Easwaramma Day Divine Discourse

[Guest guest]

“WIN THE LOVE OF YOUR MOTHER TO WIN THE LOVE OF GOD”

“When man is born out of his mother’s womb he has no garland of any kind around

his neck. Neither of pearls, nor gold, nor a string of gems nor a necklace of

topaz or of rubies or other precious gems can be seen even for a sample. There

is, however, a garland around his neck, carrying the unbroken link of the

effects of the good and bad deeds of his past lives strung together by Lord

Brahma.”

(Telugu poem)

Embodiments of Love!The love of the mother is nobler and supreme than the love

of all the friends and relatives in the world. The power of the mother is

unparalleled. That is why we are calling the native country as Motherland. The

country of Bharath is like our mother. In this sacred land of ours, several

types of energy have been developing since ancient times. Great and holy men

like Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekananda could acquire great spiritual

power only due to the strength of their mothers’ blessings. The sacredness of a

mother’s heart and the strength of her blessings are unparalleled. But,

unfortunately people are unable to understand properly the love of a mother,

not only in our country but in every country.It is a great sin to ignore the

mother with such a divine power. It is only to remind the people of the

nobility and sacredness of the mother that she has been given the foremost

place in the spiritual field, by exhorting people to worship the mother first

as God. It is said “Mathrudevo Bhava” (worship the mother as God); “Pithrudevo

Bhava” (worship the father as God); “Acharyadevo Bhava” (worship the teacher as

God); “Athithidevo Bhava” (worship the guest as God). Thus the mother has been

given the first place in that order. It is only when we uphold the honour and

dignity of the mother that we will be entitled to be called as true sons. The

life of a person who could not win the love of his mother is a mere waste.

Hence, we must first acquire the deservedness to win the love of the mother. No

one can describe the love of a mother in words. It is only by the strength of a

mother’s will that a son would come up well in life. Hence, one should respect

and love his mother. She must be given the pride of place. It is only such

people that can really lead the country. We may or may not worship other

deities, but we must certainly worship our mother as God. We should never

forget the love of our mother. The love of a mother is supreme. It is only by

the love of the mother that divine feelings develop in the children. Where

there is a mother of noble qualities, there will surely be all kinds of peace

and prosperity. It is foolish to crave for the love of the people, ignoring the

love of one’s own mother. One should, therefore, revere and respect the mother.

One should try to experience the love of the mother.The mother of Sri

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a noble lady. Even in dire circumstances when she

had no food and drink, she developed unflinching faith and devotion to God and

spent her time engaging herself in cultivating noble thoughts and performing

noble deeds, thereby earning God’s grace. It is only when one respects his

mother and wins her love, that he can be called a human being in the real

sense. There is no God greater than one’s mother in this world. Unfortunately,

today people forget this truth and go to different places in search of God.

Instead of craving for the unseen God, one should worship and serve the living

divinity that is right in front of him. Several people undertake different

activities like penance, pilgrimage to holy places, worship and other rituals

in order to have the holy darshan of God, but they will be of no use. One

cannot win the grace of God without first winning the love of his mother. The

love of the mother flows as an undercurrent in every human being. You go

through the history of any great person; it is obvious that they could reach

such great heights in life only with the help of their mother’s love. When one

leads his life in accordance with his mother’s noble thoughts, one will be

relieved of all kinds of suffering. One may or may not respect any other

person; but one must definitely respect one’s mother. One should dedicate his

entire life to win the love of his mother. The mother’s love is always

selfless. We must learn to cultivate such love. Wherever you go, whoever you

may see, you can find that they have become prosperous only with the blessings

of their mother’s love. If one cannot win the love of his mother, how can he

hope to win the grace of God? Hence, first and foremost you must strive to win

the love of your mother. You should not undertake any work that will hurt the

feelings of your mother. The heart of a mother is very tender. Therefore, one

should not hurt the feelings of the mother.Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was born

in a very poor family. His mother brought him up by begging for alms. Whatever

little food she could collect by begging in the streets, she used to feed her

son and herself go without food. After sometime, she became very weak and her

health failed. One day Ramakrishna enquired his mother “Mother! Why did your

health fail like this?” A neighbouring lady replied to the question saying

“Dear Son! Your mother is sustaining you by begging in the streets. She gives

all the food collected to you and therefore goes without food for herself.

Please do not put such a mother who is an embodiment of love, to suffering”.

>From then on, Ramakrishna took care to keep his mother hale and healthy. He

used to feed his mother first with the food collected from various houses in

the village and only then partake of the remaining quantity. By doing so, he

could win the grace of Mother Kali and have Her Divine Vision.The culture of

Bharath has laid great stress on the teaching “Mathrudevo Bhava” (Revere the

Mother as God) and “Pithrudevo Bhava” (Revere the father as God), more than all

other aspects. A person who could win the love of his mother can win everything

else. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa could earn the great name for himself only

because he could win the love of his mother. How many great people are there in

the state of West Bengal? How many people of noble qualities, rich and educated

are there? But, they could not succeed in life due to lack of faith in God. It

is only Ramakrishna Paramahamsa could lead an ideal life by loving his mother

and obeying her commands, due to his implicit faith and devotion in his mother.

He used to teach people that there is nothing greater and nobler in this world

than mother’s love. The mother is God, verily. It is therefore, not good and

proper to hurt the feelings of the mother who is embodiment of love. It is only

when we develop love towards our mother, our life will become happy and

prosperous. Hence, first and foremost, we must strive to win the love of our

mother. Whatever the mother does, is for our own good. We must develop such

firm faith. You take the history of any great person in this world, he owes his

greatness to his mother.Students of the present time are unable to win their

mothers’ love. The mother undergoes a great ordeal, she is even prepared to

undertake hard labour to earn a few rupees, to bring up her children and

educate them somehow. What a great sacrilege it is to forget the love of such a

noble mother! It is only a person who could win the love of his mother that can

earn God’s love as well. We are not born from the earth or the sky; we are born

from the womb of our mother. It is possible that differences may arise between a

mother and a son, at times. But, the mother does not hate her son on that count

and forsake him. There may be sons who hate their mothers, but there are no

mothers who hate their sons. The mother will always aspire for the welfare of

her son. Even if they go to the court in a matter of dispute, the mother will

say “He is my son and I am his mother”. They cannot refer to each other in any

other manner. The mother will always strive for the safety, health and welfare

of her children. Man, today is undergoing several difficulties on account of

ignoring the love of such a noble mother. If you strive to win the love of your

mother, you can win the love of all other people. The love of your mother will

always be with you, constantly guarding and guiding you in all your endeavours.

Unfortunately people are not able to realise this Truth. They think “it is

enough to provide a few morsels of food to that old lady”. They are so

narrow-minded and selfish. It is a great mistake to think that their

responsibility will end by providing some food to their mothers. The mother

should always be held in high esteem and served. She must be made to feel happy

and contented.Pundarika was a great devotee of Lord Panduranga. He always held

the view that service to the parents is of paramount importance. One day, he

was serving his parents by massaging their feet. In order to test his love

towards his parents, Lord Panduraga appeared before him. But, Pundarika did not

want to be distracted from his attention and continued to serve his parents.

Then the Lord Panduranga enquired of him “My dear Son! I appeared before you to

give you My darshan; but you are not looking at Me. Whom are you serving with

such single-minded devotion?” Pundarika replied that he was serving his

parents. Then, Lord Panduranga queried, “Is not God greater than the parents?

