Anandamayi Ma

 

Anandamayi Ma

 

  

Either melt by devotion the sense of separateness, or burn it by knowledge-for what is it that melts or burns? Only that which by its nature can be melted or burnt; namely the idea that something other than your Self exists. What will happen then? You come to know your Self.

 

Anandamayi Ma

Ma Anandamayi

Anandamayi Ma

SADHANA

Who can tell at what moment the flame of illumination will blaze forth? For this reason, continue your efforts steadily without flagging. Gradually you will get more and more deeply absorbed in Him—He and He alone will preoccupy your thoughts and feelings. 

For the mind ever seeks that which gives it proper sustenance, and this cannot be provided by anything save the Supreme Being Himself. 

Then you will be carried away by the current that leads to your Self. You will discover that the more you delight in the inner life, the less you feel drawn to external things. 

In consequence, the mind becomes so well nourished with the right kind of food that at any moment the realization of its identity with the Self may occur. 

(Anandamayi Ma)

Anandamayi Ma

Who is known as a vaiṣṇava? 

One who sees Viṣṇu everywhere. 

And as a śākta? One who beholds the Great Mother and nothing save Her. 

In truth, all the various ways of thought spring from one common source — who then is to be blamed, who to be reviled or suppressed? All are equal in essence.

Thou art Mother, 

Thou art Father,

Thou art Friend and

Thou art Master, Truly, 

Thou art all in all.

Every name is Thy Name,

Every quality Thy Quality,

Every form, Thy Form indeed.

Yet He is also where no forms exist, as Pure Unmanifested Being — all depends on one’s avenue of approach.

Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

Suppose some people go to bathe in the sea and make up their minds to swim ahead of everyone else; consequently they will have to look back. But for him, whose one and only goal is the Ocean Itself, no one has remained for whose sake he looks back or is concerned; and then, what is to be, will be.

Give yourself up to the wave, and you will be absorbed by the current; having dived into the sea, you do not return anymore.

The Eternal Himself is the wave that floods the shore, so that you may be carried away.

Those who can surrender themselves to this aim will be accepted by Him.

But if your attention remains directed towards the shore, you cannot proceed - after bathing you will return home. If your aim is the Supreme, the Ultimate, you will be led on by the movement of your true nature. There are waves that carry away, and waves that pull back. Those who can give themselves up, will be taken by Him.

In the guise of the wave He holds out His Hand

and calls you: Come, Come, COME!

- Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

As there is a state of Supreme Self-knowledge, likewise is there a state of perfection at the zenith of the path of love. There one finds the nectar of Perfect Love identical with Supreme Knowledge. In this state there is no room for emotional excitement; indeed, that would make it impossible for Supreme Love (Mahabhava) to shine forth. Be mindful of one thing: if, when following a particular line of approach, one does not attain to that which is the consummation of all sadhana, namely the final Goal, it means that one has not really entered that line.

At the supreme summit of Love, - which is Mahabhava - exuberance, excessive emotion and the like cannot possibly occur. Emotional excitement and Supreme Love are in no wise to be compared: they are totally different from one another.

- Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

Which exactly is that great Moment depends for each one upon his particular line of approach. Does not the moment at which you are born determine and rule the course of your whole life? 

Similarly, what is important for you is the Moment at which you will enter the current that is the movement of your true being, the Going Forth, in other words, the Great Pilgrimage. 

Unless this happens, perfection cannot be attained. This is why, for some disciples, the Guru fixes special times for sadhana, such as dawn, dusk, midday, and midnight; these are the four periods usually prescribed;

It is the duty of the disciple to carry out conscientiously the Guru’s orders, which vary according to the temperament and predisposition of the aspirant. The same method does not suit everyone. 

The average person can have no knowledge of the particular combination of factors that are necessary to bring to completion the hitherto neglected facets of his being; for this reason it is essential to obey the Guru’s instructions. 

Within the twenty-four hours of the day, some time must be definitely dedicated to God. Resolve, if possible, to engage regularly in japa of a particular Name or mantra while sitting in a special posture, and gradually add to the time or the number of repetitions. 

There is no need for a daily augmentation. Fix the rate and the interval at which you will increase, say fortnightly or weekly. In this way try to bind yourself to the Quest of God; wherever you may be, take refuge in Him, let Him be your Goal.

