In the city of Brahman is a secret dwelling, the lotus
of the heart. Within this dwelling is a space, and within
that space is the fulfillment of our desires. What is within
that space should be longed for and realized.

As great as the infinite space beyond is the space
within the lotus of the heart. Both heaven and earth
are contained in that inner space, both fire and air, sun
and moon, lightning and stars. Whether we know it in
this world or know it not, everything is contained in
that inner space.

Never fear that old age will invade that city; never
fear that this inner treasure of all reality will wither
and decay. This knows no age when the body ages; this
knows no dying when the body dies. This is the real
city of Brahman; this is the Self, free from old age, from
death and grief, hunger and thirst. In the Self all desires
are fulfilled.

The Self desires only what is real, thinks nothing
but what is true. Here people do what they are told,
becoming dependent on their country, or their piece
of land, or the desires of another, so their desires are
not fulfilled and their works come to nothing, both in
this world and in the next.

Those who depart from this world without knowing who
they are or what they truly desire have no freedom here
or hereafter.

But those who leave here knowing who they are and
what they truly desire have freedom everywhere, both
in this world and in the next.

Like strangers in an unfamiliar country walking over
a hidden treasure, day by day we enter the world of
Brahman while in deep sleep but never find it, carried
away by what is false.

The Self is hidden in the lotus of the heart. Those who
see themselves in all creatures go day by day into the
world of Brahman hidden in the heart. Established
in peace, they rise above body-consciousness to the
supreme light of the Self. Immortal, free from fear, this
Self is Brahman, called the True. Beyond the mortal and
the immortal, he binds both worlds together. Those who
know this live day after day in heaven in this very life.

The Self is a bulwark against the confounding of these
worlds and a bridge between them. Day and night
cannot cross that bridge, nor old age, nor death, nor grief,
nor evil or good deeds. All evils turn back there, unable
to crosss; evil comes not into this world of Brahman.

One who crosses by this bridge, therefore, if blind, is
blind no more; if hurt, ceases to be hurt; if in sorrow,
ceases sorrowing. At this boundary night itself becomes
day: night comes not into this world of Brahman.

Only those who are pure and self-controlled can find
this world of Brahman. That world is theirs alone. In that
world, in all the worlds, they live in perfect freedom.

-- The Chandogya Upanishad.

Source: God Makes the Rivers to Flow -- Sacred Literature of the World Selected by EKNATH EASWARAN.

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Namaste Ankur ji,

Beautiful words indeed. Here ia another quote for today, from Hindu Scripture,
compliments of: ISKCON International Centre for KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

Respected Web admin,
thank you for the beautiful matching quote. I have bought the whole set of the Srimad Bhagavatam published by Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, and God willing hope to read it some day in the future. I will like to share a little story I remember about this holy text. Perhaps you already know it. Sage Vyasa who composed the Mahabharata and other holy scriptures was in spite of these stupendous contributions of his and his vast knowledge not at peace with himself. Following his heartfelt prayer, the Lord told him to compose the story of His Divine Play, Leela on Earth as Sri Krishna and thus the Srimad Bhagavatam came to be composed. It is said that the sage attained peace after that.
Regards.
PS. Please see also Chapter 7, Verse 14, of the Bhagavad Gita for a similar sloka.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Namaste Ankur ji,

Beautiful words indeed. Here ia another quote for today, from Hindu Scripture,
compliments of: ISKCON International Centre for KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur ji,

I think that it is wonderful, for you to have the complete
set of Srimad Bhagavatam. Your intention to read them all is
indeed laudatory.

You wrote: "Sage Vyasa who composed the Mahabharata and other holy scriptures was in spite of these stupendous contributions of his and his vast knowledge not at peace with himself."

Comment: According to excellent sources, the sage Vyasa was none other than the Lord Himself. Then how is it possible that He was 'not at peace with Himself'?

When the Lord assumes a human body, he also takes on the infirmities and imperfections that this implies.

