Amrutvani Swamiji Speaks..

(A translation of Sadguru Bhagwan Shridhar Swamijis selected verses from his discourses)

!!Shuka Sarikhe Purna Vairagya Jyache,Vashishtha pari dnyana yogeshswarache Kavi Valmika sarikha manya aisa, Namaskar mazha Sadguru Ramdasa!! !!Aadinarayanam vishnum, Bramhanancha Vashishthakam, Shriramam Marutim Vande, Ramdasanchya Shridharam!! !!Namah Shantaya Divyaya Satyadharma Swaroopine Swanandamruta Truptaya Shridharaya Namoh namaha!!

Amrutvani 1

"When people of low moral values and character get into the position of power and authority, they tend to force others around them (including people of high moral values and principles) to indulge in lowly deeds and activities. Some people even start behaving like these lowly characters either under their influence, pressure or otherwise simply to avoid incurring their wrath. Those who oppose them are ill-treated, victimized and treated badly. Such people misuse their authority and power and purposely force good people into doing wrong deeds. Such tendencies start affecting the high moral values, characters, principles and the very framework that contribute to building a good and progressive nation thereby weakening these very components. This invariably leads to the downfall of the overall social health, and framework and consequently the nation. Just like people of high moral values, character and principles influence others to be like them, people of low moral values and characters influence others to emulate them."

Amrutvani 2

"Indulging in lowly and forbidden deeds (Nishiddha karma) leads to increase in desires by multifolds.This surge in desires takes the seeker away from the real path and ultimate goal of life. The path then starts appearing unclear and hazy. Such people get caught in the trap and their indulgence in such forbidden deeds (Nishiddha Karma) increases uncontrollably. Such unethical and misguided people are like a mad dog that runs after and barks at everyone and everything. With the passage of time, such people lose their standing and creditability in the society and finally get outcast like a leper. Overindulgence in desires lead to several physical and mental diseases and agony. They start experiencing hell in their life. Such people not only live in hell while in their body (living) but also finally land in hell after death."

Amrutvani 3 "Being one with one's own self (Swaswaroop) is the same as being one with the Guru. Becoming one with the guru itself is the ultimate devotion to the guru or "Gurubhakti". A river whose waves have calmed down (or ceased) has only water in its purest and natural form. Similarly, in a human mind, when the innumerable waves of thoughts calm down, what remains is the pure "Self". In such a state, nothing else exists but the "self". This is nothing but the "Swaroop" or simply the "being" where everything else is meaningless, beyond words, beyond description and explanation. This is the state of "Self realization" or "Siddha". This state is inseparable from the "Brahma"."

Amrutvani 4

Intelligent, clever and practical minded persons must be allotted jobs and duties that suit their intelligence. For example, a clever person with good argumentative and communication skills must become a lawyer while a timid, dumb and unintelligent person will be more suitable in the role of a caretaker of domestic animals. Wearing clean and neatly ironed clothes for those working in offices, courts, etc. is justified and expected while those who clean cowsheds may wear dirty, unironed clothes. A selfless god-fearing man will be very happy doing his daily chores like bathing, performing Sandhya, and his daily worship to god while an egoistic, self-centered man attached to his material possessions & desires may find spending time in material things more pleasurable. It is thus advisable to allot different jobs & responsibilities to people, even if they are from the same family, depending on their caliber, intelligence, capabilities, attitude, etc. Such persons need not attach too much of significance to the type of work they have been given but rather concentrate and perform the given job with great sense of commitment, sincerity, humility and responsibility. It makes no sense thinking about why certain persons are more privileged than others in terms of the work they do, etc.

Amrutvani 5

What is the purpose in running behind or pursuing pleasures and happiness that is short-lived and temporary? If such pleasures really gave permanent happiness, contentment & satisfaction, then people pursuing such things would have had a very different and unique experience and they would have never ever felt the need for anything else. It is a known fact that indulging in material and worldly pleasures, desires, etc. lead to suffering and dissatisfaction. The feeling of true happiness or Immortal bliss is very different from the one mentioned above. Pleasure derived from worldly and materialistic desires and deeds is temporary, incomplete and also uncertain. It is thus clear that immortal bliss can be had by experiencing things that are beyond the physical and beyond any description. The aim and purpose of human life is to reach this state of permanent happiness. It is therefore very important that every human being recognizes the real objective and aim of his/her life and utilize his/her lifetime in doing deeds that will take him/her closer to the objective. Achieving the immortal bliss in present life is indeed the objective of ones life and one must strive to achieve it!!

