LORD’S NAME
O Lord, it is
from your love for us that you accept our devotion. Whatever we offer you
returns to us with thousand blessings. There is nothing
but God, the Paramatman. Let us see everything as part of the Whole, as
extension of our own self. Then there is no sense of otherness. One of His ways
is that He manifests Himself in every heart in the form of Name in order to
sanctify our unclean hearts and make us fit to be engaged in His Seva. True
devotees reflect in themselves the Lord’s wishes and are suffering and
rejoicing in harmony with the Lord’s acting. Feel united with Atma at all
times, be joyful , act motiveless, spontaneous . Recitation of His divine Name is the quickest and easiest means of
securing His Grace and the consequent release from Maya’s bondage .”Lose
yourself completely in Name and you will be able to feel my constant presence.
Whatever you do, do it in the living presence of the Lord. You are companions
of my Nitai and Gour. When you have come can He remain elsewhere? Nitai is always moving near you. Sometimes He
manifests Himself but you think it to be a dream.” (Thakur Haranath) IT IS FROM
YOUR LOVE FOR US THAT YOU ACCEPT OUR DEVOTION. Whatever we offer you returns to
us with 1000 blessings. The Name once uttered has the power to blow
away such a heap of sins as no Jiva could ever dream of accumulating through a
lifespan. A wise man has no attachment to anything other than his soul. He
dwells in the Lord, is unaffected by Samsar around him, always serene,
forgiving, seeing all beings and creatures as part of himself, never offended,
sees pleasures and pains as being equal. It is because we have forgotten our
true Self and the Ego interferes that the sense of otherness is experienced. Be
always in pursuit of Bhakti, increase Nama Japa and associate with Lord’s
Bhaktas. Unnoticed by us a powerful Aura encircles us which is recognizable by
enlightened souls.
This Human life is not our own, it is meant
for nobler pursuits, it is meant to realize
God.** In reality we are always near our beloved Lord but as long as we
identify ourselves with the body and live in the illusion –holding the body for
the Self – we are very far from Him. As long as the body indulges in
Karma the mind remains attached to Karma, binds the soul into more and more
incarnations. It is the body feeling which separates us from Him. Look upon all
as one Atma as there is only one
Atma: PARAMATMA, and make this Bhav strong. No man owns even his life but is
merely deluded that he does. To those who practise Bhakti with no break the
Lord comes to dwell in their hearts and destroys all desires. A man of Bhakti whose
heart rests constantly in the Lord has no need of Jnana or Tyaga. Bhakti purifies the mind, leads to
light, while hunt for pleasures binds in darkness .We have no separate
existence from Him, we are Atman,
part of Him. HIS LOVE IS OUR BIRTHRIGHT. Cherish it as your dearest treasure.
Bali’s wife said
to the Lord (Vamana Avatar):” How can my husband offer you anything at all when
all 3 realms are always just yours anyway? With abstinence from all Karma which
is tainted with Kama and with an inquiring spirit can man hope to return to the
truth.” Be aware: the Lord is present everywhere. No man owns even his life but
is merely deluded that he does. Bali said to the Lord:” Your mercy is truly
without limit or condition .You are the universal Kalpataru, no-one who resorts
to you is ever turned away. “The Lord spoke to brahma:” those whom I truly want
to bless I deprive first of their wealth, for wealth makes arrogant’”. If you find
a man fortunate regarding birth, appearance, property, work, learning, and yet
free from them verily be certain that I blessed him.” Gajendra praised Lord
Krishna as follows:”You always give your Bhaktas so much more than what they
pray for. Save me from the crocodile and Samsar. You cannot be seen with the
mind or senses But can be gained with Bhakti.’ He who has
Bhakti attained already all Purushartas. O ETERNAL One, perfect one. You are
closer to one’s heart then oneself, but distant to the evil and unevolved“.
We have no
separate existence from Him – are Atma, part of Him. Atma is un-born, eternal,
changeless, undecaying, and distinct from the body, ever untouched by matter,
pure consciousness, and perfect awareness, boundless. Our Longing must be so
intense that the entire world seems devoid of happiness and desolate without
Him. This ardency should never be curbed, we must ever look forward to His
appearance with full faith that He will show His favour, be kind, reveal His
presence and play with us. Yearning
for the Lord must be so intense that one moment without Him seems like eternity.
Extreme restlessness, piteous prayer and unfathomable faith is yearning. Make
dependence and restlessness treasures of your heart. By constant Japa with
Bhava and concentration Mantra Chaitanya is awakened. Then the sweetness of
Name arises from within our heart as result of its melting. The Lord’s mercy is
unfathomable – He merely wants the yearning of our hearts.Thakur Haranath
described it like this:”before He enters into the heart intense longing will
fill it, causing great pangs. It is an admixture of immense joy and extreme
pain, also termed union of poison and nectar. Inexplicable thoughts will come.
