All is His

He Who has given you what you possess in this world — wealth, distinction, youth - appeal to Him for his own sake. You cannot? Why? You will have to! Verily, man can do all things. Who can say what He will give to whom and through what? Everything is His, entirely His. What did you bring with you at birth? Were you not empty-handed? And all you have acquired — is it yours, really? All is His and whatever happens is His Will. Endeavour to maintain this attitude. Saying: ‘It is mine’ you grasp at everything— this is the way to court sorrow. Call out to Him because all is His. To yearn thus for Him is real prayer. All that the world can yield — what is its worth? Have you not discerned down the years the inevitable course of events? In His store-house, where there are riches, relations, the vigour of youth, there are also old age, death, disease and poverty. You will have to experience them all. In this world there is no room for undisturbed ease; don’t you see that there is distress at every step? Does it not dawn on you even now to whom you belong? This serious illness of yours, is anyone suffering it for you? Can anyone even share it? Why all these worries?

All is His; all is He ; to leave everything to Him must be your sole endeavour. Invoke His Name, meditate on Him; ever abide in the remembrance of Him. Not praying for anything that is of this world, strive to abandon yourself without reserve to Him. In Him no want of any kind exists, no pain, no agony — in Him is all attainment, the summit of fulfillment, rest, repose, tranquility...

It is characteristic of human life that it cannot continuously be either full of happi­ness or full of misery. Just as your good luck has not been lasting, do you imagine this evil fortune will never end? For the present try to gird yourself with patience and fortitude and wend your way with com­plete trust in God. It is the Will of the Almighty that prevails. Be intent under all circumstances to keep the thought of Him as your constant companion.

Sri Anandaymayi Ma

Remember This at All Times : Words of Sri Anandamayi Ma

 In honor of Sri Ma's Birthday ...

If anything is to be had — whatsoever, in whatever way — it must be had of Him alone. Man’s bounden duty as a human being is to seek refuge at His Feet. Days glide on; already you have let so many go by; anchored in patience endeavour to pass the few remaining.

Every moment belongs to God; Endeavour to keep your mind dedicated to His Feet. God, the Ocean -of Mercy, who ever blesses the world, pours out His grace at all times. It is incumbent on man to consider every­thing that happens to be for the best: ‘For the best’ denoting what is most helpful towards the realization of the Divine, the realization of the fullness of Bliss.

 The ceaseless,  never-ending current of divine Mercy and Compassion ever flows forth; in that current one should bathe.

Let His Name be ever with you; imper­ceptibly, relentlessly time is creeping away. At all times, endeavour to sustain the con­templation of God and the flow of His Name. By virtue of his Name all disease becomes ease.

It is desire that causes sorrow; but the will to realize God is itself felicity. Be certain that He will cleanse and comfort you and take you into His arms.

Sorrow comes in order to lead you to happiness. At all times hold him in remembrance.

The sense of want arises spontaneously —it is the Divine that awakens it.

 To lose all is to gain all. He is merciful and compassionate. Whatever He does at any moment is all-beneficent, though certainly painful at times. When He manifests Himself as all-loss, there is hope that He may also manifest Himself as all-gain. To pine for the One Who helps towards the light of Truth is salutary, for it kindles the awareness of Truth.

Verily, He is everywhere at all times.

The endeavour to awaken to his real nature is man’s duty as a human being.

Abide by your duty. To live in the home that he has created for himself is surely fitting for a householder. Do not, however, neglect the search for your real Home. Only when this is found has one truly come home.

 To remain calm and at peace under all circumstances is man’s duty. To form a bad opinion of a person just because one has heard some gossip about him is wrong. Hostility, condemnation, abusive language, ill-feeling and so forth, even if kept con­cealed within one’s mind, will and must fall back on oneself. Nobody should ever harm himself by harbouring such thoughts feelings.

No matter what work has to be done at any time, try to give your full attention to it and do it thoroughly. Under all circum­stances rely upon God. Verily, He is all-pervading and therefore can be found everywhere. With your whole being invoke the Lord of Life.

Whether it pleases you or not you will have to make the Eternal your constant compan­ion just like a remedy that has got to be taken. Without loving God you will not get anywhere. Remember this at all times.

Nectar from the Guru's Lips ...

These words of our Beloved Gurudev Swami Omananda Saraswati were recorded at the Holy Triveni Sangam in Prayag, Allahabad over the course of the month of Magh (Jan/Feb). Jai Guru Dev ...

If you want to love everyone, 

You must the love the One who is everywhere.
All is in the One and One is in the All. 