Amrutvani 6

Always speak the truth. Lead a life of high moral values and principles. Do not indulge in lowly activities like drinking alcohol, eating non-vegetarian food, desiring or craving for women and hurting others. You must atleast follow simple principles of the Vedas. These are1. 2. 3. 4. Never desire for others money (wealth) or other possessions. Lead a pure life with good thoughts, moral values and good character. Treat other women like your mother. Others wealth and hurting others (violence) is like poison and is a sure way of self-destruction. 5. Consider God, Guru, Cow, Vedas, and images of Gods as the one Supreme Being, the Satchindanand Parmatma. Wealth accumulated through legal and moral means must be used for the welfare of the poor, ones own family and offerings to the Guru. Become a truly pure soul and lead a pure life.

Amrutvani 7

Irrespective of whether a person is good or bad, he tends to force others around him to be like him (directly or indirectly). While it takes some time and effort to spread positivity, negativity spreads much faster without any efforts. Just like writing an intellectual book takes lot of time, efforts, perseverance & pain, destroying such a book by burning it hardly takes any time and effort. In fact this can be easily done by a person who has no intelligence or knowledge or capability. It takes some time for one to see the outcome or results of being a positive minded person with high moral values, principles & good character. This exactly is the same as medicine takes time to show its good effect on a patient. Whereas, keeping or being in bad company shows its results immediately.

Amrutvani 8

Sadguru is the sole and only source of pure bliss. Any true devotee must know and believe in this. A true devotee and seeker must practice this without letting his worldly material thoughts coming in the way. A seeker must, through consistent practice and perseverance, focus on achieving a thoughtless state of mind. Every seeker must preferably practice Dhyana everyday at a predecided time. Performing Dhyana everyday at a specific time ensures that after few days, the seeker gets used to the Dhyana at that specific time and will automatically be attracted (pulled) towards it. With consistent practice and regularity, the seeker starts experiencing a thoughtless state. In the process of Dhayana, a seeker must visualize his sadguru seated on a lotus with 1000 petals surrounded by a very bright but soothing moonlight-like divine light (aura). The seeker must concentrate on his Bramharandhra (typically believed to be a spot between the two eyebrows), which is the place of the guru in our body, while performing Dhyana and the above visualization. Further, visualize that Sadguru, with a divine and radiant smile on his face, is showering his blessings with both his hands on the seeker.

Amrutvani 9

Every mortal being thinks that once he performs the Upanayana (thread) ceremony of his son, marriage of his daughters & sons and sees his grandsons/granddaughters, he would then leave (relinquish) everything and offer himself to the service of guru/god. However, even after all of the above is done, he still gets stuck in some other wishes that he has and this wishlist never ends. This is very typical of people who are greatly attached to material and worldly possessions. Howsoever a person may try to fulfill all his desires, the list is never ending. Getting every wish fulfilled is just not possible inspite of putting great efforts. This fire of wishes and desires engulfs everything. Finally one fine day, a person unexpectedly leaves his body (dies) leaving behind unfulfilled desires and wishes. It is these desires that force such people again and again into the cycle of life and death!! Punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam, punarapi janani, jatharam shayanam!!

Amrutvani 10 Consumption of pure (satvik) or impure food (tamasi) has a direct effect on human mind and body. Food cooked by a person having a pure mind and good thoughts leads to good and pure thoughts in the mind of the person who consumes that food. On the other hand, food cooked by a negative minded person leads to bad and impulsive thoughts in the mind of the person eating that food. It is thus that seekers must eat pure food so that only good thoughts will appear in the mind. This will definitely help and enable such a person (seeker) to perform noble and pure actions (karma).

Amrutvani 11

Till the time a seeker achieves enlightenment, he has to lead a life that has components of spirituality and practicality on a daily basis. We all, as seekers of this ultimate divine bliss, need to progress from bad to good, darkness to light (self realization), mortal to immortal, duality (dwaita) to singularity (advaita), many to one and conditional happiness to permanent state of divine bliss!! A healthy seeker may, by virtue of his physical well being, progress faster or walk the path faster than those who are weak, old and unhealthy (by mind and body).However, when one embarks on a pilgrimage with a group of people, one has to tread the path at a speed that is comfortable even for such old, frail and weak piligrims. Similarly, people in general must lead their daily life in a manner that will leave good footprints for the younger generation to follow.

Amrutvani 12

One must never let ones mind roam freely. If the mind is let on its own without any control, it will surely and immediately start thinking about material and worldly things and emotions like desires, anger, love, hate, etc. If you feel it is difficult to control the mind, you may voluntarily and completely surrender yourself in the service of your sadguru (or god).Also you must continuously repeat or chant the name of your sadguru (or god).In any case, you must engage yourself in such a way that your mind does not wander towards unwanted and mortal worldly things. All this is to be practiced primarily for your own self development and upliftment. Mind that is full of desires will always pull you towards unwanted thoughts of hate, sorrow, worries; etc.This will actually take you away from the truth or Self realization. Pure mind (thoughtless) will take you nearer to the truth and enable you to attain Moksha.

