DIVINE THOUGHTS

 50 Divine Thoughts

 In the unbroken line of preceptors from Adi Sankara Bhagavatpada,
 downdards our beacon light in the Sanatana Vaideeka Marga, Sri
 Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi, the 68th Sankaracharya, shone as bright
 as Adi Shankara. It was the good fortune of his devotees and of this
 century, that He was the exemplar for prompting peoples' knowledge,
 faith and interest in the Karma-Bhakti-Jnana marga. For the learned
 and the layman, He expounded words of wisdom. These run into over 4000
 pages and are being published in various languages. Indonesia has been
 similar to India, in their way of talk, habits, worship and culture.
 This has been so for ages. It is a true fact that Sri Mahaswami (Sage
 of Kanchi) had an affection towards the people of Indonesia. This book
 titled "Divine Nectar 50" has been translated into the Indonesian
 language by IBA NOOR AND STAFF "REALIA" Indonesian language school,
 Yogyakarta, Indonesia and published by P.R. Dandapani of P. T. Ispat
 Indo, Surabaya, Indonesia, while N. Rajan of UCO Bank Madras has been
 the co-ordinator . we bless the families of IBA NOOR, STAFF of
 "REALIA" , P.R. Dandapani, and N. Rajan and pray to MAHATRIPURASUNDARI
 SAMETA SRI CHANDRAMOULEESWARA that all Indonesians should read this
 book and benefit thereof. May those engaged in this noble task be the
 recipients of all bounties and we offer our blessings.

 The medicine of Grace to wipe out our sorrows is to develop unshakable
 faith in God and tolerance is the medicine of Grace to wipe out our
 sorrows. Bhakti alone can give us the capacity to put up with sorrows.
 Temples are the agencies for developing that Bhakti. Hence, the need
 for temples at all places. All offerings to the deities in the temples
 are tokens of our gratitude to God.


 That which is within all, which is seen as "This" is the source. He
 who is within and sees as "This" is God. It is the reality. It is in
 yourself. What is limited is Sadhana; what is unlimited is the end.

 He alone is an Acharya, who, after clearly understanding the
 conclusive teachings of the Sastras, makes the people of the world
 gain their welfare by making them stick to the path shown in the
 Sastras and also himself does everything according to Sastras and
 remains in that experience.

 Many acts relating to God, like building temples, digging tanks are
 performed. While executing them, there would be many difficulties.
 There would come also several kinds of dishonour. Not minding any of
 these, they would complete their tasks with mental one-pointedness
 removing impurities from their minds and letting the mind wander. By
 straightening their mind, they acquire mind control and at the end,
 they realise the Reality that is to be known. Digging tanks, building
 temples and such other acts are called poorttam. The performance of
 sacrifices, etc., is known as ishtam. Combining these two, we have the
 word Ishtapoortam.

 In all that you do, let love be the sole motive. Any need must be with
 reference to another. Let action be out of love. Passions such as
 desire and hatred , anger and malice must be totally eschewed. If love
 becomes the grounding principle of all deeds . then most of the ills
 of the world will vanish.

 We know many faults we commit, even if others do not know them.
 Sometimes we realise we are doing so many evil things and repent
 bitterly and feel why we should be born . Our duty is to pray to God
 -"I have committed so many faults. Will you not, 0 God, give me the
 will power not do like that in future and will you not purify my
 mind?" We must note down in a diary every night before we go to bed
 the faults committed by us and pray to God to give us courage and
 intelligence not to do so. This must be propagated widely.

 Parameswara and Sriman Narayana are one and the same in reality. They
 are not two. This is the conclusive view of all the sastras. Names
 differ, forms are different, occupations vary, but the reality which
 is within Them is one and the same.

 What is the purpose of human birth? To earn, to eat, to undergo misery
 everyday and finally to die? Instead of earning and suffering, can we
 not die now? The purpose of birth is to avoid re-birth. Except man,
 all animals grow horizontally. Only man grows vertically. Instead of
 growing horizontally, it is God's will that he should grow vertically
 in order to look up. God has given to animals devices for
 self-protection; to man alone He has given intelligence. By doing
 nothing, we avoid re-birth; By giving up attachment, we avoid sins.

