Sri Ramakrishna was gradually becoming conscious of the outside world.  Nilmadhav of Ghazipur and a Brahmo devotee were talking about Pavhari Baba.  Another Brahmo devotee said to the Master: "Sir, these gentlemen visited Pavhari Baba.  He lives in Ghazipur.  He is a holy man like yourself." The Master could hardly talk; he only smiled.  The devotee continued, "Sir, Pavhari Baba keeps your photograph in his room." Pointing to his body the Master said with a smile, "Just a pillow-case."

The Master continued: "But you should remember that the heart of the devotee is the abode of God.  He dwells, no doubt, in all beings, but He especially manifests Himself in the heart of the devotee.  A landlord may at one time or another visit all parts of his estate, but people say he is generally to be found in a particular drawing-room.  The heart of the devotee is the drawing-room of God.

#spiritual

The Master had once said to her, 'One may beg food from others, but still one must not live at another's house. Don't pull down your humble cottage at Kamarpukur, however great might be the respect with which the devotees receive you in their homes.' And following the Master's advice, all through her life she bore the expenses of repairing and maintaining the cottage.

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The magnet was pulling the iron to itself. Aghormani felt a strong desire to visit the Master at the earliest opportunity. A few days later she again visited Dakshineshwar with some stale sweets purchased from a wayside shop. With great hesitation, she offered the sweets to the Master who savored them and said, "Well, you need not spend money for sweets. Prepare sweetened coconut balls and vegetable curries cooked by your own hand." Aghormani’s visits to Dakshineshwar now became very frequent. Her fascination for the Master, however, was a little shadowed by the puzzle why the Master talked to her mostly about food and not on spiritual matters. Sometime, she resolved not to go to him again but every time she found herself automatically dragged in the direction of Dakshineshwar. Thus, during the next three or four months she regularly visited Sri Ramakrishna, always carrying some of her culinary preparations, and the Master ate them praising, "Ah, how deliciously cooked! It is, as it were, very nectar." She always returned to Kamarhati with a tingle of joy lingering in her heart with an irresistible yearning for the next visit.

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Disciple: Mother, everybody says that one who approaches the Kalpataru(wish-fulfilling tree) has to ask for something. But I wonder, for what should children ask their Mother? A mother gives to every child according to its need. As Sri Ramakrishna used to say.. "A mother serves different dishes to suit the stomachs of her different children." Now please tell me which is the correct attitude.

Mother: How much intelligence does a man possess? He is likely to ask for something other than what he really needs. He may even end up creating a monkey in place of Siva. It is wise to take refuge in Him. He will always give you whatever is necessary. However, one should pray for devotion and desirelessness; for such a prayer does no harm.

#devotion #spiritual

I wanted to watch this for long. And I ordered it when I was traveling to america. It's a short thirty minute video. I liked it. The music is very nice! I have already watched it thrice!

#gratitude #spiritual

The day after her first visit to Sri Ramakrishna with Balaram Babu, Gauri Ma took an early morning bath in the Ganges and once again went to Dakshineswar, this time by herself.

Standing by the front door. Sri Ramakrishna was very happy to see her. "I was just thinking about you," he said.

Falteringly, Gauri Ma described her life of the preceding fifteen years to Sri Ramakrishna. She recounted her mysterious experience when she had seen his holy feet on the throne of Damodar. She then asked him, "That you are hiding here, at Dakshineswar, so close to Calcutta – could I not have known this earlier, Father?"

But Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna only gave a little knowing smile and replied, "Then how would you have done so much sadhana?"

#spiritual

I watched this show in Hyderabad on 22 August. It was a captivating small play. If you haven’t watched a good play before you should go sometime and see one; it is not something you can compare with  movies.

The play showed the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan and a mathematician fascinated by his work in the present day and her struggle in today world. The play can be interpreted in several ways and it gives something to think over for everyone. For me it was the simplicity and brilliance of Ramanujan; his courage and dedication towards his work.

“Numbers are continuous and so is time and space… and If time and space are continuous we are connected to the absolute.”

#spiritual

Epicurus on Happiness

• Make good Friends.
• Develop Self-sufficiency. Freedom.
• Have time to analyze, to  reflect. Be free of other's opinions.

Montaigne on Self-Esteem

• Be comfortable with your body as are animals. That is a wisdom to be learnt from animals.
• To be wise: Humility, modesty and acceptance of one's intellectual limitation.

Nietzsche on Hardship

• Our worries are vital clues telling us what is wrong with our lives and pointing the way to our ultimate improvement.
• Dare to take challenges in manner similar to climbing a mountain overcoming hurdles.
• That which does not kill me makes me stronger.

Seneca on Anger

• Pre-meditation on something uncomforting that might happen lessens the surprise and can help control the anger.
• Anger and frustration are irrational responses to setbacks and the only rational strategy is to stay calm about the fact that things do go wrong.

Socrates on Self-Confidence (Plato was his student)

• We should not be too swayed by the opinion of the others. Sheepish.
• Five distinct steps that anyone who wants to develop distinct thoughts should follow:

1. Look around for common statements that is stated to be common sense... like "Best jobs are the highly paid jobs"...
2. Look around for an exception.
3. If an exception is found then the statement is incorrect or at least imprecise.
4. Try to nuance the statement to take the exception in the account.
5. Continue this process... try to find exceptions to the common sense statement.

I had been writing reasonable consistently these days (not online though) and so when I looked at the date when I last posted here I was surprised- has it been it really these many days since I last logged in to post here? Yes, it has!

Time actually flies by at times. It is so vital to just live in the present and be aware and mindful about the moment. The present moment is the result of all our past actions put together and together with the present it determines our future! So how vital it is to to be present in the moment! Probably that is why it is called a 'present'.

#spiritual

How emotional is the boy! Each day he can watch the same video... read the same book and cry the same way? Has he gone mad? He cannot decide anymore. He does not know if he hasn't matured or what? He does not enjoy movies nor places nor delicacies. They are all the same to him. At times he only feels oppressed by all the talk that surrounds him and how it is expected of him to talk in the same vein! He enjoys being absolutely free, not worrying about money -- emptying his purse, being left alone -- absolutely alone, he does not feel bored or tired. And there is only one thing that keeps him from making a bold decision and do what he has felt like being from ever since... it is the sense that he is not worthy of that, he is not convinced that he has the strength to make the move. He does not have greediness, It is attachment and desire for feminine company that causes everything else to spring up for him. When he first came across pornography he was deeply disgusted with himself but could not tear himself away from it. The mind was not developed enough to resist temptation by that time, it could not discriminate and hold its ground. And the social inhibition never let him take help from anyone. Although he tried, his efforts proved futile, he was no longer in control of his emotions. He spent nights awake and crying. It gives me a shudder even to remember those nights! He was desperate to change. The thing he devised was to start treating every women with great respect and faith. But porn never left him. He never tried with all his heart. He ensured that he would never think bad thoughts about any women, not even as much as try to touch them. They were sacred to him. But the time that was invested in having these traits robbed him of other normal experiences. He never learned to talk casual, to take things in perspective. He could neither express himself nor accept others.

Is he waiting for something to happen? No, he does not want to relish in past memories nor plan about the future -- now is the only life. What can he learn from outside till he hasn't started to respect and trust the Guru within? Nothing needs to be given up like he feels all the time -- if one clings to the One all that has to be relinquished will fall by itself. Anandmayi Ma says, “as if by compulsion the mind runs towards the gratification of desires that bring suffering... and again... No effort ever goes to waste -- then why all the practice, the concentration comes to no effect? That is because when there is a hole in a pitcher full of water, no matter how small it is all the water leaks away!” And she tells, “The fact that you are aware of your incapacity to concentrate on God's name is also His grace; even though not interested take the name as medicine -- This also will have good result.” Like Raman Maharshi's mantra "naan yaar" (Who am I?) She used to preach "ja hoye jay"(Everything is God's will).

#spiritual