06/01/2021
Jai Ramakrishna
(Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi The Holy Mother)
SELF-EFFORT AND DIVINE GRACE
Disciple: “Mother, I admit that spiritual exercise, exhaustion of past Karma, and proper time – all these are factors in the attainment of spiritual knowledge. But if God is our own, why should He not show Himself out of His grace?”
Mother: “That is right. But who has this faith that He is his own? All take up religion as a matter of form. How many really want God?
“Be sincere in your practice, words and deeds. You will feel blessed! His blessings are always showered on all creatures on the earth. It is needless to ask for it. Practise meditation sincerely and you will understand His infinite grace. God wants sincerity, truthfulness and love. Outward, verbal effusions do not touch Him.
“How many are there who truly want to realize God? Where is that earnestness? They, no doubt, profess great devotion and longing, but they feel satisfied when they get even a tiny bit of enjoyment. They say, ‘Ah, how kind is God!’
“If you don’t call upon God, indeed, many people never even remember Him, what does it matter to Him? It is your own misfortune. Such is the Maya of God, He keeps them ignorant of Him saying, ‘They are happy enough, let them be so!’
“Whatever you yearn for, that you will get.
“My child, this world is like a deep marshy place. Once a man gets entangled there, it becomes very difficult for him to come out. Repeat the Name of God. If you do so, He will cut away your bondage someday. Can anyone get liberation, my child, unless He Himself removes the shackles? Have deep faith in God. Look upon the Master as your refuge, even as children regard their parents.
“You may say that you have done so much of Japa or so much of work; but nothing will avail. Nobody can achieve anything unless Mahamaya clears the way. Oh, my children, take refuge, just take refuge. Then alone she will clear the way out of Her mercy. Once in summer at Kamarpukur, a heavy shower had filled up the fields, and water overflowed from the ponds. The Master was wading through water when proceeding by the side of the sweeper colony. As the cat-fish came out of the ponds, the people around began to beat and catch them.
One of the fish kept swimming near about the Master’s feet. So he said, ‘Don’t you kill this one. See how it seeks my protection and plays round. It will be so good if one of you carries it to the Haldar’s pond.’ Then he himself took it up and released it in the pond. Returning home he said, ‘Ah, if anyone seeks protection in this way, one is saved.’
“Repeat the Name of God in the innermost core of your heart, and in all sincerity take refuge in the Master. Do not bother to know how your mind is reacting to things around. And do not waste time in calculating and worrying whether or not you are progressing in the path of spirituality. It is Ahamkara to judges progress for oneself. Have faith in the grace of your Guru and Ishta.