Won’t you have My darshan at least for one second?” But, Pundarika was not

disturbed. He replied “My parents are living divinities for me. I cannot have

your darshan, unless I put my parents to sleep. If you wish to give me your

darshan, you stand there on the brick till then.” So saying, he pushed a brick

towards Lord Panduranga. The Lord then commended his love and devotion towards

his parents and declared “The world will always remain safe and prosperous if

all people cultivate such love and devotion towards their parents. May such

noble sons like you proliferate in this world.” From then on, great and noble

ideas of sacrifice and detachment continued to develop in Pundarika. He spent

his time happily serving his parents and winning their love.Putlibai was the

mother of Mahatma Gandhi. She continued to observe a vow right from her early

days. She never used to take her food in the afternoon, without hearing the

singing of the cuckoo bird. Gandhi was a child then. One day, it was already 3

o’ clock in the afternoon and his mother did not take her food, since the

cuckoo did not sing. Gandhi could not bear to see his mother hungry. He,

therefore, thought of a plan. He went behind their house and imitated the

cuckoo call. Then he went into the house and pleaded with his mother “Mother!

The cuckoo sang. You can now take your food”. His mother, however, could

realise that her son was lying. She grew very angry. She caught hold of him and

slapped on his cheek twice. She could not contain her anger and anguish. She

chided him saying “it is my misfortune to have given birth to a liar like you”.

Gandhi then repented for his mischievous act and begged his mother to forgive

him. He also took a vow that he would never speak a lie thereafter in his life.

Thus, mothers in the ancient times used to teach their children good behaviour

and put them in the right path. Such ideal mothers are very rare in present

times, in the world. The present-day mothers could always think “My son should

get good marks and ranks in the examination. He should acquire high degrees and

earn lakhs of rupees. He should rise to a high position in his career.” There

are hundreds of such mothers now-a-days. But, there is not even a single mother

who teaches her son “My dear son! You pray to God daily. Never forget God.” That

is the reason why the country of Bharath is facing innumerable difficulties. The

Bharatiyas of yester years always used to pray daily. “Oh! Rama! Krishna!

Govinda!” They used to chant the divine name incessantly. But, things have

changed. Now, there is no such contemplation on the divine name. On the other

hand worldly desires have proliferated. The culture of Bharath always exhorts

the people “Sathyam Vada” (Speak the Truth) and “Dharmam Chara” (Follow

Righteousness). Unfortunately, today people act in contrary to such noble

ideals. They are distorting those ideals as “Sathyam Vadha” (Kill the Truth)

and “Dharmam Chera” (Imprison Righteousness).Once Easwaramma came to Me and

requested “Swami! Several poor mothers have come here alongwith their children.

They have no food to eat. Kindly bless them.” Then I rendered them proper help

and thus fulfilled Easwaramma’s wish. On another day, she came to Me and

expressed her anguish thus: “Swami! Small children of five years’ age are daily

walking to Bukkapatnam and back for attending to school. How can they study

after walking a such a long distance daily?” Then, I called their parents and

advised them “These tiny tots can learn more from their mothers than from their

teachers in a school. Instead of sending these small children to such a long

distance for education, you first teach them what little you know. You teach

them at least two or three alphabets which you know”. Later, I established a

school in Puttaparthi and fulfilled the wish of Easwaramma.The mothers of those

days, though they were innocent and illiterate, never gave up praying to God.

Love God. There is no use wasting your time in worldly matters. We should never

try to imitate others. We must try to develop faith in the Truth that manifests

from our own heart. It is not good to develop hatred towards other castes and

religions. One should develop faith in one’s own religion and follow it

diligently.Once, when this body was a student, some political leaders

approached Me and requested “Raju! We understand that you write good poetry. We

arranged a meeting where a number of our people are expected to participate. We

request you to please write a good song that can inspire our people.” Those

were the days of the Second World War. Adolf Hitler was marching forward to

conquer various countries in Europe. He was trying to march into Russia. India

was then under the control of Britishers. Taking the situation into account, I

wrote a small playlet. In that playlet, I kept a rubber doll in a cradle and

sang the following song rocking the cradle gently:

