My Dear loving hearts,

Even though our thoughts may always be on God, our mind continues to waver in the worldly illusion.  In this false world full of maya, our mind believes in false things, accepting them as true and it becomes very attracted to them. 

We don’t ask ourselves why this is happening.  We don’t think about it.  Is it because we who are caught in this worldly illusion and falsehood, are frightened that when we ask ourselves this question we will follow the spiritual path totally?  Or is it because there is a fear in the depths of our mind that we will realize the falsehood?  Or is it because we simply do not want to research about it? 

No one who has been born on this earth thinks about why they were born, for what purpose and with what aim they were born, and what the meaning is of this birth.  They just spend their lives thinking that they were born, they will live, they will die, they eat and so on.  Is it enough to just eat and sleep?  Will that give us happiness in our lives?  What is permanent happiness?  What is permanent bliss?  As long as we don’t understand this, our mind will always be entangled in this falsehood. 

Once you have got a human birth you should realize yourself.  In order to know yourself it is not necessary that you get advice from anyone, you don’t need to read books, there is no need for book knowledge or any university degrees.  We ourselves have to realize the paramatma, the Divine living within us.  God’s form is not important.  We call God by some names and think of Him in some forms because of our immaturity.  We have given God a name and we pray to Him using that name.  The reason why we do this is because we know that there is a God.  We give God a name and then chant Om Namah Shivaya and we think of Shivaya Namah.  At the same time, when we think with our third eye and with our inner thoughts about the divine energy that is inside us, we know that God is all-powerful, beyond any name and form. 

We give the Divine a form because of our mind’s immaturity.  To make our mind one-pointed we need a form and we make that form into a statue.  By giving that statue a name and a form we make our mind one-pointed but that does not necessarily mean that God is within that statue.  God is within us, in our heart.  We don’t try to see God within our heart and so, because of our immaturity, we are thinking of the God outside us having a name and form.  This is my spiritual point of view. 

Those who wish to see God should first understand themselves.  Increase the truthfulness in your heart.  Purify yourself.  Not only that, you should build up strong self-confidence and unshakable courage.  Only after we have acquired this can we come close to God.  God is almighty.  God is the same for all.  All Gods are one.  All religions are one.  All castes are one and what all the scriptures say is one.  Why do we think of everything as being separate?  Nowadays people play politics.  For the sake of those politics they place issues like religion and caste central and create this political drama.  We should not believe that this drama is spirituality. 

One cannot attain a divine state through the desire for land.  One cannot attain a divine state through the desire for gold.  Through lust one can only satisfy one’s desires but one cannot attain a high state.  Therefore, only if we reduce these three desires, can we realize the truth, which is in God.  When will these three desires reduce?  When do we think that these desires should reduce?  We never think about that.  We are always thinking that we want land, we want gold, we want a good name, fame, position and so on.  Because all our thoughts are busy with these things, our mind is also involved in that.  Let it be; it is not wrong.  However, this is not permanent. 

One day this life will leave this cage.  We don’t know when this day will come but our mind knows for sure that it will happen.  Is it enough just to think that before that day comes we should get name, fame, property and land in this world?  Even if we acquire all this, will it belong to us?  Will we have rights over it?  Not at all!  Many kings have ruled this country.  They built a kingdom, temples and many things for themselves.  Do all these things belong to them now?  No.  They all died and their properties went away from them.  We can’t even say that all their properties went to their relatives, their brothers, sisters and family members.  It has somehow gone somewhere.  Even though the kings ruled the land, they were unable to have rights over these properties.  We think of this as being permanent and we spend so much money on it.  Man cannot attain bliss through that.  The spiritual sadhana tells us this. 

Therefore, I want to tell you that what is permanent is peace of mind.  To reach this peace of mind, whichever religion you belong to or whichever God you worship, you should fix that God firmly in your mind.  One does not automatically derive any benefit from doing pujas, chanting mantras or offering flowers; all these are rituals we do.  Lighting lamps and incense sticks, showing camphor flames, wafting sambrani, offering flowers, doing pujas, these are all the preset rules and procedures we follow to satisfy our mind and to make it one-pointed.  We have to mature ourselves without these rules. 

When we sit in a place and close our eyes, our mind should concentrate on God.  The spiritual path is the path that we follow to get involved in God.  I don’t want to force anyone and say that a human being should live only in a certain way.  Man can live in any way he likes.  There is no particular way in which he should live.  However, that does not mean that he should drink, smoke and live a false life in this world, destroy his body, make diseases come and get caught in this falsehood.  I want to make him realize that all this is false and to tell him that he can live in any way but that he can also live in this way.  He can make himself one-pointed and controlled and there is nothing that he cannot do.  We should not think that we cannot change our bad habits.  We should think that we can do it and we should try to change ourselves.  How can others change us?  Why should others give us advice?  There is nothing that we cannot do.  We can live like this or we can say that we cannot do all this and live in that way.  Spirituality shows you a way to live.  The spiritual path says, live in a good way, with good discipline, without falsehood, with good habits.  I am not going to stop you from living in any way you want but this is what the spiritual sadhanas tell us clearly. 