Here is an interesting article:

Srila Vyasadeva

By Stephen Knapp

This is further elaborated that, “In every Dvapara [or third] age, Vishnu, in the person of Vyasa, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the Vedas, which is properly but one, into many portions: observing the limited perseverance, energy and application of mortals, he makes the Veda four-fold to adopt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is known by the name of Vedavyasa.” (Vishnu Purana, Book Three, Chapter Three)

To explain further about Srila Vyasadeva, he is not the same person in each incarnation but is usually an empowered individual jiva soul that appears as Vyasadeva to do the service for humanity. Jiva Gosvami quotes the Vishnu Purana (3.4.2-5) in his Tattva-sandarbha (16.2) that a different empowered jiva soul takes the position of Vyasadeva in each incarnation as a shaktyavesha-avatara. This takes place just as each Kali-yuga begins so that He can divide and categorize the Vedic knowledge for the benefit of the masses. Therefore, Vyasadeva is often a position rather than the special name of the person.

So Vyasadeva started doing this many thousands of years ago. However, in this particular divya-yuga in which we are in, or cycle of the four ages, Lord Narayana Himself appears as Srila Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa to divide the Vedic literature into various branches, which means that in this particular incarnation He is not simply an empowered living entity.

These verses clearly explain how Srila Vyasadeva is none other than the incarnation of the Supreme Being, Vishnu, Narayana, who appeared in this world to compile and divide the Vedas so that people of all levels of intelligence can understand them.

Excerpted from: www.stephen-knapp.com/srila_vyasadeva.htm


Further comment:

We can see that Jesus of Nazareth also experienced a momentary 'lack of peace
within Himself':

The agony in the garden of Gethsemani

"Jesus fell upon the ground and began to pray a doleful prayer: "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done." (Mk 14:36 ) So troubled and distressed had he become by what he saw before him - a brutal death- that "his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground". ( Luke 22:43) Returning three times to seek his disciples' support, he found them asleep.

In that dark night, when evil had its way, Jesus found support in only One. "Abba, Father." A child's cry came from his heart. Cold fear, betrayal, the desertion of friends, the false judgments of others, the whips, the nails, the hard wood could not stop it. His childlike trust in God would not be broken, even through the hours of pain and tears."

FROM: www.cptryon.org/prayer/season/agony.html

Om Shanthi Om
===============

Many thanks, respected web admin. You have explained it beautifully and I especially liked the portion on the Lord Jesus. Yes, the Lord when He takes on an embodied form does suffer like us in order to teach us how to pray to Him and get release from suffering. His is a play, and He plays it exceptionally well! How I love the tales of Jesus. The few that I have come across.
I remember here the story of Gajendra Moksha. Gajendra, the king of elephants, was the reincarnation of an advanced spiritual aspirant who had fallen from the path, and his realization of utter helplessness and cry to Vishnu from the depths of His heart as His one and only saviour (his earthly relations having failed to extricate him from his predicament) is really beautiful. Once I nearly drowned in the Brahmaputra. That was on December 25, 1995. We had gone to Rakshasini island for a picnic. I disobeying mother and wandered off as I always like to explore unknown places. Then I slipped into the Brahmaputra which was quite deep there. I called out to my earthly relations, thrice went under water and then cried to the Lord and somehow I got a hold for my hands. I appealed to some boys who were on a overhanging nearby. They expressed their inability to aid me as the water was too deep. Somehow I got up on shore and came back to the picnic spot through the jungle, my new sweater torn!
Thank you once again.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

I think that it is wonderful, for you to have the complete
set of Srimad Bhagavatam. Your intention to read them all is
indeed laudatory.

You wrote: "Sage Vyasa who composed the Mahabharata and other holy scriptures was in spite of these stupendous contributions of his and his vast knowledge not at peace with himself."

Comment: According to excellent sources, the sage Vyasa was none other than the Lord Himself. Then how is it possible that He was 'not at peace with Himself'?

When the Lord assumes a human body, he also takes on the infirmities and imperfections that this implies.

