Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Sept.10

Be at Rama’s Feet, Chant Nama Day and Night

Rama’s name is a formless saviour; chant it repeatedly. Hold to it firmly and you will be free from the cycle of birth and death. Shri Shiva recited nama for overcoming the effect of the poison he swallowed. The stories of Valmiki and Ajamela also show the importance of nama. In heaven, earth or hell, nama alone is the most effective remedy. Hanuman jumped across to Lanka by holding nama firmly in his heart. This sense  world is like an empty dream. Therefore, take the support of nama, the abiding truth.

Chanting of nama reduces sins to ashes. Many precious stones and other items came to surface when, in the mythological times, the oceans were churned. Nama is much more precious than those items. Even the teachings of the vedas are rectified in the process of chanting nama; it is simpler and achieves the same goal as yoga. The human mind itself is Shriram, and the soul animating the body is Atma-rama. It is the same Ultimate Reality that pervades and activates the entire universe, and therefore you should learn to recognize its manifestation among all the people; merge your own ‘self’ with this manifestation while maintaining nama on the tongue. The great Vasishtha merged with the ‘self’ and Shriram Himself became enslaved by accepting his tutorship. That is why, like a humble servant, I say that one who remembers Shriram does not have to worry about worldly affairs. Nama is a mine of truth, meditate on it. See Shriram everywhere, amongst all humans and animals. Protect the sacred cow, be compassionate to everybody, feed every visitor coming to you, discard sense pleasures by association with saints and remain in nama, unmindful of everything else.

Do not waste even a single breath, earnestly aspire for nama alone, don’t be carried away by the vagaries of the sensitive, subtle mind.
I take your leave now. But please listen to my last earnest request. I have told you today the sacred secret of Rama, nothing else is required. Follow this secret and become entitled to liberation. My sadguru has graced me with the name ‘Brahmachaitanya’. I am only a humble servant, constantly chanting nama.

* * * * *name is a formless saviour; chant it repeatedly. Hold to it firmly and you will be free from the cycle of birth and death. Shri Shiva recited nama for overcoming the effect of the poison he swallowed. The stories of Valmiki and Ajamela also show the importance of nama. In heaven, earth or hell, nama alone is the most effective remedy. Hanuman jumped across to Lanka by holding nama firmly in his heart. This sense  world is like an empty dream. Therefore, take the support of nama, the abiding truth.

Chanting of nama reduces sins to ashes. Many precious stones and other items came to surface when, in the mythological times, the oceans were churned. Nama is much more precious than those items. Even the teachings of the vedas are rectified in the process of chanting nama; it is simpler and achieves the same goal as yoga. The human mind itself is Shriram, and the soul animating the body is Atma-rama. It is the same Ultimate Reality that pervades and activates the entire universe, and therefore you should learn to recognize its manifestation among all the people; merge your own ‘self’ with this manifestation while maintaining nama on the tongue. The great Vasishtha merged with the ‘self’ and Shriram Himself became enslaved by accepting his tutorship. That is why, like a humble servant, I say that one who remembers Shriram does not have to worry about worldly affairs. Nama is a mine of truth, meditate on it. See Shriram everywhere, amongst all humans and animals. Protect the sacred cow, be compassionate to everybody, feed every visitor coming to you, discard sense pleasures by association with saints and remain in nama, unmindful of everything else.

Do not waste even a single breath, earnestly aspire for nama alone, don’t be carried away by the vagaries of the sensitive, subtle mind.

I take your leave now. But please listen to my last earnest request. I have told you today the sacred secret of Rama, nothing else is required. Follow this secret and become entitled to liberation. My sadguru has graced me with the name ‘Brahmachaitanya’. I am only a humble servant, constantly chanting nama.

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Aug.29

Religion: Blending of Morality and Spiritualism

Let us try to simplify this mystifying jargon about unity and duality. It is from a single elemental entity that these diverse forms which we see and sense have emanated. Duality appears real because we have lost sight of the fundamental unity that pervades the diverse-looking creation. This is an obvious illusion which pundits call maya. Living ever in the awareness of the fundamental unity, the true Reality, is to overcome this illusion. Illusion is the product of imagination, and can only be dispelled by correcting the imagination, by living in the company of those who are ever aware of the single Reality, God.
How can we belong to God? By giving up what made us part company with Him: maya. After all, maya is the handmaid, the creature, of God; so submit unreservedly to God, so that you will not get into the clutches of maya. Maya works through desire and doubt; these fail in assailing one who is ceaselessly in nama-smarana.
Nama, God’s name, is changeless, but His forms are changeful. Form does not mean only the visible shape, it includes all that the mind and imagination can envisage. Nama has no equivalent, it is immaculate, unique. What is perfect is satisfying, that is, it gives peace, which means lack of upsets and disturbances. That philosophy, that religion, alone is acceptable which definitely yields contentment. Religion is true blending of right behaviour or morality and spiritualism.
Man’s desire for more and more physical comfort leads to devising more and more amenities. Experience shows that this is an insatiable search that never yields contentment; on the contrary, it whets the desire for yet more amenities, a dissatisfaction in life, and destroys peace of mind. Knowledge which can only secure employment must be imperfect. It can only provide means of sustenance; the study and knowledge which bring peace and contentment are quite a different thing; so what is popularly known as ‘education’ need not be given paramount or undue importance.
Looking at the misery prevailing in this world, one may well doubt whether happiness, contentment, joy, can ever be found. The doubt, however, is baseless, for, on festive occassions we do assume, for the time being, utter freedom for worry. The only thing to do is to continue the worry-free attitude for all time.
* * * * *

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachan-Aug.15.

A Contented Mind Signifies Divine Grace

Our body is made of the five primal elements. We should realize which of these is my true self, the true ‘I’. It is clear that ‘I’ is not, unlike these elements, perishable. The real ‘I’ comes from the eternal Cosmic Soul, and therefore this ‘I’ tries to return to the original Reality, to recover the eternal existence, together with its unfailing state of happiness. When we feel devoid of this happiness, we can conclude that there is something wrong somewhere. God created man with a seed of His own potential in him, in order to perfect an imperfect and unhappy world. This could be done if We know what detracts from the innate happiness. When we know that a certain road is infested by highwaymen, we travel with a certain preparedness. One who is a true devotee is undaunted by obstacles; he does not mind trouble, for he works for God. An actor may play the part of a king in a drama, but cannot, in his heart of hearts, forget that he is a hireling. Similarly, we should play our part in the world with full awareness of our true position. We, however, fall a prey to the illusion that material things are lasting, and, getting ensnared into attachment for them, attach unjustified importance to self-pride. Also, we imagine that happiness lies in something that we do not possess, and therefore pine for what is not. We crave for evanescent sensual pleasures, and are pained when we discover their shallowness. He is truly wise who realizes the intrinsic value of things. Pundits and scholars talk about paramartha in bombastic terms and scare the common man into feeling that paramartha is a thing beyond his reach. This feeling is obviously fallacious. Paramartha is, indeed, essential, even indispensable, for every human being. It encompasses all branches of knowledge, just as the many rooms in a house are covered by a single roof. The shastras prescribe rules to be observed, the object being to discipline the mind and body. Add nama to this, and forge a link which puts you directly in touch with God. Remember that man is born, not for perishable worldly objectives but for nothing less than the attainment of the Eternal Reality, and its attribute of pure, permanent bliss, and lasting and unperturbable contentment. To live in nama- smarana is the easiest way to realize that condition. * * * * *

Sri Brahmachaithanya Pravachany- Aug.7

Nama Alone can Identify the Form of God

Devotion for God is definitely superior to the dry-as-dust, infertile, pedantic knowledge of God acquired through book-study; for devotion means love of the highest, purest order. Devotion, indeed, is the end, while Karma, Jnyana, and Yoga are the three different approaches. In the Karma approach, the mind pays attention to meticulous performance of procedures, and the sadhaka becomes rigidly orthodox, with scant regard to the essence, namely, God. The advocate of Yoga has to try to control the mind and its tendencies. This produces a vacancy of mind which may be devoid of love for God.
In the approach through knowledge, the emphasis is on the consideration of the subtle distinction between the spiritual and the non-spiritual. Such consideration calls for a keenly intellectual approach which may be beyond the scope of many persons. Besides, maya, the enveloping ignorance, is so potent a force that there is no knowing when a person may unwarily be misled, and become a prey to pride, because he is most likely to be entrenched in his set of opinions and convictions. The person versed in the shastras conceives creation as the activity of maya; that is, as unsubstantial. Since the Elemental Reality is all-pervading, and since creation is part of that Reality, argues the devotee, creation is but the sportive activity of the Elemental Reality. Therefore, he sees it as an expression of its prowess, Its personality, Its irrepressible, ebullient bliss. Creation is basically identical with what it is created from. All the various forms that we see in nature are made of what we may term the Original Element or Reality, just as different earthen pots are made by a potter from the same original clay. We identify them by different names according to their sizes and shapes, such as cups, saucers, jugs and pitchers. Similarly, the same God can be given different appellations according to the forms and deeds viewed by different persons. These eventually become traditional. Whatever the names used the qualities, the forms and the deeds ascribed are the manifestations of the same God. It is the name, that raises the idea of form. The forms may eventually cease to be visible, but the name, that remains for ever. Nama thus transcends space and time. It is therefore truer than apparent forms. To recognize this Ultimate Truth is the purpose of spiritual quest.
* * * * *