Is death the end?¹

Death is not the end. Death can never be the end.

Death is the road. Life is the traveller. The soul is the guide.

When the traveller is tired and exhausted, the guide instructs the traveller to take either a short or a long rest, and then again the traveller’s journey begins.

In the spiritual life, when an aspirant does not cry for a higher light, bliss and power, it is the birth of his death.

In the ordinary life, when an unaspiring man wallows in the mire of ignorance, it is the real victory of death.

What can we learn from the inner life which desires the extinction of death? The inner life tells us that life is soulfully precious, time is fruitfully precious.

Life without the aspiration of time is meaningless.

Time without the aspiration of life is useless.

Our mind thinks of death. Our heart thinks of life. Our soul thinks of Immortality. Mind and death can be transcended. Heart and life can be expanded. Soul and Immortality can be fulfilled.

When the mind and death are transcended, man will have a new home: Light, the Light of the Beyond.

When the soul and Immortality are fulfilled, man will have a new goal: Delight, the transcendental Delight.

Today man feels that death is an unavoidable necessity.

Tomorrow man will feel that Immortality is an unmistakable reality.

Unfortunately, most of us cherish wrong conceptions of death. We think death is something unusual, it is something destructive. But we have to know that right now death is something natural, normal, and to some extent, inevitable.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna,“Oh Arjuna, certain is death for the born and certain is birth for the dead. Therefore what is inevitable ought not be a cause for thy sorrow.”

The Chāndogya Upanishad tells us something significant:

When the hour of death approaches us, if we feel that we can never be destroyed, nothing can shake us and we are the very essence of life, then where is sorrow, where is fear, where is death? No death.

Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna, said something very significant. She said, “The difference between a spiritual man and an ordinary man is very simple. Easily you can know the difference between the two. An ordinary man cries and sheds bitter tears when death approaches him; whereas a spiritual man, if he is really spiritual, he will laugh and laugh when death approaches him, for to him death is fun, nothing else.”

Here we have to say that a spiritual man enters into the cosmic game; he becomes a conscious instrument of the cosmic game. That is why he knows that death is not an extinction. It is only a short or long rest.

Again and again, we shall have to come back into the world. We have to work for God, here on earth. There is no escape. We have to realise the Highest here on earth. We have to fulfil the Highest on earth. God will not allow us to waste or squander the potentialities and possibilities of the soul. Impossible.

Kipling’s immortal utterance runs,

Each incarnation is leading us towards a higher life, a better life. We are in the process of evolution. Each incarnation is a rung in the ladder of evolution. Man is progressing consciously and unconsciously. But if he makes progress in each incarnation consciously, then he is expediting his spiritual progress. His realisation will be much faster than those who are making progress unconsciously.

We know we started our journey from the mineral life, and then we entered into the plant life. Then we entered into the animal kingdom. From there we have come into the human world. But here is not the end. We have to grow into divine beings. Unless and until we have become divinised and transformed, God will not be satisfied with us. He can manifest in us and through us only when we are totally transformed and fully illumined and divinised. So when we think of our evolution, inner evolution and outer evolution, we get abundant joy. We lose nothing, nothing in the so-called death.

Jalalu’d-din Rumi most beautifully and soulfully tells us about evolution:

What is death after all? Death is a sleeping child. And what is life? Life is a child that is playing, singing, dancing at every moment before the Father.

Death is the sleeping child inside the heart of the Inner Pilot. Life is inspiration. Life is aspiration. Life is realisation. Life is not the reasoning mind. Life is not the intellectual mind. Life is not a game of frustration. No.

Life is the message of divinity on earth. Life is God’s conscious channel to fulfil divinity in humanity on earth.

There is much truth in what Confucius says, “We don’t know life. How can we know death?”

Now I wish to say, we can know life. If we know life, realise life as God’s embodiment of truth, light, peace and bliss, then we know what life truly is, and death is nothing but a rest, and a rest is necessary at the present stage of evolution.

There will come a time when rest will not be necessary at all. Only Life will reign supreme — the Life of the Beyond, the Life of the ever-transcending Beyond. This life is not and cannot be the sole monopoly of an individual. No. Each human being is to be flooded with this Life of the ever-transcending Beyond, for it is here in this Life Divine that God will manifest Himself unreservedly — here, here on earth.

The end of all knowledge²

Aum. Pūrṇam adaḥ, pūrṇam idam, pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate. Pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate.

Infinity is that. Infinity is this. From Infinity, Infinity has come into existence. From Infinity, when Infinity is taken away, Infinity remains.

The end of all knowledge. The end of all knowledge is God-knowledge. This knowledge tells man what he can eventually be. This knowledge tells man that he can have a conscious and inseparable oneness with God.

Here at this point, the Son of God tells us, “I and my Father are one”. On the strength of his highest realisation and inseparable oneness with his Father, he says, “I and my Father are one.”

God-knowledge tells us that God is not only within us and not only for us, but also we are, each human being, is of Him. Finally, this God-knowledge tells us that each human being has to become God Himself.

"Brahmasmi…" "I am the Brahman. I am God." This is what we have learned from the Vedic seers of yore. The Vedic seers realised the supreme Truth and then offered the supreme Truth to mankind. Today's man, today's unrealised, unfulfilled man is tomorrow's realised and fulfilled God.

The end of human knowledge is the beginning of the divine knowledge. The divine knowledge and human ignorance — these are two things we see in our day to day life. The divine knowledge is an illumining, fulfilling and immortalising power. The human ignorance is a mad elephant, a destructive power. The divine knowledge is the very birth of Immortality. Human ignorance is the song of death.

I am sure most of you are well acquainted with our Upanishads. There is an Upanishad named Kanshitaki Upanishad. Unfortunately, this Upanishad is not well known. This Upanishad offers a sublime knowledge, wisdom. It says,

Here at this point, I wish to say from the spiritual point of view, peace, light and bliss, these qualities are not what one desires to understand, but one has to know the living embodiment of peace, light, bliss and power. It is he who can bring to the fore these divine qualities — the peace, light and bliss of the sincere aspiring souls. It is he who has the capacity to inspire the seekers, and at the same time, it is he who is of considerable help to awaken the slumbering consciousness of human souls. It is he who expedites the seeker’s journey.

The end of all knowledge is self-knowledge. "Know thyself", which all of you are familiar with. The Sanskrit term for it is Atmanam viddhi. Know thyself. How can we know ourselves? We have to know ourselves by taking help from someone who has already known himself. He is our teacher. He is our private tutor and not a school teacher. A school teacher is entitled to examine us, to pass or fail us, but this private tutor helps us to pass the examination well. He wholeheartedly teaches us, helps us to pass the examination. So a spiritual teacher is a private tutor and not a school teacher.

Self-knowledge is self-discovery, and in self-discovery we feel the conquest of our own self. Self-discovery, God-knowledge and self-conquest — these are one and the same.

The Welsh Triad says,

In our spiritual life, we have one more category: the man of God, the messenger of God, the representative of God, the channel of God, the instrument of God. This instrument of God constantly feels that he is not the doer; he is a mere instrument.

Lord Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song Celestial, tells his dearest friend and disciple, Arjuna, Nimitta mātram bhava savyasāchin, “You just become an instrument.”

So the man of God feels in the inmost recesses of his heart that he is a mere instrument. He works for God, he lives for God. He feels that God-realisation is not enough. He feels that God-manifestation here on earth is of paramount importance.

Many have realised the Highest, the transcendental Truth. There are few who cry for the perfection of humanity. There are very few who try to change the face of the world. The chosen instruments of God want to manifest God here on earth. They do not care much for earthly good or evil. They transcend the so-called good and evil. They care only for God’s inner dictates. Constantly they listen to the dictates of their Inner Pilot and then on the strength of their oneness, inseparable oneness with their Inner Pilot, they offer their selfless, dedicated service to humanity. They try to offer knowledge, divine knowledge, to aspiring humanity. Again, they tell humanity that God-realisation is not their sole monopoly.

Everybody has to realise God, the transcendental Truth. Everybody is destined to realise the highest Truth, but he who cries for the inner light will naturally reach the goal sooner than the one who is still fast asleep.

The great Saviour has taught us, “No man can serve two masters.” Here we have two masters: ignorance and knowledge. Now if we want to wallow in the pleasures and mires of ignorance, we are serving ignorance the master. Again, it is we who have the opportunity to serve the other master, knowledge, the light. Now if we aspire, then our master is knowledge and knowledge-light. If we want to serve our master, knowledge-light, then the message of realisation, the message of perfection can never remain a far cry.

The immortal poet, George Eliot sings, “Our deeds still travel with us from afar, and what we have been makes us what we are.”

From the spiritual point of view, what do we learn from this soulful message? We come to learn that we have been victims to teeming desires and here is the result: we are still earth-bound. We are bound by the fetters of ignorance; we are caught. We want to possess the world. To our widest surprise and sorrow, we are already caught, we are already possessed.

Now again, it is we who have the capacity, potentiality, opportunity to free ourselves from the mire of ignorance. If we aspire today, tomorrow we are growing into a divine reality, and in that divine reality our realisation will loom large.

We have to know at every moment that we have to be true to ourselves. Do we want light? Do we want perfection? Or just out of curiosity do we want to have an iota of light and truth? Unless and until we are true to ourselves, true to our inner quest, we can never, never see the face of reality, fulfilment and perfection.

Most of you know that the immortal poet, Shakespeare, in Hamlet says,

If we really want the inner light, if we really have the inner cry to see God face to face, there can be nothing either on earth or in Heaven to deny us, deny our soul’s inmost quest. Each individual being has limited freedom. This freedom can be utilised either to aspire or to desire. If we desire, the teeming clouds will undoubtedly eclipse our knowledge-sun. If we aspire, God, the Inner Pilot will inspire us to run fast, faster, fastest towards the destined Goal, the Goal of the Beyond.

When we enter into the spiritual life, we come to realise that there is no end to our journey. Today we may think that this is the goal we have been crying for. But when we go deep within, we feel that today’s goal is tomorrow’s starting point.

God is in everything. We have to see God in everything, feel God in everything, in every human being. But that is not enough. We have to see, feel, realise; then we have to go one step further. We have to realise that there is no end to our realisation. Every moment we have to feel that on the strength of our highest realisation, we are going, we are running towards the ever-transcending Beyond.

The end of all knowledge is God-knowledge. We have to see God. This is the ultimate knowledge. Now, there are three ways to see God. One way is to see God through a window. This we can do if we concentrate daily, say, for six hours on God. But if we want to see God through an open door, then we have to meditate. We have to meditate daily for at least twelve hours. But if we want to see God face to face, as you are seeing me and I am seeing you, then we have to meditate twenty-four hours a day.

To see God constantly face to face is the beginning and blossoming of the transcendental Knowledge.

Perfection-Goal³

Perfection is the seeker's fulfilling realisation and fulfilled manifestation. Everything else has dawned on earth save perfection, perfect Perfection.

Perfection is the tree.

Perfect Perfection is the fruit.

Man’s speculation about perfection is his ignorance. Man’s concentration on perfection is his knowledge. Man’s meditation on perfection is his wisdom. Man’s contemplation on perfection is his world-illumining, world-transforming inner eye.

God's Message is Perfection. Man's message is temptation.
God's Message is Perfection. Man's message is frustration.
God's Message is Perfection. Man's message is destruction.

Perfection-Goal and the freedom-soul go together. He who reaches the state of freedom-soul has conquered his inner life and immortalised his outer life. He is the chosen instrument of God. He is the direct channel of God. He is the representative of God here on earth.

Cry and try.

When we cry to see the transcendental Light and when we try to perfect our outer nature, our perfection does not remain a far cry. Perfection is ours.

Exert and control.

When we exert the divine in us and control the animal in us, perfection begins to dawn within us. The flower of perfection blooms.

See and be.

When we try to see the truth with the Eye of God, not with our eyes, and when we consciously try to be the surrendered instrument of God, perfection in no time dawns. The Golden All of perfection beckons our aspiring hearts. It is true that perfection cannot be achieved overnight. Realisation cannot be achieved all at once. It takes time.

Let me tell you a story.

A young seeker once came up to a spiritual Master for initiation. He was duly initiated by his Master. Then the following day he said to his Master, "Master, now that you have initiated me, you have to give me realisation. I want to see God."

The Master said, “My child, how is it possible for you to realise God in one day?”

Two days later, he said, “Oh, I want to realise God.”

The Master said, “You are not ready.”

A few days later, again the same question: “Master, I want to realise God.” He had not completed his task. He had not launched into the spiritual path properly. Just the other day the Master had initiated him, but now he was crying for realisation without following the proper method. Without swimming in the sea of aspiration, he wanted to realise God.

On his way to the Ganges for a dip, the Master invited this particular disciple to come with him. As the two entered the water, the Master pressed the disciple’s head underwater for a couple of minutes. When he released it, the Master asked, “What did you feel when I pressed your head into the water?”

“Master, I gasping for air. I was practically dying and I thought I would not survive. The moment you released me, I got my life back.”

The Master said, “If you can come to that same state of consciousness and feel that without God you cannot live even for a few minutes, you will realise God. You will realise God at that moment on the strength of your highest aspiration. Your inmost inner flame has to be kindled, and then you have to cry — cry for God as a child cries for his mother. Only then is God-Realisation possible.”

The disciple learned the lesson. Truly and soulfully he entered into the spiritual life and listened to all his Master’s dictates. Wholeheartedly he launched into the spiritual life. He felt the necessity of freedom from the domain of desires. He felt the necessity to grow into the mounting flame of aspiration, constant aspiration. Then realisation for him was not a far cry. He did realise God.

When we use the term “Heaven”, we feel Heaven is all light, delight and perfection. But where is that Heaven? It is deep within us, in the inmost recesses of our hearts. High Heaven, higher Heaven and highest Heaven are all within us.

When we offer our soulful thoughts to our brothers and sisters, we live in high Heaven.

When we offer the results of our soulful actions to mankind, we live in higher Heaven.

Finally, when we offer our soulful existence to humanity at large, unreservedly and unconditionally, we live in the highest Heaven.

We can live in the highest Heaven every day. God has given us the capacity. He has given us the potentiality. It is we who have to manifest our inner potentiality and capacity. We all are surcharged with indomitable inner courage. Unfortunately, we do not use our inner unlimited capacity. We use our outer limited capacity. We are afraid of diving deep within. Inside is the treasure. Inside is the key. We do not know where we have kept the key. We have totally forgotten. We do not know where the treasure lies.

Here at this point is the necessity of a spiritual Master who knows where the key is and where the treasure lies. He does not give something of his own to the seeker. He only brings to the fore the seeker’s inner wealth. God-realisation is not his sole monopoly. Everybody has to realise God without fail. It is a matter of time. One realises God today on the strength of his highest realisation. Another realises God tomorrow on the strength of his sincere aspiration. Everybody has to realise God, at God’s choice Hour. Again, the sincere seekers can expedite their journey. We can walk towards our goal. We can march towards our goal. We can run towards our goal. If we run, naturally we shall reach the goal sooner than one who is walking towards his destination.

Perfection-Goal. Perfect Perfection here on earth has to be manifested, but how? We have to start our journey with inspiration. We have to feel deep within us every day in all our activities the necessity of inspiration. No inspiration, no proper achievement. Then we have to go one step ahead. After inspiration we have to feel the momentous necessity of aspiration. Inspiration is not all. We have to aspire to reach the Golden All, to see the Golden Shores of the Beyond, the ever-transcending Beyond. This is what we expect from aspiration, the mounting flame within us.

Then, aspiration is also not enough. We have to meditate. Aspiration includes meditation. When we meditate, we have to feel that we are entering into infinity, eternity, and immortality. These are not vague terms — infinity, eternity and immortality. These are our possessions. To enter into our own divine possessions, infinity, eternity and immortality, is our birthright.

Then, when we are advanced in our meditation, when meditation starts offering its fruit to us, we enter into the realm of realisation. We realise the highest Truth in this body, here on earth. We do not have to go elsewhere to realise God. We do not have to enter into the Himalayan caves or sit on the snow-capped mountains in order to practise spirituality. No. Here on earth, in the hustle and bustle of life, we have to practise spirituality. We have to accept earth as it stands, as it is. If we are afraid of earth, if we fight shy of earth, then God-realisation will always remain a far cry. Here on earth we have to realise the highest Truth.

Then, realisation is also not enough. After realisation we have to reveal our realisation. If we do not reveal our realisation, we act like a miser; we want to hoard our treasure. No. We have to offer our realisation in the form of revelation to mankind.

Revelation is also not enough. We have to enter into the domain of manifestation. If we do not manifest what we have realised here on earth, if Mother Earth does not receive the fruit of our realisation, and if She does not have it for good, we can never be truly fulfilled. Mother Earth has to be fed with the fruits of our realisation. Here on earth the manifestation of realisation has to take place, and when manifestation takes place, perfection is bound to dawn. Perfect Perfection is nothing other than the absolute manifestation of God’s Transcendental Will here on earth.

We are all seekers of the Infinite Truth. It is our bounden duty to rise high, higher, highest. Each human being has come into the world with the message of perfection. No human being on earth will remain unrealised. No human being on earth will remain unfulfilled. No human being on earth will remain imperfect.

Realisation, fulfilment and perfection — these three are brothers. Realisation is the youngest, fulfilment is the middle, and perfect Perfection is the eldest in the family. These three brothers must go together. They have to walk along the field of aspiration. They have to swim in the sea of meditation. They have to fly in the sky, the blue welkin of contemplation.

God-realisation, God-revelation and God-manifestation can take place only when man feels that he has to transcend himself. His goal of today is not the ultimate Goal. Today’s goal has to be transcended tomorrow. Today’s goal is the foundation-stone. Every moment we have to transcend ourselves, and while transcending, deep within us we shall cherish the message of perfection.

Perfection is bound to loom large and important in all our activities if we feel that aspiration is the only thing we need, the only thing we are striving for.

In aspiration is the key that can ultimately open up the door of perfect Perfection.

How to conquer fear⁴

Our body is limited, that is why the body has fear. Our vital is unconscious, that is why the vital has fear. Our mind is obscure, that is why the mind has fear. Our heart is not aspiring, that is why the heart has fear.

To free our body from fear, what we need is the glorious experience of our soul. To free our vital from fear, what we need is the dynamic and conscious expansion of our soul. To free our mind from fear, what we need is the transforming illumination of our soul. Finally, to free our heart from fear, what we need is the fulfilling perfection of our soul.

Man’s fear does not allow him to see the face of reality, the Ultimate Reality. Man’s fear does not allow him to reach the Golden Shores of the Beyond. Man’s fear does not allow him to fulfil God for God’s sake.

But God, the Author of all good, has boundless Compassion, Concern, and Love for mankind.

God's Compassion saves man.
God's Concern liberates man.
God's Love fulfils man.

When we unconsciously think of fear or cherish fear, fear smilingly shakes hands with us. When we consciously think of fear or cherish fear, fear triumphantly embraces us. And when we unconsciously think of our inner courage, God cries with His divine Cry, for He feels that here He has a chosen instrument of His.

Now, earth is afraid of Heaven’s transcendental Light. Heaven is afraid of earth’s abysmal ignorance. God says to earth, “My son, do not act like a fool. Heaven’s transcendental Light is not going to blind you. Heaven’s Light is not going to expose you. On the contrary, Heaven’s Light is going to illumine you. Heaven’s Light is going to transform you.”

God says to Heaven, “Do not be a fool. Earth’s abysmal ignorance cannot bind you, cannot destroy you. On the contrary, earth’s ignorance will be offered to you. It is you who will transform the face of earth.”

God says, “I need both of you — Heaven and earth.

“Heaven! The message of realisation you will have to give to earth.

“Earth! The message of manifestation, My divine Manifestation, you will have to offer to Heaven.”

Fear comes from our deep-rooted ignorance. We do not see the light with our inner vision. We see the light with our outer, human, limited, earth-bound understanding.

Let me tell you a short story. An old man was walking along the street in the evening. There was no light. He came across a rope. He thought that this rope was nothing other than a snake. He was all fear. He cried out at the top of his voice and he ran as fast as he could, and while running he fell down and broke his leg. His friends nearby heard him shouting and screaming, so they came together with sticks. He was shouting all the time, thinking that there was a snake. When his friends came, they too thought that it was a snake. It was all dark. They started striking the rope, and while striking, unfortunately they hit one another.

Now, the shouting continued and another party came with a light. When they came with the torch, they discovered that it was just a piece of rope and not a snake. So when the light entered, they discovered that it was a rope and not a snake.

Similarly, in our human life, when light enters into our physical consciousness, all kinds of fear are bound to disappear. We are wanting in light, that is why fear, at every moment, consciously and deliberately looms large in our life of desire and in our life of aspiration.

But if we are sincere enough to go deep within and feel that inner courage belongs to us, inner courage can at any moment dawn. It is more than willing to come to the fore. To bring this inner courage to the fore is the conscious awakening of our inner being. Everyone has this inner being. Unfortunately, very few of us want to feed this inner being. We feed our body in order to strengthen ourselves. We study books to feed our minds. We do many things to energise our outer being, but we do practically nothing to feed our inner being.

It is in our inner existence that we can grow into an adamantine will, and when we use our adamantine will, which we can easily have at our behest, we can conquer the very breath of fear. Here on earth our inner adamantine and indomitable will can and will reign supreme. Only one thing we need: our conscious awareness of the Divine Light which is ours, and it is our birthright to realise and fulfil this inner Light.

There can be no fear, there can be no iota of fear when we live in the effulgence of our soul. To live constantly in the divine effulgence of our soul only one thing we need, and that is a conscious inner cry. This inner cry is called aspiration, the mounting flame deep within us. When this flame rises up towards the highest, it illumines all around. Darkness is transformed into light, fear into strength, doubt into certainty, ignorance into wisdom, and death into Immortality.

Occultism⁵

Occultism is a vast subject. If I am allowed to speak on this subject, I can go on talking for hours and hours. Since time is limited, I wish to give a short talk on occultism.

Occultism is an art. It is an inner art.

Occultism is a science. It is an outer science.

Occultism as an art awakens and inspires our inner life. Occultism as a science energises and stimulates our outer life. A great occultist is a dynamic athlete. He fights against doubt. He fights against impurity. He fights against imperfection.

If you want to be an occultist, a divine athlete, then your life-boat has to ply between the shores of self-observation and self-correction in the river of emotion. That is to say, the human emotion has to be curbed, perfected. But the divine emotion has to be practised, enlarged. This divine emotion makes us feel that we are in God, with God, and for God. Human emotion is otherwise. It binds us, and with the help of this emotion, we try to bind others. Here we play the game of possession — to possess and be possessed. But the divine emotion is something else. Here we enlarge our consciousness. We transform our earth-bound life into the infinite expanse of light.

