Video 3

Bhakti Yoga: The Path of Devotion | Swami Sarvapriyananda

[Music] so to Hamas and gamma yah Thomas OMA dirty gamma great your mom written gamma shantih shantih shantih own leaders from the unreal to the real leaders from darkness unto light leaders from death to immortality ohm peace peace peace after four yoga's bhakti-yoga is always most popular so one of the reasons I have kept it for the last but why is it so popular if in Ghana the way of knowledge we are that absolute reality and we do not know ourselves and all we need to know is that that we are Brahman if it is so direct if it is so effortless if it is so instantaneous then one should ask why are not more people enlightened if it's so easy and direct it should be there should be more brahma Gianni's Jeevan Muktha walking around well the problem is with the fine print if you look carefully terms apply terms and conditions apply what are the terms and conditions terms and conditions are the fourfold qualification Viveca discernment between the eternal and non-eternal vairagya dispassion for the non eternal then the six fold treasures these are disciplines Yamaha quietude of the mind question of the mind means focus of the mind on vedanta damaja control over the sense organs motor organs then operati that means withdrawal from too much engagement with the external world if you are partying or working all weekend partying all weekend then no time for Vedanta no energy also so Bharati withdrawal from too much engagement with the world then and by the way one meaning of operati secondary meaning is sannyasa becoming a monk withdrawal from engagement with the world to that extent when one actually formally becomes a monk so that's the secondary meaning of operati then samad hana having withdrawn having withdrawn now you have time and energy to dedicate what do you do with that Samar hana focus settle down settle down on what on Vedanta then diksha a spiritual toughness a fortitude that no matter what problems life throws at me I shall pursue the spiritual goal I shall pursue enlightenment that is detection then there is Shanta did I miss anything sama dama operati saman hana detection Shanta a firm faith in the teachings of the teeth of the guru and us and the scriptures firm faith in the sense that these are true but I don't understand them yet let me work at it I will understand it - that much that much conviction should be there then if you have and then move shoot from intense desire to be free so of one Viveca - vairagya and then in number three six our pact so the little bit of cheating there they say calls a four-fold qualification but actually number three there are six so that makes it eight already and then number nine is is mumuga shoot from intense desire to be free if we have these then we are qualified for Vedanta you might say in what sense qualified I can buy the book I can attend the retreat I can listen to the talks why do I need all of that yes we can but we will not get the benefits there off what is promised there we will not get remember no need to be disheartened these are not all or nothing we all have it to some extent there discernment is there to some extent at least otherwise why would you be here nice Labor Day weekend could have relaxed gone on a trip vacation so we have a discernment that there is something valuable to be sought in spiritual life we have Vairagya dispassion because to come here requires is an opportunity cost something else you gave up to come here so that whether our gear is there so if you look at us anybody who is in the spiritual path has these qualifications to some extent that's the problem to some extent is not enough in Vedanta this must be of a very high order of excellence otherwise what happens is if one still pursues Vedanta well different grades are there one is they'll be either no interest or they'll be interest but in comprehension or they'll be comprehension will be interest and comprehension and beginning to understand but inability to put it into practice or there'll be attempted practice the struggle will be too much it seems to dry and steep a path I understand this but the moment I take it out for a drive in there it's too difficult so these are the problems I have seen this happen strange contradictions come up if the lower nature is not purified and we understand these things swami vivekananda Spath many come to an understanding few realize because of the basic conditions which are required so one may understand actually quite a clear understanding may be there I have met scholars pundits like this who really have understood Vedanta that in what what is Brahman in what sense we are Brahman but the problems persist I mentioned one scholar yesterday 95 years old whom had asked about Sankey and Vedanta and he gave a wonderful answer brushed he has passed away so I can mention it that he in his old age he turned to astrology so somebody asked him you have mastered Sankhya and yoga I mean the the philosophy at least and Vedanta but then why in this old age astral that's another field of traditional learning geo teacher it's a pretty sophisticated field of ancient learning why astrology after all of Vedanta and sonken all of that and his answer was instructive he said there is no money in Vedanta so the age of 80 decided that he has not earned enough money and see this is the difference here is this two case studies this great scholar so one of the things he always considers as a part of his resume nor his great achievement this will make sense only to people who have come from India I mean those who know the Indians seem that one of the superstar in the Bollywood movie but John yes obviously we think of any got married and the film actress was the superstar of Bollywood movies mmm I shall arise yeah so it seems there was some the astrological charts have to match and there was some problem and so this is one of the greatest scholars he was actually called for consultation throw by the this the top Bollywood family so he was flown from Calcutta to volume to Bombay by plane and he has to give his give his what is called his opinion on that now that he considers as a high point of his career this great Vedanta and all right fine it is a childlike pride in it what case one case to compare this I will not name her she is living now she's a nun an American lady she went to Banaras spent a lot of time in our hospital there and served people there and daily she would go she's a white American lady daily she would go to the temple of Vishwanath and the priests there they saw her and they realized that she is serious and so they used to let her in separately she would go in there and she would worship the lord vashan art and in the tradition will be in all of that every day early in the morning one day she said usually is a long you wonder she said there's nobody there's heavy security all around and so in many ways she was waved through because the priest said let her through she went in and did our usual puja japa meditation she noticed only two or three others were there probably somebody very special a young man and obviously somebody on a young lady is probably his wife and one or two elderly people probably a very privileged family so David there and they perform the worship also and then they were let out and she also walked out and then the whole crowd was let in they are all standing in a long queue that early morning so she asked who are they they said oh don't you know that is Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai that come to the temple to offer she sees it all right I told her Mataji you don't know in India this would be a great news you know if people would be so gratified to know that they were in close proximity now you see these two case studies one is a person fully learn it in Sanskrit and in all the scriptures and everything but what is lacking the fourfold qualification is not high enough why raga dispersion is not high enough so that seems glamorous to him and it is this other person who has no interest in these things so she she lives in Hollywood she met the top people in Bollywood but yes it makes no impression on her she's interested in Vishwanath when she interested in the in the puja this is the difference between having the fourfold qualification and not having it it has nothing really to do with learning or understanding Vedanta that's a different thing altogether do you get the point now what happens is contradictions come up like that so in Uttarakhand there is a saying rota organic is co person Gani person of knowledge who says I am Brahmin but has many complaints I often say if you are enlightened if you claim enlightenment you have given up the right to complaint in the path of Yana you have no more right to complain if you are really Brahmin and if you are convinced about that if you have clarity if you claim that how can you complain what have you got to