Guest guest Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 Om Amriteshwaryai Namah, Here are some notes I took of the Satsang/QA talks by Amma and the Swamijis during Amma's programs in San Ramon last week. Hope you will forgive the sometimes incomplete/lacking-in-detail or abrupt passages. In Amma's Service, Gaurav --- (A) Amma: When devotional music is sung with a loving and selfless attitude, then every cell of the body is infused with positivity and positive energy. The selflessness and loving attitude of the singer and the listener purifies the heart. The heart softens and the ego fades away. We must be prepared to forgive mistakes of others. There should be no competitiveness. There are four kinds of love. The first kind is where we see people as possessions. The second kind is 'commercial', where there is a 'barter' of love, we give love, but only if we get love in return, there is expectation of receiving love when giving love. The third kind of love makes us speak words and do actions for the comfort of others, we endure sacrifices for others, however the spirit of 'I'/'mine' still remains. The fourth and final kind of love is that of a Satguru - this love takes us to perfection. The disciple's impurities are washed away in the Satguru's love. Prayer without love is like milking the cow and filling the milk in a dirty vessel. Marriage is not about finding the right partner. It is about becoming the right partner. Today there is often intense competition between partners. Many even lose their individuality being so deeply in this competition. There were two very rich men. After gathering a lot of wealth overseas, they were returning to their home country aboard a ship. The first man purchased a lot of expensive items such as cars, furniture, electronics, and brought these with him on the ship. The second man bought a very precious stone with all his wealth and put this stone in a locket and strung this around his neck. When they were onroute back home, there was a big storm. The first man had a heart attack thinking that all his wealth would be gone when the ship sank. The second man was able to survive the storm and swim to the shore. We spend our whole lives seeking and gathering worldly possessions and then die with all these worldly possessions. By installing the gem of divine thoughts we can gain Eternal Bliss. When we bow down to the entire Creation, Grace flows into us. We all have the capacity to experience infinite love. We are physically all different (shape and form), but the consciousness is the same within us. Depending on the strength of spiritual practices, we can manifest this power within us. A 'sattvic' mind is like a crystal. Only when we start loving will we experience love, just like we can really experience 'drums' only when we start playing this musical instrument. In that state, others' pain will become our pain, and others' happiness will become our happiness. In India, near the Ashram, when Amma was about 8-9 years old, there were homes owned by people, each home in about a 10 acre square area. The families that owned these homes had plenty of rooms and space, more than they needed, and hence they simply allowed any homeless people/families to stay. There was no rent charged; there was only compassion. Amma used to go around 50-60 houses in the night collecting tapioca peels in order to feed the animals in Her home/ashram. Sometimes She would ask her parents to give some food for other hungry people in the village, but when Her parents sometimes didn't agree, She would even steal food from her own home to give to others. We ask why and how Amma began doing such service. Amma had a vision once. She realized that it was the Karma of people that was responsible for their suffering.. Simultaneously She realized that if it was the Karma of a man to fall into the hole, then it was "my Karma" (i.e., Amma's Karma) to help him get out of the hole... Today is Thanksgiving. If we have not been talking to some people - a friend, relative, mother, father, or whoever, it is only due to our ignorance. When we keep seeing them at our level, we feel hatred, but when we see them at their level, then we do not feel any hatred or anger towards them. So write a sweet email to them today. Don't worry about it. Even if you get an angry reply back, just reply back saying 'Thank you'. When we are filled with hatred, it is as if we are scattering thorns on our own path in life. If we hate them, there is no difference between them and us. When we love them, our path will become completely clear. If we say No..No..No.., then we will become a NO! If we say Yes, it will help us. The most important thing is what I can offer or do. We may be able to do small things, not big things. Don't compare. These small things can bring contentment and happiness. What may seem like a small thing may in fact be a big thing for the doer . An ant may find and carry one whole piece of grain to its home, which to (an elephant) may seem (trivial/inconsequential). While Hanuman and his army of monkeys were building the bridge for Lord Rama to cross the ocean to get to Lanka where Ravana had held Lord Rama's wife Sita captive, there was a small squirrel that was watching all this. It was feeling very dejected and sad that it could not do anything to help in this noble act of building the bridge for the Lord Himeself. He cried for a long time. Then suddenly, he got up, and went and dipped himself in the water. Then he ran back to the shore and rolled in the sand and went and dipped in the water again...then back to roll in the sand and dip in the water, and on and on and on...he continued doing this until the build was completed.. Lord Rama was pleased on seeing this squirrel's spirit of service. He took the squirrel and placed His three fingers across the squirrel's back rubbing them across from top to bottom. This is how squirrels came to have the three stripes on their backs. [(Amritaswarupananda) Swamiji first said, Lord Rama did this 'three times', but when Amma gave him that look, he corrected himself, joking, 'How do I know? I wasn't there...but Amma was there!' He also joked about whether to call the squirrel, he or she or 'it'...] Question: I have a 'loud personality' and that often comes in the way of building good lasting relationships with friends and people. Amma: Son, you are very handsome, so don't worry... If we have a desire not to be angry, we will (definitely) succeed. Take the example of an old car. If you hit the brake, it will stop, but possibly only after hitting something or someone. We cannot live in this world listening to others' opinions about us. Our life will be a disaster (if we do that)! If you give ice cream to ten different people, the taste will differ for all these ten people. But always watch your conscience. Son, don't worry, keep trying. [A couple days or so later Swamiji in his retreat morning talk happened to put some context on this first sentence Amma had said about the questioner being 'handsome'. By saying so at the very outset, Amma made the heart of the person open up, and prepared him to become so receptive to all the things She was to go on to say thereafter. It was a gesture of love] Question: [A young girl in tears...] Amma, I feel so guilty about having been mean to everyone...[crying vehemently...] Amma: Never think like that. Even a broken watch will show correct time twice a day. Never think "I'm not worthy", or "I'm bad". If we keep thinking we are bad, we will wither away. Lincoln failed 30 times in different endeavors in both personal and public life before becoming President of the United States. If he had given up, then he could not have contributed so much to American society. So please don't lose strength. You will be able to do great things, you are here with Amma. Overcoming the fear of failure...(keep up) patience, enthusiasm and firm determination. We may not see anything in front of us, but move forward, there is Light. There was a group of snails.. The leader snail announced to the rest of the animals in the area that he was going to lead his snails to a large forest some distance away. The forest was barren at that time. So the other animals said that he was out of his mind because the forest was barren. To this, the leader snail replied, "Yes of course! No problem at all. By the time we get there, it will be green!" This is the beginning of sunrise, of (our) blossoming. So don't worry. --- Balance is essential in life. We all have desires. So if we have desires, then should we not indulge? No, we can. But self control is necessary (to avoid excesses). The pain we experience is real. But, the cause of the pain is unreal. That all situations we are ever in will be happy and peaceful is not possible. We should strengthen our mind through spiritual practices. Amma inspires us how to do so. We are not human beings sent to have spiritual experiences. We are spiritual beings sent to have human experiences. Even if we make one person smile for a minute, it is a great thing. It counts a lot. Bhakti (Devotion) and Seva (Service) are like the two wings of a bird, Jnana (Knowledge) is its tail. --- (B) Swami Amritaswarupananda: What is love? Love is (born out of) fearlessness. It will bring success in your profession (too). When we are open to all situations, when we accept and surrender to it [anything that we are doing, even 'software'], we fall in love with it, and merge in it. Love is a fire, it really burns within us. We keep saying, "Oh, I'm not getting concentration in my spiritual practices/meditation." [swami Amritawarupananda [smilingly/jokingly]: Relax! Have patience, it is a slow process. Amma is here with us, She knows how to take us there! (Sometimes we are not sure what to do. Bring the mind to be still.) In the stillness of the mind, the decision will be obvious. Watch Amma. Watch Her every action. Watching her is Meditation. She IS meditation. She is not an artist, She IS art. [one more such analogy...] Giving pocket money to children is unnecessary. Before one knows how to spend money, one should not have money. The right way to spend money [scriptures] - is to earn a lot of money and give a lot of money (to charity). When Amma says to us, "Don't worry", it means that situations where we will worry may arise, but we will be fine, so try not to worry. --- © Br. Dayamrita: Even if we don't want Self-Realization, Amma will drag us to it. Being with Amma is the shortest route to Self-realization. Our talent and abilities can take us to the peak of success, but to remain there without tumbling back down, we need to adhere to our Values. After we make mistakes, (we can) repent, regret (but must continue to) move forward. With good thoughts, we can definitely decrease the intensity of our Karma. Today, we have 'part-time' devotion. If we don't get a salary, then our devotion disappears. The attitude is important, not (so much) the action. Long ago, there was a man who needed $1000 