An occultist has a universal mind. This mind is his watchtower, and he has an eye, which we call the “third eye”. Apart from the two eyes, we have a third eye which is in between the eyebrows, a little above. This eye is the eye of vision. This eye an occultist uses as a dynamic, successful and effective weapon.

An occultist has two names, an inner name and an outer name. His inner name is unwavering, unswerving Concentration. His outer name is Dynamic Revelation.

In our spiritual life we notice two brothers: occultism and spirituality. Occultism teaches us how to be brave and quick in the battlefield of life. Spirituality teaches us how to be pure and sure in all spheres and activities of life. Occultism wants to conquer time and space. Spirituality wants to conquer darkness and ignorance. When occultism wants to conquer time and space, it wants to do it in the twinkling of an eye. When spirituality wants to conquer darkness and ignorance, it does it at God’s chosen Hour.

Occultism has no time for idle dreams. An occultist has no time for idle daydreams, but he has all the time to see the face of will-power, adamantine will-power within us. He has all the time to see victory’s crown here on earth.

Now, there are various types of occultists, but we can put them into three major categories: an ordinary occultist, an occultist who is a little bit higher, and an occultist who is of the highest type. An ordinary occultist will do many things contrary to the divine law, the divine dispensation. For name and fame he will do quite a few things which are damaging and destructive. Here I wish to tell you of an instance.

There were three occultists. One occultist lived near a restaurant and he didn’t have enough money to buy anything. Every night he used to threaten the proprietor of the restaurant occultly. He used his occult power, threatened him and commanded him to send him, three times a day, the most delicious meals. It went on for months and years. The proprietor used to send meals three times a day to this occultist because he was being ruthlessly threatened at night.

Now, the second occultist used to live near a courthouse. Every day he used to see hundreds of people coming out of the court. He used to tell them what was happening in the farthest corners of the globe. They were all wonder-struck to know what was happening in distant countries, and the following morning in the newspaper, everything proved to be true, just as the occultist had said.

Now, the third occultist used to live near a church. Every day when the sincere seekers used to go to the church, he used to pray to the Lord Supreme to increase their aspiration, to expedite their salvation. Then after they had prayed, and as they came out of the church, he used to have the same prayer to the Almighty:

“Oh Father, I pray to You to give them illumination. With my occult power I wish to expedite their spiritual journey. This is my prayer to You. You have given me occult power. I wish to use it for their salvation. I don’t want them to wallow in the pleasures of ignorance. These are my brothers and sisters. They are crying for light and illumination and I wish, with Your kind permission, to use my power to expedite their life’s inner journey.”

Now, when these three occultists passed away, left their bodies, passed behind the curtain of eternity, God said to the first occultist, “I don’t need you. I don’t want you. The world of greed needs you. You go away. You are meant for the world of greed and temptation.”

To the second one God said, “I don’t want you. I don’t need you. The world of curiosity needs you. You are a miracle-monger. You have to go to the world of miracles. I don’t need you.”

To the third one who helped the sincere seekers in their spiritual pursuit, God said, “I need you. I need you badly. You have served Me. You have served the divinity in humanity. I need you. You are Mine.”

Occultism deals with power. Unfortunately in the West, occultism has been a victim of misunderstanding. Here in the West you have seen that black magic has taken the role of occultism. Proper occultism will never destroy anyone, will not create any calamity for anybody. But black magic, which you see here in the lowest form of occultism, has created millions and millions of problems. I knew personally six or seven persons who were victims of black magic. They came to me for help; I did help them and they are now free. In merciless ways they were attacked by some black magicians. Now, many people will be under the impression that all this was done by real occult power. Real occult power would not create this kind of problem. It is the black magic in the lowest vital plane that creates all these problems.

So, when an occultist lives in the soul and works for the soul, he is a divine occultist. But when an occultist lives in the vital and for the fulfilment of the vital, lower vital, emotional vital, impure vital, then he is not living for the soul. He is living to satisfy his own ego, which is undivine, unrefined, obscure, impure and evil.

A genuine seeker of truth and light will not cry for occult power. Everybody has to realise God, but if one says that occult power is necessary in order to realise God, then I wish to say that one is committing a deplorable mistake. There are many occultists who have not realised God. Yes, in the far distant future, everybody has to realise God. No son of God, no human being will remain unrealised.

What is of paramount importance is God-realisation. When one realises God, if God wants to give him occult power, he will not be able to misuse God’s occult power. A sincere seeker will cry only for God’s Light, God-realisation and God-fulfilment. He will never cry for occult power.

You all know of the great spiritual Master, Sri Ramakrishna. His dearest disciple was Swami Vivekananda. Once the great Master said to his dearest disciple, “Naren, I have all kinds of occult powers. I want to give you some of my occult powers.”

Immediately the disciple said to his Master, “Please tell me, will these occult powers help me in my God-realisation?”

The Master said, “Oh no. Occult power has nothing to do with God-realisation, but if you want to do some work here on earth, at that time occult power can be of some use.”

Then Vivekananda said, “No, I want to realise God first — first things first.”

So in the spiritual life, a real spiritual seeker will not cry for this kind of occult power. He will only cry for God-realisation, and if God wants that particular person to work for Him, naturally God will give him spiritual power, inner power, to manifest Him on earth.

If one really wants God, if one really wants the transcendental Truth, then one must enter into the realm of Yoga. Yoga means “union with God”. Once we become consciously inseparable with our divine consciousness, unlimited consciousness, then we can see, feel and grow into our highest Reality, and the manifestation of this Reality is our birthright.

There are two things we always observe: the power of love and the love of power. When we enter into the lowest form of occultism, we see the love of power; and we do not have to go very far to see the love of power in politics; and in our daily activities also we are exercising our love of power. But the power of love is something different. In the power of love, it is love that exercises power, sweetly, divinely and unconditionally. That is the power of love.

Now a spiritual man, a sincere seeker after the truth, will only care for the power of love and not the love of power. When he is one with God, with the Infinite Consciousness, he will see the power of love; and those who want to show the world their capacity, those who want to exercise their power of ego, will naturally cry for love of power.

We know that when the power of love divinely replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.

The inner promise⁶

The inner promise is a seeker’s inner progress. This progress inspires him, energises him and helps him to please God in God’s own Way. The outer promise we make quite often, but the inner promise we make once or twice, not more, during our life’s span. The outer promise we make, but the inner promise we keep, we try to live up to it. Finally, we try to manifest this inner promise on earth.

The outer promise we make to ignorance, to teeming ignorance, but the inner promise we make to God. Our outer promise is to torture the world either consciously or unconsciously, or try to destroy the world.

To change the face of the world and to fulfil the world with the divine Will, this is our inner promise that we have made to God.

Now, there are three significant steps to this inner promise.

God is to be seen.

God is to be felt.

God is to be realised.

To see God, we have to be far, far away from the snares of darkness and ignorance.

To feel God, we have to live in the domain and realm of aspiration, the mounting flame within us.

To realise God, we have to grow into divine and constant and supreme surrender.

After we have attained to God-realisation, there are two most significant steps, two more significant promises we have to make. These promises are God-revelation and God-manifestation.

God-revelation is the promise made by the God-realised souls on the strength of their unconditional concern for suffering humanity.

God-manifestation is the unconditional promise of the God-realised souls to love mankind unconditionally and to manifest the reality of Divinity here on earth.

In our day-to-day life, we see a child making promises to his mother: he won’t tell a lie, he won’t do anything wrong. But unfortunately, he does tell lies, he does make mistakes. But the mother has boundless patience. She feels that sooner or later her child will tell the truth and will do everything right. Then, as a young boy, a teenager, he does quite a few things wrong and he promises to his parents that he will not do them any more. Unfortunately, he fails to keep his promise. But his parents have the capacity to forgive him. They feel that either today or tomorrow he will turn a new leaf. This is the inner confidence that they have in their son.

So in the spiritual life also, many seekers make an inner promise, an inner commitment. They say that they will enter into the spiritual life, they will give real importance to the life of purity, the life of aspiration, the life of realisation; but unfortunately they fail to fulfil their promise. Nevertheless, God’s boundless Compassion never leaves them. God, with His adamantine Will and with His Vision of the ever-transcending Beyond, sees that these seekers will sooner or later enter into the right path and they will walk, march, run towards the Destined Goal.

Then there are some advanced seekers who have made considerable progress in their inner life, and who have made a promise to their own inner beings and to God that they will not give up their spiritual quest or journey unless and until they have realised God. God-realisation is their sole aim. As ill-luck would have it, after having some higher experiences, they do not want to march further. They feel that these experiences that they have already acquired are more than enough, at least for this life. So they do not want to go any further. God-realisation at that point they do not need or they do not want. So God-realisation remains a far cry for them.

But God knew that with utmost sincerity these seekers entered into the spiritual life and they have made considerable progress, only now they do not want to run towards their Destined Goal. They do not want to reach the farthest end of the Golden Shore.

God again with His boundless Compassion, observes the situation and tells the seekers, “Look, you will never be fulfilled. You will never see the face of satisfaction until you have seen the Golden Shore. You have not fulfilled your promise. But My Promise to you is unconditional. I shall wait for you. I shall take you, carry you to the destined shore of the Golden All at My choice Hour. If you do not want to run fast, faster, fastest, it is up to you; but you have to know that nobody on earth can remain unrealised, unfulfilled.”

God says that this is the supreme decree. Each individual has to realise the highest Truth, but he who aspires will naturally reach the Goal sooner than the others who are still in the world of sleep.

As human beings, most of us are extremely clever. We are clever, but we are not wise. We try to deceive others, human beings. Not only that, we go to the length of deceiving our Inner Pilot, God. In spite of knowing that we can never, never deceive the Inner Pilot, we unconsciously, sometimes consciously, deliberately try to deceive the Inner Pilot, God. We tell God, “Oh God, if You give us some inner wealth (that is to say, peace, light and bliss), we shall offer half of our peace, light and bliss to mankind. We shall not grab them all. We shall not use them all for ourselves.” It is just like saying to God, “If You give me a dollar, I will give half to mankind and only half I shall keep for myself.”

Now, God observes our sincerity. He examines the face of sincerity, whether we are really sincere or not. And what happens? God gives us peace, light, bliss and divine qualities to some extent, but we feel that it was not according to our satisfaction. What do we do? Immediately we say, “Oh God, You have not given us the full amount, the full quantity. I wanted to have a dollar, but You have given me half a dollar. You are very clever. You have already kept half a dollar for Yourself, that is to say, for humanity. So I cannot give humanity the peace, light and bliss that I already have, because I feel that You have not given me the full amount.”

How we try to deceive the divinity in humanity. Everybody here, here at this place, has something to offer: peace, light or bliss, sincerity, simplicity. There is nobody on earth who is not in a position to help the rest of mankind. This help, this service, if I can use the term service, can be offered by any individual here on earth.

If somebody feels that he is more sincere than somebody else, then let his sincerity be shared with other persons.

If somebody feels that he is pure, purer than somebody else, his neighbours or friends, then let him share his purity.

If somebody feels than he has aspiration, more aspiration than his friends or neighbours, then let him share it.

This is the promise that every moment we can make to God.

Then we come to realise that every time the soul enters into the field of creation and manifestation, the soul makes a most solemn promise to God, the Pilot Supreme, to try its utmost to reveal God here on earth. But unfortunately when the soul enters into the world, ignorance the sea tries to envelop the soul, and then our body, vital, mind and heart consciously or unconsciously get pleasure in identifying themselves with the ignorance-sea. But the soul is all-forgiving. It does not cast aside the body, vital, mind and heart. It has boundless patience.

