God bestows two-syllabled name for man's redemption

The earth prayed to Lord Vishnu, “Swami! I can bear any kind of sinners but I cannot bear a person who cannot sing your glory. So, O Lord! Show the way so that they can sing your glory.” Then Sage Valmiki composed one crore stanzas of Ramayana. He wanted to distribute the one crore stanzas among the three worlds. The stanzas were distributed equally among the three worlds. Thirty three lakhs, thirty three thousand, three hundred and thirty three stanzas were distributed among the three worlds. But one sloka remained to be distributed. The sage thought, “How should I distribute this sloka? It is not possible to distribute among the three worlds.” The last sloka that had eleven letters had to be distributed among the three worlds equally. Each world received three letters and two letters remained to be distributed which could not be distributed equally among the three worlds. Then Lord Vishnu told Mother Earth, “After distributing the slokas of Valmiki's Ramayana among the three worlds two letters remained and those are ‘Ra Ma’, ‘Kri Shna’, ‘Ha Ri’, ‘Si Va’, ‘ Ha Ra’, ‘Sa Yee’ which I allot to you.” There are two letters in all the above names! Hence these two letters depict the dual nature of the world. This dual nature of the world confuses man many times. “A man with dual mind is half blind” So the mind says yes at one time and no at another which is the characteristic feature of this nature. Therefore, these two letters depicting the name of the Lord can be chanted by anybody and all can benefit by it. Christians say ‘Jesus’ which is composed of two letters, Muslims say ‘Allah’ which also has two letters. Every religion depicts God with two letters.

Story of Mother earth and Fox

Everything in this world deserves to be worshipped. That is the reason why many pay their respects to the earth on which they stand. Mother earth is present everywhere. There is no place where earth is not present. There is a small story here. A fox took a loan of rupees five from the earth. The next day earth asked the fox about the repayment of loan. In order to evade reminders about repayment, the fox ran a long distance overnight and thought that it had escaped from earth. It slept and rested. When it got up the next day, it found the earth there asking about the repayment of the loan. So, earth is present everywhere. Therefore, earth is Divine.

Divinity is present in everyone in myriad ways and innumerable forms: Example of Nagayya actor

I am the seed for all the elements and the entire Creation. So, there is no birth for divinity. All births and all forms are His. Yesterday I told you. Lakshmidevi brought wheat bread and when a dog ate it, Baba said he ate it. God doesn’t differentiate between the living beings. I am the dog. I am fox. I am human. I am God. Names and Forms are different, but divinity is only one. This is the principle of oneness or unity. Therefore, there is only one Mind, but it takes varied forms. What is the reason for this? Because of the fusion of various thoughts, Mind changes its appearance(s). Whatever form it dons, it has to act in conformity to that form. Form cannot be different from the act and vice versa. In olden days there was a great actor known as Nagayya. Nagayya enacted the role of Thyagayya in a film. When playing the role of Thyagayya, he has to think of Thyagayya only but cannot behave as Nagayya. On the screen, he is Thyagayya. Behind the screen he is Nagayya. Likewise, in this Creation you are a special person. Beyond the frontiers of this Creation, you and I are one and the same. That’s how the Mind manifests in different forms. Mind is the same. It is the cause for good and bad and for attachment and detachment. I always repeat an example to students as new batches would have joined. There is a lock. It has a key. Lock and key are two separate items. But when the key is inserted in the lock and turned right, the lock gets locked. When it is turned to the left, it gets opened. Lock is the same and key is the same but the direction of movement of the key is decisive to unlock or lock. In the same way, our heart is the lock and Mind is the key. Keep your Mind in the heart and take it towards the Divine. There is detachment. If you turn your Mind on the other side, you see the worldly attachments. If you see with a divine feeling, you see divinity everywhere. Yet one wants to see God, when it is all pervasive. Oh-mad cap, you want to see God who is present all over. Still you say you want to see God. What is your imagination of God? How do you think that God looks like? You do not know how He looks like. In such a case how can you recognize God? It is foolishness. Everything is divine. If you have faith in God, it is enough.

Jesus is a true messenger of God

The one who propagates the worldly, fleeting, ephemeral matters, sensual matters, he cannot be called a messenger. A messenger is the one who shares the message of the divine. A true messenger should propagate the principles of the divine such as love, tolerance, sympathy and forbearance. This truth is very much reflected (in the life of Jesus). As you know, when Jesus was born, there were three Arabian kings assembled there. As they were returning after seeing the newborn baby, one king said to Mary, "Mother, you have given birth to a child who loves God." So saying, he returned. The second king came and said, "Mother Mary, you have given birth to a child who will be loved by God - God will Love him." The third king came in and said, "Mother Mary, your child is not separate from God. Your child and God are one and the same." So saying, he returned. Once we understand the inner meaning and conduct ourselves, we know the truth completely. The who loves God is the messenger. The one who is loved by God is the child of God. The one who understands this oneness of both represents the state of the Father and the Son being the same. These are the three levels - one is the messenger of God, the Son of God, and Father and Son being one and the same. What is the message passed on by the messengers today? Yes, there are some messengers who are passing on the message of God. But many of them are propagating the worldly, temporal, worldly matters. In fact, if he is loved by God, he will never proceed along the wicked paths. Having been the recipient of divine love, he should share with his fellow men this love alone.

