Spiritual Talks

Swami Vishuddhananda

These teachings were recorded by Pravrajika Vishnuprana of Sri Sarada Math, and had appeared originally in the October 1999 issue of the Bengali journal Nibodhata from where they have been translated and edited. Courtesy Nibodhata.

Q.: Maharaj, how should I meditate on Vishwanatha?

Maharaj: You tell me, how would you like to do it? You may think in the following manner: "You are the guardian (Natha) of the universe, and I am an orphan (anatha). I am infinitely insignificant before you; bless me, O Lord." With these words try to realise that you have been drawn very close to Him and are sitting very near Him. Try to meditate in this way.

Q.: But what form should I contemplate upon?

Maharaj: You mean the face? What else can you think of but the Lord of the universe, or the symbol of Shiva (Shivalingam), just as the sacred stone (Shalagram Shila) is considered the symbol of Lord Vishnu? Besides, you can meditate on Him as your Ishtadevata, or in any other form that suits you most. You may even identify your Ishta with Him, considering, for example, both Thakur and Shiva himself as identical, just as many visualise their Ishta in the image of Lord Jagannatha.

Well, don't you meditate? How do you do it?

Q.: We try, but we are unable to meditate well. We don't get concentration.

Maharaj: Why? Don't you sit close to Him? What is worship? Worship means to sit near Him and feel his presence. Suppose you are truly sitting near Vishwanath; how happy would you feel then? You have to feel His presence in your heart, which, indeed, is the temple.

Master Mahasaya `M.' had asked Sri Ramakrishna four questions: 1. How may we fix our mind on God? 2. How ought we to live in the world? 3. Is it possible to see God? 4. Under what condition does one see God?

The answers Thakur gave are as follows:

1. Repeat God's name and sing His glories, and keep holy company--these two are the means to fix your mind on God. Of these, again, holy company is more effective. Because, during holy association, the mind cannot get any chance for worldly thoughts. Repeating God's names means listening to His glories by the ears and singing His glories by the mouth. Both these help the mind to turn towards God.

2. One should live in the world like a maidservant of a rich family, and learn to look upon everything as belonging to the Lord, by first giving up the idea of `mine'.

3. God can be seen. Thakur has said, `Yes, God can be seen, I swear. I am telling the truth that He can be seen. He can be seen just as I am seeing you.'

4. One can see God by completely surrendering oneself to Him. As it is said in the Gita: Yat karoshi...tat kurushwa madarpanam.

Man becomes great through His grace only. The breeze of His grace is blowing freely, one has just to unfurl the sail. What is the sail? It is the mind. Mind, again, is bound to the ego by the rope of attachment. You have to smear your palms with oil-the oil of love-before breaking open a jackfruit. Different sadhakas look at God differently. Sri Thakur has given the example of the chameleon in this context. Holy company is much better than just idly counting the beads, when the mind may go astray. But no distractions arise as long as you are in holy company.

Lord Vishwanath is omnipresent, then what is the use of touching or seeing Him only in the lingam? Sri Thakur answered this question as follows: The Ganges extends from the Himalayas to the ocean. But does that mean that one must touch it in its whole length? It is impossible. So, touching it at any one place is as good as touching the Ganges. Similarly, when we touch the Shivalingam in the temple, we touch Lord Vishwanath Himself. You may say, one can feel the presence of all gods in Thakur himself, just as by touching the sea, one can touch all the rivers. No, it is not so. Many great saints and sages have had many experiences while worshipping these symbols. Thus they have a special significance about them. For instance, thousands of Mohammedans throng to touch an insignificant black stone in the `Kaba' at Mecca-why? Because Abraham had touched that stone in the past.

(Our afternoon discussion was about the peculiar state when a person doesn't like to enjoy the material life, nor has he yet tasted the spiritual joy.)

Maharaj: That is a very dry state, when the spiritual door has not yet opened for him. One should never be disappointed then, but continue to strive on and on. And when the time comes, the door opens by itself, and the force of joy carries him a long distance forward.

Q.: Well, is there any fear of a setback after one has progressed?

Maharaj: Yes, sure. It is there. There is a chance of sliding back, because of the backward pull of impure tendencies.

Q.: Then where is the joy of making progress?

Maharaj: But remember one thing! Firmly hold on to the two pillars-Sri Sri Ma and Sri Sri Thakur. Then there will be no fear of sliding back. All our senses (touch, smell, taste, etc.) always draw the mind out, but once you are able to see God within you, the mind will be too absorbed in it to look back at anything else. One seeks external sense-enjoyments in different objects but inside one can find everything within that One alone. Divyagandhanulepanam.

