Part 1 --- 50 Divine Thoughts By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi [ The 68th Sankaracharya ]

[Guest guest]

The medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows is to develop unshakable faith

in God and tolerance is the medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows.

Bhakti alone can give us the capacity to put up with sorrows. Temples are

the agencies for developing that Bhakti. Hence, the need for temples at all

places. All offerings to the deities in the temples are tokens of our

gratitude to God.

 

That which is within all, which is seen as " This " is the source. He who is

within and sees as " This " is God. It is the reality. It is in yourself. What

is limited is Sadhana; what is unlimited is the end.

 

He alone is an Acharya, who, after clearly understanding the conclusive

teachings of the Sastras, makes the people of the world gain their welfare

by making them stick to the path shown in the Sastras and also himself does

everything according to Sastras and remains in that experience.

 

Many acts relating to God, like building temples, digging tanks are

performed. While executing them, there would be many difficulties. There

would come also several kinds of dishonour. Not minding any of these, they

would complete their tasks with mental one-pointedness removing impurities

from their minds and letting the mind wander. By straightening their mind,

they acquire mind control and at the end, they realise the Reality that is

to be known. Digging tanks, building temples and such other acts are called

poorttam. The performance of sacrifices, etc., is known as ishtam. Combining

these two, we have the word Ishtapoortam.

In all that you do, let love be the sole motive. Any need must be with

reference to another. Let action be out of love. Passions such as desire and

hatred , anger and malice must be totally eschewed. If love becomes the

grounding principle of all deeds . then most of the ills of the world will

vanish.

 

We know many faults we commit, even if others do not know them. Sometimes we

realise we are doing so many evil things and repent bitterly and feel why we

should be born . Our duty is to pray to God - " I have committed so many

faults. Will you not, 0 God, give me the will power not do like that in

future and will you not purify my mind? " We must note down in a diary every

night before we go to bed the faults committed by us and pray to God to give

us courage and intelligence not to do so. This must be propagated widely.

 

Parameswara and Sriman Narayana are one and the same in reality. They are

not two. This is the conclusive view of all the sastras. Names differ, forms

are different, occupations vary, but the reality which is within Them is one

and the same.

What is the purpose of human birth? To earn, to eat, to undergo misery

everyday and finally to die? Instead of earning and suffering, can we not

die now? The purpose of birth is to avoid re-birth. Except man, all animals

grow horizontally. Only man grows vertically. Instead of growing

horizontally, it is God's will that he should grow vertically in order to

look up. God has given to animals devices for self-protection; to man alone

He has given intelligence. By doing nothing, we avoid re-birth; By giving up

attachment, we avoid sins.

 

When any object is consumed by fire, it becomes charred. If that black

residue is burnt again, it becomes white ash. White ash continues to remain

white even when burnt again. This shows that white is the ultimate and black

is proximate to it. Science tells us that diamond and coal are basically

one. White and black are not colours. The primary colours get separated from

the objects to which they are attached when subjected to the test of fire

and ultimately white. Similarly, in the mental and spiritual place, the

Ultimate Reality is Siva, who is white and proximate to Him is Parvati, who

is dark. When we test everything in the fire of Jnana, or true knowledge,

the residue is Siva. Ash in the material plane corresponds to Siva in the

spiritual plane. We smear our bodies with the sacred ash to remind ourselves

of Siva and the fact that the ultimate goal of life is Siva.

 

Much is said about the personal God and the impersonal absolute God with

attributes and without attributes. It is only when all the colours in the

light mix together that we get the colourless rays of the sun. Similarly by

the very virtue of being the abode of attributes, God becomes Nirguna,

attribute-less.

 

By education we realise Truth. There are many truths, History is one truth.

Geography is one truth, Mathematics is one truth. The content of truth is

the greatest in Mathematics. In others, there is an element of imagination.

In Geography, we come across names Asia, Africa, Madras, Calcutta, etc.

