San Ramon retreat

[Guest guest]

Namah Shivaya,

Here are more of Divya's notes from a talk Amma gave at the San Ramon retreat

6-15-2001. Thank you, Divya.

 

 

 

 

Sivane, Siva, Siva.

 

Amma bows down to Her Children who are all the embodiments of Supreme Love and

Consciousness.

 

Every one of us run around hoping to get freedom, both inside and outside. The

only

problem is that wherever we go we have our own calculations. Life doesn’t fit

into the

calculations. Many factors are involved that change the result of our actions.

 

Before marriage a woman had six rules about bringing up children. Now she has

six

children and no rules.

 

We must learn to have acceptance and to make our best efforts, and then leave

everything

in God’s Hands. What we then get as the result is prasadam.

 

Surrender and acceptance is incorrectly interpreted as weakness and

imprisonment. We

need to learn to surrender and accept whatever comes to us in life with a

contented heart.

When we learn to swim with the flow of the river, only then are we able to move

forward.

 

We need to accept the realities of life and of our own limitations. What we can

control

are our prayers and attitude. Let our hearts be full of love and fully grateful

to life. Most

times we forget and complain.

 

A mother was walking along the seashore with her young child. A wave came and

swept

the child away. The mother cried out, “Oh Lord, please save my son! Only you

can save

him!”

 

Another wave came and the boy was washed ashore unharmed. Then the mother

exclaimed, “What happened to his bonnet!”

 

It is very rare to have true contentment. We always think about what we lack.

Contentment is the greatest work of all.

 

There are rich people and poor people; however, the person with contentment is

the

richest of all. Real contentment comes from within. It is an inner attitude,

something

you can never get from the outside.

 

Life is not only party and pleasure; it also involves pain and suffering.

Sometimes life

gets turned upside down, and bad things happen to good people.

 

Sometimes we have no choices. We can’t choose our parents or sometimes we have

physical disabilities. Should we cry or should we move forward? We must

decide.

 

Life is like sailing a boat. The wind is blowing and the boats move in

different

directions. We can choose how the sail is set. We can’t choose the

circumstances, but

we can choose our attitude.

 

A man was selling helium balloons of all colors. A child asks the man, “If you

release

the black balloon, will it fly?”

 

The color doesn’t matter, but what is inside. A change should take place

within.

 

We may often encounter annoying and frustrating circumstances. Instead of

becoming

obstinate, we should use the strength we have gathered through spirituality and

proceed

confidently and calmly.

 

There were two brothers. One was calm, and the other one got upset very easily.

Both

brothers misplaced their favorite pens. One brother got upset and refused to go

to work

until he got back his favorite pen, even though he had some very important work

to

attend to. The whole family ended up getting upset.

 

The other brother simply picked up another pen and calmly performed his duties.

His

family helped him find the pen. Not only did the calm brother not create more

problems

for himself, but he also avoided creating problems for others.

***

Only when we can fearlessly knock on the door of death are we fit to receive

knowledge

of the Supreme.

 

A man wanted to become a disciple of a great master. He went to the master and

said

how he had renounced everything and wanted to become his disciple.

 

The master said that he didn’t accept disciples very easily. The master said to

the man,

“Tell me, what are your interests? What skills do you have?”

 

The man didn’t have any particular skills or interests, however he played chess.

The

master told him he could play chess with his lead disciple and that the loser

would have

his head chopped off. “If you win,” said the master, “you can become my

disciple.”

 

So the man started playing chess with the lead disciple. He played with maximum

alertness and caution. He began to think that he should purposely lose the

game; to

sacrifice his own life since the senior disciple’s life was of greater value

than his own.

The senior disciple had spent so many years serving the master and performing

sadhana.

 

The master stopped the game at that moment. He told the man, “You have passed

all the

hurdles, and I accept you as my disciple. You have the courage to realize the

Truth, and

you have a compassionate heart. I accept you as my disciple.”

 

Many people ask Amma what is the need for spiritual discipline and values. If

you try to

ride a wild horse, it will immediately throw you off. After a laborious

process, you can

ride that horse. Taming the horse is like taming the mind.