 When any object is consumed by fire, it becomes charred. If that black
 residue is burnt again, it becomes white ash. White ash continues to
 remain white even when burnt again. This shows that white is the
 ultimate and black is proximate to it. Science tells us that diamond
 and coal are basically one. White and black are not colours. The
 primary colours get separated from the objects to which they are
 attached when subjected to the test of fire and ultimately white.
 Similarly, in the mental and spiritual place, the Ultimate Reality is
 Siva, who is white and proximate to Him is Parvati, who is dark. When
 we test everything in the fire of Jnana, or true knowledge, the
 residue is Siva. Ash in the material plane corresponds to Siva in the
 spiritual plane. We smear our bodies with the sacred ash to remind
 ourselves of Siva and the fact that the ultimate goal of life is Siva.

 Much is said about the personal God and the impersonal absolute God
 with attributes and without attributes. It is only when all the
 colours in the light mix together that we get the colourless rays of
 the sun. Similarly by the very virtue of being the abode of
 attributes, God becomes Nirguna, attribute-less.

 By education we realise Truth. There are many truths, History is one
 truth. Geography is one truth, Mathematics is one truth. The content
 of truth is the greatest in Mathematics. In others, there is an
 element of imagination. In Geography, we come across names Asia,
 Africa, Madras, Calcutta, etc. These names were given by us. By
 imagination, we have given names "plateau" "valley", etc. By a process
 of gradual elimination of all that is imaginary, when we arrive at
 truth, that Truth is found to be God. To think of Him with real
 devotion is the fruit of education.



 What is the use of education? Its first use is to develop humility
 (vinaya). In olden days, the disciple who went to a guru was called
 "vineyan" meaning a person of humility which is the hall-mark of
 Instruction he had from his guru, the fruit of education. Education
 without humility is no education. Education is the same today as it
 was before, but methods have changed. The medicine is the same but if
 the diet is changed, the medicine becomes poison. Education has today
 become merely the means of livelihood. For true education, the student
 should go to a guru and follow the guru-kula system.

 Right education should make us know that God is the Truth. Knowledge
 must fill one with good qualities, through which one can realise the
 Truth, that is God. Therefore, the goal of knowledge is the
 understanding of the Ultimate Truth. The first fruit of education must
 be humility and self control.
 The total surrender to the Lord is a means of learning our
 insignificance and the transcendent grace of the Lord.
 If we engage an inquiry into the Atman, at the end of it, it will be
 clear that God is in us as our very self. When that stage is reached,
 we have no use for the devas. Then all karmas will fall away from us.
 But, until then, we must obligatorily do the karmas directing them to
 the Gods.
 Those who are the leaders of a group, society, or state should not
 neglect the established religious customs and usages. For themselves
 the may mot be in need of Church ceremonies, for instance, their
 advance in spirituality may not require them. But if they begin to
 neglect them, the people for whom the rituals are really helpful, will
 also start neglecting them. This would be setting a bad example. In
 the words of the Bhagavad Gita, the wise one should not unsettle the
 minds of those who are ignorant, and are attached to action: on the
 contrary, he should encourage them to perform what they should
 perform, by himself doing the appropriate actions well and with
 diligence. It is duty cast upon the leaders and those that are at the
 top to lead the people from where they are, and not to refrain from
 participation in the traditional ways of worship.
 Of all scriptures, the Gita has acquired a specialty of its own. Like
 this, there are many other books of wisdom. In the Mahabharata, there
 are many chapters teaching wisdom. Besides, in the Sivapurana,
 Vishnupurana, Skandham, etc., there is Jnanopadesa.
 So also in agamas. But what is the special importance of Gita due to?
 Not only in our country but in countries like Java, people follow the
 Gita. My inference is that because it was born in an atmosphere
 utterly free from attachment - attachment to life, attachment to body,
 attachment to kith and kin, but out of attachment only to Reality, it
 has become so famous.
 On deep consideration, ahimsa appears to be good as an ideal or for
 preaching. But practically speaking, it is difficult to follow fully.
 First of all, we must love others. But if we love anyone too much, the
 end is sorrow. Therefore we should love God who always gives happiness
 and not sorrow. I ask myself if we love God, should we not love anyone
 else in this world? So long as there is false knowledge which
 distinguishes God from the rest of the world, there will be
 differences. If we attain Jnana that God is all, we will develop the
 same love for all that we have for God; This is the sign of Ahimsa.



 For the sake of food, clothing and shelter, everyone is toiling and
 sorrow-stricken. If sorrow is to be banished and if we are to be ever
 happy, we must dedicate all our actions to God. If we get His grace,
 then we need not do anything and can be happy. God is a good master.
 By praising Him always, we cannot please Him. He is indifferent to our
 praise or dispraise, action or inaction. But all our actions are
 ordained by Him and are meant only to purify our minds.
 Why so many Gods? Is it not enough to have only one? Other religions
 speak of one God only and not many. We are assailed by such doubts. We
 eat to satisfy hunger, the stomach becomes full, there is no trouble
 or hunger. Then why can't we take cooked rice alone? Why should we eat
 so many side dishes? So, if we eat, it is just not to fill the
 stomach, but we want food tasty to the palate and pleasing to the
 eyes. Whoever is attracted to a particular God he worships that.






 By multiplying wants, we only increase poverty. What is essential for
 life and honour should be made available to all the people of the
 country. It is for this we want plans. Men of means should live like
 the poor and should not increase their wants beyond necessities. The
 rich should share their prosperity with the poor. This is punya,
 leading to salvation. The more we increase our wants, to that extent,
 there will be no peace or comfort and it will only produce poverty and
 sorrow.

 Vedanta which is the peak of the Vedas teaches the way for the removal
 of sorrow. Hatred and desire arise only in respect of the objects
 other than us. That desire will not arise if those objects are
 rendered identical with us, if there is nothing other than us, then
 desire will not arise. If there is no desire, there will be no effort
 and no sin. When there is no sin, there will be no body and there will
 be no misery.

 We may get many types of sorrow. What seems to be sorrow to all the
 people of a place may not seem sorrowful to us. If we stay always
 happy, without wanting to attain anything untouched by sorrow like the
 lotus-leaf and the Kalakodi - seed, that is called yoga. "Know that to
 be indicated as yoga which is separation from being united with
 sorrow, The removal of association with sorrow."

 In order to reach one purport, why should the Veda speak of many
 matters? This question may arise in our minds. It is through many
 matters that it is possible to understand that one purport which is
 Reality - yoga, meditation, austerity, sacrifice, performance of
 karma; when these are accomplished, what they indicate is that one
 Reality. It is that Reality which is the true purport of the Veda.
 Other things are of a changing nature. They become woven into a story
 and then even that story disappears.

 What for is the science of medicine? It is for keeping the body strong
 and healthy. What if the body is not strong and healthy? The body will
 be subject to diseases. What if there is disease? One will not be able
 to function properly. He who has given this body is the supreme Self.
 This is the truth, we should practice several disciplines. We can
 practice them only if the body is well. In order to keep it well, we
 must prevent it from becoming a prey to disease. The science of
 medicine tells us how to prevent diseases. Thus, Ayurveda helps in the
 realisation of Advaita experience.

 Savikapla Samadhi: The mind is steady without any distraction,
 contemplating its object wholly absorbed therein.
 Nirvikalpa Samadhi: This is the goal of yoga. In this, the mind ceases
 to function and vanishes once and for all, leaving the self to shine
 forth alone. In Advaita too, the path of meditation is recognised; but
 here the object of meditation is the distinction-less Brahman.
 Sahaja Samadhi: This is realised through the path of enquiry. It is
 the natural state of Self - realisation and one of utter unconcern for
 the fleeting phenomena.

 There is nothing to feel elated about seeing the people worshipping
 me. But when I reflect that is worship to the God, who they think are
 approachable through me, I feel glad that there are so many who
 believe in a compassionate God who will hear them and remove their
 misery.

 Our religion Hinduism has grown by devotion, meditation and self -
 purification. The other religions might have grown by propaganda and
 conflict. The reason for crores of our people remaining within the
 fold of Hinduism, in spite of powerful propaganda of other
 religionists, wars, lure of money, etc., is we see a great man
 (Mahatma) in our midst by whom we are impressed. We develop devotion
 to him and generate faith in our religion. There is a text in the Veda
 which says that a flowering tree attracts bees automatically. If we
 examine ourselves and we find one of use to be perfect, the world will
 follow him.

 A child eats earth. Its hands are tied by the mother. The child gets
 angry and cries. Is it without reason the mother ties it's hands? We
 do not know the mercy of Universal Mother. The good or harm coming to
 us has its source in Her Grace; Suffering - Her Grace for some reason.
 We must accept whatever comes to us, good or bad, as Her Grace. We do
 not know why she gives it. Our vision is limited. We do not know what
 precedes it or follows it. If we are able to look into the past
 present and future, we will know that God does no harm to us. Other
 than God, there is no kith or kin for us.