If this body, vital, mind and heart identify themselves with the soul, and if they want to see the Truth with the soul’s eye, if that is their promise, if that is their only promise, inner promise, then the date of God-realisation, God-revelation and God-manifestation on earth is not very far.

Each individual can make a solemn promise to himself, to herself, to humanity at large. This is a promise of dedicated self-service. And when he fulfils his inner promise, God fulfils His highest Promise of absolute Perfection in and through the aspirant.

The inner teaching⁷

We get the inner teaching either from a spiritual Master or from our own soul. It is infinitely easier for us to get this inner teaching from a spiritual Master, for we can speak to him and see him daily. He understands our language. He is one with us. Although in the inner world he is infinitely superior to us, he is in us and for us. His inner consciousness is flooded with peace, light and bliss. But we have to know that a day shall dawn when the message of the soul and the spiritual Master’s teaching must go together. There can be no difference, no iota of difference between their teachings.

But unless and until one has the capacity to dive deep within, it is always better and safer to listen to one’s Master. It is not that one has to have a spiritual Master all his life. No. For some time, especially at the beginning, one must have a spiritual Master. When the seeker himself realises the highest Truth, he does not need any spiritual guidance. He himself grows into effulgent light. The inner soul within him comes to the fore and leads him, guides him and moulds him and perfects his inner and outer nature.

The inner teaching. The inner teaching teaches us how to love mankind and how to serve the divinity in humanity.

Simplicity, sincerity and purity, these are the three things that we need in our inner life: simplicity, sincerity and purity.

Simplicity we need at every moment, for if the mind is not simple, if the mind is complicated, complex, then there can be no peace in our mind. A child is simple. He is all joy. In our day-to-day existence, unfortunately, we do not pay any attention to simplicity. If we go deep within, if we have a simple mind, simple existence, we shall feel how lucky, how happy and how fortunate we are.

Sincerity, it is the life of our heart. If we have sincerity, then we have to know that we are already marching towards our Destined Goal. Sincerity is our safe-guard. Each moment a sincere seeker is running towards his Destined Goal, either consciously or unconsciously. If we want to make constant progress, here on earth, then what we need is sincere heart.

Purity, purity in the body. This purity does not mean that we have to take a bath ten times a day. No. It is the inner purity that we need and not the outer cleanliness. When we are pure, we can receive the divine peace, light, bliss and power in abundant measure. When we can maintain our purity, then peace, joy, light, bliss and power can dawn on earth. Here the whole role of purity is of paramount importance in our spiritual life.

In the inner life we see the roles of fear and doubt, courage and certainty.

Fear, what is it? When we follow the spiritual life, we come to realise sooner than at once that fear is a real enemy. What does it do? It buys our coffin, long before we are destined to die.

Doubt, what does it do? It starts digging our grave while we are still alive, while still we are performing our earthly duties.

Courage. Courage is our inner indomitable will. The outer expression of our inner indomitable will is manifested in the form of outer courage. Each moment we can see the reality, stand in front of the reality, and grow into the reality if our existence is inundated with the inner will and the outer courage.

Certainty. God is ours. God is not the sole monopoly of an individual. It is not that only realised souls can dare to claim that God belongs only to them. No, far from it. Each individual has the right to proclaim that God is his, that he belongs to God. He has to feel that God and he are eternally one and that God-realisation is his birthright.

The inner teaching. What do we learn from the inner teaching? Aspiration. Aspiration is the inner flame, the mounting cry within us. Each individual has this burning flame within. But unfortunately, most of us do not take the trouble to use the flame of aspiration within us. We are fond of using something else in our day-to-day life — desire.

Desire is something that binds us.

Aspiration is something that frees us.

The message of desire is to possess and be possessed.

The message of aspiration is to expand, enlarge and immortalise our earthly existence.

When we desire, we live in the world of anxieties, worries, frustrations, limitations, bondage and death. When we aspire, we live here on earth in our divine consciousness. We feel the message, the life-breath of infinity, eternity, and immortality. These are not vague terms — infinity, eternity and immortality, far from it. He who prays, he who meditates, he who concentrates, he who contemplates daily can easily enter into the domain of infinity, eternity and immortality. His consciousness is bound to be flooded with infinity’s peace, eternity’s light and immortality’s bliss.

The outer knowledge tells us how we can lord it over the world, how we can destroy the world. But the inner knowledge tells us how we can be inseparably one with God’s entire creation. Inner teaching means inseparable oneness, not only with the Creator, but also with His creation.

The inner teaching is very simple. As my introducer was kind enough and wise enough to say, that real Indian philosophy is not complicated, but people make it complicated and then they misunderstand it. The inner teaching also similarly at times has become a victim to complicated terms, but it is very, very simple. Anyone, anyone can learn the inner life, can try to live the inner life, can fulfil his inner existence, divine existence here on earth.

Philosophy is not the answer to the inner life. Religion is not the answer. Philosophy helps. Religion too, helps to some extent. But spirituality, let us use the term “Yoga”, a Sanskrit word, is by far the best answer to the inner life. Yoga means union, conscious union with God. If we cry for our conscious union with God, then easily, without the least possible hesitation, we can live the inner life.

Now, philosophy. Let us use the Sanskrit word, 'darshan'. It means to envision, to see. One of our India's greatest spiritual Masters, Sri Ramakrishna, said, "In days of yore people used to have visions. Now people study 'darshan'!" This is the difference of the Vedic seers who had the highest illumined vision and those who just study philosophy.

Religion. When we go deep inside the religion, without fail we get the message of truth; but we do not go within. I say, “My Hinduism is by far the best.” Immediately you tell me, “Stop! Stop! No comparison. Christianity is by far the best.” Then a follower of Judaism will not hesitate to contradict both of us. He will say, “No. Judaism is by far the best.” So this goes on, no end. This is our outer teaching. Each one is right in his own limited way.

But we have to know the inner oneness, the inseparable oneness with God and His creation. We can consciously achieve this oneness only through proper prayers, concentration, meditation and contemplation. Yoga transcends all religions. Religion is right in its own way. Philosophy is right in its own way. Philosophy can lead us right up to the door. Religion can lead us a few steps inside the room, but real meditation and spirituality, Yoga, not only leads you right up to the throne, but will make you sit on the throne itself.

When you follow the path of Yoga, you will see that there is no quarrel, no conflict. I must add that one has to follow the path meant for him. Otherwise conflicts will arise. Each path claims to be by far the best. No. A sincere seeker, if he is a real sincere seeker, will not find fault with any path.

As you know, there are three principal paths: Karma Yoga, the path of action and dedication; Bhakti Yoga, the path of love and devotion; and Jnana Yoga, the path of knowledge and wisdom. Again, in Jnana Yoga, the path of knowledge and wisdom, there is a special branch. We call it Raja Yoga, which you call in the West “mysticism”.

But I wish to say that if one is a true, sincere seeker, a genuine seeker, and if he follows the path of love and devotion, he cannot say a single word against the seeker who is following the path of knowledge, because we know all roads ultimately lead to Rome. I only take one road and you may take some other road, but Rome is there: the Goal. Each road has the right to lead the aspirant to his Destined Goal. So how can I contradict other paths? It is sheer foolishness on our part to discard another’s discovery.

Now, our inner teaching tells us that it is true that all paths will lead to Rome, to our Destined Goal, God. But there can be a path that leads us faster than the other paths, and that path is the path of love, devotion and surrender. All roads will lead us to our destination, but one can say that there are short cuts. Here the path of love leads us much faster to our destination.

Now when we follow the path of love, we find our spiritual life, inner life, most satisfactory. Here God is dearest to us, not because He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent or Omniscient, but because He is all Love. A child feels that his father is dearest to him precisely because he feels inside his father all love. He does not care to know how great his father is, whether his father is the magistrate or barrister or president. Just because his father is all love to him, his father is dearest to him.

Similarly, God, our eternal Father, can be approached most successfully and most convincingly with love; and when we approach Him with love, we see that He is all Love; and when we just open our eyes and try to look at Him, we see that He is right in front of us, blessing us, embracing us. He says, “My child, I have been all the time waiting for you.” Here, love means one’s constant feeling of inseparable oneness with one’s Beloved.

The end of all inner teaching is love, the Divine Love, not human love. Human love binds; the result is frustration. And at the end of frustration, destruction looms large. But Divine Love is expansion, enlargement, the feeling of one’s true oneness. So if we love a human being, we have to know that we love him precisely because deep inside that particular being is God, not because he is my father, or she is my mother, or he is my brother, or she is my sister. No. I love him just because inside the particular person I feel, I see the living presence of my dearest Beloved.

For those who want to follow the spiritual path, those who want to feel God as their very own, I wish to say, Love Divine is the answer. In Love Divine looms large and important the seeker’s real fulfilment and perfect Perfection. This is the easiest path. This love is most convincing, most efficient. We all can practise the inner teaching by offering our true love to God, to the divinity inside humanity. The more we offer this Divine Love, the more we fulfil the Inner Pilot within and without us.

Life Divine is not a far cry here on earth. The fulfilment of divinity here on earth can never remain a far cry, if we know the secret of secrets. And that secret is to grow into the Divine Love, where the lover and the Beloved become one, where the creation and the Creator become one, where the finite and the Infinite become one.

It is here on earth that the message, the soul-stirring flute of Infinity we shall hear. We do not have to go to Heaven, we do not have to go to any realms of consciousness; but right here, here and now, we can hear the message of liberation, enlightenment and divine fulfilment, if we follow the inner teaching, which is Love Divine: love for love’s sake, love for God’s sake.

The universe⁸

Oxford, to you I bow because you hold your tradition.

Oxford, to you I bow because you own English glory.

Oxford, to you I bow because you are the English pride.

Aum. Aum is God. Aum is the Inner Pilot. Aum is the Universe.

Aum. Purnam adah purnam idam, purnat purnam udacyate. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate.

Marcus Aurelius said, "The man who does not know what the universe is, does not know where he lives."

The universe.

The universe is God’s creation and man’s realisation.

The universe is God’s Compassion and man’s emancipation.

The universe is God’s Concentration and man’s transformation.

The universe is God’s Meditation and man’s revelation.

The universe is God’s Contemplation and man’s manifestation.

The poet in me tells me that the universe is beautiful.

The singer in me tells me that the universe is enchanting.

The philosopher in me tells me that the universe is meaningful.

The Yogi in me tells me that the universe is soulful.

The God-lover in me tells me that the universe is fruitful.

My poet sees the truth.
My singer feels the truth.
My philosopher achieves the truth.
My Yogi realises the truth, and
My God-lover becomes the truth.

Man’s dictionary houses millions of words. But God’s Dictionary has only two words: aspiration and receptivity. Aspiration and receptivity are the two words we see in God’s Dictionary. God out of His boundless Bounty offers these two most significant words, should I say, this significant wealth, to mankind: aspiration and receptivity.

The aspiration of today is tomorrow’s salvation. The receptivity of today is tomorrow’s infinity.

In the finite we have to hear the message of the Infinite.

In the fleeting second we have to hear the message of the eternal Beyond.

In the domain of death, we have to hear the message of Immortality.

Here at this point, the immortal poet, Blake, sings through us and for us,

This is the message a spiritual seeker can cherish. His inner being, inner life can be surcharged with this message, and this message can reverberate in the inmost recesses of his aspiring heart.

