Srinatha Raghavan has shared many valuable messages both his and from masters whom he had met in his life on fb in the past. These are too good to miss. Hence I took the liberty to share it here.
Make the body steady as a clay lamp,
Fill it with oil of Devotion to the brim,
Place the wick of Knowledge (Discrimination) gently within,
When fully soaked (ready), the Guru will come to light it,
Invoking the flame of Highest Wisdom to shine through,
Once the lamp is set alight there will be no fear of Darkness,
It will keep spreading it's light without any effort,
Those who want to be in it's light will come on their own,
And those who cannot tolerate it will leave on their own,
That's the whole life of an Awakened being.
Another.
While doing long periods of Sadhana, the Body, Mind and Breath undergo tremendous and unexpected changes. The breathing becomes deeper, slower, longer and steady, while the body starts to produce intense heat (Taapagni), due to prolonged concentration and refinement of the Mind locked in the Agnya Chakra.
Many years ago, when I underwent a similar situation, the heat and pain became unbearable, where the body would become locked for hours together and despite wanting to move, it wouldn't. It would be like the joints were locked internally by some unseen force (Actually it's the Prana) and it would unlock on it's own.
Finding no real solution after having tried a zillion ones, I continued to the best of my physical ability, pushing the body and mind to its limit, till it couldn't take no more. The body would break down with shooting pain in every inch of it, while the heat generated would make it difficult to even pass stools, with small boils covering all over the body, it was a painful time indeed. This is why it is important to have the guidance of the Guru, so his/her timely wisdom and spiritual common sense can redeem you from your plight.
Just as providence would have it I was fortunate to meet a Siddha from the South during a spiritual sojourn, who was fondly called Appa Siddhar or Rasamani Siddhar. He gauged my plight and gave me a "Rasamani" or "Solidified Purified Mercury" which is still an impossible feat for modern Science to achieve. Mercury by nature is highly poisonous and ingesting it can cause blood poisoning or even death, however the Siddhas of yore found a way to purify it through various "Bandhanas" cleaning and purifying it repeatedly with various herbal juices and salts, till it became a potent tool used for spiritual ascension.
As He gave the "Rasamani" with the instructions on how to use it, the changes in the body was instant and miraculous. A steady Mind and a steadier body is a great blessing for the long and arduous Spiritual Journey within. When I used it as instructed, the heat generated would be strangely transmitted in to the Mercury Ball or Gutika and the body would become cool, tireless and strong, even if it was not fed with anything for hours together.
Trust me when I say this, the Spiritual Path is not a bed of Roses, for a time will come when Heaven will become Hell and there will be no one to understand your plight, let alone help you come out of it. Only the grace of the Guru, has the power to see you through, that's the truth.
The Rasamai was with me for a long time, but in one of my trips, I happened to meet another Spiritual Seeker who was undergoing similar upheavals, so I gladly gave it to him, so it could do its job to help yet another one achieve or overcome what would be otherwise impossible indeed.
Note: Please be advised that the Rasamani or Parad, you get in the market today is not at all the real one. It is either lead coated with German Silver or an alloy of Aluminum and other metals, which is highly poisonous and can cause rashes and other severe conditions. Real Rasamani is very rare and the ones who know how to make it, are even more rarer, because of it's precise, time consuming and difficult to achieve perfection, making the asking price as high as the sky.
Another.
No matter how much you search, or where you search, ultimately it's your Spiritual Karma that has to bear fruit and shape your Destiny, "attracting" the Spiritual Master to you. There is no other way, for if you go in search of them deliberately, you'll only end up "servicing" wannabes and spiritual quacks, making you disillusioned sooner or later.
Remember, it's the Bee which goes in search of the Flower and never the other way round. Also, the Flower has to have Nectar in it...that Nectar is your Spiritual Karma!
So perform good deeds, patiently collect the Nectar and then wait for the Bees (Saints) to flock to your presence on their own.