When by virtue of this endeavour you become deeply immersed in that current and devote ever more time to it, you will be transformed and your appetite for sense enjoyment will grow feeble; thus you will reap the fruit of your accumulated efforts. You may also come to feel that the body is liable to depart at any time, that death may arrive at any moment.

Gradually you will get more and more deeply absorbed in Him - He and He alone will preoccupy your thoughts and feelings. 

For the mind ever seeks that which gives it proper sustenance, and this cannot be provided by anything save the Supreme Being Himself. Then you will be carried away by the current that leads to your Self. You will discover that the more you delight in the inner life, the less you feel drawn to external things.

In consequence the mind becomes so well nourished with the right kind of food, that at any moment the realization of its identity with the Self may occur.

Anandamayi Ma

Everything is in God’s hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as He pleases. 

Try to grasp the significance of ‘all is His’, and you will immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own, your Self.

Either melt by devotion the sense of separateness, or burn it by Knowledge - for what is it that melts or burns? 

Only that which by its nature can be melted or burnt; namely the idea that something other than your Self exists. What will happen then? You come to know your Self.

Anandamayi Ma

Family life, which is the Ashrama of the householder, can also take you in His direction, provided it is accepted as an asrama. Lived in this spirit, it helps man to progress towards Self-realization. 

Nevertheless, if you hanker after anything such as name, fame or position, God will bestow it on you, but you will not feel satisfied. The Kingdom of God is a whole, and unless you are admitted to the whole of it you cannot remain content. He grants you just a little, only to keep Your discontent alive, for without discontent there can be no progress. 

You, a scion of the Immortal, can never become reconciled to the realm of death, neither does God allow you to remain in it. He Himself kindles the sense of want in you by granting you a small thing, only to whet your appetite for a greater one. This is His method by which He urges you on. 

The traveller on this path finds it difficult and feels troubled, but one who has eyes to see can clearly perceive that the pilgrim is advancing. The distress that is experienced burns to ashes all pleasure derived from worldly things. This is what is called ‘tapasya’. What obstructs one on the spiritual path bears within itself seeds of future suffering. Yet the heartache, the anguish over the effects of these obstructions, are the beginning of an awakening to Consciousness.

- Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma

Dear All,

Swami Said, "True happiness is within".

What have we done to ourselves that we are not able to discover the true happiness within ourselves??

The God is always within us, as every inch of this creation is but HIM, His energy. He is the material cause ( created 5 elements), and efficient cause ( the cosmic intelligence) for the effect that is this creation where you and me are existing.

But we have brought our own ego to block/ to cloud the essence God within us. 

Thus, like the sun is always there but some times we cannot see it as it is clouded by dark clouds, We are always God in essence but we have clouded/ covered/ blocked/ hidden our own essence as God with the cloud of our own  ego.

Since we ourselves are responsible to cloud our own existence as God, Maa says " flood of tears " is required to fuse the inner ( Divinity within us) and outer ( our existence as human with ego) into One.

That is, to undo our own clouding, it requires intense sadhana ( flood of tears) to purify our heart, to see that our ego melts like a candle, in the light of our Godly thoughts so that, at the end of this journey, we become one with God, we discover God in the core of our heart, in our very breadth.

Dear ones,

Is it not an irony that we are God in true essence, we ourselves have run away from our God hood, we ourselves run and run after all sorts of desires caused by our own ego and then, we ourselves ultimately return to our own existence as Divine??

What does all incarnation, all treatise, all realized masters try to teach us??? 

They say, " If you yourselves have to come back to your own existence, then, O Moodamathe, why so many extra births?? Why so far away from your own ultimate  goal? Why so many hurdles you are creating your mind?? If you only have to help yourselves to reach to your own essential existence as God, then why don't you help yourselves NOW, THIS MOMENT???? Why delay??"

But we hear them, we appreciate what they say, some times we are even touched by what they say, we even sort of develop conviction to take our sadhana seriously, but very soon, we happily give up to the call of this glittering world of desires and deviate time and again from our ultimate goal. 

While we are so intelligent that in our career, at our home, in our academics, we are able to solve all issues, we are able to cut short the cycle of problems with a very intelligent and purposeful root cause analysis, when it comes to our our own ONLY goal of discovering God/ divine existence within us, all our intellect, all our conviction, all our steadfastness, all our ability to introspect, undertake a root cause analysis of where we are going wrong, what we are still so far away from God ( God not outside us, but God that we essentially are), we fail miserably!!!

