Pearls of Wise

01/01/2018 Chapter-4. ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS-27-20-2. 20. A devotee's dream -2. At dawn some of the devotees were up.  They saw the Master, naked as a child, pacing up and down the room, repeating the names of the various gods and goddesses.  His voice was sweet as nectar.  Now he would look at the Ganges, now stop in front of the pictures hanging on the wall and bow down before them, chanting all the while the holy names in his sweet voice.  He chanted: "Veda, Purana, Tantra; Gita, Gayatri; Bhagavata, Bhakta, Bhagavan." Referring to the Gita, he repeated many times, "Tagi, tagi, tagi." Now and then he would say: "O Mother, Thou art verily Brahman, and Thou art verily Sakti.  Thou art Purusha and Thou art Prakriti.  Thou art Virat.  Thou art the Absolute, and Thou dost manifest Thyself as the Relative.  Thou art verily the twenty-four cosmic principles." In the mean time the morning service had begun in the temples of Kali and Radhak...

01/01/2018 1. May all beings in this world attain happiness. May all beings in this world attain peace. May all beings in this world attain plenitude and fullness. May all beings in this world attain all auspiciousness and blessedness. May happiness be unto all. May freedom from disease be unto all. May all behold that which is good and beautiful. May not sorrow fall to the lot of any being. From passing unrealities, lead us into the Supreme Eternal Reality. From the darkness of spiritual ignorance, lead us into the light of Supreme Divine Wisdom. From death and mortality of earth consciousness, lead us into immortality and everlasting Life in the Spirit. Peace. Peace. Peace unto all beings. Homage and worshipful adorations to the supreme transcendental Cosmic Being, the Universal Spirit, the great Eternal Reality that is the source and origin of all existence; that is the unseen invisible support of all that is this universe and countless unseen universes, the unseen suppor...

01/01/2018 2. The Isavasya Upanishad says that the whole Universe is pervaded by Isvara or God, who is both within and without it. He is the moving and the unmoving, He is far and near, He is within all these and without all these. The Kena Upanishad says that the Supreme Reality is beyond the perception of the senses and the mind because the senses and the mind can visualise and conceive only the objects, while Reality is the Supreme Subject, the very precondition of all sensation, thinking, understanding, etc. No one can behold God because He is the beholder of all things. The Kathopanishad has it that God is the Root of this Tree of world existence. The realisation of God is regarded as the Supreme blessedness or Shreyas, as apart from Preyas or temporal experience of satisfaction. The Prasna Upanishad says that God is the Supreme Prajapati or Creator, in whom are blended both the matter and energy of the Universe. God is symbolised in Pranava, or Omkara. The Mundaka ...

01/01/2017 8.Domestic Ethics :- 2.2 (2) To Husbands And Wives-2. The wife must be ever ready to receive a volley of abuses when the dishes are not prepared to the fastidious taste of her husband. These are only minor, unimportant causes for daily quarrels. The major causes are too numerous to be mentioned here. You already know them in full and in detail also. But still, if you ask a householder, “Which is better; a householder’s life or a life of a Brahmachari?” surely he will say “Householder’s life is thousand times better than the life of a celibate”. He will vehemently fight with all his clumsy arguments to support his view. Do remember the story of the king who took birth as a pig and was rejoicing with his piglings. His case is similar to this king. People have neither discrimination, dispassion nor subtle sharp intellect. Hence they are not able to know things in their true light. Their intellects are clouded, perverted, turbid, intoxicated and veiled by passion, ...

01/01/2018 2. Misery begins with the birth of the child. Weak and helpless, he enters the world. The first sign of life is weeping. Now, how could we be the cause of misery when we find it at the very beginning? We have caused it in the past. [Here Swami Viveka nanda entered into a fairly long discussion of "the very interesting theory called Reincarnation". He continued:] To understand reincarnation, we have first to know that in this universe something can never be produced out of nothing. If there is such a thing as a human soul, it cannot be produced out of nothing. If something can be produced out of nothing, then something would disappear into nothing also. If we are produced out of nothing, then we will also go back into nothing. That which has a beginning must have an end. Therefore, as souls we could not have had any beginning. We have been existing all the time. Then again, if we did not exist previously, there is no explanation of our present existence....

