Swamiji emphasises the need to realise that all is God’s power – it’s not ‘by us, but through us’. Disc 140 track 4.

To listen to Swamiji speaking, please fully open the post and then click HERE.

When we become conscious of that mighty ‘Cause’ of all things… [Swj: ‘Cause’ is a capital letter] then we cannot but yield ourselves up to His guidance. Thus, self-help [self-effort Swamiji calls it] will lead to self-surrender.

You see, Arjuna [at the battle of Kurukshetra], in the beginning, didn’t want to fight, right? Then [from Lord Krishna] he heard, ‘Come on! Pick up the bow and arrow and fight! Get the Gandiva [divine/celestial bow] and fight!’ And no sooner when he started doing [fighting] he saw, ‘Ah, it wasn’t him doing it, it was God Himself using him as an instrument.

So in the beginning, self-help or self-effort is very necessary. In the beginning you say, ‘I want to steer the ship’. And nothing happens to the ship. How are you going to steer the ship [or boat]? By unfolding [unfurling] the sail. But you think you’re making the ship move. The wind is making the ship move. So God makes everything move, but we must add the self-effort. To unfold – to get higher thoughts. Higher thoughts are like sails. They catch the grace of God [Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘The breeze of God’s grace blows all the time. All you need do it set – unfurl – your sail’]. And you start moving towards God.

Reads: The more clearly we see God working everywhere, the more easily we shall be able to resign ourselves to Him. Swj: Slow by slow [gradually] the faith will come to him. The moment we see God working through us, the more we will learn to trust Him, and the more we will see Him working.

Reads: It is very difficult for ignorant people to practise self-surrender, because they have not consciously experienced the existence of a Cosmic Power. They do not know that there is such a thing. They must first test their own powers… Swj: ‘Test their own powers’, means make use of their own powers which they’ve already got.

Reads: They must prove through the use of all their energies, physical and mental, whether they themselves are the real doers, or whether they are governed by some superior power. Swj: He used the word ‘test’. There’ll come a time when you’ll run short of power, then you’ll want to know where this power is coming from.

Reads: They must learn through the practise of discrimination – again, discrimination – what part of their being is matter, and what part is God. Swj: Which part in you is God and which part is material – matter. ‘Aham brahmasmi’ [meaning: I am Brahman] doesn’t mean the body. That’s why when you say ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ and think about the body – that’s not it. At the present moment you think this is mighty, because you’re relying on it. But later, when you know the other thing is mighty, then you’ll rely on it.

Reads: For who does not cling to life, who will not naturally look for help and protection from that which is the most mighty? It’s not an easy thing to surrender ourselves absolutely to God. We must first understand something of His Divine nature and power. Otherwise, if we pretend to practise self-surrender without really believing that God is the only Doer, and that all happens through His grace, through His will, our words and actions will always be inconsistent. Swj: Words and actions will be inconsistent. You’ll say one thing, and you’ll be doing another thing. It’s inconsistency that’ll be there. 100%. And that’s the secret of being with the holy ones [they’re always consistent in thought, word and deed]. Reads – and repeats: Our words and actions will always be inconsistent.

There’s a parable of a Brahmin [Hindu priestly caste] who once killed a cow. Killing, for a Brahmin, whose life is supposed to be dedicated to God, and to the practise of non-injury [ahimsa] and love for all creatures, is a terrible crime. When the Brahmin was accused of killing the cow, he declared, ‘I did not do it. Indra, the Lord of the senses is responsible. Not I.’ That makes me think about [the idiom] ‘The slip of the tongue is no mistake of the mind.’ [Asks devotees] It’s a parable? They answer: A proverb. Ah! says Swamiji. It’s to the mind that he [the Brahmin] was actually referring. ‘Not me.’ He was thinking that he’s spiritual, God-realised now, you see. He’s separating himself. He didn’t do it. ‘I did not do it. Indra, the Lord of the senses is responsible, not I.’

To show him his error, God, assuming human form, entered his garden and began to praise its beauty. And the skill of his gardener. The Brahmin replied with pride, ‘Oh, no, I myself have done everything. Come, I will show you the different parts of my garden.’ As he led his visitor about, he kept exclaiming, ‘See, I planted these trees and shrubs. I laid out these paths. I made these flower beds.’ Every other word, was ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. The Lord listened patiently for some time, and then he exclaimed, ‘You have done all these things, but only for killing the cow, the poor Lord is responsible?’ [Swamiji chuckling]. You see? All this he did. The same hand that killed the cow, now he identified himself with Brahman. Now Indra did it. All this garden he did. So the Lord taught him a lesson there, you see. The poor Lord is responsible.

Reads: That is too often our position. We may say, ‘Thy will, not mine.’ But we feel in our heart of hearts that we are the real doers. If a harsh word is spoken, we feel hurt and grow angry. And if we are praised, we become elated. Swj: And this is very true. You know how often you have to watch your mind when someone is telling you something? You must try and do that. Don’t get elated. And if someone says something, the power of not getting elated will give you the power of not getting sad if someone scolds you or censures you.

Reads: Because you can use the power of not getting happy, by elation, to control the power of not getting sad. Because happiness comes most of the time to us. One time sadness comes, and it knocks out all the happiness. The whole day, ten thousand happiness [happy moments] will happen, but perchance by the evening somebody gives you a good scolding, all that happiness is gone. [Swamiji chuckling]. So the whole day you gathered a little force of strength [thinking] ‘Nay, nay, it’s not mine’, then by the evening you’ll have enough strength to say be able to say, ‘This is not mine.’ Got it? Practical, isn’t it? But not for the lazy ones.

Reads: If a harsh word is spoken, we feel hurt and grow angry. Or if we are praised, we become elated. But this is not the case with one who knows that everything happens through God’s will. He is always the same, in happiness, in misery, praise or blame. He accepts all things with even-mindedness. He does not lose his balance. He does not curse life when things go wrong. Because he recognises that God is the Doer, and that whatever comes from Him, must be a blessing.

Swj: Remember whenever I spoke to you all about Mother Sita? She was taken to the forest. Lakshmana was crying and she asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ He answered, ‘The Lord said I must leave you in the forest.’ ‘Then why are you crying?’ He said, ‘Because I have to leave you in the forest.’ She replied: ‘But the Lord must be happy to leave me in the forest. He asked you to leave me, so it’s alright. As long as He’s happy. Leave me in the forest.’ You see? You do it for God – he’s making you do all this, so do it.

Reads: Surrendering to God makes a man so mighty, so fearless, that nothing in life or death can disturb his serenity. Swamiji repeats the statement for emphasis. Such faith in the Supreme is the basis of true self-reliance. With such faith, one can accomplish the most impossible things. As Christ said, ‘If ye have faith [the size of] a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, ‘Remove hence to yonder place, and it will remove. and nothing will be impossible to you.’ [Christian Bible Matthew 17:20]

Swj: Faith in what, you must have? The Self! When you say God you make it duality. When they say God, it’s calling [meaning] the Self. When you identify with the body and say, ‘I remove the mountain’, it doesn’t go. But when you identify yourself with the spirit, say ‘remove mountain’, and the mountain will move, because the spirit in you is commanding it. Have faith in God. God is sitting [is there] and I’m saying to the mountain, ‘Go!’ The mountain won’t go. God will have to tell the mountain to go. Because it’s a natural creation. God created the natural things.

The free-to-read, 396 page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE.