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.