Talk 8
15th May, 1935
"Can anyone get any benefit by repeating sacred syllables (mantras) picked up casually?"
Maharshi: "No. He must be competent and initiated in such mantras."
Maharshi illustrated this by the following story:
A King visited his Premier in his residence. There he was told that the Premier was engaged in repetition of sacred syllables (japa [?]). The King waited for him and, on meeting him, asked what the japa was.
The Premier said that it was the holiest of all, Gayatri [?]. The King desired to be initiated by the Premier. But the Premier confessed his inability to initiate him. Therefore the King learned it from someone else, and meeting the Minister later he repeated the Gayatri and wanted to know if it was right.
The Minister said that the mantra [?] was correct, but it was not proper for him to say it.
When pressed for an explanation, the Minister called to a page close by and ordered him to take hold of the King. The order was not obeyed. The order was often repeated, and still not obeyed. The King flew into a rage and ordered the same man to hold the Minister, and it was immediately done. The Minister laughed and said that the incident was the explanation required by the King. "How?" asked the King. The Minister replied, "The order was the same and the executor also, but the authority was different. When I ordered, the effect was nil, whereas, when you ordered, there was immediate effect. Similarly with mantras."
Talk 7 Talk 9
Talk 7
15th May, 1935
When asked if occult powers (siddhis) can be achieved along with Omnipotence (Iswaratva) as mentioned in the last verse of Dakshinamurti Ashtakam, Maharshi said: "Let Omnipotence (Iswaratva)
be accomplished first and then the other question may be raised."
Talk 6 Talk 8
Talk 6
15th May, 1935
A question was asked by a monk (sannyasi [?]) about how to prevent the mind from being distracted.
Maharshi: You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world.
Talk 5 Talk 7
A question was asked by a monk (sannyasi [?]) about how to prevent the mind from being distracted.
Maharshi: You see the objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world.
Talk 5 Talk 7
Talk 5
15th May, 1935
Talk 5.
Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the subject of Grace, "A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof coat". It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such.
Maharshi added, "The body is the waterproof coat".
Talk 5.
Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the subject of Grace, "A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof coat". It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such.
Maharshi added, "The body is the waterproof coat".
Talk 4
15th May, 1935
Talk 4.
Maharshi was asked by an educated young man: "How do you say that the Heart is on the right, whereas the biologists have found it to be on the left?" The man asked for authority.
Maharshi: Quite so. The physical organ is on the left; that is not denied. But the Heart of which I speak is non-physical and is only on the right side. It is my experience, no authority is required by me. Still you can find confirmation in a Malayalam[1] Ayurvedic book and in Sita Upanishad; and he produced the quotation (mantra [?]) from the latter and repeated the text (sloka [?]) from the former.
[1] Language of Kerala, state in South India.
Talk 4.
Maharshi was asked by an educated young man: "How do you say that the Heart is on the right, whereas the biologists have found it to be on the left?" The man asked for authority.
Maharshi: Quite so. The physical organ is on the left; that is not denied. But the Heart of which I speak is non-physical and is only on the right side. It is my experience, no authority is required by me. Still you can find confirmation in a Malayalam[1] Ayurvedic book and in Sita Upanishad; and he produced the quotation (mantra [?]) from the latter and repeated the text (sloka [?]) from the former.
[1] Language of Kerala, state in South India.
Talk 3
15th May, 1935
Talk 3.
A question was asked as to the nature of happiness.
Maharshi: If a man thinks that his happiness is due to external causes and his possessions, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness must increase with the increase of possessions and diminish in proportion to their diminution. Therefore if he is devoid of possessions, his happiness should be nil. What is the real experience of man? Does it conform to this view?
In deep sleep the man is devoid of possessions, including his own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite happy. Everyone desires to sleep soundly.
The conclusion is that happiness is inherent in man and is not due to external causes. One must realise his Self in order to open the store of unalloyed happiness.
Talk 3.
A question was asked as to the nature of happiness.
Maharshi: If a man thinks that his happiness is due to external causes and his possessions, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness must increase with the increase of possessions and diminish in proportion to their diminution. Therefore if he is devoid of possessions, his happiness should be nil. What is the real experience of man? Does it conform to this view?
In deep sleep the man is devoid of possessions, including his own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite happy. Everyone desires to sleep soundly.
The conclusion is that happiness is inherent in man and is not due to external causes. One must realise his Self in order to open the store of unalloyed happiness.
Talk 2
15th May, 1935
Talk 2.
Someone enquired about the nature of perception.
Maharshi: Whatever state one is in, the perceptions partake of that state.
The explanation is that in the waking state (jagrat [?]) the gross body perceives gross names and forms; in swapna (the dream state) the mental body perceives the mental creations in their manifold forms and names; in the sushupti [?] (deep dreamless sleep), the identification with the body being lost, there are no perceptions; similarly in the Transcendental state identity with Brahman places the man in harmony with everything, and there is nothing apart from his Self.
Talk 2.
Someone enquired about the nature of perception.
Maharshi: Whatever state one is in, the perceptions partake of that state.
The explanation is that in the waking state (jagrat [?]) the gross body perceives gross names and forms; in swapna (the dream state) the mental body perceives the mental creations in their manifold forms and names; in the sushupti [?] (deep dreamless sleep), the identification with the body being lost, there are no perceptions; similarly in the Transcendental state identity with Brahman places the man in harmony with everything, and there is nothing apart from his Self.
Talk 1
15th May, 1935
Talk 1.
A wandering monk (sannyasi) was trying to clear his doubt: "How to realise that all the world is God?"
Maharshi: If you make your outlook that of wisdom, you will find the world to be God. Without knowing the Supreme Spirit (Brahman), how will you find His all-pervasiveness?
Talk 1.
A wandering monk (sannyasi) was trying to clear his doubt: "How to realise that all the world is God?"
Maharshi: If you make your outlook that of wisdom, you will find the world to be God. Without knowing the Supreme Spirit (Brahman), how will you find His all-pervasiveness?
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