01/01/2018 Each of the 4 primary soul-types of human development relies on a specific set of capacities and form of development. In the past there has been a considerable emphasis on creating a “division of labor” based on these differing personalities. It is however a truth of our existence that each person contains within himself aspects of each of the four, and it is through the unification and harmonious balancing of the expression of them that humanity can progress to a new stage of evolution. Sri Aurobindo observes: “None of these four type of personality can be complete even in its own field if it does not bring into it something of the other qualities.” Knowledge pursued without the courage and will, without a harmonising impulse and receptive mutuality and without a spirit of generosity and service is either dry and stunted, or narrow and fanatic. Similarly the man who exercises power and the force of will needs to illuminate his actions with knowledge and use this f...

01/01/2018 1. The most difficult thing to do is to live in peace and harmony with people. It is, perhaps, easier to live with birds and animals. Why is living with people a problem? We know that fire is hot and we accept that fact. If we are burnt by touching fire, we do not blame it. If a whole house is burnt down, we may condemn other factors or blame our negligence, but would accept fire as it is. Its place is undeniable and it is not rejected. Similarly, we accept the coolness of ice, the beauty of flowers, fruits, trees and plants. Again, if we are admiring a beautiful, full moon and someone else comes and starts appreciating it, we don’t say, “Why are you looking at my moon? You have no right to see it!” There is no sense of ownership, no possessiveness; there is acceptance without any projection of likes and dislikes. The Bhagavad Gita says that a wise person moves everywhere with love and affection Like the wind blowing freely, he does not get attached to anythin...

01/01/2018 10. What dragged Parikshit into such a misery? Even as a great man with noble virtues, he could not control his anger and impatience when Sage Shamika did not acknowledge his visit. His ego was hurt and he wanted to return the insult by dropping a dead snake around the Sage’s neck. Little do we know the outcome of our spontaneous words and actions when we are agitated. So, we must wait a few moments before jumping into hasty decisions that can turn harmful later. In the case of Parikshit, the inevitable destiny played it’s role. Death is like a snake which comes creeping towards us day by day. But for Parikshit, it was certain in just seven days. As a wise man, he could understand this in its true sense and decided to divert his attention from worldly things. We should also learn from King Parikshit how to face destiny with courage and wisdom. When the whole world is helpless to support us, we realize that the only solace is at the Lotus Feet of the Lord. W...

24/12/2017 9. This chapter gives us important messages regarding true devotion :- True devotion or Bhakti will surely give you knowledge regarding the Self, and the way to renunciation. Renunciation is not to be understood as running away from the world or your duties. It is the capacity to develop equanimity or balance of mind in all situations, whether good or bad. It is the ability to accept everything as the Lord’s Prasadam (gift) wholeheartedly. In this story, Bhakti is always seen with her sons Jnanam and Vairagyam. This means that Jnanam (Knowledge or observation) and Vairagyam (Renunciation or dispassionate engagement), come along with true Bhakti (Devotion). Devotion means diversion of one’s mind to the inner Chaithanyam. Jnanam and Vairagyam have no existence without Bhakti. When one has true Bhakti, it is easy to get knowledge regarding one’s own duties and responsibilites. This is the sincere service to the Lord. A mind that is constantly focussed on the Lord (o...

24/12/2017 Chapter-4. ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS-27-20 20. A devotee's dream -1. When the song was over, the Master walked up and down the northeast verandah, where Hazra was seated with M. The Master sat down there.  He asked a devotee, "Do you ever have dreams?" DEVOTEE: "Yes, sir.  The other day I dreamt a strange dream.  I saw the whole world enveloped in water.  There was water on all sides.  A few boats were visible, but suddenly huge waves appeared and sank them.  I was about to board a ship with a few others, when we saw a brahmin walking over that expanse of water.  I asked him, 'How can you walk over the deep?' The brahmin said with a smile: 'Oh, there is no difficulty about that.  There is a bridge under the water.' I said to him, 'Where are you going?' 'To Bhawanipur, the city of the Divine Mother', he replied.  'Wait a little', I cried.  'I shall accompany you.' " MASTER: "Oh.  I am thril...

