Religious Life

The so-called religious life varies from clime to clime, from sect to sect, from belief to belief; and man suffers through the propaganda of the organised vested interests of religions. If we could set aside all that-not only the beliefs, the dogmas and rituals but also the respectability which is entailed in the culture of religion-then perhaps we could find out what a religious life is untouched by the thought of man.
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Silence

Meditation is a movement in stillness. Silence of the mind is the way of action. Action born of thought is inaction, which breeds disorder. This silence is not the product of thought, nor is it the ending of the chattering of the mind. A still mind is possible only when the brain itself is quiet. The brain cells-which have been conditioned for so long to react, to project, to defend, to assert--become quiet only through the seeing of what actually is. From the silence, action which does not bring about disorder is possible only when the doer has come to an end-for then the seeing is the acting. Such seeing is possible only out of a silence in which all evaluation and moral values have come to an end.
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Thought

Can a human being, you and I, or another, can we come upon life that has no death? Can we come upon a life that is really timeless? Which means a life in which thought, which creates the psychological time with its fear, comes to an end. Thought has its own importance, but psychologically it has no importance whatsoever. Thought is a mischief maker, thought is always seeking pleasure, inwardly, love is not pleasure, love is bliss, something entirely different. And when all that is seen very clearly and one lives that way not verbally, not in a world of misunderstanding, but when all that is very clear, very simple then perhaps there is a life that has no beginning and no end, a life of timelessness.
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Unity

Life is action, to live means to act; the religious life is a life of action, not according to any particular pattern, but action in which there is no contradiction, action which is not segmented, broken up as the business life, the social life, political life, religious life, family life and so on, as a Conservative or as a Liberal. To see that there is an action which is not fragmented, which is total, complete, and to live that way, is the religious life. You can only act in that way when there is love. And love is not pleasure, cultivated and sustained by thought; love is not a thing to be cultivated. It is only love that brings about this total action and that can possibly bring about this complete sense of unity. 
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Religious Life

Religion is to find out the ultimate reality. Man has always been asking if there is something other or beyond then this world. Because there is so much violence, conflict and unrest and inner confusion and mental agonies that man wants to escape and find something beyond it which can give him peace and happiness. Life is full of insecurity and fear in this world that man invents a God which can give him security and shelter. The priest and the religious authorities of traditional religions exploits the gullible people by further fostering this fear. But a fearful mind, scared mind can never be a religious mind. The first quality of religious life is fearless. Religious person is neither afraid of any one nor create fear in the mind of others. Religion is way of life in which there is inward harmony, feeling of complete unity and fearlessness.
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Religious Life

Most religions are based on concepts and ideology like immortality, incarnation, life after death, and so on. But the religion in the real sense is the realisation.
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Religious Life

To find out; what is a religious life is not to find out the pattern of religious life--what to do, what to wear, what to think and how to control, to be a bachelor, and all that stupid stuff-but to have this energy without a motive, without a direction; and that comes only when there is this deep, unresolved, unsatisfiable discontent. Religious mind has no belief of any kind. Because the beliefs, dogmas only clutter the mind, and impede the free enquiry. To follow a religious pattern is not to be religious. What to do, what to wear, what to think, and how to control to be a brahmchari, to perform rituals, all this does not make a man religious. Then how to find out what is religion. Going to a pandit or some sanyasi or a guru, or reading the scriptures. All these approaches can give you information or set opinion about religion, but does not make you religious. You have to be fearless in enquiry, and find for your ownself what it means rather than being tutored by others. Religion is deep investigation of oneself as one is.
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Religious Life

We must be totally discontented; then only can we begin to enquire into the mystery of life. As long as the child plays with different toys, he does not call his mother, but when he is hungry and discontented with all the toys, he cries for his mother. Similarly, unless and until nothing in the world can contain your mind, and your totally discontented with all objects, it is with this impassioned and intense mind free of all worldly desires that you can understand what the religious living is.
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Religious Life

Most of us are discontented, because we have not got a good job, we are not so intelligent as somebody else, we do not look so beautiful as that woman next door, we have not got a big car, a better house, a better job, or we have not fulfilled ourselves. And the moment we have a better house, a better car, a better refrigerator, we are satisfied, at least temporarily till a still better refrigerator is invented. So we are discontented with little things and we are so terribly satisfied with little things. One has to be extremely aware of the superficial gratification with petty things, petty answers, quoting innumerable so-called religious teachers. We think we have understood when we quote the Gita, the Koran, or the Bible, or some other book; we think we have captured some spirit of the religious life-which again is futile. So we must be extremely alert, not to be caught in superficial actions, and to remain in a total discontentment with everything: with politics, with religion, with socialists and communists, with any political party.
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Religious Life

To find out what is really, truly religious life, one has to be totally discontented and inquisitive. It requires total comprehension of life, the whole of it and not its particular or fragmented parts. It is religion which covers the whole of existence, the whole of our life can be contained in the enquiry, and the understanding of what is a religious life. Religious life, and living it actually not theoretically can solve many increasing and conflicting problems of man’s life.
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Religious Life

We live on this planet for short span of life, and then meet death. In despair, we say sometimes if the death is the end, then what is the use of living and all achievement. Then we begin to ask what death is, and what life is. We neither understand full meaning of life nor of death and imagine that there must be life beyond death. There must be a God who will give me peace, who will give me hope, a God of comfort, is called religion. Throughout the ages man has always clung to a belief in something beyond this life, because he has not known how to live happily, intelligently, and he has not understood that extraordinary thing called death. In ancient civilisations, when kings and other important people died, their jewels, their vessels, and sometimes even their slaves were buried with them, because they believed they would need their possessions in the next world.
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Religious Life

Everyone when asked what is religion, defines it according to his particular conditioning, according to his bringing up whether as a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist or a Christian. Man has been working at this problem for thousands upon thousand years. There is a cave somewhere in France on the walls of which there are paintings which were done about 17,000 years ago. In one picture a man is seen fighting and killing a bull, and in another picture it is the man who is being killed. The bull represents evil, the man represents good, and they are pictured as always fighting each other, one conquering at one moment, and the other conquering at another moment. So, thousands of years ago people were asking about good and evil, about religion, about God. The religion therefore with all its paraphernalia is an age old seeking for man.
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Religious Life

Is it possible for the mind to be totally free of envy, not just partially or in patches? It is not possible for you because you think you must live as you are living now, and you block yourself by saying “It is impossible, I have to live in this world”. But the man who really sees what is happening in the world, who sees the misery, the struggle, the utter futility of it all, can inquire and find out that it is possible to be free of envy, not only in the superficial layers of the conscious mind, but also in the unconscious, which is much more conservative than the conscious mind. Only the mind that is totally free from envy is capable of understanding what is the religious life and why it is necessary to have a religious life, and such a mind knows the state of being sacred; therefore it need not go to any temple, church or priest. It has no need of any book, because in itself it is understanding and is an incorruptible treasure. Such a life is possible. But the mind that wants to be envious and says that it is necessary to live in this world, will escape into a religion which has no value at all; it will go to the church or the temple and do whatever it is told. To such a mind religion is just a toy. But a mind that really inquires-and the mind is not free to inquire as long as it is envious-will know what it is to have a profoundly religious life, which has nothing whatever to do with any belief, with any ritual or dogma, with any prayer; because then the mind in itself is the religious life.
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Religious Life

An ambitious mind is obviously an envious mind; and that is our life, it is how we live from day to day. You know that very well without my telling you. At least, I am describing a fact, and if you are unwilling to look at the fact, it is your affair. It is a fact that morality of such a society is mere respectability, the perpetuation of a custom. Our daily life is based on this envious, acquisitive struggle, and we carry the same struggle into the so-called religious life. As we want to achieve something in the worldly life, so we want to achieve reality, we want to get nearer to God, closer to heaven, and all the rest of it in religious life also. The same urge exists there as in this world: we want to be somebody. The same mind set which was working in the worldly life is now working in the religious life. The result is as we exhaust ourselves in the worldly pursuit so we exhaust ourselves in the religious pursuit also. We, therefore, have to understand can an envious mind be a religious mind or it has to be free from envy and jealousy.
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Envy

The very simple fact that our life is based on envy. That is so, is it not? Someone is more intelligent than I am, and I want to be equally intelligent; someone is more handsome, or has more money and can travel, and I want to be like him. The mind is constantly comparing itself with others, and such a mind is envious. A jealous mind is a miserable mind.
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What is religious life?

What is religious life? Is it different from our daily life? Do we want to turn to religious life because we are fed up with the routine life which is terribly boring, unsatisfactory. It is because we do not understand our everyday living with all its sufferings that we think we must turn to religion and find God somewhere else. The traditional approach of all religions has been to condemn worldly life and to create a wedge between the worldly life and religious life. People from ages without understanding the day today living and the working of the mind, have been running away in search of nirvana, moksha or heaven. Without understanding the day today living it is stupid to think of what is beyond the real fact of life. We can only go from known to the unknown.
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Holy Name

We all have to leave this world one-day. So long as you draw breath, you are somebody's mother, sister, daughter or wife. But the day you stop breathing, nobody will want you in the house. They will want you out as quickly as possible. Neither your husband nor your son will go with you. The only thing that will go with you is what you have earned through meditation. So realise this Knowledge, realise this all-pervading Name - this is what will go with you. The great devotee Mira was from Rajasthan. What faith she had in the Holy Name! Her husband tried to kill her by sending her a poisonous snake in a basket, but when she opened the basket she found a statue of Krishna inside. The husband tried again, by sending her a cup of poison. But Mira had unshakable faith in the Holy Name. She remembered it as she drank and the poison changed into nectar. If we have the same kind of faith in the Holy Name, no power can sway us. That is why it is said, "If God protects you, nothing can harm you, even if the whole world is against you."
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Satsang

Wet matches will not light, no matter how much you strike them against the matchbox, whereas one strike is enough to light a dry match. Likewise, if you mind is full of lust, anger, greed, pride, etc., you cannot know your true self, because you are full of negativity inside.
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Satguru

Satguru is like a boatman who ferries you from one bank of the river to the other. He takes us across the ocean of worldly existence. Only a seed, which dissolves itself in the soil, can grow into a plant. When a devotee dissolves himself at the Master's feet he is liberated.
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Devotee

When a farmer sows seeds. Some seeds get eaten by birds even before they can germinate. Some are scattered here and there and don't get enough water or fertiliser. They grow a little then no further. But those seeds which get enough water, good soil and fertiliser at the right times are the ones which produce the best crops. A tiny seed turns into a shoot then a strong plant or a mighty tree, providing cereals or fruit. We have to become like this type of seed. A devotee needs the showers of satsang. If he doesn't do meditation and service, he will not achieve self-realisation. If he doesn't do service, he cannot be called a devotee. He must be sincere, and if he serves the Master sincerely in thought, word and deed, he will succeed.
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Story

Once there was a king who proclaimed that the following day he was going to hide himself in his garden and any one who wished to be a contestant would have two hours to find him. The winner would be named there to the throne.


Soon the first contestants arrived. As soon as they entered the gardens they were amazed by all the glorious flowers. They thought to themselves, `we have two hours to find the king. First, let's enjoy the beautiful scenery.' They were so absorbed in their surroundings that they forgot everything else.


Then a second group of candidates arrived. They came across a magnificent feast spread right before them, with a great variety of desserts and other delicacies. They decided that, as they had two hours left, they would first enjoy all this food. Before they knew it, their time was up and the king's soldiers ejected them from the garden.
A third lot arrived. They were soon side tracked by a wonderful selection of delicious fruit that they came across.


The same thing happened to a fourth group. They were tempted by the precious stones they saw scattered all around. They said to each other, "Let's fill our pockets first" and they used up their two hours doing so. The king's soldiers threw them out of the park, too, and, worse still, they were not allowed to take anything with them.


Finally a man came along who was not interested in any of these things. He was not in the least tempted by the scenery, the fruit, the feast or the jewels- his sole purpose in coming to the gardens was to find the king. He questioned the head gardener and finally found the king's hiding place.


This is just a short story, but it symbolises what happens to all of us. This world is king of garden where God has hidden Himself. The Spiritual Master is that chief gardener. We enter the world but, instead of looking for God, we waste our time including our anger, lust, greed, pride and attachments. In other words, you have been born as a human being- use it to find God! The Master is always there to help you understand spiritual Knowledge. It doesn't matter whether it is Satyuga, Treta or Kaliyuga - the Master is always here to reveal this Knowledge to sincere aspirants.
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Truth of Life

Our life is passing by, day by day. Every day the sun rises, then before we know it, it sets and it's evening again, making our life one-day shorter. Most people are caught up in their worldly routines and don't realise this. Their worldly concerns are a net, which enmeshes them and chokes them. The spider spins its web and ultimately surrenders its life in it. In the same way, the worldly person is strangled by a web of domestic problems. He has spent his childhood playing and his youth chasing pleasures. Even when he is old he is still full of cravings. He says he will meditate tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes, but time certainly does catch up with him. When Death comes for him he is full of regret that he does not know God. And until a person realises God he cannot escape the wheel of birth and death and is bound to it for lives to come. A devotee, on the other hand, does not get stuck in Maya. He tries to realise God and escape the cycle of birth and death.
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Satsang

Lord Krishna did not deliver the teachings of the Gita for his own benefit, but for his devotee Arjuna's sake, so that Arjuna could be liberated. This transformation comes through satsang. Satsang is so pure and so powerful that it can save a person from catastrophe. What will listening to worldly people and their gossip do for you? It will only give you high blood pressure. Satsang will lower your blood pressure and make it normal! All the tension the world has caused you will go away. A person needs very little to live on, but how much tension and hassle he takes upon himself! It's something to think about. You can't take anything with you when you leave this world; you will have to leave everything behind. Even so, people carry such a load of tension around with them. Devotion teaches us to be aloof from worldly cares, to live like King Janak did. The lotus lives in dirty water but its flower is always above the water. This is how to live.
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Agya

You know how important discipline and orders are in the army. To prove this to his men, one commanding officer assembled them on the top of a mountain, which was so slippery with moss that one false step meant falling thousands of feet below. So this officer blindfolded a soldier and told him to start marching. The soldier did so and just as he reached the slippery part, his officer called out "Halt!" He stopped right there. If he had not obeyed immediately but had taken just one more step, he would have fallen. The rest of the battalion saw this and then they understood the importance of obeying orders. When the soldier's blindfold was removed and he saw where he was, he thought, `If I hadn't obeyed I would have fallen to my death.' It was just a matter of one more step.
Similarly, agya is extremely important for premies. If a devotee disobeys and takes a single wrong step it can lead to his ruin. Whatever merit he has accumulated from his devotion will be lost. On the other hand, if he follows agya, not a hair on his head will be harmed. Prahlad's father, King Hiranyakashyap, intended to tie him to a red-hot pillar, but the Lord appeared as a man-lion to save him. He had to take this shape because the king was protected by the boon that neither man nor beast would kill him. To save his devotee and kill the king, the Lord had to come in that form. So obeying agya is the prime duty of the disciple.
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Story

Once a poor brahmin went to a king and begged for alms. The king agreed to give him something but wanted him first to answer some questions. His first question was, "Why don't you have hair on the palms of your hands?" The brahmin was taken aback. He quickly remembered God and, after careful thought, replied, "Your Majesty, I am just a poor brahmin. My hands are always outstretched to beg. I live through others' donations, and that is why my palms are hairless." The king then asked, "Very well. Tell me why I don't have hairy palms. " The brahmin again remembered God and answered boldly, "Your Majesty, you are always giving. Your hands are always giving to others so how could hair grow on your palms?"
"Very good," answered the king. "Now tell me why these courtiers, who neither give nor receive, don't have hairy palms."
The brahmin replied, "It's like this. You keep on giving and I keep on taking. Your courtiers see this and it makes them wring their hands, so how could hair grow on their palms, either?" So into which category do we fall? Are we receivers or just hand-wringers? There are plenty of people who simply wring their hands.
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Human Life

We think that animals must be happy. We see a dog riding along in a car and we think that it is being very well looked-after. But you haven't seen a dog cooking its own food, have you? Cows give milk but you won't see a cow cooking milk-pudding. They have to eat whatever they are given. Theirs is a passive existence. A human life, on the other hand, is an active existence. People can create karmas. We can see how much humanity has achieved. We read in the Ramayana that Ravana made all the deities serve him, and this surprises us. But today, due to science, we can push a button and turn on a fan - we have conjured up the `wind-god'! We push a button and on goes the heater - we have invoked the `fire-god'! We push a button to turn on the light — we have invoked the `sun-god'! So we can see how much mankind has accomplished. You don't have to be a bird to fly - now we have aeroplanes! You don't have to become an elephant to do heavy work - we have bulldozers which can do the work of an elephant. In other words, people can do actions and suffer or enjoy the consequences of action, too. Really, human beings have so much potential. We are a bundle of energies, we have so much power. But we have turned our attention outwards and are just racing. We have done so much, but we haven't been able to go within ourselves, and this is why we lack peace.
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Tulsidas

Tulsidas used to water a certain tree and this pleased the spirit which lived in that tree. One day the spirit appeared to him and offered to give him anything he wanted. Tulsidas wasn't interested in anything else except Lord Rama, so he asked the spirit to show him Rama. The spirit replied, "I can't do that. If I could, I'd see Him myself and be freed from this spirit-form." That is why it is said in the Ramayana, "The soul which receives a human body is extremely fortunate."
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Realize

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna discusses the various ways in which people worship. He divides them into categories. He says that those who worship spirits and elementals will go to the spirits and elementals. Those who worship ancestors will go to the ancestors. Those who worship deities go to deities. Then he says, "Those who have Knowledge realize that I am the Giver of all.
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True Name

If you water the root, the water will automatically penetrate the entire tree. There are many names used for God, but these are all adjectival. But if you rely on the True Name, you will definitely be liberated. That is guaranteed.
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Meditate

The student who has studied all year is able to apply what he has learnt at examination time, whereas the student who hasn't studied cannot answer the questions. Nowadays students are allowed to take their books into the examination room, but that doesn't help the one who hasn't studied but hopes to scrape through by copying. The questions are framed in such a way that he won't know which part of the book to copy from. In other words, only students who have studied will pass. In the same way, the devotee who meditates all his life will be able to meditate when he dies, because meditation and devotion will have become his very nature. Remembering the Holy Name will have become second nature to him. That is why Kabir was able to say, "God remembers me while I relax."
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Dark Age

The main thing we teach in satsang is to meditate on the Holy Name of God. The way of the saints begins from here. There is no doubt about what they have said. No saint has ever said to follow any path, then leave it to follow another. They taught, "The One Way will give you everything." Trying to water the leaves of a tree is useless, but if you water its roots the water, as you know, will reach every part of the tree. This is why Guru Nanak said, "It's the Dark Age, so remember the Name!" Tulsidas said quite confidently, "In this present Age the only support is the Holy Name, and by remembering it you can be liberated." People follow one sect after another and that is why they don't get anywhere. It is written in the scriptures that whatever a person thinks about with his dying breath determines what happens to him thereafter. That is why we tell you to meditate, to remember the Name, because whatever you think about all your life is what you'll think about as you die. A lot of people think that they will meditate at the end of their life and be liberated. But will that be possible?
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'Knowledge is the beginning of a new life. Like a snake shedding its skin, you will shed the old miseries and get a fresh outlook."
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No Darkness

'Ignorance is merely the absence of knowledge. There is no such thing as darkness; the absence of light is darkness. Then there is the multiplicity of shapes and forms which is nothing but the vicious circle of illusion. Duality of perception ends only after one receives Knowledge.
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Holy Knowledge

'By this Holy Knowledge a Buddhist can know what the Buddha taught, a Christian can know what Christ taught, a Moslem can know what Mohammed taught, a Hindu can know what Krishna and Rama taught, because this is the empirical, this is the essence. An iron piece becomes a magnet by contact with a magnet, and similarly, when a person's consciousness comes in contact with this Knowledge, the person becomes divine. The difference between a magnet and a simple piece of iron is the arrangements and settings of the molecules. In a magnet, all the molecules are aligned in one direction while in the piece of iron they have haphazard patterns. Similarly, the difference between a person who meditates on Knowledge and a man who doesn't is that the consciousness of the former is single-pointed while in the latter it is diffused and scattered.
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Practice

'This Knowledge is to be practised. This is the means to attain God, and this is God. This is the seed that we have to grow, this is the seed that we have to sow, and this is the crop that we have to harvest.
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Knowledge

"The knowledge of God is the purest thing on earth. By receiving that Knowledge, by coming in contact with the Knowledge we can also become pure.
'People say, 'Meditate on God.' How can you meditate on God without knowing God? First have Knowledge of God.
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Apara & Para Vidya

Man is essentially spirit, or in other words, consciousness. To know consciousness, to experience it and to realize it is the path of spiritual knowledge. Knowledge has two aspects- material and spiritual. In the material domain it is called 'Apara Vidya' and pertains to all physical and social sciences. In the spiritual domain it is called 'Para Vidya' and pertains to self-realization, the experience of the soul. Science of soul itself implies the science of universal life. The science of the spirit is a sovereign science, a sovereign secret, imperishable, supremely holy, most excellent, directly enjoyable, full of virtues and very easy to practise. It is itself both the means and the end - the immediate and the ultimate. It is all comprehensive and all-inclusive, and knowing it means nothing remains to be known. It is the saturation of the self, the merging of the individual self with the Cosmic Self. It cannot be achieved through senses, mind or intellect. It is experienced by the self through the self by the grace of the realized Master. Knowledge is the means, and Knowledge also is the destination. In Divine Knowledge there must be no duality. It is just one point.
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Toxic Thoughts

Just knowing that you can choose less toxic thoughts is an important insight. Many people have never had this insight. Consequently, they spend their entire lives defending the position that their thoughts are unchangeable. You, on your sacred path, know better. You know that who you are is something grander than the thoughts you think and more divine than the body where the thoughts occur. Your thoughts and behaviours are habits. The ways that you have allowed your inner world to work are habits resulting from your experience of your life, including the beliefs that you’ve received from all the well meaning people who taught you about life. To purify your thinking and make your mind work exactly as you want it to be willing to examine these habits of thought. Then you will begin the purifying process and see the opening to your sacred self.
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Free Life

Toxic thinking is a habit of using your mind as an interpreter. Let go of that habit of constant interpretation and begin to live your life free of ego’s comments. Your willingness to confront the ways that you have been thinking is your opening to the purification process. The ability to suspend judgment will allow you to reach the higher ground and experience the richer awareness that goes with the triumph of the higher self over the ego.
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Keys to Higher Awareness

Purifying your thoughts is a variation on the theme of higher awareness. So you might want to start with a review of the keys to higher awareness. The first three— banishing doubt, cultivating the witness and shutting down inner dialogue— are essential to taming the ego and beginning to recognize and change toxicity to purity.
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Think

What you think about expands into action. The more conscious you become of the ways you use your mind, the more you will be able to leave behind toxic ways of thinking. When you know that your thoughts expand into action, you become very careful about what you think because you know that your thoughts literally poison your life.
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Hidden Meaning

Nobody wants loss but it still occurs; nobody wants death, but it is inevitable and beyond man's choice. Same is the case with achieving fame or recognition. If we study this verse carefully, then the hidden meaning of Ramcharitmanas is understood. To whom did the loss occur? To the people of Ayodhya from where Lord Rama was exiled. And who gained? Those saints and sages who were meditating in the woods, those who were meditating in the caves and waiting for the darshan of the Lord. Also Bhilni, who used to sweep the path daily waiting for the Lord. When and how did the Lord oblige her? As a rule, devotees eat the `prasad' given by God but in case of Bhilni, Lord Rama ate fruit which she had already tasted.
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Six Things

Lord Rama was about to be crowned but instead he was exiled. Bharat asked Guru Vashishta Maharaj, "What kind of auspicious time has been chosen? Lord Rama has been exiled instead of being crowned!" Vashishta Maharaj replied, "Bharat, nobody can escape what is destined to happen. Loss & gain, life & death and fame & disrepute are in the hands of God exclusively." These six things are beyond man's control.
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Opportunity

"The source of goodness neutralises evil. Lord Shiva together with Uma remembers the Name which is the source of all well-being and the antidote to evil." That is why we should be devoted to Almighty Lord. Such a golden opportunity is not available again and again. We should actively avail ourselves of this opportunity.
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Satsang

Saints tell us to directly see the Lord. Seeing the River Ganges and Hardwar on a map is not the same as taking a dip in the Ganges or going to Hardwar. We read the description of the name of Almighty God in scriptures and read prayers to the Lord. But with this we cannot realize God. That is why I tell you all that to make our lives meaningful we must receive the Knowledge.This human form is not available again and again. It is said in Ramcharitmanas, "Today I am grateful and really grateful in spite of being lowly in every respect _ regarding me as His own, Rama has blessed me with the company of saints. It is only by the blessings of Almighty God that one gets the company of saints who initiate the aspirant on the path of meeting the Lord. The company of saints is available only if one is very fortunate.
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Holy Name

Even death cannot harm those who meditate and remember the Lord. Hanumanji constantly meditated on the Holy Name of God. The Ramcharitmanas says, "By constant meditation Hanumanji was able to understand the Power of the Holy Name and also Lord Rama, by which he gained control over the Supreme Lord." Remembrance of Lord has immense strength. If we remember the Almighty in our lives then our progress is definite. Regarding meditation, our saints said, "Engage consciousness in remembrance, do not speak. Close the outer doors and open the doors leading inside." Only when we become introverted will our lives become meaningful. That is why it is said, "It is not a matter of discussion but of actual experience: the wedding guests are forgotten as soon as the groom and the bride meet." It is said that this is not a matter of discussion or of reading and writing. This is matter of realizing God by seeing Him face to face. Saint Kabir Das said, "How can your and my mind become one? What I say is what I experience and see whilst what you say is based on hearsay and on what you read. I recommend you wake up and let us see how your and my mind can achieve the same wavelength."
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Shanidev

There is a story that once Shanidev (Saturn) said, "During the 7½ and 2½ year periods when I am in control, my glance ruins everyone on whom it befalls." Hanuman replied defiantly, "Brother! You cannot disturb the devotees of my Lord even the slightest." Then and there Shanidev and Hanuman had a fight to decide who is more powerful i.e. the god or the devotee. At the end of the brawl, Shanidev lost the bout. He said, "Hanumanji, I accept defeat, I cannot affect those who are devoted to God." Then he begged Hanuman to spare him and also asked for some oil to massage his bruised body. That is how the custom of offering oil to Shanidev began.
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Kaliyuga

We have to remember the True Name of God to be protected from the ill-effects of Kaliyuga. Only remembering the Holy Name can do this. A boat on the water protects us from drowning. Similarly, the Holy Name is also a boat, which keeps us from being caught up in the whirlpool of the mundane world. The effect of materialism doesn't trouble a devotee.
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Remember the Holy Name

A farmer gave a bag of seeds to each of his sons and said, "Keep these safe." One son kept the bag in a locker. The second son thought that if the bag was kept in the locker, the seeds would rot, or be eaten by insects. So he ploughed an entire field and sowed all the seeds. After some time, the farmer called both his sons and asked them to give the seeds back. The first son went inside the house, opened the locker, took out the seeds and put them in front of his father. The farmer opened the bag and saw that all the seeds had turned to dust. The farmer asked his second son to bring his seeds. He said, "Father, I need a bullock-cart to bring those seeds, because I sowed them in the field. Then I harvested a crop and sowed more seeds. In this way they kept on multiplying."
Similarly, if we sow spiritual knowledge in our lives it will multiply over time, it will keep on increasing. If we keep it in a locker, it will not grow, it will not make our lives meaningful. That is why devotees who have acquired the knowledge should sow it in their lives. Remember the Holy Name, because, as Guru Nanak said, "Kaliyuga has come, Kaliyuga has come, remember the Name, remember the Name."
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Ramcharitamanas

Goswami Tulsidas wrote in the Ramcharitamanas, "I bow to the lotus feet of Satguru who is the ocean of grace and God in human form, whose words act like the sun in the heart of a devotee". We are talking about spiritual knowledge, the message of humanitarianism is being given. We must apply that message to our lives and follow it. The knowledge that we have received should be reflected in our lives.

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Story

Once a parrot requested a devotee, "Since you go to visit your Guru Maharaj Ji nearly every day, could you please do me a favour and ask him on my behalf to solve my problem? My existence is confined to this cage. I understand your Guru Maharaj Ji has the potential to help anyone break away from bondage, so can he help me get out of this cage?" Accordingly, as soon as the opportunity arose, the devotee put the parrot's plea before Guru Maharaj Ji. As soon as Maharaj Ji heard the question, he fainted on the floor.

On the way home, the devotee was regretting his foolishness in asking a question which resulted in Maharaj Ji's collapse. He then stopped at the cage and with great disappointment told the parrot, "Your question remains unanswered as Maharaj Ji fainted as soon as he heard it." However, the parrot was delighted to hear this, as it knew that mysterious are the words of a Perfect Master. It found its answer in Guru Maharaj Ji's behaviour. The parrot did exactly the same by lying on the floor the cage and pretending to be dead. Its owner returned a few minutes later, presumed the bird to be dead and threw it away. The parrot merrily flew away thanking Guru Maharaj Ji from the depths of its heart. That is why our scriptures are filled with praise for the Satguru who liberates us from the bonds of maya and the cycle of birth and death.
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Meditate

Mankind is going to reach such an evil stage that rivers of blood will flow in this world. That day is not far off. Our minds have become so powerful that they don't like to bow to anyone. Ravana said, "Because of my egotistical personality I didn't meditate, therefore my mind was out of control." Only in the primordial essence is there peace. If you cry "Water, water," your thirst will not be quenched. You should go to the water, bend down and drink it, and then your thirst will be quenched.
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Religion

Religion never teaches conflict among yourselves. Religion never teaches you to feel animosity towards each other. Religion teaches you to love. When the Lord came to the ashram of Bhilni, he wept for her. The same Lord's arrows made a sieve out of the heart of the devil Ravana and destroyed him. The same Lord gave unfathomable love to his cherished devotees. That's the grace of great souls. Remember them.
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Realized Soul

You can turn the pages of history upside down, but that knowledge of the soul is not in them. Who has the spiritual knowledge? The realized souls have it. From turning the pages of history you will increase your reverence towards the great souls, you will desire to know, but you need a living realized soul to eliminate the restlessness of your mind. The subtle mind can only be controlled by a subtle instrument. People are becoming restless. Do you know how to combine all humanity into the form of one garland?
See how many types of flowers there are in this garland. On this thread the gardener has made a beautiful garland. He has offered this garland to please his Lord. This is the beauty of the gardener and the miracle of his talent. Diverse flowers can be threaded into the form of a beautiful garland, but the thread within them is one. The flowers on it are different but the thread is one. It runs through them in a subtle form. Similarly, saints impart the knowledge of spirituality that makes all into one.
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Living Teacher

What is our true religion? How can we get peace? You should think about it. We need a living leader to govern us; we need a living doctor to cure our diseases; in studies we need a living teacher; so why do we want a dead saint or a dead spiritual master? He must also be alive. You can ask a living teacher questions. In the scriptures it says that three types of people must be alive at the time: doctors, the head of government, and the spiritual master.
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Death

Death will come unexpectedly without warning or at a pre-arranged time and will take you from your bed. The rest of your family will sleep while you are being separated from them. Therefore our saints say, "You may have unlimited wealth and your kingdom may cover the world, but what is the use of it when you have to die anyway?"
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Guru Nanak

We are also born and we die. We also see beggars and old people. What is the difference between our perception and the Buddha's? Only the reasoning was different, only the discrimination was different. He reasoned and observed and thought over it, and he tried to know the mystery. Guru Nanak also said, "People of the world, wake up! This is your chance to awake. When you stretch out and sleep forever there will be no chance to wake up."
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Siddhartha

Motivated by their own grace, the realized souls search for the means to save mankind, and they show mankind the path of salvation in this world. Mankind is crying, "We want peace, we want food, we want clothes," but really, if they have faith in the words of the great souls and follow their ideals, all their problems will be solved. See the history of our saints. Siddhartha was a king's son and lacked nothing. A king's son normally becomes the possessor of all riches, but this wasn't an ordinary prince. After making observations, he wondered, `Is it inevitable that we die?'
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SatGuru

Even the joy and blessedness of heaven cannot compare with satsang. That is why you should hear satsang daily, serve Guru Maharaj with body and mind, and remember the Holy Name. Then you will grow spiritually. It is like a tripod. If one of the legs breaks it is useless. One realizes the Master through meditation and detachment. Thus it is said, "The Guru is generous and compassionate. He will be merciful to you sooner or later." But only a worthy devotee can receive his mercy. The unworthy cannot. That is why you must obey him. Do whatever he says. That will be to your and everyone's advantage.
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Story

Two friends went to another town. One was rich so stayed at a hotel and visited the entertainment spots. The other was poor, but he went to satsang. Once he was returning from satsang and a long nail pierced his foot and made him lame. The rich friend found a treasure chest, but when he opened it he saw that only one golden coin was left and all the rest had turned to dust. The rich one said, "I told you you'd get nothing out of satsang but you wouldn't listen to me. Now look at you! You'd have been better off if you'd stayed with me."
The poor man told the whole story to his Guru, who explained, "You were to be killed today, but due to the effect of satsang, all you got was that nail. Your friend found a treasure chest, but because he criticized satsang, all but one coin had turned to dust."
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Satsang

Many saints have described the greatness of satsang. St. Kabir said, "Joy or misery depends on the company you keep…...a perfumer may not give anything to you, yet fragrance goes everywhere he does." When St. Kabir was summoned to heaven he was sitting in satsang. He said, "God called me and I wept, because all the joys of heaven can not compare to the joy of satsang." He also said that satsang has instantaneous effects. Persons with a crow-like nature become like cuckoos, whose voice is pleasing to the ear. Crane-like people turn into swans, which can separate milk and water. Only because of satsang did the bandit Ratnakar become a sage.
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Bhilni

In the course of explaining the nine-fold path of devotion to Bhilni, Lord Rama said, "The first step in devotion is keeping the company of saints. The second is listening to satsang about me with love and attention, and inwardly digesting what you hear. Just by hearing about something, the desire to know it arises." 
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Holy Name

This is why St. Kabir said, "What guarantee does this body have? It can be finished off in a second. Remember the Holy Name with every breath. There is no other way." This is the only way to reach God, because you just don't know when your time will come. In the Gita, Lord Krishna explains the same thing to Arjuna: "Remember me at all times and fight. If you surrender yourself to me like this, without a doubt you will come to me." This happens through practise and satsang.
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Right Time

The house has several rooms. What will a sensible person do at night? He will close the doors of the house. Then he can do whatever he likes without a care and outsiders will not be able to bother him. Likewise, when all senses are closed off, then anger, lust, attachment, greed, etc. cannot disturb us. When our concentration is inwardly directed, we see divine Light. Now, after that, do you think you need to fast, take holy baths, go on pilgrimage, etc.? Won't your attention stay introverted all the time? If we can keep our mind attuned to the True Name 24 hours a day, then at the time of death we'll be able to remember it also and we'll go to God. There's no telling when this body will be vacated or how. You might get struck by lightening, or encounter a lion in the jungle. You might slip and break your neck, or drown, or die in an earthquake. If it is night time, tell me, what religious services, rituals, pilgrimages, or recitations will you be able to do?
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See God Within

You have seen Shiva statues in temples. He is sitting with eyes closed, in samadhi. He is neither twisting a rosary, nor going to a temple. Also Guru Nanak is depicted as sitting in meditation, with eyes closed. So what are they doing? St. Kabir said, "Merge your mind in meditation, speaking is not necessary. Close the outer doors and open the inner." He is telling us to put the mind into the Holy Name. You may think that doing things with your eyes, ears, hands and feet is devotion. Stop this and close them. Don't direct your mind outwards. Become introspective. See God within.
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Holy Name

"Lord Shiva realized this Name, by whose effect poison didn't do him any harm." When Draupadi was being disrobed in front of the entire Court and realized that no one would defend her honour she remembered the Holy Name and the wicked Duryodhana couldn't do anything to her.
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Glory of Name

Tulsidas says, "Rama gathered an army of Vanaras and built a bridge to Lanka, but remembering the Name dries up the ocean of mortality itself. Rama himself redeemed only the sage's wife, whereas the Name has redeemed countless sinners." Tulsidas asks, "How can someone like me hope to adequately praise this Name, when even Lord Rama himself couldn't?"
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Name

The Ramayana glorifies the Name, saying, "Hanuman meditated on the Name and had Lord Rama in the palm of his hand. Lord Shiva himself meditated on the Name and initiated the people of Kashi so that they would be liberated. Ganesh thoroughly understands the greatness of the Name, which is why he is worshipped before the other gods."
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Omnipresent

Guru's omnipresent form is the Holy Name. He assumes human form only for the sake of mankind and to teach. That is why he is said to be beyond senses, mind and intellect. It is impossible to measure him by any standard.
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Maya

"In the river of bondage to maya, all are swept out to sea, Guru's boat is the Holy Name. In seconds he has set us free. Religions harp their own glory and call us to follow their path. The essence of all was revealed, Guru sets us on the true Path.
Nectar from Satguru's feet
Is holy and cleans us from our sins.
When he speaks darkness flies away,
Doubts removed, a new life begins.
Dedicate your body, mind, wealth,
Dedicate your all at his holy feet and attain the Supreme Abode."
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Washerman

`The toenails of the Master's feet are lustrous and concentrating on them opens up one's inner vision.'
When the nails of the Master's holy feet begin to shine within the devotee's heart, he achieves divine insight, and there no more darkness for him. However, only an extremely fortunate devotee achieves such a vision, and he then begins to understand all facets of the Lord, both hidden and manifested. In other words, by meditation on Guru, his eyes are opened. This is the greatest of all benefits and there are no bad effects. A piece of cloth which is only a little dirty can be easily cleaned, but a cleaning rag which has not been washed for many days takes a long time to come clean again and a lot of effort is needed to clean it, too. Likewise, a devotee who immediately throws himself into satsang, service and meditation is quickly cleaned. Otherwise it takes a long time and who can say for sure how clean he'll be? That is why it is said that `Guru is the washerman and the devotee is the cloth.' A washerman soaps up the clothes and pounds them on a stone slab to clean them, and Guru Maharaj Ji uses the soap of Holy Name on his disciple. The washerman uses a stone slab, while Guru uses the washing stone of meditation. The cloth becomes clean and shines with dazzling brightness.
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Greatness

`Actually, the real greatness of Guru Maharaj Ji cannot be expressed in words. Merely by remembering Guru, countless obstacles are removed. That is why saints remember him before starting to do anything.'
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SatGuru

Meditate on the Guru, Have faith in his Name.Keep his lotus feet in your heart. Always regard him as God incarnate. Make no mistake about it, Without Guru there is no salvation.
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Satguru

People say they have a guru but they don't see Light. If you aren't seeing Light then what good is such a guru? The definition of Guru is, "the one who reveals Light." As Tulsidas said, "I offer my obeisance to my Guru, who is an ocean of mercy and God in human form. His word, like sunbeams, has dispelled the darkness of ignorance and attachment for me." If you want True Knowledge, then you will have to find Satguru and take shelter in him.
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Satsang

Satsang tells us about Knowledge. Satsang is the medium for determining what Truth is. So, dear friends, God is your Eternal Companion. Know Him.
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The real Name

Whatever people do - business, a job, even stealing or cheating - they do to make a profit, they do it in their own interest. Likewise, devotion is in your own interest, but what you call devotion won't profit you at all: "There are thousands of names in this world but they won't liberate you and only a rare person knows the Original Name which is remembered in silence within," and "Tantras and mantras are not the real thing, so don't be fooled. You cannot cross the ocean of life if you don't know the Name which is the Universal Essence."
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Remember God Non Stop

"If your mind is running all over the place, what you are doing is not meditation." As you are breathing your last, you won't be able to perform rites and rituals or go on a pilgrimage, etc. Your mouth will be shut tight and your hands and feet rigid. You will no longer hear nor see. Before we were born, what did we do in the way of devotion? We have forgotten our original devotion and involved ourselves in artificial methods. So know what genuine devotion is and remember God non-stop. You ask how it is possible to continually meditate and yet do your daily tasks. But for example, while you are riding a bicycle or driving a car, you do other things at the same time. Animals can wiggle their ears or wag their tail while they do other things and you are human beings! But until you focus your mind in the real devotion (remembering the Name) you will not get salvation.
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Name

