How can we remove the illusion?

Sri Swami Vishwananda:

An egocentric mind, a mind which has fear, a mind full of negativity still can think, still is under the control of the atma, the true self, but one can only listen to the atma when one’s mind is cleared completely.
But when the mind is egocentric it's difficult.
In the life of Rama, Rama wanted to cross over the ocean to go to Lanka to get Sita.
So He fasted for many days, prayed to Varuna, the Ocean God and said “Clear the way, that we can pass.”
But after three days still the Sea God has not appeared.
This angered Lakshmana, the brother of Rama.
He was short-tempered.
And the same Lakshmana has incarnated as Balarama.
So he took his arrow and said to the Ocean “Ocean, I will dry you up.”
Rama saw that and rushed to His brother, saying“Brother what are you doing? My dear brother, I will tell you something, what you are trying to do right now is to kill Maya by Maya, but it’s impossible.
You can’t remove illusion by illusion.
What you see here is an illusion and how would you kill illusion by illusion?”
So how to remove illusion is only by God’s name and spiritual practices.

So if you wanna start to recite the Divine Name or just continue your pratice, you will find here a nice Bhajan "Hey Ram." Guruji also sings this Bhajan quite often.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0s0anVD104


Hey Ram, Hey Ram, (Chorus)
Jag Mein Sachu Tera Naam,
Tu Hi Mata, Tu Hi Pita Hai,
Tu Hi To Hai Radha Ka Shyam,
(Chorus)
Tu Antaryami, Sabka Swami,
Tere Charno Mein Charo Dham,
(Chorus)
Tu Hi Bigade, Tu Hi Saware,
Is Jaag Ke Sare Kaam,
(Chorus)
Tu Hi Jagra Data Vishv Vidhata,
Tu Hi Subah, Tu Hi Shaam
(Chorus)

The meaning of this Bhajan is:

O Ram, Your name is the true name in this world
You are Mother, Father, and You are Shyam of Radha
You are knower of what is inside the heart, Lord of all, the four abodes are in Your feet
You destroy as well create all the works of this world
You are the creator of this world, you are the morning and evening
O Ram, Your name is the true name in this world

If you want to change, change now

Words spoken by Sri Swami Vishwananda during the Christmas- Satsang on the 25th December 2008.


Sri Swami Vishwananda: What do you understand by Christmas?

Someone: Love.
Someone: Sharing.
Someone: Learn to open the heart.


Sri Swami Vishwananda: No, don’t learn! Open it! (audience laughing)

You see, this is a thing in spirituality, that spiritual people always think “I will learn to open the heart, I will learn to do this, I will learn to be positive, I will stop smoking, I want to stop smoking, I want to stop this, I want to stop that.”

It’s not about wanting, it’s about doing. If one will always say “I will open my heart", they can wait for years and years to open the heart (audience laughing). Every year for Christmas they will say “I want to change” or when the New Year comes they will say “This year, I will change”.
How many among you have done that?
Someone: Lot’s of them.

Sri Swami Vishwananda: (Laughing) It’s not about “I will change”, but now I’m changing.

It’s all about this year I will change. I don’t know when- The year is full, 365 day, 12 months. You don’t know when you will change, but now you can change. So, this is how we have to understand it, you know? If you want to change, change now. If you want to stop smoking, stop it now. If you want to stop eating meat, stop it now.

Here you can listen to another very sweet Song with the Title "Mary did you know"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfpK6cNPF7Y

We also sang this song with Dharmananda on our Christmas Concert on Tuesday in a different style but with the same inspiring text. Hopefully we will sing this song dedicated to our Beloved Lord Jesus more often and also tonight during the Darshan? :-)
"Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk one water?"
We don't know is She knew, but we know it know and thus can worship our great Lord. Have a a wonderful second Christmas day and enjoy this special time of the year!

Don’t say you will gradually stop. It doesn’t happen.

Christ is continously born inside of you

Here is another excerpt from Sri Swami Vishwananda's Christmas speech on 25th December 2008

Sri Swami Vishwananda:

So…For me, with the years you understand the deeper meaning of Christmas, you know? It’s not just a festival that you go to Churches just to… they all like to go to the Churches for midnight mass or I have been to Bhajans singing. It’s not about that, you know? It’s true that Christ has been born probably some 2000 years plus. It’s about celebrating. Because He brought something new to the world, which is forgiveness, Love. Many Avatars have come.

They all have brought Love, but the Love was not really forgiving. Many Saints have come, prophets have come, but the Love was just “Yes, I love you”, but there was always a condition to the Love. And also if you did something wrong to them, you would get back what is wrong. But what He brought is this forgiveness.

That’s why in the prayer they keep reminding of the forgiveness of forgiving what you have done wrong, forgiveness of yourself actually.

You yourself forgive. It’s not about God forgiving you, but you yourself forgive yourself. And focus on the Love that you carry inside of you.

And Christ is born- Yes.

It’s nice outside to celebrate Him, but He is born inside each one of us.

And this rebirth is not only because of Christmas time.

He is born continuously in each cell of your body.

Click here for hearing the nice and joyful song "Mary's Boy Child Jesus Christ" by Boney M.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi31zGWhSyM&feature=related
By the way we also sang the song on tuesday together with Dharmananda, after the concert with Anubhab.
It was a nice mixture between Christan Christmas songs and Indian Music and we really enjoyed to be part of this spontanous music experiment.
Afterwards some of the Residents and guests performed also a Cover version of the famous world hit "We are the world" by Michael Jackson and various other artists like Bruce Springesteen or Tina Turner.
Merry Christmas and lot's of Love to everyone!

The yearning of the (great) Souls to see the Divine

Today Sri Swami Vishwananda is talking about Sri Ramakrishna and the general longing for seeing the Divine. Not only many great Souls like Sri Ramakrishna, Str. Francis or Mirabai had this yearning for seeing the Lord,- No, it is something which we all will face, sooner or later especially when we are on the spiritual Path. The yearning for the Unity with the Divine. Read here what Sri Swami Vishwananda is saying:

Sri Swami Vishwananda:
Sri Ramakrishna- Probably you have heard about him. He was a great Devotee of Ma Kali, the Divine Mother. He would long for the Divine Mother, he would cry for the Divine Mother, he would sit everyday in front of the statue of the Divine Mother. He said “It’s just that .Mother, are you just a statue? I call for You, why do You not come to me? Why You can’t see the longing, the paining of my heart?” So everyday He would go mad. He would roll on the ground, crying for the Divine Mother, just to have a glimpse of the Divine Mother. Such was the intensitivity of this Bhakta, this Devotee. After longing for so much, the Divine Mother came to Him. And that’s how all the great souls really long. Then when He was doing prayer to the Divine Mother, it was not just for the Divine Mother. He would throw everything around. He would throw everything on the utensils and He would throw the flowers on Himself. He said: “Mother, you are everywhere. You are this utensil. You are this flower. You are everything that I see around.”


The same thing: St. Francis could perceive everywhere the Divine. That’s why He said 'Brother' and 'Sister' to everybody.
With such an intensitivity of longing to the Divine, you will have Him. If you just say “Well, I long for the Divine, but it has to be my way” (laughing)....
Of course the Divine will come in your way, but you will encounter certain limitations that He can understand only.

Here a beautiful link to the Arati of Sri Ramakrishna, composed by His disciple Swami Vivekananda and set to Music in Classical Dhrupat style by him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Ovw6sG3sE