Spiritual Discourses
Swamiji, if I were to follow the spiritual path would there be a change in me? What are the benefits of following the spiritual path?
By following the spiritual path, our thoughts and aims in life would be diverted in a more beneficial direction. We would get an insight into the wrong deeds that we have committed in our lives. We would also be able to realize what is true and what is false in this world. We would have a very clear perception of life. Therefore, by following the spiritual path, the right way of living would be clearly shown to you. The spiritual path identifies the purpose of human life. Many human beings are born and go through the worldly life without realizing its purpose…
“Embodiments of the Divine,
May God bless us in this human life that we may utter the name of the Divine.
Truly, our life span is very short. In this short time, what should we achieve? Whatever it is, we should not forget it. What do we need in order to achieve our aims? Devotion and patience are what is required. The quality of our lives depends upon the extent of our patience. (…)
By the grace of God you should all reach a high level. In order to establish righteousness in this world some great beings are destined to be born here. It is for this reason that saints, sages, and avatars are born – to re-establish devotion in this world, to immerse the world in devotion. They do this because there is much adharma, unrighteousness in this world, and less dharma. When they live in this world we do not really understand them, but when they are no longer here we think about them. (…)
Therefore, realize that your life is very short and in that short time you should know what you should realize, what you should know, and what you should attain. In your life time you should try to understand these great spiritual beings, their righteous paths and realize what they taught.”
Guru Poornima is a day to remember the saints, sages, avatars and spiritual masters who guide us on the spiritual path and who have been born on this earth from the time the world was created.
This day comes once in 365 days. On this day, let us think about those great souls and in our minds chant, “Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devor Maheshwaraha” and think of the Supreme who is the Guru of Gurus. Then think of the spiritual master you have accepted as your Guru and chant his or her name nine times. This will be equal to receiving the grace of your Guru for the entire year…
In worldly matters you have attachments, a jealous mind and other thoughts related to the world. In worldly matters such as in business, you may have doubts and want to know what is true and what is a lie because you have some worldly attachments. This is completely different from the spiritual perspective. When you come to the spiritual path you can very quickly find out what truth is and what a lie is. Initially it is very difficult to discriminate between truths and lies because sometimes your own ideas get in the way. Don’t allow your mind to be clouded by your own ideas, just observe.
We think of God’s name with devotion. It is a very rare opportunity to worship God in this life. Not everyone will get an opportunity like this. It is a great opportunity to spend your life immersed in the thought of God and to sing his name. You can’t get such an opportunity easily. You can easily get money, name, fame, position, wealth and pleasure. Oh God, can I forget myself and only think of you? Life will always have problems and difficulties but whatever problems I have they will not stop me from thinking of your blissful form. Only a person who has eaten sugar candy or honey will know what it tastes like. Similarly, only one who has realized God will know the magnificence of God…
Dear Divine Souls,
Many avatars and siddhas were born in this sacred land called India. When you are living on this blessed earth, try to bring your mind to a good state. You have got a good opportunity to do this. However, when we behave with ego, pride, jealousy, greed, anger and when we don’t show respect to others or we are not welcoming to others it means we are not at a mature level. You can bring your mind to a mature stage by becoming humble. Receive the blessings of the Divine Mother, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati during this Navaratri and live with peace and happiness, without disease, with strong and steady health, with a pure mind, without a competitive attitude and without ego, jealousy, pride or a critical mind…
In this human life we should focus our mind on God. To do this, we should think about how to reach his holy feet. In this mundane world we must create opportunities to achieve this. We pray to God to make it happen but our worldly problems stop us from doing this and confuse our mind. If we try to think about this too much our minds will get confused about whether or not we should follow the spiritual path. How can we think of God while living in this world?
This satsang was recorded at Edamalaipatti Pudur in Trichy in 1988. It is a previously unpublished satsang, which was recorded as a video.
“During his or her life, a human being should always try to follow a good path. However, the people in this world don’t think about it even for a moment. Human beings forget to try and attain a higher path in this life. If people thought about this for just a moment, they could surrender themselves at the feet of the Lord and make use of this opportunity. However, when they only think about themselves then everything they do will be done for fame, name, position, status and for selfish reasons. If a person wants to get closer to the temple of God, then God’s grace will always shower on them.”
This satsang was recorded at Thiruvanaikaval Temple Hall, Edamalaipatti Pudur in Trichy in 1985. It is a previously unpublished satsang, which was recorded as a video.
“Life is impermanent. In this impermanent life we are born to find the truth. If we don’t find out the truth now then when in our lifetime are we going to find it? What else is there to come close to other than the Lord’s divine lotus feet? We should think the purpose of our life is only to come close to his divine lotus feet. In order to realize the true ideas of our religion, the divine will send us on the correct path and make us carry out correct deeds. Patience is always very necessary for us to achieve anything. When we practise patience then we can be victorious. We have very little patience. We are confused because of tension, haste and hasty ideas. Be patient.”
-Satsang with Swamiji-
You need to talk kindly and very often to your mind about the benefits of spirituality and the impermanent nature of the material world. Constantly remind the mind about the transitory nature of material things and the pleasures that you seek. Desire creates desire. Desires are never satisfied. A monkey is always searching for fruits from the trees in the forest. Like that greedy monkey, the mind is always in search of pleasure….
