Undertake Sadhana To Earn God’s Grace

Develop Divine Qualities

Embodiments of Divine Love!

In order to attain and experience Divinity, it is necessary to have divine thoughts and perform divine actions. Many people pursue various paths to spirituality and expect results, but at times they become disappointed and frustrated. What is the reason? Everyone has to examine whether he is obeying God’s command or not. People behave in a wayward manner and therefore do not gain freedom (liberation). Everyone should know all the aspects of Sadhana (spiritual practice). Most aspirants today consider Sadhana to be Japa (repetition of a Mantra), Bhajan (singing hymns), meditation, etc., but these are merely worldly practices as they involve the use of the body, the mind, and the intellect. We should transcend these three, for the body is temporary and the mind is wavering.

Sadhana Signifies Spiritual Wealth

What does the word Sadhana mean? ‘Sa’ means identity or proximity. Dhana does not mean worldly wealth, power, etc., but it means Divine Wealth or Truth, and oneness with that Truth which is eternal, ancient, pure and unsullied. This wealth is called Sadhana. Spiritual practices do not consist only of sitting with eyes closed and limbs controlled. We should also understand the environment in which we live and then we would gain God’s grace. We must bear all opposites such as heat and cold, rain and sun, pleasure and pain, profit and loss, equally. Vyasa taught the essence of the Vedas in just two sentences: Helping others is meritorious. Hurting others is sin.

The word “Paropakara” consists of three syllables – ‘Para’, ‘Upa’ and ‘Kara’. ‘Para’ means the Supreme or the Highest Abode; ‘Upa’ means nearness and ‘Kara’ means to do or to go. Paropakara, therefore, means that one should do good and help others in order to go near God. This is the proper spiritual path, the essence of the Upanishads. In the word “Upanishad”, ‘Upa’ means near and ‘Sat’ means sit. What is the meaning of sitting near? The significance is that a disciple must sit down at the Feet of God (Guru) who is on a higher level. All the spiritual texts teach how to go near God. Just as one goes near an air conditioner to get coolness and comfort when it is hot, similarly, when one goes near God, he would develop Divine qualities. This is Sadhana.

What is “Paapam” (sin)? Harming others is sin; classifying and diversifying and forgetting unity is a sin. Names and forms may vary, but the Spirit is only one. The maxim, Ishvarah sarva-bhutanaam (God is the indweller of all beings) says that God is in every being. God and Nature are in union where God is the cause and Nature is the effect. There cannot be an effect without a cause. To consider unity as diversity is a sin. The spiritual path is very easy but due to our ignorance, we are confused. Accept that whatever happens is for your own good and for the good of the world. If your desire is not fulfilled, do not feel bad.

Have Only The Desire For God

You are not one, but three: the one you think you are (the body), the one others think you are (the mind), and the one you really are (the Atma). Take, for example, a piece of cloth. It consists of cotton, threads, and cloth. Our many desires may be compared to threads. If you remove them one by one, the cloth would disappear. Likewise, the mind would disappear after the removal of all desires. Less luggage, more comfort, makes travel a pleasure in the journey of life. Have only the desire for God. Develop this unique novel desire and also follow the command of God. Develop the faith and determination to desire only God, to follow His command and trust that whatever God says is for your own good.

Once there was a king in India whose custom was to drink sugarcane juice during a certain festival. The king desired to cut the sugarcane himself. As he had no experience in this, by mistake he cut off his finger. His minister declared, “O king, this is very good for you”. The king became very angry and had the minister imprisoned. The minister declared that being imprisoned was good for him. One day, the king decided to journey into the forest, and after some time he stopped to rest under a tree. While resting, he overheard a nearby tribal king and his tribe members discussing their need for a perfect human being for a sacrifice. They soon discovered the king and expressed great happiness. They captured him, gave him a bath and made all the preparations for the sacrifice. Suddenly, they spotted the place on his hand where the finger had been accidentally cut off. They decided to release him as he was imperfect, and the king returned to his kingdom. He mused, “What the minister said was true indeed. It was for my own good that my finger was cut off”. He went to the prison cell, told the minister that what he had said was true and released him. The minister replied, “Yes, the prison was also good for me. If I had followed you into the forest, they would have sacrificed me instead”. The king now believed that everything that happened was due to the Divine command. He said, “Pleasure and pain are good for me. Whatever God chooses for me is good for me”. Everyone should have full knowledge of this truth. This is Sadhana.

Sadhana is not only Japa, rituals, Bhajans, etc. The essence of all Sadhana is to obey God’s command. In God’s treasury, there are many gems and valuables. What is God’s nature? It is to give more than you can understand; but if you ask, your prayer may not be fulfilled.

Do not ask, oh mind, do not ask. The more you ask, the more you will be neglected. God will certainly grant you what you deserve without your asking. Did He not grant the wish of Sabari, who never asked? Did He not redeem Jatayu, who never asked but sacrificed his life for His cause?

(Telugu Poem)

God gives more than you could ever ask when you follow His command, worship Him wholeheartedly and with full surrender. That is true Sadhana.

Once when Rama, Lakshmana and Sita were wandering in the forest, Rama sat down at a place pretending to be tired and asked Lakshmana to build a hut at a place Lakshmana liked. Lakshmana sat down and started weeping. “Why are you weeping? What has gone wrong?” asked Rama. “After dedicating everything to You, do I have any separate liking? I carry out whatever You like. I have dedicated my mind, body, senses, everything to You. I am empty inside. There is nothing of my own.” Lakshmana had surrendered completely to Rama. Rama said, “Yes, this was My mistake”. Rama hugged Lakshmana and said, “It is easy to get an ideal wife or mother, but to get a brother like you is not possible”. Divine Love has no limits.

The world is ephemeral and full of misery, but there is Eternal Divinity within it. Today, love, worship, and other acts are merely a show; true spirituality is not being practised. If you cannot follow the command of God, your worship is of no use. One should not have a dual mind; a man with a dual mind is half blind. If you have the feelings of mine and thine, then it is a business partnership; there should not be any business between God and the devotee. There should only be a Divine relationship. Give and always give. Give without expectation. That is your duty. Maintaining the heart in purity is spiritual practice. There is no wisdom in a dualistic attitude. What is wisdom? Non-dualism is wisdom. Recognising the One without a second is wisdom.

Unbridled Freedom Takes Man To Wrong Path

People today talk about freedom. They interpret freedom as Svechchha. But Svechchha does not denote doing as you like. What does Svechchha mean? Sva + Ichchha = Svechchha. Sva means Atma and Ichchha means desire. So, the desire of the Atma is Svechchha. It is not the desire of the mind; it is not the desire of the intellect. It is the desire of the Atma. The body is like a water bubble and the mind is like a mad monkey. You will go wrong by following the body and the mind. So, do not follow the body, do not follow the mind. Follow the conscience. Then only will you earn the grace of God. You cannot have God’s grace by unbridled freedom of the body, mind and intellect. When you realise this truth, you will be able to gain God’s grace. So, Sadhana does not mean just sitting in meditation and doing Japa. It has many more aspects.

We should also know that pleasure and pain are not separate. Without pain, pleasure has no value. Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Without night, day has no value. We should accept both pleasure and pain with equal-mindedness. All our experiences are temporary like passing clouds. They are not permanent. Sadhana teaches us that pain and pleasure are interconnected. The importance of Sadhana lies in maintaining equanimity at all times. God has no selfishness. He is totally selfless. Whatever He does, it is for the good of the devotees. We should never question the actions of God. He is the embodiment of love and His love is perfectly selfless. Man should follow God and develop selfless love. As God is complete totality, man should surrender totally to reach God.

In Italy, there lived a very famous maker of violins named Antony. He used to make violins par excellence and took one year to make a single violin. His friends used to mock him, saying, “You are taking one year to make one violin. How are you going to look after your family? You are indeed a fool”. Antony replied, “Whatever I do, I do it perfectly. God is perfect. Even if one string is imperfect, it amounts to betraying the Lord. So, I do not do it that way. I make the violin perfect in all respects in order to win the grace of God”. Whether a task is small or big, it should be done perfectly. Jesus said, “The Lord in the heaven is perfect. I am also perfect like Him. Otherwise, I will not be a befitting son of the Lord”.

God is the embodiment of compassion, kindness and love. We should manifest similar perfection in this world. In order to attain perfection in this world, we ought to be kind to one and all. A true spiritual aspirant believes that God is perfect and so he too should attain that kind of perfection.

Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornat Poorna
mudachyate
Poornasya Poornamaadaya Poornameva vashishyate

(That is full, this is full. When the full is taken out of the full, what remains is again the full.)

God is full and infinite. So, the nature of the devotee should also be full and infinite. Always experience fullness. That is God’s command. That is real freedom. Obedience to God’s command leads to spiritual freedom.

Only God Is Your True Friend

Though it is difficult to have good friends in Kali-Yuga, try to have only good friends. So long as you have money, all will come and say ‘hello’ to you. When your pocket is empty, they will not say even goodbye to you. They are not true friends. So long as there is water in the tank, thousands of frogs will swarm the tank. When the tank is dry, there will not be even a single frog. Worldly friends are like that only. Your only true friend is God who is in you, above you and all around you. God is the embodiment of true freedom. We should therefore have faith in God. Our faith in God should be steady. For this, we need to have total surrender.

That is love. Experience love. Do not analyse love. Enjoy it. When you are immersed in Divine Love, you will think of God and nothing else. Once Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa took his disciple Paramananda to a river, caught hold of his head and immersed it in water. Paramananda was totally confused. After Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa pulled his head out of the water, he asked his disciple, “What did you think when your head was in the water?” Paramananda replied, “I could not think of anything except how to get out of the water as I was gasping for breath”. Similarly, when you are totally immersed in Divine Love, you will only think of God. That is real concentration. Do not waste time. Time waste is life waste. Time is God. So, love God every moment of your life.

(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the
Bhajan, “Prema Mudita Manase Kaho Räma Räma Räm”).

– Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 8th April 1996.