Words of Our Master

THE ILLUMINED SAYINGS OF SATGURU SIVA YOGASWAMI

A rare and precious anthology of the Hindu master’s oral teachings, gathered by his devotees

AUM

WORDS OF OUR MASTER

BY

MARKANDU SWAMI
A. CHELLATHURAI
SANDASWAMI
M. SRI KHANTA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

OM TAT SAT WORDS OF OUR MASTER 1-44

OM TAT SAT WORDS OF OUR MASTER 45-90

OM TAT SAT WORDS OF OUR MASTER 91-134

Published by THE JAFFNA CO-OPERATIVE TAMIL BOOKS, PUBLICATION AND SALE SOCIETY LTD.
/1 K.K.S. ROAD, JAFFNA
First edition: April 1972; Second Edition: July 1972
Copyright registered
PUBLISHED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENARY
OF THE BIRTH OF YOGAR SWAMIGAL

INTRODUCTION

Yogar Swamigal was perhaps the greatest of the mystics that lived in this Island in recent times. He was immaculate in appearance as he was pure in thought. The silver-white hair and beard along with the spotlessly white raiment he wore were symbolic of his saintliness and sanctity. He traversed the length and breadth of his country and transformed the lives of many who otherwise would have gone astray.

The epoch in which he lived saw many an upheaval of regeneration and much degeneration of cherished values as well. But amidst all the transient phenomena he was as firm as Mount Kailas - a refuge to souls in distress and despair. He infused faith in his devotees and led them out into the light of hope and happiness. Even those whose contacts with him were casual or cursory had a glimpse of the spiritual significance of life.

Yogar Swamigal was born on May 29, 1872 in the village of holy Maviddapuram. his father Ambalavanar and mother Sinnachchi, both of humble circumstances, were devout Hindus. Though he attended a Missionary School for his early education, he was brought up in a Hindu atmosphere by his aunt. After leaving school, he joined Government Service as a Store-Keeper in the Irrigation Department and served in the backwoods of Kilinochchi.

Even as a Government Servant, honest and punctilious in work, he devoted his leisure hours to meditation and the memorization of devotional hymns in Tamil as well as Sanskrit. All this was prompted by an inner anguish and a yearning for the realization of God.

The decisive point in his life, however, came when one day as a brahmachariya he went to the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple for worship. There, under the shade of the vilva tree near the parking site of the temple car, he saw a frail old figure whose striking personality arrested his attention. This was indeed a moment of revelation; for at once he discerned in the figure the guru he had been searching for. The figure, in turn, saw in a flash that the young man standing before him would one day become a great gnani. Thus did guru and disciple meet, with the latter surrendering himself completely to his guru by name Sellappan.

Subsequent to this episode - so similar to Saint Manickavasagar's meeting with his guru under the kurunda tree at Thiruperunthurai centuries ago, - life for Yogar Swami became one of intense spiritual discipline, severe austerity and stern trials. One such trial was the continuous 40 day meditation undertaken by the disciple. At the end of it the guru appeared before the disciple and blessed him in a manner that was far from being warm or encouraging. Rude and peremptory, it rang out: "go you hither and thither and beg for your food."

The loyal disciple neither resented the remark nor renounced the 'guru'. He began the life of the wandering ascetic, begging for his food, visiting temples and chanting hymns. Thus did he visit, among scores of temples, the sacred shrines of Kataragama, Chithambaram, and Benares.

Then when his guru Sellappah Swamigal was no more Yogar betook himself to an illuppai tree at Colombuthurai in Jaffna. Under this tree he sat exposing himself to the roughest weather, unmindful of the hardship and serene as ever. It took much persuation to move him to seek shelter in a cadjan hut provided nearby by one of his devotees.

From then on people of all ages and from all walks of life irrespective of creed, caste or race went to Yogar Swami as he now came to be known. They sought solace and spiritual guidance from him, and none went away empty-handed, though the manner of the giving might have been unorthodox and sounded even unfriendly. Sometimes it was a caustic remark, sometimes a rude order and sometimes a bodily push - but always it was meaningful. When one of his disciples told him that people complained about his temper, he replied, "Is not a fire necessary to burn rubbish?" The remedy had to suit the disease, and the physician instinctively knew what was best. In fact, it was not even necessary for the patient to say what the disease was. As the author of "Homage to Yoga Swami" says, "one had only to think of a question and the reply came instant and uninhibited."

Yogar Swamigal was a gnani. The result of gnanam is mounam--silence and his greatest experience was summa iruttal and his greatest emphasis was on mounam. Yet for those on the road to self-realisation he was never so silent as not to draw up the itinery for their pilgrimage. Even a cursory reading of the sayings that follow will suffice to show wherein he laid the greatest stress -

(i) Summa iruttal (being still) to permit the Inner Guide to be heard from mounam;

(ii) The study and recitation of Thirumuraikal as a way of controlling the wandering mind;

(iii) Purity of thought, word and deed;

(iv) The equality of all human beings and the innate divinity of every being.

Fortunately for us, he himself has summed up all his teaching in the four mahavakyas (great Truths):

(i) There is no evil.

(ii) We do not know - Who knows?

(iii) All is Truth.

(iv) It was determined long ago.

The Sayings of Our Master which appear in the pages that follow are but some among those that fell from his lips. They were picked up and have been preserved by four of his most loyal and devoted disciples -

(i) Markandu Swami considered by many to be one who drank deep at the fountain of the Swami's spiritual experience.

(ii) A. Chellaturai who is doing Siva Thondu as indicated by the Swami by looking after the Siva Thondan Nilayam in Jaffna.

(iii) Sandaswami, who at the Siva Nilayam at Chenkalady in the Batticaloa District is giving practical shape to the Swami's philosophy of education.

(iv) M. Sri Khanta, who unostentatious in his ways, has all along endeavoured to live up to the teachings of the Swami and to persuade others to tread that path.

Yoga Swamigal was fluent in Tamil as well as English. What he said to Sandaswami was in English, and the sayings recorded by him are given verbatim in that language. His talks with the three other disciples mentioned here were in English or Tamil. Those in English are quoted direct and indicated (E) while those in Tamil are rendered into English.

It cannot, of course, be claimed for this book that it is complete. The next edition could take us a step nearer to completeness. In the meantime, it is our hope that this little book will help reveal the great thoughts that inspired the Swami and continue to inspire his numerous disciples.

THE PUBLISHERS

Jaffna. 3-6-72

(The Swami's Birth Centenary)

WORDS OF OUR MASTER 1-44

-1-

You must remain like the mariner's compass.

You are your own friend and your own enemy.

You must work, but remain as if you have done no work.

You must have good control over prana.

Happiness and sorrow are twins.

Brahmacharya is a very great thing.

Meditate in the mornings and evenings.

Everything should be done in moderation.

You must make the mind, which runs after outward things, to merge in the atma.

-2-

Yoga is detached action. That is also sannyasa.

Don't allow the mind to wander here and there, but see everything as Brahman.

(When you cook) prepare everything as for God - and then put it in the homa fire! (i.e. the belly)

Every man is a God. Prakriti is Sakti.

Let happiness and sorrow come and go like the clouds.

One must be self-controlled.

You must be balanced.

Do not think of what things you may need tomorrow.

Even the kanchiram (nux vomica) has it's uses. Similarly all are good.

-3-

First step - selfless action. Second step - tranquility. Third step - remaining in nishdai, or service to humanity, according to your will.

Learn how to remain always happy.

Do not allow the mind to run in different directions.You must make it become one- pointed.

Have no hatred in your heart.

You must move in the world as one who walks with the support of a' Kiluvai ' stick (i.e. a stick that breaks under the slightest pressure).

God will tell us everything. Let us not worry about anything.

As a dog, let loose after being tied up for some time, is energetic and active, so one, who learns to remain summa, gets increased energy which can be put to good use.

You must not come to the conclusion that there are no stars, because you are unable to see stars in the daytime.

If we remove the darkness that is in us, we can see that God is.

-4-

Use the body like a sandal.

Just as a man will use a staff to climb a mountain, so should virtue be used in life.

What is the use of going on pilgrimage if you do not improve yourself?

There is one thing God cannot do - He cannot separate Himself from the soul.

I am the ruler of the body. I must see that no other wicked king usurps my throne.

Can you measure the soul?

You lack nothing. The only thing you lack is that you do not know who you are.

