Talk Excerpt 389. Swamiji gives advice for performing puja.
From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
Puja [ritual worship] must be done with great devotion. If it is a burden, then it is a waste of time. Always do arthi and abhishekam.
[For those that wish to perform rituals] When setting up, fill the lota [metal or other container] with water, put a [clean] coin inside and a betel nut. Then on top of that put five mango [tree] leaves. Wash them daily. Replace as needed. On top of that put a small bowl with river sand and above that place an oil lamp.
Be as gentle as a dew-drop.
[To a devotee] Yes, you can realise God. Go in the corner, meditate, do japa. Do not talk to people, let them think you are mad, but go and meditate.
A certain person comes to test me a thousand times. He is Brahman but he has taken the form of Maya, what can I do? I can only take refuge at Her [the Divine Mother’s] feet, then She will change Her form again.
[To a devotee] You are only conscious of woman as wife, not as mother. You ask questions but you only quote this one and that one. All that is ego. Forget it. Go and meditate and do japa.
Before you meditate see the guru on the crown of the head. Prostrate [pranam] mentally and offer him a flower, white or red. Or before you meditate you see the guru walk towards you, followed by all the great Rishis. Each one throws a white flower on you. Feel it, feel the great purity.
When you sit to meditate avoid a cold draught on the back.
We think we surrender to God but we do not.
The mantra itself burns out unwanted thoughts, like camphor burns away leaving no trace.
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These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.