Today the spiritual exercises are confined to listening to talks and not to practising the teachings. Listening has become a kind of disease. Merely after listening, people go about bragging that they know everything. This crazy boastfulness is deepening people’s ignorance. One should ruminate over what has been heard. After rumination, one should do Nididhyasana (put into practice the lessons). Only then there is the triple purity of thought, word and deed. Today people are content with mere listening to discourses. This will not lead to Realisation. The practice of Nama Likhita Japam (repeated writing of the Lord’s Name as a spiritual exercise) promotes harmony in thought, word and deed (first think of the Lord’s Name, then utter it and write). All these three processes should be carried out only with a pure heart.

Source….. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

These days when one goes on a picnic, one takes a mirror, a comb and a handkerchief. Why do people keep them? While travelling, wind may blow their hair out of place, so they use a mirror and comb to tidy it. These help you look beautiful. Similarly, don’t you need a few tools to correct the disturbed beauty of your mind? Just as your mirror tells you whether your hair is disheveled or not, the utility of devotion reveals the state of your mind! With this clean mirror, it will be easy to see whether there is impurity in the mind or not. When we recognise that the mind is disturbed, we must correct it immediately and to do so, we need the comb of wisdom! Detachment (Vairagyam) is the cloth that wipes the dirt from our heart. As you journey along life, wherever you are, always carry the virtues of devotion, wisdom and detachment.

Source….. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

Whatever scriptures you may study, whatever spiritual efforts (sadhanas) you may practise or pilgrimages you may undertake, unless one succeeds in getting rid of the impurities in the heart, life will remain worthless and meaningless. Purification of the heart is the essence of all scriptural teachings and the basic goal of life. No spiritual study or sadhana can help in purifying your heart unless you makes the effort yourself. And when the heart is purified, it becomes a worthy abode for the Divine. Recognising this fact, the Bhagavad Gita has indicated a three-stage path to Divinity: engaging the body in good deeds, using the mind to develop good thoughts and human qualities, and contemplating on God through Upasana (worship of the Divine). Through this, any individual can reach the stage where, like a river joining the ocean, they merge in the Divine (Brahman).

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

A farmer desirous of raising crop must remove all weeds from his field. All varieties of weeds adversely affect the crop. Hence weeding is an essential pre-condition to get a good yield. Similarly, a spiritual aspirant eager to realise bliss (Atmananda), must remove from one’s heart the various manifestations of rajo and tamo gunas (qualities of passion and dullness) in the form of malice, desire, greed, anger, hatred and jealousy. These six types of enemies of man are the children of rajo and tamo gunas. None can experience the joy and bliss of the soul as long as these weeds are present. The entire world is a manifestation of the three gunas. Of these three, rajo and tamo gunas are the source of all trouble, sorrow, grief and problems. The six attributes of tamo gunaare sleep, drowsiness, fear, anger, laziness and inertia. Hence Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to remove the rajo and tamo gunasfrom his heart.

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

We are unable to realise God within us because we do not realise the soiled cover in which it is wrapped up. If our clothes get dirty, we change them because we are ashamed to appear in dirty garments. If our house is dirty, we clean it so that visitors may not get a bad impression of us. But when our minds and hearts are polluted, do we feel ashamed? Is it not strange that we should be so much concerned about the cleanness of our clothes or our homes, but are not bothered about the purity of our hearts and minds which affect our entire life? To purify our hearts and minds, the first thing we must do is to lead a righteous life. Our actions must be based on morality. Indulging in abuse of others or inflicting pain on them is not a sign of human nature. The evil that we do to others ultimately recoils on us.

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

Desires and willpower (iccha shakti), both emerge from thoughts. Willpower is very important, like the life principle of every human-being. All other powers like power of intellect, of understanding, of determination, of speech, etc., come out of it. This willpower is like the king of all other powers. It will lead one to the sacred path if one makes proper use of it. On the contrary, if one makes improper use of it, the person becomes wicked. Willpower affects your thoughts, and thoughts influence willpower. Bad thoughts make the willpower weak. Decline in willpower makes desires stronger and ultimately weakens you! Here is a small example. Suppose one person has the habit of drinking too much coffee or tea, smoking cigarettes, etc. will his bad habits not weaken his willpower and ability to accomplish great things? Hence develop good thoughts, good habits and practice ceiling on desires.

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan

Swami’s Prema (Love) has no trace of self-interest in it. It is absolutely pure. Swami knows only how to give, not how to receive. Swami’s hand is held above for conferring something, not stretched for seeking anything. Moreover, once Swami has declared, “You are Mine”, whatever wrong ways they may pursue, Swami will not abandon them. It may be asked why anyone who has been accepted by Swami thus should be subject to hardships and troubles. These troubles are the consequences of their own karma (actions). They have to see that their conduct is right. If, supposing, the Lord blesses a man with a hundred years of life, he should not get puffed up with pride and start jumping from a tree in the confidence that he will live for a century. He may live for a hundred years, but may have his leg broken in the fall. So in accepting the blessing of God, one should also try to lead a righteous life.

 

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org

Natarajan

When we are hungry, we eat food to satisfy our hunger! It takes about two hours for the food in the mouth to go to the stomach, get digested and yield strength and nourishment to the body. Similarly, there may be a time gap between actions and their consequences. A seed does not become a tree as soon as you sow it. The seed first germinates, becomes a sapling, and then grows into a tree in due course of time. The entire tree is within a tiny seed. You only see the seed, not the entire tree hidden in it. Similarly, you must remember that your future is contained in the actions performed by you in the present. You imagine your future and wait for it. There is no need to wait for it because your future lies in your present! Your present thoughts, words and deeds determine your future. Therefore make the present sacred, sublime, and purposeful.

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org

Natarajan

Let us grow together, move and learn together, develop intelligence and attain noble goals together, without any conflict and let us live in friendship. This is the true meaning of equality. This equality gives peace. Without equality, there will be only enmity, differences, and duality. Every day you say, shanti (peace) three times! Say it with a pure heart and say it softly. When there is enmity in the heart, chanting Shanti Mantra will be of no use! Chanting it harshly also nullifies the effect of the chant! Words are not important, the feelings within your heart are important. Hence, perform all spiritual practices with purity of heart. The path of love is the noblest. It may not be possible for you to do japa (chanting of God’s Name). You may not be able to make the mind steady in meditation. You may not know the path of yoga. But you can develop love in your heart. The path of love is easy and it is a shortcut.

Source…. http://media.radiosai.org/

Natarajan