It is not possible to straighten the kink in a dog's tail. Let us improve ourselves instead of trying to improve the world.

You must be very careful - even in the small things that you do.

-5-

All work must be done with the aim of reaching God.

Beware of bad qualities.

Man can know his past and future births. But by getting rid of desire he can put an end to birth altogether.

After spending ten hours of the day in your employment, use your leisure hours well.

God has rescued the soul, which is like Valliamma trapped by the hunters, and taken it under His protection.

Let purification and atma darsana come slowly.

Enough of learning!

Singing Tevaram is one method of controlling the wandering mind.

If you remain in nirvikalpa samadhi, the body will be free of disease.

Of what use is garb or outward show?

If the chimney is black with smoke, you cannot see the light; similarily, maya obscures the atma.

-6-

One must know one's own measure.

Remain separate like the five fingers. but when there is work to do, co-operate in doing it like the hand.

Even meditation is work. Practise remaining summa for ten minutes.

Man can remain always doing work, but he must not worry about it after it is finished.

Without being content with what we have, we always want more and therefore suffer.

Just as a surveyor is trained to use a theodolite with ease, so must we learn to train our minds and bodily organs to carry out our service as we want.

Everything will turn out successfully, when the mind is not agitated.

No need to control the breath; no need to do tapas, if you can see yourself everywhere. That is the secret of secrets.

That man (i.e. another devotee) does what I think immediately. So powerful is the mind. One mechanism everywhere. The secret of secrets!

-7-

How foolish it is to judge a man by one bad quality, ignoring all his other good qualities.

We sang Tevaram to while away the time, but time has not gone. We are also eternal.

When you have a small job, you want a big job. When you get a big job, you want a large salary. When you get a large salary, you are anxious for the welfare of your children. If everything continues like that, where is the end?

What are you going to do with the money you accumulate? Can you increase your life-span even for a day? Give generously when you can.

In someone you consider bad there may be qualities greater than those that Mahatma Gandhi had.

When the mind is pure no harm will befall you, even if you strike a man.

Behave well, move tactfully. When are you going to put an end to this stomach-filling job?

-8-

God and you are inseparable.

As you close the windows and doors of a room, so you must control the five senses and do meditation.

If the chimney is full of smoke, how can the light be seen? If the mind is full of dirt, how can the soul shine?

Gold is in the earth. In order to obtain it, you must collect earth and purify it. So it is with atma sakti (the power of the soul).

Lord Buddha taught by example. You can see how widely his light has spread.

Employment and everything else must be used by us with the aim of seeing God. One who lives with this aim will be content with any kind of work.

The sannyasi's life and the householder's life are both good.

Whatever work you have to do, do it well. That in itself is yoga.

Wisdom will come, if you do your duty well.

-9-

The patrimony which I am going to give you is that you must always think that God is always with you.

Having the profit of the soul as their aim, many devotees of Siva are able to obtain many things from the Lord.

However great a man may be, he cannot see in the night without a lamp; but sometimes there is light.

The heart must be pure. There is nothing more to say.

More often than not, I think that I am in the presence of God. This is a good way to remain pure.

He (God) must be the judge in our hearts. We can do anything. We can send a man to the gallows or to prison and so on, but our minds must not be agitated. (To some one who asked - 'People say you get angry.") Is not a big fire necessary to burn rubbish?

Because of worldliness the light in the faces of the young has become less bright nowadays.

-10-

Provided we don't think of flying in the air, we can attain whatever we desire.

You must work hard. A few will realize the truth. The rest will merely follow them.

We must not think that, if such and such a thing happens, it is good; or, if some other thing doesn't happen, it is bad.

Provide for your wife and children. Don't worry about your grand-children.

You can bluff others, but you cannot bluff yourself. If you behave according to your conscience, everything will come right.

Lord Jesus Christ has said: "Don't suffer for my sake. Work hard for your own emancipation." Without improving yourself, what is the use of doing service to me?

If you are a king, will you have contentment? If you are a beggar, will you have contentment? Whatever your walk in life may be, you will only have contentment through knowing yourself by yourself.

-11-

Without remaining summa, the mind is running here and there. That is its nature. What does that matter?

You must observe right conduct and make your mind to become fused with the atma. If you misbehave, the mind will try to harm you.

If you want to commit suicide, one pin is sufficient. Similarly, in order to improve oneself, much study is not necessary.

As one brings up one's children well so one must train the mind to behave well. Mind is our best friend and our worst enemy.

At the top of the mountain you find it very cool. There will be none of the dissimilarity that you can see at the bottom of the path. The fundamental principles of all religions are one.

When a surveyor goes to the country places, he can teach the villagers healthy habits and learn to love them as his own children.

There is no difference between Sinhalese, Tamils, or Burghers. They all have the same limbs and parts of the body as we have.

-12-

As you clear the forest when you make a survey, so must our inner obstacles be cleared.

We must improve ourselves; we should not look for the help of others for our own improvement.

All the good done by charity and alms-giving in the name of the dead will reach them. And they will also help you. They will come and help you in dreams.

If we think of someone who is distant from here, he can be aware of it. The same mechanism is everywhere.

Who can be a better friend to us than God?

When drinking honey, a bee will remain silent. Similarly, some muktars will not speak. But others will give advice to the world.

Instead of thinking that we are all servants of God and that all is His action, we make resolves and plans and thus create a world within ourselves, and suffer out of it.

Get rid of like and dislike, and laziness and activity, and open the house of liberation by means of the key of Sivadhyana, and see! There, there is neither 'you' nor 'I', neither 'he' nor 'she'.

-13-

The more you learn, the more will the mind become expanded and diffused. Directing the mind inwards will give you peace.

You must be very careful even about small things. Without the small axle-pin the whole car will collapse.

You can go to the top by climbing up step by step. But exceptionally there are some who, with the help of Sruitis, the guru, and their own understanding and experience, can fly like birds.

Ninety-nine per cent of human beings are atheists.

I am talking to gods! Some gods want fruit; some want fish and meat; some want toddy and arrack!

It will not be an over-statement, if I say that man is God.

If you think that you want to control the mind, that is also the dispersion of the mind (pravritti). If you fuse the mind with the atma, all your thoughts and plans will then cease to be the activity of the mind.

-14-

If you take hold of the cat's tail, it will bite you. In like manner you must live in the world like water on a lotus leaf. What does a man lack if he surrenders himself to the Lord, saying that all is His action? He will get everything he needs. But that does not mean that if he wants to fly in the air, he will be able to do so.

If I wish my friend well, he will actually be benefitted. Diseases are cured by sound. The Swami at Mannarkudi knew only one decad (i.e. ten verses) from Tevaram. Because he concentrated with faith on that, he was able to cure many diseases through that Tevaram alone.

Water flows to the lowest place and stays there. Similarly you also remain humble.

This world is a training college. Some are in the kindergarten. Some are in the B.A. class. Surely those in the B.A. class will never look down upon those in the kindergarten?

The subject of the lecture is "All is God's action". But in the mind (of the lecturer) the disease of 'I'-ness remains.

-15-

Because God is with us, we see, we hear, we talk and do everything. The scientists say that even plants talk.

Everyone must find out the path that suits him. The train can only run on rails.

If you press the switch there will be light. Similarly God is in the heart of us like the power-station.

Don't wander about saying, "Don't drink!" "Don't commit adultery!" "Don't do this and don't do that!" Let God look after those things. Who can improve the world?

If there is a desire that our children must get religious knowledge, it will come.

Don't do things in order to please others.

Remaining summa is the best exercise.

Great men have given us many stories to help us grasp the truth.

There is no necessity to do Pranayama by holding the breath. Everything (mind control, etc.) will come by itself if you do Sivadhyanam.

-16-

You must not be indifferent to work because your salary is poor.

We must demolish the fortress that we ourselves have built.

The great say that we should remain without like or dislike.

Many have spoken about the One in many ways. If you study all these the mind will be dispersed and will not become calm. You will have peace only when your mind is not agitated.

From Cypher (i.e. zero) everything came.

All men are beautiful walking flowers. Instead of remaining as a witness and enjoying all this, man suffers through being possessed by the disease of 'I' and 'mine'.

The disease that matters is in the antakarana. We need many M.O.'s to cure this! One or two is not enough.

We are all the same. Difference is only in degree.

Like a lamp with two chimneys, the mind has the body as its chimney and the atma has the mind. The light is always burning. But if the chimneys are covered with smoke they will not shine.