Here is an interesting article:

Srila Vyasadeva

By Stephen Knapp

This is further elaborated that, “In every Dvapara [or third] age, Vishnu, in the person of Vyasa, in order to promote the good of mankind, divides the Vedas, which is properly but one, into many portions: observing the limited perseverance, energy and application of mortals, he makes the Veda four-fold to adopt it to their capacities; and the bodily form which he assumes, in order to effect that classification, is known by the name of Vedavyasa.” (Vishnu Purana, Book Three, Chapter Three)

To explain further about Srila Vyasadeva, he is not the same person in each incarnation but is usually an empowered individual jiva soul that appears as Vyasadeva to do the service for humanity. Jiva Gosvami quotes the Vishnu Purana (3.4.2-5) in his Tattva-sandarbha (16.2) that a different empowered jiva soul takes the position of Vyasadeva in each incarnation as a shaktyavesha-avatara. This takes place just as each Kali-yuga begins so that He can divide and categorize the Vedic knowledge for the benefit of the masses. Therefore, Vyasadeva is often a position rather than the special name of the person.

So Vyasadeva started doing this many thousands of years ago. However, in this particular divya-yuga in which we are in, or cycle of the four ages, Lord Narayana Himself appears as Srila Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa to divide the Vedic literature into various branches, which means that in this particular incarnation He is not simply an empowered living entity.

These verses clearly explain how Srila Vyasadeva is none other than the incarnation of the Supreme Being, Vishnu, Narayana, who appeared in this world to compile and divide the Vedas so that people of all levels of intelligence can understand them.

Excerpted from: www.stephen-knapp.com/srila_vyasadeva.htm


Further comment:

We can see that Jesus of Nazareth also experienced a momentary 'lack of peace
within Himself':

The agony in the garden of Gethsemani

"Jesus fell upon the ground and began to pray a doleful prayer: "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done." (Mk 14:36 ) So troubled and distressed had he become by what he saw before him - a brutal death- that "his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground". ( Luke 22:43) Returning three times to seek his disciples' support, he found them asleep.

In that dark night, when evil had its way, Jesus found support in only One. "Abba, Father." A child's cry came from his heart. Cold fear, betrayal, the desertion of friends, the false judgments of others, the whips, the nails, the hard wood could not stop it. His childlike trust in God would not be broken, even through the hours of pain and tears."

FROM: www.cptryon.org/prayer/season/agony.html

Om Shanthi Om
===============

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "Yes, the Lord when He takes on an embodied form does suffer like us in order to teach us how to pray to Him and get release from suffering."

Comment: As a matter of fact, the Holy Mother also suffered much for us, as is made apparent in this excellent quote from "In The Company of The Holy Mother":

"When a householder disciple complained to Holy Mother about her seemingly inordinate attachment to her niece, she made the significant remark, "Everyone says that I am terribly attached to Radhu, but without this attachment I could not have kept my body alive after the Master's death.

"Thus it is the Master himself who has made me cling to Radhu - just to preserve ny body. When my mind becomes indifferent to her I shall leave this world."

Additional Comment: So, the suffering, which resulted from her attachment to Radhu, kept Mother's mind from soaring to the higher planes. We must remember, that the Master taught her very well 'how to meditate' and achieve samadhi.

As Sri Ramakrishna said: "He is within us, in our hearts.
Again, He is outside. The most advanced devotees say that
He Himself has become all this - the twenty-four cosmic
principles, the universe. and all living beings.
*The devotee of God wants to eat sugar, not to become sugar. "

The jnani says: "Soham Siva"
*The Bhakta says: "Hare Krishna Hare Ram"
...and the Shakta says: "Jai Ma!"

I really enjoyed reading about your experience
with near disaster in the mighty Brahmaputra.
I am sure that, the thought must have crossed your mind at the time: "God must have a big plan for me"
And so He has. I am sure that every visitor to Mother's Courtyard appreciates and honours your excellent contributions. Very useful dialogue,
I must say.
======================================

Om Shanthi Om

Hello again Ankur ji et al,

In the previous posting, we quoted a passage
from: "in The Company Of The Holy Mother",
describing her sufferings, for the benefit
of the devotees.