very badly. He was praying a lot for it and most of the village knew about this need of his. A postman in the post office was a very kind hearted man. He took it upon himself to help this man. With great effort, he finally collected $990. He decided to send this over to the man, and so he did. When the man received this money order, he wrote back to the postman saying he should not send the money through the post office because they had (wrongfully) taken away $10 from his $1000. Before we get something, we have innocence and pray for it. After we get it, we become greedy. --- (D) Swami Ramakrishnananda: There is the subject [us, our mind]. And there are the objects [everything but us]. Every experience consists of the subject and the objects. To understand the mind is the first step. [We should] seek only those objects that are good for us, not objects that are bad for us. The mind gets inputs, and our response is the output. With Amma, whatever the input, Her output is always positive. There was a man. One night as usual he returned home very late and didn't want to wake his wife up and expose himself. So he quietly tip-toed into the room and bent down to blow the candle that was lit on the bedside table. He had been drinking heavily and so there was so much alcohol in his breath that as soon as he blew the candle, the whole room caught fire and was completely destroyed. His wife was so angry with him that she refused to speak with him. So he felt really bad and genuinely asked for his wife's forgiveness, "Honey, I promise, I will never blow out the candle again!" [When Swamiji first said, “Honey…”, Amma interrupted him to say something, so then, the next time, Swamiji made a slight joke of it saying just “Honey,” with a sweet smile, and paused, and the audience laughed out loud, and Amma and Swamiji both laughed, then again, a third time, “Honey..” and even greater laughter. At this point, Amma pointed to Swamiji in jest and said something which Swamiji promptly translated “Amma is saying that I’m saying this in such a way as if I have lots of experience with this.” And then it was almost impossible not to stop at “Honey” and laugh…this was probably the most sustained and free flowing period of laughter with Amma, Swamiji and the entire audience in all the week as far as I can recollect] Once Amma decided to divide into two groups, the devotees in her Ashram, such that the first group would attend the first half of Her North Indian tour, and the second group would attend the second part of the tour. In the first half, there was one devotee who was distinctly looking very (sad .. was not in his normal colors). When Amma asked him what was the cause of this, he said that it was because Amma would not allow him to be with Her during the latter part of the tour. Then when the second part of the tour started, Amma saw that there was a counterpart to that devotee in the first part of the tour, in the latter half as well...Both these devotees were unable to enjoy the presence of Amma due to the processing of their mind [joking --> their Central Processing Unit - CPU - their mind] We have so many problems with our mind these days...There is one toll-free number that has the following recorded message: If you are obsessive, compulsive, press 1 again and again. If you are dependent on someone else, get someone else to press 2. (For anything else), press 3,4,5,6,7,8...multiple times... If you are paranoid, please stay online, someone is tracing your call already. If you are schizophrenic, a little voice will tell you what to do... If you are manic depressive, no one will answer your call. Amma says, "Use me as a ladder to climb to spiritual heights." --- (E) Atma Puja talk by Amma [some points]: 1. Love is needed for everything. When we are small, we crave for the love of our parents, especially our mother. When we become older, our love shifts towards toys, a bicycle, a motorbike or car, then our spouse, and so on....but love is always needed in every situation. There is nothing (that can happen) without love. 2. Desires and peace of mind. Let me ask you all this question - if you were to be offered two choices - (i) Complete peace of mind, but none of your desires will be fulfilled, and (ii) No peace of mind, but all your desires will be fulfilled - then can those of you who would select the former (i) please raise your hands? [several hands were raised in the audience, and Swamiji laughed [jokingly] and said...'No no...you are lying...'] 3. Innate spiritual strengths - We all have the capacity, the only thing we need is (to apply) effort. We should just turn inwards, find our mistakes and reject them ruthlessly. [one example of a drunk man...] 4. Laws - There are laws for everything in the world we live in. These laws are present so as to make us more careful and attentive. Fire is hot, so we don't touch it and burn ourselves. Karma, Incarnation - Results of our own actions come back to us as pleasure and sorrow. 5. Good actions create harmony inside and outside. We all have the power to endure defeat and sorrow. If we recognize that these are due to our actions, we can accept them easily. Those experiencing happiness in life should not become egoistic because it brings bad Karma. Remember that there is always an invisible hand that guides us. 6. Love and Selflessness can change the world. 