The love of God is the only Reality......

I’ll tell you something: to realise the Love of God you have to live it; you can’t read it. To realise devotion, bhakti, you have to live bhakti. Then you can have just a glimpse of this Love. I’ll tell you something more: even a glimpse of this Love is a lot for this body. Try your best always to achieve this Love, because this is the only Reality. All that we think is real, all these things are just an illusion and will fade with time. The body is an illusion; with time it will grow old and disappear. But yet, the reality of the Atma will stay. How many people really arrive in a lifetime to the point of realising the Atma Swarupa - the real form of the Atma? 

When your right hand gives, your left hand should not know about it...

Jesus talked about love and faith. In Hinduism, we call it bhakti: faith, devotion and love. In love, you don’t have expectations. You do not want anything from anybody. You are just here to give. Jesus never expected anything from anybody. Did he expect something from somebody? No, he was just here to give. He was always giving. You cannot say his life was a charitable one, but he gave it freely. He gave without any expectation, without even thinking or talking about it. He even taught to be quiet about whatever happens. In one of the parables he said, when your right hand gives, your left hand should not know about it. That means, give and forget about it. In the same way, sometimes when you receive something, you are very happy about it for some time, but after some time you forget about it, isn’t it? So the same way you should also give and forget it. And when you give – give with love. Give it joyfully without any egoistic thinking, “Oh, I have done this.” So many times people do lots of good things and talk a lot about it. But this is not how it should be. You have to give and forget. Then it is not you who gave, it’s the Self. The Self is everlasting giving! 

Nothing will stop you...

Once you have touched the love of the Cosmic Consciousness or the Higher Consciousness, there is no decrease, even if several lives – I am not talking about months! – You will carry it always with you, and it will grow more and more. Through that kind of Love, there is peace and harmony. It is the freedom that one is looking for. It’s not outside somewhere, it’s here inside of you. If you sincerely long for it, it will come out. You have to be patient, because remember that Love is also a great teacher. A teacher is not here just to give you good things, he has to teach you. The more he teaches you, the stronger you will become. If you are real seeker of that truth, nothing will stop you, not even the teaching of the teacher. 

And at the end – just be love! Nothing else, just love....

We talk about His love for all of us – this love that He has without condition. We start our spiritual way because there is something missing in our life, something that this world can’t give. This thing which is missing, you can only discover inside of you. Yet there is a saying – approach Him with love, reach Him in that love, meet Him in love, embrace Him with love and merge with Him and become Eternal Love! I find it so beautiful.

So we start our journey to approach the Divine. Our first step is searching for Him. This is when in our life we feel the need to pray. Prayer is this essence of realising that there is something greater – whether you call it God, Light, Spirit… The search starts with prayer, and prayer makes the link, prayer makes the first step to this union. Then one will reach the next step by meeting and reaching that love. By prayer the heart opens up, firstly towards the outside, then towards the inside. We meet Him in love. Through the reciting and singing of God’s names, like you are doing, you reach the point where love is, where everybody is sharing one goal: the achievement of that love. Then there comes the point of meeting Him in love. This is happening in meditation, when you sit down and have the connection with your true Self. You meet the love within yourself and start this discussion, start this communication with the Self, about knowing who you really are. In this meeting we embrace that love, we become one with it and realise it more and more. The realisation of love is already in your heart. The moment you are born, it’s already there. It’s up to each one of you to let it out. Leave the problems apart, leave your worries apart – be this love, be this Eternal Love, and enjoy it! Love is simple, if you have it inside your heart. Is it difficult? What a simple word. Let it flow! Everything is in it, everything – even the cosmic float itself is present in it. So make this your goal: Wanting love! Want it! First thing in the morning when you wake up, say it, “I want love, I am love!” During the day recite, “I am love.” And at night, when you are going to bed, recite, “I am love.” First you start by reciting it outside to conquer the power of the mind. Then you say it inwardly, quietly, within yourself, “I am love.” Then you say it with all parts of your body, “I am love.” And at the end – just be love! Nothing else, just love.

When we talk about freedom.....

 Often people talk about liberation or freedom. When we talk about freedom, what are the things we think of at first? Freedom of country, political freedom, economic freedom… But the inner freedom is the most important among all the different kinds of freedom, and that is what mankind really wants to achieve. This is the reason why each soul has come on earth. They come to achieve this freedom, this love of God.

Let me try to interpret this kind of freedom: If you want something you shall have it. But you can also detach from the desire by your own will. You see, mankind desires many things, but when they have them they get attached to them. This attachment brings unhappiness. The more you are attached to things which are limited or not eternal, the more you feel miserable. You lose this inner freedom. You become limited in the mind. You become limited with your body, which in turn makes your soul limited. So, to free one’s self, one must surrender the body, mind and soul to God, to the Unlimited.

It’s true that everybody can’t renounce the world and live only for God, but you can continuously try to remember God wherever you are. Remember that the soul inside you is the light of God. The more you think of yourself being part of this light of God, this great love, the more you will reflect this love. But the more you think that you are just a normal human being, the more you will just be a normal human being with all of its limited qualities and you cover all of your divine qualities. Take time every day, just five minutes, to be with your Self. Forget about the world outside, forget everything. Forget about your husband or wife; forget about all your relationships with the outside. Only think of the relationship with your Self.

Do you know what you will find??..... love. Love is such a big gift. We feel it with our heart, we know it with our mind, but to realise it, to become one with this love, to spread this love, unconditionally – this is the aim of mankind. The more you spread it, the more you reflect it, the more you will discover your Self. 

Nityam brahma niraakaaram - nirgunam bodhayet param;

Sarvam brahma niraabhaasam - deepo deepaantaram yathaa.

Just as one candle lights another, the Guru imparts to the

disciple awareness of the Absolute Being who is eternal,

imperceptible and without form or attribute.

A true friend is ready to sacrifice everything.....

Christ said: A true friend is ready to sacrifice everything. And, actually, Love is that sacrifice. If you truly love, you will sacrifice everything. Until you have come to the point of really feeling this kind of Love inside of you – and you have to be ready – all the other kinds of love will have expectations. Very often what we call Love, it is just passion or desire. Today we love that person, tomorrow we love another person, but in one year you don’t even remember who these people were. Real Love is to be found deep inside of you,

personally. It’s not in someone else, it’s inside of you. It’s your true nature. This is who you are in Reality. The Divine is not far away. He is inside of you. You just need to calm your mind and introvert yourself. So see how much you are truthful towards yourself and how much you really, sincerely want the Divine.

True love is everlasting giving, not expectation. We do our sadhana, we do our spiritual practices, only to attain this Love, so that it may become unconditional. For the sake of Unconditional Love, we realise the Unity with the Divine. Then we can say that we are really in Love. As long as it’s here in the mind it is very difficult. Christ said: Love Thy God, with all Thy mind and Spirit. The mind has to be fully on the Divine. The mind has to transcend the limitations and transform itself.

Wisdom of Sri Swami Vishwananda.....

When you say “Really, I want Him,” there will be such Love inside of you, such great peace and

calmness inside of you, that you will feel Him.

Out of Love for His devotee.....

 Out of Love for His devotee, the Lord forgets that He is the Lord. When Yudishtira made the great yagna, He served the people Himself. Krishna went and served everybody. Then He Himself picked up the leaves on which they were eating, showing that there is no difference between the Lord and the One inside of you; breaking all difference in the mind of Man, showing that He is bound with this Love, which is inside of you. He accepts, forgetting that He is the Lord. God accepts, forgetting that He is God and becomes the servant of His devotee. And such Love one has to cultivate; such Love, such devotion, such calling one has to have inside the heart. And when you have Him, you will have everything.