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Grace and the Guru and God
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This balance arises in the intellect merged in Mystic Union. Listen
now of this wisdom, for balance in this path breaks the bondage of action
itself.
-Bhagavad Geetaa 2:39
Page: What really is the test to know whether one has received the
Grace of God either directly or through the saints? I have read in
the sastras that unless God is so pleased, none will receive this
Brahmopadesh or lessons in spirituality, and I have also read that
when one gets genuine initiation, his innermost desires, panting
for fulfillment in the form of enjoyment, immediately cease. Is
that the test of having received the Grace of God?
Baba: Yes, that is the test. When you have real initiation or your
mind is turned inside, the desires for worldly enjoyment are
crippled; either they completely cease or even when they arise,
they seem to have lost all their power to bind you. You see them
clearly arising, staying for a moment in the heart, vanishing once
again into oblivion. They do not trouble you so much. To a certain
extent you may enjoy the pleasures or meet other necessities of
life. The whole thing is a routine affair; now the real interest
lies in the spirit, God. You see Him, live in Him and move in Him.
Life without this may be compared with dal without salt, a
tasteless affair.
Page: How can we make life good, with a mind disturbed by desire?
You have told us that mind is material. But experience shows that
it is the mind that knows and it is active also. Inert matter
cannot by itself become active.
Baba: Look, when water is heated by the Sun, you see the reflection
of the Sun in the water and feel the heat in it. So mind reflects
the soul- pure consciousness- and therefore, appears to be
sentient. As water exhibits the glitter, so the mind appears to be
full of consciousness. Water gets heated, mind gets restless and
mobile. Contact with the Sun, and contact with the soul, are
responsible for these phenomena.
Page: Just as we see the Sun in the sky, quite separate from the
water, can we experience the soul distinctly aloof from the mind?
Baba: No. When you experience the soul, that is consciousness
itself, there is no mind. This is just as only the Sun would remain
when, due to hot rays of the Sun, water is evaporated and the
reflection with activity is gone. So meditation of the soul makes
the mind vanish. This is mano-nash or end of mind; this is also
called liberation. Only God's Grace can bring about this.
[excerpted from an article available in full at soc.culture.indian
in the thread titled SANDEHA NIVARINI SATHYA SAI BABA DISSOLVING DOUBTS]
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