Divine Life

[Guest guest]

Divine life is life in God or the Immortal Soul. He who leads the

divine life is free from cares, worries, anxieties, miseries,

sufferings and tribulations. He attains immortality, perfection,

freedom, independence, eternal peace, supreme bliss and perennial

joy. He radiates joy, peace and light everywhere.

 

To lead the divine life, you need not retire into forests. You can

lead the divine life, while remaining in the world. What is wanted is

renunciation of egoism, mineness, attachment, Vasanas and Trishnas.

Give the mind to God and the hands to the service of humanity.

 

Serve humanity with Atma Bhava. Serve the poor. Serve the sick with

Narayana Bhava. Serve the society. Serve the country. Selfless

service is the highest Yoga. Samadhi will come by itself without any

effort for one, who is solely absorbed in service, when his heart is

purified. Service is worship of the Lord. Never forget this. He who

sees Brahman or the Immortal Soul in the spoon, Brahman in the

medicine, Brahman in the patient, Brahman in the doctor, Brahman in

service, he who thinks or meditates thus, while doing service, verily

reaches Brahman or the Eternal.

 

The practice of Brahmacharya is very important for spiritual

progress. Brahmacharya is the basis for acquiring immortality. It is

itself divine life. Brahmacharya brings material progress and psychic

advancement. It is a substratum for a life of peace in Atma. It is a

potent weapon for controlling the internal Rajasic forces, viz.,

Kama, Krodha, Lobha, etc. It gives tremendous energy and gigantic

will power and good Vichara Sakti.

 

Japa is an important Anga of Yoga or divine life. A Mantra is

divinity. Japa is the repetition of the Mantra or the names of the

Lord. In Kali Yuga, practice of Japa alone can give eternal peace,

bliss and immortality. Japa ultimately results in Samadhi or

communion with the Lord.

 

Sankirtan is the singing of Lord's names with faith and devotion.

When you sing His names, feel that Lord Hari or Ishta Devata is

seated in your heart, that every name of the Lord is filled with

divine potencies, that the old vicious Samskaras and Vasanas are

burnt by the power of the name and that the mind is filled with

Sattva or purity, that Rajas and Tamas are completely destroyed, and

that the veil of ignorance is torn down. This kind of mental attitude

brings the maximum benefit of Sankirtan. It is not the number of Japa

or the length of time of Kirtan that counts for spiritual growth but

it is the intensity of Bhava with which the Lord's names are sung.

 

(Source: Essence of Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda)