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November 4 – November 10

• The seventh region is in the Sahasrara at the top of the head. If your contemplation goes there, then you go into Samadhi. All the knowers of the Supreme Divinity have the actual vision of divine communion with God.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• People want realization and liberation, to become enlightened. Do not think it is something different from doing for others as you would have them do for you.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: Human beings are of four kinds: those who are bound to the world of desires and attachments, those who renounce the world, those who are liberated, and those rare souls who are eternally free.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Shree Maa performs worship at the sacred fire. Residing in the hearts of devotees, the flame of devotion is burning. In the agnya chakra, the light of meditation is shining. Yagya comes from the Sanskrit word to unite and the fire ceremony is the union of the fire within and the fire outside.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Just as humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and plants inhale carbon dioxide and produce oxygen into the atmosphere, in the same way, in the sacred fire ceremony, devotees surrender all negativities and receive the blessing of divine illumination.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• All thoughts of duality are sacrificed in the sacred fire and the joyous love of unity takes birth in the hearts of the participants. When Shree Maa sits for worship, the silence creates such stillness, that all observers are conducted to her vibration.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

November 11 – November 17

• Udas means a servant of circumstance. Whoever remains satisfied with whatever situation arises is established in wisdom.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: Men and women who are liberated are not infatuated with this world of objects and relationships. That is why, after becoming free, some just leave their bodies.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• There is another characteristic of a bound soul. If you were to take that individual out of the world he is use to and put him into a holy environment, he would probably die of boredom.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Who has extreme renunciation? Those whose life force is totally dedicated to God with the sincere dedication a mother has for the child in her womb. He who has extreme dedication desires nothing other than God.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• As you practice tapasya, your ego becomes less attached to thought. The thoughts are not becoming more pure. In reality you have the same thoughts, but you have less attachment to them.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• The asuras will teach us selfishness, the Gods will awaken consciousness. This conflict between selfishness and divinity is the perpetual cause of confusion, until we become one with the Light.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• Our ancestors provided us with all that we needed to progress in our search. And for that purpose we are beholden to seven generations previous to us, while seven generations to come will benefit from our attainment of understanding. Whether or not our ancestors knew what they were doing, they cultivated within us certain qualities which we needed in order to manifest our highest ideal of perfection.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

November 18 – November 24

• True wisdom makes a man humble.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• If you don’t have the physical presence of a person who inspires you, read a scripture. Sit by a symbol of divinity and listen to the wisdom of the wise.

    – from Before Becoming This

• The feeling of devotion is what fosters our spiritual development; such things as reading books are not enough. When we do puja or other forms of worship, it’s best to sing loudly and enthusiastically so the Gods will hear us! Furthermore, our worship is even more meaningful when we feel gratitude that we have the impulse and the opportunity to perform these devotions.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Mother’s love helps you realize that is not the words that are important but the actions.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Keep your life simple, always be truthful, and give pure love to all, recognizing all as God.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• The influence of maya is so strong, always pulling you out. Tapasya, purifying austerities, are very necessary.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• When I think of Maa, I think of Truth. She is what Truth is, powerful and absolute, but Maa is also gentle and kind. I was a stranger and she took me in. I was hungry and she fed me.

    – Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

November 25 – December 1

• Our responses should be calculated to take us to a better place than we are already at and help us to accomplish our objectives. If we could stop and put one instant of discrimination between the stimulus and the response, then we could live life perfectly.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• A realized being sees that the God within you is the God within me. If I lift you up in any way, I am doing good to myself an I am doing good to my world. It benefits me to do good to others. It is all me.

    – from Before Becoming This

• The power that comes from the feeling that we are being blessed allows us to move forward with renewed vigor. We have more strength and courage. We have a different attitude that makes things work better. Every time we take the name of God, We get a blessing.

    – from Before Becoming This

• The pujas allow us to expand our consciousness to that awareness (of divinity) and cultivate that relationship. We begin by seeing God in little things. We practice seeing God in a flower, in a candle, in an altar of worship, in a form of deity that we put our love and devotion into. Then the relationship increases exponentially.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Each one of the deities is an embodiment of a whole set of spiritual and philosophical aspirations. They are an embodiment of an entire school of philosophy and a whole set of spiritual practices which are designed to bring us to the realization of that philosophy. So the various arms, weapons and mudras (gestures) are all indicative of aspects of spiritual disciplines.

    – from Before Becoming This

• There are many levels of meaning to dharma. Some people speak of dharma as a religion: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or Jewish. Other people speak of dharma as the universal laws of nature. Everything in between is included in the definition. On every level of the evolution of consciousness you will find an expanded definition until you are one with God, and then you will know the real meaning of dharma.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Ramakrishna: It is very difficult to take on the responsibilities of a teacher. Without being given the authority from God, it is very difficult to teach. If you begin to give instruction without authority from God, people will not listen to you. Such teachings have no power. First you do sadhana. In some way you have to attain to God. When you get the authority from God, then you may lecture.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

December 2 – December 8

• Always maintain the highest ideal of behavior, and surrender your life unto the ideal.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Physical enjoyment in the world is like the strike of a cobra. Learn to keep the cobra far away or under control. The comfort of the senses is and illusion, which bears no sustaining reality. In the senses there is no comfort. Only there exists the reflection of Nature.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Perform all actions with Love and respect for Truth, and maintain the great power of the non-attachment of asceticism.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Love and Trust in God. Do not ask for anything else.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Always and with all your might, recite and study books of Dharma.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Have no fear of anything is this world. The world is the examination grounds for detachment form pleasure and pain. Do not give disruption an opportunity to dwell in your mind. God dwells in your heart. With the greatest faith, always remember God.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Always keep your mind in an attitude of purity. Then peace will come. Do not allow your inner attitude to be deflected by the pains and difficulties of the external world. This is known as Peace. When your inside and outside exhibit peace, then you have found the fruits of sadhana.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

December 9 – December 15

• If you only desire the fruit of your actions then you won’t enjoy the fruit or the process. This is a lose, lose proposition. But if you enjoy the process you can’t lose. Then your work becomes worship. We are praying for the joy of prayer. Try to take that attitude into your actions and make this world a better place.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• If you have your own goal and a plan you will certainly enjoy life more because it is your plan and does not belong to anybody else.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Question: What does a person do who doesn’t have a purpose?

  Swamiji: I suggest that a person without a purpose better find one. Without a purpose it is difficult to have a meaningful life. How can you accomplish anything if you don’t know what your purpose is? We need to find a goal that would be worthy of our commitment.

    – from Before Becoming This

• The best thing to do is to stop and think, “What would be a commitment worthy of my dedication. What do I want to give to this world?”

    – from Before Becoming This

• Shree Maa: Ultimately we have to change, and that is God’s blessing.

    – from Before Becoming This

• When you love so much that you don’t think about the distractions and you think only about your beloved, then you really are a lover.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Satsangha is a bonding process, so that people within the congregation try to network their skills and talents and opportunities.

    – from Before Becoming This

December 16 – December 22

• We are not seeking communion only at the time of puja or worship, but in every breath, in every activity. It does not matter whether we are digging a ditch, teaching in school, appearing in court, negotiating a contract or performing a homa (fire ceremony). Our attitude with which we perform these functions is the most important aspect of worship.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• By means of her compassion, we become liberated. She is the one who binds all to worldliness, and She is the one who liberates.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Maa says to us. “Ok, kids go out and play in this world.” What is the fault of the mind? If she is compassionate to us, then She’ll bring our minds back to Her. Then we find liberation from all these worldly thoughts, and we keep our minds at the Lotus Feet of the Divine.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• After you have attained the perfection of discrimination and renunciation, only then should you enter the world. In the ocean of worldliness, there are many crocodiles with names like desire, attachments, and anger. If you rub turmeric on your body and submerge yourself in the waters, you have no fear of crocodiles. If you rub the turmeric of discrimination and renunciation over your body, you can submerge yourself in the ocean of worldliness without any fear at all. God is Truth. That is the eternal phenomenon. Everything else is transient. It is impermanent.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• In the Sundar Kanda of the Ramayan, Tulasidas wrote a beautiful verse:

  “Dear one, take all the pleasure between heaven and earth and count them as one. As great a delight as that might be, it can’t possibly be as enjoyable as satsanga.”

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• Through satsanga we have the opportunity to improve ourselves, to really make significant changes in our lives, to become the individual we respect. No other pleasure could be equal to becoming the person we love. That s why satsanga is so important.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• Extract the nectar from the tapasya that you are performing. Tapas literally means heat, but implies any act of purification in which our negative tendencies are burned away

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

December 23 – December 29

• Swamiji: Look for those mantras that say, “I belong to you, I am the echo of the vibration that is your soul.” As you practice those particular sections, other parts will call you as well. If you don’t pronounce the mantras correctly, don’t worry. Put yourself in the attitude of surrender to the will of God and try to come as close as possible.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Always study words of wisdom, with all your capacity act in accordance and perform the discipline of these words, and following the systems of worship they enumerate, make the worship of the Supreme Lord, and don’t allow your consciousness to contemplate adverse desires.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Wipe all the dross of sin from your mind, search for the faults in the pleasures of the world, search your own soul for true knowledge, and very quickly try to renounce the attachments to your home.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Maintain the association of true people, take refuge with devotion in the Supreme Divinity, and with all your capacity try to befriend the universe, and very quickly renounce the fruits of your labors.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Whenever possible seek out the company of the true and knowledgeable people, and serve the sandals of their lotus feet, and ask from them even one letter of the knowledge of the Bhraman, and listen to the great words of wisdom from the Vedas.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Take the cure for the illness of uncontrolled desire, and serve your doctor as a beggar would serve a Lord, don’t seek the association of pleasure-seekers or self-centered individuals.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• “Remain contented with whatever you receive in a divine union, that which God has consented to give.”  – Shankar Acharya, 700 A.D.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

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September 2 – September 8

• During those first months in America Shree Maa said very little in English. I was Her translator, and most frequently She spoke to me in our own personal mixture of languages which I would strive to interpret into English. One day She stood in front of an altar of Goddess Kali and in extremely clear English said to the Goddess, “All right, are you going to speak or not?” We were all amazed to hear Her utterance and even more impressed when She turned around and began to speak English so sweetly and clearly that there was no further use of a translator.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Shree Maa: I am always happy. When you live with divinity, you are always happy. It makes me even happier when my children are happy.

    – from Before Becoming This

• The difference between a disciple and a devotee is that the devotee comes to sit at the feet of the Guru but doesn’t change his life. But the disciple takes the wisdom of the Guru and changes his life striving to become a mirror image of the Guru.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: Protect the Divine Mother in your heart. May you see Her as I see Her and nobody else. You take away all my desires and my anger and my passion.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Ramakrishna: Give me the eyes of wisdom as protectors so that I am always protected and always be careful not to accede to bad desires and bad thoughts.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Currently, I like to translate dharma as the ideal of perfection, because every atom of existence has its own ideal of perfection towards which it is striving. Every individual soul is destined to manifest its own ideal of perfection. Dharma is its individual path and every individual has its own.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and The Goddess

• Swamiji is so down to earth and unpretentious that he won’t let himself get stuck in a “holy man” role. In fact, he is constantly breaking the rules about how an enlightened teacher should act. In the Tibetan tradition this is called “crazy wisdom”, a quality many great masters possess.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

September 9 – September 15

• Shree Maa told us that we must work on ourselves that the desire to “fix things” or help people is part of our attachment to the idea that we have the answers and the solutions our ego.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Shree Maa: If you want peace, see no fault in anyone. Find all mistakes within yourself.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Shree Maa: If you call on God in a true and simple manner, you will know that all you are doing is divine work.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Whatever promotes the health and happiness of those around us can be seen as divine work.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Just doing our best each moment, and completing our tasks so that we don’t leave a mess or problem for someone else to deal with, is the way to live each day fully.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Regular practice is important for the growth of our spiritual lives – there are no short cuts.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Maa’s way is to live in complete simplicity. Her whole life is statement that the important elements of life are the spiritual ones.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

September 16 – September 22

• One of Swamiji’s main teachings is that Mother Nature is constantly changing, as is her nature. Change She will and change She must. When we identify with the changes we suffer. When we desperately try to hold on and keep the changes from happening we feel pain. Only when we learn to watch those changes with equilibrium, with the feeling in our hearts and minds that this is the nature of existence, only then do we begin to free ourselves from actions and reactions, which merely prolong the pain of attachment and sow more seeds of the same.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Shree Maa: Nowadays, there is no one doing intensive sadhana like Swamiji did so many years ago in India. One of the reasons Swamiji has come to this country is to show how to do sadhana, how to pull ourselves out of the muck of materialism and confusion.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Swamiji does not teach one spiritual technique to incorporate into life, but rather, like Shree Maa lives a deeply spiritual way of life, and teaches through his example. His concept of spiritual life is one in which we give more than we take and add value to others peoples lives.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Each moment is a festival. Each breath we take is a cause to celebrate. Each breath we take is another chance to remember God.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Swamiji is an open channel for receiving divine grace. Whoever is fortunate enough to be open to the divine flow will undoubtedly receive it. It remains up to us to direct the gift toward changing our own lives and sharing our love with all people we meet.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• When you worship any of the deities, you are worshipping all the other deities.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Spiritual practices are valuable, because they remind us to live a spiritual life.

    – from Before Becoming This

September 23 – September 29

• Worship is the bridge by which we bridge duality and non duality.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Shree Maa: It is very difficult to understand in your head. Therefore, we always say in our country to live in your heart. If you want to change your life, you can do it very quickly with your heart.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Shree Maa: Of all the planets with human life, this planet has the most duality. Therefore, if you perform spiritual practices, you won’t come back for a long time. Now you are thinking, “Oh, this is pleasure and pain, it’s nice.” But when you leave your body, you’ll feel free and you’ll say, “I’m going home!” If you perform good karma here, you will go to a beautiful place and you will not want to come back. But when it’s time to come back and teach people, you will.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Maa says, “If we are gentle, loving, kind and honest in our dealings, that is spiritual.” She teaches that true spirituality does not come wrapped in exotic packages, but in the fabric of everyday deeds and ordinary actions.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• Practice discrimination. Ask yourself which desires will bring you closer to God and which ones will take you further away from your goal.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Our teachers are always carrying out their idea of enabling every home to be a place of worship. They show us that it is possible to know God directly through worship, meditation, study of sacred texts, and through serving others.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• There is no one who is not on the path. Every individual soul is progressing in accordance with its own dharma. We have no right to be judgmental about others, even if it appears they lack harmony and balance.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

September 30 – October 6

• A human being is one who can control his mind.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Please decipher and weigh the ultimate principles of all existence. Sort through the ultimate principles of all the ideals of creation. In order to realize the ultimate ideals of existence, life should be dedicated to spiritual discipline.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Real human life is devoted completely to spiritual evolution. In order to devote ourselves to the realization of these ultimate ideals we need to cultivate some attitudes like peacefulness. Peacefulness in your nature is the foremost amongst energies. Cultivate peace. You, yourself, will understand if your actions bring peace, or are actually leading you in another direction.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Cultivate wisdom. In order to know God, it is most efficient to study the Sanskrit language. In the Sanskrit language there is an illumination of the wisdom of the soul. From the study of Sanskrit certain attitudes arise and become illuminated. The attitude of wisdom in all ideals of perfection are One. These vibrations become apparent in the study of Sanskrit.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• When you realize wisdom, then you will illuminate truth, consciousness, and bliss, within which, there exists no distinction of individual attributes. Especially among paths or ideals of perfection, no discrimination exists.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Always strive to maintain a relationship with the attitude of Truth. When we remain steadfast in the attitude of the ideal of perfection, then our ideal becomes firmly rooted in strength, our ideals become stronger. The sense of satisfaction and contentment reside within. When contentment dwells inside, then outside is characterized by the illumination of light, and we disseminate light in every direction. That illumination is the highest Ideal.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Strive to contain ego. Maintain the recollection that God within you is performing all action. Remember who you are. Who am I? I am nobody. Remembering Truth is meditation. In what ever circumstance you reside, remember who is residing there, and there will be no concept of gain or loss, difficulty or comfort.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

October 7 – October 13

• Devotion and wisdom are not separate paths. If you love (bhakti) something or someone then you strive to learn (gyan) more about this object or person.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• When you look at him, (Swamiji) his skin color and everything is totally dissolved, and you’re looking at the personality beyond the caste, creed and color. You see a human being who is what all world leaders and people who are working for world peace want to be. He’s not the physical self, he’s that one universal personality common to the whole world.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• At the same point in his puja every day, and at a different time of day while his eyes were closed and he was performing meditaion and doing japa (reciting the mantra of the deity), a man dressed in orange clothes with an orange turban wrapped on his head went up to Swamiji and put a mala (garland of flowers) around his neck and smeared his forehead with ashes. I witnessed this daily for nine consecutive days. On the last day, Swamiji started his puja while the doors were still locked. And yet, even with the doors bolted shut, the same man still came and placed a garland around Swamiji’s neck and smeared his forehead with ashes.

  After we left the temple and headed back to our rooms that last morning, Shree Maa turned to us and said, “Did you see that man who put ashes on Swamiji’s forehead and put a mala around his neck?”

  “Yes,” we replied.

  “That man was Shiva.”

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• The subtle body contains the samskaras, the tendencies that formulate your next birth. It attaches itself to the causal body.

    – from Before Becoming This

• We have three levels of consciousness: the gross body the subtle body, and the causal body. The subtle body is called the mind, the world of thoughts, ideas and dreams. The causal body knows the totality, and that allows enlightenment. When the causal body merges into the universal, you become one with God. You become a jivanmukta, liberated while in the body.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Everyone is divine and an avatar of the Supreme Divinity. We just have to wake up to our divine nature.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• She (Shree Maa) shared her nightly routine of feeling herself cradled in the lap of Vishnu, He who sustains and preserves all. On a wakening in the morning, she instructed us, that we were to bow to ourselves in the mirror, while acknowledging the divine energy that resides in each of us, and ask the Goddess to make our eyes her eyes, our hands her hands, and our feet her feet throughout the day.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

October 14 – October 20

• If you raise someone up you yourself find progress. We are not climbing a ladder of success or pulling people down to reach our goal. We are networking and helping each other.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Maa explains that as the mind becomes more absorbed in mantras and one pointed that the world naturally leaves you. You do not renounce the world, the world renounces you. Old patterns knock on your door and you are not home because your mind is currently focused on God.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• When we take birth, we come into this body with its five elements. The body is not eternal. There are five organs and five senses. When we take this body on earth, our actions are different. We forget ourselves when we live in the maya, this duality. Then a certain time comes to wake up.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Question: Does the Guru have a responsibility to her/his disciple.

  Answer: Of Course. If the Guru gives a disciple initiation, it is a big responsibility. You have to take care of the disciple for many lifetimes.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Hinduism says, “Yes, every object of manifested existence is divine. It can reflect divinity to anyone who wishes to perceive it. So worship God in any form you choose to see as divine.” The point is to worship, practice, meditate, contemplate and remember that there is a divine power which is superior to us.

    – from Before Becoming This

• You become the person your are striving to become. You can see the progress. You can watch yourself and begin to like yourself a little bit more each time you cut a bond. You feel a little bit more independence, a greater freedom every time you put aside one of those bonds of attachment.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• We are endowed with maintaining the ancient traditions by acting as an example to the next generation. We should start by increasing our recovery rate. Let’s first start by cultivating enough resistance so when we fall down we pop right back up again. We are moving towards the ultimate goal of being so rooted in faith, that no one can ever shake our roots.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

October 21 – October 27

• Every being manifested, and every moment that comes to birth, comes to birth because of unfinished business. There is some reason that it comes into manifestation, and the arrows we have shot will land. When the stimulus does come, do we act reflexively, or do we control ourselves and design a response that will bring us closer to what we want in the furtherance of our goals.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• There are many techniques to get more control over yourself. If you can identify the emotion, you can repeat the bija mantra that corresponds to the emotion. In this way you get control of the emotion. Then you can recite the mantra of the attitude that you want to replace the emotion with.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• If we act with attachment in duality, then we can only produce egotistical or attached behavior. If we surrender that action, free from attachment, we can aspire to live with the laws of universal dharma.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• Maa says that from your devotion wisdom will be illuminated.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

• Make peace. The eternal religion is pure love, pure truth. We cannot have world peace without individual peace. Faith in wisdom and God bring the highest peace.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: As long as I remain a devotee and this apprehension of “I”� remains, my identification as a devotee remains. At that time I have a belief that God is a perceivable entity and that I can have a relationship with Her. But if you allow worldly ideas to intrude, then this attitude of “I am a devotee” disappears. Then you believe “I am an actor” instead of “I am a devotee.”

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

October 28 – November 3

• In the Puranas it is written that Hanuman was such a strong devotee that for his benefit God assumed the form Rama.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Chanting and studying the scriptures leads us to our divine selves and motivates us to give up our selfishness.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Question: How do you feel about debt?

  Answer: We are seeking freedom. When you incur debt, what you are saying is, “I am going enjoy today and pay tomorrow.” So you are obligating your self tomorrow for today’s pleasure. We would say that’s not a good idea from a spiritual point of view. If you encumber yourself for tomorrow, then you won’t be free today. You have obligated yourself to spend time working in the marketplace in order to pay for yesterday’s enjoyments. You are borrowing karma.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Question: Does debt affect your mediation?

  Answer: Absolutely. You have to go work to do what you don’t want to do to pay off what you enjoyed yesterday.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Inquiry: But even if we didn’t have debt, we’d still have to go to work to pay for lodging and food.

  Response: Not necessarily. You might create a different standard of life and spend less time working. Then you would work for God instead, and whatever you need will come to you.

    – from Before Becoming This

• When the contemplations rise to the throat, the vishudhi chakra, all ignorance and all foolishness are renounced in favor of listening to the Eternal Truth of God and Words of Wisdom.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• The sixth residence (of consciousness) is the Ajna chakra in the forehead. If your awareness goes there, you have Eternal Vision of the Supreme Divinity. Still a little “I” remains.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

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May 6 – May 12

• The greatest power in the world is the mind. But the mind, like a restless unruly horse, does not remain still. When by the practice of yoga an individual disciplines the mind, the mind is then ruled by the all-pervasive soul. Such a person controls all the powers of the world.

