Wednesday 15 February 2012

"These Are The Gateways To Hell..."





& BAPA said... "It is stated in some religious texts that woman is the gateway to hell! 


This is only because these books are written by men! 


If these were written by women, they would have said, 'Man is the gateway to hell.' 


Neither man nor woman is the gateway to hell. 


Our ignorance, our distorted vision and our passions - these are the gateways to hell..."

Tuesday 14 February 2012

"Religion Is The Art Of Not Returning..."





& BAPA said... "If your heart overflows with joy, know that you are on the path of true religion. 


Instead of withering away in life, if you are blooming, then you are on the path of religion. 


However, if instead of blooming, if you are withering away, then you have turned your back on God. 


If you focus on the outside world, you will have to take innumerable births. 


If your life is not a celebration, you will have to come back to this world, because you have not learnt your lesson! 


So long as you do not learn your lesson in this school of life, you will inevitably have to come back. 


One who successful in the world, one who has learnt the lessons of life, does not return... and religion is the art of not returning..."

Monday 13 February 2012

"Wonderful Process Of Cleansing The Mind..."







& BAPA said... "Each morning, just as you wind the key to your clock, you start layering your mind with thoughts too. 


Through the day, several impressions of thoughts, events and places settle on the mind and it gets bound by them. 


So rewind, and replay them once again at night. 


Look over the knots of likes and dislikes that have formed within the mind regarding each and every object, individual and event. 


When these knots, tied in a state of unawareness, are released with awareness, then it can be said that you have performed pratikraman. 


It is a wonderful process of cleansing the mind..."

Friday 10 February 2012

"Religion Cannot Be An Inheritance..."





& BAPA said... "Whichever path one chooses, he must be able to see a transformation in himself. 


He may be following a particular religion and performing all its rituals perfectly just because it is the family religion, but if his heart has not been touched, then he needs to question himself. 


Religion cannot be an inheritance. 


It is neither a hereditary right nor personal property. 


One can inherit a disease, not religion. 


It is related to an inner transformation and not to blood or birth..."

Thursday 9 February 2012

"Embark On The Journey Towards Enlightenment..."





& BAPA said... "We are the soul, an embodiment of pure consciousness. 


'I' means pure consciousness. 


But due to our ignorance we have attached a lot of other worldly things to the 'I'. 


And we think and truly believe that 'I' is an aggregate of all these. 


When we believe anything except the soul to be 'I', we are in bondage, in prison. 


No one else binds us. 


The extent of our bondage is as much as the extent of our 'I'. 


This extension of ego is not confined only to the body, but also to various objects. 


Not only that, the mind also clings to events of the past. 


We hold on to events of the past in our memory and identify ourselves with that. 


If we keep on wandering like this; then how is it possible to embark on the journey towards enlightenment??

Wednesday 8 February 2012

"Open The Gates To Your Inner Self..."





& BAPA said... "Death is possible at this very moment, but the mind is never ready to accept this. 


Even as I am saying this, your mind says, 'Oh no! How is death possible at the next moment? It is still very far!' 


But these are just the tricks of the mind. 


If you push death away and keep it at a distance, you will not be able to ponder over it. 


It must be so close to you, that you can see it. 


Even a moment before death arrives, no one can imagine that it is actually going to happen then! 


A person is on the verge of dying, but a minute ago he could not even imagine that his death would be so close. 


And this is the same person who felt that death was very far away. 


This is what has always happened. 


Even a moment before death, one does not feel that it is about to strike. 


Develop the awareness of death and bring it closer to you, so that you can see it, contemplate upon it. 


That observation and contemplation will give you entry into your Inner Self. 


That reflection will create the new necessity for an inward journey; it will open the gates to your Inner Self..."

Tuesday 7 February 2012

"Experience The Joy Of Living..."





& BAPA said... "Religion is the greatest art  -  it enables one to search and find that which is paramount in this universe - God. 


The one who finds Him is the one who is truly alive. 


All others are blinded by illusion - the illusion of living. 


They are running at breakneck speed but are they living? 


Only those who have uncovered that which is hidden within, who have realised their True Self, experience the joy of living..."

Monday 6 February 2012

"A State Of Shunya (No Mind) Is The Accomplishment..."





& BAPA said... "The mind is an artist that keeps on creating new images all the time. 


It also experiences attraction-repulsion, attachment-aversion, longing-fear from its own creation.


That is why, as long as the mind is active, the illusory world exists.  


When the mind becomes inactive, one attains liberation. 


To decrease the activity of the mind is spiritual practice. 


Decrease in its activity is spiritual practice and achieving a state of shunya (no mind) is the accomplishment..."

"You Have Found The Temple..."






& BAPA said... "Surrender means you have found the temple. 


Now you need not go anywhere. 


You have found the well. 


Now there is no need to wander elsewhere. 


He, who has not yet found the well in an Enlightened One, that is, if he has not felt divinity there, let him continue his search. 


But once you have found Him, your wandering should stop..."

Saturday 4 February 2012

"The Ultimate Destination Of His Love..."





& BAPA said... "Neither your money nor your worldly status is real. 


With this realisation a new thirst is created and you begin your search for God. 


The search for God originates in man, only when love for everything else results in failure. 


You loved wealth, but attained nothing; you were attached to your position but attained nothing; you showered affection on your near and dear ones, your friends and family, but still gained nothing. 


Your heart did not fill up, no matter what you did! 


Nothing could fill the emptiness, the void within you. 


The one who has experienced failure in all attempts at worldly desires; his heart yearns for the Divine. 


The Divine becomes the ultimate destination of his love..."

Friday 3 February 2012

"Intense Yearning Is Enough To Attain God..."





& BAPA said... "Intense yearning is enough to attain God, provided it is not based on blind faith, but on your genuine conviction. 


You will not attain God if you embark on the search to attain Him due to borrowed knowledge. 


You hear a discourse and feel inclined to pursue the search for God but no yearning has arisen in your heart. 


Your sorrow and suffering have not yet brought you to that state where you are compelled to yearn deeply in order to attain peace. 


You do not have the awakening to realize that whatever happens in this world is illusory and dream-like. 


You listen to a saint or an enlightened being, you like his logical talks, your intellect accepts them and you set out on your quest for God. 


A true quest is kindled by a desire for Him, whereas your quest is born of an intellectual decision!

"My Guru, No One Else..."





& BAPA said... "The meaning of surrender is to ascertain that this individual is my Guru, no one else. 


It does not mean that there is no other Guru in the whole world except this one, or that the others are false. 


No. 


There are other gurus, and they have dedicated disciples. 


But not me; my Guru is only this one! 


Until you surrender yourself to someone, he is not your Guru..."

Thursday 2 February 2012

"You Will Enjoy Immense Bliss And Awareness..."





& BAPA said... "Defocus and dissociate your attention from your senses. 


If you cannot do this all the time, try at least some of the time. 


If your focus is not directed outside through the senses, then you will experience a deep level of consciousness. 


You will enjoy immense bliss and awareness..."

Wednesday 1 February 2012

"What You Are Asking For Is Your Nature Itself..."





& BAPA said... "Everyone in the world is asking for joy. 


But to ask for joy is in itself a mistake because in asking others, you remain outside and forget that what you are asking for is your nature itself. 


That is all! 


You are not connected within. 


And hence, you remain in your stupor. 


Only the one who has decided to stop searching outside, for happiness and practices going within - as that is where happiness really is - can be called religious..."