Amrutvani 13

Every person does not enjoy the same amount of liberties, authority and status in life. By and large, rules are framed for people in general and by keeping a very generic perspective in mind. It is thus impossible to have just one rule that applies to everybody. Every individual has his own unique way of thinking. This is largely a result of the deeds (karma) he performed in his past and present life. An excellent behavioral pattern in one person may not necessarily be adopted our accepted by others. (Na hi sarvahita kashchita achara sampravartatay). Since every individual is different and performs different roles, various solutions are required to be suggested to them as guidelines, most of which based on scientific and explicit historical rules. Society, in general, is habitual to stooping down to low levels of morality and character if even a little liberty or relaxation is allowed in these rules.

Amrutvani 14

One must preferably restrict ones movements to the place of work (office) and home. Moving to other places apart from these must be done only if it is absolutely essential and necessary. Instead, one may read some good books relating to your area of study or work or interest. You must practice spending time in a thoughtless state i.e. without thinking about anything (old memories, friends, incidents, etc). You must practice the art of staying in a thoughtless and blissful state of mind. Queries, questions, thoughts, etc. are all very vague imaginations or things. They lead to nowhere. The real thing is this state of absolute truth. In this state, there are no thoughts in your mind and you remain in the state of Ananda or absolute bliss. Remaining in such a state (sahaja Samadhi) must become a habit so that this bliss can be enjoyed for ever.

Amrutvani 15

Every person must perform deeds (karma) by very carefully analyzing, studying, understanding and experiencing the same. This will give definite satisfaction and results. We become unhappy and dissatisfied when we try very hard to achieve something without really knowing or understanding it clearly. Most of the times, we are attached to worldly and materialistic thought process that is full of desires, ambitions, expectations, etc. Infact while doing any deed, we invariably think of all these desires and expectations. This causes unhappiness and suffering if the desires and expectations are not met. Sphurey vishayo kalpana te avidya sphurey brahma rey janmaaya suvidya!! While performing any deed (karma), one must think about whether the rising desires are leading to the path of knowledge or not. A mind that is full of such desires leaves its imprint on ones memory. It is thus that seekers of truth must tread the path in the company of the experienced and knowledgeable person who has taken that path earlier. Seeking truth or bliss this way leads to achieving the ultimate satisfaction, happiness and bliss.!!

Amrutvani 16

While we keep on pointing at others mistakes everytime, the fault lies with our own vision and thinking. When we criticize others, it is our own speech that becomes dirty. When we force our grief and sorrow on others, it will never be appreciated by others and only hatred will come out of this action and such people will surely become our opponents. It is thus that one must never make others unhappy by virtue of any direct or indirect or deliberate action. Infact, do not even, in dreams think of making others unhappy. The all pervading, omnipresent, omniscient god is present in every living being. If others are happy or derive happiness because of you, it is the godly component or element in others that will be happy. It is always the kindness and generosity of heart or the big heart that makes people great human beings. A real or true person is the one who strives to make others happy. Always remember that others will behave with you the way you behave with others.

Amrutvani 17

The physical body by birth has 6 discrepancies or problems (Shadvikara).The body starts growing on taking birth. It goes through 3 major phases of growth namely the young age, the middle age and the old age. Finally the body dies due to old age. Human body does not possess the beauty and vitality of young age when it becomes old. Hair turn white, skin loosens and is full of wrinkles, eyes become weak, nose is filled with mucus, mouth secretes saliva and the person may even lose memory due to old age. It is thus better to have some arrangement to escape from this suffering before it is too late. But if a person realizes this when he is old, it is too late. Therefore one must do something concrete while at a young age. Instead of indulging in unwanted and useless worldly attachment and desires which will lead nowhere, it is advisable to be a seeker of truth and eternal bliss and tread the path accordingly.

Amrutvani 18

A mother not only takes care of the child but also takes upon herself all its pains and suffering. She takes care of the child right from its birth till its death. Mother need not be taught to take care of the child. Similarly, a guru takes upon himself the pain and suffering of his devotees. Guru not only takes care of his devotees while they are living (in body) but even after they have left their body (after death). Guru is practically taking care of his devotees every moment. Irrespective of whether the guru is physically near the devotee or not, guru never lets the devotee down from his caring arms. Guru protects all his devotees through his divine omnipresence, omniscience and power earned through spiritual practice.

Amrutvani 19

Human beings have a very typical way of leading their lives. They always strive to raise their standard of living. This is what is very typical of them. Human being, which is the most progressive and intelligent species compared to animals always works towards improving its living conditions and standards. This process begins right from birth. Human body and human birth is not only meant for leading a life that is full desires,possessions,etc. but has a much larger objective. Every human being must understand this and try to raise himself above these worldly thoughts and material things. He must try to achieve self realization and eternal bliss. Achieving this is the real objective and goal of a human birth. This is thus the prime responsibility of every human being to achieve the objective.

Amrutvani 20

Your own self or Atmaswaroop is the ultimate truth. It is pure and gives you eternal bliss. You must allow this divine light to reside in your body. Your physical body is highly impure and dirty. You must always remain in the pure state of Self and Self realization. Infact your sadguru is also present in you. If you want to be one with you guru, you must leave aside your attachment to the physical body. Your guru will reside in your Self provided you pray to him by going beyond your physical self. Guru, who is the purest, must not be touched by your impure physical self. You must clearly realize and understand your Gurus Purity of self and perform spiritual practice accordingly. This will ensure that your guru will happily stay within your pure Self. Infact attachment to the physical body is considered to be the lowest level on the path of spirituality.

Amrutvani 21

Unhealthy mind and unhealthy body lead to several hurdles in reaching the state of self realization. If you want to be out of the cycle of life and death for ever, you must believe in my words. Within you is the eternal bliss and eternal truth. Tread the path of righteousness towards reaching that self. This will ensure that sorrow, grief, weakness of mind and body, etc. are totally eliminated and you will shine with eternal bliss and happiness. No more will you be worrying about this or that disease. In fact it will eliminate the major problem (disease) of the mind itself. You must remain in the state of self. Think about this. Luck, destiny, etc are simply imaginations of those who have not achieved the self or the Dnyana (knowledge).Infact those who are in the state of self never ever think about Dwait (duality).You must, thus, become one with the self and nothing else.

Amrutvani 22

While eating delicious food, if you do not get involved in the process of eating, you will not derive pleasure. Similarly while practicing spirituality; you must have trust, belief, love and involvement in the practice. You must basically like it. Also you must try to control and correct your ever-roaming mind. Simply acting as a spiritual person or seeker will never lead you to the ultimate goal of Eternal bliss and Self realization. As shri samartha Ramdas Swami says, Veshbhushan tey dushan, Antari bhushan tey bhushan. (This line means that those who only look spiritual by dressing outwardly like a spiritual person have actually not achieved anything. Only those who have noble and genuine love and affection and an unquenching thirst to discover the self from the core of their heart will achieve something significant.) A true seeker must always control his mind and remain focused on his objective. Searching for the truth is the true spiritual practice. Rather than getting attracted and carried away by things that you can see and feel, you must remain committed and focused on achieving Self realization. This is a definite method of achieving the spiritual goal.

Amrutvani 23

In any family or a nation, religious belief, logic, righteousness, health, strength, prosperity, superiority, etc. are generally represented by the head of the family or the nation. It is thus that the progress of any family or nation is the responsibility of its important, senior and experienced members or the leaders. The future of the family is dependent on its head or the leader. If the head is immatured, the family becomes immature. It must be remembered that the entire clan of the Rakshasas (demons) was wiped out (destroyed) due to immaturity of its leader Ravana. Hence to avoid such situations, the leaders in the family or the nation must come together and discuss ways and means to progress by keeping in mind the positive and negative outcomes, results and repercussions. They must lead others in such a way that people lead a life of principles and values and tread the path of righteousness.

Amrutvani 24

We need to be happy and this happiness must be permanent or life long or immortal. Immortal or permanent happiness or bliss basically means something that never ends. Wherever you go or whatever you achieve in the material world, it does not give you permanent happiness. It is temporary. That is, it ends after some time. It does not give you permanent satisfaction or a permanent sense of achievement. It does not bring you to a point where you feel that now there is nothing more to achieve or that there is no further need of happiness. It is thus that any such happiness which is not permanent is like lightening that we see in the sky. It gives a flash of light and sound only for a few seconds or minutes. Creation and destruction is the basic rule of nature for all material objects in this world. That is all things that come under the purview of Maya are basically subjected to this cycle of Creation and destruction. It is therefore logical that anything that itself is not permanent cannot and will not give permanent bliss or happiness. One therefore needs a Guru to escape this cycle. A true Guru helps the disciple in realizing the truth, helping him to achieve Mukti from this cycle and enables him to have immortal bliss.

Amrutvani 25

Shreedhara-ashram is a very sacred and pure place that provides for and ensures eternal bliss and happiness to all seekers. It is actually a source of inspiration for seekers pursuing self realization and divine bliss. The ashram is my representative, in a way, keeping my memories alive eternally. Keeping the Ashram clean, pure and sanctified is largely dependent on your behavior and conduct. Even if some people with bad intentions and vested interests spread wrong things about the ashram, you all must remain focused on your objective of achieving divine bliss and continue to do your karma tirelessly and with complete faith and devotion. The Dharmadwaja at varadgiris peak is a symbol of Varadpur being an inspirational centre of the Sanatan Dharma .