7. How many touching memories will we find when we look back on our paths (in life)? How many memories of things that we have done for society, for others, for our own upliftment as well?! Love is a "Maha-Mantra", which means 'great Mantra' - not to be spoken with lips, but with the heart and expressed as words and actions. The Supreme Dharma in life is to realize that all Knowledge is within us. The greatest gain in life is to gain (the experience of) true love. --- NOTE: The parts in ( ) above, are those that I don't feel so sure were said verbatim by Amma/Swamiji, and that I may have included to make the sentence coherent based on the context in which it was said. --- (F) Amma Quotes [that were hung on posters all over the ashram and snack shop: almost verbatim] "Remember that however high a position we may reach, we should always think that we are a servant of others." "When we climb a train with our luggage, don't we set the luggage on the floor and make the journey? We don't carry the luggage in our hands during the journey. When faith in God arises, then surrender everything at Her feet." "Each action we perform has an effect on others." "The sorrow of every living being in the world is our own sorrow and the happiness of every living being in the world is our own happiness." "One should have a close relationship with the Guru and feel that the Guru is one's own." "The role of spirituality is to awaken the awareness of our true nature - love, empathy, tolerance, patience and humility." "My child, never lose courage. Never lose your trust in God or in life. Always be optimistic no matter what situations you find yourself in. It is very important to be optimistic. Pessimism is a form of darkness, a form of ignorance that prevents God's light from entering into your life. Pessimism is like a curse, an illusory curse created by the illusory mind. Life is filled with God's light, but only by being optimistic will you experience that light." --- Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail beta. http://new.mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 28, 2006 Report Share Posted November 28, 2006 namaste Gaurav, thank you very very much. Amma Bless, amarnath Ammachi, Gaurav Navlakha <g_navlakha wrote: > > Om Amriteshwaryai Namah, > > Here are some notes I took of the Satsang/QA talks by Amma and the Swamijis during Amma's programs in San Ramon last week. Hope you will forgive the sometimes incomplete/lacking-in-detail or abrupt passages. > > In Amma's Service, > Gaurav > > --- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2006 Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 > > Here are some notes I took of the Satsang/QA talks > by Amma and the Swamijis during Amma's programs in > San Ramon last week.> --- > thanks for taking the time to share your notes. I tried to take a few notes during Amma's talk at the public program in Dearborn on sunday night.. but my note-taking skills are totally down the crapper.. I am so addicted to using a keyboard that I can no longer write by hand even partially legibly! Keval Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail beta. http://new.mail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 Om Amriteshwaryayi Namaha. This is awesome. Thank you Gaurav for this great seva. Ammachi, Gaurav Navlakha <g_navlakha wrote: > > Om Amriteshwaryai Namah, > > Here are some notes I took of the Satsang/QA talks by Amma and the Swamijis during Amma's programs in San Ramon last week. Hope you will forgive the sometimes incomplete/lacking-in-detail or abrupt passages. > > In Amma's Service, > Gaurav > > --- > > (A) Amma: > > When devotional music is sung with a loving and selfless attitude, then every cell of the body is infused with positivity and positive energy. The selflessness and loving attitude of the singer and the listener purifies the heart. The heart softens and the ego fades away. We must be prepared to forgive mistakes of others. There should be no competitiveness. > > There are four kinds of love. The first kind is where we see people as possessions. The second kind is 'commercial', where there is a 'barter' of love, we give love, but only if we get love in return, there is expectation of receiving love when giving love. The third kind of love makes us speak words and do actions for the comfort of others, we endure sacrifices for others, however the spirit of 'I'/'mine' still remains. The fourth and final kind of love is that of a Satguru - this love takes us to perfection. The disciple's impurities are washed away in the Satguru's love. > > Prayer without love is like milking the cow and filling the milk in a dirty vessel. > > Marriage is not about finding the right partner. It is about becoming the right partner. Today there is often intense competition between partners. Many even lose their individuality being so deeply in this competition. > > There were two very rich men. After gathering a lot of wealth overseas, they were returning to their home country aboard a ship. The first man purchased a lot of expensive items such as cars, furniture, electronics, and brought these with him on the ship. The second man bought a very precious stone with all his wealth and put this stone in a locket and strung this around his neck. When they were onroute back home, there was a big storm. The first man had a heart attack thinking that all his wealth would be gone when the ship sank. The second man was able to survive the storm and swim to the shore. We spend our whole lives seeking and gathering worldly possessions and then die with all these worldly possessions. By installing the gem of