Sadhana - Some Inputs

Based on the teachings of

Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas
of Anandashram,
Kanhangad, Kerala, India.
 Struggles Lead To Search
• When life is smooth and easy, we hardly remember God,
though, as a habit or a part of rituals and traditions, we might
routinely go to temples, do poojas, sing bhajans and pray.

• But, when we are confronted with inner and outer struggles and
challenges at the family / professional / social levels, over which
we have no control, we start deeply thinking about God, hoping
that He can help us out from the helpless situations.

• Often, at such times we happen to read or hear about certain

spiritual Masters and institutions; we get to know of how their
grace and guidance have brought peace and harmony to many
lives. So, our search for inner peace leads us to saints and
ashrams.
 Beloved Papa Swami Ramdas’ Life
For nearly a year, Ramdas struggled on in a world full of cares,
anxieties and pains. It was a period of terrible stress and
restlessness – all of his own making. In this utterly helpless
condition, full of misery, ”Where is relief? Where is rest? was the
heart’s cry of Ramdas. The cry was heard, and from the Great
Void came the voice, ”Despair not! Trust Me and thou shalt be
free! –and this was the voice of Ram
 Finding God Within

• Right from our childhood, we are given an impression that God

is outside of us. When we go to temples and worship the deities,
that feeling gets affirmed.

• Similarly, when we go and seek blessings from Gurus, we cherish

those moments; we may not understand that Guru is not only a
person (Vyakti) but also an indwelling Divine Presence (Shakti).

• So, when the aspiration to dwell on God gets intensified, efforts

naturally become outward, and because of that, even after a
long and arduous struggle, the goal – God, remains still as a
concept and not as a Reality.
 Frequently Asked Questions

• How do we turn inward and seek the Divine within?

• How can we withdraw our senses which are habituated to
going out and wandering?
• How do we experience that God is not an intellectual
concept but an indwelling Reality?

These are some of the questions that might haunt the

devotees and aspirants as they embark upon an inward
journey.

This presentation is an exploration of these themes, based

on the life and teachings of Beloved Papa and other saints.
 How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life
• The pleasures I derived from the objects of the senses were not
only transitory but were also accompanied by pain and grief – a
fact I came to know too well.

• So, I engaged myself in an all-round effort to divert the mind

from the ephemeral objects to the eternal source of life – God.
God, who is absolute existence, consciousness and bliss, is
within me. Withdrawing the mind from the unreal – external
things of life – I let it flow continuously towards Him through a
steady remembrance brought about by a ceaseless chanting of
His holy name. Constant remembrance purified and controlled
my mind.
 The Goal To Be Scaled

• The end and aim of all spiritual Sadhanas is to merge your

individuality in the great universal Reality beyond name,
form and movement. After gaining this realization of the
inmost truth of your being, come out of it with a
transformed vision that beholds every being, creature and
thing in the visible manifestation, as the images of that great
Truth. This is the height of realization which you have to
reach.
A Right Conception Of God
• There are many who are doing Sadhana. They do not know why they are doing it.
Their conception of God is very limited and narrow. They must have, in the first
place, a right conception of God before they try to attain Him.

• God is Truth
• God is Love
• God is Awareness
• God is Peace
• God is Intelligence
• God is Creative power
• God is eternal happiness
• God is personal and impersonal
• God is the Witness
• God is All-pervading Existence
• God is the doer and Non-doer
• God is all these and beyond
 Where to seek Him first?
• God is within us. We are not separate individuals; we are universal life
and truth.
• The goal or God, or your immortal status, is ever with you and in you.
• When the Lord is in your heart he is there with His feet as well. So
catch hold of His feet. Why, you are ever living, moving and having
your being at His feet.
• The Leader of leaders, the Guru of Gurus, is ever seated in the hearts
of us all. Ours is to seek Him.
• Seek within and know thyself; this is the command of Rishis.
• The search for God outside us goes on, until we make the life-
discovery that our heart is the shrine in which Lord Vishwanatha,
dwells in all His glory.
Morning Prayer – Praatah Smaraami
प्रातः स्मरामि हृमि सं स्फुरिात्मतत्त्वं