 We cannot say that a child or an idiot who keeps quiet without
 activity like a stone is great. We cannot presume that he has attained
 jivanmukti. This is the result of sin. He is a Yogi or Jnani whose
 intellect is very subtle and as sharp as a sword. He has to become
 like a withered tree, an immovable object with a steady mind. He must
 understand all that is happening around him. His knowledge should be
 perfect. He should not be affected by passion or sorrow. He should
 always be happy. None of us is like that and Iswara is described as
 Sat-Chit-Ananda.

 If God is the ocean of mercy and if He knows everything, He must know
 what we want. Why should we appeal to Him to do this or that? The
 reasonable answer is that instead of begging useless people at useless
 places, we plead before the Highest and the Omniscient. Otherwise, we
 have no justification to ask Him to give us this or that.

 Everything disintegrates on earth and this earth also will vanish one
 day. The sun will disappear and the whole universe will go. Then there
 must be some powerful substratum responsible for creation, protection
 and destruction. We call it God. We have the faculty of thinking and
 capacity of doing, in smaller or greater measure. This also merges
 after our death with the omnipotent. Being, from whom we derive this
 energy. The stable principle which is the cause of creation and
 destruction of all energy is God, called by any name.

 Mother loves her child but later on, an unfaithful son causes her
 sorrow. We know of cases where mother starts litigation against sons
 or sons against mother. If one loves another, and if one of them dies,
 the bereavement causes sorrow. The bank helps people who have
 deposited money with them. It is supposed to remove the sorrows of the
 people in times of need. But when the bank itself is liquidated or
 closed, the depositors weep. Their sorrows once gave sustenance to the
 bank. The more we love, the greater the sorrow in consequence. Then,
 shall we decide that we should not love anyone at all? The object of
 this birth is to bestow undivided love on someone. The subject of our
 love should not be quarrelsome or separable. If we say that we should
 love only the imperishable God, then the question is: can we hate
 others? Let us learn to love all by realising that God is in all. God
 is eternal and our love for him should be eternal.

 I am prone to come to the conclusion that there lives none without
 predominantly selfish motives. But with years rolling on, an
 impression, that too a superficial one, true to my nature, is dawning
 upon me that there breathe on this globe some souls firmly rooted in
 morals and ethics who live exclusively for others, voluntarily
 forsaking not only their material gains and comforts but also their
 own sadhana towards their spiritual improvements.

 It is clear to us that there is birth and there is death. Passion is
 the cause of birth. Time is the cause of death. What is created by
 passion is destroyed by time. If passion comes, the seed sprouts. If
 time comes, the tree dies. Kaalo Jagat Bhakshaka: Even the sun and the
 moon disintegrate when time comes. If there is no passion, there is no
 production. If there is no time then there is no destruction.
 Therefore we have to conquer Kaala and Kaama. Iswara burnt Kaama and
 kicked time. So if we go to Him, there is neither birth nor death for
 us. Let us therefore pay to the Universal Father and Mother.
 "Jagatha pitarau Vande Paarvati Parameswarau"

 A master has two servants. One always flatters the master, the other
 just performs his duties without any love for the master. If the
 master is a fool, he would love the flattering servant. If the master
 is too clever, he will not love either the man working for wages or
 the flatterer. The master will love more the one who does his job as
 his own out of devotion. So is the case with the Good Master, God.

 Why do we break coconut before Lord Ganesa's idol? He is the Son of
 Parameswara and asked His Father to sacrifice His head with three eyes
 because only then, he thought any effort would be crowned with success
 and without any obstacle. So, instead of the head with three eyes, we
 are breaking coconut which has three eyes. Ganesa is so powerful as to
 demand the head of his own father. Whatever is superior to everything
 else must be sacrificed to God. Symbolically, we are sacrificing the
 three - eyed coconuts created by God, as ordained by Him. When a
 sannyasin attains Siddhi, this is done. This practice is in vogue only
 in Tamil Nadu.

 Thinking that God is far away from you, you are wandering in search of
 Him. So long as you do not know, He is far away. Though you may
 wander, you cannot see Him, but he is near you. He is distant, yet
 near. The story of a girl wanting to marry the highest among men, a
 king, ended, after all the travels, in the discovery of an ordinary
 man her parents had already selected. The bridegroom was so near. She
 took a long route to arrive at a point so near.

 We see our reflections in a mirror. In a row of mirrors, thousands of
 reflections are seen. It is only one person who sees all these
 reflections. The one who resides within us and who sees all this, is
 God. The seer is the cause of all the seen. That cause is knowledge
 which is the basis of this world. Where is that knowledge? Within you,
 what is macroscopic is microscopic in you.

