YOUR DUTY ON EARTH
ATTACHMENT AND REBIRTH
Mr and Mrs W. K. visited the Ashram. They had brought with them a small dog which looked very much like a deer. Mrs W. was greatly attached to the dog. She had purchased it some eight years back and always carried it in a bag wherever she went. The dog, though eight years old, was no more than a pup in size; it had been dwarfed by tradesmen in Germany who deal in such dogs.
The Master was surprised when the lady took the dog out of her bag.
“I thought you were taking a doll out of your bag but it is a living dog! How is it that it lives inside the closed bag? Doesn’t it require air?”
“The air inside the bag is sufficient,” replied the lady. “What food does it eat?” enquired the Master. “Rice?” “She doesn’t eat rice. She eats only meat.” “Suppose you do not get meat.”
“She can fast for two or three days,” replied the lady.
Later, after the two visitors had departed, the Master remarked, “It will be like the case of Jada Bharata. In the next birth she will be born as a dog!”
The story of Jada Bharata is well known. He had to take birth as a deer in consequence of his remembrance of a deer at the time of death. He had brought up a motherless deer and had become greatly attached to it, so much so that the thought of the deer came uppermost in his mind at the time of his death. Hence he had to take the birth of a deer in his next birth!
CONFUSION CAUSED BY TEACHERS
Claude Petitpierre of Switzerland visited the Ashram. During his conversation with the Master he expressed a doubt as to whether after the death of one’s preceptor one can resort to another teacher.
“Where is the necessity?” asked the Master. “The Guru had given you instructions. He will inspire you from his new abode.”
After a few moments the Master added, “There is no harm in taking instructions from another, because all teachers are one; but some teachers try to disturb one’s faith. Some say that Bhakti is useless; others assert that Vedanta is useless. One should take only such instructions as are conducive to one’s chosen path.”
ADVICE TO A MUSLIM
Another visitor revealed that he was a Muslim.
“Allah Ho Akbar!” greeted the Master, and also quoted some other verses from the Koran.
“I have given ninety Names of Allah in a book,” said the Master, and presented the particular book to him.
“Should I spend the whole time in practising meditation?” enquired the Muslim seeker.
“No,” replied the Master, “have three sittings—in the morning. in the afternoon and at night—from half an hour to one hour each. At other times also you should remember the Lord and do selfless service. Do Japa slowly with feeling.”
EXPANDING THE HEART
At the evening Satsanga the Master took out some fruits from a bag to distribute to his disciples. They had been presented to him by someone. For the first two or three times, when he took his hand out of the bag with fruit in it, he found apples every time. But in his subsequent attempts, until the quantity in the bag was exhausted, he was able to get only the cheap variety of fruit, though big in size. The Master then remarked, “you should always give the best things to others, then only will your heart expand. But some people want to keep the best for their personal use and give the worst to others.”
REMEMBER IN ORDER TO FORGET
To Swami X. the Master said, “You should not think of your daughters and sons. You should forget them. But how to forget? In order to forget a thing you should remember something else. Remember God, then you will be able to forget worldly things.”
SAMADHI DIFFICULT OF ATTAINMENT
“Believe not the man who says that he will give you Samadhi within six months or will grant you Krishna Darshan within a week. He must be either a cheat or a deluded soul, having no idea of what Samadhi and Krishna Darshan mean. These great experiences are not easy of attainment,” remarked the Master after he came into the office.
“The Lord’s Darshan and Samadhi cannot be had without adequate effort with a purified mind and the guidance of a competent Guru. Purification and perfection take a long time. ‘Perfected through many births, one attains the highest goal.’ Therefore, beware! Do not be duped by charlatans. Do regular and systematic Sadhana and deep meditation. Be patient if there is a delay in the descent of Divine Grace. When all the impurities of the mind have been removed and it has been steadied, then and then alone will one be blessed with the supreme experience of Samadhi. Then alone will you enjoy supreme peace.