What Name could dry up the ocean of life and death? . It cannot be expressed in alphabetical letters: "O Nanak, remember the Name which sustains earth and water. Why remember another which has a beginning and end?"
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Divine Light

Unbroken devotion to God happens through the heart, not through the senses. His form is beautiful Light that frees from all sorrow. "Devotion is like a beautiful crown-jewel. The Divine Light shines day and night, needing neither lamp, oil, nor wick." When you know this devotion, you will be purified, you will cross the ocean of existence. It is written in the Ramayana, "Rama gathered an army and built a bridge with great effort, whereas simply remembering the Name dries up the ocean of birth and death. The wise should think about this." It also says, "How can the Name be glorified adequately? Even Rama couldn't praise it enough."
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Meditate

God is omnipresent, and is in you too. Meditating on God is devotion. Anything else you may do is not. For instance, you throw water at the sun and call that devotion. But it is devotion to the sun. How can it be called devotion to God? The saints and sages meditated within themselves - "Remembrance is through focusing your attention, it is not verbal. Close the outer doors and open the inner..."
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Liberation

Lord Rama explained that one is most fortunate if born as a human being, because the human form is just right for meditation and is the doorway to liberation. If, having got such an opportunity one fails to realise his Self, he will bitterly regret it, wrongly blaming circumstances, karma, and God.
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Think

Krishna also explained (in the Gita). "If a person remembers Me as he dies he will surely come to me." But if you don't even know yet what it is you have to be aware of as you die, how will you do it when the time comes? Think about it. 
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Remembrance

what is continuous devotion? Unbroken means non-stop. As St. Kabir said, "You turn a rosary between your fingers and your tongue around in your mouth, but your mind goes in all directions. This is not remembrance." Non-stop remembrance or meditation is that which can be practised all the time. Guru Nanak Dev Ji also talked about it. He said, " Remember the Name while sitting, standing, sleeping or awake and everything you do will be perfect."
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Grace of God

This human life is a very rare and precious thing. Effort can give you anything - except birth as a human being, which is given by the grace of God. In the Gita (11:25-26, 54) Lord Krishna says, "This Knowledge is not attained by sacrificial rituals, religious ceremonies, reciting scriptures, studying the Vedas or through strenuous austerities - it is found only through unbroken devotion."
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Religion

Religion has become almost a non-entity, and, more alarmingly, is being used to motivate and rationalise violent behaviour. The mushrooming of sects is due to the ignorance of the Truth. But a religion which cannot save us is no religion at all. What is called religion these days is destructive, divisive and spreads confusion rather than enlightenment.
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Maharajji

The sage of the Taittirya Upanishad praises the paravidya, saying, “The Knowledge which I have transmitted to you is my commandment. This is the essence of the Vedas and is the sovereign secret. This is the injunction of the Vedas and other scriptures. Practise this Knowledge and live according to it” (11-6). For four decades, Shri Maharaj Ji worked tirelessly to offer this path, which had well-nigh vanished from India, to all aspirants irrespective of caste or creed. Undoubtedly history will testify that this unique spiritual personality cleansed religion of the dross of ritual and superstition that had obscured it, and broadened the spiritual horizon of millions of people. He revealed to all aspirants their living, conscious spiritual core. He revealed the foundation which underlies all religions and which is their common factor. He claimed that the ritualistic and ceremonial aspects of religions which make them seem different are merely the outer robes.
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Saint

It has been said that a river does not drink its own water, a tree does not eat its own fruit and saints come only for the sake of others. Kabir, the Indian mystic poet, describes the greatness of saints in these words: “God is like the ocean, and saints are the rainclouds; God is the sandalwood tree and saints are the breeze which carries the fragrance.” God is within every heart, but is experienced only by the grace of a living enlightened saint. Shri Hans Ji Maharaj was one such saint, who dedicated his life to making available to one and all the paravidya–the practical spiritual Knowledge which leads to liberation.
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Updesh

Many people think that altruism means donating cheap wheat or clothing. Even if it rains gold for two hours and you collect as much as you can, it won't benefit you if you don't do anything with it. You may spend your life giving food and clothing, but will the real need ever be met? People die and are reborn, because we have more than one life, so there is never an end to people's needs. The real meaning of paropkar is not understood. Nor is the real meaning of updesh (initiation). People proclaim loudly from high stages and call this "updesh", or teaching. But on the one hand is this desh, or mortal realm, and on the other is the realm from which there is no return, about which Lord Krishna says, "Once the soul reaches the self-effulgent realm beyond the light of sun, moon or fire, it does not return." But nowadays people think that simply bestowing a rosary is "updesh".
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Salvation

Nowadays people make a fuss about `paropkar', which means beneficence, going out of one's way to help others. Everyone agrees that there should be more of it . But do they know the real meaning of that word? No! First of all we have this mortal world, where creatures are born then die. This is the realm of reincarnation, where the soul encounters obstacles and a variety of miseries. Secondly, there is parlok, the next world, or after life. Lord Rama said that the human body is a gateway to liberation and a soul is very fortunate to get it. Even gods long for it. If you put halvah in front of a god, or any creature for that matter, it will eat it, but only human beings can cook halvah for themselves. That is why it is also written that one can experience paradise in this very life. The human body is the only way out of the cycle of birth and death _ no other species has this capacity. Only humans can work for their own salvation.
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Meditation

Indra by nature is obstinate so he sends heavy rain and storms, but even this god's pride was broken by Krishna. Only the Lord can do that, but even He depends on devotion. God cannot be realized without meditation. So meditation is most important. That is the main thing. God is not realized by reading scriptures _ that ultimate state of bliss is absolutely indescribable and can be reached only with the help of a saint.
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Duty

What are saints like? There is a story that once a saint was walking beside a river. He saw a scorpion drowning. As he lifted it out of the water it stung him and fell back in the river. So the saint picked it up again. A passer-by asked him, "Why do you keep on trying to save it?" The saint replied, "It can't help doing what it does. It is acting naturally, and so am I."
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