    – from Shree Maa The Life of a Saint

• Oh,Goddess, Mother of the Universe, to the people who are devoted to you, you give inexpressible Peace and Delight. Give us your form, give us victory, give us welfare, remove all hostility.

    – from Chandi Path

• Worship does not mean the memorization of mantras, or even the proper placement of the flowers and other objects. Worship is an attitude of respect, of dedication, of devotion to the exclusion of selfishness.

    – from Siva Puja and Advanced Yajna

• Shiva is the Guru of all Gurus, and the five lettered mantra (Om Namah Shivaya) is the most basic building block of all Sanskrit sadhana. From the five-lettered mantra, we go to the nine-lettered mantra, to the mantra with eleven syllables, and so on. It grows and grows in complexity, sophistication and in the various qualities that a seeker will want to increase as he or she proceeds along the path. Start with the five-lettered mantra if you don’t have a Guru. If you worship Shiva, He will send the Guru who is appropriate for your personal development.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Only those who perform selfless expressions of love for the Guru have understood the wisdom of the Vedas and Puranas. They have attained to sannyas (the establishment of truth within). Others are merely making a pretense (of renunciation).

    – from The Guru and the Goddess

• The fruit of the attempt to satisfy desire is either knowledge or ignorance. Whenever we attempt to satisfy a desire we produce action. All action yields either the fruit of ignorance, strengthening the ego, the identification of individuality, or strengthening of unity, surrender of the ego. Either we have knowledge, which is communion, or ignorance, which is division.

    – from The Guru and the Goddess

• Serve a Guru. When we take material burdens from our example and inspiration, we get the opportunity to see what actions a pure soul performs in the material world. How has he or she organized their life? How do they sit? How do they breathe? How do they chant? How do they meditate? What do they do with their free time? What do they talk about? We get to work with them. What do they think about? What do they share? Do they talk about boats, about sports, about traveling? Or do they talk about inner space and how to go there? As you perform selfless actions, you get the opportunity to cultivate friendship with someone who can share with you inspiration and instruction, who can motivate you to make changes in your life. When we make ourselves into disciples and start effectively applying those changes in our own lives, we are going to find greater organization, a greater efficiency, a greater energy. Don’t be surprised if someone comes along and asks, Can I help you?

    – from The Guru and the Goddess

May 13 – May 19

• The first step in cultivating pure devotion is participating in satsanga.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• We are trying to propagate the dharma by preparing teaching tools. We don’t want to proselytize or start enrolling people and create an organization. We just want to share the dharma and inspire people to make their relationship with God vibrant. – Swamiji

    – from Before Becoming This

• Realizing the Supreme Divinity within is possible and not some pie in the sky ideal for the privileged few or chosen ones. God is for everyone.

    – from Sahib Sadhu The White Sadhu

• Shree Maa: Gita is the definition of the goal. It says again and again, What ever you do, do for God. Surrender your attachment. Give up your selfishness. The Chandi shows us how to do that. The Chandi says, sit down in one asana, in one posture and recite. Don’t move your knees until it is complete. Watch the Divine Mother cut down your attachments. Away with your anger, away goes desire. One by one She takes them away. The Chandi is the path to the realization of Gita.

    – Shree Maa The Life of a Saint

• Ramakrishna: When we attain to wisdom that is full, complete, and perfect, the human mind becomes silent.

    – Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Ramakrishna: So long as you persist in inviting the deluding power of maya into your life, how can you expect to become free of the bondage of I consciousness? Only if you stop inviting maya, will it be possible.

    – Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Ramakrishna: Whether you accept the Divine with form or not, if you have the understanding that God is real, then your prayers will be heard. If you don’t believe that God is real, then you’re wasting your time.

    – from Ramakrishna The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

May 20 – May 26

• If you don’t know the answer, surrender.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Show respect through your every action. If you serve truth, even disregarding all temptation to forsake the truth then you will attain divine strength.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• At the crack of dawn the next morning, we bathed at the banks of the Niranjana River. There were no flowers there to use in our worship, but Swamiji was unperturbed. “We shall do our puja an yagya with sand and leaves”, he told me. The puja went on for the entire day. All we had were leaves and a few sticks of incense. Swamiji drew the yantra in the sand, the sacred symbol which is the seat of the deity, and for each of the mantras of the Chandi Path, he placed a dry leaf on the yantra. – Sushil Choudhury

    – from Sahib Sadhu The White Sadhu

• This creation is a collection of souls who are making their personal pilgrimages by means of the laws of harmony and unity, of peace and truth. Or we could say that dharma comes about in creation when every individual soul strives in its pilgrimage towards perfection.

    – from The Guru and the Goddess

• The creation has come about in order to fulfill the quest for perfection. To our limited prejudiced perceptions we may think that others require greater harmony in their lives. In reality they are only fulfilling their dharma, which is the dharma of their particular yatra (pilgrimage).

    – from The Guru and the Goddess

• Not every one is able to have faith. Everyone has their own samskaras, their own karma. Not everyone will realize their divinity in this lifetime. It is a cycle of life, a cycle of karma. It takes many lifetimes of purification to come to a place where you have real faith. – Shree Maa

    – from Before Becoming This

• Books are filled with the wisdom of those great souls. Read the scriptures and commune with their wisdom. – Shree Maa

    – from Before Becoming This

May 27 – June 2

• There are many gifts more valuable than money: a kind word and a friendly smile often are regarded as the greatest wealth.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• It is possible to receive injury or put yourself at a disadvantaged position, if you pronounce incorrectly or say the wrong thing.

  We consider such statements as absurd and useless, tantamount to saying, Unless I direct your prayer, it is of know value at all, or it is not a real prayer unless I lead it. It is absolutely ridiculous to think that God would not appreciate the sincerity of our efforts, even though we may make technical errors. – Swamiji

    – from Pronunciation and the Chandi Samputs

• Ramakrishna: If you perform your activities in the world without first contemplating God, you are going to fall into worldliness. The burden of responsibility and worldliness will become unbearable.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Be content with small gains.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: The more you contemplate worldly attachments, the more your energy becomes weaker by the day. Before you cut open a jackfruit, cover your hands with oil. The jackfruit is extremely sticky, and without oil your hands will become stuck together. Just so, rub your mind with the oil of devotion to God. Then you can perform your worldly duties.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Everyone is looking for a miracle outside rather than looking at the power within.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna (to Keshab’s devotees): You tell me, who has the capacity to offer a benefit to the world? Is this world so small that you can benefit it? Who are you who can actually do some benefit to the world? In order to really benefit the world, one must realize God through sadhana. Then you gain Godliness. If she gives you the energy, then you can perform welfare for others. In the absence of divine inspiration it’s impossible.

    – Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

June 3 – June 9

• A balanced life consists of 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of spiritual practices.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Many people say this is the Kali yuga age or age of darkness. But the yugas are modes of perception. We choose to live in the Satya yuga age, the age of truth.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• The Sanatana Dharma touches on every aspect of life. It is about how you can manifest perfection in every action you perform. The Sanatana Dharma is about spiritual life. It’s not about practices. Practices are tangential to the main thesis. They are tools for reminding ourselves always to be engaged in the spiritual path.

    – from Before Becoming This

• In the morning remember the divine name in the brilliant lotus in the head, along with the Guru with two eyes and two arms, who grants the boons of freedom from fear and peace.

    – from The Guru and The Goddess

• Swami Satyananda has said over the years that the true spiritual aspirant gathers together all the loose threads of his or her life in order to focus on the goals and methods to reach them. To be a true sadhu is to be efficient, and give more than one takes.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Ramakrishna: I’m telling you the truth. It’s no fault of yours to be worldly, but you should keep your mind focused of God. If you don’t do that, you won’t be able to achieve your spiritual goals. Do your work with one hand and with the other hand grab onto God. When your karma is complete, then you’ll be able to hold onto God with both hands. The mind is both the source of your liberation as well as the source of your bondage.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Ramakrishna: If you wear fancy shoes on your feet, then you will sing or whistle like an Englishman. In whatever way you apply your mind, that way the mind will reflect. If a pundit studies Sanskrit, then from his mouth the shlokas will pour out very quickly. If you keep your mind with bad influences, you’ll begin to think about bad influences. That is the way you’ll begin to think; that is the way you’ll begin to speak. If you keep your mind with devotees, then your mind will think about God. You’ll speak about God.

    – Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

June 10 – June 16

• Become so firm in your faith that you will never swerve from your ideal.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• Ramakrishna: You may discriminate a thousand times, yet the I who is the thinker does not leave. For devotees to regard me with devotion is a very good thing. To the devotees I am the Supreme Divinity embodied in a human form, meaning that the Supreme Divinity Beyond Form has taken on qualities. When individuals take a form, they express through that form, and God listens to the prayers of a pure individual.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Ramakrishna: When a Devotee has a belief in a particular form of God and further develops a living relationship with that form, then there is no more confusion whatsoever. If you have vision of God in any form, then He Himself explains it all to you.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• I was reminded of a time that I had a physical problem and I remarked to Maa that I was slowing down. Rather than commiserating with me Maa smiled sweetly and replied, Your body is getting closer to God! One day we will leave our bodies and be with God. Isn’t that wonderful! At that moment I found a new depth in our mantra, Om Aim Hrim Klim Camundayai Vicce – One who can see birth, preservation, and destruction in all things is enlightened.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• It’s not hard. Every day you need to brush your teeth. In the same way, every day you have to think, I am a child of God.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Outside the temples there were often signs posted that read:
  Entrance for Hindus only. According to the true definition, a Hindu is one who abhors violence in every form, who always practices harmonious behavior, who loves wisdom, who is respects all teachers of wisdom and practices one pointed meditation. Such a one may be said to be a Hindu. Being Hindu has nothing to do with the country of your birth, the color of your skin, or what religion your mother or father practiced. Being a Hindu is an attainment.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Call upon the Divine Mother, sing Her names, narrate the tales of her saints, and become inspired to greater achievement. She is our beautiful, Beloved Mother. She grants the fruit of all karma. Worship Her with all your heart.

    – from Shree Maa: The Guru and the Goddess

June 17 – June 23

• Throughout the scripture we find an admonition to perform seva to the Guru, selfless service as an expression of love. Seva is different from work in that the performer feels privileged to demonstrate the intensity of love by performing and action, while a worker feels some expectation to receive in return.

    – from The Guru and The Goddess

• There are three forms of seva. The lowest form is when our respected one asks us, “Would you do this for me?” The middle form is when we divide areas of responsibility and we discharge our duties with an attitude of love. The highest seva is when we see an opportunity to demonstrate our love, and without being told or asked, we go out of our way to add value to another’s life.

    – from The Guru and The Goddess

• Through seva to the Guru, selfless service as an expression of love, we earn the privilege of learning and performing more karma yoga, and when our fickle minds stop modifications of the objects of consciousness, then we to realize the soul’s inherent union with divinity. We become the Guru. We become Supreme Divinity.

    – from The Guru and The Goddess

• Surrender the ego so that we can recognize God when he comes rather than passing our time trying to manipulate his creation.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• The fourth residence of awareness is the chakra of the heart. There you get your first glimpse of True Consciousness where on all sides you find the Vision of Light. The individual is mesmerized or astounded by the wonder of this Eternal Light, and he says “What is this?” Then his mind no longer has any tendency to move towards the lower levels of worldly attachments.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• When people have sattwic devotion, they meditate in private. They meditate underneath the mosquito net, while everyone else thinks they are asleep. Actually in the night they are awake, and that’s why they sleep late in the morning. They don’t care too much for their bodies. If they get a little food, it is sufficient. They have no desire for delicacies. They have no desire for expensive clothing. They have simple furnishings and no wish for fine decor. Yet they feel no want.

    – from Ramakrishna: The Nectar of Eternal Bliss

• Just think that while you’re here, your are an actor and then you’ll go home. Be the actor you can and realize it’s a play.

    – from Before Becoming This

June 24 – June 30

• The more we move towards satsanga the closer we come to wise and noble thoughts.

    – from Gems of Wisdom

• There are two kinds of love. There’s the love of selfish attachment, and there’s the love of surrender. When we love selfishly, we only think about what’s in it for me: I love you as long as my needs are fulfilled. When we love with unselfish surrender, we abandon all of our own personal considerations and give ourselves over to our beloved.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Question to Swamiji: What is the fastest way to enlightenment?

  As soon as we talk about speed in getting to a destination, we are defining the destination as an attainment. Enlightenment is not an attainment. It is something tangible that you can possess. Enlightenment is a realization in the moment. So the fastest way to enlightenment that I can suggest is to fall in love to the exclusion of all delusion. To fall in love – right now with such force and conviction that you surrender all duality and all attachments to your beloved. Make that love the supreme love of all your loves.

    – from Before Becoming This

• To be in the presence of our Guru, to be in the presence of God, is just as rewarding after many years as it was on the first day.

    – from Before Becoming This

• Shree Maa:

  I saw a vision of Swamiji coming down from heaven. His two hands were raised in a blessing, and he was chanting the Devi Suktam from the Chandi. He floated down through the air and went before the Shiva statue, and then merged into this idol of worship. On seeing this, I knew he was a divine man and that we must have some important karma together.

    – from Sahib Sadhu: The White Sadhu

• Shree Maa has entered my heart. No matter where I am or what I do, Mother’s presence is forever with me.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint

• The compassionate guru looked at the distressed young man and said, My dear Prapod, no one can run away to become a sannyasi. Sannyas is an attainment. It is a fact of life, not a discipline of life.

    – from Shree Maa: The Life of a Saint