GOLDEN TRUTHS

By

V. Veerabadran

Based on the book written by Ramakrishna Mutt Swamiji

1) Spiritual life takes into account all three factors viz., the soul, the mind and the body and aims at the harmonious development of the body and the mind so that the soul may be able to unfold its potential divinity spontaneously.

(2) Abandoning vain talks, know the Supreme Atman, the Self by whom heaven, earth and sky, the mind and the vital powers are permeated. This is the way to attain immortality-the eternal life.

(3) O Lord, while I identify myself with the body, I am your servant. While I consider myself with individual soul, I am your part. And when I look upon myself as the Spirit, I am one with Yourself-the Supreme Spirit.

(4) The ultimate Truth is beyond all thought and speech and is one without a second but sages think of it in various ways and call it by various names.

(5) There can be nothing phenomenal without something that is real and goodness, virtue, faith and works are necessary as preparation, nay as a sine qua non, for the attainment of that highest knowledge which brings the soul back to its source and home as well as restores it to its true nature i.e., to its Selfhood in Brahman.

(6) The neighbor is not only a neighbor but also a fellow servant, a spiritual brother or sister, nay a fellow soul or as Krishna says--"an eternal portion of the same Supreme Spirit".

(7) It is by doing good to others that one attains his own good and it is by leading others to Bhakti (devotion) and Mukti (salvation) that one attains them himself.

(8) Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita,

• In whichever way men approach me, the Supreme Spirit, even so do I accept them. Whatever path they choose leads to me alone.
• Among thousands of men, one here and there strives for perfection and of those who strive for perfection and success, one, perchance, knows the Divine Reality in Truth.
• Objects of senses fall away soon from a man practicing abstinence but not the taste thereof. The taste disappears when the spirit is realized.

(9) Swami Vivekananda declared:-

• You have read, 'Look upon your mother as God, look upon your father as God' but I say-the poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted--let these be your God. The service to these alone is the higher religion. For us it is not to pity but to serve. Ours is not the feeling of compassion but of love and the feeling of self in all.
• Help and not fight. Assimilation and not Destruction. Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.
• Religion is the eternal relation between eternal soul and the eternal God. And the God is not a far off being. He is everywhere.
• The goal of Self-realization is to the worker union between men and the whole humanity, to the mystic union between his lower and higher self, to the lover union between himself and the God of Love and to the philosopher union of all existence.
• First, let us be God and then help others to be Gods.
• May I be born again and again and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls-and above all, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species and this is the special object of my worship.
• The illumined man works only to do good; his lips speak only benediction to all; his hands do only good work; his mind can only think good thoughts; his presence is a blessing wherever he goes. He is himself is a living blessing. Such a man will, by his very presence, change even the wicked persons into saints. Even if he does not speak, his very presence is a blessing to mankind.

(10) King Asoka said, "He who out of respect to his own faith disparages the faith of others inflicts the greatest injury on his own."

(11) Emperor Akbar declared," Each person according to his condition gives the Supreme Being a name, but in reality to name the unknowable is vain."

12) Mahatma Gandhi said, 'Our attitude towards others ought to be absolutely frank and sincere. Our prayers for others ought never to be 'O God, give them the light Thou has given me', but 'Give them the light and truth they need for their highest development'"

(13) Vedas declare, "Truth is One, but sages call it by various names."

(14) Guru Nanak replied to one who objected to his sleeping with his feet towards the sacred Kaba, "Show me a direction where God is not". He also declared, "God has said that man will be saved by his work alone. He will ask a man not his tribe or sect, but what he has done. He alone is a real Hindu whose heart is just and he only is a good Mohammedan whose life is pure".

(15) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa declared:-

• Every one is going towards God. They will all realize Him if they have sincerity and longing of heart.
• Men seldom care for reality but always go in for imitation.
• Don't waste your energy on the psychic powers. Move towards the Truth.

(16) The Buddha declared: - "'Nirvana' is the destruction of craving. 'Nirvana' is passionlessness; being the cessation of selfish existence, it is a transcendental state beyond existence and non-existence. Certainly it is not annihilation."

(17) The goal of religion is the direct apprehension of God, the spiritual reality, as distinct from phenomenal existence. In Western religious literature this is known as mysticism.

(18) Being born in this world, our teachers tell us that the highest goal is to find the Truth and not to move about from one thing to another merely sight-seeing and forgetting this ideal, the greatest privilege in this life, the realization of Truth.

(19) Ankara, the greatest monastic philosopher, specified the qualifications necessary for Spiritual attainment as follows:-

• Discrimination between the Eternal Spirit and the non-eternal, changing phenomenal existence.
• Spirit of renunciation, of dispassion, without which one can never succeed in spiritual life.
• Cultivation of a calm mind, controlled senses a mental peace that will not allow us to be affected by outside stimuli.
• Having great faith in ourselves and our possibilities of attaining the goal and along with that practicing all times self-surrender.

