Devotion, to end sorrow!

895. Om yoni-nilayayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is the seat of all origins

“The real question is not whether God exists or not, but whether human beings have sorrow or not. Bhakti, or devotion, is the practical way of getting rid of sorrows. Bhakti is a practical science. Bhakti is not blind superstitious belief. It is this faith that removes darkness from our hearts. Not only does it help us unburden our heart, it also amplifies our sense of righteousness and inspires us to be compassionate towards the distressed. Devotion to God and compassion for the world are but two sides of the same coin. Jñana and Bhakti are not two; if Jñana is the fruit of a tree, Bhakti is the juice of that fruit.
“Temples are sacred places where God’s presence can be felt the most. But we should have the awareness that God’s presence is not limited to the sanctum of the temple. God is the all-pervading consciousness, which enlivens every being, sentient or insentient. It is only when we think and act with this knowledge that we will be able to experience God- consciousness within oneself. We should also be able to serve everyone, seeing the God within them. A heart devoid of compassion is like a closed parachute- it cannot save us.”: AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Where are You, Amma?

894. Om ayonyai namah: I bow down to Amma who is without origin

Where are You, Amma? I search for You every where. In the folds of my sadness, in the cuts of my hurt and pain. Within the waves of my happiness. Somewhere in the bylanes of my memories. I search and wait for You to perform a miracle and take the pain away, as only You can.  I've heard it so often said that if God gives us pain, He/She will help take it away. Or that God will only give us that much pain as we can bear. But may I say I can't bear this? And then again, maybe You know I can handle this. I need to understand faith at this point in my life. When everyone leaves, only Amma remains with us. And therefore I need to repose full faith in Amma.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Our destiny!

893. Om visnu-rupinyai namah: I bow down to Amma who is in a form that extends over the whole universe.

I was having a talk with my dearest friend, Bindu, about destiny. Do we make our own or is it pre determined? Or is it a mixture of both? Amma says that all Her children are with Her now because we have been with Her for many lives already. When we enjoy Her grace now, it is because of our past life actions. Similarly, our current actions also tell on our tomorrow. Filling our days with sadhana and prayer is possibly the best way to move ahead in this life. Chanting Amma's name will help keep our mind at its purest. We're leading lives that throw challenges at us everyday. How fortunate we are to have a guide like Amma who's constantly showing us the way...and therefore helping us shape our own destiny!

Om Amriteswariye namah!

No desire, no sorrow!

892. Om vaisnavyai namah: I bow down to Amma who is in the form of Vishnu

Today I have nothing except a quote by Amma that I have to now adopt as my motto. It's a great route to traverse, an intelligent path to tread...
"We must understand that, when there are no desires, there are no sorrows." -Amma

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Acceptance is key!

891. Om vidrumabhayai namah: I bow down to Amma who shines like coral (with Her red complexion)

“…people should think positively; anger, jealousy and pride make one sick. The world is full of problems. We should not only sympathise with those facing problems, but also work towards solving them. Sincere and selfless work towards society and mankind is the way to achieve salvation. Change is a part of life, we should be ready to accept any situation in life with a smile. Acceptance is key to success.”: AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

For a true, spiritual relationship!

890.  Om visva-grasayai namah: I bow down to Amma who devours the universe

From here:
Question: Why is there no real love in married life? What causes the conflicts and the friction?
Amma: There is a serious lack of understanding between the husband and wife. In most cases the couple won’t even make an attempt to understand each other. For the development of a true relationship to take place, a basic understanding of human nature, the nature of men and women, is essential. Men are mostly intellectually centred, while women tend to be more emotional. They dwell in two different centers, along two parallel lines. No real meeting takes place within them. How, then, can there be any love between the two? Their different natures should be understood and accepted, and each one, both husband and wife, should make a conscious effort to reach out to the other’s feelings, to the heart, and then try to work out their problems with this understanding as their foundation. They shouldn’t try to control each other. They shouldn’t say to each other, “I say yes, and therefore you should also say yes.”

Om Amriteswariye namah!

A Guru: Perfection!