divine thoughts we can gain Eternal Bliss. When we bow down to the entire Creation, Grace flows into us. > > We all have the capacity to experience infinite love. We are physically all different (shape and form), but the consciousness is the same within us. Depending on the strength of spiritual practices, we can manifest this power within us. A 'sattvic' mind is like a crystal. Only when we start loving will we experience love, just like we can really experience 'drums' only when we start playing this musical instrument. In that state, others' pain will become our pain, and others' happiness will become our happiness. In India, near the Ashram, when Amma was about 8-9 years old, there were homes owned by people, each home in about a 10 acre square area. The families that owned these homes had plenty of rooms and space, more than they needed, and hence they simply allowed any homeless people/families to stay. There was no rent charged; there was only compassion. Amma used to go around 50-60 houses in the night collecting tapioca peels in order to feed the animals in Her > home/ashram. Sometimes She would ask her parents to give some food for other hungry people in the village, but when Her parents sometimes didn't agree, She would even steal food from her own home to give to others. We ask why and how Amma began doing such service. Amma had a vision once. She realized that it was the Karma of people that was responsible for their suffering. Simultaneously She realized that if it was the Karma of a man to fall into the hole, then it was "my Karma" (i.e., Amma's Karma) to help him get out of the hole... > > Today is Thanksgiving. If we have not been talking to some people - a friend, relative, mother, father, or whoever, it is only due to our ignorance. When we keep seeing them at our level, we feel hatred, but when we see them at their level, then we do not feel any hatred or anger towards them. So write a sweet email to them today. Don't worry about it. Even if you get an angry reply back, just reply back saying 'Thank you'. When we are filled with hatred, it is as if we are scattering thorns on our own path in life. If we hate them, there is no difference between them and us. When we love them, our path will become completely clear. If we say No..No..No.., then we will become a NO! If we say Yes, it will help us. The most important thing is what I can offer or do. We may be able to do small things, not big things. Don't compare. These small things can bring contentment and happiness. What may seem like a small thing may in fact be a big thing for the doer . An ant may find > and carry one whole piece of grain to its home, which to (an elephant) may seem (trivial/inconsequential). > > While Hanuman and his army of monkeys were building the bridge for Lord Rama to cross the ocean to get to Lanka where Ravana had held Lord Rama's wife Sita captive, there was a small squirrel that was watching all this. It was feeling very dejected and sad that it could not do anything to help in this noble act of building the bridge for the Lord Himeself. He cried for a long time. Then suddenly, he got up, and went and dipped himself in the water. Then he ran back to the shore and rolled in the sand and went and dipped in the water again...then back to roll in the sand and dip in the water, and on and on and on...he continued doing this until the build was completed. Lord Rama was pleased on seeing this squirrel's spirit of service. He took the squirrel and placed His three fingers across the squirrel's back rubbing them across from top to bottom. This is how squirrels came to have the three stripes on their backs. [(Amritaswarupananda) Swamiji first said, Lord Rama did > this 'three times', but when Amma gave him that look, he corrected himself, joking, 'How do I know? I wasn't there...but Amma was there!' He also joked about whether to call the squirrel, he or she or 'it'...] > > Question: I have a 'loud personality' and that often comes in the way of building good lasting relationships with friends and people. > Amma: Son, you are very handsome, so don't worry... > If we have a desire not to be angry, we will (definitely) succeed. Take the example of an old car. If you hit the brake, it will stop, but possibly only after hitting something or someone. > We cannot live in this world listening to others' opinions about us. Our life will be a disaster (if we do that)! If you give ice cream to ten different people, the taste will differ for all these ten people. But always watch your conscience. Son, don't worry, keep trying. > [A couple days or so later Swamiji in his retreat morning talk happened to put some context on this first sentence Amma had said about the questioner being 'handsome'. By saying so at the very outset, Amma made the heart of the person open up, and prepared him to become so receptive to all the things She was to go on to say thereafter. It was a gesture of love] > > Question: [A young girl in tears...] Amma, I feel so guilty about having been mean to everyone...[crying vehemently...] > Amma: Never think like that. Even a broken watch will show correct time twice a day. Never think "I'm not worthy", or "I'm bad". If we keep thinking we are bad, we will wither away. Lincoln failed 30 times in different endeavors in both personal and public life before becoming President of the United States. If he had given up, then he could not have contributed so much to American society. So please don't lose strength. You will be able to do great things, you are here with Amma. Overcoming the fear of failure...(keep up) patience, enthusiasm and firm determination. We may not see anything in front of us, but move forward, there is Light. There was a group of snails. The leader snail announced to the rest of the animals in the area that he was going to lead his snails to a large forest some distance away. The forest was barren at that time. So the other animals said that he was out of his mind because the forest was barren. To this, the leader snail replied, "Yes of > course! No problem at all. By the time we get there, it will be green!" This is the beginning of sunrise, of (our) blossoming. So don't worry. > > --- > > Balance is essential in life. We all have desires. So if we have desires, then should we not indulge? No, we can. But self control is necessary (to avoid excesses). > > The pain we experience is real. But, the cause of the pain is unreal. > > That all situations we are ever in will be happy and peaceful is not possible. We should strengthen our mind through spiritual practices. Amma inspires us how to do so. > > We are not human beings sent to have spiritual experiences. We are spiritual beings sent to have human experiences. > > Even if we make one person smile for a minute, it is a great thing. It counts a lot. > > Bhakti (Devotion) and Seva (Service) are like the two wings of a bird, Jnana (Knowledge) is its tail. > > --- > > (B) Swami Amritaswarupananda: > > What is love? Love is (born out of) fearlessness. > > It will bring success in your profession (too). When we are open to all situations, when we accept and surrender to it [anything that we are doing, even 'software'], we fall in love with it, and merge in it. > > Love is a fire, it really burns within us. > > We keep saying, "Oh, I'm not getting concentration in my spiritual practices/meditation." [swami Amritawarupananda [smilingly/jokingly]: Relax! Have patience, it is a slow process. Amma is here with us, She knows how to take us there! > > (Sometimes we are not sure what to do. Bring the mind to be still.) In the stillness of the mind, the decision will be obvious. > > Watch Amma. Watch Her every action. Watching her is Meditation. She IS meditation. She is not an artist, She IS art. [one more such analogy...] > > Giving pocket money to children is unnecessary. Before one knows how to spend money, one should not have money. The right way to spend money [scriptures] - is to earn a lot of money and give a lot of money (to charity). > > When Amma says to us, "Don't worry", it means that situations where we will worry may arise, but we will be fine, so try not to worry. > > --- > > © Br. Dayamrita: > > Even if we don't want Self-Realization, Amma will drag us to it. Being with Amma is the shortest route to Self-realization. > > Our talent and abilities can take us to the peak of success, but to remain there without tumbling back down, we need to adhere to our Values. > > After we make mistakes, (we can) repent, regret (but must continue to) move forward. > > With good thoughts, we can definitely decrease the intensity of our Karma. Today, we have 'part-time' devotion. If we don't get a salary, then our devotion disappears. The attitude is important, not (so much) the action. > Long ago, there was a man who needed $1000 very badly. He was praying a lot for it and most of the village knew about this need of his. A postman in the post office was a very kind hearted man. He took it upon himself to help this man. With great effort, he finally collected $990. He decided to send this over to the man, and so he did. When the man received this money order, he wrote back to the postman saying he should not send the money through the post office because they had (wrongfully) taken away $10 from his $1000. > Before we get something, we have innocence and pray for it. After we get it, we become greedy. > > --- > > (D) Swami Ramakrishnananda: > > There is the subject [us, our mind]. And there are the objects [everything but us]. Every experience consists of the subject and the objects. To understand the mind is the first step. [We should] seek only those objects that are good for us, not objects that are bad for us. > > The mind gets inputs, and our response is the output. With Amma, whatever the input, Her output is always positive. > > There was a man. One night as usual he returned home very late and didn't want to wake his wife up and expose himself. So he quietly tip-toed into the room and bent down to blow the candle that was lit on the bedside table. He had been drinking heavily and so there was so much alcohol in his breath that as soon as he blew the candle, the whole room caught fire and was completely destroyed. His wife was so angry with him that she refused to speak with him. So he felt really bad and genuinely asked for his wife's forgiveness, "Honey, I promise, I will never blow out the candle again!" [When Swamiji first said, "Honey…", Amma interrupted him to say something, so then, the next time, Swamiji made a slight joke of it saying just "Honey," with a sweet smile, and paused, and the audience laughed out loud, and Amma and Swamiji both laughed, then again, a third time, "Honey.." and even greater laughter. At this point, Amma pointed to Swamiji in jest and said something > which Swamiji promptly translated "Amma is saying that I'm saying this in such a way as if I have lots of experience with this." And then it was almost impossible not to stop at "Honey" and laugh…this