Divine Mother's Message

Part two of an interview by Linda Johnsen for "Yoga Journal"

Question: Many of the students who practice yoga and other spiritual disciplines are householders. Their families and friends are important to them. Will this be an obstacle on their spiritual path?

Amma: A householder can definitely attain Self-realisation. But for this to happen, they have to perform their actions selflessly, without attachment and with an attitude of surrender at God's feet. A true householder has the attitude, "Everything that is mine belongs to God; nothing belongs to me." They have the strong conviction that God alone is their mother, father, relative and friend. But this attitude of surrender and self-sacrifice is difficult to cultivate. Continuous effort is needed.

Amma never asks householders to run away from the world for the sake of the spiritual quest, for to do so is cowardice. We should try to perform our duties in the world as diligently as possible. Those who run away from their worldly responsibilities aren't really fit for spiritual life. That is why, in the Mahabharata, Sri Krishna did not allow Arjuna to run away from the battlefield and become a sannyasi. Life is a battlefield. We cannot run away from it. We may go to the Himalayas or to a forest or an ashram, but the problems in life will continue to chase us even there. An intelligent person goes through life using their discrimination, performing their duties with great attention. To truly live is to build one's life on a strong spiritual foundation.

We should not forget that compassion towards the poor and the suffering is our duty to God. Our quest for the Self starts with our selfless service in the world. If all we do is sit in meditation with our eyes closed, anticipating the third eye to open, we will be disappointed. We cannot escape from the world by keeping our eyes closed. Spiritual practice is the effort we make to see the oneness of all beings in creation, with open eyes. When that vision becomes spontaneous, that is Self-realisation.

Death can come to us at any moment. It will snatch everything away from us, even our own body. That is why Amma stresses that through our spiritual practice we should develop the attitude of detachment towards everything in the world. Only with this attitude will we be able to face death fearlessly. By absorbing the highest spiritual ideals, we are preparing ourselves for this transformation to take place: the transformation of attachment into detachment.

The state of sannyas or relinquishing the world has not gained that much prominence in the West. The life of a sannyasi is a life of surrender, both externally and internally, for the good of the world. A true householder leads the life of a householder externally, and the life of a sannyasi internally. To renounce everything may not be easy for everyone. But we should try to cultivate the inner attitude of renunciation. A householder may be facing many problems in life, but he can still be absolutely calm within. This is not impossible. If we read the Puranas, we will find that most of the ancient Rishis (Self-realised Seers) were householders. They were ordinary people. If they could still attain the Truth, surely you will also be able to do so. You have that inner strength.

A householder should be like a bird sitting on the dry twig of a tree. While perching on the twig, the bird may be eating something or it may fall asleep, but it is always alert and wide awake within -- always ready to fly. It knows that if there is a strong breeze, the branch could suddenly give way. Similarly, a householder should be aware that all relationships in the world are just temporary and can end at any moment.

We should look upon our duties in the world as being assigned to us by God. If we have that strong faith, we will be able to perform all our duties as God's servants, without any sense of doership. We have to perform the duties that have been assigned to us. We should think of those actions as being part of our spiritual practice. We should perform each action as a form of worship. We shouldn't be attached to what we do. We should never let our focus stray from our awareness of the Self. This is the centre of our existence. We are now living as if we were locked up in a jail, the jail of our likes and dislikes. But that is not our real abode. We shouldn't see the objects of our desires and attachments as ornaments adorning us -- they are chains that bind us. Until we realise the Self, we will never know what true freedom is.

Question: What is real freedom?

Amma: The life of a person who has realised the Self is like a crystal clear stream flowing from a lake in the mountain terrain. We may see water continuously gushing forth from the lake into the valley as waterfalls. But the bottom of the lake is still and peaceful. This lake never dries. It will always be full. Anybody can drink water from it and quench their thirst. In the same way, it is the nature of those who are established in the Self to constantly give of themselves. They never ask for anything in return. A real sannyasi aspires to be like an incense stick, spreading fragrance all around while burning himself or herself out. That is motto of the sannyasi's life.

When the ego is eliminated we become that Supreme Consciousness. In the life of a Mahatma, there is something new in every moment. A Mahatma is the Supreme Consciousness residing in everything, illuminating everything. When we transcend the ego, we become everything. Then our minds can never be enslaved by anger or lust. We become the whole of creation. We experience the state of a jnani (one who has attained supreme knowledge and wisdom). That is real transformation. Such beings who experience the Truth have always existed. They exist even today. Let us make every effort to reach that state. Let us surrender to the beauty of the infinite Self. Let us becomes perfect examples for the whole world.

(continued in May)