complain what complaints there's ramen have one on the path of bhakti you have given up your right to be unhappy it is a sin their innovation of us they consider the very interesting practices for example it is a sin to be unhappy in the presence of God my little miseries my little problems mind no you cannot you cannot bring this to the presence of God you may offer it to the Lord and Lord you take care of it but after that if I am a bhakta if I have devotion to God I should be able to let go of it and let let the Lord handle it I should delight in the presence of God unhappiness in the presence of the Lord is an offense against the Lord there are many interesting practices which we don't talk about in adroit of Iran but if you follow another any of the dualistic schools they make interesting sense for example in the deity in the presence of the deity for example a temple and the deity is there you cannot bow down to anybody else that's why we don't take pronounce in front of Shri Ramakrishna you cannot sit with your legs extended towards the deity you cannot eat in front of the data of course it's Prasad you may take but usually people step outside to take that so there are many many interesting little practices these seem may seem little rules but they are all meant to enhance our awareness of the Divine Presence that it is there the most important person in your life whom you consider to be really great how will you behave in the presence of that person now consider someone a thousand times greater than that how will we behave in the presence of the divinity so bhakti is a remedy for all these problems that which the lower nature not purified I am going for Jana what happens is for example I have seen a monk who was a really great big ant the teacher also but he would lose his temper quite often and what was his explanation the temper losing the temper anger is an object in the in the mind but all reclusive awakened all that it has nothing to do with me I'm sort of imitating what you would say now technically is correct but it is not a pleasing sight to see once he took an apple from the pantry and the person in charge of the pantry in the inner monestery to prepare the food is kept so he sort of unwisely said Sami who took the Apple without asking this one he was furious what are you accusing me of being a thief I am a great master of will hunter and you are accusing me of being a thief and he went on and on and on about now Rotorua Gannicus copasand hey the Pagani who wrote Amin's The Crying complaining grumbling unhappy why is this problem there this problem will not be there if the lower nature is purified if the fourth-floor qualifications are there but then what is the advantage of bhakti there do we not require qualification so easy we can be anything and still be a devotee no but the qualifications come pretty easily the sadhana required for this qualification comes pretty easily because love is there shri krishna was asked this by arjuna which is easier the path of knowledge or the path of devotion and shri krishna was very clear objective he got you to come they have adhered about purity the path of the unmanifest is difficult fraught with with which is suffering with strain for the embodied now one must understand this embodied everybody is embodied even the Gani all the great devotees can is all are embodied but embodied means if we are far too mixed up if our primary identity is this body mind which unfortunately it is for most of us in that case it's very difficult to live your life in the understanding of gann according to the understanding of understanding of IANA can come understanding of the teachings of Vedanta can come pretty easily but to live your life according to that is a struggle so in our order we always recommend gana Mishra bhakti Gianna is their knowledge is they're supported by combined with synthesized with devotion with love of course swami vivekananda committed all for knowledge devotion service and meditation all for should go hand in hand that's the best and the safest path how is Mukti easier Mukti does not say we start with a eternal non-eternal discernment and give up the non-eternal catch on to eternal know bhakti just says to all the things in your life do one more thing just add God to your life it may be the last thing I joke sometimes in the list of hundred things in your life last may be dog 101 may be got g.od but if you add God in whatever that add how will you add this is the trick this is the technique add as my lord Mamata means add with the sense of - my lord my krishna my Rama had in that way that is very important not add as another object in your life this tendency which we have to grasp onto things as me and mine direct that towards god my lord what happens when you do that slowly the Lord has such extraordinary power he will begin to spread over your life that bhikshu power the press on and on the eye bhikshu means the wandering holy beggar in India they go around and ask for food and all you give so one person comes for shelter in your house and says a wandering beggar holy man I don't need anything give me one corner it's enough all right go there the week's you power the prasad and in sanskrit means the beggar stretching his legs out so it's like the camel's nose but in a good way he says that now I need a little more room to stretch my legs out okay what does he say I am here in this corner but I had the little image of Gopala and Gopala has to be installed so a separate corner is necessary pure place you say all right would Gopala they're fine next in the morning you find in the garden he's picking flowers all your best flowers is speaking it's best one should be offered to Gopala you say what can I do go after all it is Gopal then you go to cook your food wait wait wait Prasad the hog has to be offered to Gopala food offerings to Gopal and that not just that that should be cooked first and separate gardener has to be there the lord's corner has to be there in your kitchen in this way slowly the go little Gopala takes over different parts of your life and that is a blessing that's a great great blessing this is called peak supa the Prasad and an ayah in a very gentle way in a very sweet way it is not that spiritual sadhana does not need to be done in bhakti but the sadhana is not no longer seen as a tough spiritual practice when you love somebody when parents love their children so you cook you bathe the child cook for the child send the child off to school and you bear a lot of difficulties in raising the child are you saying that I am practicing compassion no because it comes out of love it's very natural so when spiritual practice is based on love it is natural the devotee never thinks I have to practice love to come to God no it's not a practice that that's a very word that a devotee will feel uneasy with I love my lord there is one of the sutras in our day of octave Sutra very interesting expresses the glory of bhakti what is the glory of bhakti once Arduino Tarakan is saying this array bhakti kevo Mahima bin saud encase it he been gone km Rita bin ba ba Tripathi what does it mean there is a sutra in the Nara gia bhakti Sutra see Dorothy the trip Tawhiti one becomes perfected by bhakti one attains immortality by work T and one becomes completely satisfied fulfilled by bhakti now note in spiritual life perfection CD but friction that is connected to another word sadhana you do a spiritual practice and then get perfect how does one get perfected in music or in a sport you practice and practice and practice then perfection similarly in meditation in vedantic which are in yogic meditation whichever if what is whatever it is it takes long practice that practice is called sadhana sargam means spiritual practice sodden leads to CD that's the general understanding and here what is the bhakti Sutra saying without sudden Sydney without practice perfection how just through love of God that itself actually includes the practice but you don't feel it means a bin Laden case it thee without what an attractive proposition without any practice so each of these spiritual paths is doing a good job of selling them and Ghani will say instantaneous effortless Mukti says without any practice you will get become perfect come come here in Harvard there is this session where all the professor's come and sell their courses sell means they have to convince the students because if for a long time if no student joins up then you are in trouble your job may be in trouble sir to show how good my course is then Amrita to our immortality we realize open you should say again and again by gana one attains immortality by knowledge by enlightenment one attains immortality we just chanted every and before every session with two marathon gamaya lead me on to immortality how Tomaso majority gamaya from darkness to light from ignorance to knowledge from the unreal to the real so the knowledge