Fwd: Amritavani # 119 ~ Eng ~ the eVoice of Amma

March 3, 2005

Note: forwarded message attached.

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Ôm Amriteswaryai Namah eVoice:- nº 119 Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Amritapuri,

India 1st March 2005 In this

Amritavani Ø- Amma's Words:- Prayer, A

Powerful Step to God Ø- Amritapuri Updates - Mothersite

Ø- Mahayatra - Itinerary Satsang Amma's Words Prayer, A Powerful Step to God Question – Amma, you seem

to be giving more importance to devotion than to any other

path. Why is this so? Amma

-Children, when you say “devotion,” do you mean just repeating a mantra and singing devotional songs? Real devotion is to discriminate between the eternal and the

transitory; it is to surrender yourself to the Infinite.

What Amma advises is the practical side of devotion. The children (the brahmacharis and brahmacharinis of Amma’s ashram) who live here read many spiritual

books and they ask Amma questions. Amma usually gives them

Vedantic answers. But when talking to lay people, Amma gives

more importance to devotion, because ninety percent of the

people are not intellectual. They haven’t learned any

spiritual science before coming here. It isn’t

possible to teach them the spiritual principles in just one

day or during one darshan. It is therefore wiser to

give them advice that they can actually live by. Amma also

advises them to read spiritual books. Advaita

is the foundation. What Amma teaches is practical devotion

that is rooted in advaita. Most of the people

who come here are ignorant about spiritual matters. They are

familiar only with temple worship. About ten percent of them

may give some importance to knowledge and reason and follow

a different path. But we cannot neglect the others. Don’t they also need to be uplifted? So Amma gives advice according to the level of people. The prayers and

devotional singing at the ashram are not just prayers—they are spiritual practices done to awaken the real I (Self) within us. It is a process of tuning the individual

consciousness to the Universal Consciousness, of tuning into

the Universal Self from the level of body, mind, and

intellect. There is no need to search for a God

sitting somewhere beyond the sky. God is the all-pervading

Universal Consciousness. Still, we advise people to meditate

on a form, because a medium is necessary to make the mind

one-pointed. To construct a slab of concrete, we first have

to make a wooden frame, and it is into that frame that we

pour the concrete. When the concrete has set, we remove the

frame. This can be compared to worshipping a form. The form

is required in the beginning until the principles are firmly grasped. Once the mind is firmly established in the Universal Self, there is no longer any need for any such tools. Only those who are humble can receive God’s grace. In someone who perceives God’s presence in everything, there is no

room for the ego. So, the first quality we need to develop

within ourselves is humility. That is the purpose of the

prayers and devotional singing in the ashram. We should be

humble in our every look, word, and deed. When a carpenter picks up a chisel to begin his work, he touches it reverentially and bows to it to invoke a blessing. The chisel is just a tool he uses for his work, yet he bows to it. We pick up the harmonium only after touching it with reverence and bowing to it. It is part of our culture to show reverence

towards an object before using it. Why do we show such

respect to the objects we use? It is to behold God in

everything that we do this. Our ancestors were aiming to

attain a state of egolessness through this practice.

Similarly, prayer is an expression of humility; it is a way

to eliminate the ego. Some people may ask if prayers

can’t be done in silence. Some people may prefer to

read in silence, while others need to read aloud. Some

people can understand things only if they read aloud. We

cannot tell someone who reads aloud when studying,

“Don’t read so loudly! You should read quietly,

like me!” Some people get more concentration by

praying aloud, while others prefer to pray silently. Similarly, for different types of people different spiritual paths are required. All paths lead to the ultimate. Many

people say, “Amma, when I meditate with my eyes closed, a lot of thoughts continuously arise in the mind, but when I sing

bhajans and pray, I get concentration.” The

purpose of spiritual practice is to make the mind

one-pointed. When we discriminate and say, “I am not the body, nor the mind, nor the intellect,” thus

following the “neti, neti” path, we are using another way to reach the Supreme Being. The purpose of prayers and bhajans are the

same. Is there any religion in which devotion and

prayer do not have a place? You will find both devotion and

prayer in Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. All these

religions also have the master-disciple relationship. The

master-disciple relationship can even be found on the non-dualistic path. So even on that path, in the master-disciple relationship, duality exists. Isn’t devotion to the master devotion?

Through our prayers we are trying to imbibe divine

qualities; we are trying to realize the Absolute. Prayer is

not weakness; it is a powerful step towards God.

-------------- Mothersite

Amritapuri.org Updates Photo: tsunami baby Photos: Amma's visit to Sri Lanka Amma Blesses Rotarians We simply submit at Her feet Pray that She blesses this

organisation. It is this organisation that benefits from Amma

accepting this award. The Wisdom of Tsunami Nothing

is really ours. We cling on to things and people, thinking of them

as our own, Nothing is ours; our very life is not ours to hold on

to. When Amma Adopts A Village ... The moment we saw your face, We

forget all of our sorrows. We are all happy. Lions & Tigers Come for Amma's Darshan in Sri Lanka Their hearts were open,

They want to become united, Amma meets Sri Lankan President & PM Some progress was being made with the

peace negotiations, But now with the coming of the tsunami,

There once again is so much trouble and pain Sacred River Man cannot exist

without the trees, the animals, the sky and the earth. We are an integral part of nature. Giving A poor

woman was offering them who were total strangers to her food – not just food, but love and respect too. Desharaksha Puja in Azhikkal All children should live in harmony and

peace. We should imbibe the cultural values of our ancestors

-------------- Mahayatra Itinerary of Amma Amritapuri : Now Amma is in Amritapuri Ashram. Amma's gives darshan on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. There is no darshan on Mondays,

Tuesdays and Fridays. For details of all other

programmes, please visit Mahayatra