सच्चित्सु खं परिहं सगमतं तु रीयि् ।

यत्स्वप्नजागरसु षुच्चििवै मत मित्यं

तद्ब्रह्म मिष्कलिहं ि च भू तसङ्घः ॥१॥

Praatah Smaraami Hrdi Samsphurad-Aatma-Tattvam

Sac-Cit-Sukham Parama-Hamsa-Gatim Turiiyam |

Yat-Svapna-Jaagara-Sussuptim-Avaiti Nityam

Tad-Brahma Nisskalam-Aham Na Ca Bhuuta-Sangghah ||1||

 Meaning
• In the Early Morning I remember (i.e. meditate on)
the Pure Essence of the Atman shining within my Heart,
• Which gives the Bliss of Sacchidananda (Existence-
Consciousness-Bliss essence),
• Which is the Supreme Hamsa (symbolically a Pure White
Swan floating in Chidakasha)
• And takes the mind to the state of Turiya (the fourth state,
Super consciousness),
• Which knows (as a witness beyond) the three states
of Dream, Waking and Deep Sleep, always
• That Brahman which is without any division shines as the I
• And not this body which is a collection of
Pancha Bhuta (Five Elements).
 The Guru Is Also Within Yourselves

You must be established in pure Self-awareness by your own

Sadhana though the Guru may awaken you by his touch and turn
your mind towards God within you.
Through prayer, when the aspirant comes to know that God is
within, the next step is to understand who the Guru really is.
Beloved Papa makes it clear, “The Guru, that you seek, is in
reality, within yourselves. Ramdas is only an instrument in the
hands of the Divine Guru, who is the all-comprehensive Reality, to
inject into those who come in contact with him, the Ram Mantra
which brought him face to face with the supreme Guru.”
 Guru Stuthi
ब्रह्मानन्दं परम सु खदम् केवलं ज्ञान मू र्ति म्
द्वन्द्द्वातीतं गगनसदृशम् तत्वमस्यार्द लक्ष्यम्
एकं र्नत्यं र्वमलमचलम्सवि धी सार्िभू तम्
भावातीतं र्िगु णरर्ितम् सदगु र ं तं नमार्म ॥

Brahmanandam paramasukhadam kevalam jnanamurtim

Dvandvaateetam gaganasadrusam tatvamasyadi lakshyam
Ekam nityam vimalam achalam sarvadhee saakshibuutam
Bhaavaateetam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namaami.
 Meaning
He who is:
• the source of the eternal and all-enveloping bliss,
• the source of supreme happiness,
• the only one,
• total personification of wisdom
• beyond the dualities of this material world,
• as infinite as the space (formless),
• the sole aspiration and goal of life,
• the only one, eternal,
• pure,
• unmoving,
• witness in consciousness in all beings,
• beyond emotions & thoughts,
• beyond the three gunas (satva, rajas and tamo guna)
I salute to that Great Master.
 Seek Him Within
• Ramdas has already said that when we are repeating the name
of God we must be conscious that we are repeating the name
of One who is within us, who is our true being and existence.
• External worship is a distant means of realizing God.
• You have to seek Him within yourself.
 You Are The Self
• In taking Ram Nam you think you are taking the name of the
deity living in some far-off heaven. But you are really repeating
the name of your own immortal Self, that is, Atma Ram.
• You do not know that you are Ram. So, you must ceaselessly
remember Him until you are awakened to the consciousness
that you are Ram yourself.
• Life is the expression of Atman; and though seemingly two,
they are one.
• Ram is a synonym for Self or Atman. You are already the Self.
You can be conscious of the Self by constantly remembering
the Self.
 The Core Of Our Being

• A Mahatma said, “We are spiritual beings going through a

temporary human experience. We are not human beings
going through a temporary spiritual experience.”
• The core of our being is the Spirit, Self, the Atman which are
synonyms of God.
 How Do We Experience
The Spirit Dwelling Within?

We must think, feel and realize that we are not merely bodies but
we are Immortal spirit. Many people go with the impression that
they are only the visible appearance that is the body made up of
the five elements. It is not so.

There is the Spirit within us. It is that Spirit that makes us walk,
talk and do everything. Now for instance people think when they
give and receive, with the hands that they are doing these
movements and these actions themselves, as if they got an
independent power to do these things.
 How Do Experience
The Spirit Dwelling Within?