 Joy comes in the form of status, money, etc. comes from without. We
 feel isolated. But it is the smallest fragment of the great joy from
 within, which is Ananda. Paramatman, the ananda within is not worried
 whether any joy comes from outside and mixes with it or not. Waters
 enter into the sea, which though ever being full, is ever motionless.

 If we analyse the teachings of the Gita, there may appear to be many
 contradictory matters regarding bhakti, karma and jnana. But the Lord
 takes the devotee step by step. We must meditate on the form of God as
 described in the scriptures. This bhakti will enable us to understand
 the universal nature of God. Spiritual vision will then make it clear
 that God without form is the Supreme Reality, which hears without
 ears, moves without legs. To worship God at the initial stage,
 metaphysical knowledge is not necessary. The more and more we
 meditate, bhakti grows and we automatically realise the universal
 form. There is no distinction between the devotee and the object of
 devotion.

 Our minds should automatically seek and cling to God just as iron
 filings are attracted by the magnet; the heart of the chaste wife
 seeks her husband; the creeper embraces the tree; the rivers go to the
 sea.

 Philosophical truths and ordinary people have nothing much in common.
 Therefore outward garb is useless. The representatives of religion
 must have real worth, peace - loving nature (shantam), austerity
 (tapas) and unselfish nature. Hinduism, in spite of its vicissitudes,
 is surviving even to this day. This is due to the blessings of a
 succession of saints. If there is one saint among us, the world will
 prosper.

 It is natural that man should seek to satisfy his wants like hunger,
 thirst, and a place to rest. There are duties which an individual has
 towards himself, the social group and the nation. Ordinarily, the
 performance of these duties remains on the level of satisfying the
 creaturely wants. But there is a way of performing these duties which
 will elevate everyone concerned spiritually. That is dharma. And it is
 the duty of the king or the state to see that the citizens are
 provided every opportunity for spiritual growth and progress. That is
 the meaning of saying: "Raja Dharmasya Kaaranam".

 Upaasana is dhyaana or concentration of meditation. A form is required
 for concentration. Reality is always the same and changeless. God, as
 the Ultimate Reality, is Formless. But Upasana of a Form is done with
 a purpose, namely, the attainment of a given benefit. The purpose to
 be attained by worshipping or concentrating on a Form differs. The
 scriptures tell you how to meditate and on what all Forms and with
 what results. For Upasana, you have to follow the Sastras or
 Scriptures. The different upasanas are all aids in the path to the
 ultimate goal, namely, understanding Reality. Scriptures prescribe
 Upaasana in order to train the mind to concentrate. Upasana is the
 affair of the individual; there is nothing collective about it.

 Neither the raw fruit nor the tree wants to leave each other. But when
 the fruit becomes ripe, this attachment automatically disappears. Man
 requires to experience anger, jealousy, passion, etc. just as the
 fruit had to undergo various stages of growth and taste before it
 became fully ripe so to get automatically detached from the tree. We
 cannot overcome these experiences in the beginning. But we must ponder
 over the fact why we undergo these experiences. Otherwise we will be
 the losers. We will become slaves of these experiences and can never
 achieve fulfillment or contentment.

 When adversities overtake us, we blame God and complain that He is
 blind to our misfortunes. But if we indulge in a little introspection,
 we will realise that our faults are so enormous that we are utterly
 unworthy of His grace and, in spite of that we are able to get food,
 shelter and clothing. It is due to the abundant mercy of God. We must
 consider the difficulties we encounter as a blessing in disguise.

 A mother may tie the hands of her child who has the propensity to pick
 up and eat mud. This seeming cruelty of the mother is for the good of
 the child. Similarly troubles are verily God's grace to save us. In
 the entire picture of life, troubles form but a tiny spot. In our
 inability to visualise the past and the future, we complain when we
 suffer in the present. A proper perspective will enable us to
 understand our present plight in its proper setting.

 Whenever any honour is done to a person the recipient must remember
 the divine source from which he derived the qualifications to receive
 that honour, and feel humble and not elated with a feeling of self -
 importance.

 Cultivate Friendly attitude to conquer the minds of men;
 Look at others as yourself;
 Give up war; give up jealousy;
 Don't commit aggression without reason;
 Mother earth is like Kamadhenu to fulfil wishes;
 The Lord God is like father showering mercy
 People of the World !
 Live with discipline;
 Live with charity;
 Live with mercy;
 May all people attain greater well - being.