...

Everything is in maya and maya is in everything.

By observing sexual energy, you can observe subtle energy. 

By observing subtle energy, you can observe mental energy. 

By observing mental energy, you gain knowledge. 

...

If the world accepts you, but the Mother does not accept you ... it is failure. 

If the Mother accepts you, but the world does not accept ... it is success. 

If the Mother and the world both accept you ... it is ultimate success. 

...

Your mind is your own individuality,

But behind the mind shines the Supreme Self. 

...

Start early, drive slowly, reach safely. 

...

To believe or not to believe in God,

It is no problem for him.
It is only our problem.

...

There is only one problem for Almighty Mother. 

Because She is everywhere, 

She cannot throw you from Her heart. 

...

That Almighty provides if we use properly. 

Mother will provide according to quality, qualification, knowledge, and capacity. 

...

While talking about trying to find a cook for the ashram, Guruji said,

"There are many persons in the world, but we have no link with them.

But Mother has a link with everyone so She will provide accordingly."

...

If you are going to Benares, 

It is better to not reach there than to go too fast and crash and die on the way.

...

Even if you don't worship God,

As soon as you open your eyes ...

Remember God

Awake in God

Live in God

Go to sleep in God

...

If you pay homage to the earth,

You pay homage to all avatars. 

...

Your happiness is my daksina (payment). 

...

If you live a truthful life you will face difficulties,

But your life will be full of peace. 

If you live an untruthful life, 

It will be easy but you will only face misery. 

...

A blind person has never experienced light. 

Therefore, he has never experienced darkness.
How can he ever know what darkness is if he has never experienced light?

... 

Belief is relief

...

One child has only learned 'A,B,C'. 

The father gives a book on philosophy. 

The child happily reads but of course doesn't understand.
The father calls him a fool, 

But really the father is a fool because the child is working to his full capacity. 

...

We walk over so many stones to worship one stone

...

You are from America. Your mother tongue is english. 

You can read so many books and study so much literature,

But can you tell me the meaning of the letter 'D' or 'K'?

...

Don't react immediately.

Be still and calm.

Watch your mind before making a decision. 

...

Be firm in your inner stance and keep your balance.
If this is done, you can mix with everyone. 

...

Be brave and know that the Guru's Grace is always with you.

...

Always remember the Mother.

The Weaver

Says Kabir:
Lord, I weave the cloth of Thy Name
The fruitless toil
Of weaving for the world
Has come to an end;
I have attained
The dazzling state of bliss —
Free from fear, free from pain,
I am the weaver, O Lord, of Thy Name;
I weave and reap the profit
Of inner rapport with Thee.
I am the weaver of the Lord’s Name.

The Master sang in an ecstatic mood...

"O the ever-blissful Mother! The enchantress of the great Shiva!

You dance out of your own bliss and clap your hands all by yourself.

The eternal, the Self-existent, you are of the form of emptiness,

And you wear the moon your forehead.

Where did you get the garland of skulls when there was no universe?

Mother, you are the mover of all; we move as you order.

We do as you, O Mother, make us do; we say as you make us say.
You make the worthless Kamalakanta*, O Mother, utter blasphemies!

Wielding the sword, O the fatal lady, you have slaughtered both virtue and vice."

*Author of song

Yajna

"When our heart is not in a thing, we are also not in that thing. Where our heart is, there we are; and if we ourselves are not there, what is the good of doing anything? We have to be present in the deeds that we perform, we have to ‘be’ in the worship that we offer, and we have to ‘be’ in the meditation that we undertake every day. Whatever is manifesting itself from us is ensouled by us. That is, if we stand outside the performance, the performance becomes a corpse, a skeleton. It is without life because we have stood outside it. But if we have entered into it, the action itself is enlivened by our soul. We are entirely in it – then it is that the action becomes a real sacrifice. Where we are not in the work, it ceases to be a sacrifice. To the extent we are involved in the work, to that extent it is a sacrifice. If we are wholly involved in it, and we are not separable from the work that we are doing – we ourselves are the work, as it were – then it is the highest sacrifice, and it will bring us the best of benefits."  Swami Krishnananda, commentary of Gita Chapter 17

Hymn to the Long Haired Sage

FROM RIG VEDA (10:136): "The long-haired one endures fire, the long-haired one endures poison, the long-haired one endures both worlds. The long-haired one is said to gaze full on heaven, the long-haired one is said to be that light. Of us, you mortals, only our bodies do you behold. The sky clad sages have donned the yellow robe of dust: along the wind’s course they glide when the gods have penetrated them. Exulting in our seerhood, upon the winds we have ascended. Through the middle region flies the sage shinning down upon all forms; for his piety is he deemed the friend of every god. The wind’s steed, the Lord of life’s friend, is the god-intoxicated sage: beyond both oceans he dwells, the upper and the lower. For him has the Lord of life churned and pounded the unbendable, when the long-haired one, in Rudra’s company, drank from the poison cup".

