THE VISION, October 2024, Vol 92, Issue 1:
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Beloved Readers,
Grace (Kripa) is an oft-mentioned word in conversations between devotees. Someone may say: “By God’s grace, our daughter’s marriage went off very well;” another may say, “My illness has been cured by our Guru’s grace.” What exactly does this mean? From where does this apparent showering of benevolence from the Divine come?
We tend to consider that grace comes to us from an external source. It is indeed true that meeting a spiritually evolved soul may kindle an inexpressible feeling of peace and joy in our hearts. Similarly, when we prostrate before a deity with overflowing faith and devotion, we do feel an overwhelming sense of blissful reassurance. This serene and exuberant experience could be termed as grace.
Remembrance, Darshan and grace are synonymous, said Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas. Though a Guru or deity may happen to be an instrument or a channel through whom grace is experienced, the real Source of grace is within ourselves. Hence, Beloved Papa said: “Grace is there always, but you are not aware of it. You must try hard until you become aware of it. You have closed the windows of your room and you are complaining of darkness. If you open the windows, you will get light.”
This month’s issue of THE VISION carries articles on Grace.
— EDITOR
AS WE SCROLL DOWN...
- ‘Grace’ — as defined by Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas is the love and power of God. Awareness of grace working through us enables us to transcends our self-centred, ignorant and individualised life, ultimately experiencing our oneness with Him.
- ‘Words Of Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas’ — reveal that God’s grace is Power actuating all our actions and perceptions, yet we mistakenly believe they stem from our own free will. Recognising that everything happens by His grace leads to the awareness that we are indeed the Supreme Self.
- ‘Words Of Pujya Mataji Krishnabai’ — inform us that Guru’s grace grants aspiration to merge in His infinite Being. Besides, individuals receive what they deserve based on their Karma, and while destiny cannot be avoided, Guru's grace coupled with Ram Nam helps mitigate hardships. Guru's grace is received by respecting, serving and cherishing elders at home.
- ‘To Remember Him (God), He Should Remember Us First’ — emphasizes Swami Satchidananda. We can do Sadhana only by Guru’s grace. After receiving grace we should make Sadhana more intense through Satsang, Japa, Manana and surrender. Additionally, reducing our worldly desires will hasten our progress.
- ‘Editor Answers’ — how to become aware of grace and derive benefit from it by listing out the bounteous gifts provided by Mother Nature and Society.
- ‘Amazing Grace’ — says Dada JP Vaswani is a must for an aspirant to fly in his/her spiritual pursuits. Without grace there is always the danger that the disciple may become proud.
- ‘No One Can Give You Salvation' — emphasised Swami Chidananda. If we want grace, we must place ourselves in the presence of the Divine. As long as our attention is diverted to other things, to that extent, we deprive ourselves of His grace.
- ‘Divine Grace’ — states Swami Brahmananda, can be attained by purifying our heart. The impurities of our mind can be washed away if we think of the Lord and meditate on Him. The moment the mind becomes pure, Divine grace flows towards us and realisation takes place as a matter of course.
- ‘Words To Inspire’ — by Swami Chinmayananda inform that invoking grace prepares the inner equipment to receive the experiences of the Self.
- ‘Dear Children’ — the story ‘Grace For All Alike’ illustrates that Divine Grace is available to everyone, regardless of their external circumstances.
- ‘Learning From The School Of Life’ — that life is an ongoing journey of learning, where everything has the potential for constructive or destructive use. It’s our responsibility to exercise discretion at every step.
- ‘Inspiring Luminaries’ — strive to awaken mankind to the consciousness of the Supreme Happiness within. It is for this reason that they are ever loved and revered by spiritual aspirants.
- ‘Epistles Of Swami Ramdas’ — conveys that God's grace is always upon us. Through continuous remembrance and meditation, we become aware of it. By surrendering completely to God and maintaining ceaseless remembrance, we attain liberation and peace, transcending Maya and realising the Divine presence.
- ‘In Memoriam’
- ‘Anandashram News’:
- ‘Book In Focus’: ‘SWAMI RAMDAS ON HIMSELF.’
- ‘Thought For The Month’
- ‘Download THE VISION’ in PDF format and the Audio Book.
GRACE
By Swami Ramdas
Grace is a word which is pregnant with so much Divine power and glory that it defies definition. In brief it may be described as love and power of God. The struggle of an aspirant, whose ambition is to realise his union with God, is not to conquer any forces that seem to stand in his way but to recognise, believe and fully experience the power of grace working in and through him. Even otherwise, grace was still the dominating factor of his life but he was not aware of its existence as he was under the infatuation of a self-centred, ignorant and individualised life. As the aspirant tunes his mind and heart more and more with God, he feels the power of grace and to that extent he will be drawn nearer to Him. When he has come to know that grace is the one thing that envelops him and pervades his entire being and but for it, he is nowhere, his individual sense will disappear with the result that he will be like an arrow striking the target and melting away into it. Here the target is God. This is the positive way of approach. Here you do not contend against darkness but seek to reveal the light within you by understanding the redeeming and transforming power and influence of grace. God is the sun and grace is His light. God and grace are one.
WORDS OF BELOVED PAPA SWAMI RAMDAS
Devotee: What is God’s grace and how to earn it?
Papa: To know God’s grace and to earn it mean the same thing. God’s grace is ever pouring on us, day and night. It is by God’s grace we see, smell, taste, hear, move and act. All actions of the body, intellect and the senses are going on by His grace alone. If you realise this, then you have earned His grace. But we are not conscious of this. We take it that by our own will and power we are seeing, hearing, talking and acting. In fact, we are doing all these by His grace and power only. It is said that even a leaf does not move but by His grace. His power pervades everywhere. By His power alone everything happens in the world. To realise this fact is to earn His grace. Divine grace is ever on us, but we are unaware of it. If a particle of dust enters your eye, you feel a sort of irritation and you are much disturbed and restless on that account. You ask somebody to remove the dust and when it is done, you feel quite happy. Is this a happiness that you have newly acquired? It was there even before. It was temporarily lost because of the irritation of your eye, and now that the irritation has gone, the original happiness is restored. You have only regained what you had lost. You are always the Supreme Self.
WORDS OF PUJYA MATAJI KRISHNABAI
Unless Guru’s Grace dawns on us and He wills it, we cannot turn to Him and get aspiration for merging into His infinite Being.
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Never ask for Papa’s grace for material things. Each one gets what he deserves, according to his or her Karma. Our one and only desire must be to unite with Satchidananda, which is Papa. Papa is ever ready to give. But, people are not ready to accept.
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What is destined to happen cannot be altogether averted but, by Papa’s Grace and with the help of Ram Nam, instead of hitting our head as it were, it will graze over our heads and pass on. That is why we should increase our Ram Nam.
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Look after your elders at home with all love. Only by their blessings can you receive Guru’s grace and protection. Today, most of our troubles are because we have neglected our parents and other elders at home. Look after them well, regard them as forms of your Guru Himself and that it is your privilege to serve, love and cherish them, and all will be well with you.
TO REMEMBER HIM, HE SHOULD REMEMBER US FIRST
By Swami Satchidananda
We can do Sadhana only by Guru’s grace. When Guru’s grace falls on us, we are awakened to the Reality and then the Sadhana begins. In fact, God reveals Himself in that heart which He chooses.
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Unless Beloved Papa awakens the soul from within, nobody will turn towards Him. That is why it is said Atma Kripa comes first and then only Guru Kripa. Swami Rama Tirtha said in simple words, “Oh God, I remember you because you remembered me first.” It is true, grace comes first. It is only by God’s grace that we start doing Sadhana. Without grace, we would not have the aspiration to strive for the peace and bliss of the Eternal. Now it is up to you to make your Sadhana more and more intense and do whatever is necessary, i.e. occasional Satsang, constant Japa, contemplation on God’s attributes, attitude of surrender and aspiration only for God and nothing else. On the other side, reduce your worldly desires to the minimum, be content with whatever God has given you and do not pray to God for anything worldly. This will quicken your progress.
EDITOR ANSWERS
Question: How can I become aware of grace and derive benefit from it?
Answer: We are enjoying the bounteous gifts provided by Mother Nature and Society. If we start listing out these gifts instead of listing out what we do not have, the mind will well up with the awareness of the abundance of grace being showered on us by the Almighty. This will be expressed in the form of contentment, fullness and freedom from grumblings and complaints, and a sense of gratitude will be the undertone of our life. This could be the first step in realising the presence of grace in our lives.
Probably it is for this reason that Mahatmas have said that grace is ever pouring on all of us. This can further be explained through a thought-provoking analogy of three mud pots kept on the ground out in the rain. First was kept upside down, the second one was kept sideways and the third was kept upright. When it rained, as we can gauge, the first pot remained empty, while the second acquire a quarter of its capacity, whereas the third one was filled to the brim. As in this analogy, grace is ever pouring on us; how much of it is gathered, depends upon how deeply we are aware of it.
AMAZING GRACE
By Dada JP Vaswani
Selflessness is very necessary (in spiritual life) because if he (an aspirant) is selfish, he is, as it were, rooted to the ground. But he has to fly (in his spiritual pursuit). For that he needs the grace of Guru and God. Because without grace there is always this danger that the disciple may become proud, and pride is the worst poison in spiritual life. Therefore, at every step, as the disciple moves, he has to thank the Lord. He has to feel grateful to Him! It is God who has brought him into contact with the Guru. And the words: “Gratitude to Thee, O’ Lord!” should be on the lips of the disciple all the time! Without His blessings, without His favour, the disciple is nothing! There have been cases where a person has not been conscious of the blessings of the Lord. It appears as though he had done it on his own. But let me tell you, behind all his efforts, without his knowing it, there is the blessing of the Lord! He may know it; he may not know it; but the lift that he has received is grace. Blessed is the man who knows it, because then he walks the way of humility.
Source: www.youtube.com
NO ONE CAN GIVE YOU SALVATION
By Swami Chidananda
Radiant Atman! Yesterday afternoon a holy man was admonishing gathered seekers and devotees at Swarg Ashram. He was telling them that all individual souls who are striving to attain Self-realisation, which is the purpose of human birth, should know one truth very, very clearly, and it is this: “No one can give salvation to any individual except that individual himself or herself.” He went on to elaborate: “Abundant Divine grace of the Lord Almighty is always available; it is never denied. But it will enter into your being and transform you only if you open yourself to it. If you do not open yourself to it, then there is no means by which grace can force itself into you.”
Coming to the practical aspect in the life of the seeker, he went on: “You will attain grace if you always place yourself in front of the Lord. If you want grace, you must face the Divine. You must place yourself in the presence of the Divine, and you must lift up your face and look at the Divine. As long as your attention is diverted to other things, to that extent, it is you yourself who deprive yourself of His grace, not He. His grace is abundantly present at all times, to all beings.”
Source: Ponder These Truths
DIVINE GRACE
By Swami Brahmananda
What is the goal of spiritual practices? It is to realise God, to attain Divine grace. The (spiritual) practices are meant to clear the heart of all the impurities brought there by lust and greed. Unless this is done, you can never reach your goal, however much you may try.
You cannot attain God’s grace nor realise Him unless you purify your heart. Impurities have gathered in it through innumerable lives, and they are to be removed. Sri Ramakrishna used to cite a beautiful illustration: “So long as the needle is covered with mud, it is not attracted by the loadstone. But when the mud is washed off, the needle is naturally drawn towards the loadstone.” Similarly, the dirt of the mind is washed away if one can think of the Lord and meditate on Him; if one can cry unto Him with repentance, saying, “Lord! forgive me. I will not do wrong in the future.” At once the magnet of God draws the needle of the mind. Divine grace flows the moment the mind becomes pure; and then the realisation of God takes place as a matter of course.
Source: Spiritual Teachings Of Swami Brahmananda
WORDS TO INSPIRE
“With devotion and reverence when we invoke the grace of the Guru, the inner equipment in us becomes tuned up to receive the experiences of the Self.”
— Swami Chinmayananda
DEAR CHILDREN
Grace For All Alike
A priest was preaching a sermon in the church. Hundreds of people formed the congregation in which there were some diseased, poor and crippled persons.
The priest told the people that God does not make any difference between the rich and the poor, the diseased and the healthy, the able-bodied and the crippled. His grace pours on all alike, whatever their external conditions. In the course of the sermon, the priest’s eye lighted upon a broken candle lying on the floor. He got down from the pulpit, took the candle, and holding it before the congregation, lit it with a match and it gave light. The candle, though crushed and crumpled, burnt bright by the touch of the flame. The match did not deny its fire to the candle because it was broken, and the candle gave full light in spite of its broken condition. This example struck Ramdas as unique. Really, God is all compassion and mercy. He pours His grace on any person who opens his heart to receive it.
Source: Stories As Told By Swami Ramdas
LEARNING FROM THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
Unveiling The Inherent Human Values From Frequently Used Articles
“The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.”
— J Krishnamurti
Here are a couple of examples:
INSPIRING LUMINARIES
Sages and saints of every age and clime have striven and are striving to awaken mankind to the consciousness of the supreme happiness which is man’s real quest and goal. It is for this reason that they are ever loved and revered by spiritual aspirants.
This month we pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Rama Tirtha.
t Mahatma Gandhi:
EPISTLES OF SWAMI RAMDAS
Beloved Ram,
…God’s grace is ever upon you. Become aware of this, through continuous remembrance and meditation. Don’t have anxiety about any matter. Know once for all that everything happens by God’s will and therefore for good. “It is indeed difficult to cross over Maya,” says the Lord, but He assures the struggling aspirant that to become free from her clutches easily and effectively, “Surrender to Me in every respect and manner and then you reach the goal i.e. Myself.” Ceaseless remembrance of the Lord is the principal condition of self-surrender. The ultimate fruit is perfect liberation and peace, born of the universal vision of the Lord.
IN MEMORIAM
“God is the one sole Reality; our physical body is only a transient and perishable manifestation of that great, undying, eternal Truth. Truly, we are the Immortal Atman, the changeless and deathless Spirit.” — Swami Ramdas
The following devotees of the Ashram attained the holy feet of Beloved Papa:
- Sri Pran Nath Pandit (aged 77) from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh — 29th August 2024.
- Sri VBN Gupta (aged 80) from Bangalore — 4th September 2024.
We pray for Beloved Papa’s blessings on the departed souls for eternal rest and peace at His lotus feet.
ANANDASHRAM NEWS
15500-CRORE NAMA JAPA YAGNA FOR WORLD PEACE:
The total Japa received in the fourth round of the 15500-Crore Nama Japa Yagna for World Peace in the month of August 2024 is 220 crores, chanted by 196876 devotees. The grand total of the Japa done so far in this round now stands at 3070 crores.
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SESSIONS WITH CHILDREN AT ANAND KUTIR IN ANANDASHRAM:
In the month of August 2024, 11 interactive sessions were held at Anand Kutir in which 385 students participated. As the sessions are free from teaching and preaching, they help the children bring out their own learnings:
- Vidya Binu shared, “We talked about concepts that weren't fully covered in college but are essential for understanding society. This experience helped me gain clarity about who I am and who I aspire to be.”
- Malvika reflected, “This session was an opportunity to retrospect and realise that there are still questions I need to answer. I’m ready to seek those answers, and I know that change is necessary.”
IMPORTANT DAYS IN OCTOBER TO BE OBSERVED IN THE ASHRAM:
- 121st Jayanti of Pujya Mataji Krishnabai will be celebrated on the 2nd of October 2024.
- 16th Mahasamadhi Day of Pujya Swami Satchidanandaji will be observed on the 12th of October 2024.
Pujya Mataji and Pujya Swamiji were epitomes of Guru Seva. May these days be instrumental in inspiring us to live up to the ideals they have placed before us.
BOOK IN FOCUS
'SWAMI RAMDAS ON HIMSELF'
This candid and simple collection of thoughts and reflections penned by Swami Ramdas illuminates how unwavering devotion to God and joyful acceptance of the Divine Will guided him to the pinnacle of spiritual experience.
Available in English and Telugu.
THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
“Seek to reveal the light within you by understanding the redeeming and transforming power and influence of grace. God is the sun and grace is His light. God and grace are one.”
— Swami Ramdas
DOWNLOAD THE VISION
Devotees can download the PDF version or the audio book this issue of THE VISION by clicking on the relevant links.
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