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( Translated from the teachings of Swami Adbhutananda as recorded by a disciple. )
SOME KIND OF EXCUSE will always be found by those who do not perform japam, yet if one will make a practice of repeating the holy Name, the Name itself will take hold of the mind.
Of a surety the mind is restless, drunk with worldly attachment, and it is this attachment that drags it down. This is why Sri Krishna taught Arjuna non-attachment to objects and actions, and why he taught him the practice of devotion.
Through the regular practice of repeating the holy Name the mind will gradually become tranquil. Practice discrimination, and whenever the mind runs after sense-objects discriminate between the Real and the unreal. Know every sense-object to be transitory; today it is, tomorrow it is not.
You will find that though you add together all the transitory, finite objects that this world can give you, you cannot find the Reality, you cannot find the Infinity. There is one infinite existence: That is Brahman That is the Reality. All else is unreal.
Impress these thoughts again and again upon the mind, and as the mind receives the impressions, true discrimination will arise.
Once Rama gave a string of pearls to his devotee Hanuman. Hanuman examined each pearl carefully, opened one of them with his teeth, and then threw them away. When Lakshmana, who had been watching him, saw this, he angrily exclaimed: "The value of a pearl necklace cannot be recognized by a fool!" Rama then asked Lakshmana to enquire of Hanuman the reason for his action, and upon being questioned Hanuman replied: "I opened the pearl to see if the holy Name was there. The necklace is worthless if Rama is not in it."
Always discriminate between the Real and the unreal. To keep the power of discrimination awake in the mind is the greatest exercise of tapas (austerity). He who has learned to discriminate can successfully overcome lust and craving. First of all, the mind must be swept clean of all the undesirable thoughts which arise, they must not be allowed to enter through the doors of the senses, and as they creep in, the power of discrimination must be brought into play; the lower mind must be conquered by the discriminating mind.
Then alone will the heart be purified, and then alone will
God be revealed.
Until the heart and mind are consecrated to God through meditation, one cannot completely overcome lust and craving.
The mind alone is the field wherein is planted the seed of lust. This seed is nurtured by the sense organs within and the sense objects without. Thus it increases and multiplies.
The weeds that grow from it have to be uprooted, the seed has to be destroyed, and the holy Name of God sown in its place. Constant repetition of the holy Name will nurture the seed and cause it to bring forth much fruit. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: "Where there is craving there is no Rama, where there is Rama there is no craving."
There is another saying of Sri Ramakrishna: "Put on the armor of the holy Name and overcome the enemy of lust."
The seeds of lust and craving may be burnt by japam; for such is the power of the holy Name of God. The Word is God. The Word is the Reality. Through the practice of japam its magnetic attraction is felt, and as the mind becomes more deeply drawn into the spiritual current which flows toward the Real, lust, which is unreal, loses its hold and is swept away.
It is also true that the power of the Word works even while one sleeps. He who practices japam continues to repeat the Name in all states of consciousness waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. Just as the body continues to breathe, so does the mind continue to repeat the Name even in sleep.
Thus the aspirant is able to overcome the evil impressions of the subconscious mind also.
The mind is a storehouse of lust and craving. From this storehouse some evil elements rise to the surface, while others may remain hidden, dormant, unrecognized. Now the more one practices spiritual disciplines, the nearer one moves toward the light of God, the purer one becomes in body and mind, the more clearly will the evil impressions of one's many, many past lives be revealed. The "heat" produced by the practice of japam will draw them out, and that same "heat" will destroy them. The power of the Word is supreme,
No more will the mind be troubled by the restless waves of lust and craving; by the power of the Word the mind becomes pure, transformed, renewed. Upon the pure mind the power of God descends. Unto the pure heart Reality is revealed.
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