NEWSLETTER

SRI SARVESHWARI TIMES

JANUARY 1999

If you want to live a meaningful life,
take to simplicity

AUGHAR VANI, Avadhuta's Wisdom

Aghoreshwar
Baba Bhagwan Ramji

INSPIRATIONS
FROM THE AGHORESHWAR

1. If you want to live a meaningful life, take to simplicity. Subdue dishonorable thoughts and acts. Adopt simplicity and plain living as your philosophy of life. Love and fellowship are the root of life and they constantly keep growing in the fertile soil of plain living. Love and fellowship are the strengths that help one transcend public slander, and provide inspiration; inspiration which is obtained by the sages after much hardship.

2. Sincere practice of Niyam (discipline with consistency) and Sanyam (abstinence) are the means to positive success in life.

3. Pomp and show is of no value. Simple living is the best way. You must realize this. Truth lies in simplicity and Divine energy lies in truth. Divine energy is the mother of creativity, and creativity is the ultimate goal of life. Hold no doubt that the ultimate objective is the attainment of final liberation from matter and reunion with the Supreme Spirit (Nirvana), or bliss.

4. Life's problems are not solved by violence and war. Truth and love are the greatest virtues of life.

5. If you wish to live a meaningful life, do not waste the opportunity of this human birth. Always bear in mind that the world is poised on the tottering brink of final oblivion. Leave everything aside. Concentrate all your power and intellect on learning to be human. This will make your heart pure. The sternest penance that you must pay, the most supreme sacrifice that you must make is to cultivate contentment.

6. A life of discontent is destitute in all respects.

7. Every step of the sacrificial animal takes him closer to death. This is equally true of man. Life is short and is full of anxiety and misery. One realizes this through true knowledge.

8. Lack of practice dulls the intellect, generates indolence, and leads to sloth which shortens life and leads one to death. Practice makes life meaningful.

9. The tendency towards divisiveness and dissension grows more intense day by day due to unchecked speech, dishonorable behaviors, fault-finding and blame, and uninhibited proliferation of obscene and dishonorable literature.

10. There are four fundamental truths about life. It is not necessary that you remember all four. Remembering just two will lead you toward a blissful life: Forget the good deeds that you have done for others, and forget the harm others have done you. The two other fundamental truths are to always remember God and death.

11. Human life is but a shadow, a transitory thing. Tune every moment of this transient life with the constant melody of good deeds which in turn leads others to a harmonious life.

12. The significance of life lies in the vigilance of human action. An ideal man lives in a manner that does not cause pain to another. Merely paying lip-service to the principles of compassion and service to others is not the idea. You must put into practice these principles even at the cost of undergoing hardships in the process. Only then do you lead a significant life and become a true benefactor and servant.

13. The Divine exists in every ion of the world. The saintly person treats every ion as part of God. O, Man! To be nearer to the Divine, respect the dignity due each particle.

14. Physical austerities of spiritual practices, penance, fasting, and Yoga are not the only means of realization of the Divine. The proximity to the Divine can be realized in the course of family life, without recourse to any spiritual practice. The only requisite is purity of the soul.

15. If you wish to attain enlightenment, walk the path indicated by your Guru and do good in the world. O, Man! Remember that neither wealth nor your progeny will enlighten you.

16. Perceive the presence of your Self in everyone; every being is a manifestation of the Divine.

17. Your good or bad deeds cannot be concealed from the sky and space; the messengers of the Divine are omniscient.

18. Vision is not bestowed upon one who is shown the path; neither is the path shown to one provided with vision. Surrender to the lotus feet of the Divine relieves one of this dilemma.

19. One who comprehends the real face of atheism, cannot ignore the existence of the Divine.

20. He who comprehends the mystery of life, both from within and without, realizes the Divine.

21. Realization of the Divine is the measure of life. To forget this is to lead a meaningless life.

22. The state of a person whose mind revolves around food, clothes, luxuries and ornaments is worse than that of an animal. Identification with the Divine alone will release you from material bondage.

23. The heart of the person who has no desire for opulence is the resting place of the Divine, beyond the reach of those who chase after worldly splendor.

24. Only after extricating oneself from attachments does one approach the Divine.

25. The Divine is beyond language, be it Sanskrit, Arabic, Latin or Greek.

26. One should not be distraught nor lose patience over misfortunes. It is when one can no longer rely on reason alone, that the path to realization of the Divine becomes visible.