Here is another beautiful quote from the
same publication. further illustrating
the sufferings of the Holy Mother on behalf
of struggling humanity:

The Holy Mother took full responsibility for her disciples. During her last illness she said, "Even if this body dies, do you think that I shall have inner peace as long as a single soul among those whose responsibility I have taken remains unliberated? Is initiation a mere trifle? What a heavy weight the guru has to carry! How many worries he has to go through!"

She often suffered from intense physical pain when people of wicked character touched her feet. She felt as if they were being burnt and had to wash them repeatedly to get rid of the pain.

It was the kindness of her mother's heart which impelled her to initiate people and take upon herself their sins. She once said, "I give initiation out of compassion. They do not leave me; they weep. This moves my heart. Otherwise what do I gain?

"I have to take upon myself the sins of those I initiate. I say to mself, 'This body will die some day, but let them be awakened'."

During the last part of her life, when she was physically weak and had to spend a great part of time in bed, she used to keep awake many an hour at night praying and repeating the Lord's name for the welfare of those disciples who neglected their own spiritual disciplines.

-also-

"Who indeed has understood Holy Mother? In her there is not the slightest manifestation of power. The Master displayed the power of enlightenment. But in Holy Mother even that is absent. Indeed what a great power she is! We send to her the poison that we cannot swallow. She welcomes all. Such unlimited power!

"Such compassion! Even the Master could not act thus, not to speak of us. He used to pick and choose his disciples. And what do we see in the Mother? She gives shelter to all. She swallows all this poison and digests it too."

One day a disciple asked her, "Well Mother, do you always remember your real nature?" "How could that be?" she replied. "How then, could I perform all these duties? But even in the midst of my activities, whenever I wish, I can understand by the slightest effort that all this is the mere play of MahAmAyA."

Jai Ma!

Nahabat Web Admin

Respected web admin,
recently I bought a book, "Philosophy of Life and Death" by MV Kamath. "It is a good book", remarked Sri Fhanindra holding it in his hands when I showed it to him. I quote a passage from the summing up of the book by the author, "In the end it is not what we take from society but what we give to it that alone is relevant. A good life may not promise a painless end, but it will surely will make for a peaceful end. Pain has nothing to do with goodness. Ramakrishna Paramahansa, one of India's great saints, died of cancer of the throat. When he was asked how he would explain this, he gave the obvious answer. Where there is form, there is pain, there is suffering. Ramakrishna's inner self was totally at peace; it was his external self that was being ravaged.
There is no way in which most of us can escape pain. Pain is inherent in life. TO pray for a painless end, in the circumstances, is to pray for the impossible. What one should pray for is a peaceful end and that should be within the reach of most of us.---
One does not have to believe in any theory about life and death to be able to die with a song on one's lips and a prayer in one's heart.---
Tagore had a proper appreciation of the place of man in the scheme of things and a truly relevant attitude towards death. 'In the playhouse of infinite forms I have had my play and here I have caught sight of him that is formless.' How so much like Santayana! Or again: 'In one salutation to thee, my God, let all my senses spread out and touch this world at Thy feet.' There is total surrender here. No resistance, no anger, no frustration. Just acceptance. And that final invocation in the Gitanjali: 'Like a flock of homesick cranes flying night and day back to their mountain nests, let all my life take its voyage to its eternal home in one salutation to Thee.' With such thoughts, one might well ask with Henry Francis Lyte: 'Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?'"

When I was in Advaita Ashrama, an elderly Swami told me that Swami Ijyananda had written to him from Guwahati that he was remembering mother (Holy Mother Sarada Devi) and wished to go to Her. A few months after this he passed away.