Or even better...become one!
Here is another piece of advice from another master.
I wanted to leave everything in search of God,
When my Master met me mid way and asked,
"How can you find the Creator, by abandoning His Creation? Are they not inseparable like Water and its Wetness?"
These simple words hit me hard that I dropped the search,
As there was nothing to find or search,
For wasn't everything He alone!
Everything that moves in Creation is She,
Everything that is perfectly still is He,
Yet there is movement in stillness,
And stillness in movement,
For both are inseparable indeed.
Another
I always wanted to run away from the world, to some lonely retreat, where no one would bother me or my spiritual practices, that is, until my old Master met along the way and said, "You fool, what's the use of all your Spirituality and Spiritual Disciplines, if it doesn't make you fit to live in the World, instead of running away from it?"
He added, "Go be a part of it, yet apart, that's the real deal!"
Here is another.
There was a great Devotee, who would spend all the time in devotional activities, like singing Bhajans, chanting the name of the Lord, reading from various Scriptures etc. He was highly respected and venerated in his village as a Saint. He had an adolescent son, who was wayward and exactly the opposite of His great devoted Father.
A child is but an extension of its parents, or at least that's what we want to believe, but each unto their own karma, hence we all have to be, what others can't even imagine. This boy would meander in the woods all alone, sing and dance, do nothing in particular, despite His Father giving him many tasks to keep him occupied. Every evening when the son would return home from wandering, the Father would take him to task, so he would improve or at least he hoped.
One day, the Son got late than usual and the Father, a Widower, lost his temper. He yelled at the top of his voice, "You useless idiot, if you have nothing else to do, at least call on God to help you?"
The words hit the young boy so hard that the next morning as he went into the woods, he began calling for God. He called in all earnesty, but there was no one who responded to his pleas. Many such futile days went by, calling and waiting for God to appear, while His Father was busy with his daily devotional activities.
As time passed by, the Father noticed a subtle change in the behavior of his son. He was no longer the erratic and erroneous boy, in fact he was exuding a strange sense of peace and joy, that whenever the son was around the Father felt a deep sense of devotion welling up from within him. Unable to fathom the change, the Father asked the son, "What do you do the entire day?"
To which the son casually replied, "Why, I play with God!"
The Father couldn't believe what he had just heard and convinced his son was again resorting to lies, slapped him hard across his face, telling him not to do so. The Son didn't know what just transpired, but He nodded his head in submission and went to sleep. For the next many nights, the Father asked the same question and the son too gave the same answer.
Now the Father was livid with rage, thinking how could it be possible, when He was the one who took all the effort to be devoted to God, whereas his dunce of a son, just ran around hither and tither, wasting his time and life in pursuing absolutely nothing.
When you fall for a definition it will take a lifetime to break it so you can be free. No matter how great a Devotee is, that very greatness shall often become their downfall.
Real greatness is the heart that doesn't care for greatness, for it is happy to live and die totally unknown and obsolete. The Father who was considered by others to be a great Devotee, fell for the definition trap and doubted everyone else save He, could be a real Devotee. So when His own son spoke the Truth, that he was playing with God the whole day, the Father was quick to silently doubt and mock in disbelief. What we dream of, if others dream the same, theirs is just a dream and ours is vision indeed.
One day, the Father called his young son and said, "Today take me along and introduce me to your God?"
The innocent dunce of a child was happy to take its Father along so He could see once and for all, the God who played. They waded through the forest, thick with flora and fauna, when they reached a secluded place, where there was an abandoned idol of little Krsna holding a ball of butter.
The son pointed out to the stone statue, to which the Father impetuously reacted with a loud laughter. The Father who himself was a devotee, failed to see the devotion of his own flesh and blood. Alas! Even in devotion there is strong competition, who wants to prove their spiritual competence to the rest of the world.
As the Father kept laughing at his own son's dubious claims of playing with God, they heard a melodious and divine voice calling out, "Come let's play!" The Father fell mute in sacred terror, while the son went on to play with an invisible presence, laughing and singing the most beautiful songs, that no one had ever heard before.
The Father was now totally confused with all the strange happenings, when He pleaded the unseen presence to reveal itself unto Him. He heard the childlike voice once again, "I'm always here and everywhere else, it's your eyes which are blinded by arrogance, which is why you are unable to see?"
The great Devotee fell on the ground pleading for mercy, when all he could hear was the sweet sound of a child's laughter filled with innocent glee.
No matter who you are, what you know or have done, unless the Divine wills, you will be ever bound by your own understanding of Truth sadly.
Another.
"What is the use of worshiping forms, when the Divine is formless?" was the question.
He smiled and replied, "For the one who is lost, abandoned and drowning in the infinite Sea, even a drifting log is God indeed."
~ Forms help you to stay afloat, before you garner enough faith, detachment and courage to let yourself drown in the Formless. Forms help you prepare to receive the Formless.
Another.
Anugraha (Divine Grace) cannot be bought or earned, practiced, predicted nor promised or so. It's like a carefree Butterfly, it will come on its own, choose to sit on your shoulders or give you a miss, no one knows.
Another.
Someone asked, "What is the beauty of Rama Nama?"
He looked at them with tears of joy flowing down His eyes and said nothing at all.
Ah! The word "Rama" is not just a name, it's the key to everlasting peace and happiness. The ones who drink get inebriated without wanting anything else -- neither this world or the next.
When tears flow hearing the name of God, chocking you midway, not wanting anything for yourself, simply flowing with Consciousness, know for sure that you have experienced a certain kind of love, unlike any other...then you can boldly say, "I have experienced God!"
...for Love in it's highest form is God!
Another
Real learning happens when you realize what you know is incomplete & there is much more to know indeed. But for that you'll have to first garner the courage to let go of what you know, so you can get to know what you don't.
There was a time, I was hopelessly addicted to reading Books, so much that I would do nothing but read and read, in the pursuit of that elusive satisfaction that comes with "I know!" I would carry the library of Knowledge inside my head and showcase it when ever I got a chance.
I remember as an adolescent, I had been to the breezy city of Kanyakumari with my Dad and others. While we were in the Vivekananda Museum, I broke into an impromptu jig of recounting stories of Swami Vivekanada's tryst with destiny, based on the collages displayed, entertaining my family with lesser known details of the Swami's life and times. In a short while, a huge crowd assembled around us, eagerly listening a kid tell stories of a bygone era with nuanced details and timelines.
Few of them even went to my Father and gave a few words of appreciation, which made him very proud. That cheeky pride rubbed on to me as well, when my head began to swell in a matter of moments. When your head swells, your tongue becomes more excited and wiggles more than it should.
As I was taking pride at my feat of intellectual exhibition, an old Sadhu who was sitting by the steps of the hall called out to me. He was totally weather beaten, with skin like worn out leather and a springy almost brittle head of hair, with a smile that said, "I know something, that you don't!"
I approached him in reverence and sat beside him, when He asked about my whereabouts, to which I answered satisfactorily. He then asked me something which hit me in my gut. He said, "You seem to know a whole lot about Swami Vivekananda, now tell me, how has it changed you as a person?"
That question was to set into motion, something that would change me forever. I was speechless, as I did not know what to say, but it prompted me to think, to an extent that the grip of Bookish Knowledge was to lose it's influence on me over the years to come. Today when I look back, I feel that was my first initiation into the realms of practical and experiential Spirituality and not Spirituality based on borrowed Knowledge. Knowledge will help you to climb the Mountain, but when you come to the peak, it's your faith and courage to take off, that will help you to fly.
There is no greater wisdom than that gained from direct experience of the Truth.
It's not how much you know that will make a difference in your life, it's what you don't that matters the most, which will prompt you one day or the other, to undertake the journey leading to Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is not to know, it is to be!