Amrutvani 26

"Most of the people struggle and strive to get material and worldly pleasures. In fact, since majority of people are materialistic, by a simple rule of democracy (majority wins), such people feel that that is the only aim and objective of their life! If each and every person starts believing the above, then it surely will lead to wasting our lives and running behind pleasures that are unreal, temporary and short-lived. Today's society is practically following leaders that are blind to the above fact. The worst part is that such people consider themselves lucky and blessed for doing so."

Amrutvani 27

Like father, like sonfollowers reflect the quality of their leader.these are some of the well known sayings. These must be remembered always. People in general emulate or follow the king or the leader. This has been going on since generations and is quite natural. It is thus that each one of us needs to behave in such a way that we do not show our leader or king in poor light. This means we leave a good impression on others. Our behavior must uphold good moral values and generally display a good moral character. Our thoughts, actions and deeds must be based on our ancient scriptures like the Vedas and must be deep rooted. These in turn must also help the society. The king or the leader must conduct himself and the administration of the state based on these (ancient scriptures) principles and frame policies keeping in mind the overall wellbeing and progress of the subjects of his state.

Amrutvani 28

Losing control over ones senses even slightly leads to these senses pulling one towards materialistic and physical pleasures, which, in turn, leads to ones own grave and sadness. Unnatural or overindulgence in these pleasures also spoils ones physical and mental health. This leads to dissatisfaction and the peace of mind is lost. Also, one who indulges in such pleasures keeps on brooding over the past acts. Life of such a person becomes a burden and such a person gets completely overpowered by frustration and sadness. While a mans character is tested every time, his behavior also reflects his state of mind, culture, thoughts (good and bad), etc.

Amrutvani 29

"A person or a sadhaka who has detached himself from the worldly pleasures must also control his taste buds (tongue).Those who like to eat sweets and spicy food (particularly oily and hot food) surely may appear detached but finally such people are not celibate (celibacy of mind and body).They may appear to have detached themselves from their family and other worldly matters but have lost their celibacy (of mind and body). I have seen several such men and women. There seems to be some indescribable and intimate relationship between one's tongue and the state of celibacy (of mind and body). The greatness of lord Shankara lies in the fact that he is in complete bliss even after drinking deadly poison. While there may be some who are an exception to the above, in general it is always good and advisable not to indulge in such pleasures of food through your sensory organs, i.e. tongue".

Amrutvani 30

It takes a lot of time and efforts to cleanse the polluted mind. It is important to understand and know the ultimate goal of human life. That is the way to achieve a complete satisfaction of the mind. Once the mind is satisfied and stops running behind worldly and materialistic pleasures, it starts getting attracted towards experiencing the self. The mind then starts enjoying this experience and realizes that the true happiness is in Self realization. Once the mind achieves this state, it automatically gives up running behind materialistic and worldly pleasures and attachments and remains in a state of absolute contentment. It remains satisfied with even bare minimum belongings and possessions.

Amrutvani 31 "Our beloved Sadguru is the only purest form and source of eternal bliss. A "sadhaka" must have this feeling always in his mind and practice his "Sadhana" with this thought and feeling. There should be no doubts and no other thoughts apart from this. Practising "Sadhana" and "Dhyana" in this way will surely lead to realization of the self and complete satisfaction. A "Sadhaka" must have a fixed time for practising "Dhayana" (Meditation) and also a fixed place. After practicing "Dhayana" at a fixed place and fixed time for few days, the "sadhaka" will automatically be pulled or attracted towards "Dhayana" at that time every day. In "Dhayana", a "Sadhaka" must focus on his/her "Brahmarandhra" (area between 2 eyes).This is a place where "Sadguru" resides in our body. Imagine our beloved Sadguru to be sitting on a lotus throne smiling and showering his blessings (anugraha) with both hands."

Amrutvani 32

"You must, out of your own "Self Consciousness" see me within yourself. That is, I'm very much a part of your pure "Self consciousness"----I'm not different from it. This is my true or real omnipresent, omniscient form. Do not look at my physical form. It is then that you are actually meditating or focusing on my true form. Once you understand this and start practicing it, you will soon realize that you and me are not different......Infact we are one! This is when you will never see me as a different entity. You have to reach this state of belief and consciousness. This will give you that heavenly bliss. Your objective or infact the aim and objective of every human being is to realize this state and remain in this state forever. You must, by behavior and conduct, act as a saviour to others. This is a sure method of achieving progress in your personal as well as spiritual life. Finally, you will realize that it is this "pure self consciousness" that encompasses everything and is everywhere. That is, there is nothing in this world that is different from it. This realization is achieving "Moksha" or liberation".

Amrutvani 33

A fit and healthy person, when accompanying his elders and children, must walk at a pace that is suitable and comfortable for the old and children. It will serve no purpose if he walks fast or runs ahead of others by virtue of his physical strength and young age. In the same way, a Mahatma or a realized soul must conduct himself in a way that is acceptable to the society at large. Yadyapi shuddham lokaviruddham, Na karaniyam, na-aacharaniyam!! (In short, even if a person has achieved self realization and is a Dnyani, he must still conduct himself in a way that is suitable and acceptable in the society.) The Mahatma or the realized soul must behave and conduct himself in a manner that sets an example for the common people or society at large to follow. The ancient Vedas also advocate Dnyani or a realized soul to act like a boatman who guides the boat of his character through the choppy waves of the Bhavsagara safely ashore to the other side and also helps the lesser mortals or common people in crossing over to the other side safely.

Amrutvani 34

A Sadhaka or a devotee who is always in a state of Pure consciousness or eternal bliss is said to be in absolute oneness with his sadguru.That is to say that the devotee is not different from his sadguru. This state of oneness is the basic gist of Bhakti or total devotion. Once in this state, the worldly emotions automatically melt down and what remains is the pure self consciousness. In this state, nothing or zero or lack of knowledge, etc does not exist. These words actually carry no meaning. In this state the self consciousness is so clear that everything else becomes meaningless. What remains is the feeling of am (and not I Am as the I dissolves in that state), the feeling of eternal truth and eternal bliss!!

Amrutvani 35

If the rulers and leaders of a country are religious, pious, and just, then the citizens of that country will also be equally good, pious, religious and just. Yatha raja, tatha praja However, if the rulers and leaders are crooks, the people of that country will also be like them. If an engine of a train is running on a track, the bogies connected to it will also follow on the same track. However, if the engine itself leaves the track, bogies will simply follow the engine and leave the track. Rulers, Leaders, Ministers, top officials of a country are both the engine as well as the engine driver. It is thus that they are responsible for driving the country on the right track i.e. the track of righteousness, justice, equality, honesty, etc. It is normally said that intelligence alone does not have great recognition amongst those who rule and lead the country. However, if rulers and citizens are like Krishna and Arjuna, then the victory of good over bad is a certainty and the country on the whole will embark on the track of righteousness, justice, equality, honour, etc.

Amrutvani 36

Today is Bhagwan Dattatreyas birthday. On this auspicious day, I pray at his lotus feet for the overall prosperity and well being of the world. May he remove the poverty and all bad things of this world. May he shower happiness on every being and enlighten them thus lifting them from the unfortunate cycle of life and death. May all sorrow, grief and anger be removed from the world and may everybody live a full life of equality, happiness, righteousness and justice. May everybody work diligently and selflessly with larger welfare of the society and world in mind.

Amrutvani 37

The fabric of this material world is made up of ego, ambitions, greed, hatred, anger, jealousy, desires, possessions, passions, etc. This evil is, at every time, posing a grave danger to the mankind and is waiting to pounce at first opportunity. Whoever takes birth finds herself or himself entangled in this fabric. It is exactly like a flock of birds that are entangled in a hunters net. This means that every bird in the flock has exactly the same problem, fear and threat as that of other birds entangled in the net. This resembles the state of mankind. It is therefore that the mankind must together unitedly work towards a common goal and objective of breaking free from this net (fabric) forever and help each other for the same.

Amrutvani 38

Shri Samartha Ramdas Swamiji has said that if one surrenders completely and has utmost faith in lord Rama, the lord showers his blessings and then whatever such a person desires in his mind is obtained or achieved. It is thus that whatever one holds in his mind can be easily obtained or achieved only if the lord takes such a person under his kind grace. However, this is only possible through a continuous sadhana or worship. Just like a businessman pays salary to his workers only if workers put in a months work and produce desired performance, similarly lord bestows and showers his blessings upon a sadhaka who does sadhana in a prescribed manner with great faith, regularity, affection, commitment and perseverance. If a worker demands his salary within a few days of starting his work, he does not get paid. Similarly, if a sadhaka starts expecting rewards without performing Sadhana, he only gets disappointment.

Amrutvani 39

Modesty and humility are two very important qualities of a human being. A person who is modest and humble always wins in the long run. We must thus acquire these qualities and always be patient, humble, simple, modest and comforting in our speech and conduct. Our thinking and approach must also be similar. People who have these qualities are never required to quarrel or fight. It is generally seen that most of the damage and hurt is caused by what and how a person speaks and not by physical injury. An injury so caused to the mind is far deep rooted and may not heal in lifetime of the person. One must never ever, through mind, body or intelligence, think ill of others. Remember, others will treat us the way we treat them. Also one must be very judicious in earning and donating wealth. One must always have very pure and positive thoughts for others wealth. Similarly, one must always treat other women with great dignity and respect them the way we respect our mother. A person who disrespects women surely invites his own downfall. One must never ever breach instructions given by ones guru even if one has to lay ones life for that. A person must offer his everything at the lotus feet of his Guru.

Amrutvani 40

The final frontier or the pinnacle of extreme bliss & happiness is attained only by traveling on a road full of problems and pain in our day to day life. In fact, the problems, pains & disappointments we face in our practical life act as an effective fertilizer and catalyst for the plant of spirituality or attaining that bliss. It is through facing such problems that the beautiful face of god is realized. Problems in day to day life are actually steps that take us towards the ultimate bliss and happiness. One can see footmarks left by great men and women who have traversed the path before us and attained great heights. Every such step encourages a true sadhaka to progress towards the goal, the light i.e. the ultimate state of being one with god. It is thus that problems faced by a sadhaka are beneficial to his/her spiritual progress and not detrimental. It is through this path that the sadhaka actually understands that everything that is around him is maya (illusion) and is temporary i.e. not long lasting. The only thing that stays with him/her forever (eternally) is his sadguru.The ultimate peace is had when one completely merges with the Sadguru or god. This is when one becomes the light or is in a state of ananda or ultimate bliss .

Amrutvani 41

If we always find faults in others and look down upon others, our own way of thinking and our vision becomes faulty. Similarly, criticizing others leads to our own degradation. If we make others unhappy directly or indirectly, we will generate or cultivate more enemies than friends. Therefore one must, not even in ones dreams, ever try to trouble others or make them unhappy. God is everywhere and in everything and every being. If others feel a sense of happiness and pleasure, satisfaction & contentment; be sure that the godly element present in them is happy.

Amrutvani 42

Every deed that we do leads to an equivalent outcome or result or fruit. The result or the outcome of that deed depends on the nature of the deed. For example, a good deed gives a good fruit and a bad deed gives bad outcome or fruit. It must be noted that every such deed performed with a predetermined objective leads to a result (desirable or undesirable) and thus the transaction gets over. That is, once we get the result of the deed, it has no more relevance. Our day to day life is full of such deeds and results. Most of these deeds are done with a specific objective or expectation or desire and thus it leads to some result and at the end, we are left with nothing as both the deed and the result get over. If one really wants to be a true sadhaka, one must remain detached from such worldly transactions. That is, one must not get emotionally or physically attached to a deed or its outcome. Any deed performed with a detached mind leads a sadhaka towards his ultimate goal. One must not only remain alert and detached from such deeds and desires but also keep oneself detached from its results or outcomes.

Amrutvani 43

Any person who desires to achieve something worthwhile in his life must acquire the right or the true knowledge. In fact knowledge is one of the very important ways or medium to achieve something great in life. One however needs to note that apart from gaining the knowledge, sadhana or penance for spiritual upliftment is a very important aspect. Knowledge or Vidya is of 2 types- Para and Apara. In this context, one may want to know, what is the true knowledge that one may acquire? The answer to this question is quite easy. Any knowledge that enables and empowers a person to achieve ultimate goal of his life or through which a person achieves eternal peace and contentment is the true knowledge. True knowledge not only leads to a person fulfilling his spiritual goals but also provides him mental peace, material stability and a respectable position in the society. It is thus that achieving something worthwhile, both spiritually and materially requires one to acquire the true knowledge through continuous learning and sadhana (penance).

Amrutvani 44

Knowing the self and always remaining in unison with the self is like being one with the golden feet of our beloved sadguru. Actually achieving this oneness at his lotus feet is the best way of offering prayers to the sadguru. Just like when in a river all the waves on the surface die down, the surface appears calm. Similarly, when all feelings in our mind subside, only the self remains. That is to say that only am remains. This is a state of mind which is devoid of all feelings, senses and other worldly concerns. It is like pure consciousness. In this state of mind, zero or lack of knowledge does not matter or make any sense. Infact, this state of mind is so pure that things like knowledge, etc. appear incomplete or insufficient or inadequate. Thus one of the best ways of being one with the sadguru is by being one with the self!!

Amrutvani 45

A devotee must try and do as much Japam as possible and also read Dasbodha regularly. The Japam must be performed with complete devotion and joy at heart. Infact, a devotee must always remain contented and happy. He must set certain rules for himself and follow them diligently and regularly. This not only benefits him in his spiritual progress but also in maintaining good health. A devotee must rise early morning, have bath and spend most of his time in meditation and Japam. In case, the situation demands that he do something else (household chores, etc), he must do that happily. Such chores must be performed with equal sincerity and enthusiasm. This is nothing but seva or service at the lotus feet of our sadguru and is just as important as meditation or Japam.One must also be very cautious about the food that one eats. The food must be freshly cooked & pure (satvik).Food must be had timely. A devotee must always be alert and not default on or fall prey to unwanted and harmful diversions or temptations.

Amrutvani 46 Dwa Vimo Purushou Vyagraha, Surya mandala bhedino, Parivratyogayuktachya raneyobhi mukhowrutaha The sanyasis who have mastered yoga and soldiers who bravely fight for their country without showing their back to the battlefield (and lay down their lives) are true patriots. Both of them reach the Brahmaloka on leaving their body. The sacrifice made by those who join the armed forces is supreme and something that makes everybody proud. They renunciate their home, family, children, wife, etc. and join the armed forces without even thinking about themselves or their welfare. Lord almighty always showers his blessings on them.

Amrutvani 47

The purpose of human life is to break free from the cycle of life and death. It is to realize the self. The objective of life is definitely not to gather material wealth and comfort. Craving for and running behind the worldly pleasures that one gets from material belongings like wealth, physical body, possessions, etc. is too low an objective to have. Infact, one must always strive to go beyond these physical and material pleasures and achieve higher levels of consciousness and sensitivity. One never gets eternal peace and happiness by getting material comforts. Human life is said to be the best amongst the various births that one goes through in the cycle of life and death. Human birth is not obtained by trading material wealth or by wish. It is obtained through good deeds accumulated over several births. As a matter of fact, human birth is the gateway to heaven. A human being has the biggest gift of freedom of thought and deeds. It is therefore very important for one to perform good deeds and raise oneself to higher level of thinking and not get attached to and stuck in material pleasures. One must strive to achieve eternal peace and happiness for it is this that is permanent. This is the true state that lasts forever. It is through achieving this state that a human being truly fulfills the purpose of life!!

Amrutvani 48

Material life is full of shortcomings, problems, grief, etc. A materialistic person may find his life good, comforting and exciting for some time .This is due to the illusion of Maya. This is exactly like a rare sunny day in rainy season. By the time a person starts enjoying his material comforts, multiple problems hit him in quick succession leading to stress, tension, worry and grief. All these problems multiply with the passing time and all the dreams and fantasies of a good contented life fall apart. As a matter of fact, more a person worries and frets over his life, more problematic and complicated it gets.

Amrutvani 49

Thinking and worrying about the material possessions like house, wealth, etc is much more dangerous than the material things themselves. Indulging in these thoughts consistently increases ones craving for such things because such things may lead to momentary happiness which a person always desires. A child does not have indulgent thinking about its material possessions and thus it does not get worried or disturbed. If one could remove this constant craving for material possessions through various means like yoga, meditation, penance, prayers, etc, then such person will have a clean and pure conscience like that of a new borne child inspite of being in the material world .

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A sadguru is basically for the spiritual upliftment of mortal beings. A sadguru is absolutely spotless and pure and is one with the cosmic consciousness. Just like the nectar (amrut) doesnt not have an iota of impurity (or poison) in it, a Sadguru is completely pure, divine and in a state of eternal bliss forever. It is as if the sadguru is in itself the eternal bliss and divine happiness. Devotees of a sadguru thus, in a way, are devotees of that eternal bliss and divine happiness. A sureshot sign of a good devotee is that his state of happiness never subsides or gets over. Such a devotee achieves oneness with the self; i.e. he achieves self realization.

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Just like all that we see in our dreams is not true, everything we do in our day to day life or all transactions we do in our life are not true. As a matter of fact, everything in our lives including penance or Sadhana, relationships (including relationship between a Guru and disciple), Mukti (liberation) are simply illusions or dreams. We are all living in an illusory or false world. What is required for a true seeker is to have that flame of Self realization burning at all times stronger and forever in his heart. Quite a few Sadhakas who reach the stage of self-realization or who discover true knowledge are tempted to continue performing their Sadhana and service to their Sadguru. The lives of all those who have embarked on a journey of self realization or those in pursuit of true knowledge need to depict the greatness and importance of such spiritual pursuits. Moreover, they need to be always in a state of blissful happiness. Life of such a spiritual seeker needs to be an example for others to learn from.

!!Shrimat Paramhansa Parivrajakacharya Sadguru Bhagwan Shri Shridhar Swami Maharaj Ki Jai!! !!Om Shri Sadguru Shridhararpanamastu!!

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