 

The mind may rise up against you even the day before Realization. Disassociate

from

your thoughts. Be a witness. The more attention you give the thoughts, the

more power

we give them. Disassociate from them and slowly we can harness their power.

 

The mind is like a busy, Indian road. There are trucks, cars, ox carts, etc.

(It is quite

natural to have such busy roads when our population is over one billion.) It

will take

some years. It will take some time for everything to fall into place.

 

There are many sights along the road, but start walking ahead. Your attitude is

very

important.

 

It is difficult to keep focused while living in the world. However, if God is

our very own,

then always think of God no matter what we are doing.

 

There was a king with four wives. The king greatly loved the fourth wife and

was always

taking her places to show her off. To the third wife, he gave the best of

everything.

 

The second wife was his confidant, and he always consulted her whenever he faced

a

problem. The first wife was the most loyal, however the king hardly took notice

of her.

He didn’t love her.

 

One day, the king became ill, and he wanted to know who would follow him to

death.

He asked the fourth wife if she would follow him to death. She said, “No way!

I would

remarry.”

 

The third wife said, “No! Absolutely not!” The second wife said, “Sorry, I

can’t do it. I

can only accompany you to your grave.”

 

However, the first wife said, “I will leave with you and follow you no matter

where you

go.” The king looked at the first wife and was very regretful. She was tired

and gaunt

from neglect. He said, “I should have taken much better care of you, and now it

is too

late.”

 

In reality, we all have four wives. The fourth wife is our possessions, which

will go to

others when we are gone. The third wife is our body, and will leave us when we

die.

The second wife are our friends and relations.

 

The first wife is the Atman, our soul whom we have neglected throughout our

entire life.

Only the Atman is eternal, all else is perishable.

 

We should always try to maintain awareness of our true nature and take refuge in

That.

We should be intent on the Goal and know who we are, what we are, and what the

true

goal is.

 

May we grow in that Love so that eventually we can merge into that Supreme Love.

 

Om Amriteswaryai Namah.

 

 

**********************************************************************

Some notes from Swami Ramakrishnanandaji’s talk:

 

Swamiji asked Amma how She felt about people who had abused Her (the villagers

in the

early days). Amma said that She knew the nature of people and the world. And

that we

need to discharge our duties without any expectation, not expecting anything

from

anyone.

 

However, Amma said She was sad to think of the bad karmas incurred by those who

mistreat others. Still, Amma didn’t find fault with anyone.

 

An ayurvedic doctor will go to the forest to collect herbs to heal many people.

A

cowherd will go to the forest to collect grass for the cows. Everyone acts

according to

their level of understanding.

 

We need to act wholeheartedly without concern for the result, while being

realistic.

 

Hardly anyone does exercise to make the mind strong. However, people do all

sorts of

exercise for the body.

 

Failures are delays or detours, not dead-ends. (Swamiji gave the example of how

Abraham Lincoln had failure after failure, however he became president at the

age of 52.)

We need persistent effort, and should not be thrown by circumstance.

 

Amma was never bitter or angry with people. She is able to digest all

experiences. In

order to be able to digest experience, we need alertness, awareness, and

discrimination.

We must always be ready for the next experience, and never brood about the past.

 

Swamiji had asked Amma how come the villagers had been against Amma. Amma said

that a lighthouse guides ships that are far away. Under the lighthouse there is

always

darkness. Amma understood the nature of people and wasn’t disappointed.

 

Amma transforms the worst disappointment into spiritual teaching. You should

ask

yourself if an experience is a stumbling block or a stepping-stone.

 

Amma had to do so much housework. However, She saw it as a way to welcome the

Lord. It was a preparation.

 

Try to respond positively and be content.

 

The devotees who were burned in the fire are an inspiration. Their faith has

been

increased by the experience. They have felt Amma’s Presence in adversity.

 

************************************************************************

>From Swami Pranavamritanandaji’s talk:

 

Amma says that when a child is born, the child cries, “Where did I come from?

Where

am I going?”