Ones of Divinity –
compiled from the talks given by Ratan Lal
IMPERSONALIZE LIFE
The Divine Masters
are the greatest personalities that have lived impersonally.
Once Divine Baba said
in His discourse that, "No person can be ego-less." This
statement can surprise one. One hears of
so many saints and seers m India who. have realized their true Self. The next
day Bhagavan asked Sri Ratan Lal to talk to His students. Sri Ratan Lal
expressed his understanding of Bhagavan's statement to the students.
Personality implies individuality and separation. The people who realize their
true identity shed their sense of separation. To feel, as a person, indicates
the functioning of ego. Ego is the strongest upholder of the sense of separations
from God. When ego confronts the constant Consciousness, the mind is
overwhelmed and is absorbed in it.
For narrow-minded
people, God appears as a limited entity. This is a narrow vision. Divine Baba
says, "Develop broad vision. God is impersonal." Our reality
is also impersonal. One tends to forget it since one is attached to the
personal "I." That is why we consider God to be personal.
Prasanthi Nilayam is the only place in the world where the names of all Gods
are recited, with the same love for every name of God. This is known as
broadness of vision. You can love all only if you realize that the same
indweller is in all.
We say, “My body.”
We think we are the owner of that body. Who is that “we”? It is the
personal "I." Where there is an in-dweller, there lies the impersonal
Divinity. The impersonal Divinity is infinite. It is everywhere and in
everyone. Yet, very few people try to experience and understand that Divinity.
Devotion is the mother of wisdom (Jnana). The two paths of Devotion and Wisdom
(Bhakti and·Jnana) go hand in hand. Without loving, you cannot
know. Without knowing, you cannot love. This knowing or understanding must be
impartial and correct. You can be impartial only in the absence of the ego. It
is the personal "I" or ego that has so many likes and dislikes, pride
and prejudices. That is why we have to transcend the personal "I."
This process is not easy. It depends largely on each individual and his
evolution. Those who are not ripe or mature enough have to undergo spiritual
practices in order to make the mind pure and steady.
Steadiness and purity
of mind are very necessary. Only when the mind is pure can it tum toward God.
Until then, it will go on running in all directions. Until then, it will travel
away from its source, which is the Spiritual Heart, or Consciousness. In the
Bible we read, "Be still and know that I am that I am." This
teaching is present in all religions. At a lower, narrower level, the castes,
societies, closed groups, and religions exist. This is a distortion. All over
the world they try to convert people to their particular religion.
The aim should be to
become a good human being. Socrates said, "A beautiful mind in a
beautiful body is the ideal." This means that we should basically be
good human beings. Goodness will lead to Godliness. On the other hand,
developing narrow vision and hatred for anyone who is not a Hindu, or anyone
who is not a Christian, is a very low level of thinking.
Certainly, there are
differences in every religion at the level of rituals. Rituals are not religion
in the true sense. They only help people to tum the mind from the world to God.
That is the sole purpose of rituals. As stated earlier, the deeper meaning of
spirituality, in all religions, is the oneness of Divinity. We should not give
too much importance to rituals. Divine Baba says, "Religion means to
Realize." Realize the highest Truth. Many times He has said,
"God is Love. Live in Love." You are already God. To live in love
is to be what you are. However, the personal "I" makes us feel that
we are separate from God. To begin with, all that spiritual practice requires
is that one should develop an open mind. No one should feel that one's way is
the only way.
In this connection,
Divine Baba has said in His discourses, "When you walk away from the sun,
the shadow falls in front of you. You cannot overtake it. When you walk toward
the sun, the shadow falls behind you. The sun is God. When you walk away from
Him, the ego (shadow) appears in front of you, and you will not be able to
overcome it. Tum toward God and the ego disappears. The mind ignores Reality,
God. Man is content to ignore his Reality. Ultimately, grief always wins over
joy. Finally, he will have to tum to God if he wants permanent peace."