takes me to immortality how does knowledge take you to immortality because when we think that we have this body and mind we are bound to this body and mind and the death of this body is my death we do not question it I will die one day but what you mean is the body will die but if it is at all true that you are not the body then the death of the body is not your death that's what spirituality religion claims but for that one must be clear what is it about me that does not die and one must actually experience it so gharana leads to immortality but what is the Sutra here saying Amrita poverty becomes immortal just by love of God it does not even mention Yana there that's why the saudis edwin be on camera that again remember one must understand it properly it's not that the bhakti as the devote devotee has no knowledge knowledge comes God gives that knowledge to the devotee whatever is necessary for the devotee that enlightenment is given by God Sri Ramakrishna is to say bathe Vedanta kiya somatic ideation the Divine Mother has shown me whatever is there in in Vedanta not shown me means given the direct realization of that and the last one trip Tawhiti satisfaction fulfillment the understanding is Bhogle leads to trip t bhaga means experience enjoyment do you remember in Sankhya we read the prakruti gives Vogon upper worker that means it gives experience so by experiencing I have many desires I want to say a vacation I want to see those sides I want to eat this food I want to visit those places I want to meet these people I want to have such experiences and what will you gain by these experiences I will be fulfilled I will be satisfied smiley face every advertisement shows that the vacation Bahamas trip but not now the storm is coming but fulfilment fulfillment comes by satisfying our desires Goga that's at least the claim advertisement it doesn't come actually but more manu desires take their place but here what does the multi so tres a trip tohe T by devotional owned by love of God alone one becomes completely fulfilled bin Bhagat empty without trying to experience worldly pleasures one becomes fulfilled completely fulfilled and those were chasing worldly pleasures they go from thirst to thirst so this is the glory of Mukti but remember it does not mean that you don't have to practice spiritual disciplines it does not mean that the gana has no role to play it does not mean that you know one can and I just believe in God and everything is done for me no no not at all it is also a path all right now in this path there are some big supports couple of few things let me say one is the one is the name of God the other one is the form of God in Hinduism specially we we have we worship God in a variety of forms not I and I so many different beautiful image images Vishnu Krishna Rama the avatars of God Devi today is Ganesh Chaturthi so Ganesha is I thought Ganesha would be the most peculiar thing for Westerners but I found Ganesha is very popular in nature when I came to California everywhere Ganesha icons and people are really the identified Ganesha immediately with Hinduism so I asked an American here why is Ganesha popular I thought Ganesha would you would find his strange elephant God then he said oh who doesn't love an elephant elephants are cute so in that sense so different forms of God and these forms are meant to to attract and fix our attention are these imaginary No mystics throughout the ages have experienced God in these forms see what is the connection between this farm and the farm 'less sri ramakrishna says in yeah and it gives an example he had gone to see how a photograph is taken in those days they would be plates which would be exposed and there will be this coating of silver nitrate on them and then an image would be formed so he was very much taken by that idea and he gave an example whatever he would see interesting in the world he was very curious but everything he would connect back to God realization once he went to the zoo and the first thing he saw was the lion that reminded him of Durga whose mount is the lion and he had this he immediately went into Samadhi and that was the last thing he could see in the zoo people were saying I wish you had seen more then we would have had many more examples but so once he saw this - how the photograph is taken and he liked the idea he said just as in the glass in the glass plate the mixture is applied and then the light passes through it and it leaves an image that's how the photograph was taken in those days similarly if the mind is smeared with with a mixture of in Bengali he said mashallah mashallah with the mixture of love then what happens is when you have enlightenment it will be with the form of God the form in which you love God so the devotee will have the experience of enlightenment with the vision of God with a vision of a particular form the way he saw Kali the way Mirabai saw Krishna so if he says again he says just the purified mind it just light will pass through it that is I think it stands for the advaithic enlightenment the formless realization so the less light streams - a clear glass but the glass smeared with the silver nitrate or not there a picture is taken similarly with the bhakti in the mind when we devote ourselves the result will ultimately be vision of God in a particular in the whichever culture you're brought up and whatever your practice has been there is this beautiful story alike of ramanujacharya who was the great teacher of wishes Todd Reiter Vedanta so in sri rangam where the beautiful image of ranganathaswamy is there it's an image of vishnu but the reclining Vishnu again remember couch-potato he is always so Vishnu in the cosmic dream on the on the shane aras it's a big image and infest of days the tradition is of course you cannot take the big image out there are festive images called earth sabha multi so on festival days those small images are taken out in procession accompanied by chanting and music and worship and thousands and thousands of people congregate so this story is about one such festival more than as house about a thousand years ago this dimension in sri rangam during ramanuja's lifetime a thousand years ago and this big festivity was going on in the temple thousands of people the processions going on and music being played and the chanting and all of that and devotional fervor and the great saint Rama Raju is already very well known by that time because he lived 220 he was already very well known as a great master by that time he was going with his disciples in in near the temple in the temple actually now what happened was in that huge crowd they noticed something anomalous one young man very powerfully built he was holding an umbrella over the head of a young girl and looking at her continuously not at the image of the Lord which was going and everybody they were looking at the procession and those who noticed this behavior they were commenting criticizing what kind of behavior is this in a temple and isn't he ashamed of his behavior Ramanuja noticed that from a distance he sent somebody call him call that young man and devotees were also taken aback why is Ramanuja paying attention to this man so the event and said to him do you know our master Rama Raju who's very well known at that time said yes well please come he's calling you so he immediately puts the umbrella down he walks over to Rama Rajyam boughs down and ramanujacharya asks him who are you and what are you looking at and why are you holding the umbrella over the over that lady's that girl's head who is she so he replied and Honora das I'm a wrestler and her name is hey mamba and she has the most beautiful pair of eyes in the universe that's why I'm looking at her and I'm holding the umbrella over her head the others all were scandalized what what way is what sort of way is this to talk to our master but Rama no she was not taken aback she said very good do you want to see an even more beautiful pair of eyes more beautiful the most beautiful pair of eyes in the universe he said yes of course then come today in the evening to the temple of Vishnu and come into the inner sanctum there will they let me in you say that I have called you it just reminds me of the first chapter of the gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Salameh Krishna after talking to em M is very fascinated with Rama Krishna and Shri Rama Krishna says come there there will become to somebody's house I'm going to Calcutta come and meet me there I'll go there there'll be more singing and talking about God there M says will they let me in sri ramakrishna says tell them I called you I invited you so that's a very important thing you must get the Lord's invitation so Rama know just says tell them I invited you in the evening the prayer is going on and this nun or das has entered ramanuja calls him by side come it's dark the garbha kriya the inner sanctum is dark and the image is very big and the priest waves the lighted lamp in the evening with a chanting and the music and different portions of the body of the image are lit up now there is a very beautiful verse which says that if you behold the face of hurry Vishnu in the light of the evening Aarti lamp if you behold the face of the Lord with devotion the sins of a Thousand lifetimes are wiped out just to encourage the devotion which is very beautiful him if you I've forgotten the original Sanskrit now as he waves the lamp light and the light falls on the face of Vishnu which is a big image Ramanuja catches hold of the hand of darkness and says look the most beautiful pair of eyes in the universe and then who does it looks at the face of Vishnu and God looks back at him it it becomes alive and he can see into the face of God and every hair on his body stands on it at the end and he goes into Samadhi Romano Joe who's touching him goes into Samadhi himself and people all around a stunned so that's how the Hadassah was transformed into a great devotee he married that girl later he Mamba and both of them were well known as very great devotees in there are many many beautiful stories about them but see the form of God the form of God is a powerful powerful support for bhakti emotion needs to have needs an anchor so at the beginning it may be a picture it may be an image it may be whatever it is but some form where you focus your love your devotion your attention to say the witness of all thoughts and the pure consciousness which can never be an object unfortunately very difficult to love that whatever you are you thinking about it yes then it is not it are you meditating on it on Brahman yes then that is not runnning Brahman is the one which is meditating all that is good and it can be understood but very difficult to focus your mind on that is it's extremely difficult we need in the mind always looks for object 10th person outside the beauty of the name and form of God is it provides a divine object there are objects provided by nature throughout nature these all these objects are there but the problem is these objects entangle us in samsara worldly names and forms sri ramakrishna called it with Dia maya with the amaya all of it is Maya if it is anything which is an object that's there so it does not deviate one inch from Vedanta anything which is an object is a name and form otherwise it cannot be objectified when name and form is always part of Maya but then in Maya there is a division with the amaya with DMI of ideas ignorant the Maya of ignorance which in tank entangles as further and further in samsara what is hot what is the harm in that harm is it leads to unhappiness dissatisfaction with diya Maya is that which frees us from samsara that's also an object that's also a name and form the divine names and forms for example do you notice the connection between this ancient philosophy of Sankhya and all the all these things the vedantic idea of Maya from Sankar the prakruti of Sanka - the vedantic idea of Maya from the vedantic idea of Maya - inductee we're talking about with diem Ayana with Dia Maya see the continuity what does the prakruti of Sanka do it gives the sentient being experience and experience in samsara boga and up over the freedom do you remember we talked about it prakruti and purusa where there was no talk about God there no talk about Mukti God nothing this Sankhya but the same idea is when Shri Ramakrishna is talking about Maya has two aspects with the amana with jeremiah or with diem ayahs that which traps us in samsara with diem is that which frees us from samsara devotion dispassion knowledge these are all aspects of Vidya Maya these names and forms of God they are also Maya but there are aspects of India Maya if you concentrate on them they will free you from samsara they'll free us from samsara name of God very powerful the story is that when God when God created the universe there was a division of positions partition God said now from now on my farm is my own you cannot see me in this world but I'm giving you my name so the name of God is with us so the very beautiful story the name of God is with us this by the way the Express this story is one Swami in Rishikesh she was telling us a story about the whole of creation this is the hide-and-seek with God when creation starts that means the word universe is projected through Maya we are all projected into the universe all the Jeeva sentient beings will given bodies and we have life after life in these worlds world after world and God hides and we search lifetime after lifetime searching for God who's hiding and when the creation ends Shrishti City pralaya at the end of creation when the universe is finally dissolved all planets stars and our bodies and all go back and we are absorbed back into prakruti into into Maya those who have become enlightened they realize that they're brahman and they're free but those were not yet enlightened don't think we'll be enlightened when the universe comes to an end we'll still remain in suspended animation Sri Ramakrishna puts it this way at the end of the harvest the granny goes out into the field and she collects the seeds and she puts them in different little rags you know and ties them in little bundles next sowing season she will take them out and put them back into the field and we'll all come up again so we will remain absorbed in Maya no there'll be no it really like deep sleep we have no no sense of our separate existence but all will spring back again with all our peculiarities and eccentricity we will be back again into the world next creation so when VR is absorbed back into Maya God alone is there with Maya but we are not there and God is searching for us where did those fellows where are they hiding and then he finds us and projects us back into this universe again so cosmic game of hide-and-seek this Swami told us so name-and-form swami tapasya nanda ji a revered memory who was the vice president of our order he he writes in one place when you have been given the mantra you have already been given God in a seed form the mantra the name of God is connected to God in a seed form so you already have a direct connection to God when you take that that's one of the importance of mantra diksha we often do not know what it is so this Sri Ramakrishna story of the washerman and the Dimond it applies to us it applies to bhakti also not just to Gianna what is the diamond it's that mantra which is given to us by by God and we don't we think it's a simple mantra I need some more special techniques of meditation let me see youtube techniques of meditation search for you have been given the best the direct connection with the divine we are not satisfied and some more thing some more peculiar techniques will be added and how this is sophisticated nice improved simple thing see Ramakrishna somebody asked for advice for some spiritual problem he said clap your hands and take the name of of the Lord and pop the birds of sin who sit on the tree if you clap your hands hard enough the birds will fly away so these birds have seen who sit in the mind the tree of the mind L fly away you take the name of the Lord vigorously and clap your hands this person was not at all satisfied it's too simple thought it would mean some you know tantric technique pranayama breathing technique some sophisticated philosophy all these things will be their whole package then I am satisfied we won't do anything of course but satisfied this seems too simple so name and form of God now let me give you some practical point here what is to be done in life one of my favourite sutras in the Narada bhakti Sutra towards the end 79 Sutra I'll mention this and dropping it bring it to a close 79 sutra narada bhakti sutras the 79th sutra is surveyed our sorrow vibhava in Anniston today he bhagavata baba janilla what does it mean at all times in always without any care at all love and worship the Lord love and worship the Lord alone I'll repeat sorrow vada at all times servo Havana in always missing today without any care of the world Raghavan IVA Bhagawan the Lord Ava alone lasagna is worthy of being worshipped the worthy of being worshipped or is to be worshipped what does that mean this says miss Qin today without cinta the cinta means anxiety thought thought of the world since I usually start of the world there's an old Sanskrit saying cinta Sita Shama cata chin Tata Tata P attica cheetah near jeevan de haughty cinta Jeeva timidity anxiety thought of the world care of the world cares and I've got so many problems woes in the world it is called cheetah means the funeral pyre with after death you know Hindus the body is cremated the fire which is lit so it's called cheetah is a play on words cinta anxiety cheetah funeral fire so anxieties are like the funeral fire anxieties are worse than the funeral fire why the funeral fire burns only a dead body anxiety burns a living body worship the God without any anxiety surrender all your worries to the Lord waves in the ocean will never cease I will take care of the samsara certain problems will be solved then I will call on God then I will call on God never happen then all the wild time is going we call a creator the--get at eiu Shankaracharya sings time is playing life is slipping slipping away between ernie like they say sands of time those our glasses were there the sand would trickle it's going away very fast day after day the number P Raja nice I am proud day and night evening and morning Siam prata shishi Robuchon Vasant open era IATA spring and art fall have again come and gone call a credo tickets a TI time is playing dancing and life is passing by the other pnemonia t oshawa then even then one does not get to give up the hope of attaining satisfaction in this world one more thing I'll be happy let my child complete the education then it's fine no let him get a job then it's fine no let him get married the child will get married it's fine no grandchildren up there now I have to repeat the whole cycle with the grandchildren there is no into it in the middle of that right now start that's the beauty of Mukti Gianna imposes very severe conditions entry conditions but practices start right now devotion how surveyed are at all times see at all times again and again we are told that in devotion ought all the time have to think of God but forget all the time sometime the practice is this tie the mind down they shocked all of us too they show means in this space this corner where I have my shrine this meditation said see it where I sit down for meditation in this space Dasia I will not think of anything except my lord so space is you limit the space to the Lord I'm sitting down in my meditation room I shall not think of anything outside this room it limiting your mind to certain space limit your mind to certain time from now on till the next half an hour I shall only repeat the mantra of Krishna of my my chosen deity whatever mantra was given you're limiting your mind by time locking it down are you following me lock it down in space lock it down in time at all times I will think of God in everywhere l think of God very ambitious start here and then was to object lock it down in object object means the object is is the deity my Krishna my Rama my Gopal and thinking about that my Rama Krishna I'm thinking about about my Lord I'm imagining in the Lotus of my heart the luminous loving form glowing form of my lord and anything else no so the mind is told this object for this period of time in this space - a kala was to use this to lock it down yes how do you yes how do you choose an object to focus on if you believe in a formless God in the formless God there will be qualities right the all loving Lord and I assume you're talking about bhakti because Mukti can be done with form what can be done without formal so you're not talking about gianna there and I am focusing on my real nature as Brahman that's a different thing altogether but here you are using a divine object that's why you see our form is useful you may not think of God as form but you can use an icon of God Eastern Orthodox just Christianity uses it and of course Hinduism we have a wide range of symbols and forms it's a very big big support it's a great support so goddess qualities to think of that quality the Lord is present in my heart with that all forgiving all loving the just the most awesome present here in this way you start when you lock it down what will happen is first thing you will realize a big lesson how difficult it is forget all times thinking about God fifteen minutes thinking about God [Music] and what one time not in there not for sinking and singing in front of Sri Ramakrishna I call on the day and night why do I not always see the ID to see you once or once or twice only once in a while only and ceramic krishna says tell the truth I call on you once a day and once had been denied not a night when we try to do that we will find difficult why is it difficult here comes the whole thing about spiritual practice do you remember in pure mind pure it is required scattered mind concentration is required ignorant mind knowledge is required now how do I know I might say my mind has no impurity I don't feel anything impure I actually had one one young novice who was for shooting unhappily and I said why are you unhappy depressed usually it is because of stored of impurities in our mind you because I'm a monk now I am NOT allowed to think of those things but they don't go away Freud was a very wise man in that way they will remain suppressed the result will be they will make you feel unhappy they'll express in some kind of unhappiness misery although you are not actually thinking about any worldly thing but he said to me no my mind I don't find anything impure in my mind I'm still unhappy we are not ever here you know what will happen the best way to see it is lock the mind down this time I will only repeat ohm namo bhagavate vasudevaya or ohm namah Shivaya and I will visualize the form of Shiva or Krishna in my heart for this time in this place for this image of the deity when we try to do that within a few seconds you will see many of the thoughts come why it is my mind I have told my mind to think about this only for a limited a small task still like unto it why not I told you the story about your friend your apartment when you send somebody and this they come and throw your friend out into the street yes what if with that same goal a person it's that I would repeat the name of Lord for one hour or 15 minutes as I said the person may not be able to do it with eyes shut but let's say the person is absolutely able to do it when she or he sings out the Lord's name then would you consider that to be certainly certainly so you start where you're comfortable which what works with you but my point here was that there are impurities in our mind in all our cases that's why we cannot focus if you cannot focus in one way really thing is the subtlest things are difficult to do people say that we have to be spiritual in your mind external things are not important spirituality is in the mind correct but you have to start with external things that is something you learn because at the subtlest level of the mind is very difficult to hold on to something when the external conditions are all right a pure place a pure you're sitting down instead of moving around then you control your breathing focus your mind on God when you take care from externally you move inwards you will see devotion works if Japanese men occasionally do japa japa is not working then chant sing the name of the Lord that's why external worship is useful from here you move to serve Allah at all times there is a saying that at all times think about it things of the past people who have gone away from our lives what we have lost the places the objects may be wealth may be health whatever it is consider it this way the Lord has freed me from all those things they are gone I had no need for me to think about it the future has not yet come no need for me to imagine fantasize or be scared about it we are either anxious or ex full of expectation about the future forget it you are expecting something which is not real yet you're anxious about something which is not real yet don't think about it forget the future forget the past and fill your presents present with the Lord I mean translating something I've heard from Assad in Hindi actually Yoga Oscar Johnny the issuer aapke mukerjea cha hua Yoga Lord has has liberated you from what was in the past very good what has not yet come don't worry about it that's a dream that's an that's imagination fantasy up never come on co-producer heard Oh fill up the presents present of fill up this present with the Lord that is Salvador serve up yes microphone is him yes could you please go back to the friend who you wanted to invite into the mind there was someone else there friend of yours practice is there an advice on how to deal with this yes this is the way actually the story was to show that we are often not aware of the condition of our mind the presence of impurities in the mind as that young novice said no my mind is pure no no no that's an unwise thing to say you try it yourself when you try it it will be like that take that is the example given by Swami initiation you have an apartment and you send your friends my apartment my friend can stay there here is a note to the caretaker but your friend gets tossed out onto the street similarly it's my mind I'm putting the mantra in there and the mantra gets tossed out why because the mind has been taken over by all the rubbish we have invited into the mind so then how do you deal with it all these practices are for that if it is not working the mantra is not working all right don't don't struggle at that level come out to a more external level do it physically offer a flower chant that's why this physical worship puja you have it in Hinduism but you have it in something like Tibetan Buddhism where there is no God at all and yet there is so much it's full of ritualism from morning till night going on ritual and big horns are being blown and chanting is going on why these are all supports if you try to deal with it at that level it's that little mantra and these tough guys were waiting to throw there but now you need some tough guys on your side which is bring the energies the physical energy the vital energy into play so do something with your hand arrange a dish of flowers or sandal paste a food offering have mantras which you can actually speak out have a shrine a deity which is cleaned and kept up properly what are you doing you're engaging your body and your tirana and all of that when you study when we taught kids to how to study boring difficult why boring and difficult you know why it's boring and difficult psychology has to be understood we have a certain bandwidth of attention and when you know more can focus of that bandwidth into your object of concentration more concentrated you will feel but if you take only a little bit of that I'm reading the book so it takes only a little bit of my cognitive capacity the rest is free because it is free and I'm not really interested in this book my school assignment homework or whatever it is my mind is free now it's free to roam around it will think of many other things that's why when the mind thinks of many other things all of which are more attractive than my homework then I feel this homework is so difficult boring unpleasant what is the way to engage we would teach the kids active reading don't just look at the page and flip the page you would often complain why we study at half an hour but what I was reading I don't even know what I was reading why pages open mind is elsewhere now how do you get the mind they're active reading so we would say underline make annotations write down notes ask questions stop for a while and review ask the mind what have you absorbed so when you physically engage the hands and the eyes and the writing all of that the modern technology sometimes can be a problem how education has changed now I am realizing actually many years earlier I went to learn something new I a philosophy in India and that was after a long gap I mean I had seen I was in college and then I joined all this digital revolution came and I saw how education has changed because of Technology so the scholar would painstakingly write a Sanskrit verse in the chalk on the board and the younger students there who are philosophy students even they were neuroscience students and all they would whip out their mobile phones and take a picture to the fury of the pundit who would say if they would at least bother to write it down with their own hands it at least goes through the mind and the nervous system in the hand you'd and it's there in the picture mobile may be enlightened but you will never see it again so active reading what the puja does what the chanting does it engages other faculties and so attention is more and more cognitive bandwidth your psychic energy is focused into the object then it becomes easier instead of struggling at a very subtle level you involve the more powerful more physical aspects of our nature yes he's coming Swamiji sometimes when one is deep in meditation and meditating on your Ishta the figure of your Ishta on your wrist I should say not the figure as one goes deeper and deeper there are times when you know you no longer see the face of your ished at the body the form of your Easter and there is a kind of blankness what should one do at that stage if you become aware of it then revisiting that it I'm just in an absolute blankness the blankness is often very peaceful and restful but again after some time revisionist otherwise what will happen is that blackness will go over after some time and something else will enter in its place so bring your mind back to the practice again sorry Bob Havana in always so server that all times serve up hevene in always in all these means mana brahma hai to par Sita Upanishad says the mind itself is Brahman think about it a very activating idea in Advaita Vedanta what we do is beyond the thoughts the consciousness which illumines the thoughts I am the witness of my thoughts we did that drew Grisha Vivica beyond beyond the mental sheet the sheet of the intellect beyond the causal sheet manomaya VG anima are under Maya but then the opposite is also true every thought that we have every feeling that we have what is it made of what is its reality if non-duality is correct advaitha is correct then that thought also must be Brahman what is the snake actually the rope what is each ornament made of golden ornament Gold where will you find except in the water except in the waves well will you find Brahman except in the thoughts if you have this idea my lord alone is dancing in all these forms what are the forms these thoughts in puja it is a mantra is there in meditation nityam india india karmani the activities of the senses are the the dance presented before the deity the deity is sitting in your heart and shining and the senses seeing hearing smelling tasting these are the entertainment presented to the deity see how you connect Siravo havana and outside in the in the tenth chapter of the bhagavad-gita Beauty yoga where Krishna says how Arjun asks how I might imagine you when I interact with the world so in the Vedas you get wonderful descriptions the Sun and the moon are his eyes the fire is his mouth and so on whatever natural phenomena you see in the world is connected back to the divine person it's not just imagination because if Brahman is the only reality then all these things which are appearing our appearances of Brahman so connect the sky to Brahman the Sun and the light to Brahman fire to Brahman the air to Brahman the water to Brahman the earth to Brahman all this is Brahman somebody asked a question this monks are very humorous in in in Himalayas somebody asked a question this is very bad I'm walking on the earth how can I think that I'm walking on God is really bad I can't think like that no yeah be back wonky Siva this is also the service of the Lord by walking on the earth which is God how then he told a story he said when we were little kids we had an uncle who was a huge man and it was very relaxing for him if we little kids and nephews and nieces would run over run around on his back so it was like a massage for him he would lie down like this and we kids would jump on his back their walk this was our service to him now that your Lord the uncle is now become this earth and the Lord is very happy if his children will walk around on his back now you see whatever the cute way of putting this yes I just like I heard everything you said here I'm having trouble reconciling when I look outside or my own experiences growing up like seeing that you know very bhakti oriented people did not have that experience that you're sharing right or that John did not sort of come true right and there were actions that were happening which were like not aligned with what we are talking about and so that just brings me to challenge the path of bhakti and sort of feel that bhakti alone can solve it for me and I'm talking for myself here and without Eon and without Karim yoga as Swami Vivekanand was saying it just doesn't like to me that and and you look around and you see the examples right I yes but two things are there one is we must not be judgmental everybody's progressing it's so difficult to change my own life how can I talk about others being perfect is perfection possible is at least a high level of genuine devotion possible certainly the lives of saints in all religions are proof of that and I have been in a monastic tradition for a long time have I seen genuine bhaktas devotees yes many of them and just that presence will uplift your your heart you will feel it the earth there's something wonderful about them I remember in the presence of a very great Swami I felt something strange jealousy jealousy means a kind of holy envy I wish I had that you have something within you I wish I had that that's a good envy it is possible that such people are there so there is no doubt that Mukti works but the second part of your question is important by itself or not all of these paths by themselves can lead to enlightenment Swami Vivekananda clearly says but it's much better much more effective much safer to practice all of them together Swami Vivekananda vine the goal is to manifest this divinity within each what is valuable manifest is divinity not know this divinity not understand its divinity manifest manifest means it must become first of all real to me one second it should be somehow expressed in my thinking speaking and behaving in that truth Awaji Ani problem should not be there my life one criteria applied from outside very difficult to know if a person is really spiritual on how advanced it is he or she is one criteria apply if quite successfully is has that person solved his or her own problem is that person stable fulfilled over a long period of time is the deep joy do you feel that this person all right but how do you do it so he awakened that symbol of the Ramakrishna order the theme of our retreat he says do it by love do it by work love means bhakti-yoga what does not mean Jenny work Karma Yoga do it by cyclic control this is the exact word he's used that in sahaja yoga do it by philosophy so the philosophy professors will be very happy in Harvard let's do it by philosophy then he says by one or more or all of these by one which means he's acknowledging any each one can take you to that realization it's not denying it or more it means you can combine and in spiritual life you will see most sarcastic combine or all of these and be free books temples doctrines churches are secondary details so this spiritual freedom from all suffering and limitation through these paths that is the goal now what is Swami Vivekananda's preference he says harmony of the four yoga's more than once he has said all four must be there in our lives all four together is actually easier than one we have all these powers we have the affective domain emotions we have the cognitive domain understanding we have the cognitive domain willpower power to do power to understand power to feel and of course all of these are combined with the power to concentrate this is raja yoga bhakti yoga karma-yoga jnana-yoga all of these should be combined this is a nice essay by swami pre-mission and the yoga Wigner he was a great in his lifetime itself is considered a Gandhi an enlightened person Yoga Vigna it has been translated recently it is something written to a monk young monk warning him about the problems in each path the problem is if you read that you say I will know they know about practice anything I am safe from all the problems the problem with bhakti-yoga is he says it leads to emotionalism sentimentalism at every other thing tears come to the eyes and singing and dancing very fine what about life say it leads to involvement in too much may be ritualism festivities you a lot of food and songs and festivity not our ashram not be done society if you compare with other ways and societies they all accuses us of being very dry and very minimalistic then that is one aspect then you have karma yoga which is very good but it's danger is extraverted all the time busyness the moment you start something you have a school a college or just your family and your career that also is a field for karma yoga remember when Shri Krishna taught karma yoga to Arjuna he did not tell her generous now you have to practice karma yoga please go start a school and a hospital he said do your duty transform your duty right now into Karma Yoga so your family your job your life it can be transformed into Karma Yoga everything that we do whatever we do can it can be connected to God but the problem is it leads to an external busyness and you feel good I'm doing good work after all but that's also not not spirituality when Swami permission there are very harsh words remember he was writing to a monk and we are engaged in so many social service activities so he writes some harsh words he says that was the time of British rule there in India so the first lady was the wife of the governor-general lot Chabert MAME who's the mainship is the saying that old language is to say now the first lady the lady so-and-so the wife of the governor-general of India that that is she was the last one this is way before that long before Mountbatten so there are so many Governor General's and then later they were called viceroys so this lady she's remember she's the head of a colonial power in India so prestige is very important but she wants to know what are these people eating natives they're eating Moody she wants to eat Murray Moody you know Moody puffed rice now all the officials are worried what will happen to be prestige if the first lady eats Marie the natives will laugh now how do you solve this problem but she is interested she wants to know what it's like why are they all eating Marie so they solved the problem what did they do they got at that time big it's what you call cookies here they called biscuits in India so biscuits were imported from England they came in tins so then tin was emptied out of English biscuits and filled with Marie and given to the play so that people will think that she's doing something proper eating biscuits from the home country but she's actually eating the food of the common natives well this is the story and he said in right here I'd shadow subhan monks big be there in the name of serving the poor you collect money and it ends up as houses for the monks to stay in and from you know all the facilities you are also using it and you say it's in front and you are using it for the benefit of the poor but you're getting the benefit of it all so be careful so it is glamorized in the name of service of the poor but what is it really you have to be very careful honest to yourself there's no other way unless one is honest so there's this great story of Chanakya who's writing a letter with the oil lamp and somebody asks him for some advice personal advice he douses that oil lamp strikes another lamp and then gives advice what's going on that lamp is bought with the oil is bought with the money of the king so it's official work douse it this is my personal thing but honesty using this integrity I told you the story of mother 100 yesterday how he was very strict of not taking anything personally so karmayoga has that problem not just I was saying monks I told you that so many big NGOs people in nonprofits people are very well known for activism after some time what does the service become like the founder of the nonprofit is running around from international conference to international conference and gathering awards and giving talks what about actually working in the field with the refugees and the homeless and the poor no that's no longer interesting what has happened my selfishness has entered into it so that is the one danger of karmayoga the danger of raja yoga meditation is selfishness my peace of mind I have seen this among it happens to monks my peace of mind my routine my meditation time so peaceful and calm but disturb is routine they go wild and as well the monk I can't hit but no that's also not good really I've seen the really good meditators they don't have this problem meditation time I give one example yesterday he was his duty was changed he found peace in that also I have seen among young brahma chad is very good meditators and yet the roommate is sick he gives up his meditation time and goes and nurses his sick brother that shows real spirituality then gana yoga the demon the problem is it degenerates very fast into intellectualism I have read all the books I know all the arguments but that's not spiritual so these are the demerits the problems of each path and swami vivekanand balance equipoise and counteract each other you are working for the way you everybody must work there's no question I will meditate now and I like meditate no this is the time for work go and work I am working no this the time for meditation go and meditate I am NOT interested in reading books no sastra is is the basis of our pro you must study always studying books devotion go to the temple and pray all of them its together it develops a good spiritual life the good question is Mike Swami Vivekananda's the best yes and he also said bhakti-yoga is the best then he said Karma Yoga is the best and he said gana Yoga is a direct and must pass that somebody was confused Swamiji whatever you say you do this you speak contradictory things whatever you are telling you saying that is the best in Swami's he laughed and said you take whatever I feels to you the good thing is to practice all four together and somebody asked how do we practice all four together what is the model and strong Vivek Kundra said with how do you understand the harmony of yoga's he said live with somebody who practices it this krishna snake anya krishna stick is similar notice that he teaches bhakti and karma and meditation and gana first thing he teaches is gana but he teaches all of them remember one thing however our tendencies are different you will find when you try to practice all four one will appeal to you more maybe you like meditation what will appeal to you it will feel alive real it pulls you others will feel a little dry and difficult remember at that time you must hold on to all it is not a fault of those paths it's just my mental makeup other people have become very spiritual through those paths so paths are perfect it's not it's just me so I will in fact one way of developing and progressing faster is when you concentrate on certain areas of your weakness so all four should be practiced but it is sure if it if you find one is dominating don't be worried it is correct one will dominate one will dominate you may basically be a bhakta and on the basis of that you do all others I'm reading the Gita not as not as a Gani it is the words of my beloved Krishna that's why I'm reading I am working and feeding the poor because I see my Krishna in them when I meditate I visualize Krishna and of course bhakti is their devotion throughout this is all for yoga's on the basis of bhakti yes checked off Paran para all of us were born into a certain way of life which based on history tradition home traditions may be a family priest inculcated in us combination of mantra ritual puja there was a certain way of life now we are living in the world where especially as the MRIs generally but even in India we become seekers and so our consciousness has expanded greatly we become aware of the larger technologies of the inner journey that are available how do we how do we I don't know the words reconcile how do we take our parent para but also absorb this knowledge and create a certain continuity as opposed to discontinuity continuity is important and there are many upper Emperor's means lineages and there are many many lineages in in the Indian tradition in Hindu tradition in Buddhist tradition and many lineages and many people are associated with either a family lineage or at least a cultural lineage it's good if you have that connection you're good follow that but also be open as you said you can always enrich your own understanding your own tradition with learning from other traditions there are any if one does not have access to such a lineage and our if do you have an access and yet you are not particularly interested sometimes lineages have become they become Orthodox or not available not particularly inspiring maybe just a mass of rituals not know particularly great teacher is available there then one may take up another lineage but be careful that it is a lineage see this is a danger in modern times that people who are not set in some kind of tradition and they say where did you get all this all is my invention that is not a good sign I give an example in Manhattan you want to buy a computer and you go the Apple shop there is called Big Apple naturally Manhattan so you go to buy an outside the shop this rather shifty looking guy standing there says you come come come what happened I will give you a computer I have made it it's better than those fellows really where did you make it in my garage it is better than that and cheaper also now the problem is how do you know it maybe but it may not be more most likely it may not be second there is no backup Apple or at least has Apple care they call it Apple care but where is this garage care no and what is the proof Apple has so many satisfied customers what is the proof that this person has some satisfied customers we don't know it's too much of a risk for a big investment and the greatest of investments is spiritual life so better to go for a lineage where you know it is existing for a long time there are texts which you can independently verify what this fellow is saying is it which where is he saying it from give me one example of what you are saying there are other sokka's who for centuries have practiced these things and have experienced some of it so then there is an established lineage I am not entirely dependent on my guru then there have other other gurus before him and there will be others after him so that's why in the Ramakrishna Vivekananda lineage we find it's like a place where all other streams whether it's Vedanta bhakti or Tantra or its opens up to Christianity and Islam and Buddhism and all forms of religion and all pitched at the highest level and open also you are not told that you have to restrict you come to our our lineage you have to restrict yourself to this you cannot read that book no so good and holy book you can read it so some Linnaeus is necessary there also do not be too picky I'm looking for my guru very good i met in himalayas specially westerners backpack come to india why I'm looking for my guru good but 20 years later if I catch you roaming around the Himalayas I'm still looking for my guru there something wrong you know what is wrong some they are very deep inside I am looking for the enlightened master why others are not good enough for me Who am I that I deserve somebody you know the story of Narendra thanks Ramakrishna have you seen God and Salam krishna said yes i have as i see you more clearly so one devotee went to us senior swami and said sir have you seen god his answer was I am NOT Sudama Krishna and you are not Vivekananda it is a subtle point here what is the point you know that I trust my thinking above others is the individualistic world but that also shows a deep at attachment to body and mind what makes the product of this mind better than the product of a million other Minds why must I listen to this mind alone and not to those minds of course I will think keep my own thinking but at the same time I listen to others sri ramakrishna says those who have eagerness for spiritual life they will take whatever is available and start the one who is thirsty the water in the puddle he will be so desperate he will remove the scum on the top and drink that water also it may not be healthy but the one is not thirsty sparkling water otherwise Alpine water so lineage important but there also don't delay start last question one more yes not overcome it that's good increase it I want that bad jealousy is that person is millionaire I want to be that that's bad in initially depends on a person's progress in spiritual life initially no interest in spiritual life wants to be very successful in the world you know what I will say yes that's what you should do that person must experience if you disturb that ambition by saying that will this is Maya that's nothing here is God and you will realize God and then you will get overcome suffering what will happen is the desire is not fulfilled there is no conviction in this path and the Urd of you are harming that person spiritual progress go ahead for a young person for person interested moving hard towards this world say go ahead but the only thing you can do is and a little bit of wisdom there watch go ahead with intelligence try it out is it making me happy is it making me stronger is it fulfilling its promise I'll leave with this last thing this all the time thinking about God serve other very interesting thing is there ask yourself this question the sort of the mantra and my Ishta devatha which other thought is more valuable than that - many thoughts which other thought is more valuable than the thought of God and your mind will tell you actually nothing almost nothing there may be some urgent task to accomplish now you may have to think about it other than that 99 percent of the thoughts in our mind on what lists what less so there are robbers this is the example given there are robbers who do this they will throw some interesting thing like a maybe a dollar or something in front and if somebody gets attracted to that goes to pick it up they will use that opportunity to pickpocket your attention is diverted there similarly samsara what it does to us is it makes us interested in half a dozen things and then pickpocket what is big pocket thought of God mantras gone some sort of takes it away and engages you in those things people protect their grains in the granary they will throw a little bit of sugar in front so the mice will run around whole bag full of nutritious grain is there they will ignore it throughout the night will run up to little bits of sugar why they are attracted there and they miss it similarly God is there however we have got the mantra but all those other thoughts temptation and terror fear anxiety temptation that's what pulls us into the world carefully pull your mind away from that and apply it to the mantra applied to the thought of God so with this beautiful idea I pray to Sri Ramakrishna math Sharada Devi and Swami Vivekananda may they bless all of us with devotion with knowledge with dispassion for worldliness may we all grow in spiritual life may our lives be blessed and made the lives of those around us be blessed Oh shanti shanti shanti he hurry he own that sat sri ramakrishna Aparna Musto [Music] it has become a fashion among cool people to say oh we don't believe in all that guard thing imagine Divinity School however Divinity School are looking at the profile of the students they is now described at 23 years old what do they know about God anyway I am a mystic I'm interested in spirituality and it East okay it's that atheist businesses is not all that it is promoted to be we believe in so many things try believing in God you will see life will be blessed [Music] you