A noble person said:

There is a place in all of us that has remained
innocent, uncorrupted and untouched by the world.
We have to locate that most delicate place.
It is a very sensitive place, it’s where we feel love –
where tenderness and compassion arise, free from self-interest.
This place is the hole we have to fall into and disappear for ever.
 Experiencing The Spirit
At The Physiological Level
The Spirit within us is the power responsible for the vital
functions taken place in our body:
• Our heart beats about 1,00,000 times a day and It pumps six
litres of blood through 1,20,000 kms of blood vessels in a day.
• In a second, we are producing 1.2 millions of red blood cells to
replace an equal number that die.
• Our digestive and metabolic systems have the remarkable ability
to transform the food we eat into blood, bone and body
structure.
• The air which we breathe, contains oxygen which is exchanged
for the excess of carbon dioxide inside and then thrown out.
 Experiencing The Spirit
At The Psychological Level
The Spirit within us is the power responsible for the various
functions of our mind as well:
• Our mind has a screening mechanism to ensure that relevant
things come into our stream of consciousness, shutting out the
disturbing and unwanted elements.
• Our waking self is confined to the waking state. It has no place
in dream and sleep. The dream self is confined to dream,
having no reference to waking and sleep. Both waking and
dream selves disappear in sleep. Yet there is one entity
witnessing all the three selves and registering their deeds. It is
that which says, “I dreamt, I woke up, and I slept”. That “I” is
not the waking, the dreaming or the sleeping “I”.
 The Individual ‘I’ & The Eternal ‘I’

• In us there is an individual self as well as the eternal Self. That

means, while the individual self identifies itself as an
adolescent, a youth, an adult, a middle aged person, etc., there
is also the eternal Self watching these changes. These are the
appearing self and the Real Self respectively. There is the “I” and
there is one who witnesses the “I”.
 Experiencing The Spirit
At The Outer Level
The Spirit expresses itself through: Sustaining Power, Creative Force,
Motivating Power, Overall Intelligence, Ever-Present, All-pervading
Spirit – which binds everything in the universe together and gives
life to everything.

We see the wind blow, the sun giving light, the trees grow, and birds
sing on the trees. In other words

We should see the Lord sleeping in the mountains, smiling in the

flowers, singing through the birds and up and awake in man. We
need to see Him by default like a screen saver.
 Experiencing The Spirit
At The Outer Level
Another Mahatma said:
If you are not able to perceive the miracle of God
through a soft blade of grass coming out of this hard earth,
or the whole effulgence of the mighty Sun,
reflecting through an innocent, delicate due drop,
where else are you going to perceive?
Where else are you going to search for Him?
Which other miracle are you waiting for?
Do you want him to descend as thunder and lightening?
 Sreemad Bhagavad Gita On That Power

In the Bhagavad Gita there is a sloka in which Lord says, "It is my

will and power that prevails through the entire earth. And to
know this world means my Self, causing all movements in it, all
changes in it." And so, He is at the inception, at the growth of
things and at the destruction of things.

Therefore, all we need to do, is to train our minds to meditate on

Him every moment of our lives until we see Him in everyone and
in everything. He has given us time, space, cause, material, idea,
skill, chance and fortune. Why then do we feel as if we are the
doers?
How To Experience The Presence Of That Power
The Triune path prescribed by Beloved Papa for experiencing the
presence of THAT POWER is as follows:

• Nama ( Chanting of His holy and all-powerful Name) is to

remember That Power who is behind everything inside and
outside.
• Dhyana (inward journey) is to feel the presence of That Power
first inside and then outside.
• Seva (less and less of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and more and more of
‘we’ and ‘us’) is to dedicate all actions to That Power.
 Nama
• The Name is the link between the devotee and God. It brings
the devotee face to face with Him.
• The object of repeating the Name is to purify the mind and
thereby get the awareness of Him within us.
• We must knowingly repeat the Mantra and become
conscious of God by understanding the object of such
repetition.
• The Name first quietens the mind and then instills into it an
intoxicating sweetness
• When we tune ourselves with the Name, we tune ourselves
with God. That is the purpose of repeating the Mantra;
without it the repetition becomes merely mechanical and
does not help us in any way.
 NAMA CHANTING
Stilling the mind can be achieved through a three-way process in
chanting, viz. vocal, silent and mental:
• First close our eyes, chant vocally and try to hear our own
chanting. This will slowly arrest the wandering mind.
• After achieving sufficient progress, silent chanting can be
resorted to without the emanation of sound, but with the
movement of lip and tongue, oneself hearing one’s own
chanting. By regular and committed practice this can be
achieved, thus raising the level of concentration.
• Final stage, the mental chanting is without the external gross
sound from the mouth, in the absence of any movement of lip
and tongue, even as the chanting goes on mentally, all the time
intently listening to it internally, the level of concentration being
at the peak.
4 Ways To Stop The Wandering Of The Mind

1. Chanting the Name aloud. When the sound attracts the mind
through the ears, the mind is absorbed in it so much so the
dissimilar thought currents fade away.
2. Bearing in your bosom the form of your chosen deity or Guru who
has awakened you and repeat the Mantra. By this the mind ceases
to wander.
3. Identifying every object on which your mind dwells, with God. By
this it is meant that we try to go to the sources of these objects. By
reflection we find that everything has sprung forth from That
Source alone.
4. Being the witness of the mind. By watching the mind, we detach
ourselves from the mind and become witness of the mind. As we
begin to watch the mind it will gradually cease to be. The witness or
awareness alone remains
 Transition From Chanting To Dhyana
• When we sit silently, we have to be conscious, in the first place,
that the God we seek is in our own heart.
• Then mentally repeat His Name. Make the mind repeat the
Name until all its waves cease and it becomes perfectly still.
• If it does not easily become still, we have to continue the
repetition of the Name mentally with an attitude of self-
surrender.
• We try to develop a witness-consciousness. It is a state of
awareness of the immortal and radiant Truth within us.
• In fact, this awareness itself is God-realization.
 Witness-Consciousness
• Be a witness to all movements. Detach yourself from them and
become the observer of them; then you will realize that you are
the eternal witness and the body is not yourself. Identification
with the body will go and witness-consciousness will be
attained.

• Many rules have to be observed for control of mind; observance

of silence is one of them. Who is observing silence? Let us try to
find out. Sit silent, detach yourself from the mind and watch its
activities. The watcher is the real you – the Self Immortal.
 Seva / Service
• The peace and liberation of an individual is surely based upon
his or her contribution towards the collective human happiness
and harmony.

• As none will be able to involve wholly on Nama and Dhyana

throughout the day, the discipline to stretch our efforts to
experience the presence of THAT POWER should be directed to
all other activities also, which is called the Seva attitude.
 Serving God By Serving Humanity
• It is not merely by doing Japa that you are serving God, but also when
you are serving others honestly, conscientiously and in a spirit of
dedication to Him. Then you will have the same peace and joy as you
get by chanting or writing Ram Nam.
• Let your service be done in a spirit of spontaneous love, which is by
itself a great balm and a source of unlimited joy and peace. True
service lies in your not being conscious of having done anything to
anybody, while you are busily engaged in relieving the pains and
sorrows of people around you. A marvellous depth of patience, a
spirit of never-failing forgiveness and a capacity to suffer cheerfully
for the sake of others--all these will then be yours.
• Indeed, there is no life greater than that which is devoted to the
service of God in humanity. The vision of God in the universe and
beyond is the basis for this glorious life.
 Periodical Evaluation
Along with Nama, Dhyana, and Seva, periodical introspection is
essential for an aspirant.

A Mahatma said, “Let him know where he stands, what he is, what his
inner cravings are, what is the disease that has seized his soul, what are
the impurities lurking in his mind, what is the great obstacle that stands
between him and the immortal bliss and peace, and what are the bonds
that keep him tied down to the low levels of life and prevent him from
soaring into the heaven of his real life and being — the eternal Truth.
When he has thus, by deep reflection, discovered what he is, he can
through prayer, self-discipline, company of great souls, and acts of love
and compassion, get rid of all impediments, mental obsessions, nay,
darkness that envelops his soul, and realize the splendour power, peace
and joy of the great Truth that dwells within him.”
 Crystalized Selfishness
Go to the root of your existence. Realize your Self, then your
whole life and outlook will be transformed. If we do not achieve
this goal, we live a life no better than of animals. Usually our
whole existence is centred in the ego. The ego is crystallized
selfishness.

We toil day and night in order to get something only for ourselves
and our kith and kin. Our vision is thus circumscribed. Outside
that circle the world is not ours. So long as the ego is strong in us
we cannot be happy. If we work, it must be for the good of all
mankind. We have to universalize our vision. In that vision the
ego is lost and we will then be truly happy.
 What Is Crystallised Selfishness?
• Too much of body consciousness, and image of oneself.
• Assertion, anger, frustration, possessiveness, distrust on others,
• Insensitive to the suffering of others, jealousy, greed
• Lack of humility to acknowledge of the bounteous gift of God in
the form of one’s own body / mind / intellect and the other
creations.
• Running after name and fame and sense gratification
• Not compromising on any personal comfort and only bothered
about the care and concern of those who serve that individual and
is obedient
• Resorting to even violence in thought / word / deed to safeguard
one’s own interest
 Ego – Swami Chinmayananda
The ego, born out of me, has now become a mighty power ruling over me relentlessly,
and in front of this usurper of my bosom, I am but a slave.
To free myself from this great inner tyrant,
I need now a mighty friend, a powerful and sympathetic friend.
And who can it be, except You, my Lord. Save me…help me, please.
And even here, what right have I, the slave of my own passions,
the non-believer all these years, to seek Your help now?
True, I have no face to meet Thee.
O Lord, I have nothing to offer Thee except my own tears.
I have nothing to claim for myself except the fatigue of my indulgence, t
the stink of my selfish acts, the sweat of my passions, the chords of my attachments.
In fact, I don’t deserve to be saved. Yet, Lord, I am tired –
beaten out completely, exhausted thoroughly, repentant fully, helpless wholly.
I surrender myself to Thee and Thy Grace.
I claim a hearing and expect help from Thee.
Are not Thou the ocean of Kripa – of Grace, of kindness and of love?
Won’t Thou, in Thy kindness, take pity on me and once more destroy the old enemy, Mura,
in my bosom – the bundle of my own wretched Vasanas.”
 Surrender Is The Only Way
• Surrender is, ‘I am nothing. You are everything’. By this way you will be
empty completely.
• Someone enquired of the flute the reason for its being so much loved by
Lord Krishna who governs the whole universe. The flute replied, “I have
made myself hollow from head to foot (by destroying my egoism and
selfishness). I have within me the life and breathe of Krishna. My tune is His
tune. I have harmonized myself with Him.”
• Surrender comes when you no longer ask: “Why is this happening to me?”
• Surrender denotes a life of perfect contentment. A man of surrender has no
prayers to make to God for himself. He is perfectly satisfied with what God
has given him. He is ever peaceful and happy.
• Surrender must be of every part of your being – a total, integral, complete
surrender. Your heart, mind, senses, body – all should be offered up to the
Divine. Then you are guided by Him from within and you act as He wills. You
are happy whatever be the circumstances in which you are placed.
 Constant Reminder To An Aspirant
Side by side with Nama, Dhyana, Seva and periodical evaluation,
it is imperative that the aspirant keeps on reminding himself or
herself of the following points, so that, subservience to and
constancy in remembering THAT POWER is maintained.
• It is by His grace that we think about a spiritual life
• It is He who is prompting us, guiding us, leading us
• It is He who is making us think, feel, say or do
• It is He who is making us take up the Sadhana
• It is He who makes us remember (or even forget) Him
• It is He who is making us connect with the rest of the creation
• It is He who is making us feel a sense of struggle
 How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life
• Now the mysterious grace of Guru – which awakened me in the first
instance to seek God – completed its task by removing the mask of
ignorance which enveloped my soul for ages, with the result that a
flood of illumination poured out, permeating my body, senses and all
the worlds. In this splendour my soul was lost, followed by the dawn
of a cosmic consciousness and the knowledge of my still and all-
pervading Atman or Self. Yet another vision, more exalted, more
perfect and more joyous awaited my illumined Self and this is the
fusion of the Atman with the universal manifestation; in other words, I