“Nowadays many aspirants wish to see some miracles performed before they can believe in spiritual matters. They have developed a craze for miracles.
“Swami Vivekananda had to struggle very hard for seven more years to attain perfection even after his vision of Mother Kali during his days with Sri Ramakrishna.”
TRUE SHAVING!
When he heard the word ‘shaving’ uttered by someone, the Master said, “The barber shaves the hair. The thief or robber shaves one’s possessions. The Guru shaves the desires of his disciples. Brahman shaves the entire universe itself at the time of cosmic dissolution. Brahman is the greatest barber!”
All laughed on hearing the Master’s remarks!
GIVING UP THE LIQUOR HABIT
“Do you know how people addicted to drinking liquor can give up that habit?” the Master questioned Swami Satchidananda.
He himself furnished the answer: “By chewing some black pepper whenever the craving for liquor arises.”
SERVANT, A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
Sri Santanam of Delhi visited the Ashram, accompanied by his servant, son and some members of his family. They did ceremonial worship of the Master’s feet at his cottage, after which, as is the custom, they were being photographed.
The servant did not join the group for the photo and was standing aloof. Turning to Sri Santanam, the Master asked, “Why has that boy not joined us? He also belongs to your family,” and called the boy to pose for the photograph. The boy also sat beside Sri Santanam and the photo was taken of the entire party.
ALL IS DIVINE
A German stayed at the Ashram for some days. One day he questioned the Master as to whether one should go into solitude for the purpose of meditation and spiritual progress.
The Master replied to him, “Solitude is in the heart. Look here, what solitude have I got? There is no solitude here. Everything is divine; whatever you do is divine.”
FOOLISH DISPASSION
After the evening Satsang, the Master was leaving the Satsanga hall when he noticed Swami Gurusaranananda, who delivered discourses on the Bhagavata. He was very lean in constitution.
The Master remarked, “You are a Bhagavat. The scriptures say that one should live a hundred years in this world, doing good work. But you are so lean. Why don’t you take Chyavanaprash? Will you take it?”
“No, Swamiji,” replied Gurusaranananda.
“Do not be a Moorkhananda (foolish monk); take milk and Chyavanaprash. While Gandhiji was in England he took goat’s milk. This body is Annamaya Kosha. It needs nourishing food.”
The Master had advised Gurusaranananda on several previous occasions to take milk and Chyavanaprash, but the Swami had refused to do so. Such was the Master’s solicitude for his disciples!
THE MASTER’S EXALTED ATTITUDE
Sri Gupta, who had been staying at the Ashram for some days, presented to the Master, among other things, a purse to be given to a disciple, Gurupremananda. This disciple, however, did not need the purse and so it ultimately found its way to Saradananda of the photographic department.
Sri Gupta later came to know that the purse had been handed to Saradananda instead of Gurupremananda. He therefore went to the Master and asked, “Whom do you like more, Swamiji—Saradananda or Gurupremananda?’
The Master kept silent without answering.
Sri Gupta repeated the question.
“Why do you ask? Queried the Master.
But Sri Gupta declined to answer him and said, “First answer my query.”
The Master coolly replied, “To me there is no world,” and remained silent.
Now Sri Gupta was compelled to reveal the reason for his question and said, “I gave the purse to Swamiji for presentation to Gurupremananda, but Swamiji presented it to Saradananda. That is why I ask.”
“Gurupremananda did not want it,” replied the Master. The conversation ended there.
GURU NOT TO BE RENOUNCED
The Master was giving prasad to various people and also offered it to Swami Nityanandaji. The latter had taken a vow not to accept Prasad or any eatable from anybody. The Master knew of this already, for on a previous occasion also Nityanandaji had declined to accept Prasad from the Master.
This time the compassionate Master wanted to guide his erring disciple and said, “You do not take Prasad because of your dispassion. People two thousand miles away come here for this Prasad but you do not want it. You can renounce everything but the Guru should never be renounced.”
