From ‘The Essential Swami Ramdas’

…….. whether an avatar and a God-realized soul possess the same power and vision and carry out the same mission ……. Surely, as far as the knowledge of God is concerned, both are on the same plane, but in the field of action the avatar brings down the light and power of the supreme Truth to a greater mass of humanity than a God-realized person does …. there is a clear assertion made by the avatar that he has descended on the earth with the special mission of liberating mankind from ignorance and bondage.



In the Bhagavad Gita there is a sloka which says:

Alike in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the self, to whom a clod of earth, stone, and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the undear are alike, who is firm, the same in censure and praise – (he is said to have crossed beyond the gunas)

This is the state which is held out as the highest in the Bhagavad Gita. You have to transcend the pairs of opposites. Otherwise you are like a scared animal at the sacrificial altar.



The Hindu religion is a universal religion. It accepts all the great Teachers and spiritual Masters of the world as equally great, because they are all representations or manifestations of the Divine. The Hindus offer equal reverence to Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster, Buddha, Krishna, or Rama …….. Hinduism …. It says: “All religions are true. You may follow any religion you like but be sincere and true. You may follow any religion you like but be sincere and look upon the Master, the supreme personality of your religion, as the very expression of Divinity, even as the Masters of other religions are. By having complete faith in your Master you will be saved……..” This is the thing you find peculiar in Hinduism.



If you want to take a leap into the Infinite and realize your oneness with It, you have to stop reasoning. Reason must give place to intuition. Intuition is born of a purified heart and an illumined intelligence. It is a spontaneous outflow of Divine Light. This can come only after elimination of the ego-sense.



Japa ………. Take the Name of Brahman Himself and using it as a ladder ascend the summit, the supreme Godhead with whom you are eternally one. ……. Fixing the mind on the sound of His Name is the easiest way for concentration ….. By gradual practice, the external repetition will lead to an automatic functioning of the Name in the mind. ….. By the sadhana the restless nature of the mind is curbed.



Japa ………. The easiest means to make the mind dwell in the idea of God is to constantly reiterate mentally or vocally in the Name of God. Such a recitation of the Name should of course be accompanied by implicit faith in the efficacy of the Name and intense love for the immortal ideal which the Name represents, viz. the supreme Reality who is absolute existence, consciousness, and bliss and who is seated in the hearts of us all. When thus the mind is completely absorbed in the Divine idea, a stage is reached when the mere individual or physical consciousness is transmuted into the universal and ever blissful consciousness.



Meditation at stated times and remembrance of God at all times is necessary in the case of all sadhakas.



What we have to do is to aspire for God. When this aspiration becomes intense, God helps in our progress and by His grace lifts us up and absorbs us into His all-inclusive, all transcendant Supreme Being.



… if they want to concentrate their mind on God, vegetarian food will be helpful. It is sattvic food. If one uses onions, garlic, or chillies, he will find great disturnance in the mind and it will become restless. Meat also should be totally eschewed as it is rajasic in nature and irritates the mind and proves a hindrance on the spiritual path.