realised that the Atman and the universe are one. This magnificent
vision and experience, based on the realisation of the absolute Self,
transformed me, the human being, into the veritable embodiment of
God in all His aspects.
 How God Came Into Beloved Papa’s Life
• As my soul stepped from the animal into the human, it now stepped
from the human into the Divine - the Purushottama, a spiritual-cum-
physical evolution - the grandest finale - the supreme fulfilment of
God’s will to reveal Himself in all His sublimity in this human being.
Verily, God is the seeker and God is the sought. This is His inscrutable
Lila. Truly, my soul and God – Jiva and Brahman – are one. All victory
to Him!
• Yet the highest spiritual possibilities are not exhausted. The sweetest
and dearest relationship with Him - near and personal - which I
maintained all along the initial struggle and aspiration, has at present
become real, intimate and permanent. He is now my constant
companion as a careful Mother and beneficent Master. In the face of
man, beast and bird - nay, of all creatures and things also, I behold
Him - my Beloved. Again all victory to Him!
 God – Your Companion
• Having realised God as the immanent and transcendent
Spirit who has become manifest as all beings, creatures and
things, He can still be to you an intimate, ever-present
companion, friend and protector. This personal relationship
with Him sweetens your life in a marvellous manner. His
presence enthuses and guides you at all times. He makes
you the vehicle of His infinite love and mercy. He uses you as
His instrument for spreading peace and goodwill on the
earth. You are one with Him and at the same time you are
His free and cheerful servant and pure and radiant child.
 God – Your Companion
• You may reach the height of His impersonal nature. You may
dissolve your little self in His all-pervading and infinite
consciousness. You may behold Him everywhere, but
communion with Him as a personal truth and ideal is a rare
and exalted experience. Now you can converse with Him,
play with Him and be ever joyful in His company.
• In this state, you never feel lonely even in the most desolate
solitude. You feel His presence not only there but even in
the midst of multitudes. He is your never-failing friend. It is
strange that He is not a person in the sense in which you see
and feel about the forms of beings about you in this world.
Both the devotee and his God belong to a realm other than
the one which is gross and material.
 God – Your Companion
• This eternal Beloved of yours is not only an embodiment of
love and joy but also a personification of power. It is for this
fellowship, you discard everything else. It can remain
unbroken even after you realise your identity with Him by
the merging of your separate individuality into His cosmic
existence. Before this blessed state is attained, there is the
tug-of-war, there is the hide-and-seek, there is the touch-
and-go, and the resultant moments of pain, longing and
despair. These things are not for you who have achieved the
grandest consummation of your spiritual quest by making
God as your own – your one true, constant and immortal
companion. It is a mystic union, a dual role of the same
supreme Truth – at once personal and impersonal.
 God – Your Companion
• You look upon Him in various ways, as a friend, a master, a
mother, a father, a comrade, a lover and even as a child. Whatever
the mode of relationship, the continuous presence and contact
with Him brings you a unique peace and joy compared to which
every other delight pales into insignificance.
• So, the first thing you do in order to know and love God, is to
become aware of your kinship with Him. Verily, you are born of
Him – a spiritual offspring inheriting the great Originator’s nature
and qualities. This recognition of relationship with Him through
continuous thought and meditation of Him, dissolves the screen
that separates you from Him and thereafter you always bask in
the sunshine of His Divine Presence and feel that the Beloved is
always with you, never losing Him for a moment, ever enveloped
by His love and radiance.
 Truth Is God
We see before us the wonderful world-film unreeling itself before
our eyes, picture after picture, throwing every receding picture
into oblivion. Behind this universal play there is the great
changeless Truth which ever remains serene, calm and unaffected
when all things in the manifestation appear and disappear in
quick succession.