A few weeks perhaps before my paternal granduncle passed away, one day during Durga Puja, a neighbour asked him at the gate of our Pat. Grandfather's house, "Wherefrom have you come?" He replied, "Home." Then when the neighbour had departed from there he told me with a smile, "I have just come from the Durga mandap (worship place). That is our real home. Is it not?"

Some time before my maternal grandmother passed away this April, she one day told me, "I have no mother now. So I call upon the Devi (Durga) as mother!" She was suffering from malignant melanoma but passed away very peacefully as predicted by Sri Fhanindra and to the astonishment of the doctors attending on her during her last month in Hospital. One doctor told me, "The disease she was sufering from was extremely painful. Yet she absorbed all. She was an evolved soul." Sri Fhanindra said she has attained moksha, will not be born again.
Regards.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Hello again Ankur ji et al,

In the previous posting, we quoted a passage
from: "in The Company Of The Holy Mother",
describing her sufferings, for the benefit
of the devotees.

Here is another beautiful quote from the
same publication. further illustrating
the sufferings of the Holy Mother on behalf
of struggling humanity:

The Holy Mother took full responsibility for her disciples. During her last illness she said, "Even if this body dies, do you think that I shall have inner peace as long as a single soul among those whose responsibility I have taken remains unliberated? Is initiation a mere trifle? What a heavy weight the guru has to carry! How many worries he has to go through!"

She often suffered from intense physical pain when people of wicked character touched her feet. She felt as if they were being burnt and had to wash them repeatedly to get rid of the pain.

It was the kindness of her mother's heart which impelled her to initiate people and take upon herself their sins. She once said, "I give initiation out of compassion. They do not leave me; they weep. This moves my heart. Otherwise what do I gain?

"I have to take upon myself the sins of those I initiate. I say to mself, 'This body will die some day, but let them be awakened'."

During the last part of her life, when she was physically weak and had to spend a great part of time in bed, she used to keep awake many an hour at night praying and repeating the Lord's name for the welfare of those disciples who neglected their own spiritual disciplines.

-also-

"Who indeed has understood Holy Mother? In her there is not the slightest manifestation of power. The Master displayed the power of enlightenment. But in Holy Mother even that is absent. Indeed what a great power she is! We send to her the poison that we cannot swallow. She welcomes all. Such unlimited power!

"Such compassion! Even the Master could not act thus, not to speak of us. He used to pick and choose his disciples. And what do we see in the Mother? She gives shelter to all. She swallows all this poison and digests it too."

One day a disciple asked her, "Well Mother, do you always remember your real nature?" "How could that be?" she replied. "How then, could I perform all these duties? But even in the midst of my activities, whenever I wish, I can understand by the slightest effort that all this is the mere play of MahAmAyA."

Jai Ma!

Nahabat Web Admin

Location: Guwahati

Namaste Ankur ji,

Your beautiful and relevant quotations are much appreciated. 'Leaving it all in the Master's hands' is the ideal solution for life's ups and downs.

You wrote: "Ramakrishna Paramahansa, one of India's great saints, died of cancer of the throat. When he was asked how he would explain this, he gave the obvious answer. Where there is form, there is pain, there is suffering. Ramakrishna's inner self was totally at peace; it was his external self that was being ravaged."

Comment: Sri Ramakrishna also said: 'Disease is the tax which the soul pays for the body, as the tenant pays house-rent for the use of the house.'

RE: "'Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?'"

Comment: Here is a relevant quote from "In The Company Of The Holy Mother":
"After Thakur's passing, Sarada was about to take off her ornaments and put on the white garment of a Hindu widow, Sri Ramakrishna appeared before her, took hold of her hands, and said, "Why are you behaving like a widow? Am I dead? I have just moved from one room to another."

-also- "The Self which is free from sin, free from old age, from death and from grief, from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing but what it ought to desire, and imagines nothing but what it ought to imagine, that it is which we must search out, that it is which we must try to understand. He who has searched out that Self and understands it, obtains all worlds and all desires." Chandogya Upanishad 8.7.1

Additional Comment: We often dream of departed loved ones, conversing with them, spending time with them etc. So what is reality? The dream world or the waking world?

