Give Place Only To God In Your Heart

God is love and love is God. When you hold on to this principle of love and develop love-to-love relationship, you will attain the state of non-dualism.

(Telugu Poem)

Be Ever Grateful To Your Parents

Embodiments of Love! 

There is no noble quality greater than love in this world. Love is wealth, love is wisdom, love is truth and love alone is righteousness. Love pervades everything. The whole world and all the beings emerge from love, are sustained by love and merge in love. Man is like a bubble which is born out of water, grows in water and merges in water. Man is the bubble and Narayana is the water.

Man Should Lead A Life Of Truth

Every human being is born out of mother’s womb and is nourished by mother’s love. He derives all wealth and happiness through his mother’s love. Therefore, there is no god greater than mother. She is the goddess of this body and is the embodiment of truth. Everyone should try to understand what is truth. The word Satyam comprises three syllables – Sat, E, Yam. Sat means life force, E means food, Yam means sun. Human body is the combination of life force, food and sun. Because man is able to sustain life by means of food, the Vedas say food is life force. It means life is sustained by food and food is created by the rays of the sun.

Man obtains food and water by means of sunrays. There can be no crops without the sun. Life can be sustained by food from crops. There can be no life without food. But, life force, food and sun emerge from truth. So, every human being is a form of truth. Being the very form of truth, man should lead a life of truth. But, unfortunately, man is leading a life of falsehood. That is why he is facing untold difficulties and unwanted troubles and is subjected to endless agony. He is always restless and full of anguish. He is not recognising that the entire creation including himself has emerged out of truth and will merge in truth. Mother is the very embodiment of truth. Rama shone in the world as God because of His mother Kausalya. The twins Lava and Kusa became mighty because of the loving care of their mother Sita.

Children acquire fame only due to the noble thinking of their mother. But they do not recognise the sacredness of their mother’s heart. A mother may resort to devious ways in other respects, but in the context of her children she never entertains aversion, dissatisfaction or dislike. She aspires for the welfare of her children under all circumstances. First and foremost, children should love their mother, then their father and next their Guru (teacher). Mother fosters the body, father nourishes the body and Guru imparts intelligence. The body cannot sustain itself without food. One cannot survive in the physical world without intelligence. To live in this world with the mortal body, it is necessary for everyone to acquire worldly intelligence also.

Many great people loved and respected their mothers. They sought the blessings of their mother before undertaking any important venture in life, such as going to battlefield to fight or to forest for penance. Noble mothers then showered blessings on their children to provide them impeccable protection as follows:

May you be the recipient of the same blessings which mother Gauri conferred on her son Kumara when he went out for battle against Tarakasura, the blessings Bhargavi bestowed on her son at the time of slaying of Shambarasura, the blessings showered by Vinata on her son when he set out on the sacred mission of getting his mother freed from servitude, the blessings mother Kausalya conferred on her son Rama when He went to forest to safeguard the Yajna of Vishwamitra, and above all the most powerful and divine blessings of Rama be with you and protect you in the battlefield.

(Telugu Poem)

Many sages could perform intense penance easily and successfully and earn God’s grace by the blessings of their mothers. Adi Shankara has said that those who could not receive their mother’s blessings would be entangled in the cycle of births and deaths, but there would be no further birth of those who obtained the divine protection of their mother. Those bereft of mother’s protection undergo endless cycle of birth and death. Adi Shankara indicated this in Bhaja Govindam:

Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam,
Punarapi Janani Jathare sayanam,
Iha Samsare Bahu Dustare,
Kripayapare Pahi Murare.

(Sanskrit Verse)

(Oh Lord! I am caught up in this cycle of birth and death; time and again, I am experiencing the agony of staying in the mother’s womb. It is very difficult to cross this ocean of worldly life. Please take me across this ocean and grant me liberation.)

Develop Firm Faith In God

Many great persons have extolled the capabilities and powers of the mother. Therefore, man should first of all become deserving of his mother’s grace. But this is not enough. Man should develop faith in God and make efforts to attain His grace.