At once Nityanandaji apologised for his mistake and accepted the Prasad, saying that he will not refuse it in future.
ANOTHER ATTEMPT
At the conclusion of the night Satsanga, the Master saw Gurusaranananda present. His body was very thin. The Master had already requested him on several occasions to take adequate fruit, milk and tonics to improve his health, but Gurusaranananda had been consistently refusing to take them.
The Master attempted again to change this attitude which was detrimental to his health.
“Do you take fruit?” enquired the Master.
“No,” replied Gurusaranananda.
“Then don’t take food also,” he commented. “Now you are a fully liberated sage. You can experience Videhamukti (disembodied liberation) also by foregoing food. Better still, go and jump into the Ganga. You can have Videhamukti in five minutes!”
“He is not taking fruit because he says he has not done service of the Guru,” said Swami Satchidananda.
“He is doing service,” said the Master and, turning to Gurusaranananda, said, “Go and clean the latrines and roads.”
The Master then advised him again to take two tins of Chyavanaprash a week, and also to use badam oil for his body.
Gurusaranananda uttered in a low voice, “Swamiji’s blessings are my tonic.”
Coming out of the Satsanga hall, the Master enquired, “Who amongst you wishes to have Videhamukti in five minutes? He can go and throw himself into the Ganga!”
The audience enjoyed the Master’s joke.
Later the Master said, “People have various foolish ideas about dispassion.”
ON ATTACHMENT
After attending a function at the post office the Master was returning to his cottage. On the way he met a woman with a bandage around her hand.
“What happened?” the Master enquired of her.
“My hand got burnt,” she replied sorrowfully.
The Master then observed, “Some people get their hands burnt, some lose their sons, others their health, yet attachment to the body does not leave them. They cling to the body.”
SUBTLE ATTACHMENT
The Master was returning to his cottage after work in the office. On the way he met Swami Suddhananda, who was approaching with a Sannyasin’s begging bowl in his hands.
“You take food only in this bowl?” the Master enquired. “Yes, Swamiji.”
“It is very good,” remarked the Master, and then added, “sometimes you can take food in a plate also!”
DETACH-ATTACH
Swami Kalyanananda asked the Master, “Swamiji, you have written over two hundred books. Instructions are so many that I am confused as to which to follow. Will you kindly enlighten me?”
The Master said, “Detach-attach.”
“Anything more, Swamiji?”
“Nothing more. Detach-attach. It contains every other instruction. The two hundred books written by me are but commentaries on this single advice. Detach the mind from all objects. Detach it from every outgoing tendency, from objective consciousness, from the notion of duality. The process of detaching thus is the Sadhana as well as the goal.
“Detach. This single word itself sums up the essence of all scriptures and Sadhanas. It is self-sufficient, being self-contained. Yet the word ‘attach’ is added only in order to supplement it and to explain as well as simplify the process of detaching.
“Attach the mind to the Lord. Attach it to the Self. Attach it to the subjective non-dual Consciousness. In the process of attaching the mind in this manner, the process of detaching, as explained before, inheres; and the process of detaching the mind from its objective tendencies is not possible without attaching it to the Divine Consciousness, since mind or energy cannot be extinguished. Detaching and attaching are like the two sides of the same coin.
“Detach-attach. Though it looks simple, it is the essence of all Sadhanas. Concentration, meditation, etc., are but different phases of the one single process of detach-attach Sadhana. Kirtan, Pranayama and other Sadhanas are but different outer forms of the single inner Sadhana of detach-attach.
Of what use is it to learn all the scriptures? This one injunction is sufficient to give you liberation. It is a wisdom-tablet of the highest potency, by taking which alone can one free oneself from the disease of worldly life. There is no higher Sadhana than this, nor any Sadhana devoid of it. It is the cream or kernel of all Sadhanas and teachings. Practise this and attain immortality.”
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