Question for Parvati Baul

In a recent interview with Parvati Baul, there was one answer that touched me deeply. Perhaps it is because I'm a musician, but I think it applies to one's life in general.

Question: When you are performing are you sometimes improvising melody and music in the song? Or is it exact.

Parvati Baul: We have everything in the form. Everything is very well practiced and well trained and with lots of discipline, but when we come to sing and dance we forget everything. We don't want to remember anything and don't know anything. So that we can receive. But knowing this body has a memory that supports all this training, it will support to receive. But one has to work really hard, and the worst enemy is the mind. As long as one has a young body you can do all kinds of practice, but this mind does not grow old, so it keeps on, you know, like in the same circles.

The Universal Remedy

As Sri Anandamayi Ma's Maha Samadhi is approaching, I have been thinking a lot about Her and Her teachings. Here are a few that have recently been on my mind. All Glories to Mother...

"This body tells of one sovereign remedy for all ills: God. Trust in Him, depend on Him, accept whatever happens as His dispensation, regard what you do as His service, keep satsang, think of God with every breath, and live in His Presence. Leave all your burdens in His hands and He will see to everything; there will be no more problems."


"Listen! Do not let your time pass idly. Either keep a rosary with you and do japa; or if this does not suit you, at least go on repeating the Name of the Lord regularly and without interruption like the ticking of a clock. There are no rules or restrictions in this. Invoke Him by the Name that appeals to you most, for as much time as you can--the longer the better. Even if you get tired or lose interest, administer the Name to yourself like a medicine that has to be taken. In this way you will at some auspicious moment discover the rosary of the mind, and then you will continually hear within yourself the praises of the great Master, the Lord of Creation, like the never ceasing music of the boundless ocean; You will hear the land and the sea, the air and the heavens reverberate with the song of His glory. This is called the all--pervading Presence of His Name."

"The Self, or God is unknowable to the ordinary intelligence, but He is not unknown to us as the life--breath. If one uses the rhythm of one’s breathing as a support in meditation, this increases one’s power. Therefore, one should daily sit in a meditative pose in a solitary place and turn the mind inward, and repeat the mantra in rhythm with one’s breathing, without straining, in a natural way. When through prolonged practice, the Name becomes inextricably linked with the breath, and the body is quite still; one will come to realize that the individual is part of the One Great Life that pervades the Universe."

"I say to you that I am a little child and you are my parents. Accept me as such and give me a place in your hearts. By saying “Mother”, you keep me at a distance. Mothers have to be revered and respected. But a little girl needs to be loved and looked after, and is dear to the heart of everyone. So this is my only request to you: to make a place for me in your hearts!"

Words of Sri Anandamayi Ma

• Always bear this in mind: Everything is in God's hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as He pleases. Try to grasp the significance of 'all is His'. and you will immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own Self.

---

• To believe in Him under any particular form is not enough. Accept Him in His numberless forms, shapes and modes of being, in everything that exists. Aim at the whole and all your actions will be whole.

Bongo Man A Come...

Tonight was our last night performing with reggae legend Jimmy Cliff. Every night, he always ends with a traditional Rastafarian song from Jamaica set to the ancient rhythm of the Niyabinghi drums. It is incredibly moving and inspiring. Sharing it now with all of you...

Bongo man a come
Come Come

I'm giving you the warning
Long before the dawning
I hope you are prepared
The bongo man is here

Bongo man a come
Come Come

We are going to Zion
Going to Zion
If you follow politicians
You will never come at all
And if you follow heads religions
You will never come at all

We are going to Zion

By the rivers of Babylon
Where we sat down
And there we wept
When we remembered Zion
The wicked carry us away
Captivity require from us a song
But how can we sing King Alpha song in a strange land?

So let the words of our mouth
And the meditations of our hearts
Be acceptable in Thy sight
Overall

Prem Vani

The Love Soaked Words of Sri Neem Karoli Baba

Compiled by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati and Rampriya Das

The best service you can do 

is to keep your thoughts on God. Keep God in mind every minute.