These names were given by us. By imagination, we have given names " plateau "

" valley " , etc. By a process of gradual elimination of all that is imaginary,

when we arrive at truth, that Truth is found to be God. To think of Him with

real devotion is the fruit of education.

 

What is the use of education? Its first use is to develop humility (vinaya).

In olden days, the disciple who went to a guru was called " vineyan " meaning

a person of humility which is the hall-mark of Instruction he had from his

guru, the fruit of education. Education without humility is no education.

Education is the same today as it was before, but methods have changed. The

medicine is the same but if the diet is changed, the medicine becomes

poison. Education has today become merely the means of livelihood. For true

education, the student should go to a guru and follow the guru-kula system.

 

Right education should make us know that God is the Truth. Knowledge must

fill one with good qualities, through which one can realise the Truth, that

is God. Therefore, the goal of knowledge is the understanding of the

Ultimate Truth. The first fruit of education must be humility and self

control.

 

The total surrender to the Lord is a means of learning our insignificance

and the transcendent grace of the Lord.

 

If we engage an inquiry into the Atman, at the end of it, it will be clear

that God is in us as our very self. When that stage is reached, we have no

use for the devas. Then all karmas will fall away from us. But, until then,

we must obligatorily do the karmas directing them to the Gods.

 

Those who are the leaders of a group, society, or state should not neglect

the established religious customs and usages. For themselves the may mot be

in need of Church ceremonies, for instance, their advance in spirituality

may not require them. But if they begin to neglect them, the people for whom

the rituals are really helpful, will also start neglecting them. This would

be setting a bad example. In the words of the Bhagavad Gita, the wise one

should not unsettle the minds of those who are ignorant, and are attached to

action: on the contrary, he should encourage them to perform what they

should perform, by himself doing the appropriate actions well and with

diligence. It is duty cast upon the leaders and those that are at the top to

lead the people from where they are, and not to refrain from participation

in the traditional ways of worship.

 

Of all scriptures, the Gita has acquired a specialty of its own. Like this,

there are many other books of wisdom. In the Mahabharata, there are many

chapters teaching wisdom. Besides, in the Sivapurana, Vishnupurana,

Skandham, etc., there is Jnanopadesa.

 

So also in agamas. But what is the special importance of Gita due to? Not

only in our country but in countries like Java, people follow the Gita. My

inference is that because it was born in an atmosphere utterly free from

attachment - attachment to life, attachment to body, attachment to kith and

kin, but out of attachment only to Reality, it has become so famous.

 

On deep consideration, ahimsa appears to be good as an ideal or for

preaching. But practically speaking, it is difficult to follow fully. First

of all, we must love others. But if we love anyone too much, the end is

sorrow. Therefore we should love God who always gives happiness and not

sorrow. I ask myself if we love God, should we not love anyone else in this

world? So long as there is false knowledge which distinguishes God from the

rest of the world, there will be differences. If we attain Jnana that God is

all, we will develop the same love for all that we have for God; This is the

sign of Ahimsa.

 

For the sake of food, clothing and shelter, everyone is toiling and

sorrow-stricken. If sorrow is to be banished and if we are to be ever happy,

we must dedicate all our actions to God. If we get His grace, then we need

not do anything and can be happy. God is a good master. By praising Him

always, we cannot please Him. He is indifferent to our praise or dispraise,

action or inaction. But all our actions are ordained by Him and are meant

only to purify our minds.

 

Why so many Gods? Is it not enough to have only one? Other religions speak

of one God only and not many. We are assailed by such doubts. We eat to

satisfy hunger, the stomach becomes full, there is no trouble or hunger.

Then why can't we take cooked rice alone? Why should we eat so many side

dishes? So, if we eat, it is just not to fill the stomach, but we want food

tasty to the palate and pleasing to the eyes. Whoever is attracted to a

particular God he worships that.

 

Source: http://www.kamakoti.org/miscl/divine50.html

 

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