God is in you; Thyagaraja Pining

God is within me, He is with me, above me, below me, everywhere around me. He is everywhere. How can I search for such God who is everywhere? Thyagaraja also said, "Where shall I search, Rama? Where shall I search? Where can I search for you? I can't bear this kind of separation, I cannot live without you, where shall I search for you?" So saying, he decided to drown himself in the river. As he proceeded towards the river, his foot struck something. When he lifted it up, he saw that it was the idol of Rama. When he was in search of Rama, the divine, Rama caught hold of him by the foot! Then he picked up the idol (and said), "Rama you are so great. You are with me, in me, around me. I did not know this and spent all my time in utter ignorance. Oh Lord! come with me to my residence, Oh Lord! Come home, Oh Lord! I offer my salutations to the majestic Lord Rama. I could find you here, now come home along with me." This is the feeling of oneness, total identity with the divinity. The one with such divine experiences, an ardent devotee alone will understand. The one suffering from malaria will find even sugar bitter. He thinks the sugar is bitter, but doesn't understand that the defect lies with his tongue, as he is a malaria patient. It is the poison on the tongue which makes the sugar taste bitter, it is not the fault of the sugar. So, make sure that you stay away from this poison and experience the sweetness of sugar. God is within us. He is in me, with me, around me, behind me. When you think in this manner, you become divine. Never think that you are separate from God.

Jesus missing in Jerusalem

Jesus is truth. He is one who experienced it all. When he was very young, the mother and the father went to Jerusalem for a festival. There was a large assembly of people and this poor little boy went missing in the congregation. The mother searched and searched for the boy, suffering unbearable misery. The father and the mother went in different directions in search of the child. They could not find him. Finally, tired of searching, the mother stepped into the temple. There in the temple, she found a priest giving a sermon and the boy listening to the sermon. Seeing this, the mother thought that this was a confirmation of what the Arabian king had said, that this child will love God. She hugged him and cried. As Mary cried, the boy said, "Mother, you have not searched for me where I am present! If you search outside, would you ever find me? I am close to God and this proximity is my wealth. You did not search for me here - you searched outside." That is the big message. When you don't find God, you are in search of Him at the wrong place. Then how do you expect to see Him? God is everywhere. However, He is the embodiment of love. Search there, where there is love. Search with love. With God , to God, for God, from God. When you think this way, (that everything is) from God, to God, everything is only divine love. With this feeling you have to search for God. For what are you searching, and where to? To God, for God. Where are you? You are with God. You are from God, you are with God. If you take answers in this way, how blissful you would be! So we should strengthen that feeling.

God is the indweller - Eknath's story

Several great sages and personages of India have shown these ideals of service, ideal of worshipping God through service. The story of Eknath is well known. He went to Kashi and worshipped the Lord there and carrying the holy waters of the Ganges in a pot he was coming along with his disciples. It is a custom honored from ancient times in Indian culture that the waters of the sacred Ganges in Kashi be merged in the waters of the ocean at the Rameshwaram. While he was thus carrying the water from Ganges to merge them in Rameshwaram, on the way he, along with his disciples, saw a donkey that was in utter plight and about to die due to the heat and thirst. Eknath saw the situation and was unable to bear the sight. He immediately poured the sacred water from the vessel into the mouth of the donkey. Drinking the water the donkey was relieved of thirst and stood up. Seeing this, the disciples who accompanied Eknath said, “O Swami! Instead of merging the sacred water of Ganges in the Ocean at Rameshwaram and worshipping the Lord with it, why did you waste it on the donkey? What is the point here?” Eknath replied, “O disciples! The holy water of the Ganges is not wasted. It has been used in the proper way! To your point of view it may appear like a donkey but to my view it is the Lord of Rameshwaram, himself, asking me water to quench His thirst in the form of this donkey! Not utilising it when necessary and utilising it for unnecessary purposes is misusing it!! “ For the Lord there is no distinction between the water of Ganges and the water of Rameshwaram, everything is alike. All is one in the eyes of the Lord. Eknath propagated the great truth that, the help done to the needy and distressed is the worship done to the Lord, the in dweller of all beings, through such acts. We say: “Isavaasyam Idam Sarvam” with words we declare that the Lord is in all and He envelops all but in action, when it comes to proving it, we make distinctions in the forms. Thyagaraja also said the same thing as: “O Rama! You, who are present, In the tiniest ant and in the mightiest Brahma, In Shiva and in Keshava, And are known for your magnanimous Love, Let me know your real identity!"

Who are truly Lord Yama and Chitragupta

Your intrigues may succeed with various people whom you want to deceive, but it is not possible to deceive God. God lives in your heart. You might have heard the name of Chitragupta in Indian mythology. Chitragupta is the name of the private secretary to Yama, the Lord of death. This means that this Chitragupta keeps an unerring account of the good and the bad which the individuals do in their lives. You may be amused at this and wonder if there is really a Yama, the Lord of death, and if he has a private secretary with the name Chitragupta. All this may give you the feeling that Yama is being described in terms of an office and thus your faith may be shaken up a little. In Indian culture, every word that is used has an inner meaning. We neglect the significance of these stories in our mythology by interpreting them superficially. Time itself is called Yama. The birth of a body, its growth, the changes that are brought about in a body and finally its death are all caused by the passage of time. If there is no passage of time, there is neither birth nor death. Since time is responsible for bringing about all these changes, and even destruction and death of the human body, time itself has been called the Lord of death. Time is also called the offspring of Sun. Again we may get a doubt whether the Sun God has a family, a wife and a child. The notion of time has come to us because of the phenomena of sunrise and sunset. That is why time is regarded as the child of Sun. This name Chitragupta is inside the body itself. The mind is hiding inside the human body and this hidden mind is called Chitragupta. All the thoughts that arise in one’s mind are imprinted upon his heart. If someone asks something, you may hesitate and give an answer which is not the right one; but if the question is asked in one’s own heart, one cannot give a false reply.