Attraction to God is divinity, wanting to attract others is egoism

[dattaseva]

The mentality to attract other souls is egoism. The mentality to be attracted to God is divinity. When you never aspire to attract any soul, you will attract all the souls by the grace of God. When you seek fame, you will be defamed as in the case of demons (whose stories are mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures).

If you ask, it shall not be given. If you knock, the doors will be closed. This is Nivritti/ or the spiritual life. The reverse of this is true in Pravritti/worldly life for initial encouragement. For the initial attraction towards God, some boons are granted, but it is only temporary. In the permanent advanced stage, only love without aspiring for any benefit in return is valid.

Hanuman (a devotee of Lord Rama in the Ramayana) wanted to always be a servant. His devotion of this kind was famous (Dasa Bhakti). But He was made the Lord of the world!

Only love that is without any aspiration for benefit and which is based on the divine personality alone is real love. This divine personality is only that of God. Always be attracted to Him. All will be attracted to you, because His grace will fall on you. Even then, let your attraction to God continue without
egoism. You will rise and rise and God will keep you on His head. That is the love of Radha (from the Mahabharta) or Hanuman (from the Ramayana) for God. There is no concept of male and female here. It is the concept of soul and God. At such a point, not only the world, but even God gets attracted to you.

Whenever a soul wants to attract other souls it is only out of a desire for
fame, which has its root in egoism. If one makes himself a zero, he will
become the hero, since the grace or power of God enters into him.

Arjuna without Lord Krishna was defeated by some ordinary hunters from the forest. But when he was associated with Krishna, he defeated all the greatest warriors of his time and became the best hero.

Hanuman is the greatest hero in every aspect because He always thought of Himself as a zero. He quietly sat on a stone like a schoolboy, when other monkeys were boasting about their capacities to jump over the sea. The other monkeys were posing as heroes. He sat silently making Himself into a zero. But He became the real hero by the grace of God and crossed the sea just by one short jump! He declared Himself as the weakest monkey (Mattah pratyavarah Kashcit—Ramayana). Therefore, learn to be attracted to God and not to attract others.

Desire for fame is also a wine which induces egoism. When Swami Vivekananda was roaming in the streets of America, nobody cared about him. Even when he stood on the stage [at the World Parliament of Religions], nobody was attracted to him. But when he surrendered himself to his Guru (Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, an incarnation of God), the power entered him and he attracted crowds by showers of divine knowledge! If you become the absolute zero, you will be made the infinite hero by God.

[Miss Hepburn]

Is this your personal composition?
I find I have to ask people lately, I mean no offense.

[dattaseva]

None taken. And yes, this is my personal composition. But I do have to say that it's heavily inspired by the teachings of my Satguru, Shri Datta Swami.

[Baile]

As I see it, all "this is good and this is bad" religious/spiritual guidance is already flawed, without going any further into the discussion. Proclaiming one as holy and the other as egoism, is what I would call fundamentalism. Spirit manifests differently in everyone's life. For some, attraction to others and finding love, is "God." That's the karmic reality. That's their soul journey this incarnation. Now, do people generally spend way too much time on ego pursuits, including wanting to be loved, rather than just living a happy spiritual-minded existence? In my opinion, yes.

[Miss Hepburn]

Hi,
Sorry I am so inquisitive...but as you know there are gurus, teachers, swamis and yogis.
Why exactly do you call him the Sat Guru...as you know Sat placed before guru
would mean the True Guru...the one and the only!
Does he show you a direct way from the darkness to Light?
Is there an initiation?
Perhaps you come from a teaching that there are many Satgurus, I dunno...
like it is 'just a title ', like Mr. or Madame...or swami ji...

Again, as you know...there are many wonderfully high teachers, Yogananda, Yukteswar,
Ramana, Papaji, Nisargadatta, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Guru Nanak, Kirpal Singh...and
a list of others...Sat Guru is a mighty big title.
Thanks, then I'll drop it and you can carry on with your point, sorry.

[Miss Hepburn]

Hi,
Ok I found this and this is quite special:

"... His greatest miracle is 'His brilliant and wonderful divine knowledge'.
This knowledge has never been revealed by anybody sofar and is not to be found in any book or religious text.
Hence we are interested in propagating this knowledge.
Swami says that this is the right knowledge present in the scriptures and is revealed most clearly now"...

'That' would be of interest.
If it is off topic...maybe start a new thread or direct me to one already
about this knowledge he is revealing..that never has been?

Also, I didn't find reference to him as the Satguru.. could this be because
of your heartfelt devotion to him that you 'feel' he is your personal True Guru?
Zeal is understandable.