Sri Ramakrishna said: "“A son was born to a peasant late in life. He raised the boy with great care. The boy grew up in time. One day the peasant was working in the field when somebody came to him and said, ‘Your boy is seriously ill. He might not survive.’ When the man reached home, his boy was dead. His wife was weeping bitterly but the eyes of the peasant remained dry. She complained to a neighbour sadly, ‘He has lost such a nice son, but there is not a tear in his eye!’ After a long time, the peasant said to his wife, ‘You know why I am not crying? I had a dream last night. I saw that I had become a king and the father of seven sons. I also saw in the dream that the boys were people of great quality. As they grew, they acquired knowledge and religion. Then the dream ended. I say to myself: Should I cry for your one son – or those seven sons?’ Jnanis believe that the state of dream is as true as the wakeful state."

"“The Lord indeed is the doer. Everything happens according to His will.”"

Om Tat Sat
=============

Thank you, respected web admin. The quotes are pertinent indeed and how beautiful too if one thinks of them. Mulling over them is like sqeezing oil out of mustard seeds. "I have just moved from one room to another." How true. And "Jnanis believe that the state of dream is as true as the wakeful state." Or conversely equally unreal. But I like Swami Turiyananda's defination in this regard. "The world is true. Brahman is true. The truth of this world rests upon (or depends for its existence) on the truth of Brahman."
Regards.

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur ji,

RE: "And "Jnanis believe that the state of dream is as true as the wakeful state." Or conversely equally unreal"

Comment: Very well said.

Sri Ramaksirhna said this about TRUTH:

"It is said that truthfulness alone constitutes
the spiritual discipline of the Kaliyuga.
If a man clings tenaciously to truth
he ultimately realizes God."

"If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God.
Without this regard for truth he gradually loses everything.

If by chance I say that I will go to the pine- grove,
I must go there even if there is no further need of it,
lest I lose my attachment to truth.

After my vision of the Divine Mother, I prayed to Her,
taking a flower in my hand:

'Mother, here is Thy knowledge and here is Thy ignorance.
Take them both and give me only pure love.
Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy good and here is Thy evil.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy righteousness and here is Thy unrighteousness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love'.
I mentioned all these, but I could not say:
'Mother, here is Thy truth and here is Thy falsehood. Take them both'.

I gave up everything at Her Feet,
but could not bring myself to give up truth".


-also-

RE: "The truth of this world rests upon (or depends for its existence) on the truth of Brahman." - Swami Turiyananda

Sri Ramaksishne said:

"The Primordial Power is ever at play.
She is creating, preserving, and destroying in play, as it were.
This Power is called kAli. kAli is verily Brahman,
and Brahman is verily kAli. It is one and the same Reality."

Om MahaKali Om
===============

Respected web admin,
the Ramakrishna quote is beautiful. I once took upon myself to try to observe the vow of Truthfulness. I failed. People have often praised me for being honest. But I know I am only selectively honest! Really, it wiil make one an angel if one successfully observes any one of the vows mentioned by Patanjali in his Yamas and Niyamas. But how difficult in practice. Rama is called the embodiment of Truth. That was his speciality just as Renunciation is the speciality of Sri Ramakrishna in the Holy Mother's words. I think she said about Sri Ramakrishna that she had nowhere seen such a natural renunciation as of Sri Ramakrishna. Perhaps that is also the special requirement of this age, when we need to renounce at least mentally or try to do so, in order to attain peace. Whatever we do, the path of Good is fraught with great obstacles. But practicing, practicing, the dull mind becomes sharp, just as repeated rubbing by even a rope leaves marks on a stone! These are delightful quotes remembered from a young age. If only the remembrance entered the heart and we put up a struggle before we die. Then we would not be ashamed to face our beloved divine parents, otherwise the end will come, the messengers of Yama will come to take us, the soul will give witness, who will bail us then?
Regards and love,
Ankur

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

RE: "And "Jnanis believe that the state of dream is as true as the wakeful state." Or conversely equally unreal"

Comment: Very well said.