889. Om visva-bhramana-karinyai namah: I bow down to Amma who makes the universe go around through Her power of illusion

 

The importance of a Guru in our lives:
"The Guru Gita describes the meaning of the word “Guru” as such: “The syllable ‘Gu’ is darkness, and the syllable, ‘Ru’ is said to be light. There is no doubt that the Guru is indeed the Supreme Knowledge that swallows the darkness of ignorance. ‘Gu’ represents the principles such as Maya, and ‘Ru’ is the Supreme Knowledge that destroys that Maya. The syllable ‘Ru’ is that without form. The Guru is said to be the one who bestows the state beyond attributes (and form).”
Rabindranath Tagore gives a very beautiful explanation of the term “Guru”. He says that an embodied soul or Jiva wanders through hundreds of thousands of births in different bodies, searching for the way to attain its own true state of the eternal Supreme Self. Through its struggles, it achieves consecutively higher and higher states of evolution. Finally at one stage due to the intensity of man’s longing to reach his goal of perfection, a miracle happens: the inner soul of man which was driving him towards his real nature, separates itself and assuming a form guides him to the goal. In our tradition, such a guide is known as a Guru."

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Our omnipresent Amma!

888. Om vipra-rupayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is in the form of a knower of the Self

From Awaken Children Vol 3:
At this time a devotee came to write down Mother’s words. Seeing him coming, the Mother smiled brightly.
Amma: Here comes the novelist. (All laugh.) (Turning to the devotee) Son, you will give a speech today.

Devotee: Mother, please don’t ask me to speak.
Amma: Son, if you are Kali’s son, Mother will make you speak today.
Devotee: The vasana (tendency) to show off as if I am great will come if I speak.
Amma: That will not happen if you speak in Mother’s presence.
Devotee: Mother is just saying that. This is how Mother plays tricks on everyone.
Amma: (in a very stern voice) No, it will not happen in that way. You will not feel egoistic if you speak, having been told by Mother to speak.
Devotee: Anyhow, I do not feel like speaking.
Amma: But you speak daily in the college, don’t you?
Devotee: (not speaking aloud, but thinking to himself) That is how I earn my livelihood. But I cannot speak in Mother’s presence.
The Mother smiled mischievously and mysteriously.
Fixing her eyes skyward, She replied,
Amma: If so, which is the place where Mother is not?
The devotee was tongue-tied. He was a scholar and a college professor and thus was stunned to hear the Mother speaking out what he was thinking; she had read his mind. The other devotees rejoiced, understanding the depth of the Mother’s words. Even though the scholar wanted to say, “But Mother, I don’t see you when I lecture in the college,” he couldn’t. Instead, he fell at the Mother’s feet and agreed to speak that day. He said, “Obedience — unconditional obedience — is the only way in the Mother’s presence, because she is omniscient and omnipresent.”
For the rest of the day the devotees who had heard this exchange between the Mother and the scholar shared this incident with whomever they met, quoting the Mother’s statement, “Which is the place where Mother is not?” In fact, one could say that those words were literally echoing in the atmosphere.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Accepting our differences!

887.  Om vipra-priyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is fond of the learned

Our focus today should neither be on dependence nor on non-dependence, but on interdependence. This is because the human race, the animal and plant kingdoms and the whole universe are all interdependent.
Reverence and respect are rare qualities in today's world, leaving us with a society lacking in proper maturity. Education, acquisition of knowledge, science and technology may help us advance to
unimaginable levels, but if the result is a mentally and emotionally immature generation with no sense of discrimination, it would be truly catastrophic.
Respect the Earth, nature and all our fellow living beings. Realize that we truly need to acknowledge the differences between race, religion, color and creed. When we approach others with respect that is firmly established in a deep understanding and acceptance of all our differences, then we will be able to communicate at the level of the heart.": AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

The faith train!

886. On dhana-dhanya-vivardhinyai namah: I bow down to Amma who increases wealth and harvests

The other day I was talking to a friend and she wondered (exactly what I had thought too): why is Amma letting Her children get hurt?
These are thoughts we have in our weakest moments. At exactly those moments when we refuse to ride on faith; instead, we're so confident that it's our journey alone and Amma's away somewhere else tending to Her other children. I look at Amma's pictures sometimes and cry, wondering how She can allow me to get hurt. And then I have to stop myself. Because Amma's taught us one thing. Whether we laugh or we cry, time will pass. And time will heal. So why cry when the same moments can be spent celebrating life? And all we really need to do is get back on the faith train. Amma'll get us on track very soon.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Love Vs Attachment!