WHY????

Love

Ananda Mayi Ma

RELEVANCE OF SATSANGH

By listening repeatedly to discussions and discourses on topics of this kind, the path to first-hand knowledge of what has been heard gradually opens out. 

You know, it is as when water uninterruptedly dripping on a stone finally makes a hole in it, and then a flood may suddenly surge through which will bring Enlightenment.

Be it the perusal of Sacred Texts, listening to religious discourses, engaging in kirtan - God must be the alpha and omega of whatever is done. When reading, read about Him, when talking, talk of Him and when singing, sing His praises. 

Take for instance the study of Vedanta. Some seekers become completely drowned in it.

Just as others may so lose themselves in kirtan as to fall into a trance, a student of Vedanta may become wholly absorbed in his texts, even more so than the one who gets carried away by kirtan. According to one’s specific line of approach, one will be able to achieve full concentration through the study of a particular Scripture, or by some other means.

First comes listening, then reflection, and last of all the translation into action of what has been heard and pondered over. This is why one has first pf all to listen, so that lat on each may he able to select Vedanta or kirtan or whatever else be in his own line.

Have you never come across people making light of kirtan, saying: "What is there to be gained by it?" Nevertheless, after listening to it for some length of time, they actually develop a liking for it. 

Therefore one must listen before one can reflect, and then later, what has been heard and reflected upon will take shape in action suited to the person concerned. To listen to discourses on God or Truth is certainly beneficial, provided one does not allow oneself to be moved by a spirit of fault-finding or disparagement, should there be differences of outlook to one’s own. 

Sat means True Being, the Good; satsang the company of the good, and also a religious gathering. Asal, the opposite of sat, means non-being, wrong, evil. Therefore to find fault (asat) in a religious meeting (saiang) is a contradiction in terms.)

Who is known as a Vaishnava? One who sees Visnu everywhere. And as a Sakta? One who beholds the Great Mother, and nothing save Her. In truth, all the various ways of thought spring from one common source - who then is to be blamed, who to be reviled or suppressed? All are equal in essence.

Thou art Mother, Thou art Father,

Thou art Friend and Thou art Master,

Truly, Thou art all in all.

Every name is Thy Name,

Every quality Thy Quality,

Every form Thy Form indeed.

Yet He is also where no forms exist, as pure unmanifested Being - all depends on one’s avenue of approach.

Is it not said that what is viewed by the Saivas as the Supreme (parama) Siva, and by those who inquire into the Self, as the One Self, is none other than the Brahman Itself? In reality there is no contradiction so long as the slightest difference is perceived, even by a hair’s breadth - how can one speak of the state of Pure Being?

While engaging in sadhana one must concentrate in a single direction; but after it has been completed, what comes then? The cessation of difference distinction and disagreement. Differences do indeed exist on the path, but how can there be a difference of Goal?

Anandamayi Ma

He who by gradual development has acquired knowledge and been progressively enlightened, he, as you say, is established in vritti jnana.

Words, arguments, language, and the like, are of the mind; whereas in the state that has just been referred to, there, language has no place. This body respects whatever anyone may say, because each person’s point of view depends on the particular stairway by which he ascends.

Whatever idea may be held - be it on a high or low level - it is all the same, so far as this body is concerned.

For this reason, whether anyone is of the opinion that the body can or cannot exist without or advances a theory from whatever point of view, everything is right on its own plane. 

Anandamayi Ma

Yet, beyond words and all expression, where there is manifestation and non-manifestation, duration and non-duration, space and spacelessness - there, nothing holds good.

Even the essence of the things of this world cannot be spoken about; but the essence of Transcendental Being is something far more remote. Then, there is also what is known as ‘merging’. 

But from that into which one is said to have merged, a yogi may be able to extricate one again; this also is a possibility mentioned by you people, is it not? Yet in the state of which this body tells, there it is not so - and ‘not so’ does not express it either. 

By reasoning and discrimination, one may arrive at the conclusion that a small portion of the mind remains so long as physical existence continues. But this body speaks of a state where there is not even the possibility of a trace of the mind.