Sri Ramaksirhna said this about TRUTH:

"It is said that truthfulness alone constitutes
the spiritual discipline of the Kaliyuga.
If a man clings tenaciously to truth
he ultimately realizes God."

"If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God.
Without this regard for truth he gradually loses everything.

If by chance I say that I will go to the pine- grove,
I must go there even if there is no further need of it,
lest I lose my attachment to truth.

After my vision of the Divine Mother, I prayed to Her,
taking a flower in my hand:

'Mother, here is Thy knowledge and here is Thy ignorance.
Take them both and give me only pure love.
Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy good and here is Thy evil.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy righteousness and here is Thy unrighteousness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love'.
I mentioned all these, but I could not say:
'Mother, here is Thy truth and here is Thy falsehood. Take them both'.

I gave up everything at Her Feet,
but could not bring myself to give up truth".


-also-

RE: "The truth of this world rests upon (or depends for its existence) on the truth of Brahman." - Swami Turiyananda

Sri Ramaksishne said:

"The Primordial Power is ever at play.
She is creating, preserving, and destroying in play, as it were.
This Power is called kAli. kAli is verily Brahman,
and Brahman is verily kAli. It is one and the same Reality."

Om MahaKali Om
===============

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "....the end will come, the messengers of Yama will come to take us, the soul will give witness, who will bail us then?"

Comment: When we have surrendered our souls at the feet of the Fearless Ones [The Holy Trio], what fear is there for us from the god of death?

And, of course, we have the promise of the Holy Mother:

In her relationship with her disciples, Holy Mother was not a hard disciplinarian. She won their hearts through her love, which was showered with equal measure upon the virtuous and the wicked. To those who repented their sinful conduct, she gave reassurance.

To such a one she once said, "Do not fear my child. Always remember that the Master is behind you. I am also with you. As long as you remember me, your mother, why should you be frightened? The Master said to me, 'In the end I shall cetainly liberate those who come to you'."

On another occasion she said, "Suppose one of my children has smeared himself with dirt. It is I, and no one else, who shall have to wash him clean and take him in my arms. To make mistakes is man's very nature; but few of those who criticize know how to correct them."

Repeatedly, Holy Mother said, "I am the mother of the wicked as I am the mother of the virtuous."

To reassure her disciples, she used to say, "Never fear. Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself, 'I have a mother'."

On Renunciation:

You wrote: "....we need to renounce at least mentally or try to do so, in order to attain peace.

Comment: So very true.

Sri Ramakrishna said: "For you people what is required is renunciation in the mind. Live in your family without attachment.’’

"It is different with tyagis (those who have renounced the world). Taking their mind from ‘lust and greed,’ they give it to the Lord and only sip the sweetness of Hari’s name. A genuine man of renunciation doesn’t like anything but the Lord. When he hears worldly talk, he gets up and leaves. He only listens to Godly matters. The genuine renouncer talks of nothing but the Lord.

"The bee sits only on flowers, for it drinks honey. It likes no other thing."


Om Tat Sat
===========

Thank you, web admin. I have nothing to add or comment on these quotes.
Only personally I am still diffident. Why? Because the road that I seem to be following promises no good in the end. Yes, if repentance comes, I fully believe and trust in Holy Mother's assurances. But till then I live not in acceptance of my present self. God, Guru and Sri Fhanindra alone knows what plans they have, if any, for me. Yes, his company is redemptive. That I feel sometimes and that is my hope.
Regards.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "....the end will come, the messengers of Yama will come to take us, the soul will give witness, who will bail us then?"

Comment: When we have surrendered our souls at the feet of the Fearless Ones [The Holy Trio], what fear is there for us from the god of death?

And, of course, we have the promise of the Holy Mother:

In her relationship with her disciples, Holy Mother was not a hard disciplinarian. She won their hearts through her love, which was showered with equal measure upon the virtuous and the wicked. To those who repented their sinful conduct, she gave reassurance.