885. Om dhanadhyaksayai namah: I bow down to Amma who oversees wealth

The perfect way to understand the pain:
"Am I really in love or am I too attached?" Ask yourself this question as deeply as you can. Contemplate this. And soon you will realize that the love we know is really attachment. Most people are craving attachment, not real love. So Amma would say this is an illusion. In a way, we are betraying ourselves. We mistake attachment for love. Love is the center and attachment is in the periphery. Be in the center and detach yourself from the periphery. Then the pain will go away.: AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Hold on to God!

884. Om dharmadharayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is the support of the code for righteous living.

I couldn't have asked Amma for a more perfect quote:
"Only God loves us selflessly. And it is only through loving Him that we can love and serve others selflessly. Only God's world is free from selfishness. We should focus all our love and attachment on Him alone. Then we won't despair if we are abandoned or wronged by anyone. Hold on to God. He is all you need.": AMMA

I know the feeling of being abandoned and wronged...and I also know what it is to feel the strength when you know that Amma is by your side. Thank You Amma for always being there!

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Chanting with Bhakti!

883. Om yajamana-svarupinyai namah: I bow down to Amma who is in the form of Yajamana, who directs sacrificial rites.

"The Lord's Name has power. But for every thing there must be correct attitude or feeling and mood. This is the same as concentration. For example, when a musician sings without feeling, the singing will have no appeal. Feeling comes only when there is bhakti or devotion. Bhakti towards an object or towards the work that we are doing is important. This feeling comes only when one does the work with concentration. It is a feeling of oneness, of merging in the work. In the same way, although God's Name has a power of Its own, when we chant It with feeling/mood or concentration, It becomes more powerful.": AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Stillness!

882. Om yajna-kartryai namah: I bow down to Amma who is the doer of sacrificial rites

From my favourite Daily Amma Quotes page on facebook:

"The mind can be compared to a pendulum. Like the incessant movement of a clock's pendulum, the pendulum of the mind swings back and forth from happiness to sorrow. When the pendulum of the clock moves to one extreme, it is only gaining enough momentum to swing back to the other end. Likewise, when the pendulum of the mind moves toward happiness, it is only gaining the momentum to reach the other pole of sorrow. Real peace and happiness can be experienced only when the pendulum of the mind stops swinging altogether. From that stillness, real peace and bliss ensue. This state of perfect stillness is verily the essence of life.": AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Taking refuge in a Guru!

881. Om yajna-priyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is fond of sacrifices and other rituals.

"God is definitely within you. There is a treasure chest full of diamonds within you; but not being aware of this, you have been searching for them outside of yourself. The key to that chest is in your possession, but because it hasn't been used for a long time, it has become rusty. You have to polish it to remove the rust and open the treasure chest. It is for this that we approach the guru. If you wish to know God, you have to eliminate the ego by taking refuge in a guru, and by obeying the guru with humility and surrender.": AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Gratitude!

880. Om samsara-panka-nirmagna-samuddharana-panditayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is skilled in raising those immersed in the mire of transmigratory life

Some powerful words by Amma, for all of us to live by:
When compassion enters our actions, its waves begin to influence others as well. Such actions enable us to receive God’s grace. A mind that does not swell in arrogance at success, a mind that does not falter at failure, a mind that delights in giving, a mind that accepts criticism gracefully–we all should have such a mind. Those who have such a mind​ ​can never fail. And even if they do, those failures will not affect them within. The external situation may not always be favorable, but they will never internalize their disappointments or failures. They will be grateful towards everything in life. They will be true to their conscience.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Smile: God's signature on our face!

879. Om sudhasrtyai namah: I bow down to Amma who is the source of nectar

Excerpts from Amma's new year message:
"When each new year is born, our heart becomes​filled with hope that the future has good times in store for us and that things will change for the better. However, things may not always happen as we expect. We may have to face obstacles and hardships. Spirituality teaches us to face everything with a smile. For one who knows swimming, the sea waves are delightful. Whereas for one who cannot swim, the sea and its waves are terrifying; one might even drown. Similarly, what helps us face the ups and downs of life are proper knowledge and the proper attitude.​ ​The smile that blossoms on our lips is God’s signature on our face. We should not permit sorrow or anger to wipe it off. My children should always have the awareness to sustain that smile and have faith in God.​​": AMMA

Om Amriteswariye namah! Happy New Year!