It’s better to see God 

in everything than to try 

to figure it out.

The best form is to worship 

God in every form.

Everything is accomplished

by taking the name of Ram (God).

Constant repetition of God’s name, with or without pious feelings, 

even in anger or lethargy, brings out His grace in the form of bliss all around. On being thus enlightened, there is no room for any misgivings. 

All religions are the same. 

They all lead to God. 

God is everybody. See no difference. 

See all the same.

Ram is present in each and every particle, 

and His devotees get His darshan (vision) even now.

God will give you everything 

you need for your spiritual 

development. Hold on to nothing.

If you do not make it empty, how are you going to fill it up again?

You should not talk about your wealth, wife, or sadhana (spiritual practice)

 or they will go away.

He always takes care of His devotees. We forget. 

We can forget. We might not remember Him, but He never forgets us. 

Always remember this.

The eyes of a saint are always concentrated on the Supreme Self. 

The minute he is aware of himself,

sainthood is lost.

Attachment is the strongest 

block to realization.

This world is all attachment. 

Yet you get worried because you are attached.

If you are free of attachment,

 you will lead a simple life in a simple environment.

Lust, greed, anger, attachment 

~ these are all paths to hell.

If you want to see God, kill desires. 

Desires are in the mind. 

When you have a desire for something, 

don’t act on it and it will go away. 

You should make all your efforts without any loss of courage.

It doesn’t matter if you are married or not,

 it only matters how much you love God.

To see God, you have to have special eyes. 

Otherwise you cannot bear the shock.

When you see the entire world as the Mother, 

the ego falls away.

Worldly people go outward, but you must go inward

like the tortoise withdrawing withinyour shell.

All action is prayer. 

All trees are desire-fulfilling. 

All water is the Ganga.

All land is Varanasi. 

Love everything.

See all the same. 

You can’t realize God if you see differences. 

Learn to find the love within.

Never hurt another’s heart.

Keep God in your heart like you keep money in a safe.

Whoever works for God, 

his work will be done by itself.

Work is God. Work is worship.

Love the poor. Serve them. 

Give everything to the poor, even your clothing. 

Give it all away.

 Jesus gave away all, including his body.

Serve the poor 

and remember God. 

You become one with Christ.

Food is God. 

Feeding the hungry is actually worship. 

God comes before the hungry as food.

Money is never a problem.

 The difficulty is in the correct use of it. 

Money should be used to help others.

Give up money, 

and all wealth is yours.

If you cannot love each other, 

you cannot achieve your goal.

The whole universe is your home. 

All are your family.

Love is the strongest medicine. 

It is more powerful than electricity.

Cleanse the mirror of the heart, 

and you will see God.

Total truth is necessary. 

You must live by what you say.

Truth is the most difficult tapasya (austerity). 

Men will hate you for telling the truth. 

They will call you names. They may even kill you, but you must tell the truth. 

If you live in truth, God will always stand with you.

A pure women is better than a hundred yogis. 

Women are more open to love God. 

All women are mothers and sisters,

and all men fathers and brothers in God’s family.

See all women as mothers.

Serve them as your mother. 

Why do you take drugs? 

This intoxication comes to an end so quickly and damages the health and mind. 

This is not good. Why do you not take God intoxication? It will never end, and you can spend all your time, your whole life in it. There will be no harm or damage to anything. Also, you will get back your lost health and vigor and your mind and heart will be fully restored. This is nectar. If you take this intoxication, you will be freed from all your illness and worries.

God gives you everything pure and fresh, 

but greedy and selfish people turn it all into poison,

and then they blame God for it. 

Can you understand it?

Many things might go into one’s

sadhana (spiritual practice), 

but the essential ingredients are 

devotion, faith, and patience.

Words of Ramana Maharshi

Place your burden
at the feet of the Lord of the Universe
who accomplishes everything.
Remain all the time steadfast in the heart,
in the Transcendental Absolute.
God knows the past, present and future.
He will determine the future for you
and accomplish the work.
What is to be done will be done
at the proper time. Don’t worry.
Abide in the heart and surrender your acts
to the divine.

- Ramana Maharshi

Lord Rishabha's Golden Advice

"Seeing all beings, moving and non-moving, as My dwelling place, you must salute Me in everything at every moment. This is truly My worship.  When you feel that everything you do with your mind, speech, sight, and other senses is an offering directly to Me, you will be liberated from this great illusion, which is like the noose of the lord of death." -Lord Rishabha (From Srimad Bhagavatam)


Translation from Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati