Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi

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"Holy Mother" painted by Swami Tadatmananda

Used courtesy of the Vedanta Society of Southern California

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Dedicated to Sri Sarada Devi
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Re: THE LORD’S DEAREST DEVOTEE



RE: "Gandhiji had such a quality; nobody need be frightened by him and nobody could frighten him also."

Comment: I have noted that, Gandhiji's favorite
readings, were the Sermon on the Mount and
the Bhagavad Gita.

We have just passed the 57th Anniversary of
Bapu's departure from the material world.
[January 30th, 1948]

I humbly suggest that we visit a page,
containing some quotes and other resources
concerning Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi,
at the following URL:

http://www.angelfire.com/me2/sutras/mg.html

[There are also some WAV sound files]

Gandhiji is known, primarily, for the political application, of the doctrine of Ahimsa,

Dr. Martin Luther King also received his direction from Bapu, as well as from his Christian training...

The wonderful power of love!

Re: THE LORD’S DEAREST DEVOTEE

Thanks Vriju for reminding me about the positive power and energy that Bhakti yoga brings within the devotee. I have been personally wondering about Bhakti with Jnana. Often Bhakti is seen as a sign of weakness but your posting and quote from the Bhagavad Geeta specifically addresses my own personal thoughts.

It is true that sometimes Bhakti can be reduced to mere sentimentalism. But true bhakti brings about the transformation you talk about. What can a devotee do so that when on the path of bhakti so that s/he does not slip into sentimental behavior?

Re: Re: THE LORD’S DEAREST DEVOTEE

Paritosh, you have raised a pertinent point -- Bhakti with Jnana. In fact we need a well balanced mix of all the four yogas in our life. Let me share with you all on Swamiji's Birthday the following notes (produced for the Vedanta Study Circle).

Source: 'Yoga for Beginners' by Swami Gnaneswarananda

"Three things," Swami Vivekananda said, "are necessary for a bird to fly — the two wings and the tail as a rudder for steering. Jñana is the one wing, Bhakti is the other, and [Raja] yoga is the tail that keeps up the balance."

Any of the four yogas (Jñanayoga, Bhaktiyoga, Karmayoga, and Rajayoga) prescribed for the different human psychological types, if followed to its logical conclusion, will lead to the highest spiritual realisation. However, it is rare to find a person who is pure type. The fact is that aspirants lean more towards one of the yogas than the others, due to certain natural, inborn tendencies, or samskaras. And today, life is so complex that specialisation in just one of the yogas is neither practical nor possible. How are we to integrate the four different aspects of Yoga in harmony?

Begin the day with Rajayoga. Prayer and meditation at the start of the day will give you an undercurrent of poise and steadiness. Even at work, whenever you have time to yourself, be a Raja yogi. The disciplines of Rajayoga develop tenacity and strengthen the will. Close the day, again with, Rajayoga, with concentration and meditation, eradicating all undesirable concepts that have clung to your consciousness during the day's activities.

Be a bhakta in your contact with others. See God in everything and offer worship to Him. You can worship God with flowers or with a Vacuum cleaner. Establish Him in your home, in your life. Make Him your constant companion. Know that life is the expression of Divinity. It is He who makes it loveable, makes it liveable. With every breath feel that it is He. Nurture and cultivate bhakti in secret, in your heart. Weep for your God. Then dry your tears and "powder your nose" before you go out to face the world. Do not make a display of your devotion; that is cheap sentimentalism. Discipline in bhakti is very necessary.

In the field of action be a Karmayogi. Work for the sake of work. Let your work be your worship. Always remain unattached to your work and do not let any desire creep in. Activity with desire leads to the greed of possession and forges the chain of attachment to "I and mine". Nothing belongs to anyone. Never seek to establish ownership of anyone or anything. Do not even say, "My body". Say "The body". There are several attitudes one may adopt in order to overcome this idea of possession. Desire and attachment, the inseparable twins, create a relationship of cause and effect. The chain of cause and effect leads the soul to births and deaths and keeps it limited.

"Throw self overboard" is the slogan of Karmayoga. Be a personality as fluid as water, which can fit into any environment. A personality that is always clashing with others is a personality "in the making". A crystal personality reflects every contact, but ever remains itself. It does not throw out any adverse vibrations. It is in complete harmony with all. Do not carry over one action or thought to another throughout the day. Be ready to attach and equally ready to detach your mind from your actions.

A Karmayogi knows the skill of adjusting his work and expressions according to the time, place, and the environment, always leaving room for the "unscheduled ingredient". Always consider your attitude in all your activities. Be perfect in both the subjective and objective aspects of activity.

Last but not least, let your life be balanced and controlled by the intellect. Knowledge of fundamental principles gives you latitude and the power of adjustment. It synthesises everything in life; it destroys any superiority complex. Jñana yoga develops discrimination and reasoning. The other yogas are held in form by it. It is the sustainer of other yogas. Let your entire day, nay, entire life, be controlled and guided by a disciplined and discriminative intellect, which to your life is like the rudder to a boat.

The practices and disciplines of the yogas are intended to bring the mind of the aspirant to a state of poise and steadiness. An unsteady and uncontrolled mind is a liability, never an asset.

By following the principles of four yogas in your daily life, you will always be in touch with the divine force, at work or at play. Ego-consciousness is the obstacle. Although yoga attempts to efface the individualised ego, this ego is very, very difficult to get rid of. It comes back even after realisation. So long as we are in a body we will have to have an ego-consciousness. Sri Ramakrishna often told his disciples: "Let the 'rascal' ego remain, but as the servant, the devotee of God."

We have to fight our own battles as much as we have to eat our own bread. No one can do you any good by eating bread for you. If we know only one principle, and can carry that into practice, it will be enough to make our lives holy. Truth is always simple. It is only falsehood that is intricate and complicated. Spirituality is simplicity. Only when everything about a person has become simple can the truth reveal itself in its simplest and healthiest form. It is weakness of the brain that gathers mystery around yoga. Yoga is not for the weak. Spiritual unfoldment does not mean the achievement of any supernatural or magical powers. Far from it!

What all the yogas teach is this: know God. Know that whatever is done through the machinery of your body and mind is because of the omnipotence of God. No matter what your conception of God may be, it is that God, that Infinite Power, which is expressing itself through your "container". Do not pay much attention to the containers. Realise the substance within, and you are free now.

Location: U.K.

Re: Re: Re: THE LORD’S DEAREST DEVOTEE

Thank you, Vriju, for sharing this beautiful guide to being a completely spiritualized person. This is really what the four yogas address: Our need to involve our entire being into our quest.

Location: San Diego, California, USA