Shirdi Sai Baba used
to explain who this "Me" or this "I" is. He
said, "One need not go anywhere in search of Me. Divinity. It is right
within everyone. Despite different names and forms It exists as Conscience in
everyone. That is Myself (referring to Sai Baba). Knowing this, you see Me
inside yourself, as well as in all beings. If you practice this, you will realize
the All-pervasive and thus will attain oneness with Me.'' Many sages· and seers
in the past have said or written the same thing. Itis not easy to understand
and practice oneness because of the wrong ideas harboring in the mind. The
personal "I" creates a sense of difference.
That's why one should impersonalize life. When one impersonalizes life, there
is no pride or prejudice and no like or dislike. This is a positive way of
looking at life.
Is there any sign to
show that an individual has attained self-realization?
He is in constant
Bliss. He remains unaffected by success or failure: He is unaffected by
anybody's praise or blame. He is in constant communion with God, the Divine
Atman.
What happens if that
state is not permanent?
That state is
permanent. That state of Atman is permanent. One feels that it is not permanent
because the personal "I". always makes one run away from Reality.
Reality is permanent. What one's mind feels is permanent is not really
permanent. Make the mind steady and pure. This is the only way. That's what
Socrates teaches us. Direct practice is to make the mind abide, more and more
in its source. The best hobby for the mind is to seek its source and remain
there. A pure mind is Atman. However, when the mind has prejudices and runs
away from its reality, it is caught in ignorance. In reality there is no mind.
To understand this is the direct path for all. Atman gives light to the mind,
resides in it, and shines in it as its substratum.
What is the real
meaning of Love?
Love is generally
taken to be the emotion that binds human relationships. This, however, is
merely attachment, not true Love. "Love" actually means the
Love of the Immortal Self, and not any "lesser," temporary
love. "Love all" is the spiritual meaning of love. "Love
all" means that one loves God, who is the in-dweller in all of us. Only
names and forms are different. Because of its past habits and tendencies, the
mind likes to depend on differences more than upon the Oneness. That is why
these tendencies have to be curbed and subdued. That is the spiritual
interpretation of love. "I love you" is human. To love God is
spiritual, since God is real.
What is free will?
What is free will? To
whom does it pertain? Free will and destiny pertain to the personal
"I," and not to the Atman. All dyads depend on the personal
"I." As long as one considers oneself to be the limited
"I," the mind will keep on "jumping and bumping." One has
to grant limited freedom to the personal "I," otherwise who will
practice? After practice, this personal "I" disappears. Then there is
absolute freedom.
Is the will to
realize the source born in the mind?
Discrimination is in
the mind. Discrimination between permanent and impermanent is in the mind.
Sometimes, even if
one does not want them, some tendencies appear in the mind. What should one do
with these tendencies?
There is one faculty
given by God called Conscience, which approves or disapproves. We should listen
to it.
Are personality and
ego the same thing?
People think that in
daily life they must have a strong personality. Even in daily life it is better
to be humbler than to have a strong personality. In our daily life, who will
appreciate a strong personality? Also, personality in reality means to personify.
It is an egoistic way, which tries to personify and limit. If one breaks down
the walls in a room then space will be unlimited. The way to personify using
ego is not good. That creates the illusion that the limitless can be limited.
Any comments on
family sadhana and purpose of life?
Concerning family
sadhana, many Christian families go to church together on Sundays to pray and
do not pray rest of the week. Muslims go to the mosque every Friday only to
offer their prayers to Allah. Hindus are supposed to offer their prayers to God
every day, but very few really do it. This is part-time devotion and is of no
value. Ideally, we should be thinking of God constantly. Our objective has to
be to love Divinity so that we may remove the sense of separation from the
Absolute. Bhagavan repeatedly reminds us in practically every discourse,
"What
is the purpose of Life?"
The purpose of life is to realize yourself.
"Know
Thyself."
Just as the clouds hide the sun, so ignorance hides Divinity
from us. Ideally, spiritual practice should be done individually. One's
hunger cannot be satisfied if someone else eats.