“Don’t cry my child, don’t cryIf you cry, you will not be called the valorous

son of Bharath…Did you cry because the murderer HitlerInvaded the immortal

Russia?The Red Army and the brave StalinAre there to crush Hitler; don’t cryWhy

do you cry my child, why do you cry?Do you cry because our people lack in

unity…All the people will unite and fightFor our freedom; don’t cry.India will

certainly attain freedomDon’t cry my child, don’t cry…”The mothers of those

days used to sing such inspiring patriotic songs and teach their children good

things. They used to mould their character to make them as heroes of the

country. There used to be no scope at all for untruth in their talk. By their

truthful words, they used to train their children in the path of truth.Once,

the village of Puttaparthi was affected by infectious diseases like cholera and

plague. Several people died on account of these diseases. Then, I warned the

children in the village that these diseases will spread through drinking

polluted water and eating impure food and therefore they should take proper

care in this regard.I exhorted them “Purify the water and then drink. You eat

only clean and wholesome food, though in small quantities. Not only that, keep

your mouth always fresh and clean. Several diseases will affect you due to

unclean mouth. It is not good for you to eat anything that you come across,

when you feel hungry. Whether it is for keeping good health or happiness, God’s

grace is important. Hence, always pray to God.” Happiness can be attained only

through constant contemplation on God; nothing else. It is not something that

can be attained by external objects. It can only spring from one’s own heart.

In order that we may attain good health and happiness, we must constantly

contemplate on God and thereby sanctify our time.It is only the parents who led

ideal lives that nourished and nurtured our country of Bharath, since ancient

times. Unfortunately, today you do not find sons who obey their parents. The

youth of today brush aside their parents’ words as insane talk and ignore them.

This is not correct. They are not insane words; they are verily truthful words

spoken from the depth of their hearts. God will certainly hear the prayers said

with purity of consciousness and shower His Grace on such people. Hence, one

should always pray to God in whichever form one likes and sanctify one’s life

by the grace of God. Since ancient times, the women of Bharath offered such

prayers to God, in all sincerity and devotion. That is the reason why the

country of Bharath could attain great heights.Embodiments of love!If you wish

that you or the children to be born to you must be sacred, constantly

contemplate on God. It is only when the parents lead a good and noble life,

their children will be good and noble. Hence, the parents must be good, in the

first instance. Unfortunately, today the parents are unable to set an example

to their children, with the result, the children are taking to bad ways. Such

sacred teachings have become extinct in the country of Bharath, today. The

mothers in ancient India used to teach good things and good habits to their

children thus:Get up early in the morning at the crowing of the cock,Have a

bath after your morning ablutions,Wear a proper dress.Eat properly and

moderately.Go to school and study diligently.Earn a good name.Don’t move out

when it is raining,And never go near the ditches.Take part in games, Run and

play.If you abide by all these rules,You will have both health and wealth.

(Telugu Poem)Get up early in the morning at the crowing of the cock,Have a bath

after your morning ablutions,Wear a proper dress.Eat properly and moderately.Go

to school and study diligently.Earn a good name.Don’t move out when it is

raining,And never go near the ditches.Take part in games, Run and play.If you

abide by all these rules,You will have both health and wealth.

(Telugu

Poem)Both the elders as well as the children are not brushing their teeth

properly, today. That is why all sorts of diseases are spreading from ourselves

only. For both, good and bad, we only are responsible. They do not come of their

own accord. When we cultivate sacred feelings in us, we will be rewarded with

good results. If sacred feelings are to take root in us, we have to cultivate

good habits.“Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice. Better still

is meditation. But, better than meditation is surrender of the fruit of all

actions. For, such renunciation of the fruit of all actions would indeed result

in liberation.” (Gita – Ch.12 – Sloka 12)Right from early morning till we go to

bed, if we are engaged in good activities, that itself will automatically

become a practice. In fact, the country needs such youth. Who are youth? People

generally think that boys and girls aged between 18 and 20 years constitute

youth. This is not correct. It is only people with noble thoughts, who can be

considered as youth. Hence, one must cultivate noble thoughts. As soon as you

get up, your first action shall be chanting the divine name “Rama! Krishna!