-17-

As we kiss our children every day before going to work, so must we daily love the Lord.

Work is play; work is rest.

If we put into practice the little we know, that is enough. We will come to know everything in that way.

As a man at the helm of a ship attends to other things, while holding the rudder, and yet brings the ship safely into harbour, so the desire for self-knowledge (atma jnanam) is enough. Like the rudder, the desire for self-knowledge will keep you on the right course and take you to your goal. You don't need to worry about acquiring 'this' or getting rid of 'that'.

If you lead a natural life without overstepping the limits, everything will come to you.

You think that you are the doer and fall into the trap of bondage. But everything was accomplished long ago.

How many births and deaths have come and gone? What good is there in this? What harm? What knowledge? What ignorance? Remain a witness always.

-18-

Don't run down anyone. That habit will give you mental worry. One must get rid of bad habits as a result of experience. Beginning with the excuse that it is only a medicine, people take alcohol and then become drunkards.

Instead of spending time in book-reading, it is better to spend it in studying yourself. Study is also a kind of yoga.

Nowadays the easiest method is to do Sivadhyanam.

You must not worship God with the aim of obtaining some profit. You must not worship even with the desire for liberation.

We are the atma. You must become clearly convinced of this.

This hand (Swami held in front of his face) hides us from each other. If it is removed we can see one another. Man must realize this.

The railway engine pulls many coaches. Can it do so if it runs off the track? No. Great people have shown the path. We must follow it.

-19-

When you see the mountain you do not see the trees. When you see the trees you do not see the mountain.

The way is very long. You must go forward slowly, keeping to the path and not walking on the thorns by its sides.

(A letter from Poona) - No other news except that God is always with you.

You will not attain jnanam (wisdom) even if you read a thousand Kurals. You must know yourself by yourself.

Tiruvasakam can be studied for the sake of concentration.

God, soul, and the world - in the end the world also will become God.

Why do you want to open the outside door when there is an inside door? Everything is within.

The atma is the result of God's Grace.

One must study for the sake of others.

If you struggle hard and arrive at a certain level, then It will pull you up.

-20-

One God; one religion; one man!

All are looking in the same glass.

Very few have understood the teachings of Buddha.

You must go deep within.

If you take hold of one link you can pull the whole chain.

Now all of us are doing yoga. Karma Yoga is selfless action. Siva Yoga is action for the Lord. Yoga means concentration of mind. By doing Bhakti Yoga all the other three Yogas will come.

When you worship God, you must not ask for anything. You must worship for the sake of love. Afterwards you can ask for your requirements.

Having reached the house of a rich man is it good to ask for one or two annas?

Try to remain without taking any furthur births.

The Grace of Siva (Sivapackiam) is with everyone.

-21-

God sees. God hears. God talks. He remains without being separated from us.

Love others as you love me.

Don't run to Kataragama or Chidambaram in search of God.

There is no necessity for you to study. But even study is yoga. Study Tirukkural well!

We must taste God just as we taste sugar-candy.

"Whatever it may be, true knowledge is to discover the essential truth within it". (Kural). Buddha preached, so he had desire. Desire Can be reduced, but it cannot be entirely eliminated. We must accept what our experience tells us is right and reasonable and discard everything else.

What is Saivaism? We are devotees of Lord Siva and we are doing Sivathondu - that is Saivaism.

On the highest level you do not have to control even the mind, because to control the mind, there must be a second. There will come a time when the mind becomes quiet by itself.

-22-

What is there to study? Man is mad.

We have to laugh at the weakness of our mind and body.

How can sorrow affect the atma?

If you stand on the top of a mountain you can see all as one (uniform expanse). You will see no differences. There are no differences as between Englishmen, Americans, etc.

It is God who sees as the eye behind our eye. Brahman fills us entirely.

Just as the raw fruit follows the flower and the ripe fruit the raw fruit, so let realization come gradually.

The lotus is highly esteemed, even though it grows out of mud. Similarly, knowers of the Self can be found anywhere.

On the highest level, where is the guru? Where is the disciple? Everything is Brahman.

With one hand you must take hold of God, with the other you must hold on to the world.

-23-

For one's living money is needed; therefore the desire for money will be there. If you are detached, it does not matter how much wealth you may have.

Can we eat all that we need (for a life-time) in a day?

"With one cut you can make two pieces". (Tamil proverb). So it is with happiness and sorrow.

You won't be happy till 'I' die.

As the growth of a lotus depends on the level of the water in the tank, so by knowledge (jnana) virtue is developed. And equally through virtue wisdom will be gained.

Peace, self-searching and the company of devotees give happiness.

Learn to remain summa. If you try to stop, it will only become more active. It is not necessary to stop it. You must ask it - "Where are you going?" But see that you do not leave your seat.

Till you get perfect knowledge, try to remain like one who is blind, deaf, and dumb. Mounam.

-24-

You must know the Self by the self. Concentration of mind is required for this.

Speak what comes from within. Otherwise don't speak.

Tapas is not idleness. It is constant vigilance.

Do not be in a hurry. Do not be agitated.

Live for the sake of the world.

Many siddhis (powers) will come. Let them come and go.

If you worship God with the love of a child, then all that you have lost will be given to you.

(A near-by temple bell was ringing and Swami said:) "Ring the bell, ring the bell saying - I am He!" (Then the bell was rung a second time and he said:) "Ring the bell, saying -I am the atma."

(Pointing to his body) This is Nallur.

The book is within you. Turn over the leaves and study.

-25-

Even in small things, you must act with care and see everything in relation to everything else.

From a distance you can see, hear and smell things that are far away from you.

First one small circle; then a larger circle; then the whole universe!

The bee first flies around the flower. Then it drinks the honey without making any sound. When it flies away after taking the honey, it appears golden.

See the Supreme in the body. See the Supreme in the mind.

Weakness belongs to the body and mind. The atma is always full of strength.

Debate and argument are not necessary.

Now we don't control the mind. We remain summa with a controlled mind.

All are His actions.

Don't pour nectar into the drain.

-26-

All thoughts must die. Alas! How difficult that is!

First obey; then command.

Just as this farmer has prepared his soil well, so everyone must try to keep his heart pure.

Man is beyond death.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained!

Man is man, whether he is in hell or heaven.

The atma is summa. Movement is for the body and mind.

(To someone who was cleaning the garden) When you clean the garden, you also clean your mind.

The secret of 'summa iru' is you. The secret of 'summa iru' is I. The secret of 'summa iru' is all.

Bring up God as you bring up a child.

If one knows oneself, there is nothing beyond that.

-27-

Sivadhyanam will come by itself from living in the company of great souls.

One must not go against one's conscience.

One can do meditation with the eyes closed or with the eyes open.

Our real father is God.

If you remove illusion, you will see that Siva pervades everything.

One method is to stop all thoughts. Another method is to remain simply as a witness, allowing thoughts to come and go. As one becomes more and more mature in this Sadhana, thoughts will begin to come from mounam. Be very attentive to those thoughts.

Be like the swan and not like the palmyrah strainer.

Be alone. Be alert. Be like a fisherman watching his bait.

We can give initiation by thought to people in Singapore while remaining here.

The inner voice will be heard from mounam.

-28-

Always follow the light. Doubt is darkness.

You must listen to words of justice, even if they come from a child.

You must not allow the light to be blown out by the wind. Lack of faith, doubt, and worldly desire - these are the wind.

Janaka and others ruled the world after realizing the Truth.

What is the use of building temples? One must know the Self.

Worldly attachment is the obstacle to knowledge of Truth.

To reach the Holy Feet it is enough if you have a pure mind. Mantrams, Tantrams, yoga, etc. are not necessary.

You must know knowledge by knowlegde.

Our gurunathan made me to know myself by myself. He flows like a river. He shines as everything.

If you remain summa (i.e. idle) without working, the mind will become impure. But the summa of jnanis is different.

-29-

* The wife will say that this man is not her husband, that man is not her husband, but when the husband comes she is silent.

+ Book- knowledge is sillusilluppu. Knowing the self is panikaram.

Remain alone and see within.

No kind of impurity can bind the atma.

When worldly attachment and impurity of the mind disappear, then there is atma-darshan.

Stand on your own legs. (E)

He who does right need not fear anybody. (E)

You and I are one. Eternal bliss is already acquired.

(* It is a Tamil custom that a wife never utters her husband's name.

+ Panikaram is a kind of cake or pastry; Sillusilluppu is the bubbling noise made by the boiling fat used in producing it.)

-30-

Be alone; be alert; be happy; be strong!

The company of great souls is necessary.

It must come from within. Don't rely on book-knowledge. Trust the self alone.

Differences are outside. The eye sees, the ear hears, etc.

Grow yourself in the hearts of others. In the grass, in the creepers, in the goats, in the cattle - grow yourself.

There is nothing strange here. Don't be enamoured of anything.

The water in the tank and the water outside are all one.

Even formlessness is a form.

All the three actions (i.e. creation, preservation, and destruction) are going on simultaneously.

Great souls will try their utmost to do good to others.

-31-

Remain as you are.

If you know yourself, you will see that all others are like you.

Whether you lie down and see, or whether you sit down and see, Truth is one.

Don't be a slave.

Don't assert yourself and strive to see God. He is everywhere. He is with us. Only if He is in the second or third person, can you strive to see him.

Set God in your heart and bring Him up!

See everything you see as Siva. Do everything you do as Sivathondu. Give up this 'I' and 'mine'.

Kill yourself. Then you will obtain eternal life.

Speak the Truth. (E)

By remaining in the madams of Brahmacharya, Grhastha, Vanaprastha, and Sannyasa, we can complete the pilrimage.

Don't relinquish the faith that there is God.

-32-

X (another devotee) is also like me. There is no difference. But he does not know that.

The seer, the thing seen, and seeing are all dreams.

By creating the first person, second person, and third person, man weakens himself.

Attachments tell on the body and mind, but nothing can affect the atma.

What is the use of studying what is left as excreta by others? One must learn that which comes from within oneself. What is written by others is only what is spat out.

Sacred is secret. Secret is sacred.

Let happiness and sorrow come and go like day and night. Don't fear!

God is within you. He has no eyes, no ears, and so on. But we place Him outside and worship Him.

God has become father, mother and guru. He has become this mango tree also. He has become you and he has become I.

-33-

Buddha, Christ, you, I are all like bubbles in the ocean.

We do not need a certificate from anyone to know that we are eternal!

(Pointing to his body.) This is the car.

(Someone brought plantains.) We thought of plantain god and now plantain god has come.

Because he (another devotee) is unable to remain summa, he is walking to Kataragama.

Remain alone and see the world and the other worlds.

Whether you take a pair of sandals and worship them, or whether you take a buffalo and worship it, He will appear in the form in which you think of Him.

You can bring down rain when you want it.

(Pointing to an oil lamp.) As this lamp is shining so all of you must light the lamp within you.

You are Siva. I am Siva. All are Siva. Remaining summa is also Siva.

-34-

Declare that we are everything.

Don't think of the past.

(Swami sang:) Bliss, bliss, nothing but bliss! I am here, I am there, I am everywhere!

He is the clever man who sees God both inside and outside.

Burn up Kaman and kick Yaman!

The God within you will reveal to you everything that you need.

There is no need to ask anything from others.

We were also living at the time of Krishna.

Who has improved the world? People have improved themselves and then gone.

Man is living in God.

The same One is in the sage and in the insect.

There is nothing wonderful in the whole world.

-35-

(In a car.) The car driver is my guru, because I cannot do his work.

Both, your Pillaiyar* and I, are the same age. This you don't know.

The delusion of learning and the delusion of popularity.

I worship you all, because God is within you all. I do not worship the body.

You and I are one. I and you are one. That One is sustaining everything.

He (another devotee) is wandering about here and there without knowing the secret of how to remain summa. The message we can give to him is: "There is no 'you,' no 'I'."

(There were four people in the room.) How many are here? (Someone said: 'Four'.) No. Only one is here, like four people.

Now I am sitting here. I am in England also. I am also in America.

*(Another name for Ganesha. The devotee addressed here must have been a worshipper of Ganesha.)

-36-

Remain doing atma-puja.

Electric waves are nothing compared with thought waves. The thoughts of others come and dash against me.

Wherever you look, you see God. I was ruining myself by not seeing this.

Bliss will come, if you remain summa. Why then do you want this illusory world?

If you remain at the top you will see no difference. You can preach dharma only when you come down. If you remain at the top and see, everything will appear as one. That 'One' always remains pure. Nothing can pollute it.

The world is always pure. When you look outwards, you see the dog, the cat, 'good' and 'bad', 'great' and 'small'. The world is sacred and secret.

If you remain summa, the sound of voices outside will not reach you. When you come down, you can see the world.

(Swami sang:) "Dance O peacock, saying Jiva is Siva. Dance O peacock, and say that Truth is ripening."

-37-

If you think of the state of Siva, which is beyond all attributes, it won't come. It will come by itself. One day, when I was in that state, a bird came and sat on my head. Even yogis and jnanis can't understand that state.

This tree is God, this knife is God, this stone is God. Arrack is God. Give worship to all these gods!

You sing and learn, because you are unable to remain summa.

God is with us, but He is worrying us, making us to go to Kasi and Kailas.

See the God in your body by seeing, hearing, dressing and eating. See Him in your heart.

Do worship and know Him who is within you. Do you require any God other than Him to protect you?

To speak the truth, X (another devotee) and I are one. But outwardly we seem to be two.

As age advances and knowledge increases, go up and up. If you look down you will see only 'name' and 'form'.

-38-

Make the prana to rise. Enough of reading!

Why do you want to write down Natchintanai and study them? You are Natchintanai. Then what must be done? You must come to know the Self by the self.

Meditate daily: 'I am Siva.'

Keep the antakaranas free from sickness, and be careful, be awake, be alert, be vigilant, and become omnipresent.

God is with all of us. Then why should we become masters of others.

It is not necessary to break your head over building temples and schools. You can experience bliss by remaining summa, like the top which finally comes to rest after spinning round and round. The top will go on spinning as long as the force is there.

It is not a question of knowing yourself through yourself. You must see yourself through yourself.

Whom are you worshipping? Not me but the guru.

-39-

If the mind remains pure, that is equal to all yoga asanas.

It is mere illusion to speak of 'far' and 'near'.

Atma darshan will arise, when there is a yearning desire to know the Self, and when attachment to the possessions of others entirely disappears. You must press hard within yourself. If you do that, you will have the desire for scripture knowledge. You must squeeze the sugar-cane to extract the juice.

Remain summa for the sake of all!

(You) must struggle for it. (E)

Feel sorry for yourself, thinking that you have not yet realized.

You are always in him and He is always in you. You lack nothing.

It does not matter whether you are a brahmachari or a householder - you must know the truth.

It will speak everywhere.

-40-

(To the latrine coolie who was cleaning the lavatory outside.) O Ramaswamy! Are you doing Sivapuja (divine worship) out there?

One day when I was in the hospital I saw a different world.

He who has nothing steals. Whom are we to blame?

When you have entirely surrendered, everything you do will be meditation.

Who takes birth? Who dies?

(Pointing to a fisherman carrying a basket of fish.) His feet are Tiruvadi. Why? Because Lord Siva is within him.

(II)

Virtue is important. It is the sign of good breeding and confers pre-eminence.

Honour your parents. Respect your elders. Love all as yourself.

Liberation is within you.

The world is eternally contracting and expanding.

God exists as earth, water, fire, air, ether, and all else.

The whole world functions in perfect order.

You will only realize the Truth, when you understand that not an atom moves without His will.

If you remain yourself, everything will be all right.

You can make God your servant.

There is nothing to know. Remain summa.

-42-

As houses are useful for a man to live in, so religions are useful steps in his growth.

See God in everything. You are in God. God is in you.

There is no need to run after others. The distinction between so-called 'great' and 'small' does not exist. All are various forms of the One Reality.

God and I are inseparable. Therefore it is necessary to keep pure this body, which is His temple.

Those who remain summa are the real benefactors of humanity.

Only he who works is a constant worshipper of God.

Ignorance remains until you come to realize that God is within you.

The legs cannot do the work of the hand; the mouth cannot do the work of the legs. Then which can be called 'great' and which 'small'? All are indispensable.

-43-

As there is one soul in a man's body which makes it walk and eat and sleep, so all movements in the world are simply the play of the Lord.

To realize the supreme Being within you, you must have a strong body and a pure mind.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained.

The body is your dwelling-place and you are the dwelling-place of the Lord.

Don't wander about. Learn to remain calm and patient.