The outer universe, the inner universe and the inmost universe. My physics friend, my chemistry friend, my geography friend, my astronomy friend — all of them inform me about the outer universe. I am most grateful to them. My psychology friend and my philosophy friend tell me about the inner universe. I am most grateful to them. My Yogi friend and my Avatar friend tell me about the inmost universe. I am most grateful to them. I ask them all if they are totally satisfied with their achievements, discoveries and realisations. They flatly say, “No.”

My friends in the outer universe tell me that they have much more to discover and unravel. My friends in the inner universe tell me that they have much more to embody and realise. Finally, my friends in the inmost universe tell me that they have much more to reveal and manifest.

The visible universe and the invisible universe. The thinker in us sees the visible universe with the aspiring mind. The knower in us feels the visible universe with the aspiring heart.

Now the invisible universe. In order to enter into the invisible universe, what we need is the soul’s illumining light. If we do not see with the soul’s illumining light, if we do not listen to the dictates of our soul, it is simply impossible for us to enter into the invisible universe.

The living universe and the evolving universe, the dying universe and the perishing universe. When we aspire, when we try to go beyond the boundaries of the finite consciously, soulfully and spontaneously, we live in the living and the evolving universe. When we consciously or unconsciously cherish doubt, jealousy, fear, imperfections, bondage, limitations and death, we live in the dying and perishing universe.

If we want to live in the universe, the spiritual universe or the real universe, we have to know that we have to abide by the laws of the universe.

What are the laws of the universe? Love and serve.

Love humanity. Serve divinity.

We have to love humanity in divinity. We have to serve the divinity in humanity.

At this point, we can recollect the message of Plato who said, “Through obedience we learn to command.” Now, if we obey the laws of the universe, then we can command ignorance and govern death.

The scientist wants to discover the entire universe. The spiritual person, the seeker of the infinite Truth, wants to discover the universe. Now, the spiritual scientist and the spiritual seeker, will always run together. They have the same message.

The scientist of scientists, Einstein, offers us the most sublime message: “His life is worthwhile who lives for others.” This is precisely what a spiritual person, a seeker of boundless light and peace tells us. Only he who lives for others has a meaningful life. Verily this is the message of all secret and hallowed religions: live for others.

Now, science and religion run abreast in this respect, but there is something else. We call it Yoga. It is a Sanskrit word which means union, union with God, union with infinity, eternity and immortality. Now, when we enter into the field of Yoga we feel that our love, our service that we offer to mankind, is not for others, but it is for us, for our enlarged part. There is no such thing as “others”. All are members of the same family.

When we remain in the mire of ignorance, we say “I”, “you”, “him”, but when it is a matter of oneness, inseparable oneness, oneness with God, oneness with mankind, oneness with God’s creation, then we cannot say that it is for others. It is for our sakes, for the sake of our enlarged and more complete self.

Discovery. Science will discover the truth. Religion, or should I say spirituality, will discover the truth in the universe; and Yoga, oneness with God, will realise the ultimate Truth for the universe.

When the discovery of the scientist is complete, he will see that his universe is manifesting the Truth of the ultimate Beyond.

When religion or spirituality discovers the ultimate Truth, it will see that its universe is realising the Truth of the ever-transcending Beyond.

Finally, when Yoga, or conscious union with God and mankind, completes its journey, it will transform the face of the world. It will illumine the face of the earth.

The discovery of the scientist, the discovery of religion and spirituality, and the discovery of one’s highest oneness, inseparable oneness with God, will run together like three brothers, running towards the eternal Father, the Goal.

Curiosity or necessity⁹

I am extremely happy, fortunate and proud to be here this evening in your midst. I shall be in the British Isles for about a month. If I go back to New York, where I live, without paying my respectful homage to Wales, it will be the summit of my folly and ignorance.

I understand this is a small university — small in size, but not in height, not in depth. I understand that there are 350 students. I have been to Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard and most of the important universities in the States. There you will find thousands and thousands of students. But what we need is quality and not quantity. What we need is aspiration and nothing else. The search for the Truth, this is the thing that we all need. When we have that inner cry for Truth, we do not need anything else.

Now as you know, yesterday I was at Oxford. Today I am here. On the 23rd I will be in Cambridge. Then I will be visiting Scotland, Ireland, France and Switzerland. What am I doing? I am doing only one thing. Like a bird I fly from one place to another. My wings are love and service. One wing is love, the other wing is service. I try to love mankind. I try to serve mankind. This is what I have been doing so far. So I have come here to love God inside you and to serve the divinity within you.

Curiosity or necessity. Curiosity is not necessity. Necessity is not curiosity. These two are like the North Pole and the South Pole. It is quite simple. A curious man does not want the truth, does not need the truth. He just wants to hear from others what the truth looks like. On very rare occasions, he may want to see the truth from a far distance. He is afraid of personally approaching the truth. He feels that the moment he approaches the truth, the volcanic power of the truth will destroy him, his earthly existence. His earthly existence is nothing other than ignorance.

Curiosity commits two unpardonable sins. It kills our spontaneous love for light, the illumining light that transforms our life and enables us to realise the highest Truth. Curiosity also extinguishes our inner flame, which is a normal and natural fire. This inner flame we call aspiration. The higher this flame of aspiration rises, the sooner we reach the shores of the Golden Beyond.

Curiosity is afraid of two things: the highest reality and divinity. When reality, that is to say, the transcendental Reality, looks at curiosity, curiosity immediately runs and runs, looking for an escape, a hiding place, because curiosity feels that it will be in no time exposed. When divinity looks at curiosity, curiosity, out of tremendous fear, curses divinity. It feels that a perfect stranger is entering into its very breath.

Curiosity has, however, two intimate friends: doubt and jealousy. Doubt feeds curiosity just at the moment when the divine peace, love, bliss and power of the spiritual Master want to help mankind unconditionally. Doubt feeds curiosity at that very moment. Jealousy makes curiosity feel that it is far inferior to the genuine seekers of the infinite Light. So jealousy does not permit curiosity to make friends with the spiritual seekers or to take spiritual help from them. “If the spiritual seeker or Master is so great, then what of it? Let me remain in the meshes of ignorance. No harm.” Here jealousy instigates curiosity to remain where it already is.

Now, let us focus our attention on necessity, divine necessity. Necessity is spirituality and spirituality is necessity.

What is spirituality? It is the common language of man and God. Here on earth we have hundreds and thousands of languages to make one understand another, but when it is a matter of God and man, there is only one language, and that is spirituality. If one follows the path of spirituality, one can easily speak to God face to face.

Necessity, divine necessity, is the pressure to see the highest and to feel the deepest. Today we see the highest, tomorrow we feel the deepest, and the day after we grow into the highest and into the deepest.

God is not only a necessity, but the necessity. How and why is God the necessity? We know that everything has failed us or will fail us in one way or another. But God has never failed the sincere seekers of the infinite Truth, and if we really cry for the inner Truth, the infinite Truth, God will not fail us.

We expect from mankind perfection, perfect Perfection. Now, no person on earth is absolutely perfect. Then how can we expect perfect Perfection from anyone? We expect absolute divinity from human beings, but absolute divinity is still a far cry for the individual. But if we want to see perfect Perfection, absolute divinity, then only God can show us perfect Perfection. He can show us His absolute Divinity. What is more, He can offer us His perfect Perfection, His absolute Divinity.

Today’s desire compels us to deny and avoid the Truth, God. Tomorrow’s aspiration will compel us to see God, the divinity God, the Inner Pilot. There can be no choice.

Now, God is the only reality, or God is the necessity, only necessity. What do we mean by this? When we speak of God, what do we actually mean? We mean God-realisation or self-discovery. Let us use the term God-realisation. God-realisation is not only possible but practicable; and what is more, it is something unavoidable, inevitable.

The outer cry we have. With our outer cry we feel satisfaction is possessing and being possessed.

With our inner cry we enlarge ourselves, we expand ourselves, we fulfil God here on earth.

The immortal poet, Shakespeare, said,

Necessity is the greatest blessing. We cannot fathom the depth of necessity.

Man's necessity is God.
God's necessity is man.

Man needs God for his highest transcendental realisation, and he will have it in God. God’s necessity is man for His absolute Manifestation here on earth. We need God to realise our highest truth or highest existence. God also needs us to manifest Him here on earth, totally, divinely and supremely.

Without realising God we cannot have abundant peace, light, bliss and power. God-realisation is of absolute necessity here. Without God, we remain unrealised. Similarly, without man, God remains unmanifested.

Philip Sidney said, “Thy need is greater than mine.” When we follow the spiritual life, when we walk along the path of spirituality, one word constantly looms large and important, and that word is “sacrifice”. We have to sacrifice our very existence for others — what we have and what we are. What we have is willingness and what we are is cheerfulness. This cheerfulness we can have only when we go deep within. When we are cheerfulness within, we are willingness without. If our inner existence is flooded with joy and delight, then only shall we be eager, more than eager to help the outer world. If there is a barren desert within us, if there is no light within us, how are we going to help or serve mankind? So, if we have joy within, this joy today or tomorrow, sooner or later, we can bring to the fore and offer it to mankind. We have to love mankind soulfully, serve mankind unconditionally.

As I said before, curiosity is not necessity. Curiosity is not spirituality, true. But we all know that we cannot be sincere overnight. If I am not sincere, I cannot become sincere in the twinkling of an eye. If I have not realised the truth, I cannot realise the truth overnight. It is impossible. But if out of curiosity I want to see what is happening in the sincere spiritual seekers who feel that God is the only necessity, then I can try to be sincere, because I see something divine and fulfilling in them.

God-realisation is of the utmost importance. First thing first, and that is God-realisation, self-discovery.

So if out of curiosity one goes to a sincere spiritual seeker or a spiritual Master, then he may see something which he has not seen before in him or around him. So I tell my students or acquaintances who come to me with very limited aspiration (I beg to be excused, I must say that I do have most sincere students, disciples also. But those who are right now unfortunate, and do not have genuine aspiration, I do not throw cold water on them. I tell them,) “Don’t worry. If you have come to me just out of curiosity, no harm. Mix with the sincere seekers. See what they are getting from their genuine spiritual life, and then if you feel that their spiritual life has changed their nature or is giving them a new light, new peace, giving a new meaning to their outer life, then try to follow their example. Be one with them.”

I have come across quite a few curious, totally and exclusively curious human beings who are now transformed into serious, sincere seekers. Truth, either today or tomorrow, has to be realised, and for that, if we do not have utmost sincerity right now, no harm. Sincerity grows. Everything grows, everything. Like a muscle, everything can be developed. If we do not have implicit aspiration right now, no harm. We can develop aspiration, our inner cry.

So, dear sisters and brothers, here I am seeing many, many sincere seekers. To them I say: run fast, faster, fastest towards your Destined Goal. And I beg to be excused, here I am seeing one or two, very few, curious seekers. To them I say: Do not stop with the achievement which is your curiosity. Please try to go one step ahead. Then you will see that today’s curiosity is being transformed into tomorrow’s sincerity, and in your sincerity you will see the inner cry, the mounting flame which we call aspiration.

Today’s aspiration is tomorrow’s realisation. This is the only truth. This is the only realisation that I can offer to you, dearest sisters and brothers, seekers of the Infinite Truth. Start here and now.

The higher worlds¹⁰

Cambridge, I bow to your aspiration-height. I bow to your knowledge-light. I bow to your divine pride. True, you are of England, you are in England, but you are of the world at large. The entire world claims you as its very own.