(20) Sankara further declared as follows:-

• My ego has disappeared; I have realized my identity with the Supreme Spirit. What is the joy that I feel-the joy of my mystic realization? Who shall measure it? I know nothing but joy, limitless, unbounded.

(21) It is the flight of the alone to the Alone. Nothing is going to accompany us except the pure mind. Let our mind be pure so that it can become our teacher.

(22) To be in accord with man is human happiness, but to be in accord with God is the happiness of God.

(23) Yoga means the experimental union of the individual with the Divine. It is based on preserving exercise and diet, posture, breathing and intellectual concentration. The Yogi, who by these means overcomes the obscurations of his lower nature, sufficiently enters into the condition termed Samadhi.

(24) The Yogi attains with ease Infinite Bliss of communion with the Supreme Spirit; and he sees in him all beings and all beings in Him; he worships the Supreme Spirit dwelling in all beings and enjoys abiding happiness in Him.

(25) Self-effort and self-surrender should go hand in hand. Both are to be regarded as expressions of Divine grace.

(26) We should never allow ourselves to become automatons.

(27) The fault is not in our stars but in ourselves. By removing the fault that is in ourselves we can change our destinies.

(28) Man is limited by his heredity and environment as well as by his physical and mental conditions, his habits and tendencies some of which, at least, he brings from a previous life. However, in the midst of his limitations, man enjoys a certain degree of freedom. As we ourselves could see, only by making the best use of this freedom can we obtain still greater freedom and bliss of illumination.

(29) The highest goal of man is to know himself, to know the Supreme Spirit from which he is inseparable.

(30) It is the mind that is the cause of bondage or freedom. This is the main teaching of Upanishads. The mind, attached to sense-objects, creates bondage. The mind, free from attachment, brings about the soul's freedom. There is no mystery about detachment. We can cultivate it as soon as we undergo systematic training.

(31) Sow a thought and you reap an act. Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

(32) Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

(33) We accept what has been done in the past, but we can, at the same time, put forth fresh effort to counteract what has been done.

(34) It is by the grace of God that we are born as human beings with spiritual yearning and that the desire to be free and to know God is a grace of God. Grace comes to us also in the form of self-effort. The power of self-effort is a mark of Divine grace. It is a fundamental rule of spiritual life that all forms of striving must be made in a spirit of detachment and self-dedication to the Supreme Spirit, of which the individual is a part. To the extent we strive, to that extent is the barrier between the individual and the universal removed. And more and more energy flows into our minds and spirits from the cosmic source.

(35) GOD

• God is here within-He without whom one cannot live. To acknowledge God and to live are one and the same thing. God is what life is. Accept God and live.
• Our whole Universe is permeated by the Spirit. Receive him by renouncing all desire for worldly pleasure. Take delight in Him alone
• Divine grace comes to one who longs for it.
• The breeze of Divine Grace is always blowing. Unfurl your sails.
• The pure in heart shall see God. The divine Reality is not something far off but manifest in us as the Soul of our souls. He is always close and when our minds become pure, then the Divine Reality is reflected in us. That is the true meaning of God-realization, and the quiet and peace that come to the man of illumination is that peace of God 'which passeth all understanding'.

((36) MEDITATION

• Unless we meditate, the mind cannot be controlled and unless the mind is controlled, we cannot meditate. So we must first learn to do both at the same time-steady our mind and meditate.
• In order to meditate successfully, one must be able to pray successfully. Prayer is not efficacious so long as the mind is disturbed by unspiritual feelings.
• It must be remembered that without purification it is impossible to have good meditation or prayer. Without purification, no prayer or meditation will bring us in touch with the Cosmic Spirit with which we want to be in tune.

(37) Thought, feeling and willing are inseparable. Each wave contains more or less all these factors. Its nature is determined by the dominating factor.

(38) Obstacles producing misery or Duhkas:

• Adhyatmica or that caused within ourselves-in the body by illness and unhealthy living and in the mind by evil desires, anger, greed, folly, pride, envy, etc.,
• Adhibhautika or that caused by other living beings such as beasts, thieves and evil-minded persons.
• Adhidaivica or the misery brought about by natural phenomena such as extremes of temperature, floods, storms, earthquakes and pestilence etc.,

(39) Japa should be practiced at dead of night and if it is not possible, it should be done during the early hours of the morning. No more valuable time could be wasted. One should lose himself in prayer and meditation; otherwise how can the door to spiritual truth be opened? In fact, he should first learn about the spiritual path from some great soul and then follow it methodically. If he proceeds haphazardly he cannot make much progress and if he gives up entirely, the effort is wasted. Lust, greed and anger-all gradually leave a man who practices spiritual disciplines.