Be true to yourself. Don't alter your behaviour simply to please others.

Death is also a game.

Illness is a blessing.

Virtue is more important than life itself.

You can only reap the fruit of your own actions. You cannot act for another.

-44-

If you say 'God exists', it is wrong, and if you say 'God does not exist', it is also wrong.

We are That. It is not a case of becoming That.

Don't beg from anyone.

There is no guru and no disciple. All are That.

Joy and sorrow only exist in the mind.

Man must suffer; suffering is the greatest medicine.

Simply laugh, if any disaster comes to you. Grief and happiness concern the body.

Little by little control the mind. Direct the mind towards God and practise meditation.

I have no like or dislike for anything.

Look on praise and blame alike.

WORDS OF OUR MASTER 45-90

-45-

Don't mix with those who have no desire for spirituality.

Don't hesitate to speak out in public what is just and right.

Never act against your conscience out of fear of authority.

Knowledge gained from the company of great souls is superior to book-knowledge.

The ornaments of the soul are justice, integrity, courage, and truth.

Bad men obey out of fear. Good men obey out of love.

Justice is to give each man his proper share.

You cannot get rid of evil simply by exposing it. If you try to be good, loving and honest, evil will disappear.

He who has no patience cannot be a man of justice.

Not all can understand that I am in all.

-46-

Instead of going on studying and studying, it is better not to forget what you have already studied.

Learning means removing the veil of ignorance.

Don't worry about posterity.

The aim of one who does good to others is to do good to himself. The benefit of oneself is the basic aim.

You cannot improve others or the world. Improve yourself.

The only path I know is the path of virtue. Everything is that, I can assure you. I assure you that is everything. This is the easiest path for coming to knowledge of yourself.

There is no need to try to know God. It is enough if you see that your conduct is good.

He who has strength of mind will not be agitated. If you are agitated you cannot know the Truth.

You came into the world empty handed. And when the call comes, you must leave it empty handed.

-47-

If you want liberation in this birth make your mind a cremation-ground and burn all your desires to ashes.

All that has form must disappear. The mind is also with form, so that too must go.

Repeat the five letters before your past karmas come and overpower you.

God is not the cause of sin and virtue.

One word of Grace can make all past karma fly away. Don't let your 'ego' spoil the intellect given you by God's Grace.

The whole is a picture.

Whether others treat you with kindness or with rudeness, don't be affected.

Your mother is divine and so is the dog.

-48-

Behave towards your mother in the way that befits your mother, and towards the dog in the way that befits the dog. And when you are sick, behave in the way that befits a sick man.

The whole world is a hermitage.

He is beautiful who, though crippled in body, is not crippled in knowledge.

To remain happy is liberation.

Do not associate with those who stir up trouble.

The knowledge of God cannot be contained within the limits of any book.

Bramacharya is not to err in thought, word or deed.

Waves rise in the ocean; so waves of thought arise in the mind. Yoga is to control thoughts as they arise. Great ones say that Yoga means union. If you want to take hold of something, all the fingers must join together; similarly, in order to reach God, the mind must become one-pointed.

-49-

It is not a simple thing to control the mind. It cannot be done in a day, or even in a year. Through constant effort thoughts can be controlled a little. In this way the uncontrollable mind can finally be brought under control. This is the supreme victory.

Space is an ashram. It is best for one to live as nature prompts.

Be a student always. And that is a most difficult thing to be.

It does not matter what anybody says. It does not matter what the Sastras say. Consult your own experience and accept as true only that which conforms to it.

It is good to be a king and to do one's duty as one. People may not question the wrongs done by a king. That belongs to God. It is a great thing for a king to do his duty in a spirit of divine detachment. It is not everybody who can do that.

God is with you all the time. There is no work to be done. Move in conformity with changes within your environment. Be steadfast in truth. Natural forces are countless. Be you, your own self, while at the same time recognizing all these. That is wisdom. We do not do anything. Everything happens of its own accord.

-50-

Be content within your own measure. If you over-reach yourself, you will have to suffer. You can hear the voice of God in everything and everyone.

Wisdom as such is an illusion. To be ourselves is the best that we can do. Really a man can do all that he wants to do. He has merely to acquire the necessary ability. A knowledge of other people and other affairs is again as illusion. These must be given up.

The world is an ashram - a training ground for the achievement of freedom. Each one does his part according to his own measure. There is nothing that is evil.

A jak fruit is large in size, but it hangs by a slender stalk. Its power to hang lies in the strength of the stalk. In the same way, the whole world depends on an unknowable energy for all its activities. It is all the same whether this is called God, or given any other name.

-51-

Let there be conflict. The cream arises in conflict. What harm is there if this world is destroyed? What good can there be, if it continues to exist? There is nothing very seriously wrong with anything.

You will find the attributes of the Divine in man. If you look a little more closely, you will find that man is himself the Divinity.

A duck falling into water will swim away. A chicken falling into water may drown. The individual's life and action should be determined by his own nature and ability.

Love of the guru is most praiseworthy. Some emulate the good they see in him and prosper. Others, like a sieve, retain only what should be discarded. They end up in suffering and sorrow.

The whole universe is peaceful and silent. There is peace and silence in the midst of noise.

Renounce all else to know that the body and soul are different. Do what is necessary for the body. Don't distress yourself trying to make choices. Conduct yourself in accordance with what happens to you.

-52-

It is not seen by the eyes. It is not heard by the ears. It is not sensed by the nose. It is not spoken by the mouth. It is not known by touch. It remains Itself. Only It can know Itself. It is here, there, and everywhere. It is the cause of all action.

Love and hate are two forces. They keep the world moving. They are both found in man. Love what should be loved and hate what should be hated, and conduct your life in close comradeship with those around you.

If you want to go upstairs, you must climb every step. If you want to climb the tree, you must first climb up the trunk before you reach the branch at the top. In the course of climbing you may displace some leaves and even some fruits. If you go on reaching furthur even after arriving at the topmost branch, your life will be in danger.

The wise will discard feelings of 'I' and 'mine'. Their aim will be spiritual advancement. They will transcend birth and death. They will live at the feet of the Lord in perpetual bliss.

-53-

Do not harbour harmful thoughts. Discard anger and jealousy. Be modest, disciplined, and happy and you will reach the top. Know thyself by thyself.

We are the servants of Lord Siva. Our love towards one another is puja. All are engaged in Service. The sun and the moon do the work of the Lord. We serve the Lord and so do our legs.

God speaks through flowers as well as through the tongues of men.

Honour and dishonour spring from the same service. We have renounced both. Why should a farm hand concern himself with boundary disputes? We grow like these plants-they grow when watered; they wither and die when there is no water.

Just as salt dissolves in water, this body dissolves in the end, and the end may come after eighty years or a hundred years or a hundred and twenty years. If you boil the solution later it will crystalize again.

-54-

If you go fault-finding you will lose all your friends. The picture may be bad, but why spit on it?

There is nothing wanting in us. Our only defect is the want of the realization of this truth.

You must learn to be cool and calm. You must learn to be cool and calm in the midst of intense activity.

Never be in a hurry. We keep away from those in a hurry.

Detachment involves a great deal of effort. Detachment gives you strength.

Nothing is ever destroyed.

If you want to be free from suffering, you must pray to God.

It is only when you can take good care of precious things, that they come to you. You must prepare the ground for them. That is the state of wealth.

At eye-level you may see high ground and low ground. Viewed from a great height the differences are levelled.

-55-

When you realize God, the omnipresent, there is no consciousness of souls. It is all God and nothing else. The fingers of your hand may go through all kinds of actions, but the fingers remain unchanged even after these actions. It is all like a film show. All things are immersed in God. This realization cannot be described. Any attempt at description is a blemish and will only be a source of extraneous growth.

Holiness begins with the realization that you are the atma.

When you go to bed, keep your mind free from thoughts. If thoughts arise, get up and think them out before you go to bed again. When you go to sleep be free from thoughts by postponing everything to the next morning.

Stand erect on your self. Gandhi, the Buddha, and the rest of them came and have gone back. The world remains as it always was.

God can be discovered only by God. You must address each one according to his state in life. You can't speak to men in the same way as you speak to dogs.

-56-

Work for the sake of work. You cannot be without work. Look at the sun. Who knows when it came into being? It has always been there. Think of yourself as one who has always been there and do your work. It is all a glorious game. People call it the dance of the Lord. Be detached in action.

