Congregation Gems 1 
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters

Welcome to Congregation Gems.  This is a new series for inspiration 
and upliftment.  It is particularly suitable for those persons 
giving talks or sermons to   their congregation and brings uplifting 
thoughts to the listener - so bringing them closer to God.

Each edition will contain short pieces which you can slot or adjust 
into any of your talks and sermons.  All discourses are from the 
works of the inspiring spiritual teacher Shrii Shrii Anandamurti.

Dharma 

SPIRITUAL OUTLOOK - I
 
*            Through all works, big and small, humanity has to be 
awakened. Humanity in its fullest sense is Divinity, and its 
perfection is Godhood. The aspirant must not forget this even for a 
moment.
(Carya'carya II, 8)
 
*           Whatever you speak or do,
            Forget Him never;
            Keeping His name in your heart,
            Work, remembering it is for Him
            And, endlessly active, drift in bliss.
(Carya'carya II, 8)
 
*          The world is a panorama of endless movement, a vast 
assemblage of rainbow colours. If upon seeing it, people think that 
they have really attained something permanent, or become intoxicated 
with the colours, they will make a great mistake. People are 
attracted to minute portions of things on this earth, and embracing 
them, seek the path of self-gratification. But long before they 
attain satisfaction, those minute portions, those colours, vanish 
into nothingness, leaving them in endless frustration and 
lamentation, like blind, headless demons. This is not a decree of 
God, it is the consequential law of the universe.
 
The Supreme Cognitive Principle, which is the only knowable entity 
for all other beings, is the sole permanent entity. To attain 
something permanent, one must not run after the petty pleasures of 
the world. Rather, knowing that eternal Entity, that permanent 
Entity, to be the only goal of life, one has to propel all one's 
mental propensities towards Him. One must not waste one's 
potentialities mistaking the temporal for the eternal.
 
All created objects are sitting in the midst of the multitude of 
finite things, and with the help of a finite unit mind, it is 
impossible, either in theory or in practice, to think of the 
Infinite. When the mind becomes intoxicated with the thought of the 
Infinite, then the finite mind transcends its own limits and loses 
itself in a state of endless peace. This is the highest attainment.
(Namah Shiva'ya Sha'nta'ya, 134)
 
 
*          The innumerable structures which arise as a result of the 
countless vibrational undulations of the Supreme Entity, have on the 
one hand enlivened every step of creation with restless vitality and 
blissful sweetness - and on the other, given scope for the mistaken 
understanding of Him as many, not One. From this mistake arises all 
life's delicious sweetness, its spicy flavours - and also its 
piercing bitter scorpion stings, its heart-rending moans of grief. 
Hence in One we see many, in all their perfections and imperfections 
in all their sweetness and bitterness, all due to the special role 
of the sense organs.
 
In the first stage of human life, when people notice the colourful 
processions of various inferential waves such as form, taste, smell, 
colour, touch, etc they immediately become attracted towards them. 
The entire universe appears to be a grand caravan of many colours: 
it seizes their senses and their minds rush after it, taking it to 
be the goal of life. In the first stage this enchanting material 
panorama propels people from their inner world to external life. If 
at that stage, someone tells them to move towards the internal 
world, they become irritated and annoyed. They think "Oh, I'm quite 
fine here!" Blending their colours with the colours of all, 
strolling on soft carpets of green grass, they think, "All these 
things are meant for me!"
 
This material-oriented existence is the first stage of human life. 
At this stage, one wants to express only one thing with the whole of 
one's being, and that is, "I exist, only I exist."
 
Trials and tribulations compel people to ponder deeply; sorrows 
inspire them to analyse the law of cause and effect. Their wounded 
hearts want to be soothed with a healing balm from an Entity greater 
than themselves. They realize then that there is a greater Entity 
than their little selves. Whatever might be their relation with that 
Entity, and whether that Entity is within their reach or not, they 
cherish the hope of gaining something from Him: they cry out, "Save 
me, protect me!" Then they change their mental tune and say, "I 
exist, You also exist."
 
When this relationship of hope and fulfilment fails to remove their 
internal dissatisfactions, when the greenness of the external world 
fails to moisten the desert of their minds, when the seeds of their 
desires do not sprout, then they realize that they will have to go 
still deeper inside and the key to the solution lies deeper within. 
They are still within locked doors and windows; in search of the 
key, they move inwards, but they are unable to find it. They do not 
feel that they are even near a guide - far less in close 
association. Concentrating all their mental anguish, they begin to 
shed tears in their minds and, beating their heads, say to the 
unknown Lord of their life:
 
            I have spent my life in vain;
            Such a great Lord I did not worship -
            I lost the greatest jewel.
            I am indeed an unfortunate creature;
            I never enjoyed
            Even a drop of nectar
            Of the love of God.
 
The Supreme Consciousness is the Supreme Cognitive Faculty; nothing 
is outside Him. He too feels the inner agony of despairing people in 
the core of His heart, and shows them the soothing path of 
enlightenment. Then those despairing people cry out in the 
exuberance of their joy, "You exist, Oh Lord, I also exist!"
 
They continue to move into the inner world. The charming allurements 
of the external world no longer keep their minds in thrall. The 
dazzling splendour of form and colour, their glittering attraction, 
no longer evokes any response in the inner most recesses of their 
minds. The radiance of the colourful world and the effulgence of 
their inner life become one. Just as -
 
            Prasad says, what you were in the beginning;
            You will become in the end -
            Just as bubbles rising from the water
            Into the water will merge again.
 
And further--
 
            The pot is in the water;
            The water is in the pot.
            Water inside and outside.
            If the pot is broken, the waters become one -
            Only the wise understand this great idea.
 
The organs' externalisation and internalisation of inferential waves 
from the external world then appears to be a play of illusion. The 
external world merges into the internal world and ultimately there 
remains only one Entity -- " You exist, only You exist".
 
So it has been said, " Of all knowledge, only this remains".
(Namah Shiva'ya Sha'nta'ya, 138) 
 
*          The microcosmic nucleus approaches the Macrocosmic 
nucleus not through knowledge and action but through devotion. Then 
why should the people cultivate knowledge or action? They do so in 
order that their devotion may become more intense, not for any other 
reason. People don't eat pickle to fill the stomach but to whet 
their appetite so that they can enjoy their food more. Similarly, 
devotees cultivate knowledge or action not for their physical growth 
but to gather the strength to move on the path of devotion with 
greater acceleration. This movement towards the Supreme 
Consciousness (God) is devotion. Knowledge and action are aids and 
therefore knowledge and action should both be cultivated.
(Nama'mi Krs'n'asundaram, 152)
 
*          People are heading towards the Supreme Consciousness 
through their devotion. The microcosmic point is heading towards the 
nuclear point of the Supreme Consciousness. The closer it comes, the 
more it realizes the proximity of the Macrocosmic nucleus and the 
more the nature of the point changes. The closer a drop of water 
moves towards the sun, the more it is transformed into vapour. When 
it nears the sun, it no longer remains a drop of water but becomes 
transformed into a mass of fire.
 
Let us use a better analogy. A block of iron advances towards the 
sun. When it nears the sun it loses its solidarity and is converted 
into molten iron. It melts due to its closeness to the sun.  When it 
comes even closer, it changes from molten iron into gaseous iron. 
When it comes into closest proximity to the sun it becomes one with 
the sun as the iron turns into a purely luminous mass. Its existence 
can no longer be separated from the sun.
 
In the beginning the microcosmic point possesses only microscopic 
qualities. The more the spiritual aspirant advances, the more his or 
her qualities change. In the process, when one comes into close 
proximity with the Macrocosmic nucleus, one loses one's former 
qualities and assumes the qualities of the object of ideation. When 
the microcosmic point comes into close proximity to the Macrocosmic 
nucleus, there can no longer remain two points. They merge into one, 
the Macrocosmic point. The unit entity will merge with the Supreme 
Consciousness (God). In the end there is no dualism. Dualism cannot 
survive.
(Nama'mi Krs'n'asundaram, 150)
 
*          The unit entities are compelled to act under the impact 
of two personalities. One is the small 'I' which craves to 
accumulate so many things, big or small, and give so many things to 
society. The small 'I' creates a world of its own centering around 
that little world of illusion wherein the small "I" is entrapped and 
where it considers itself to be the supreme monarch.
 
Simultaneously, there is a larger world, the much larger world of 
the Supreme Consciousness, a world where the small "I" is a mere 
bubble. All the hopes and aspirations, all the desires and urges of 
that insignificant bubble residing within the vast mind of Supreme 
Consciousness attain supreme fulfilment only at the time when it 
merges itself in the main stream of the Cosmic flow. Otherwise, 
individual hopes and desires remain forever unfulfilled and 
unrealized.  Human beings cherish thousands of desires in their 
hearts, but those desires generally remain unfulfilled because the 
waves of individual human desires do not maintain parallelism with 
the waves of the Cosmic desire.
(Nama'mi Krs'n'asundaram, 41)
 
*          The movement of each and every object of the universe is 
in a particular way, unless redirected in some other way by a 
stronger mental force. But the case of human beings is different--
they have certain specialties of their own. A river moves from the 
mountain towards the sea, and also from the sea towards the 
mountain. But in the case of human minds, of human microcosms, the 
movement may be from the mountain towards the sea, and also from the 
sea towards the mountain - this is the speciality of the human mind.
 
The objectivity of the human mind, unlike other entities of this 
universe, may move from subtle towards crude, or from crude to 
subtle. That is why it has been said, "Mind is the cause of bondage, 
and this very mind is also the cause of liberation, of 
emancipation".  If the movement towards crude is encouraged, the 
mind - and at the same time the entire existence of the human being -
 will be converted into crude matter. It will be a path of negative 
evolution. And if the movement towards subtle is encouraged, then 
the entire existence will be converted either into Cosmic Mind or 
into Cosmic Cognitive Faculty.  If the very I-feeling is surrendered 
at the altar of Supreme Existence, then the entire existence will 
become one with the Supreme Cognitive Principle - one will become 
omniscient and all-knowing.
("Existential Flow and Its Culminating, Point", Calcutta, 1986)
 
*          The Cosmic Nucleus is associated with microcosms and the 
world through His pervasive association and individual association. 
It is enormously difficult to be the Consciousness of the Nucleus. 
What is the difficulty? He must always remain associated with 
everything and everyone. None of His created beings should be 
neglected or slighted: He must associate Himself with the minds of 
each and everyone, listen to their thoughts and alleviate their 
sufferings, whether they are literate or illiterate, rich or poor. 
He must shoulder the responsibility for the entire creation. Then 
and then alone does He deserve to be the Nucleus Consciousness. He 
is no Cosmic Nucleus who remains in His ivory tower, indifferent to 
the sorrows and sufferings of the created beings, but accepting 
their worship. To be the Cosmic Nucleus - the Nuclear Consciousness -
 one has to remain associated with the created beings, both 
collectively and individually through pervasive association and 
individual association.
 
The personal relationship with each and every individual, with every 
particle of dust, every drop of water, is termed pervasive 
association. That is, the Nucleus Consciousness is aware of your 
individual thoughts and feelings, your joys and sorrows and He takes 
suitable steps to remove your distress and afflictions. Here I 
deliberately used the word "suitable". It implies that He has to 
take steps to remove one's personal wants, sufferings and miseries 
without jeopardising the collective interest. For example, if the 
sunset is delayed for one hour for the good of one individual, it 
would go against the collective interest. This He cannot do. 
Although He cannot go against the collective interest, He is bound 
to pay attention to the needs and feelings of every individual. This 
is what is called pervasive association.
(Nama'mi Krs'n'asundaram, 61)



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