[dattaseva]

"In the word Sadguru (sat-guru), the prefix 'sat' means the Truth. A Sadguru always preaches the truth. Truth is always harsh and is not liked by most people. Therefore a Sadguru has very few disciples. A Sadguru says that the path with thorns will lead to the Lord. People do not like this. He also says that the path with flowers leads to hell. People are not happy with this preaching either. A guru's preaching is what pleases the majority. The guru says that the nature of the goal will be the nature of the path. Since the Lord is full of bliss, the path also must be filled with flowers and happiness. Since hell gives pain, the path to hell must also be the painful and thorny path. This argument is very attractive. Majority of people will be taken in by it and will become followers of the guru. People will praise him and give him a lot of guru daksina (donations) because his argument is what they want to hear. A Sadguru on the other hand says that the path with thorns alone will lead to the Lord. In this path you have to cut the bonds with your family and with your hard-earned money. Sacrifice gives a lot of pain but sacrifice alone will lead to the Lord. The path with flowers strengthens your bonds with your family and money. It gives you lot of happiness temporarily. However, it leads straight to hell. People do not like this argument and so the rare one or two persons who realize the veracity of the Sadguru's words alone become His disciples. A Sadguru will never worry about the number of the disciples and about the quantity of guru daksina. Even if a single disciple is available He is happy."

The above excerpt I think, kind of addresses what you've asked me. The Swami says that practically implementing what He's taught is much more important than meeting Him in person. Someone who's personally listened to what the Swami teaches may forget it the very next day, while someone in another part of the world, who's never seen Him, may zealously follow His teachings and reach the level of Hanuman.

Finding the Swami has been my greatest fortune in my life. His teachings are very simple and at the same time, also very hard to practically implement.

I've been lucky enough to witness some truly remarkable, miraculous events due to Him. But, ultimately, it comes down to true knowledge. True knowledge is the most powerful thing in the world; it burns away all your illusions and eventually leads to complete transformation, if it's practically implemented. Compared to the power of true knowledge, attaining a few supernatural abilities (better known as siddhis) is really just a joke.

I began my spiritual journey many years back with the aim of developing some kind of powers (like telepathy, etc.). I realize how foolish that is today. Freedom from selfishness itself is true liberation. And only practical sacrifice and service to the Satguru is the way for me to attain this state. God shows infinite unconditional compassion to each of His souls without expecting anything in return. Developing and reciprocating the same unconditional love to God, without a hint of aspiration for fruit of any kind, is the essence of the spiritual journey I'm on.

[shiningstars]

Originally Posted by dattaseva

Freedom from selfishness itself is true liberation.

I loved your first post, dattaseva, it is very beautiful and the above an excellent summation of my experience/world view.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by dattaseva

The above excerpt I think, kind of addresses what you've asked me.

Hi,
Actually it didn't...I know what a Satguru is, thanks, tho :)...What I wanted to know is
why do you think he is the Satguru...do others? Does he?
There are many gurus that might fulfill things in your quote.
I also understand what having the true Knowledge means...could you tell me
what the Swami/Guru teaches (not his discourses)...without revealing anything you are not supposed to?

I can only 'assume there is an initiation in order to reveal this 'True Knowledge?
And his devotees have taken a vow to not reveal it?
Otherwise, is he saying wise words, with respect, I like 'wise words' of instruction and inspiration, Satsang...that is what many had...words/teachings...without direct initiation or revealing of any esoteric techniques.

However, Sri Yukteswar, and Yogananda did, called Kriya Yoga....and
others had theirs...I believe rumor has it Ramakrishna revealed particular
'ways' to know God within.
Whereas, Nisargadatta and Ramana and many other wonderful gurus
never revealed exactly 'how' to go within ...except to keep questioning and just to be, as in, "I Am That".
Gangi ji, nor Papaji have any initiation...just very inspiring Satsang....which I love, don't get me wrong.

But, what is it that differentiates your Guru from others to be called Satguru.
I am inquisitive, only...I do not mean to sound confrontational...I know how forums are...haha.

[dattaseva]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

What I wanted to know is
why do you think he is the Satguru...do others? Does he?

In the Vedas, God is said to be associated with 4 qualities—infinite bliss, endless love, illusion-destroying knowledge unique only to Him and unimaginable power. Simply put, I find the Swami to be an embodiment of these 4 qualities.

Swami often says that He is a dog at the feet of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba. Swami says, “If you read it from the left, the word is DOG. But if you read it from the right, it’s GOD. If a person who is full of ego and jealousy comes to Me, I say that I am a DOG. If a devotee with full faith comes to Me, I say that I am GOD. The pointer on the ego-jealousy meter gives a reading between 0- 100% for every person coming to Me and the meter reading appears to My eyes. According to that reading, I play the appropriate cassette.”