Happiness and sorrow, honour and dishonour occur one after the other. Don't lose heart when you discover this. At the foot of the mountain you are aware of the high ground and the low ground. When you reach the summit the whole thing is just one beautiful spectacle.

It is all one. Yet there are many names and shapes and appearances.

It is not a question of seeing God. How can a part see the whole? Regard everything as a manifestation of God, and you will realize the truth. The servants of the Lord regard every single thing as the Lord Himself, and they grow in that conviction and realize the truth.

Live a disciplined life. Everything else will take care of itself.

-57-

Work for the good of the world. You may work or you may not. God takes care of everything.

God exists. The world is at peace. God is peace. What happens on the surface is all a game. God is overwhelmingly present everywhere.

The present is the result of past action. Man is the architect of his future.

When you serve ghee, you don't give it for every handful of rice. Neither do you go on drawing attention to ghee at every handful. Don't set yourself up as a guru. Don't let others do obeisance to you as to a guru.

God is in everyone.

Think of the whole world as one. Let your thoughts embrace the whole. Do not give up prayers or puja. But you must go further and further. If you have set out for Colombo, you may enjoy whatever you see on the way, but you should not stop on the way.

You and I are one. You do not believe this. I tell you, it is true.

-58-

Of what use is it to remain deep in meditation? One must attain a state of permanent self-awareness at all times and in all places. You must live with everybody, in the midst of everybody, but never forget your true self.

A small umbrella can hide the sun. Your loss is my loss and my loss is your loss. Everything is interwoven. The world moves on as it should. There is nothing wrong here.

Knowing yourself is the one and only guru-puja. All other guru-pujas are mere herd enjoyment.

Have faith and confidence in yourself.

As food is necessary for life, so is prayer necessary for the realization of the Truth. Prayer is an aid and not an end.

The world is by nature illusive. Yet God is incessantly and indefatigably at work all the time.

Everyone is chanting vedas. One chants the vedas of religion, another the vedas of acquisitiveness; the third the vedas of egoism, and a forth the vedas of lust. Thus everybody chants the vedas!

-59-

God lives in the midst of fire. Does he prevent it from burning? He lives in the midst of tigers; He lives in the midst of theives. Does He ever get angry? You must live like that in the world. If you realize this, you will let everything well alone.

Does God expect you to kill tigers? The law of life that governs the tiger is different from that which governs man.

Take good care of your body, if you want to attain divine wisdom. If you don't it will be very dificult indeed.

In all countries, the sun rises in the east. Don't take a cock-eyed view of things. See with both your eyes. Then all things will appear equal.

Try cohabiting with God. All life on earth is the result of the cohabiting of the sun and the earth.

If an earthquake does you harm do you try to harm it in return? We just keep quiet. Let everyone mind his own business.

-60-

Let the Greater Self guide you.

Go on learning. But the real man is beyond all learning.

You must all live like God, in unity and peace.

You must live in the world like the copra and the tamarind within their shells.

The flower has a stalk. There always has to be something that sustains you. If everything were perfect, there would be no reason for this birth. The moon makes no attempt to dispel the darkness that covers one portion of it; it gives light to the earth and dispels darkness there.

It is good to be concerned with the welfare of other people. Live in the world as though you belonged to the dead. It is good to work for your living. Live unattached, and help those in need of help.

We are like the fisherman with his rod and line. We may release the line a little when there is a bite, only to pull it all back at the proper time.

-61-

It is all now very clear that God exists, that He is everywhere, and so am I. Yet this body has to remain within this hut.

You will know Him, if you keep quiet. All your suffering and your disease are for good. You must sweat and fall ill. Don't try to fly because others do. Work and be friendly. Observe and you will understand. Love is God. Truth is God. You cannot see God with your eyes; you must experience God. God is all things; God is everywhere.

Running water will run faster if you remove an obstruction here and there. You need not do much more.

The one who prays and the one to whom prayers are addressed are one and the same.

Books become necessary only when knowing yourself is not possible.

When the sky is overcast, the peacock struts, the nightingale sings, the cock crows, and the owl calls. When the mind becomes pure, song arises spontaneously. Every action has a reaction. What is done with the eye reacts in the eye and what is done with the leg reacts in the leg.

-62-

Stand upright. Be disciplined. Be friendly. You will lack nothing.

Live unperturbed in the conviction that all that you see with your eyes is transient. There is in fact no change or alteration in existence. Do not think of one as big and another as small.

Truth is not encompassed by books and learning. You must know yourself by yourself. There is nothing else to be known. Where you are, there too am I.

All that exists is one. It assumes various forms. Greet those who come to see you. Inquire after their health and well being, but remember - all are one.

Live unshaken in the realization that "all that I see is myself."

Reason, discriminate and then stand firm. The one life-giving sap appears as bark, branch, leaves, and flowers and makes up the tree. There is nothing that need be rejected in the community.

Not one atom can move apart from Him. We do not know. Not all realize the Truth. Only some do. It is all His work. It is everywhere. It supports the thief as well. There is nothing strange. What is above is yourself and what is below also is yourself.

-63-

(Devotee: "Why should a man work?") That question should not arise. Can you ask why God exists? This is a similar question.

God is with us. There is no work to be done. Yet, one must move in tune with the apparent changes in the world. Be firm in the realization of the Truth. We do nothing. Everything will go on by itself.

God speaks everywhere through everyone. The awakened ones are aware of this.

Live content within what has been measured out for you. If you strive for more you will suffer.

Everywhere, all the time, and in everyone you can hear the voice of God.

There is nothing called nature in existence. All is God. Who can nullify even a little heat?

The hand does its work, the leg its work. So everyone does his work - the trees their work, the labourer his work, the teacher his work, the sage his work. God is the great Maharaja, who sits witnessing all this. There is nothing imperfect in the world. Witness everything as God does.

-64-

Karma is movement in the mind. When the mind remains motionless, there is no karma.

One Truth exists. One cannot claim to have seen It; nor can one assert that one has not seen It. It is an open secret. Who can know the knower? Sages have appeared from time to time, said one thing and another, and then disappeared. It remains Itself, ever unknowable, ever new.

You look outwards. Many persons, many things impinge on you. Many ideas arise. There is a force which is the basis of all these. You may twist your fingers in all directions. There is one thing which does all the twisting and remains the sustaining force. There is nothing in the external world.

Choose any system of inquiry and It manages to become lost in the system.

There is happiness when we look inwards and unhappiness when we look outwards. But the truth is present in the unhappiness as well as in the happiness. The changing universe keeps on changing all the time. That which causes the change and remains unchanged, that is the Truth.

-65-

Night follows day in unchanging regularity. Can you restrain either the one or the other even for a short time? That is the world. Move as the ants do, slowly, steadily, and in disciplined formation. That is the way to grow up.

You may have renounced everything and you may live in full realization as a Sannyasi. But then, people will come to worship you. You will have to say something and then the trouble begins. Cast aside mental creations and conflicts as a dog, emerging from the water, shakes it out of his coat, and be yourself alone.

Attracting people to yourself is another self-deluding activity. Even Kadaiswami seems to have fallen for it. Chellappan was great; he never gave in to such delusions. He merely muttered "Who know," and 'It was all settled long ago", and went about the outer courtyards of the Nallur Temple and sat in the dirt, saying that all that dirt would frighten away the people who came to fall at his feet. I don't think anyone ever got from him an answer to a question. i merely stood and waited behind him for the occasional gem that fell out of all the mad talk.

-66-

Two European ladies came to me. They had been in India to see Mahatma Gandhi. They wanted a message from me. I asked them what Gandhi had told them. The Mahatma had said, "One God, one world." I told them I could not think of a better message.

Once you have realized the Truth you may give up work, if you want to. But till you realize it you must continue to work. Sloth is the greatest danger. There is no wisdom in work itself itself. Wisdom lies in your attitude to work.

No one can describe the Truth adequately. Even the great Sankara failed to do so.

It is. All activity and all sustenance is contained by It. The wind keeps blowing; leaves move and then cease to move as though tired out. Maya continues to be active. Truth, however, remains undiminished.

Don't become involved in anything. I can do anything. There is always a justification for it. You must go on comtemplating your own self, while regarding others as you regard yourself.

-67-

You and I and Manikkavasakar and others are like waves that rise in the ocean. Can they run away? Fish must live in the ocean in spite of the waves.

What a beautiful world! There is everything that everybody needs and each one takes according to his needs.