Thinking of God (spiritual pursuit) appears like poison (visha) at first, but ultimately it is like nectar-amritopamam. Sense enjoyments are just the opposite. Cling to Thakur with all your might; never leave Him; then the senses won't be able to affect you. Do you like to eat when you are not hungry? First be hungry.

The path of God realization becomes easy when we acquire these four virtues: forbearance, purity, humility, and egolessness. Lord Krishna in the Gita speaks about forbearance thus: tan titikshaswa bharata, while Thakur says, sha, sha and sa, and Sri Chaitanyadev has given the example of a tree, taroriva sahishna. A tree tolerates all onslaughts and gives in return good fruits.

(While talking about name and fame, Maharaj mentioned one incident in Thakur's life, which Baburam Maharaj had told.) One night, when Baburam Maharaj was staying with Sri Thakur, he saw Thakur strolling in the room, spitting continuously, saying, `O Mother, don't give me those, I don't want them, I am very weak, I do not want ashtasiddhi.' He became quiet after remaining half an hour in such a state. But even during that state, he was conscious enough to spit on his own hand, and not on the floor.

Thakur had given up all the eight shackles (ashtapasha) like fear, hatred, shame, etc. Even one of these will be a hindrance to God-realization. The ego dies, if it becomes the ego of a child. It does not cost much to speak a few sweet words, but people are not able to do even that. Have self-restraint first. You must practise self-control in everything.

Sanatana Goswami was engaged in intense spiritual practices on the bank of the river Jamuna. He used to beg and eat what little he got without salt, after offering it to the Lord. Once Lord Krishna told him in a dream, `See, I can't eat the bread you offer me without salt; can't you give me a little salt with it?' Sanatana was ashamed and said he would give salt from the next day. After a few days Sri Krishna appeared again in a dream and said, `See, I find it difficult to eat only bread and salt; can't you give me some sweets also?' Then Sanatana understood everything and said, `See, O Lord, I know all your tricks. It seems you can't bear to see me meditating. Your demands are increasing day by day. I used to eat a small piece of bread without salt and used to take your name peacefully in solitude, and you don't like that, it seems. Now, you are asking for this and that, every now and then. You asked for salt. Somehow I procured that for you. Now wherefrom would I get you sweets, butter, cream etc. daily? You have so many devotees who offer you those delicacies and savouries, go there and eat, please. I won't be able to serve you anything other than salt and bread.' Then one day, a ship loaded with salt, belonging to a rich merchant, got stuck in the river bed of the Jamuna, near Sanatana's hutment. The helpless merchant started praying to God. Then the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, `Go to the monk who lives nearby. Your ship will be released, if he just touches it once.'

Don't think anybody your own, except Sri Thakur and his disciples. You should love him and his disciples, and once you are able to love Him, you will be able to truly love his disciples also.

What a strict discipline is found in convents in the West! While we have only feasts here.

There are many who are unable to advance due to their samskaras, inspite of their earnestness. They are not allowed to proceed. As Thakur said, a mongoose can't climb up if a brick is tied to its tail. Who directs all our tendencies? Intellect. And this intellect should be purified. `Of the two wives, take with you Nivritti.' You must take recourse to Nivritti. You may not get a divine vision, in spite of all your endeavour, without God's grace. Yame-vaisha vrinute tena labhyah. Even then self-effort is necessary. Take one step forward, only then will he move ten steps towards you. Thakur has said, `I have done sixteen annas, you do one anna, and you must do at least this much.'

Of spiritual mood and devotion, one has to keep up the mood, because devotion fades into insignificance, in comparison with spiritual mood.

`Holy Company,' Thakur has said, `is like tuning one's watch to see whether it is running perfectly.' God is like the magnet, and His devotee the needle. Usually, God attracts the devotee to Him. But sometimes, it is the other way around, i.e., the devotee becomes the magnet and draws God towards him by the force of his intense love. And love is what is needed. God is extremely pleased with spiritual practices done with sincere love, just as a cow is fond of the fodder mixed with mustard oil cake.

The human mind cannot fathom how far it has gone down during its descent, just as while going down the slope in a fort, one is unable to appreciate how far one has gone down. Later, we realize that we has descended very low.

Q: Maharaj, does God love some more and some less?

Maharaj: God loves all equally, rather His love for the weak is more; as we find a mother has greater love and concern for the weaker child. Besides, the child who doesn't want to leave his mother and likes to be always with her, also becomes her favourite. Similarly, God loves the one more who cannot stay away from Him even for a moment, and knows none other but Him as his own. Do you weep because you have not realized God? You shed profuse tears when scolded by somebody. Likewise, do you weep for God? You will have to weep for Him, you see.

Q.: Maharaj, why don't we love Sri Thakur as we should?

Maharaj: You do love him! And you did love him in previous births. That is why you have taken shelter in him in this life also.

Q.: If we had loved him in our earlier birth, then we should love him all the more in this life. Why is it not so? Perhaps it would have been easier to love him had we seen him once!

(Maharaj didn't answer this and kept quiet.)

I say, first Sri Ramakrishna, and then the Mission. You must hold on to Sri Ramakrishna first. I was the attendant of Maharaj (Swami Brahmananda) for some time. Sarvananda Maharaj too used to attend on him then. He asked Maharaj, `Why is there an absence of mutual love and respect amongst us-the sadhus and the brahmacharis?' Maharaj said, `The reason is that you do not love Thakur. If you love him, then you will freely do each and every work for him without any distinction-superior or inferior. And your mind will be free from ego if you sincerely do everything for Thakur.' When we do some work, we forget that it is Thakur's work. A feeling of `my work' creeps in. Hence, according to the quality of work, feelings like `I am superior' or `I am inferior' arise. If we have love for Sri Thakur, then working for him will appear as good as japa and meditation. We have seen Rev. Shashi Maharaj. How happy he was to do any work for Sri Ramakrishna! What a joy he used to experience in doing Thakur's work! He would not even allow me to do such a little thing as peeling and cutting the vegetables for Thakur; that too he would do himself.

What a horrible place is this world! And how Sri Ramakrishna has drawn you to himself out from there! Could you have come of your own, without his grace?

Rev. Mahapurush Maharaj and Baburam Maharaj were in Benaras then. They were the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. One day, while eating, Baburam Maharaj was talking to Mahapurush Maharaj, `Oh God! We have greatly escaped! How fortunate we are! If he were not so gracious, we would have been drowned in this dangerous world!' Then Mahapurush Maharaj said, `Baburamda, your escape is a little different, but look at me-it has been a very narrow escape. Just see: I was on the verge of falling. It is only through his grace that I have escaped.' Mahapurush Maharaj said so because he was married. Just think how Thakur has blessed you all. How happily are you all now living beside the Ganges!

Swami Brahmananda Maharaj used to tell us repeatedly, `Never let tamas enter your mind. It is very harmful for your spiritual life.' Tamas means a complacent state of mind in which we are happy with a very easy life of japa and meditation, working without the tension of worldly life. It is very difficult for anyone in this condition to progress spiritually. The mind should have some feeling of want, a craving to reach God, a dissatisfaction for not being able to strive hard enough to attain Him. But this want or dissatisfaction should never be the outcome of any personal feud. If, after renouncing your previous life of ignorance, you continue to live here in a world of anger, egotism, and envy, then it is much better to return to the old life. You should completely give up all anger and avoid clashing with anybody. We often preach the words of Sri Sri Ma: `Don't find fault in others; try to find out your own faults.' But do we practise it ourselves? We never look at our own defects, but are very good at finding fault with others. It is not that there will never be any dissension or difference of opinion. It may happen occasionally, but before that, one should learn to love all. One has the right to scold or be angry with others only when one is capable of loving them.

(Maharaj became excited while saying this.)

What does Sadhusanga (Holy Company) mean? It means to set the watch right, is it not? Sri Thakur has drawn you so close to him, and yet you are unable to love him? How ungrateful you are! You would perhaps say, `How can we love him without seeing him?' You may say this. But you can love a person even without seeing him. Just think of his virtues once. Go and ask Sujyi (Swami Nirvanananda) about his experiences abroad. There, many were drawn only by the name of Sri Sri Thakur. Why did this happen? Because they realized his virtues and were amazed by his wonderful character.

He has left behind a mould for us. Now we have to cast ourselves in that mould. You don't have to listen to what others say, or think of what they have to do. Think only of what Thakur has said and done. Try to follow his path and mould your life accordingly. He has said, `I have prepared the way for you, you must do the little that is left. I have already cooked the meal, all you have to do is to sit down to eat.' Now try to achieve the little that is left for you to do, just sit down to eat. If he still does not come to you, then appeal to him: `What will happen to me Thakur? Will your words go in vain? O Lord, you assured us that if we took one step towards you, you would take ten steps to reach us.' This is the way you should force your hold on him.