~~OM~~
March 4 – March 10
- There is only one path and we are all on it. Do not try to dissect spirituality into a number of fragments. Spirituality means giving more than we take. That is the behavior I would like my disciples to practice. – Shree Maa
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - Give respect to each and every atom of creation. All are reflections of the Divine Energy and the divine purpose so that all must be attended upon with a respectful attitude.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Every action that we produce in life has two possibilities. It will be for me or for Thee. Either I am acting motivated by selfishness or I am acting motivated by surrender. There are some really fine shades of gray where we think we are surrendering, but are actually enhancing our egotism.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - Always pray to God for his grace. If we think we are a child of God all the time, our actions will become divine. Automatically everything will come to us. – Shree Maa
– from Before Becoming This - “Swaha” – I am One With God.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - These are the qualities of a disciple: humility, modesty, causing harm to none, patience, the purification of knowledge, worship of the teacher, purity, consistency, self control, constant equanimity of consciousness, unswerving devotion, distaste for the society of gossip, always residing in spiritual wisdom. All that is opposed is ignorance.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Devotee: You mean we can do the work of the world and also contemplate God?Ramakrishna: Yes, you will do them both. You have to perform the work of the world, but from time to time go into solitude and pray that you can perform those activities without personal desire. Then you will say, “Hey, God, reduce my worldly desires because when I see that there is so much work in front of me, I forget you. I think that I am acting selflessly, but I actually have lots of desires.” If you are pursuing name, gain, and fame, you cannot be free from desire.– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss
March 11 – March 17
- The Guru is actually the supreme divinity, and therefore, we bow down to the respected Guru.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - Gurus are examples which instruct, inspire, somehow cause us to change the objectives we pursue and or the paths to their attainment.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - Wisdom means being totally unselfish. The highest sacrifice is wisdom.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Ramakrishna: When you cry to God, cry with the deepest sincerity. People cry with such sincerity for money, wealth, their children, or their families. How many of them cry for God? You have to call for God with real sincerity.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - How do I invite grace to come to me? Krpa (Kree pa) means grace. It means what you do is what you get. Kr (Kree) means do; pa means get. The real grace is that I will receive the fruit of my karma. How do I invite grace to find me in this duality? One way is to pray for the blessing of divine remembrance.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - The attitude of a devotee is like the relationship between a mother and her small child. If the child were to grab hold of a snake, or in any situation of danger, the mother will always protect it. But when the child is bigger, a young man like the wise person, she would think that the child could protect himself. The responsibility does not remain with the mother. Therefore, God will always protect a devotee who is like a small child. And like a grown young man, God will leave wise people to their own devices.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - The Western countries are new countries. India is an old country. It is steeped in Godliness. It is God’s purpose that the West is the way it is and the East is the way it is. Now you can see that the whole world is uniting. God is making oneness. It is so beautiful! In the future the whole world will be very peaceful.
– from Before Becoming This
March 18 – March 24
- There is only one criteria for Correct samskrt pronunciation and understanding. Ramakrishna called it Vyakulata, an inner longing, a need or desire which is felt so intensely that we can think of nothing else, being entirely filled with it, expressed with a degree of sincerity that makes us pay attention to the exclusion of all other thoughts.
– from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs - There is no balance in this creation. Only each individual has to find his own balance. Through discipline you can find your own balance.
– from Gems of Wisdom - When you know you are a child of God, that is surrender. If you don’t know who you are, it is hard to surrender. Your heart has to be soft. If you remember you are a child of God, you will become purer day by day. First comes simplicity, later comes respect. When you think I am a child of God, respect will come to you in every moment. – Shree Maa.
– from Before Becoming This - My grandmother told me to wake up early in the morning, look in the mirror and bow down to myself. It’s very simple, but we make it complicated. – Shree Maa
– from Before Becoming This - Ramakrishna: At first in sadhana everything is mixed up and confused. But as you go towards God, your burden of activities will be reduced. The time will come when even repeating the names and reciting the qualities of the deities will drop off.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - God has a plan. There is nothing worry about. – Shree Maa
– from Before Becoming This - How can someone who reads this book or sees you once a year at one of your programs have a relationship with you?Shree Maa gave me a piercing look and said, “If they call for me sincerely in their heart, I will know.” Then she paused for a second and said, “I am the mother of the universe. I am with everyone.”– from Before Becoming This
March 25 – March 31
- During the 1960s, Swamiji was one of many westerners who took off for the East in search of true wisdom. He is among the few who, in fact, gained realization and then returned to share with us the wisdom he attained. Swamiji brought not only the wisdom and devotion he gained through more than twenty years of intensive spiritual practices and direct experience of God, but he also brought the most priceless treasure from the heart of India, the respected Divine Mother, Shree Maa
– from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu - The best way to pray is with mantra, literally, that which takes away the mind. Now when you have a stimulus and you are ready to respond, use a mantra and take away your mind. Take a breath and put a mantra with your breath. Hold it for a moment then say the mantra again. Get yourself clear on your objectives, your motivations and your methods.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - I saw deeply in my meditation that Ramakrishna came to me and said, “The Motherland and the Fatherland must be made one. You, my children, shall perform worship in the west as you do in the east. There is no need to build community temples, but a temple should be established in every home and in every heart. For that purpose you shall go to new places to teach people how to worship” – Shree Maa
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - Every action should be worship.
– from Gems of Wisdom - It is very simple. That is why we need to do spiritual practices, to remind ourselves to remember divinity all the time. But performing spiritual practices is no substitute for leading a spiritual life. Every one is God. Mother is everywhere. That’s why I like to keep pictures of Gods and Goddesses around me. It’s fun. – Shree Maa
– Before Becoming This - Over eight hundred years ago there was a great Tibetan Monk named Milarepa. He realized the ultimate goal of existence after performing severe spiritual practices.Milarepa writes: In horror of death, I took to the mountains – again and again I meditated on the uncertainty of the hour of death, capturing the fortress of the deathless unending nature of mind. Now all fear of death is over and done.In the same light as Milarepa, Swamiji has taken this quote and interpreted it according to his ideal of perfection. For me, this is just one more example of the greatness of Swamiji’s attainment.Swamiji writes: In honor of life, I took to the mountains—again and again I meditated upon the bliss of being and humankind’s inherent ability to perceive it. Then I captured that imperishable essence, and now all fear has vanished. – Swamiji
– from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu
- Every woman is a reflection of the Divine Mother. Every woman’s nature is to be like a mother who gives to the world like she gives to her child.
– from Gems of Wisdom
April 1 – April 7
- Respect is heaven. Respect is liberation.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Our goal is not to train pundits. We are trying to inspire devotees around the world to pray with sincerity for blessings of good health, purity, and peace, inside themselves and around the world, in any language, in any tradition, any where, alone or with their families, in their own temples, in every temple, and to actualize that prayer in their every effort. – Swamiji
– from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs - She (Shree Maa) is divinity in manifest form, and Her light, Her love, and Her silence are a testimony to That Divine Realization.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - The first step is satsanga, good company. Find pure examples of surrendered souls with which to associate in our lives. Serve a guru.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - Ramakrishna: When we sing the name of God even once with devotion and bhava, if you shed tears, then know for certain that all the rituals of worship are completely fulfilled. Then actions are renounced of their own accord. Karma leaves us, and only the name of God remains.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - God will give you everything you desire. – Shree Maa
– from Before Becoming This - It was summer time and very hot. So every afternoon, after he had finished his chanting, Swamiji walked to the edge of the pond, seated himself in the full lotus posture and floated out onto the water. Swamiji stayed in the lotus posture on top of the water for a few hours at a time. People stood on the shore and looked at him in astonishment, but he never paid them any attention. He closed his eyes. His right foot was placed upon his left thigh, and his left foot was placed upon his right thigh, and with his backbone completely straight, he floated on the water.
– from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu
April 8 – April 14
- There are only three things in a sadhu’s jewelry box: Pure love, inspiration, and appreciation.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Many, many times I didn’t know where my next meal was coming from, but I always knew that God would take care of me. I had no doubt about that what so ever. – Swamiji
– from Before Becoming This - Ramakrishna: Remember that God without form is true, and God with form is just as true. Whichever one you have faith in, hold on to that, and move toward God.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - Ramakrishna: When you call with sincerity, She (The Divine Mother) must come and pay attention. When the morning dawns, first the light begins radiate, and then you see the sun. Sincerity is the key to the vision of God.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - Many people say they want God but it is just another desire amongst a multitude.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Wandering senses breeds desire. Therefore control your senses. Learn to sit in an asan and control your breath.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Ramakrishna: Do your work in the world, but keep your mind at the feet of God and leave it there.
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss
April 15 – April 21
- Most people perform puja to get a boon. They pray for something like a new car, winning the lottery, etc. In our tradition we just pray because it is a privilege to demonstrate our love for God.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Cultivate the attitude of appreciation for the bounteous gifts of God, especially for the privilege of being able to sit in the presence of God. Cultivate the attitude of gratitude, and carry it with you throughout your daily activities. Only then will worship pervade our lives.
– from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna - Ramakrishna: Please think about this very deeply and intensely. There are many forms of desires and many forms of what is required to fulfill them. They are all transient. God is the only true reality. What do you get with money? When you have money, you get rice, clothes, and a place to stay. You don’t get God with money, so money cannot be the goal of life. This is called discrimination between the real and the unreal. Do you understand?
– from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - So long as the body may remain, remember your Guru as a worshipful God. Do not give up on the Guru, even if he moves according to his own rhythm.
– from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess - A true guru is always thinking for the welfare of others, whereas a false teacher is always thinking for his or her own personal gain or even of destroying others. A true teacher does good even to those who do him or her harm. Just like the sandlewood tree: if anyone cuts into the tree, even still, the tree gives forth its beautiful fragrance. The saintly being is always engaged in striving for the upliftment and welfare of everyone. An unsaintly being is known by the capacity to do harm to others and do harm even to himself in the process.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - In the Eighteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita it says:Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, patience, the purification of knowledge, wisdom, the application of wisdom, and the continuous pursuit of self-realization are the actions natural to a brahmana.– from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs
- Question to Swamiji:Why do you consider Human birth the highest birth?Answer: Humanity has the capacity to reason. Humans have the capacity to dedicate their minds to the contemplation of whatever their desired objective is. In so doing, they can perform sadhana and realize their total potential.– from Before Becoming This
April 22 – April 28
- There are six karmas allowed to a brahmana: to learn and to teach, to worship for yourself and to worship for others, to pray for others and to lead others in worship, to give what one can and to accept offerings that are given as a token of love and respect.
– from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs - Through faith we attain everything.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Swamiji describing Shree Maa:Shree Maa does not have selfish bone in her body. She walks on the grass in such a way it seems the grass bows when it is stepped on. She has so much humility you might not notice her if she were sitting in a crowd. She carries herself with such poise and such grace that she makes herself diminutive. I think her attitudes, her service, her love, her guidance, her wisdom, her joy, her light, her music, her cooking are all directed towards making this universe a better place. Every activity she performs on Earth is directed towards lifting someone else up. She is constantly thinking of others and never thinking of herself.– from Before Becoming This
- We come with our samskaras, our tendencies. We also come with three debts of karma: to the Gods, to the ancestors, and to the Gurus. We discharge our debt to the Gods by making the world a better place for our having been here. We discharge our debts to the ancestors by respecting the elders the way we would want to be respected when we are old and by nurturing the young people, teaching them the way we would like the world to become. We discharge our debt to the Gurus, all the teachers who gave us a piece of the puzzle from life to life, from birth to birth, by living in accordance with their wisdom.
– from Before Becoming This - Wise people are the instruments of God’s communications. Concern yourself with the message. The messenger is of minor importance.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - The ignorant is like a person who is sitting beside a mountain of gold, yet still remains a beggar. When a person has met their guru, and with an open heart allows the guru to show how to see, that person discovers the wealth that is with them, that person is known as wise. – Shree Maa
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint - Experience truth for yourself and don’t rely only upon the experiences of others. Truth has only one reference for verification: personal experience.
– from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint
April 29 – May 5
- Most people perform puja to get a boon. They pray for something like a new car, winning the lottery, etc. In our tradition we just pray because it is a privilege to demonstrate our love for God.
– from Gems of Wisdom - Cultivate the attitude of appreciation for the bounteous gifts of God, especially for the privilege of being able to sit in the presence of God. Cultivate the attitude of gratitude, and carry it with you throughout your daily activities. Only then will worship pervade our lives.
– from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna - Ramakrishna: Please think about this very deeply and intensely. There are many forms of desires and many forms of what is required to fulfill them. They are all transient. God is the only true reality. What do you get with money? When you have money, you get rice, clothes, and a place to stay. You don’t get God with money, so money cannot be the goal of life. This is called discrimination between the real and the unreal. Do you understand?
– from Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss - So long as the body may remain, remember your Guru as a worshipful God. Do not give up on the Guru, even if he moves according to his own rhythm.
– from The Guru and the Goddess - A true guru is always thinking for the welfare of others, whereas a false teacher is always thinking for his or her own personal gain or even of destroying others. A true teacher does good even to those who do him or her harm. Just like the sandalwood tree: if anyone cuts into the tree, even still, the tree gives forth its beautiful fragrance. The saintly beingn is always engaged in striving for the upliftment and welfare of everyone. An unsaintly being is known by the capacity to do harm to others and do harm even to himself in the process.
– from Shree Maa The Life of a Saint - In the Eighteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita it says:Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, patience, the purification of knowledge, wisdom, the application of wisdom, and the continuous pursuit of self-realization are the actions natural to a brahmana.– from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs
- Question to Swamiji:Why do you consider Human birth the highest birth?Humanity has the capacity to reason. Humans have the capacity to dedicate their minds to the contemplation of whatever their desired objective is. In so doing, they can perform sadhana and realize their total potential.– from Before Becoming This