(40) The good is one thing and the pleasant is another. Both these, serving different needs, present themselves to man. It goes well with him who, of the two, takes the good; but he who chooses the pleasant misses the end. The calm man examines them well and discriminates. He prefers the good to the pleasant but the fool chooses the pleasant out of greed and avarice.

(41) Most of us do not, of course, get the opportunity of having an illumined teacher to guide us. But if we are sincere in our search, we may, in due course, get one-at least an advanced spiritual seeker, if not an enlightened soul. Such a guide will minimize the risks in the path and help us in our progress. But when no human guide is available, we have to depend on ourselves and do the best we can, constantly praying to the Supreme spirit, who is really the Ultimate teacher, for light and guidance. The breeze of Divine Grace is constantly blowing and We have only to unfurl the sail.

(42) Anger must be conquered by forgiveness and the wicked must be conquered by honesty. The miser must be conquered by liberality and falsehood must be conquered by truth.

(43) Every man should follow his religious ideal according to his own faith.

(44) An image in the temple brings to the mind of the devotees their chosen aspect of the deity. Devotees worship God with the help of images. They do not worship the wood, the earth or the metal of which the image is composed. They worship the spirit symbolized by the image. The idol is merely a peg on which we hang our faith.

(45) The light reflected in the individual mind is the soul; the light reflected in the cosmic mind is the Universal Spirit. Beyond both the individual and the Cosmic is the One Light of Infinite Spirit, beyond name and fame. All forms whether in the outer or in the inner world are lighted by the same divine light. There is no longer any division between the inner and the outer worlds.
The Infinite Consciousness is beyond all names, beyond all form and beyond all personality. This is the Ultimate Reality; but to apprehend it we must use some symbol. We are the children who need support. Forms and images are such supports. Let us have them by all means, but let us try to outgrow our spiritual childhood and ultimately attain the highest goal of life, realization of Sat-Chit- Ananda, the Eternal Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

(46) According to our spiritual teachers, that alone is really true which persists under all circumstances, which frees the soul from bondage and limitation, which awakens spiritual consciousness and brings immortality and bliss to the seeker of truth. It frees the soul from doubt, fear and misery and brings eternal peace and blessedness. In such illumined persons, we find an unbounded understanding, a tremendous sympathy and loving kindness towards all beings, patience and contentment; and with all their spiritual knowledge, they are humble. Spiritual experience gives the soul a cosmo-centric view of life. In short, illumined souls become de-hypnotized emotionally and spiritually.

(47) The mind that is attached to sense objects, leads to bondage, while the mind that is detached from them leads to freedom. Owing to ignorance and attachment the spirit forgets itself, but when the mind and heart become pure, the memory comes back. With the return of this memory, the spirit attains Self-realization.

(48) PRAYER
O my Lord, if I worship from fear of hell, burn me in hell-fire. If I worship Thee from hope of paradise, exclude me from paradise. But if I worship thee for Thine own sake, then withhold not from me Thy eternal beauty.

(49) The Self is not known through the study of scriptures, not through the subtlest intellect, not through much learning; but He is known by him who longs Him. Verily, unto him does the Self reveal its true being.

(50) Although the God-men appear to descend to the relative plane for the good of the mankind they really remain established in the highest spiritual consciousness and enjoy even when they are actively engaged in bringing light and knowledge to their fellow beings and promoting the welfare of all.

(51) PRANA is the sum total of all forces in the universe, mental or physical, when resolved back to their original state.

(52) The MATTER which was considered once as inert is now known to be "a structure of energy units revolving with immense velocity in space-time." Some eminent thinkers go so far as to say that this universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine. And again they say that the stuff of the World is mind-stuff.

(53) AKASAS

• MAHAKASA is the physical conception of surrounding space.
• CHITTAKASA:-As our conception of space grows vaster and vaster and as we become increasingly introspective, we enter into a new conception of mental space called chitakasa. We begin to realize that our little minds are parts of an Infinite Mind. Thoughts arise and go back into the subtle world of which the outer world is but a fragment, covered with the subtle substance of chitakasa.
• CHIDAKASA is the subtle plane of Spirit which manifests itself through subtle names and forms.

(54) Confucius declared, "At fifteen I began seriously interested in study. At thirty I had formed my character. At fifty I knew the will of heaven. At sixty nothing that I heard disturbed me. At seventy I could let my thoughts wander without trespassing the moral law".

(55) Mother declared, "There is no lack of people to see the fault of others. The world will not come to stand-still if I am otherwise. So if you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger to you in this world".

THE END