24/12/2017 1. [A Jnana-Yoga class delivered in New York, Wednesday, December 11, 1895, and recorded by Swami Kripananda] The word Jnana means knowledge. It is derived from the root Jna — to know — the same word from which your English word to know is derived. Jnana-Yoga is Yoga by means of knowledge. What is the object of the Jnana-Yoga? Freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from our imperfections, freedom from the misery of life. Why are we miserable? We are miserable because we are bound. What is the bondage? The bondage is of nature. Who is it that binds us? We, ourselves. The whole universe is bound by the law of causation. There cannot be anything, any fact — either in the internal or in the external world — that is uncaused; and every cause must produce an effect. Now this bondage in which we are is a fact. It need not be proved that we are in bondage. For instance: I would be very glad to get out of this room through this wall, but I cannot; I would be very glad if I n...

24/12/2017 8. And this witnessing factor is the Spirit, the breath of God. Herein lies our solution. Identify with this third factor, this important factor, this witnessing spiritual factor. Refuse to be drawn into a state of identification with not only the body, refuse to be drawn into a state of identification with even the mind, with even the intellect, with even the psyche. 9. "I am higher than the mind, I am higher than the intellect. I can help the intellect to free itself from the mind, if need be." In this way, we must understand our interior, the life and the power of this higher third factor, which is beyond even the psyche and which is superior to the mind as well as to the intellect. Therein lies the possibility of uplifting ourselves to a state even higher than this unseen inner dimension of our being. Therein lies the key and the solution to be master of the entire situation—which is your rightful role in this entire set-up of the human personality. ...

24/12/2017 There remains considerable confusion and ambivalence with regard to the role of work and service in spiritual development. Throughout the world, those who live a life of labour and service have been considered to be “lower” than those who practice other Dharmas in carrying out their existence. In the West, this has led to slavery or various forms of servitude, whether physically enforced or economically enforced on people. In India, this has developed into the Sudra caste of society. At the same time, any realistic observation of the nature of life shows that work and service are both essential and carry out, in their ultimate sense, spiritual principles that need to be part of any integral realisation. Partially due to the undeveloped nature of people who fit this general soul-type, and the lack of opportunities and educational support to assist them in developing their inherent soul-powers in a positive manner, we find that many simply work in order to survive, and...

24/12/2017 1. The earliest statement of the Nature of Reality occurs in the first book of the Rig-Veda: Ekam Sat-Viprah Bahudha Vadanti. "The ONE BEING, the wise diversely speak of." The tenth book of the Rig-Veda regards the highest conception of God both as the Impersonal and the Personal: The Nasadiya Sukta states that the Supreme Being is both the Unmanifest and the Manifest, Existence as well as Non-existence, the Supreme Indeterminable. The Purusha-Sukta proclaims that all this Universe is God as the Supreme Person – the Purusha with thousands of heads, thousands of eyes, thousands of limbs in His Cosmic Body. He envelops the whole cosmos and transcends it to infinity. The Narayana-Sukta exclaims that whatever is anywhere, visible or invisible, all this is pervaded by Narayana within and without. The Hiranyagarbha-Sukta of the Rig-Veda declares that God manifested Himself in the beginning as the Creator of the Universe, encompassing all things, including...

24/12/2017 8.Domestic Ethics :- 2.1 (2) To Husbands And Wives-1. Quarrels arise daily in the house between the husband and the wife on account of misunderstanding and difference of opinion. The wife thinks that the husband should obey and please her in all respects. The husband thinks that the wife should obey and please him in all respects. Is this possible? No. And so they quarrel every hour. It may not come into regular fisticuffs and blows at all times, but they will not speak for some hours in the day. Sometimes there will be boxing and caning also if the husband is short-tempered and lacks self-control. At other times the husband breaks the vessels when he loses his temper. If the wife is like Xanthippe (wife of Socrates) or Jijibai (wife of Tukaram), the table will be turned. There will be thunder and rain on the husband’s head. Sometimes the wife, when she becomes angry, refuses to cook the food and lies down in the bed drawing a blanket over her body and head...

24/12/2017 7. On the other hand, our religious festivals have a very different effect. They not only give us occasions for merrymaking, but they also give us a noble, divine vision and inspire us to raise our minds to the heights of that great goal. Rather than merely exhausting us physically and mentally, they purify the mind and prepare us to face life with more enthusiasm, to live life more happily and fully. If we observe these festivals closely, we will see that they not only point out the ultimate goal of life, but also give us guidelines to reach that goal. In short, our religious festivals serve the purpose of all other entertainment and at the same time give us much more. 8. Once, a kid came to one of Pujya Gurudev's satsangs, crestfallen and sad looking. "Hey", said Pujya Gurudev, "What is the matter?" "Why this long face?" The kid didn’t say anything. His mother spoke up. "Swamiji, their school is having its Sports Day. Yester...

17/12/2017 3. Recognizing this need for change and entertainment, the Hindu religion provides special occasions, festivals of a religious nature, called utsavs. No religion will last very long if it does not understand the common needs and desires of people, insisting only on strict discipline at all times, Other than fasting there must also be feasting, singing, dancing, and joyous celebrations. 4. One may ask that if the purpose of these festivals is to remove our mental and physical exhausion, then why are our vacations and weekends not sufficient ? Why do we need religious festivals that involve pujas? The answer is clear : Though these various amusements relax the mind and revive us for a while, they themselves become monotonous rituals after some time, leaving us with a peculiar feeling of incompleteness. 5. Although the purpose of vacations is to help us feel rested, to gain more enthusiasm, cheerfulness and energy for our regular work, we generally find that the op...

17/12/2017 8.Domestic Ethics :- (1) Yoga At Home :-2. It is the duty of the husband to train his wife also in the religious line. She must do some Japa, and Kirtan. She must study religious books such as Ramayana, Bhagavata and Mahabharata. She must take recourse to occasional fasting. He must take her to places of pilgrimage and attend discourses and Kathas conducted by Mahatmas. The wife must help the husband in his religious and Yogic practices. Then only the house will be a blessed place. Some have taken Sannyasa on account of the bad behaviour of their wives and their hindrance to Yogic practices at home. If they allowed their husbands to continue their practices and helped them, they would have remained in the Grihastha Ashram. It is the duty of intelligent girls to co-operate with their husbands in leading a religious life at home. Then only can both lead a life of peace and happiness at home. The scriptures declare, “Without religion a house is a burial ground thoug...

17/12/2017 4. We are defeatists, poor nothings trying to practise Yoga, for an end which also appears to be nothing. These difficulties will have to be faced one day or the other. In facing them, many have failed, have had a fall. With such a thud they had to break their heads. They would have been better without Yoga than with it. This is a sorry state of affairs. If it has come about in the lives of some, it can come about in the lives of others also. So, it is necessary once again to bring back to our own memory the necessity to go slowly, and see that we are really convinced in our hearts that what we are doing is hundred per cent correct, and that we are on the right path. "Absolutely I have no doubt in my mind, and my practice is the one that I am expected to perform. I am treading the correct way, and the fact that I do not see any light in the horizon, the fact that I have no experience whatsoever even after years of practice, is not going to deter me from contin...

17/12/2017 1. The heights of knowledge, and the force of will in effective action are not themselves the complete powers of manifestation in the Divine creation. There must also be a power that can balance, harmonize and create an effective flow of energy to support the entire manifestation. Those who embody this representation of the soul-force tend to be practical and able to interface within the social framework effectively. They do not devise the higher principles of action, but work to implement them. They do not exercise the mastery of will of the man of power, but they work to create balance and mutuality. They represent a somewhat balanced blending of the three Gunas of Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas and characteristics of each can be found in their action. They can be cunning in their intelligence, and yet, it is limited by the framework of their field of action. They can be grasping and greedy, while at the same time charitable and supportive of other needs to maintain an over...

17/12/2017 5. However, let us suppose that due to its carelessness and not being alert and vigilant, the intellect has somehow played into the hands of the mind. Let us suppose that unfortunately we have failed to recognise that this correct condition of the interior is an indispensable necessity, that it is very important and has to be acquired, retained and maintained. In that situation, is there some solution, some way out? 6. Emphatically, yes! There is a way out. For, fortunately for us, we have a factor higher and superior to both the mind and the intellect that make up our psyche. And that third factor, which is superior even to the intellect, is a silent witness to both mind and intellect. 7. It is a witnessing factor that stands apart. And because of its unique position as something apart, unlike the intellect it can retain its integrity, be itself and, therefore, be in a position to govern and guide not only the intellect, but even the mind. If its powers are dev...

17/12/2017 24. 1. If you want to be a Yogi, you must be free, and place yourself in circumstances where you are alone and free from all anxiety. He who desires a comfortable and nice life and at the same time wants to realise the Self is like the fool who, wanting to cross the river, caught hold of a crocodile, mistaking it for a log of wood (Vivekachudâmani, 84.). "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and everything shall be added unto you." This is the one great duty, this is renunciation. Live for an ideal, and leave no place in the mind for anything else. Let us put forth all our energies to acquire that, which never fails — our spiritual perfection. If we have true yearning for realisation, we must struggle, and through struggle growth will come. We shall make mistakes, but they may be angels unawares. 2. The greatest help to spiritual life is meditation (Dhyâna). In meditation we divest ourselves of all material conditions and feel our divine nature. We...

17/12/2017 Chapter-4. ADVICE TO HOUSEHOLDERS-27-19 After supper the devotees rested on the mat spread on the floor of the Master's room.  They began to talk with him.  It was indeed a mart of joy.  The Master asked Narendra to sing the song beginning with the line: "In Wisdom's firmament the moon of Love is rising full." Narendra sang, and other devotees played the drums and cymbals: In Wisdom's firmament the moon of Love is rising full, And Love's flood-tide, in surging waves, is flowing everywhere. O Lord, how full of bliss Thou art! Victory unto Thee! On every side shine devotees, like stars around the moon; Their Friend, the Lord All-merciful, joyously plays with them. Behold! the gates of paradise today are open wide. The soft spring wind of the New Day raises fresh waves of joy; Gently it carries to the earth the fragrance of God's Love, Till all the yogis, drunk with bliss, are lost in ecstasy. Upon the sea of the world unfold...

17/12/2017 8. Bhakti’s Questions to Narada and His Answers :- Bhakti wanted Narada to explain to her why King Parikshit did not destroy the sinful Kali  (the evil traits in human mind)? Kali was responsible for pushing people to indulge in sinful activities. She asked Narada why King Parikshit neglected Kali instead of destroying him. She wondered why even the most merciful sages were tolerating this unrighteous Kali. Narada started explaining to Bhakti to clear all her doubts and concerns. He said that from the day Lord Krishna, who is the Self and Father of every mind discarded his physical body when he was 125 years old, Kali or selfishness (selfish minded people) set foot again on this Earth. He started destroying good people to achieve his selfish motives. When King Parikshit was traveling all over the Earth, to see the life of his people, he could see the presence of Kali. The King became aware of the evil nature of Kali and was about to kill him. Then Kali put on...

11/12/2017 7. Narada Explains Why Bhakti and Her Sons Are Weak :- This Earth was accumulating all kinds of evil by spoiling Mother Nature with all poisons. There was no ethics or values in family life, or equal freedom to all. People were confined with body consciousness and was in search of physical or sensual pleasure alone. On one side men used women as their source of pleasure and on the other side women disrespected and disregarded men. Mutual respect and love were lost. In this situation our great culture alone would provide the real solution for a harmonious life. Our people lost in materialistic life had forgotten the ancient culture and wisdom. They were too busy indulging in a materialistic world, that they had no time for understanding this wisdom. Since nobody was caring for real Bhakti, she had become old and feeble. She had regained her youth because of the greatness of some good people. Bhakti’s two sons were still old and weak because the good people wer...