Even the drunkard is necessary. To do the sort of thing he does in his drunkenness he must necessarily get drunk. Is it an easy thing for anybody else to do that sort of thing?

Don't surrender your liberty, to anyone. Don't you be deceived because one man says one thing and another says another thing.

It is wrong to kill a tiger in its forest. But you must kill it, if it enters the village.

Discriminate between the permanent and the perishable. Make the discrimation certain and then do will any work that you choose to do.

There is wisdom in everyone. The Buddha has spoken words of great wisdom like other Great Ones. But if you concern yourself with these, you will not realize Divine Grace. Is there a consciousness greater than that of a Sivathondan? He is truly great.

-68-

Don't be overwhelmed by work. Shake it off as any animal shakes off a parasite. The world appeared ugly to the Buddha and he renounced it. He realized the Truth and then he loved the world and began doing good - the work involved all the heavy responsiblity of the man with a family.

You must have desire and you must also have the ego, if you want to realize God. How can you know God without this ego!

Continue to work. While you work you may do right and then you may do wrong. You must however continue to work.

Good thoughts and bad thoughts are twins.

The heights of life are more difficult to climb than the Himalayas. How numerous are the obstructions! Even towards the end the ego will raise its head... Don't think of anything as unnecessary and don't think of anything a s necessary either. Continue to work in the firm conviction that 'We are.' It is not proper to give up work. Krishna dispelled Arjuna's illusions. "Fight! The world is a battlefield. Accept anything that comes. Do not give up out of fear or pity."

-69-

The Truth is one. The rest is illusion. States of realization are also an illusion. Truth is betrayed by the first attempt at articulation. What else can one say. One may discuss the rains and the harvest and so on... You must realize It yourself. It is wrong even to put it that way. How does one express something changeless and beyond the mind? The whole is the Truth.

There is order in the universe. The thief and the trouble-maker are part of this order.

God is with all of us. We are all God. Our normal life is a dream state.

You cannot put off meditation till all the noise ceases. In meditation the noise may be heard and yet not heard. Some people go deep into meditation and are unable to come out of it.

This is a beautiful world. Everything is so ordered to suit the needs of the past and the future of everyone.

-70-

Here (at the Sivathondan Nilayam) let there be no talk. People merely read what is in books and enjoy themselves lecturing other people. The others gain nothing by it. God is with each one of us. Let each one obtain by himself what he needs.

I am Buddha and you are the Sangha. Buddha means the wise one.

The five senses are five brothers.

Today (a yajna day) is a day for exercise. I shall set fire to you and burn everyone of you!

Tell me who your friends are and I shall tell you who you are.

Only one free from desire has the right to grow a beard! Don't do anything like that till you are free from desire.

I am a dog because I am grateful to the Creator.

Do not desire even the ecstasy of mukti. Besides, there is no ecstasy there!

You must live without being involved.

-71-

What is in my heart is the same as what is in yours. That is what is everywhere.

The way to know It, is to think, think and think again until you think to a certainty.

Avoid saying "Do this" and avoid saying "Don't do this."

Who is inside? (asked Swami of a devotee in the Sivathondan Nilayam - 'I am the only one' answered the devotee.) That is the truth. You are the only one in the universe!

Don't proclaim the truth, and don't lie.

All things are conscious and I am everywhere.

Ask all these who come here (i.e. to the Sivathondan center) to learn to remain in silence.

When you perform Yajna, should you not fast and meditate and make ceaseless effort throughout the day?

-72-

Good work. However it is not enough just to be harmless. You must even be angry and assertive. Of what use is it, if other people merely call you a good man?

All are one. Only work is different. Don't ride rough-shod over anything.

There is always a reaction to every action. You must meet situations simply, as they arise.

This (Swami's illness) is a gift. Karma must be gone through. I have no connection whatever with this body.

This body brought with it the seeds of all else in life. Illness is part of it.

One need not inquire into the cause of this illness. There is no action that can be claimed as ours. All this was settled long, long ago. Don't be frightened of anything.

People who understand the cause of this will merely note this as the end of all suffering and remain undisturbed.

-73-

The ignorant become restless and sad.

The Buddha says that all Karma must be gone through, but Christ says there is remission of sin.

Activity passes on. The body which came with it passes along with it. Of what concern is it to us?

"God exists. He is everywhere. He is with me. And I have all I need to have", say the Great Ones. I believe that and live by it. You do not need much learning. It is enough if you can live in the light of this.

Oh the endless anxieties of endless births! When will these delusions end?

Keep on analysing yourself within. Work for the sake of work. You need not worry about profit and loss. You should not even think evil of other people. Don't give a chance for other people even to misunderstand you. The religious life is one in which you live in peace and happiness with everybody.

Let us now just be. You must make all possible effort in religious practices. (Wiping off some oil on his hands with some waste paper.) Even this piece of paper rejected as useless has now become useful.

-74-

Chastise with love.

Live in the world like the man who runs away from the rain for fear of being drenched. Live without colliding. Shake off delusions and stand on your own Self.

There is nothing that is evil. Killing is one of the Five Activities. I will not kill; neither will you kill. But evidently the world cannot go on without killing.

(Spoken whil apparently asleep.) There is a wick within us. You light it, if you want to.

This is what you must tell people who come seeking Truth. "Come, sit in peace. Think, and you will realize that God is with you." You must think to realize. It will not come without thinking. If you go on thinking about whatever you may want, you are bound to get it some day.

(A business man came in with some offering in his hand.) Here he comes accompanied by his business! Do not come in this manner.

-75-

It is sin to give and sin to take. Those who have risen will only receive from those fit to give. Give only to those fit to receive. The Sannyasi who receives from the unfit, harms himself and giver. You can worship, beg, and eat. It is very wrong to assume Swamihood and to eat what is demanded for and offered to a Swami. The Mad Ones, all of them lived by begging. They received no offerings.

Entire families of some people who associated with Swamis for material benefits, have disappeared.

You must be a servant of the Lord, within yourself. It does not matter what you appear to be outwardly.

Only think of those things that can be disclosed the moment you are asked to disclose them.

Let not your right hand know what your left hand does.

Do not sympathise with the undeserving. It can only harm you.

Your body is the soil. Cultivate it.

Don't become indebted to anybody.

-76-

Don't carry tales.

Who can live long enough to enjoy all the wealth he has accumulated? It is sufficient to have just enough to live on.

The turtle lays a thousand eggs and remains silent. The hen lays just one egg and cackles endlessly. Be like the turtle. Don't behave like the hen.

To live as a house-holder with inward detachment is true dharma. Many great servants of the Lord have done that.

Even those who have renounced the world must find something congenial to do.

Never spend more than your income. If you wish to live without worry, reduce your wants.

There is no special talent in anyone. Neither is there any particular disability in anyone. It is all the work of the Lord.

As long as the body made of five elements lasts, the nature of these elements will manifest. There will be passion and jealousy and cruelty, etc. The great ones control these with their wisdom.

-77-

To live and then to cast off this body according to one's own nature is best. Bathe when you sweat, eat when you are hungry and sleep when you must. Live like water on a lotus leaf.

Do what you consider right as your conscience directs you.

Do your duty as the sun and the moon do theirs.

All great ones have undergone suffering. None can escape what is ordained.

The way to avoid unhappiness is to control your mind, to seek the friendship of the wise ones, and to live in the midst of devotees.

Nothing exists except the Lord. Everything is his action. Place all your burden under His Feet and rest. Don't give room for sorrow or despair. Don't have regrets that "I did this or "he did that." Be awake!

I do not know any Yoga; nor do I know any spiritual practices. All that I know is virtue. Virtue will bestow everything.

-78-

You must understand that all these actions that arise from maya are a help to realize the Self. By raising him up and bringing him down again and again, the Lord makes a man gain experience. You must get rid of all illusion. All tests are for good.

Do not eat anything if you are not hungry, even if it is given by God Himself.

When the mind and the soul become one with God, it is samadhi.

Be calm. Even if God appears, offer Him a seat, and be calm.

Be patient till you realize the Truth and can enjoy it.

The usefulness of any action depends a great deal on the attitude of mind of the man who acts.

In you I see myself in another form.

If you plant brinjals you can pluck only brinjals. If you sow goodness, you can reap goodness. If you sow evil, you will reap evil.

-79-

Once you realize the Truth, you will not be aware of duality, like order and disorder, etc.

