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!