge does not come 'through' anything. Supreme Knowledge

reveals itself. For destroying the 'veil', there are suitable

spiritual disciplines and practices.

 

 

 

 

The Mother is Always With You:

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Even though you may want to push God the Mother aside, She will never

leave you. Are you not her offspring? A mother does what is good and

beneficial for her child. She gives to her scion exactly what is

needed, not more and not less. Her forgiveness knows no limits, this

is why she is called MOTHER. If with deep faith, devotion and love

you can exclaim: 'Mother, come to me, I cannot pass my days without

you', rest assured, the Universal Mother will spread out Her arms and

clasp you to Her heart. Don't look up to Her only as a mysterious

refuge in your hour of distress. Keep in mind, She is always very,

very near as the Force that guides your life. She Herself is the

supreme refuge of every sentient being. With this conviction proceed.

She will take the brunt of your burdens from your shoulders and make

them light.

 

 

 

 

Trials and Tribulations in Life:

The distress that is experienced burns to ashes all pleasures derived

from worldly things. This is what is called Tapasya. The heartache,

the anguish over the effect of obstructions, are the beginning of an

awakening to Consciousness.

 

Remember, one is born to experience various kinds of joys and sorrows

according to one's desire. For the time being, God comes to you in

the disguise of suffering. He is purifying you in this manner. The

suffering is for your own best. A mother gives a slap to her beloved

child for its own good, in order to keep it on the right path. When a

fond mother gives her baby a bath, the child may scream desperately,

yet the mother will not let the baby go until she has thoroughly

washed and scrubbed him.

The Life and Teachings of Anandamayi Ma, Alexander Lipski

 

 

"By sorrow does the Lord dispel sorrow and by adversity does He

destroy adversity. When this is done He sends no more suffering -

this must be born in mind at all times."

 

 

 

"Who is it that loves and who that suffers? He alone stages a play

with Himself. The individual suffers because he perceives duality.

Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to

pain and suffering."

 

On Suicide:

Once a devotee asked whether he would be able to join his beloved

wife who had recently died if he himself committed suicide.

Anandamayi Ma replied very strongly against the idea:

 

"To whom belongs the body that you speak of destroying? Is this the

way a human being talks? For shame!" Suicide is nothing but a foolish

attempt to escape one's karma. It only retards further spiritual

progress.

 

 

Importance of State of Mind at Time of Death:

"Man's spiritual evolution is greatly affected by the thought he

harbors at the time of death: Just as a leech does not leave its

place without hooking on to something else, so the soul at the time

of leaving the body hooks on to some kind of new existence according

to the state of mind of the dying person."

 

 

Potent affect of contact with a Holy Person

"Just as water cleanses everything by its mere contact, even so the

sight, touch, blessing , nay the very remembrance of a real sadhu,

 

 

On Service:

"Widen your shriveled heart, make the interests of others your own

and serve them as much as you can by sympathy, kindness, presents and

so forth. So long as one enjoys the things of this world and has

needs and wants, it is necessary to minister to the needs of one's

fellow men. Otherwise one cannot be called a human being. Whenever

you have the opportunity, give to the poor, feed the hungry, nurse

the sick - do service as a religious duty and you will come to know

by direct perception that the person served, the one who serves and

the act of service are separate only in appearance."

 

"In order to be able to really serve the whole world in a universal

manner, it is necessary to pray to the Fountainhead of all Power or

to repeat His Name or to contemplate on Him. Without full power full

success does not come."