Rama Sakti Mission

SRI T.P.K.NAYAR (1961)

The power or potentiality of the Sadguru is immeasurable. To be in his presence for a few minutes transforms your life. If the sadguru so wishes, he can raise a being from the mire of rajas and thamas into a satvic state in the matter of a few seconds. Such a sadguru, such a jagadguru is Mother Rama Devi. Such avatars, who are perfect in themselves, sometimes perform the highest form of sadhana also, for setting an example to the world. Sadguru Sri Rama Devi, practised severe sadhana and tapas for twelve long years and attained nirvikalpa samadhi in her twenty-eighth year. In her immeasurable prem, which I will call universal love, she has come down again from the state of communion with Brahman and has taken the role of sadguru to help us realize ourselves.

Her devotees are trained to attune their physical systems for rigorous sadhanas by slow processes. In the beginning they are asked to concentrate on the divine name, Ram Nam, for hours every day so that they may be able to control their minds. This is called manthropadesha. The unsteady mind which has no support at all slowly gets hold of the divine name after several months of such utterance, shortly called smarana. Mother then pours further grace into him and gives him the atmopadesha. The devotee then becomes a disciple and he is trained to concentrate on meditation or dhyanam. Mother helps him in his struggle to purify himself, by showering her grace. She gives him strength to stand the strain of the sadhana. The devotee should deserve the grace. He should be pure. He has to eschew baser qualities, the tamasic and rajasic gunas, and become more and more satvic of disposition.

Mother has enumerated principles which the sadhaka has to practice. One is, do not see the fault of another. This principle gives the sadhaka the alert to keep himself away from his baser qualities and indirectly helps him to be more and more satvic. A sadhaka should not think evil of another. Everyone of his thoughts creates waves which comes back to the sender himself. Thinking evil of another can only bring evil in its turn. Mother exists in every being in this world and speaking ill of anyone will be speaking ill of guru.

The life of grihastha or married man is best suited for the practice of purification of mind. The grihastha gets more opportunities to correct tendencies of the mind in his everyday life with his wife, children, servants, masters, and friends. The recluse who goes to solitude to practice sadhana gets less opportunities to overcome rajas and tamas. Every grahastha should do his daily duties as an instrument in the hands of God. He will then find his work never tiresome. It slowly lifts him to a state of surrender to the wishes of his creator.

The average sishya will feel diffident whether he will be able to practice all this sadhana in the required rigorous manner and whether he can, in this life itself, know the real self. There is an easier route to the goal, the path of bhakti, the path of surrender. What is bhakthi? When a sadhaka finds that he has no happiness in this worldly life and when, by himself, he cannot lift himself from the mundane tangle he is in, he looks up to his master, the Lord, and calls for help to be lifted from this quagmire. This cry is real bhakthi. What else is this except surrender or saranagathi?

The sadhaka should not run away from life but live it in the right way. He should not fail to do any duty that he is expected to do but he should do it without being immersed in it or its results. He has to do acts without an eye for reward. He should do duties in a spirit of detachment, as a witness, as an aliptha. That is to say, he should be a karma yogi. This yoga is to be systematically practised with bhakthi which has evolved out of knowledge. This knowledge is obtained from Mother herself, through her upadesha. Her system of discipline is a conglomeration of the three yogas, karma, jnana and bhakthi.

– SRI VISHNU THITE (1961)

I had a habit of snuffing since many years and this habit had become stronger after retirement as there was ample time for snuffing every five or ten minutes. I had a mind to leave this bad habit and I tried to leave this habit for more than two dozen times but restarted after an interval of eight-ten days and did not succeed. In March 1956 while attending the Birthday celebrations of the Divine Mother at Madras I had taken full quota of snuff with me from Bombay and was snuffing frequently in the train with other fellow brothers. While reciting Ram Nam I considered this very good opportunity to leave this old habit forever in the name of Divine Mother. I prayed Holy Mother for success and handed over the remaining stock of snuff to my fellow brother in the train and determined to leave this habit before arrival at Madras. Divine Mother, it appears, might have granted my request as I succeeded in my attempt this time. I have not yet taken snuff to my nose since then. I think this is a gift in appreciation of my entire faith in Divine Mother.

Divine Mother is very punctual in time and as far as possible she does not like to cancel any public programme already announced. A public Bhajan was once arranged at C. K. P. Hall at Dadar. On the previous day of the fixed date Holy Mother had a high temperature and all the devotees were anxious about her health and thought that the programme might be cancelled. The doctor was giving injection and medicine but the temperature was not brought under control, till the time fixed for the programme. Divine Mother started bhajan at fixed hour and completed the same in pleasant mood as if she was in perfect good health. The public never came to know anything about this.

One day Divine Mother was giving pravachan in the morning at Parel when I was also present. In the meanwhile a telegram was received. She went inside for two or three minutes, came back and completed the pravachan without any sigh of sorrow or slackness. After the completion of the programme the devotees came to know that the telegram contained the sad news of the demise of her own sister’s husband. This shows how Divine Mother has got full control over her mind. May Divine Mother guide me.