was probably the most sustained and free flowing period of laughter with Amma, Swamiji and the entire audience in all the week as far as I can recollect] > > Once Amma decided to divide into two groups, the devotees in her Ashram, such that the first group would attend the first half of Her North Indian tour, and the second group would attend the second part of the tour. In the first half, there was one devotee who was distinctly looking very (sad .. was not in his normal colors). When Amma asked him what was the cause of this, he said that it was because Amma would not allow him to be with Her during the latter part of the tour. Then when the second part of the tour started, Amma saw that there was a counterpart to that devotee in the first part of the tour, in the latter half as well...Both these devotees were unable to enjoy the presence of Amma due to the processing of their mind [joking --> their Central Processing Unit - CPU - their mind] > > We have so many problems with our mind these days...There is one toll-free number that has the following recorded message: > If you are obsessive, compulsive, press 1 again and again. > If you are dependent on someone else, get someone else to press 2. > (For anything else), press 3,4,5,6,7,8...multiple times... > If you are paranoid, please stay online, someone is tracing your call already. > If you are schizophrenic, a little voice will tell you what to do... > If you are manic depressive, no one will answer your call. > > Amma says, "Use me as a ladder to climb to spiritual heights." > > --- > > (E) Atma Puja talk by Amma [some points]: > > 1. Love is needed for everything. When we are small, we crave for the love of our parents, especially our mother. When we become older, our love shifts towards toys, a bicycle, a motorbike or car, then our spouse, and so on...but love is always needed in every situation. There is nothing (that can happen) without love. > > 2. Desires and peace of mind. Let me ask you all this question - if you were to be offered two choices - (i) Complete peace of mind, but none of your desires will be fulfilled, and (ii) No peace of mind, but all your desires will be fulfilled - then can those of you who would select the former (i) please raise your hands? [several hands were raised in the audience, and Swamiji laughed [jokingly] and said...'No no...you are lying...'] > > 3. Innate spiritual strengths - We all have the capacity, the only thing we need is (to apply) effort. We should just turn inwards, find our mistakes and reject them ruthlessly. [one example of a drunk man...] > > 4. Laws - There are laws for everything in the world we live in. These laws are present so as to make us more careful and attentive. Fire is hot, so we don't touch it and burn ourselves. Karma, Incarnation - Results of our own actions come back to us as pleasure and sorrow. > > 5. Good actions create harmony inside and outside. We all have the power to endure defeat and sorrow. If we recognize that these are due to our actions, we can accept them easily. Those experiencing happiness in life should not become egoistic because it brings bad Karma. > > Remember that there is always an invisible hand that guides us. > > 6. Love and Selflessness can change the world. > > 7. How many touching memories will we find when we look back on our paths (in life)? How many memories of things that we have done for society, for others, for our own upliftment as well?! > > Love is a "Maha-Mantra", which means 'great Mantra' - not to be spoken with lips, but with the heart and expressed as words and actions. The Supreme Dharma in life is to realize that all Knowledge is within us. The greatest gain in life is to gain (the experience of) true love. > > --- > > NOTE: The parts in ( ) above, are those that I don't feel so sure were said verbatim by Amma/Swamiji, and that I may have included to make the sentence coherent based on the context in which it was said. > > --- > > (F) Amma Quotes [that were hung on posters all over the ashram and snack shop: almost verbatim] > > "Remember that however high a position we may reach, we should always think that we are a servant of others." > > "When we climb a train with our luggage, don't we set the luggage on the floor and make the journey? We don't carry the luggage in our hands during the journey. When faith in God arises, then surrender everything at Her feet." > > "Each action we perform has an effect on others." > > "The sorrow of every living being in the world is our own sorrow and the happiness of every living being in the world is our own happiness." > > "One should have a close relationship with the Guru and feel that the Guru is one's own." > > "The role of spirituality is to awaken the awareness of our true nature - love, empathy, tolerance, patience and humility." > > "My child, never lose courage. Never lose your trust in God or in life. Always be optimistic no matter what situations you find yourself in. It is very important to be optimistic. Pessimism is a form of darkness, a form of ignorance that prevents God's light from entering into your life. Pessimism is like a curse, an illusory curse created by the illusory mind. Life is filled with God's light, but only by being optimistic will you experience that light." > > --- > > > > ___________________ _______________ > > Everyone is raving about the all-new Mail beta. > http://new.mail. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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