Ragha Sudha Hall, Mylapore, Chennai, India, 3 March 2013

Today sitting here I tell, even if the whole world criticizes me or makes fun of me or tries to confuse me I will never be confused because I have experienced the Truth of the Existence of the Divinity. I can explain that later if any one of you has any questions but what I am trying to tell is always try to go for sadhana in your life and know the Truth to yourself. Then a life on this Earth can be so beautiful. 

You see the situation will be the same whether a householder or a monk. Simply that I have become a monk doesn’t mean that I have a luxurious life and there are no problems that I face, no troubles, nobody gives me any pain, anxiousness, agony; not at all. I am based in an ashram. It is as good as looking after a kingdom. So much of politics, so much of headaches. Like my Guru used to tell, sometimes people have asked me this question, “How do you find travelling round the world, and how did you find when you were doing Tapas?” I tell that doing Tapas for us was much, much easier than handling human beings and travelling around the world [laughter from audience and Babaji]. So I do appreciate if you are a householder and if you are able to remember God even once in the 24 hours. So that life is always a mixture for everyone. No relief from that, but the edge of difference is mentally I have total, perfect peace, my mind does not absorb any such painful imprints and go into an agonizing, painful situation always because I know the Truth of Existence also. And my mind does not go into a craving, doesn’t picturize constantly. Sitting here and talking to you all and I can answer your questions. Once I go out my mind is at peace. It doesn’t start bothering, “Why it didn’t happen, why I didn’t do this, why this thing didn’t happen in my life?” So whenever needed I am able to attend. I have the mind also, the mind has not been destroyed, simply it is quiet and at peace. Whenever I need I can use, I can answer, I can talk, deal with people. I try to give counselling to them also, and then whatever happens, happens.

If somebody is trying to organize my program it’s good, I come and try to do my job. Sometimes, many places in the world what you normally call it as the politics – politics means the human ego. Because of this human ego we forget a larger cause. We forget the benefit of the society. We become selfish and we get into a conflict. And the things do not take shape in the organizing and I do not get an opportunity to go and address people or teach people if somebody doesn’t organize it. Then I have to simply accept that is all destiny. Whoever is destined to receive our blessing the Divine will bring them to us. So I don’t have to worry, “Why fifty thousand people haven’t come? Only ten are here.” There are no such cravings in the mind. So that is the edge of difference between the people who have done sadhana and those who have not done sadhana. From outside it is all the same.

When you are trying to
put in effort your mental
attention must be there.

So by remaining a householder also you can achieve by adopting such technical methods. In your life if you can understand putting in effort never give up karma. Whatever you desire, whatever you want to achieve. When you are trying to put in effort your mental attention must be there otherwise the mind is seldom into the present. The power is in the now. It is always anxious about the future or is brooding about the past. “What if it doesn’t happen? What if it happens?” When it has to happen, it happens. You go on doing that is all. You are meditating, whenever it has to happen, there was no such anxiousness, “Will a Realization happen in this life or not? What if it does not happen? What if it happens?” Simply go on doing it. It happens one day when the mind becomes quiet.

Also there were better, positive points. Fifty years ago we got less exposed to the world. That is another basic point. The saddening thing is that we have forgotten spirituality today. We have advanced tremendously scientifically, technologically and in so many ways. That’s very good, wonderful. We appreciate human efforts, human intelligence, human’s applications of their brains discovering, inventing which can be so useful to humanity. But we have forgotten spirituality. Because of this we are unable to control our mind, we are unable to keep our minds healthier. At the end of the day it is through the mind only you have to utilize every discovery, every invention. Use them. So you need to know the limitations, you need to know for what purpose you have to use. You have discovered or invented a knife or a rifle or anything, a computer or anything. You should know its limitations, how it can be useful, how it can be wasteful of energy, how it can be harmful. Whenever a thing comes into existence all these things will be involved definitely. A weapons system can be defensive. It can be helpful to defend. Many people may argue, “We need it to defend ourselves.” It might appear that we need it. If nobody had it there was no question of offensive or defensive at all. That point we forget. If everybody in the world can control their mind, understand and consider about each other and understand, “If I want to live happily, you also have a right to live happily,” then this problem wouldn’t have occurred at all. But it has not been possible for humanity.

If we look back into the mythological times or historical times any time humans have been into conflict. Sometimes I have wondered, even if two people are left on this entire planet Earth probably they would be fighting. They won’t be able to get along with each other because of the ego problem, selfishness, mistrust with each other. This is a curse on humanity perhaps. So due to these reasons we are unable to have peace or happiness so we must adopt spirituality. Then we will be able to live a beautiful life, we will be able to utilize everything.

You know, twenty, thirty years ago in our lifetime a train reservation was such a difficult thing if you had to travel, return journey, onward journey all these things were problematic. You had to request the authorities to give a telegram to the next station. If you needed to reserve you needed to go to the particular railway station, all such things. But today sitting in our drawing room on a computer you are able to do a reservation on line. So that is a very convenient thing for the common man if we utilize, if we know, if we know the limitations. In the same way everything in this world has its own limitations, but if only we know how to utilize it. So that is how being a householder also you will be able to know yourself. That is a very important thing.

This human life is one
of the rarest of rare
opportunities.

This physical body has come into existence and this fundamental truth everybody knows. As Yudhisthira says to Krishna, “Everybody knows that they are going to die, but they start thinking that they are not going to die. This is the greatest surprise for me.” That is what he said. We all know. As Krishna tells Arjuna, “Before death shall claim your body go to the knowers of Truth, sitting at their Lotus Feet in a humble way, seeking their permission, ask such intelligent questions and obtaining their upadesa, adopting such methods, achieve that Truth to yourself, before death claims your physical body.” This human life is one of the rarest of rare opportunities perhaps that we have obtained. My Guru used to tell in whatever way, once in fifty five thousand life cycles, very rarely you are a human which is on the edge because we have a well-developed brain and intelligence to find out, discriminate – Viveka Choodamani, ‘Crest-jewel of discrimination’ – that is what the great Sages taught us. There is an opportunity, every moment is precious. Once it is gone it won’t come back.