27. Investing a single seed in the path of the Guru yields a hundred-fold.

28. One who perceives the beauty of the soul, knows the Divine.

29. That which we call the Divine resides in Truth and Faith alone.

30. In the whole Universe, there is no treasure worth offering to the Divine except the self.

31. Nobody has exclusive claim on the Divine. Blessings are not showered upon any particular individual, nor is any particular individual the favorite devotee. There is no separation. For One-ness with the Divine (Brahma), purity of oneês soul (self) is essential.

32. O, misguided mortal! Do not be misled in your search for Me. If your heart is pure, God is with you. Don't you know that it is you who happens to be the shrine of the Divine that abides in you Yourself !

33. Those engrossed in worldly affluence are far away from God.

34. For one who seeks God, worldly splendors are left behind. For one who seeks worldly gain, God is left behind.

35. O, my kindred souls! My soul is universal which abides within you and all other creatures of the world identically. This itself is my vast form, of which you and all other living beings of the universe equally constitute component parts. Therefore, O worshippers, first and foremost in your practice of devotion is not to cause anguish to any one of my limbs. Do not entertain ill-will towards any part. Protect all my limbs. Be virtuous in your conduct towards them all. Honor them all. Have a pious attitude toward the beauty of all my limbs. Extend pure love to them all. Impress all of them with your sense of service and sacrifice. O, my devotees, if you do so, I shall be happy to witness my development within you!

36. Man is not the slave of circumstances; circumstances are the slaves of men. They test one's abilities. The able man fights through the circumstance and marches ahead. He who chooses defeat and retreats, has no substance. His life no longer has meaning.

37. Just as the nature of fire is to give heat, of water to quench thirst, of food to satisfy hunger, so is the nature of man to exude friendliness and serve mankind.

38. Hasty decisions are a sign of weakness.

Those who are patient achieve immortality; the impatient burn like straw.

40. O, mortal! The dictates of the mind are misleading. It is fickle, and its fickleness leads you to the brink of countless desires. If you want to lead a truly blissful life, recognize the voice of Self. Remember, your soul will always give you the right inspiration. It is full of light like the lamp on the altar. It shines as brightly as the sun.

41. Measure mind by mind; duality will cease.

42. A man with an unleashed mind easily loses balance and is likely to harm himself, his community and his country.

43. You will definitely have to seek out life in the wilderness of the mind.

44. Mind is the reflection of the soul itself. On disciplining it, the experience of the soul begins to emerge.

45. The soul can be known only through the medium of the mind. Mind is the reflection of the soul just as the sun is known through sunlight.

46. Even if the mind flies away, let it go. The body should not, however, be permitted to break loose. If the bowstrings are slack, the arrows cannot be shot.

47. One should pay attention to the dominant dictates of the soul rather than to the fickle dictates of the mind.

48. A person gets inspiration from two sources: first from the mind and then from the soul. There is a vast gulf of difference between the two. The soul provides the right inspiration to the heart. The mind, due to its fickle nature, misguides one every moment. Therefore, obey the dictates of your deep Self and do not fall prey to the antics of your mind or to those ascetics and sanyasins with wavering minds.

Ashram News:

New Year Day: The Ashram held a day of sadhana on the first day of the year from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Start the new year on the right foot was the theme for the day. The program was designed to bring the practice of Yoga and Meditation in one's daily life. Thirty-two participants took part in this event. An inspirational talk by Babaji, yoga, meditation, chanting and sharing constituted the theme of the day. A fine way to start the new year.

New Publication: Oasis Of Stillness: Life and Teachings of Aghoreshwar Baba Bhagwan Ramji. A comprehensive 268 page book in English on the life of Aghoreshwar by Baba Harihar Ramji (Hariji) is now available at the Ashram. The book is filled with numerous stories, antedotes, pictures, sayings, index and discourses of Baba. A colorful tapestry of the life journey and teachings of the Aghoreshwar is woven in a story telling style.

The book can be ordered from the Ashram by sending a check for $20.00 including shipping.

Thank you note: We would like to express our gratitude to all the generous supporters of the Ashram during the previous year. May the blessings of Baba keep showering on us all in the new year.

P.O. Box 950 1087 Craig Avenue Sonoma, CA 95476 USA
PH 707-996-8915 FAX 707-996-0388
Send email: ashram@aghor.org