To such a one she once said, "Do not fear my child. Always remember that the Master is behind you. I am also with you. As long as you remember me, your mother, why should you be frightened? The Master said to me, 'In the end I shall cetainly liberate those who come to you'."

On another occasion she said, "Suppose one of my children has smeared himself with dirt. It is I, and no one else, who shall have to wash him clean and take him in my arms. To make mistakes is man's very nature; but few of those who criticize know how to correct them."

Repeatedly, Holy Mother said, "I am the mother of the wicked as I am the mother of the virtuous."

To reassure her disciples, she used to say, "Never fear. Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself, 'I have a mother'."

On Renunciation:

You wrote: "....we need to renounce at least mentally or try to do so, in order to attain peace.

Comment: So very true.

Sri Ramakrishna said: "For you people what is required is renunciation in the mind. Live in your family without attachment.’’

"It is different with tyagis (those who have renounced the world). Taking their mind from ‘lust and greed,’ they give it to the Lord and only sip the sweetness of Hari’s name. A genuine man of renunciation doesn’t like anything but the Lord. When he hears worldly talk, he gets up and leaves. He only listens to Godly matters. The genuine renouncer talks of nothing but the Lord.

"The bee sits only on flowers, for it drinks honey. It likes no other thing."


Om Tat Sat
===========

Location: Guwahati

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "...the road that I seem to be following promises no good in the end."

Comment: Never mind 'the road you seem to be following', bacause we can see, by your well-composed postings, that you are an intelligent person.

In other words, an intelligent person will choose carefully his 'road'.

If you see that the road you are following, is leading
you away from God, then..."abort".

The very warmest wishes,

Nahabat Web Admin

Respected web admin,
thank you.
Ankur

Location: Guwahati

Respected web admin, thank you very much indeed for the quotes and also for the quotes in the addenda to your post. Also please accept my heartfelt thanks for thinking so kindly of me and for your words of encouragement. The key lies in Sri Ramakrishna's hands. So many good wishes from so many different people I have had in life, they are all stored I feel with Sri Ramakrishna and when my soul has been cleansed of all blemishes through His gentle discipline, then the floodwaters of Grace will be opened and overflow. Let His will be done. I know not my past record in time, what grave remisses may have been committed by me, I know of some that I have committed in this life. He knows best what is good.
Thank you.
Regards.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

You wrote: "Yes, the Lord when He takes on an embodied form does suffer like us in order to teach us how to pray to Him and get release from suffering."

Comment: As a matter of fact, the Holy Mother also suffered much for us, as is made apparent in this excellent quote from "In The Company of The Holy Mother":

"When a householder disciple complained to Holy Mother about her seemingly inordinate attachment to her niece, she made the significant remark, "Everyone says that I am terribly attached to Radhu, but without this attachment I could not have kept my body alive after the Master's death.

"Thus it is the Master himself who has made me cling to Radhu - just to preserve ny body. When my mind becomes indifferent to her I shall leave this world."

Additional Comment: So, the suffering, which resulted from her attachment to Radhu, kept Mother's mind from soaring to the higher planes. We must remember, that the Master taught her very well 'how to meditate' and achieve samadhi.

As Sri Ramakrishna said: "He is within us, in our hearts.
Again, He is outside. The most advanced devotees say that
He Himself has become all this - the twenty-four cosmic
principles, the universe. and all living beings.
*The devotee of God wants to eat sugar, not to become sugar. "

The jnani says: "Soham Siva"
*The Bhakta says: "Hare Krishna Hare Ram"
...and the Shakta says: "Jai Ma!"

I really enjoyed reading about your experience
with near disaster in the mighty Brahmaputra.
I am sure that, the thought must have crossed your mind at the time: "God must have a big plan for me"
And so He has. I am sure that every visitor to Mother's Courtyard appreciates and honours your excellent contributions. Very useful dialogue,
I must say.
======================================

Om Shanthi Om

Location: Guwahati