There are seven higher worlds and seven lower worlds. The higher worlds are: Bhur, Bhuvar, Swar, Jana, Mahar, Tapas and Satya. One of the Upanishads names seven higher regions. These are: Agniloka, Vayuloka, Varunaloka, Adityaloka, Indraloka, Prajapatiloka and Brahmaloka. Certain spiritual figures are of the opinion that the first-mentioned group of the worlds corresponds to the second. Others, equally qualified, strongly object to this belief. Strangely enough, all, without exception, agree that the world Satya and Brahmaloka are one and the same.

We can enter into these worlds on the strength of our aspiration and receptivity. When we have aspiration, these worlds can never remain a far cry.

Aspiration. What do we mean by this term? The inner cry, the mounting flame within us. Aspiration is reality’s constant necessity.

Receptivity. How can we have receptivity? We can have receptivity if we grow into purity and sincerity. When sincerity and purity loom large and important in our earthly existence, then we can easily have receptivity.

A sincere seeker needs aspiration and receptivity. Without aspiration, he is rootless. Without receptivity, he is fruitless.

The higher worlds. Each individual has the divine right to enter into the higher worlds. His aspiration can easily guide him and lead him to God’s Throne. To enter into high, higher, highest worlds, what we need is the inner cry. We cry for name and fame. If we inwardly cry for abundant peace, light and bliss here on earth, then our entire being can be flooded with peace, light and bliss.

These higher worlds are within us and not without. When we concentrate, when we meditate, when we contemplate, we enter into these higher worlds. When we concentrate dynamically, we near the door of these higher worlds. When we meditate soulfully, we enter into the Room Divine. When we contemplate unreservedly and unconditionally, we reach God’s Throne.

Since we aspire to enter into the higher worlds, we pray to the cosmic gods. We feel that the cosmic gods will come to our aid. They will help us enter into the higher worlds.

Here at this point, I would like to invoke the soul of Marcus Aurelius,

Now, if we want to enter into the higher worlds with a view to fulfilling our desires, then we can never enter into the higher worlds. We can enter into the higher worlds only because it is the Will of our Inner Pilot, the Lord Supreme. When we go deep within, when we meditate for a couple of hours, if it is most soulful and if the meditation is unconditional at the same time, then we envision the higher worlds. No sincere seeker of the highest Truth, the ultimate Truth, will be denied the higher worlds.

Porphyry throws further light on the matter,

In order to enter into the higher worlds, what we need is sincerity; what we need is purity; what we need is peace; what we need is delight.

Sincerity: Inner beauty’s other name is sincerity.

Purity: The name of God’s first child is purity.

Peace: Peace is unity’s sovereignty and multiplicity’s divinity.

Delight: Delight is the name of God’s permanent Home.

There are two things we observe in our day-to-day life: human and divine. In everything we do, say or grow into, we see either the divine or the human.

The human world and the divine world. A clever man is he who knows how to deal with his outer world. He does not want to be deceived by the world, by mankind, but unconsciously or consciously he deceives the world, the world of ignorance. A wise man is he who knows all about the inner world, the higher worlds. He does not deceive anybody. He wants to conquer the outer world, the world of ignorance. But his is not the conquest of Caesar, "I came, I saw, I conquered. Veni, vidi, vici." Far from it. When a wise man wants to conquer ignorance, he does so only because his inner being compels him to transform the face of the world. He does not take pride in conquering the world. No. He feels the very breath of ignorance, and then he feels that it is his bounden duty to transform ignorance into knowledge, darkness into light, death into Immortality.

There are two ways to enter into the higher worlds. One is the way of knowledge, the other is the way of devotion.

Knowledge. I am the knowledge, I am the known, I am the knower.

Devotion. I am devotion, I am dedication and I am salvation.

Knowledge enlarges itself, expands itself into Infinity.

Devotion identifies itself with the absolute Truth. On the strength of its identification, devotion grows into Infinity.

A sincere seeker of the ultimate Truth can either follow the path of knowledge or devotion. But at the end of the journey’s close, the seekers who follow the path of knowledge and the seekers who follow the path of devotion will meet together and shake hands, because they have reached the self-same Goal.

We live either in the world of human thought or in the world of divine Will. Human thought slows down and dies out, but the divine Will constantly grows and swiftly flows.

Similarly, human power is born of futility. Divine power is born of reality.

Finally, we observe our love: human love and divine Love. Human love is an express train, destination: frustration. Divine Love is a local train, destination: Illumination. Human physical love is slow poison. Divine Love is the running stream and unceasing source of nectar. Human love can be transcended. Divine Love can be manifested. Human love is fruitless expectation. Divine Love is fulfilled perfection.

Unconditional love God is.
Unreserved devotion man needs.
Mutual surrender God and man offer.

When the power of love replaces the love of power, man will have a new name: God.

The Golden Hour, God’s Hour is dawning fast. Let us offer our heart’s aspiration to the lofty realisation of the seers of the hoary past,

How to conquer doubt¹¹

A great writer once said, “A philosopher is one who doubts.” Now, in my humble opinion, we are all philosophers, for there is nobody on earth who has not doubted at least once. So, in that respect, we are all philosophers.

The Sanskrit word for philosophy is darshan. Darshan means vision, to envision the truth. Sri Ramakrishna said, "In days of yore people used to have visions, and now people are studying it." One thing is to have the direct vision of the highest ultimate Truth, another thing is to study it.

Now, here I am in no way throwing cold water on the students of philosophy, far from it. I happen to be also an insignificant philosopher. But what I wish to say is this: philosophy leads us to spirituality, and spirituality offers us God-realisation and self-discovery. So let us start our journey with philosophy. This is the first rung of the spiritual ladder, and then the next rung is spirituality, and then the final is God-realisation.

Doubt. Doubt means absence of real knowledge. Real knowledge is true light, and true light is our inseparable oneness with the world.

Faith and doubt. These are like the North Pole and the South Pole. Unfortunately, a man of faith is very often misunderstood. We are apt to call a man of faith a fanatic. Here we make a deplorable mistake. A fanatic and a man of faith are two different persons. A fanatic hates reason, ignores the reasoning mind; whereas a man of faith, if he is really a man of faith, will welcome and accept reason and the doubting mind. Then his faith will help the doubting mind to transcend itself into the infinite vast, into something eternal and immortal. This is what faith offers to the doubting mind.

A man of faith is also a man of divine humility. The farther he advances in the realm of spirituality on the strength of his faith, the deeper he grows into the supreme humility.

Here at this point I wish to quote Keats’ immortal utterance, “My greatest elevations of soul every time make me humble.”

Doubt is our self-imposed ignorance. Faith is our inner vision of the ultimate Truth. Again, faith is our soul’s expansion and soul’s illumination.

We see darkness all around. We see impurity all around and imperfection all around. Again, it is we who have the inner inspiration, aspiration, capacity and adamantine will to transform the very face of the earth. How? If we conquer doubt, self-doubt, if we conquer our doubt of humanity, of God.

Doubt. Why do we doubt? We doubt because we do not have the conscious oneness with somebody else, with the rest of the world. If somebody doubts me, shall I doubt him in return? If I doubt him, then I sail in the same boat. But if I offer him my faith, my implicit faith, then either today or tomorrow, sooner or later I can transform his nature.

What do we learn from a tree? When we vehemently and ruthlessly shake a tree, what does the tree do? The tree immediately offers us its flowers, its fruits. Now, if others similarly torture us with their teeming doubts, let us offer them our snow-white faith. Then our snow-white faith will transform their life of teeming, darkening and darkened clouds of doubt.

With our eyes wide open we see that the world is ugly. With our ears wide open we hear that the world is impure. Now, we have the mind. Let us use our mind or compel the mind to see only the right thing, the pure thing, unlike the eyes. Let us use our mind or compel the mind to hear only the right thing, the divine thing. It is the mind, the developed mind, the conscious mind, the illumined mind that has the capacity in abundant measure to transport us into the highest regions of consciousness.

We are all under the laws of Mother Earth. Mother Earth is under the laws of Heaven. Heaven is again under the express law of God; and our doubt, cherished doubt, is under its own law. Its law is frustration, and in frustration destruction looms large.

Why do we doubt? Because we are wanting in proper understanding. There was a great spiritual saint named Kavir. He said, “Listen to me, brothers: he understands who loves.”

If we love, then we understand; and if we understand the truth, then we have neither the opportunity nor the necessity to cherish even an iota of doubt in our day-to-day existence.

We doubt God at our sweet will. We doubt God precisely because we think He is invisible. We doubt Him because we think He is inaudible. We doubt God because we think He is incomprehensible.

But to see Him, what have we done? To hear Him, what have we done? To understand Him, what have we done?

To see Him, have we prayed soulfully daily? The answer is in the negative, no. To hear Him, have we loved mankind devotedly? No. To understand Him, have we served divinity in humanity? No. We have not prayed to God. We have not loved mankind. We have not served the divinity in humanity. Yet we want to see God face to face. It is impossible.

God can be seen on the strength of our inner cry, which we call aspiration, the mounting flame within us. Every moment this flame is mounting towards the highest. If we know how to cry within, then this flame will mount, will climb up high, higher, highest; and while it is climbing up, it will illumine the world around.

There is an Indian proverb which I am sure most of you have heard, “A strong man fears his enemy when the enemy is far off, but when the enemy is near, he is no longer afraid of the enemy.” I wish to add that when doubt attacks a spiritually strong man, he becomes stronger, infinitely stronger. He does this by bringing to the fore his own soul’s light which energises him to fight against doubt and conquer it.

There is another way to conquer doubt: if we at this very moment feel that we are children, children of God; and again, if we can feel that God is a Divine Child playing with us. We are human children and He is a Divine Child.

A child does not doubt. He has implicit faith in his parents. He has implicit faith in everyone he comes across. We also can play the same role in our day-to-day life. Let us play with God, the Divine Child. There can be no shadow of doubt in our life when we speak, when we eat, when we move around, if we feel that we have a Divine Child within us, sporting with us. We are not alone. There is someone playing with us at every moment. If we know and feel this, then doubt can never eclipse our mind.

A lover of God, an adorer of God feels that deep within him, in the inmost recesses of his heart, there is an island of ecstasy; and this island can never be submerged by the floods of doubt, for his love has already made him one with this divine certitude.

A seeker of the highest order said, “Some say ‘He (God) is too far’. Some say, ‘No. He is at home here’. But I have found Him. He is in the cradle of love.”

When we love God, our problem is over. True, we all do not see God face to face. But we can imagine for a fleeting second that God with all His Love abides in our dear and near ones. Let us try to see the face of our Beloved in our dear ones. Where there is love, true love, there is all oneness. Where there is oneness, there can be no doubt — no darkening, no threatening, no destructive doubt.

Finally, how to conquer doubt. In order to conquer doubt, we have to be in the process of purification of our nature constantly. This purification has to take place in our physical. The body has to be purified constantly. It is not by washing the body or taking six or seven baths a day that we can purify the body. Our body will be purified only when we feel a living shrine within us. Then we have to install the living deity of light and truth within us. Then the body in no time will be purified. At that time we cannot have any doubt in the body, or in our physical mind.

The vital. The vital has to play the role of dynamism. It is the dynamic energy that we have to offer to the vital, and not the aggressive and destructive power, in order to conquer doubt in the vital.

The mind. Each moment the mind has to be flooded with clarity and right thinking. Each moment the mind has to consciously house divine thoughts, divine ideas and divine ideals. Then doubt will not be able to breathe in the mind.