Living in a good way and the devotion one has towards God, will make a person good.  Everyone who is born as a human being makes mistakes.  Some make mistakes knowing that what they are doing is wrong, while some make mistakes without knowing that it is wrong.  Some think that they are talented to act as they do and then it goes wrong.  Whichever the case, we should not get involved in making these mistakes.  Actually man doesn’t know that he is making a particular mistake. However, the problems he faces and the experiences he undergoes in his day-to-day life are because of these mistakes.  He suffers for that and he solves the problems himself. 

A human being faces many types of difficulties.  I have complete faith in God and I have surrendered my mind completely to God.  Human beings ask themselves the question whether they will also face so many difficulties when they have so much faith in God.  Man doesn’t understand the difference between the trials and having devotion towards God.  He should understand that he is the one who is inviting all the problems and difficulties. 

If we were to look at each difficulty, we would see that those difficulties are not given to us by God, but that we ourselves have pulled them towards us.  God has given us good knowledge, good culture, a good spiritual path so as to have good habits, but we don’t think about that.  Instead we make many mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly, with or without our understanding and because of that we get caught in these difficulties.  What is a difficulty?  We don’t know the value of money and just spend it and because of that we say we have no money and this is a difficulty.  At the same time the mistakes we make with or without our understanding cause us difficulties brought about by diseases or sicknesses.  These are all not given by God.  God has created all human beings in a good way and he has given all humanity a good life.  However, I know one thing for sure.  A person who faces many difficulties, sorrows and sufferings, loves God more.  In the midst of a difficulty we think of God more.  When we are enjoying all the comforts, we have fewer thoughts of God because we are spinning around in this worldly, material life.  When we are suffering, thoughts of God increase – it helps us.  The reason is because at that time our mind is not in a state to be able to carry this burden.  Therefore, looking at our burden, we pray, “Oh God, please lessen my burden.”  In this way man should understand his level of maturity and, with God’s grace, he has the opportunity to go close to God. 

We have a real opportunity to get close to God but we have to use it!  I want to state clearly that we can only attain a high state if we use that opportunity.  Let us think once who all underwent difficulties, sufferings and trials and then you will understand. 

Jesus Christ was crucified.  While he was being crucified someone there asked him impertinently, “You say that you are God’s child, God’s son, and you were talking much about spirituality.  For one who talked so much, can’t you free yourself from these trials?  Can’t you get released from this crucifixion?”  Jesus smiled at this and being on the cross he said, “I asked my father and he said, “You should experience this in this birth.”  Following my father’s orders I am facing this.  However, if I would want to be freed from this, I could free myself.  I have a way to be freed from this, but I don’t want to use my powers to do this, because these are my father’s orders.” 

We can see how messengers of God, great people full of grace were not frightened to face difficulties.  Even when they were in the middle of that difficulty they didn’t worry about that.  God has also given them the divine power to withstand the trial by knowing it is God’s action.  However, we think about them wrongly and judge them to be low and ask questions like this.  This is immature.  Anyone can ask any question.  There is nothing wrong in asking questions, but we should think what we are asking and how we are asking it. 

Dear spiritual souls, I have told you clearly that God’s grace is very powerful.  There is nothing that true saints cannot do.  They can do everything.  This is for sure.  It is the truth.  It is us who have immature thoughts.  The saints are the ones who have gone close to God, who have merged with God and who consider all these worldly material problems, this birth, death, difficulties, sufferings and worries as just a speck of dust.  We should understand that God has given them a heart that can withstand anything. 

Since Swami is in jail many people ask him, “You have so much power, you can perform miracles, why can’t you come out of prison?”  It would be easy and simple but it is not correct to do this.  This is what our high state of spirituality teaches us.  We are living our lives according to God’s wish and watching it take place.  Let whatever has to happen, happen at the time it has to happen.  There is nothing that cannot be done.  That is why I am waiting patiently.  If you ask whether it is necessary to use the powers for myself, then the answer is that this is a wrong type of approach.  We have to have attained a particular state to be able to understand all this. 

Let us take the present-day Ashram.  If we take Sri Premananda Ashram, we can learn many things.  They are bringing up hundreds of poor and destitute children in this home.  They are giving them free education, free food and all the necessary things.  Arrangements have also been made for them to follow higher studies while living there.  Beyond that their families are also being helped.  If some of these children get married, they also help them to conduct their marriage ceremonies.  Therefore, a great service is being done there without any expectations or selfishness and the people who are doing all this are all small children.  That is what needs to be praised.  They are not big in either age, knowledge or experience but they have the talent to do it in a good way and with a lot of interest.  We have to encourage their talents and their feeling to do this.  This is what I always say.  By finding fault and mistakes, by pointing out their mistakes and criticizing them we will not do anything good for the work in the Ashram.  The person who is in charge there can be strict with them and criticize them, but those who come for a short time should not criticize them.  Finding mistakes does not develop anything.  When you have holidays or spare time, go to the Ashram, stay there and do good service, take up a department and do service.  Receive Swamiji’s satsang and blessings.  Direct yourself along a good path and reach a good state.  I will always be with you and do good for you.  I will definitely solve all your problems, worries and difficulties. 

Jai Atma Swaroopa!

With love and blessings,

Swami Premananda