That Truth is the basis of our life and the world manifestation.
When our life is attuned to Truth, we do not feel that we are mere
creatures revolving like automatons in the whirling movements of
nature and its creation around us. Truth is our being; Truth is joy
and peace; Truth is wisdom and power; Truth is love and light;
Truth is God!
 Ishaa Vasyamidam Sarvam

ॐ ईशा वास्यर्मदं सवं यत र्कंचजगत्यां जगत

ते नत्यक्ते न भूं जीथा मा गृ धःकस्यस्विद्धनम

Om Ishaa Vasyamidam Sarvam Yat Kincha Jagatyaam Jagat

Tena Tyaktena Bhunjeetha Maa Gridhah Kasyasvid Dhanam.

God pervades all this that we see in the Universe. Therefore we must
give up the idea of 'I' and 'Mine', accept gratefully whatever is given to
us by God and use it sharing it with our fellow beings. Eschew all
feelings of greed and selfishness. Remember that everything really
belongs to God alone.
To make it clear Beloved Papa said: “Nothing is yours; everything is
God’s; do not forget this!”
 The Great Obstacle
The sense of possession is a great obstacle to the realization of
God. The idea of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ must disappear entirely before the
aspirant can find absolute freedom and peace in union with God.
Verily, everything belongs to the Lord who dwells in the hearts of
all creatures and things. Attachment to any external object
narrows our vision, fosters egoism and gives rise to the false
notion that we are separate from God, i.e., from the universal life
and spirit. The whole universe is permeated through and through
with God. The visible and invisible worlds are all He. There is
nothing and none but He. All, all is He. Such is the Truth; where
then is room for the ideas of ‘I’ and ‘you’ – ‘mine’ and ‘yours’? All
are He!
 The 4 Books
The titles of the books brought
out by Beloved Papa itself
reminds us on the steps on the
spiritual path:
• IN QUEST OF GOD: Keen
Aspiration
• AT THE FEET OF GOD: Self
Surrender
• IN THE VISION OF GOD:
Realising His presence in and
around us
• WORLD IS GOD: Realising His
presence everywhere
 Behold God Within
• Ramdas sees many a struggling aspirant still in the clutches of certain
Sadhanas, depending on externals and hugging them with dogged
pertinacity, thus setting up a stumbling block in their progress towards
the supreme goal of perfect liberation.
• The external vision, however glorious, is not the true vision, if it is not
based upon the internal. This they do not know - sometimes do not
want to understand. The supreme Truth, by the realization of which
alone the soul attains the real peace and bliss - which is the sole
object of its quest - can be reached only by throwing up all external
crutches and aids of every kind - however useful and necessary they
might have been at one time.
• So Ramdas hammers on: "Behold God within you and then behold
Him everywhere, as all the manifested worlds. Don't adhere to the
lower planes and seek satisfaction there. Soar up into the regions of
your transcendent Being. Aspire – aspire – aspire – until the highest
goal is reached."
 Meet The Eternal Within
• When the false conventions and ostentatious observances are broken
through, the soul is liberated. For realizing the Truth no external
paraphernalia is necessary. No garb, no sigh, no cult and no creed can
help you. The day will come when you have to leave all these behind,
and go to meet the Eternal in the perfect nakedness of your Spirit,
shedding all make-believe forms, customs and traditions.

• Simplicity, spontaneity and humility become the guiding principles of

your life. You move freely with all. You love all alike. You break all
boundaries set by the calculating and selfish human mind. You soar
like a free bird in the infinite expanse of the spiritual firmament. You
look upon all beings and creatures as the embodiment of the one
divine all-pervading Spirit. Temples, Ashrams, mosques, churches,
synagogues, Viharas, etc., cannot imprison your soul. You find your
soul’s delight and joy at all places—in the best as well as the worst.
 How Does God Realization
Become Expressive In One’s Life?
Even after reaching this great height of the all-comprehensive vision of the
Reality in which all diversity is dissolved into one, the God-realised soul
assumes a position separate from the great Truth. He calls himself the son,
child, servant or devotee of God. Here the duality is assumed, knowing that
the devotee and God are truly one.

Why this assumption?

Because, in the sphere of activity the God-realised one prefers to play the part
of a lover or servant in order to enjoy the ineffable bliss of love. Love works
only on the plane of duality. All his actions, great or small, bear the stamp of
love, for love is his being and love is his life, and in love he finds the fulfilment
of his existence.

Based upon the realisation of his oneness and identity with the supreme
Spirit, the devotee still plays the part of a servant or child and acts in all
manner of ways as the very incarnation of God. His touch or sight redeems the
fallen soul – brings light and happiness where there is darkness and sorrow.
He is the real saviour of mankind.