The Upanishads also declare that an aspirant should first of all have faith. Nothing can be achieved without faith. You will not board a bus if you do not have faith that you will travel safely to Kodaikanal, have Swami’s Darshan and return safely. You will not lay the foundation of your house if you have no faith that you will perform the housewarming ceremony in the coming year. You go to the market to purchase some items with the faith that you will return home safely. Faith is needed to perform even small things. But, unfortunately, people today have become blind because they have lost their two eyes of faith. Doubt is prevalent at each and every step. This kind of attitude is on the increase in this Kali age. Man has no faith in himself. How then can he repose faith in anything? The foremost duty of the children is to have faith in their mother. By the love of the mother, they can achieve anything. Therefore, everyone should develop love for the mother and strive to earn her blessings.

Vedanta teaches that man’s heart is a single seat sofa which has place only for one. It is not a musical chair to change every now and then. There is place only for God in the heart. Love and respect your mother; be grateful to her.

But know that mother and father are impermanent. So is Guru, wealth and children.

Mata Nasti, Pita Nasti,
Nasti Bandhu Sahodara,
Artham Nasti, Grham Nasti,
Tasmat Jagrata Jagrata.

(Sanskrit Verse)

(The relationships like mother, father, brothers, sisters and friends are not eternal. House and wealth are also illusory. Hence, beware! beware!)

Love, respect and serve your parents. But beware that there is place only for God in your heart, who alone is permanent and eternal.

Janma duhkham, Jara duhkham,
Jaya duhkham punah punah
Antyakale maha duhkham,
Tasmat jagrata jagrata!

(Sanskrit Verse)

(Birth is a misery, old age is a misery, family is a misery, and death is a terrible misery. So, beware! beware!)

Human Body Is Endowed With Divine Power

You respect the mother of this body of yours in this birth. But you had other mothers in your previous births. All the bodies are temporary like passing clouds. Only God is your true mother. He is the only truth; He is eternal and divinely glorious. So, give place only to God in your heart. Mother and father live in the house. Guru lives in the Ashram. But God is Hridayavasi (resident of your heart). Know this truth clearly and revere your mother as God. Ihamuna Sukhimpa Hemataraka Vidya, Paramuna Sukhimpa Brahmataraka Vidya (worldly education is for life here and spiritual education is for life hereafter). Man is endowed with two entities: Deha (physical body) Dehi (indweller), Kshetra (field) Kshetrajna (knower of the field), Sthiram (eternal) Asthiram (temporary), Shareera (body) Shareeri (possessor of the body). In this manner, man has dualities in him. Shareera or body is that which undergoes decimation. How does it get decimated? It grows and grows, and then undergoes gradual decimation. Is not the body growing? Is it Jada (inert)? When it is inert, how can you say it has growth? The body is inert but it grows because of consciousness. By the power of Chaitanya, the body that is Jada is able to grow.

Here is a small example. We sweep our house daily. As you go on dumping the trash in a pit, gradually it grows into a mound. Does the mound grow on its own? It is our action of dumping that causes its growth. Similarly, the body is growing because we are regularly feeding it with items such as Idli, Sambar, Dosa, Chapati, etc. This body is also a type of mound; it is inert and has no Chaitanya of its own. It is made up of inert material. The physical body is an agglomeration of four buckets of lime, one bucket of water, four soap bars, six nails, 900 matchsticks and ten pencils of lead. All these being inert, the physical body too is inert.

However, the indweller in the body is the dynamic divine principle. That is why the body came to be known as Shareera. What is the meaning of Shareera? That which undergoes dissolution is Shareera. Body grows and decays while the indweller has no growth or decay. The body is composed of five elements.

The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later but the indweller has neither birth nor death. The indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. Truly speaking, the indweller who is in the form of the Atma, is verily God Himself.

(Telugu Poem)

We use the terms Deha Dehi, Shareera Shareeri, Kshetra Kshetrajna. What is the meaning of Kshetra? We visit places like Tirupati Kshetra, Badri Kshetra, Amarnath Kshetra, etc. But we should not say Kodaikanal as Kshetra. It is a hill station, not Kshetra. We call a place Kshetra only when Divinity is associated with it. It is in this context that the body is called Kshetra (field) because there is Kshetrajna (knower of the field) in it. Kshetrajnam Chapi Mam Viddhi… (recognise Me as the knower of the field also), says Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita.

Any Kshetra acquires value only because of the Kshetrajna who knows all about the Kshetra. This Kshetrajna is God. Deho devaalayah proktah jeevo devah sanaatanah (the body is a temple and the indweller is God). The body is a temple of God, not the temple of Jiva (individual soul). It is not even the temple of life force; it is the temple of God. How can we realise or understand this principle of God? God is present in each and every body in the form of Chaitanya (consciousness) which is a dynamic power. This power is not visible to the eye, not audible to the ear, cannot be perceived by the mind, not even felt by the heart. But it bestows Self-realisation. There is so much power in Chaitanya. It means this body is endowed with divine power.

Realise The Divine Principle

Unfortunately, people misuse this sacred body. You should strive to put it to good use. Who gave this body? The mother is the basis of the physical body. But God invests it with divine power. You may have a quality seed. But will the seed grow into a sapling if you sow it in a tin box? It will grow only when sown in soil. The mother is the Nature and the father is God. The root cause of life principle is the union of Prakriti and Paramatma (Nature and God). Therefore, mother is the basis of your body, father is the fostering power. Nothing and nobody thrives sans a base. These days we find proliferation of scientists. When the question arises about how water is created, the scientists say it is by the combination of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. True! But who created hydrogen and who created oxygen? The scientists do not consider these questions in spite of the fact that these are the basic elements.

There was a person who wanted to become a Paramahamsa (realised person). What is meant by Paramahamsa? Hamsa denotes So’ham (That I am). ‘So’ means That, ‘Ham’ means I. With each breath, you say So’ham (I am God). A Paramahamsa is the one who has realised, I am God. He sheds the individual principle and attains the Supreme Principle. The bird Hamsa (swan) is believed to have the capability of separating water from milk. But scientists ridicule it as nonsense. In fact, an acid is produced on the beak of this bird by which water is separated from milk. The question is who has put the acid in its beak? It is the creation of God’s Will. Did any scientist create this acid? It is sad that the scientists criticise spirituality. It is very easy to criticise, but difficult to understand. It is sheer childishness. With a wee bit of understanding, they embark on wide publicity. A single brinjal is what they buy, and a pumpkin is what they demand as incentive. How is it possible?

Once there was an old scholar who was strict follower of ancient traditions. One evening, he was sitting in the verandah of his house. Nearby, his grandson was doing his homework. While doing homework, the boy was using a pen and an ink bottle to write in his notebook.

Understand The Meaning Of Ancient Traditions

The sun was setting, and the old man started offering oblations, making use of water in a tumbler while uttering Om Pranaya Svaha, Om Apänäya Sväha, Om Vyanäya Sväha, Om Udänäya Sväha, Om Samänäya Sväha. With each invocation, he was sipping a spoonful of water. As the boy was getting modern education, he did not believe in ancient traditions. He said to his grandfather, “You appear to be thirsty. Why do you drink one spoonful after the other? Why don’t you drink the water in one gulp”? The old man decided to teach the boy a lesson. He said smilingly, “Dear! I see that you are dipping the pen again and again into the ink bottle to write. Instead, why don’t you pour the ink on the paper at one time”? The boy said, “Grandfather! In that case, it will not form letters and words”. The grandfather replied, “In case I gulp water without invoking the name of the god I am offering to, it will not reach him”.

A letter reaches the addressee only when the address is properly written. When the address is written wrongly, the letter will go to the dead letter office. Similarly, when you say Om Pranäya Sväha, it reaches the Prana Shakti, the life force. There are certain principles and procedures laid down in the scriptures which people should follow implicitly to attain what is prayed for. Many children question why they should offer respect and obeisance to their parents when they are grown up.

You may have grown up and attained high position and education, but to your mother you will remain her child only; she will always be older to you, not younger to you. Isn’t it so? Is it not your mother who has brought you up? Your blood, food, head and money are the gifts of your mother and father only. You should therefore offer due respect to them and be ever grateful to them. This is how you should give your love to them.

Always Pray To God For His Grace

Give due respect to your parents; be grateful to them. But reserve your heart only for God. All the worldly relations are transient like water bubbles. When you focus your mind on God, you should lovingly explain this to your mother. Then she will surely understand your mind and heart. The mother always wishes the welfare of her children. She always prays that her children should be good; they should attain higher positions in life and receive God’s grace. When her child prostrates to her, she blesses saying, “Dear! Live for hundred years; may you live happily with good health, prosperity and reputation”!

Even though the mother blesses, it is only God who grants her prayer saying, Tathästu (so be it). Without the grace of God, even the mother’s prayers and blessings become futile. The current becomes useful only when positive and negative are united. The positive charge might be highly powerful, yet it will be useless sans association with negative charge. You may have good number of bulbs all around you, but they are useless in the absence of the current. And there is no use of the current when there are no bulbs. Similarly, both mother’s blessings and God’s grace are what you should attain. Always pray to God for His grace. In spite of all deficiencies and debilities, it is enough when God’s grace is there. You can achieve everything by God’s grace. Firm faith in God is essential for one and all. Remember that peace and happiness are available only with God. No one else can give peace and happiness other than God. Some people say that they don’t have faith in God. Then do they have faith in devil? If you repose faith in the devil, you will have demonic qualities only.

Forgetting God, who is the abode of supreme peace and bliss, many people are always immersed in trivial worldly affairs. How can such people attain peace and happiness? Only God can bestow peace. He is the embodiment of supreme peace and love. A mother may become angry at times. But God’s love is immutable. However, you should have gratitude for your mother who has given you birth because of which you are able to know God. But there is nothing greater than God’s Name.

Nothing Is Greater Than The Name Of God

Once Anjana Devi, the mother of Hanuman, came to the residence of Kausalya. Even though Hanuman was a great devotee of Rama, Kausalya had never seen Anjana Devi before. While welcoming her endearingly, Kausalya asked Anjana Devi, “May I know who you are”? Anjana Devi prided herself as the mother of Hanuman. She replied, “Oh the revered one, how come you don’t know my name. I am the mother of Hanuman who could cross over the mighty ocean in a leap”. Kausalya said, “Dear! I am now realising that Hanuman is great indeed”. As they were conversing thus, the mother of Sage Agastya came there. Kausalya asked her, “Oh revered one, may I know who you are”? In reply she said, “I am the mother of Agastya who swallowed the entire ocean in one gulp. I being the mother of such a great saint, how come you don’t know me”? Then Kausalya told the mother of Hanuman and Agastya, “Dears! Your son Hanuman could cross over the mighty ocean and your son Agastya could gulp the entire ocean only because of my son Rama”.

Rama entered just then. He at once understood the situation and wanted to curtail further argumentation among these mothers. He told Kausalya, “Mother! Both of them became great not because of Me. This body of Mine has been named as Rama. Only by reciting the Name of Rama, Hanuman could cross the ocean, Agastya could gulp the ocean and I too became famous. All these achievements are due to the impact of Name”. See the great power of Name of God. Even great mothers cannot help their children when God’s grace is lacking. That is why the mothers keep on praying to God for the welfare of their children.

Divine Grace On Adi Shankara

Adi Shankara was born in Kaladi in the State of Kerala. He was only a six-year-old boy, when one day his mother said to him, “My dear! Your revered father has been steadfastly worshipping the Divine Mother. I wish that you follow in his footsteps! I have also no avocation other than reciting God’s name. Having been born of my womb, you should earn a good name and become a man of high reputation”. It is the ideal son who brings good name to his mother. Also, it is the mother who is the cause of her son’s name and fame. For many years, Shankara’s father had been engaged in the worship of the goddess Raja Rajeshwari. He worshipped the Divine Mother daily, offered Naivedyam to her and distributed Prasadam to his son, his wife and others.

One day, Shankara’s father had to go to a neighbouring village. So, he said to Shankara, “Dear son! As I am required to go to a nearby village for one day, I cannot perform the rituals of worship to the goddess. As your mother cannot do it, I want you to do the rituals of worship to the goddess”. Obeying the command of his father, Shankara placed a cup of milk before the idol of the goddess and prayed, “Mother! Please accept my offering”. The goddess did not come to drink the milk even after a long wait. As the milk in the cup was not consumed, Shankara became sad and said to the Divine Mother, “Did I commit any sin? You have been drinking milk when father was offering all these days. Why should you refuse to drink when I am offering”? He was filled with grief as he felt that he must have committed some sin. He thought that his life was useless if he could not fulfil his father’s wish and brought dishonour to his parents. Intensely praying to the goddess to drink the milk offered by him, Shankara said, “Mother! If you do not drink this milk, I will end my life”. Instantly, the goddess appeared before him and said, “Dear! Be happy. I am very much pleased with your devotion. Look, I am drinking the milk”. She then drank all the milk; not a drop was left in the cup. Shankara pleaded, “Oh Mother! You have drunk the entire milk, leaving nothing as Prasadam. My mother may suspect me of drinking the whole milk. My parents should partake of the sacred Prasadam. My father used to bring home Prasadam everyday. So, please return some milk for me”. The Divine Mother said, “How is it possible to get back the milk that I have drunk and digested? Can a river be separated when it has merged with the ocean”? Saying this, she disappeared.

Shankara started pleading with Raja Rajeshwari fervently, “Please give some milk otherwise I will get a bad name from my mother”. Taking pity on the lad, the goddess drew milk out of her own bosom and gave it to him. By virtue of partaking this sacred milk, Shankara was able to master all the Vedas, Shastras and Upanishads without any effort. He attained such great spiritual heights that people started worshipping him. Thus, man becomes Divine by the grace of God and the love of the mother. Therefore, revere your parents and pray to God. Install God in your heart. It is your duty is to bring good name to your parents. When you become good, your parents get name and fame. Sita attained great renown by the noble deeds of her sons, Lava and Kusa. When Lava and Kusa were engaged in battle with Rama, Lava aimed an arrow at Rama, thought of his mother Sita and wished that the arrow should make Rama unconscious. Accordingly, Rama became unconscious. See, when you contemplate on your mother with reverence and treasure God in your heart, the power of mother gets boosted. But in the present times, one can rarely find mothers who exhort their children to develop devotion to God. In the olden days, mothers were filled with happiness when their children took to Godward path. Parents of the contemporary generation should bless their children to emulate these ancient ideals. The children should learn to revere their parents. Parents are the cause of your physical body and God is the root cause of your existence. Make your lives meaningful by contemplating on the divinity of your mother and developing faith in God.

Human life is very valuable. Man should use his human birth to achieve higher goals in life. Basically, it is not man’s nature to settle for petty things. He always aspires for higher things. Ultimately, he should strive to reach the final goal, that is God Himself. One who attains God, attains everything. Shankara’s mother Aryamba blessed her son, saying, “My dear! Become deserving of the grace of the Divine Mother! When you have divine grace, you will lack nothing and your name and fame will spread in the entire length and breadth of the country”. Shankara lived in peace and perpetual bliss. Even at a very young age, he could visit all pilgrim centres of the nation. The reason behind it all was Devi’s grace. By divine grace, man can achieve everything. Hence, everyone should try to attain divine grace, develop faith in God and make his life worthwhile. With these blessings, I bring My Discourse to a close.

(Bhagawan concluded His Discourse with the Bhajan “Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram…”)

– Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse on Easwaramma Day at Sai Sruthi, Kodaikanal on 6th May 1997.