The heart. Each moment we have to make the heart soulful so that we can easily conquer doubt in the heart. The heart has to offer the message of sacrifice for others, for the rest of the world; and while sacrificing his very life-breath, a sincere seeker feels that he is not sacrificing anything, he is just expanding his own inner consciousness and fulfilling himself here on earth.

Doubt can be conquered. It has to be conquered. How? The only answer is constant and soulful concentration on the mind, meditation on the heart and contemplation on the entire being.

Love, devotion and surrender¹²

Love is sweet, devotion is sweeter, surrender is sweetest.

Love is sweet. I have felt this truth in my mother’s spontaneous love for me.

Devotion is sweeter. I have discovered this truth in my mother’s pure devotion towards the perfection of my life.

Surrender is the sweetest. I have realised this truth in my mother’s constant surrender towards the fulfilment of my joy.

Again, love is mighty, devotion is mightier, surrender is the mightiest.

Love is mighty. This truth I feel when I look at my father’s face.

Devotion is mightier. This truth I discover when I sit at my father’s feet.

Surrender is the mightiest. This truth I realise when I live in the breath of my father’s will.

Love, devotion and surrender. St Augustine has blessed us with a profound message, “Love and then do what you like.”

Our mind thinks that this is absolutely true. Our heart feels that this is undeniably true. But unfortunately, in our day-to-day life we are not able to practise it. That is to say, we do not know what love is. We do not know why we love something or someone. Finally, we do not know how to love.

What is love? From the spiritual and inner point of view, love is self-expansion. Human love binds and is bound. Divine Love expands, enlarges itself. Here we are dealing with the Divine Love.

Devotion is the intensity in love, and surrender is the fulfilment of love. Why do we love? We love because at every moment we are pinched with hunger to realise the highest, to feel the inmost, to be consciously one with the universe, with the universal truth, universal light, peace and bliss, and to be completely fulfilled.

How to love? If we love with a view of achieving something from others, then that love is no love. Love means constant self-offering on the strength of one’s own inner aspiration.

This world of ours needs peace, joy, bliss, harmony, and understanding. We feel that here on earth there is no light, no truth, no divinity, nothing of the sort. All the divine qualities, all aspects of the Lord Supreme are in the skies, in the deep blue skies, not here. This is what we feel. Hence we always look up high for help. We feel that God is in Heaven, not on earth. God will come down into the world to our rescue. He is not to be found here on earth. Here we are wallowing in the pleasures of ignorance. There can be no light, no truth here.

But we must realise that, God being Omnipresent, He is here too. He is within us. He is without us. In the inmost recesses of our heart, we feel His living Presence.

As you all know, George Bernard Shaw has warned us, “Beware of the man whose God is in the skies.” But our God is everywhere. He is not only in Heaven, He is here on earth. He is with us, He is within us, and He is for us. We do not have to enter into the highest regions of consciousness to see God. Our inner cry will bring to the fore our inner divinity, which is nothing other than God.

Surrender. Surrender is protection, and surrender is illumination. Surrender is our perfection. We begin our journey at the very commencement of our life. We surrender our existence to our parents and the result is protection. We listen to our parents. We surrender to their will, to their advice and suggestions, and we are protected, well protected. Joy boundless we felt in our day-to-day life when we were children. Why? Because we surrendered our personal will, our own inner thinking to our parents. Here immediately we received joy plus protection. In protection is joy and in joy is protection.

Now in the evening of our life, what happens? If we follow the inner life and the spiritual life, in the evening of our life we surrender. To whom? To the Inner Pilot, the Lord Supreme. At the end of our journey we surrender our very breath to the Supreme. Then we again get joy, perfect joy, unalloyed joy.

To quote Dante, “The happiest man is he who can connect the evening of his life with the beginning.”

Now, if we are all sincere seekers of the ultimate Truth, then our journey begins with surrender to our parents, who are our well-wishers, who are our dearest and nearest ones. When we surrender to them our existence, we get joy in abundant measure. Then, when we walk along the path of spirituality, every moment we try to listen to the dictates of our inner being. The more we listen to the inner being, the greater is our joy, the higher is our fulfilment; and then, when our term is over, when we have to enter into another world for a short rest, if we consciously surrender to God’s Will, ours will be the supreme joy, ours will be the glory supreme.

It is difficult to love mankind. It is difficult to devote oneself to mankind. It is difficult to surrender oneself to mankind. This is true. In the same way, it is difficult for us to love God, to serve God, to devote ourselves to God, and to surrender our living breath to God.

Now, why? The simple reason is: we want to possess and be possessed. Now, here we are constantly making ourselves victims of ignorance. That is to say, our desire can never be fulfilled. We have countless desires. God will fulfil only those desires that will be of some use, from which we will derive benefit. But if He fulfilled our countless desires, then He would be doing an injustice to our aspiring souls. That He will not do. He knows what is best for us and He has given us beyond our capacity, even beyond our necessity. But unfortunately we are unaware of this fact.

St Francis, from his own experience, has offered a unique truth to the world at large, “He who thinks that God’s Love is inadequate is very greedy.” Really we are all greedy people. If we go deep within, we see, we feel, we realise that God has given us infinitely more than we need, needless to say, more than we deserve.

Love, devotion and surrender. These are the three rungs in the spiritual ladder, or should we say the ladder of our evolving consciousness. The first rung is love; the second, or you can say the penultimate, is devotion; and the ultimate is surrender.

A tiny drop enters into the ocean and becomes the mighty, the boundless ocean. Unfortunately in the West, surrender is misunderstood. We feel that if we surrender to someone, that means he will lord it over us. We will have no individuality and personality. From the ordinary point of view, the human point of view, this is true. From the spiritual point of view, it is absolutely wrong. When the finite enters into the Infinite, it becomes the Infinite all at once. When a tiny drop enters into the ocean, we cannot trace the drop. It becomes the mighty ocean.

Each moment we are given ample opportunity to love mankind, and if we really love mankind, then we have the feeling of devoted service to mankind. And then when we really want to enlarge our existence, expand our consciousness and be one, inseparably one with the vast, then surrender is the only answer.

Each moment we see right in front of us a barrier between one human being and another human being — an adamantine wall between two human beings. We cannot communicate properly, wholeheartedly and soulfully. Why? Because we are wanting in love. Love is our inseparable oneness with the rest of the world, with God’s entire creation. We can break asunder this adamantine wall that we feel between us on the strength of our soulful love.

India’s greatest poet, Rabindranath Tagore, said, “He who loves finds the door open.” So our heart’s door is already open for those who really, truly and soulfully love.

God loves us out of His Infinite Bounty, and His Heart’s Door is always wide open. Just because He is all Love, we approach Him. He is our dearest, not because He is Omniscient and Omnipotent, but just because He is all Love.

Love, devotion and surrender.
To serve and never be tired is love.
To learn and never be filled is devotion.
To offer and never to end is surrender.

Love is man's reality
Devotion is man's divinity.
Surrender is man's immortality.

Reality is all-pervading.
Divinity is all-elevating, and
Immortality is all-fulfilling.

The permanent and the impermanent¹³

What is permanent?
What is impermanent?
What is permanent is reality.
What is impermanent is non-reality.

Reality is the existence of light, in light and for light.

Non-reality is the existence of night, in night and for night.

Reality’s parents are divinity and immortality.

Non-reality’s parents are bondage and ignorance.

When we see the Divine Light we feel happy. When we feel the Divine Light we become strong. And when we grow into the Divine Light our life becomes fruitful.

When we see the undivine night, we become weak, impotent. When we feel the undivine night, we feel sorry, we feel miserable. And when we grow into the undivine night, our life becomes meaningless, fruitless.

Now, illumining light and illumined light; darkening night and darkened night. Illumining light is the light that is within us. Illumined light is the light that is without us. Darkening night is the night that is before us. Darkened night is the night that is around us.

That which is real is permanent, and what is permanent is spiritual. What is spiritual? The life of the ever-transcending Beyond is spiritual. But this life of the ever-transcending Beyond has to be manifested here on earth. This life is real, reality itself.

What is unspiritual? Let us use the term “material”. Material is something which is the wealth of the fleeting time.

Divine wealth and material wealth. Divine wealth is our inner aspiration. This aspiration is the song of Infinity, Eternity and Immortality within us. Material wealth is desire. It is the cry for immediate and constant possession. When we try to possess, unfortunately we feel that we are already possessed. When we try to see someone with our soul’s light, we feel that we are already liberated, and he too is already liberated.

A thing permanent is divine. A thing impermanent is undivine. When divine wisdom dawns on earth, we will realise that an impermanent thing is useless.

Divinity and immortality are within us. Immortality tells us what to do and divinity tells us how to do it. Immortality tells us to listen to the dictates of our soul, which is a spark of the Supreme Light. It tells us to be conscious of the Inner Pilot constantly. Divinity tells us how we can do it. We can do it through a self-disciplined life, through dedication to a higher cause, through purification of our outer nature, and through undying and unreserved love for God.

Bondage and ignorance are the parents of night. Ignorance tells us what to do and bondage tells us how to do it. Ignorance tells us to destroy the world and bondage tells us how to do it — through cruelty and brutality, through unfair means.

A spiritual seeker tries to enter into the inmost recesses of his heart, and from there he tries to bring light to the fore. With the help of this light, he wants to grow into the breath of the permanent. Now, to grow into the breath of the permanent, what we need is inner wisdom. What is this inner wisdom?

Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song Celestial, says to Arjuna, his divine instrument, “O Arjuna, a wise man is he who has the mastery over the senses.” That is to say, when we conquer the senses, we enter into the realm of wisdom, where reality grows and divinity flows.

Now, to enter into the world of wisdom we need constant love — love for the truth, love for light. But right now we are fond of fleeting truth, fleeting light, fleeting possession. The fleeting wealth that we have or we cherish is terribly afraid of truth. It doubts truth and it fears God. But our divine wealth, aspiration, invokes truth and adores God. Each day we are seeing with our own eyes and feeling with our own heart the impermanence of the man-made world. That is to say, the things that we create with our thoughts and ideas do not last. This moment I have a thought and soon that thought is gone. Perhaps it gives me a result; this result lasts for, again, another fleeting second.

But there is something else we call will-power — soul’s will, adamantine will of the soul. If we can exercise an iota of this will-power, then we will see that not only the action but also the result is an everlasting reality. In order to develop the will-power of the soul, we have to enter into the life of the Spirit. We have to have a self-disciplined life. Self-disciplined life does not mean the mortification of life or a conscious torture to the human life. Self-disciplined life means a life that needs the Light and wants to be guided by the Light, moulded and shaped by the Light. And when the life is disciplined, we shall not act like animals. When the life is disciplined enough, the real divinity will grow. At that time we can say that God-realisation or self-discovery is our birthright, and in God-realisation we acquire the wisdom of the everlasting Truth.

It is not that one individual or some individuals are chosen to realise the highest Truth. No, far from it. Each individual is an instrument of God; but he has to be conscious. Right now he is not; he is unconscious. But when he prays, when he meditates, he automatically becomes a constant, conscious instrument of God. And he who becomes a conscious instrument of God hears in the very heart of the finite the message of the Infinite, and feels in the fleeting the Breath of the Eternal.

To think of God, to meditate on God constantly, is to live in God unreservedly. When we live in God constantly, soulfully, and unreservedly, God unconditionally does everything for us. In infinite measure He offers His Light, Peace and Bliss, and we grow into His very Image.

Here on earth the message of the permanent Truth, the transcendental Truth has to be fulfilled, for God has chosen earth as His field for Manifestation. The eternal Light has to be manifested here on earth, and we, all of us, have to become conscious instruments of God. We can be so if we have the inner cry, and this inner cry has to be the cry of a child. The child cries for his mother. The mother comes running towards the child, no matter where the mother is. The child may be in the living room or he may be in the kitchen, but the mother comes running to feed the child.

Similarly, when we have the inner cry, spontaneous cry for Light and Truth, God out of His Infinite Bounty will show us the Light, and in that Light we will grow.

We shall fulfil God. While fulfilling God, we shall fulfil ourselves, and our only prayer to God is:

Lead us from the unreal to the real.
Lead us from darkness to light.
Lead us from death to Immortality,
O Lord Supreme!

Attachment and detachment¹⁴

Attachment and detachment.

Detachment and attachment.

From the body we get the message of attachment.

From the soul we get the message of detachment.

The body is limited, hence the body wants to bind us and limit us. It wants to bind and limit our outer capacity and our inner potentiality.

The soul in its potentiality and capacity, is limitless and endless. Therefore the soul wants to free us from the meshes of ignorance and liberate us from the bondage-night.

What is attachment? Attachment is the dance of our outer pleasure.

What is detachment? Detachment is the song of our inner joy.

Attachment ends in the prison-cell of frustration and destruction.

Detachment fulfils itself in the palace of Divinity and Immortality.

I am a fool if I consciously live in the physical. I am a greater fool if I constantly admire and adore my physical body. I am the greatest fool if I live only to satisfy the needs of my physical existence.

I am a wise person if I know that there is something called the soul. I am a wiser person if I care to see and feel my soul. I will be the wisest person if I live in my soul and for my soul constantly and soulfully, unreservedly and unconditionally.

When we are attached to the body, we become in no time, impulsive. When we are attached to the vital, we become, very soon, explosive. When we are attached to the physical mind, we ultimately become destructive.

But when we are in the body, detached, we consciously feel our aspiring consciousness. When we are in the vital, detached, we expand and widen our aspiring consciousness. When we are in the mind, detached, we fulfil supremely our unlimited consciousness here on earth.

Many people are unfortunately under the wrong impression that attachment and devotedness are one and the same thing. Attachment is when we are in the finite, when we are attached to the finite. Devotedness is when we devote ourselves to the Infinite and are liberated by the Infinite.

Here in Ireland, nearly a hundred years ago, a young aspirant named Margaret Noble went to India to become the famous disciple of Swami Vivekananda. This great Yogi had come to the West in 1889 to participate in the Parliament of Religions at the great World’s Fair in Chicago. His spiritual stature was immediately recognised, and he became famous overnight.

When he went to England from the United States, Margaret Noble attended his talks and became his dearest disciple. He called her “Nivedita, one who is totally dedicated to the Supreme Cause.”

Indian people are all admiration for what Nivedita did for India. She helped Indian women in infinite measure. She helped to awaken their slumbering consciousness so that they could envision themselves as divine instruments and grow into the perfect embodiments of aspiration, dedication and illumination for their Mother India. We Indians are bloated with divine pride when we utter the name of Nivedita.

Her father was a clergyman, a lover of God, a great seeker. Before he breathed his last, on his deathbed, he said to his wife, “Don’t stand in Margaret’s way. If she wants to go to India, let her go.” Margaret’s mother had been very upset by her daughter’s desire to leave Ireland for distant India, but at her husband’s last wish, she did help Margaret and inspired her. Nivedita went to India and became India’s veritable pride. Hers was the heart that knew no despair. Just before she passed behind the curtain of eternity, she uttered under her breath, “The boat is sinking, but I shall see the sunrise.”

I wish to offer my humble talk to the hallowed memory of Sister Nivedita, Margaret Noble of Ireland.

Detachment is misunderstood. We feel that if someone is detached, he is indifferent. Spiritual seekers also make the same mistake in thinking that when we want to show detachment to someone, we must show him utter indifference, to the point of total neglect. This is not true. When we are indifferent to someone, we do nothing for him. We have nothing to do with his joy or sorrow, his achievement or failure. But when we are truly detached, we work for him devotedly and selflessly. The results of our actions we offer at the Feet of the Lord Supreme, our Inner Pilot.

It does not matter if the result is success or failure. If we are not at all attached to the results, we get an immediate expansion of consciousness. If we do not care for the fruit of our action, the Supreme rewards us in the Supreme’s own Way.

Lord Krishna said, “Thou has the right to act, but not to the fruits of action.” The Upanishads declare, “Action cleaves not to a man.”

If we work devotedly and selflessly, action does not bind us. There will be no difficulty in working for God’s sake if we work without caring about the result. This is true detachment, this is spiritual detachment. When we can renounce the unlit, unaspiring action, we can enter into the divine action which is our real life; and in this real life, there is always perfection and fulfilment.

When we pay all attention to the material world and neglect the inner world, we starve the soul in us. The soul has to be brought to the fore. If we think we can get infinite wealth from the material world, then we are totally mistaken.

Yagnavalka, the great Indian sage, had a wife whose name was Maitreyi. Yagnavalka wanted to spend the evening of his life in meditation and contemplation, so he wanted to give away his earthly possessions. He asked Maitreyi if she wanted his riches. She asked, “Will your riches give me immortal life? Of what use to me are the things that cannot make me immortal?”

We need the material world, undoubtedly, but we cannot give all our energy to it. We feed our body three times a day. Unfortunately we do not have time to feed our soul even once a day. We, the seekers of the infinite Truth, feed the body so that we can become the perfect instrument of the soul.

The soul has divinity, eternity, immortality. The soul wants to offer its world to the body. If the body becomes receptive, it will receive all that the soul wants to offer. The body itself will echo and re-echo in the life of aspiration and dedication. It will march along as the most humble servitor of the soul. Its existence will be the existence of glory and divinity, divine service and supreme fulfilment.

We fulfil the Supreme on earth. He treasures us in His Heart’s Heaven.

Divine duty and supreme reward¹⁵

God thinks of His Duty. God meditates on His Duty.

Man loves his reward. Man cries for his reward.

Duty performed unconditionally makes God happy, and that is what He at every moment does.

Reward gained effortlessly and constantly makes man happy, and that is what he always expects and lives for.

In our human duty, we think of man in man. In our human duty we see man in man. That is to say, we love bondage in ignorance.

Divine duty is to meditate on God in man. Divine duty is to see God in man. That is to say, to love Divinity in Immortality.

Human duty begins with compulsion and very often ends in frustration and repulsion. Divine duty begins with inner necessity and ends in a flood of ecstasy.

Human reward and Divine reward. Human reward is the fleeting joy from insignificant man. Human reward is the dying love from a weak human being.

Divine reward is the constant Joy that flows from God, the everlasting Joy. Divine reward is the constant Love from God, the all-fulfilling Love.

In our unaspiring life we perform duties, and we feel that duty is another name for labour. We also feel that duty is self-imposed, and reward is a most coveted pleasure. In our aspiring life, duty is voluntary. No, never is it obligatory; and reward is the energising joy of selfless service. In our life of realisation, duty is our divine pride, and reward is our glorious, transcendental height.

In our unaspiring life and even in our aspiring life, we see that duty is first and then reward. Duty comes first, then it is followed by reward. In the life of realisation it is otherwise: reward first, then duty. How? When God offers His transcendental Height, His highest Illumination to someone, it means that God has already granted him full realisation. God has accepted him as His chosen instrument. The very fact that God has accepted him as His chosen instrument indicates that he has already received the highest reward from God. Later God tells him about his duty: to love mankind, to help mankind, to serve divinity in humanity, to reveal God the Eternal Compassion, and to manifest God the Eternal Concern on earth, here and now.

Many years ago, an eminent Indian scientist, PC Ray, was a student at Edinburgh, here in Scotland. He completed his studies here and went back to Bengal, India and offered his knowledge to his Indian brothers and sisters. Now, it happened that one day somebody asked him how many children he had. He took out from his pocket a list of his children. Can you guess how many children he had? He had only seventy-three children, in spite of the fact that he was a bachelor in the purest sense of the term! Then he said to him, “Look, these are my children: seventy-three brilliant students. They are my true children, and they have given me the opportunity to serve mankind, and this is my duty. I am not married, but I consider them as my own children. I serve them, and by serving these children of mine, I perform my highest duty.”

So, here I wish to say that I am also in the same boat, unmarried. I have a few hundred spiritual children. Out of His Infinite Bounty, God has showered His choicest Blessings upon my devoted head, and my spiritual children give me abundant encouragement and opportunities. My spiritual children meet with all my needs when I move around the world. This is my service, dedicated service, and this is my bounden duty.

Today, at this august university, I am offering my selfless service. This is my last talk. My tour has come to an end. I have been away from New York for about a month. I have spoken at Cambridge, Oxford and other universities. I have just come back from Switzerland, Wales, France and Ireland. Yesterday I was in Ireland and today I am here in Scotland. What am I doing? I am trying with utmost sincerity to be of service to the sincere seekers. Each individual has the capacity to be of service to others. Only God can help us, and He always does. What we can do is to serve everybody here on earth. As a servant of God, each individual has the capacity to serve mankind. Service is our matchless duty.

Now, duty and reward from the spiritual point of view, go together. It is like the obverse and reverse of one spiritual coin. Duty is man the aspiration, and reward is God the Realisation and God the Liberation. Again, in reward is man’s eternal journey, ever-transcending journey; and in duty is God the ever-transforming, ever-manifesting, ever-fulfilling Reality here on earth, there in Heaven.

When we realise this Truth, we fulfil all our duties. There can be no greater duty than to realise the Inner Pilot.

Him to realise, Him to serve, Him to manifest on earth, we saw the light of day.

Editor's introduction to the first edition

My rose petals

The rose, "a flower for love, a flower for kings", as deemed by one of England's greatest poets, Robert Herrick. The rose, whose petals, as unique and fascinating as individual snowflakes, represent the lectures in this book, is the flower for love, the flower of love, for the basis of all Sri Chinmoy's writings is love. He says, "For those who want to follow the spiritual path … Love Divine is the answer. In Love Divine looms large and important the seeker's real fulfilment and perfect perfection. This is the easiest path."

This also the flower for kings, for those who follow the truths soulfully offered in these pages become inner kings among men, as is Sri Chinmoy himself.

Born in Bengal in 1931, Sri Chinmoy has brought light and truth to hundreds of seekers throughout the world. This series of talks marks the advent of Sri Chinmoy's divine service to Europe. He says he comes only to serve us, to serve the divinity in us and Europe has yet to feel the full extent of his service to her with his "Rose Petals".

Isaiah wrote, "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose", and so it shall. The European mind has long been fertile land, though often approaching the fertility of a jungle. The European heart — spiritual heart — has long resembled the desert, with many thirsty for spiritual knowledge and peace. In the autumn of 1970, Sri Chinmoy came to fulfil Europe's agelong thirst for spirituality. Each one of these divinely inspired talks holds within it the key to all the questions unanswered by the intellectual minds of Europe for many years. Each one absolutely embodies the divine fragrance of the highest wisdom, offering to each and everyone a priceless gem.

Sri Chinmoy comes to us, not just with the lofty heights and deepest truths of India's scriptures, but also with the ever-expanding horizons of his own inner Realisation. Europe has been truly blessed with the shedding of these sublime 'Petals' on her shores.

Editor's note

Sri Chinmoy's European tour began on November 8, 1970. Twenty-six days later he returned to the United States, having delivered sixteen lectures and establishing Sri Chinmoy Centres in London, Glasgow, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland. All but one of those lectures are printed in this volume.