This is a certain sign that the fish is nearing. If we make any disturbance He
will get back. Create His form
mentally, see Him sparkling like 1000suns, imagine Him coming closer and closer
to embrace you. See Him before you throughout
the day, feel Him to be always with you, converse with Him, constantly realize
His presence. Endear Him to your heart, He is always calling you, singing
your Name on His Bansari. He is manifesting Himself in every devotee’s heart
and performs Kirtan of His own Name in order to sanctify our unclean hearts rendering
us fit to be engaged in Seva. Even half a second should not be wasted, His
mercy is unfathomable. Success in Dhyan comes when we feel Him verily in front
of us, in our heart and as the sole actor. Let us do everything in the living
presence of the Lord. He is the only and
final Beloved, the Dearest one, closer to oneself than oneself – Atman, Guru,
ultimate friend of all beings. The experience of His Nearness is supremely
pleasant, giving highest bliss and supreme joy. The Master of this body becomes
active within, and in order to take us to His lotusfeet He begins to perform
Japa and Kirtan. Our original
relationship with the Lord is real love, which is continuous, unending, but
because it is reflected pervertedly in the material world it lacks continuity
and is intoxicating (Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Constant remembrance of the Lord means total forgetfulness
of the world and its objects. The highest man sees God in all beings and
worships Him in them. Firmly believe that He will show His favour and be kind. The
closer a man approaches the Lord the lesser his deficiencies become. He gradually
gains many good qualities.
3 things are
difficult to obtain: to be born as human, long for release and have association
with great souls – all 3 are results of Lord’s Grace.”O Lord, you always give
your Bhaktas so much more than what they pray for. You cannot be seen with mind
or senses but can be gained with Bhakti. Who has Bhakti has attained all
Purushartas and whosoever renounces all desires and surrenders to Me I shine in
his heart as his very Self. The joy that man feels is something that no
creature bound by senses can ever understand. ‘
There is no place or time where you cannot
commune with Him. His nature is love.
If He is pleased what can we not have? Here I quote what Prahlada said to his
friends:”It is not difficult to please the Lord. He is the inmost spirit, He is
everywhere. There is no place or time where you cannot commune with Him. He is
our only true wellwisher. Moksha which the wisest Munis seek need never concern
us as long as we have Bhakti. The
greatest Bhakti is to keep the mind calm and to see Him in all beings, friend
and foe alike. Bhaktas see all beings as equal, as part of themselves, they
renounced attachments, hate none, are celebrate, keep silence and see God
everywhere in all things. Unnoticed a powerful Aura encircles them which is only
recognizable by enlightened souls. Once the Ego is effaced divine grace can
flow freely, unobstructed. The moment the Ego comes in there is immediate
blocking of the free flow of divine energy. Once
the Ego is gone divine grace flows unobstructed, freely. His grace is always
there, only the Ego prevents us from taking advantage of it. When we go
beyond the Ego we are nothing, infinite nothingness filled with divine consciousness.
Lose the sense
of distinctive personality and be dissolved in the Lord like camphor in fire. Such
a devotee is no longer conscious of the external world. He laughs, weeps,
cries, sings aloud, dances due to the excess of joy he experiences. In time he
sees only God everywhere, in all things and in himself. Then we behold
everything as God, are always in a worshipful mood –feelings of otherness go,
our whole life becomes an act of worship, a song of praise. Whose mind is free
of desires, one-pointed, always seeking the Lord, totally unselfish, his Linga
Sareera* is liberated effortlessly, its sheaths burned to ashes on its own even
as food is digested.”
Believe firmly
that the Lord will show His favour, will be kind and reveal His presence. Be
ever looking forward to His appearance. This is high expectancy. He is very
kind but also uncommonly fond of play.That life of this universe is playing His
wonderful game of love in the presence of everybody in so many hearts and forms
but no one has the power to realize or perceive it because their thoughts are
not centred on Him. They have not established His presence in their hearts. Feel
that it is the Lord who does everything, that He is verily in my heart and
aware of all my thoughts. Strenuous constant effort will eventually bring
success. Firm faith, complete surrender, unquestionable faith is here of
paramount importance. Absolute mad love
for the Lord moves mountains.
June/July 2018
Ruth Baur
** it is a rare fortune to get a human body
– this sturdy, fine ship, whose captain is an excellent Guru and the wind in
its sails Lord’s grace (Srimad Bhagavatam)
FN:
Linga Sareera: subtle spirit body. It survives
from birth to birth and carries sins and shackles. It is a body of energy
consisting of a combination of 5 Indriyas and Karma, is connected to our
physical body and transmigrates from birth to birth.
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