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Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
In the Ashram, we have common routines, morning prayers and evening bhajans. The morning prayers are followed by a program called Pushpa samarpanam. I am wondering whether you know why this is being done. The idea is to generate and also preserve a very beautiful note of sublimity, softness, kindness, tenderness in the mind.
People are generally rough and tough, sometimes hard, sometimes very crude. Different ways are there. They may not know. People collect the flowers from my feet and they wipe my feet. Everyone will do it in a different manner. You may observe yourself and find out how best it can be done. The tenderness, the softness, the sense of intimacy, any other sublime notes that you can add, all of them will be reflected in your doing this.
Now here you have a living God, a living Guru. But when you handle an idol or a picture, in wiping it, in pouring water if you have in doing the archana, removing it and cleaning it, this is an abhyasa, an anushthana which will instill a lot of qualitative refinement in you. To be a devotee means to be soft, soft-natured, soft spoken. Try to observe yourself and see how far you are soft. It is equally to develop a number of qualities, to be soft and gentle is one. To be reasonable, proper, firm, decisive will be another. But in a good devotee, especially the one who is able to culture himself as a qualitative person, you will find there is a beautiful blend of the qualities and also emotional fineness.
The Vishnu Sahasranama is one which when chanted will make you think about various qualities of God. Though you are chanting words which are referring to God, the chanting is done by you and the qualities are going to grow in you provided you do it fondly and well, especially reflecting.
Today I brought Srimad Bhagavatam, primarily wanting to tell you one important verse which Sri Krishna said in the beginning to Uddhava.
Sarvebhūta suhṛt shānto. This one word, when I first read it in Srimad Bhagavatam, it appealed to me so much. This is the standard and style for a devotee.
Sarva Bhootha suhṛt. You should think as a friend of all creatures, all beings. Your mind may not accept it initially. But keep it as an ideal. Be friendly to the others, kind to the others, considerate to the others. That consideration for others, consideration for others. People are seated here. Whenever there are children, elders should feel that the children should be brought to the front and made to sit. Whether it is here or in a photograph, group. Anywhere and everywhere, be considerate to youngsters. And so far as youngsters are concerned, they should be considerate to the elders, to see that they are not put into discomfort, if at all they are helped with some convenience etc. Some people cannot bend, some people cannot do this, cannot do that. See what are the items of service you can do for them and without being told, sense it and then do it.
This one phrase, Sarvebhūta suhṛt shānto. If you can keep it in your mind and recite it many, many times, automatically you will become a Sarvebhūta suhṛt. It is Krishna who says this to Uddhava especially as a parting message when Uddhava was to take leave from Krishna and go to Badarikashrama and remain there, contemplating upon Krishna, taking his bath in Mandakini, remembering Krishna and seeing Krishna everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.
When he was with Krishna, Uddhava had a physical focus on him. When Krishna is no more there, the only way he can generate Krishna is by the mind and from the mind. He says paśchyan madātmakaṁ viśwaṁ. When Krishna was alive, he was always identifying Krishna with the body. When the body is no more there, it is not nearby, the only way is to think of Krishna in a much larger dimension. The whole universe is Krishna laden so much so, that you will never miss him even for a moment. Madātmakaṁ viśwaṁ.
In that case, na vipaddyeta vai pūnaḥ. You will never get into any kind of a trouble at all. Where is the trouble? Who will cause trouble? Everywhere is the same Lord. You must have love. Love, not particularly related to one person, no, loving by nature, loving by nature. Where there is love, there will always be sympathy. Sympathy means a kind of a concern and care for others. “I have love for my mother, but I have no consideration in the matter of helping her in her work. She is becoming older and I am growing , becoming an adult. So as an adult, I should not tax my mother unnecessarily. I should wash my own vessels and keep. After food also maybe I wash my vessels and keep them where they are to be. I don’t ask her to give me a glass of water, I will take it myself. I will give my mother also. She is already cooking. That is is enough burden.” So, love should be accompanied by sympathy and both should be equally leading to sacrifice.
Sacrifice means one’s own needs and comforts are left partially or fully, in order to be helpful to the others and pleasing others. Where there is love, there has to be sympathy. Where there is sympathy, there has to be sacrifice. Love, sympathy and sacrifice are the three basic virtues and all the others are multiples and combinations of these.
We have always felt, when some newcomer comes to the Ashram, maybe in satsang, I have met him, spoken to him. He has got up. Our usual people will simply leave for the dining hall. None of them seems to have a concern, he is a newcomer, he may not know where is the dining hall, “ So please come. Let us go. We will go for breakfast.” I don’t know whether any one of you says that. If you say, well and good, I compliment you. If you don’t say, please think about it.
What is wrong with us? After all, we don’t know where they stand, what they do, whether they are doubtful, so they will have to go by themselves uninvitedly so to say. That is sometimes very bad. Very bad. Personally, I will not like it at all. Even for the main function here, I always used to say, one or two people should be there to welcome the newcomers, accompany them and guide them to where to sit. These are some of the niceties which every one should know and practice in their respective households. In the Ashram, it is all the more so because we may not be always available to talk to the visitors. They will see us and then go and we cannot accompany them.
So, everyone who is associated with the Ashram, who have some familiarity, know about the practices here, I think they should keep in mind to welcome the newcomers, and conduct them properly. First time if you have conducted them, maybe they will know. But even then, a courteous word from you is always necessary. The evaluation about all of you will be drastically changing. And then, the greater benefit is that your whole inner personality becomes softer, gentler, more and more considerate. To the extent these qualities grow, you know what will happen? A divine experience will start growing in you. At present we see only the objects through the senses. Without the senses, without even the body, you will find a very pleasant experience, pleasant experience rises in your system and you are able to feel, provided you are emotionally sublime, emotionally refined. That emotional tenderness should be there as much as possible. Try to practice this.
I think the life style itself should completely change. You must have love for the articles you use, whatever articles you use, have love for them. The vessels should be properly cleaned, dried, make sure that there is no soap powder or washing powder there after washing. The gas stove should be kept clean, the kitchen should be kept clean. Everything should be clean. Your own dress, wear it nicely, keep it nicely and look for any kind of uncleanliness and remove it. All these things I believe will make your inner being much, much better, softer, more and more reflective and will generate that wonderful experience called realization.
Harih Om Tat Sat. Jai Guru. Jai Guru.