“I have five cassettes with Me, which say that I am a Dog, Devotee, Messenger, Incarnation and God respectively. If the ego-jealousy reading of the visitor is 100%, I say that I am a Dog. If it is 75%, I say that I am a Devotee. If it is 50%, I say that I am a Messenger. If it is 25%, I say that I am the Incarnation. If it is 0%, I say that I am God. Thus, there is a gradual transformation from Dvaita to Vishishtadvaita to Advaita. According to the visitors level of absorption I have to play the appropriate cassette. If the visitor has 100% ego and jealousy, and if I play the 5th cassette, which says that I am God, the visitor will leave at once shouting that I am mad and egotistic”

For me, the Swami plays the 4th cassette most times. Sometimes, He plays the 3rd one. But to some of His extremely few disciples, He plays the first two cassettes. Although I’ve seen some incredible stuff due to Him, it’s nothing compared to what these rare disciples have experienced. These disciples are highly advanced souls through whom the Swami Himself sometimes speaks and acts in certain situations.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

There are many gurus that might fulfill things in your quote.

Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I’m more concerned with the preacher who has revealed Himself to me, is alive at this point in time and whose teachings are both relevant to me and actionable.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

I also understand what having the true Knowledge means...could you tell me
what the Swami/Guru teaches (not his discourses)...without revealing anything you are not supposed to?

Most of what the Swami teaches is available on the website (universal-spirituality.org). The knowledge there applies to devotees at different levels of spirituality. Some knowledge may be applicable to you while other knowledge may not. It all depends upon your present stage. I’ve not yet reached a stage where the Swami would reveal things that I’m not supposed to reveal to others; I’m just not mature enough for such kind of secrecy.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

I can only 'assume there is an initiation in order to reveal this 'True Knowledge?
And his devotees have taken a vow to not reveal it?
Otherwise, is he saying wise words, with respect, I like 'wise words' of instruction and inspiration, Satsang...that is what many had...words/teachings...without direct initiation or revealing of any esoteric techniques.

The truth can be quite harsh. Many don’t like it. Just like a bitter medicine is sweet coated with candy to make it more appeasing for a child, the truth is mixed with a lot of illusion for a novice seeker. The level of illusion mixed with the truth keeps reducing as one’s spiritual level keeps increasing. Only a few highly evolved souls can digest the absolute truth as it is without any illusion.

If I had come across the Swami’s teachings say 3 or 4 years ago, I would’ve very likely rejected them at first glance. Only after reaching a certain level of maturity have I been able to accept His teachings.

But don’t take my word for it. If you’re interested, read the Swami’s teachings. Question everything He says. Analyze to the best of your capabilities. Discuss what you’ve learnt with other genuine seekers whom you trust. Then only should you come to a decision, whatever it may be.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

However, Sri Yukteswar, and Yogananda did, called Kriya Yoga....and
others had theirs...I believe rumor has it Ramakrishna revealed particular
'ways' to know God within.
Whereas, Nisargadatta and Ramana and many other wonderful gurus
never revealed exactly 'how' to go within ...except to keep questioning and just to be, as in, "I Am That".
Gangi ji, nor Papaji have any initiation...just very inspiring Satsang....which I love, don't get me wrong.
[i]

The student of a certain level is called as an ‘adhikari’. The part of knowledge that suits his level is called as ‘vishaya’. Any number of assumptions and modifications can be done in that part of the knowledge so as to suit the basic psychology of the student, which cannot be changed all of a sudden. Such suitability of the part of the knowledge is called as ‘sambandha’. The final modified form of the suitable part of knowledge is the subject (vishaya) since such a subject alone can be useful to uplift him to the next higher step. The use [of this subject] in the practical aspect of the progress of the student is called as ‘prayojanam’. These four parameters (adhikari, vishaya, sambandha, and prayojanam) are together called as anubandha chatushtayam, which are the guidelines of a preacher either in worldly subjects or in the spiritual subject.

Each real preacher is unique in His/Her own way. A genuine spiritual preacher will teach according to prevailing circumstances and the level of the receiver.

My Swami considers Ramana Maharshi and Ramakrishna Paramahansa to be forms of God or avatars. I read the teachings Nisargadatta Maharaj, Yogananda and Yukteshwar Giri when I first began my journey. I have come to accept some of what they’ve preached while rejecting certain other teachings.

As for rumours, they are the most unreliable. There are 4 authorities mentioned to obtain knowledge as mentioned in the scriptures - 1) Veda (Shruti) 2) Verses or scriptures which follow the Veda (Smruti) 3) Yukti (reasoning) 4) Anubhava (Experience in the world).

The last two, logic and experience, are just as important as the first two, maybe even more from a certain angle. Cheers.