Govinda!” Again, before you go to bed, you must chant the divine name. When you

do such chanting of the divine name, you will always have good thoughts.

Unfortunately, today people totally forget chanting of the divine name. People

think that they are highly educated and have high degrees, but they will not

enable you to tread the right path. Education that will not develop enquiry

into one’s own self is not education at all! It will only lead to agitation!

Mere book reading does not constitute education. Book reading will contribute

only to acquiring bookish knowledge. That is artificial knowledge. Real

knowledge comes out of the heart. When the young men and women realise and

propagate this Truth, the country will progress in all directions.Embodiments

of Love!Do not waste your time in reading voluminous books, thinking that such

books will help you in acquiring great knowledge. One should read such books

which will help in the contemplation on the divine name. Do not be satisfied

with acquiring mere bookish knowledge. Such knowledge is only a superficial

knowledge. What you need really is the knowledge of Self. Strive to acquire

that knowledge. It manifests from within. It cannot be acquired from external

sources. Is it not a fact that the more you dig in the river bed, the more the

water that comes out of the sand! Similarly, the more you remove the bad

thoughts in you, the more the sacred knowledge and sacred thoughts manifest in

you. Purity, Steadiness, Wisdom and such other noble qualities manifest only

from one’s own heart. First and foremost you have to cultivate sacred and noble

thoughts. But, you need not give credence to all such talk. You have to always

tread the sacred path. The mothers in the ancient times used to teach their

children such sacred things. That is why the children of those days used to

engage themselves in constant contemplation on God, with the result, the

country was constantly protected by God. It is not the body that is important

for us, it is the thought and the feelings. Several people question “Where is

God?” I tell such people “My dear! I am God; you are also God”. This is the

Truth. Why should we be afraid of speaking this Truth? God is omnipresent. All

are embodiments of God! There is divinity in every human being. If not, we

cannot live in this world. It is only because of our faith in God, we have been

able to survive in this world till today. A small story to illustrate the point:

There used to be a husband and wife in a village. The wife was constantly

chanting the divine name “Rama! Krishna! Govinda!” and worshipping God daily.

The husband, however, was not doing any worship or contemplation on God. But,

he used to attend to his daily chores. The wife used to feel “Alas! My husband

is not chanting the divine name atleast once in a day”. One night, the husband

could not get sleep and was turning this side and that side on the bed

restlessly. At that time, he casually said “Rama!” His wife was overjoyed on

hearing the divine name coming out of the mouth of her husband, though

unintentionally. The next day, as soon as she got up from her bed, she

collected all the rice available in the house, cooked it and fed the poor

people, in jubilation. The husband who was observing this feeding of the poor,

enquired her “What is the matter! You are cooking and feeding the poor today.

What is the special occasion?” The wife replied. “Yesterday night, I heard the

divine name of ‘Rama!’ emerging from your mouth. My heart overflowed with joy

on hearing the divine name from your mouth. Hence, this celebration”. On

hearing his wife’s reply, the husband felt sorry and thought to himself “Alas!

I have installed Rama in my heart and worshipped him there all the while. Has

my Rama gone out from my heart today?” Several people do not give expression to

their love and devotion to God. They keep their devotion to themselves. However,

one day or the other it manifests outside.Embodiments of Love! Contemplate on

the divine name, irrespective of the religion, caste, creed or sex. You can

always chant the divine name of your liking. The mother of Ramakrishna

Paramahamsa taught her son good things and shaped him into a great yogi. All

the mothers should take her as an example and strive to put their children in

the right path. If you constantly contemplate on and chant the divine name,

that itself will purify your thoughts and feelings. Never forget the divine

name. If you constantly contemplate on the divine name, your life will surely

be sanctified. Embodiments of Love! You, therefore, contemplate on the divine

name constantly.

(Bhagawan concluded his divine discourse with the bhajan “Rama Rama Rama Sita…”