The message of Her Holiness Sadguru Sri Rama Devi is love, universal love which is born of the realization that all things, that are, are manifestations of the great divine, the eternal, “Who is strength, love and beauty”. She does not wish, so far as I could see, her disciples to seek God through austerity and torture, solitude or penance, but she asks them to seek Him in a place far beyond emotion, in the depths of his or her own heart, where verily is He. Her discourses to the disciples are striking illustrative of the fact that she herself has found Him in her own heart, and that in consequence, she finds Him everywhere, in every man, woman and child, in everything that moves or does not move. She attaches the highest value to doing your duty in whatsoever circumstances or station of life you happen to be placed. If you are a child, strive, she exhorts you, to behave as an ideal child should; if you are a young man or woman behave as an ideal young man or woman should; if you are wife or husband strive as far as possible to be perfect wife or husband, in fact strive as far as possible to live a godly life which is what the Holy Mother’s life is. Her discourses are not only spiritually highly stimulative but are full of practical wisdom and simplicity which is the inseparable associate of greatness.

I remember vividly the first time I was called up for an interview with the Holy Mother. I was, I must say, not very comfortable being a man busily engaged in the sordid job of making money and to a certain extent losing my soul in the process. I was agreeably surprised that the Mother, as if she knew my thoughts, put me with her first question quite at ease. “So you are Swarnam’s father?” Swarnam was a disciple of hers, “Swarnam is a simple girl”, said Mother. After sometime the Mother quietly asked me whether she could put a question to me. I said, “Of course, Mother, you may ”. Then she asked me, “Are you in the habit of meditating upon God and praying daily for at least a few minutes each day?” Honesty compelled me to state that I do not do it as a rigid rule of daily routine. Straight came the question. If parents do not do so, how can you expect the children to do it? This was unanswerable.

She then proceeded to point out to me that it did not matter much what time of the day I devoted for it. The great point is, the Mother explained, that prayer and meditation should form part of daily life, so that the thought of God might permeate it.

To sum up the message of the Holy Mother is “to be Lamps Unto Ourselves” and to do selfless work which is the best form of worship.

SRI KOMATTIL ACHUTHA MENON,
Retired Chief Secretary to Government
1961

It was the last day of my Matriculation examination. As most students become God-minded during the examination period, I too was like this and wanted to go to the temple. But my mother told me that the divine mother had come and that I should go with her to see her. It was thus that I saw the divine mother who became my beloved mother afterwards. She was surrounded by a large number of devotees. I was sitting behind them all. But she turned and smiled at me and pointing to me, asked my mother who I was. As I was singled out from the other girls sitting there, I felt very much attracted towards her. Mother gave us all namasmarana and asked us to do japa half an hour daily and chant the mantra – Sree Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram.

One day there was a class for girls which I attended. Mother gave us instructions which appeared simple, though they were highest truths. After a few days she left Trivandrum, leaving behind the sweet memory of her loving and smiling face. I missed her presence much. Though I wanted to act up to her ideals and principles, I am sure I have not progressed much, even after the lapse of seven years. But one thing I am sure and certain, and that is, I love her more than anything else in this world.

Then came the Trichur convention. I was studying for my Junior Intermediate and it was Christmas holidays; so my parents agreed to take me also to Trichur. Those ten days of heavenly joy, I can never forget. Many of the disciples and devotees had come for the convention from several mandalies. It was then that we all got the opportunity to know and love each other and consider ourselves as sisters, the children of one and the same mother. My aunt and myself were always together. After ten days of happy union the day of parting came and I still feel the heaviness of heart when we bade farewell.

By mother’s grace I passed my Intermediate examination. I continued my studies for one more year, when I had to stop my studies after my marriage. I wanted so much to see Mother before marriage. My loving parents wanted to fulfill this desire of mine, and so they took me to Mangalore. We reached there one fine evening and after taking our bath and getting dressed at the waiting-room we went to Mother’s house. The next day she called me to her room and talked to me about grihasthasrama and pathivratha dharma. I gave my tali in her hands and after a few minutes she gave it back to me. She told me that even though I was going far away, I may be rest assured that she would be always near me. We left Mangalore the next day. Even now I remember mother’s loving and smiling face. We prostrated before Bhagavan and herself and took leave of them. Mother also said that I should try to come to Trivandrum whenever she was there.

After my marriage I came to Trivandrum thrice and twice Mother was also there. Last time when I came, she stayed for one month and I used to go and attend the bhajan and discourses daily. One day I had an interview with mother. I eagerly wanted to hear her asking me something about my husband. She read my thoughts; she asked me whether my husband has seen her. I said no. she went on smiling and told me to convey her love and blessings to him, as he was away then. I could not control tears of joy. There is no doubt of his becoming her devotee soon.

SMT. S. MEENAKSHI DEVI
1961