Christ and Buddha and Mohammed are all within you.

Even the touch of great souls will do one good.

Welcome those who seek your hospitality according to your means.

Everything that everybody needs has been sent in advance into the world before his arrival.

Do not see God in a particular place or particular way. God is in everything and beyond.

(III)

[The whole of this section was spoken in English.]

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." That is the basis of all religions.

Man is beyond comprehension.

You are married to your body. Body is your wife.

I give you a suit. Body is the best suit.

One in many; many in one.

Do not be a lamb, and roam about from place to place. Sit down and meditate and roar like a lion. I am telling this to myself about myself. I am not telling this to you and you are not hearing me.

I am you and you are I.

There is no sannyasi in the world. I am the only sannyasi.

You cannot see that which makes you see.

You are at the bottom of the hill. The man at the bottom and the man at the top are the same.

-81-

Be as a child.

Don't speak of me.

...I cannot be all in one place. So one takes a foot, one an eye, one a hand - and so on.

Be in your place. Work in your place.

You must work. Do some work. Don't idle. (Pointing to himself) - Greatest activity! Do your dharma.

Work according to your capacity. Ten gallons - ten gallons capacity.

Dogmas, doctrines, and so on - don't bother with them.

Guard your tongue. Otherwise harm will come to you.

Keep quiet; but sometimes talk - talk freely.

Do not speak before you understand.

Just sit quietly. Swami will speak to you. All are Swami.

Be like a crane, whcih sits doing nothing; but when it sees food, it is immediately alert and pounces at once.

-82-

Do some work. You don't work. It works. Much to be done.

I am the whole world.

I am in all. All forms are mine.

Don't read books - It is in you.

Don't run here and there.

You have work to do? Do that work.

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." The word was Aum. Amen the same.

Don't be a pessimist; don't be an optimist. Middle path.

Don't talk lightly.

Give up this idea of realizing. There is nothing to realize.

You cannot realize. I cannot realize. There is no 'you,' no 'I.'

You cannot know the Truth. You must get rid of that idea. Truth is. All is Truth. Truth is 'I am.'

-83-

This idea of 'knowing' must be surrendered.

You must surrender everything. 'I', 'you', and 'he' must be surrendered. You must go beyond.

You are climbing Everest. You must struggle - struggle the whole way. All is play. God is play!

"Time is short; the subject is vast."

Only you can work. Only you can do it.

Play-just wander about here and there! The whole world is play.

Do your work. All work-trees work (Devotee- But trees fulfill their functions, whereas man does not.) All bear fruit- I give fruit, you give fruit. All work. You are working now. Work is Svadharma -following your pattern.

"I am the bringing forth. I am existence. I am dissolution. All these are in Brahmam and Brahmam am I."

-84-

At the top there is nothing. So you have to come down a little. Then you can enjoy.

Don't eat too much. Eat little, read little, work little.

Belly should be half full-half food, half water - the other half empty.

Don't show what you read.

Find the Truth! Sit down till you find it!

You move up from truth to truth.

First hear; then inquire; then understand.

God is illusion- all is illusion.

No need to say anything. Just be! That is enough.

There is nothing. You are nothing. I am nothing. God is nothing.

Nothing changes, but there is change.

-85-

He who says he knows does not know. Nobody knows. Nobody has ever known.

Let your greater self direct you.

Take no authority! Let It speak. Speak out what is in your heart to others.

I don't know. Why do you want to know? Just be as you are.

The earth is my mother. The sun is my father. I am the son.

There is only one God, but He has three aspects, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra- creation, preservation, destruction. This is the whole world.

Take my message to the whole world-one God, one man, one caste!

There is nothing inside. God is nothing.

Don't believe anyone. People will talk, show 'siddhis' (supernatural powers). Don't believe. Stand on your own self.

Take the 'I' by the 'I'.

-86-

If you don't know, you are pure. Not knowing is purity. Then you are humble. If you know, you are not pure.

Aum is the eternal word that was in the beginning.

Act, but don't care for the fruits of action.

You are the only one in the world. Know that and be a man! You are the whole world-every thing is in you.

Prayer is consciousness.

Nobody knows- I don't know. It is indescribable; it is inexpressible.

I speak nothing.

The mind must be absolutely still, like a lake with no ripples.

Christ was limited. I am also limited. If you speak, if you act, you are limited.

First obey; then command. Obey you own self.

You must not be bound by anybody or anything. You must be free.

-87-

The whole world will look after you. If I am angry, I am looking after you.

You are responsible for yourself. You must work for yourself.

Give to others-without attachment. Help others, but without attachment.

You don't want (i.e. need) to speak. Be 'mounam'. You don't want (i.e. need) to do anything. Simply be! Be it!

Don't take anything from others-food or drink,-unless you are hungry. If you are hungry, you can eat stones!

If God comes and gives, don't take!

If you give to others, do so with attention.

If you can control the mind, you obtain certain powers. That is just tricks. Very bad to use them. You can know what others are thinking. Very bad to use that.

Don't follow me; don't follow anyone. Follow yourself.

Very easy to humbug.

-88-

Until you understand, you must be very careful. You must watch every step. Examine yourself everyday. That is the first step. First step, second step, third step- and so on, till you come to the top.

When you understand, you can do what you like. Dance!

All is spirit-movement. All movement all change is spirit-movement.

Don't take anything from others. Stand on your own self. Don't depend on others.

Very easy to become a big swami. Then you are lost!

Limit yourself. Don't go beyond the limit. (What do you mean by 'limit'?) Don't eat too much and so on.

The world is. The world is not.

You are alone-no friends, no foe.

All are struggling to the top like corks in a bucket of water.

-89-

Christ is deceiving you. Buddha is deceiving you. I am deceiving you. If you speak, you lie. It is inexpressible.

Think well before you resolve on action. These are three constituents of action-production, destruction, and value. Assess the quality and measure before you act.

If you want to know anything, just see people-they will tell you.

I see God everywhere. I worship everywhere. All are God. I can say that, because I don't know.

All is Brahman. That is bhakti!

You don't want power. Power will come of itself.

He who is in devoted pursuit of Truth, endures hunger, thirst, fatique, and the harm done by others.

Buddha had the desire to teach and so he came down and struggled and spoke and then returned up and went beyond, having satisfied his desire. Christ also came and had the idea of suffering. So he suffered and went on. But people are just the same. No use preaching. Just be!

-90-

Be like the rhinoceros.

Why do you want to know? I don't know. I am the same as others. They are all realized, but they don't know it. There is just that small difference.

See God everywhere. This is practice. First do it intellectually. Then you will know it.

All play. The world is a playground. All the world is a theatre.

Act in the moment. Commands come from moment to moment-"go here!' 'Go there!'

Christ, Buddha came-then they left their bodies. I and you must do the same. That is nothing. But you must give (the body) enough. Middle path-Buddha taught that.

Don't eat too much, work too much, sleep too much!

WORDS OF OUR MASTER 91-134

-91-

Don't listen to others. Go your own way. Follow your conscience.

What you think, that you become. If you think God, you become God. If you think food, you become food. Everything comes to you. Just worship God-order what you want! No need to know.

See yourself everywhere. You are the whole world.

Your eyes are everywhere. Your ears are everywhere. Your mouths are everywhere.

Om Tat Sat Om. Tat is That-athu ('i.e. the Tamil for that'). Sat -'is.'

Om is That.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained. There is nothing.

Don't try to foretell-no use. You can know when a man is going to die. You don't know. God speaks.

You don't want to see God. You must feel God. God is you. Just be that.

I am with you always. You are God. God is with you.

-92-

Your eyes are God. Your feet are God. Your hands are God. Your speech is God. Your 'malam' is God.

You are God, but you don't know it. You don't want (i.e. need) to know. You are God. Feel God! The all things come under your command.

I am the waves. I am the ocean. We are all waves-there is no higher wave or lower wave. The waves and the ocean are one. You have to plunge yourself in the ocean.

There are two delusions that the sannyasi has to face-the social delusion (i.e. popularity) and the delusion of learning (i.e. books, scriptures, etc.)

You are God. I am God. Only one-no separation. You cannot separate me from you.

Just go your way. Nothing to fear.

If you don't want anything, everything comes. If you reject something, that thing will come.

Aham Brahmasmi. You are God. You are everyone. You are everywhere. Learn this. This is practice.

-93-

Let innumerable births come! Go slowly. No hurry, sorry, worry!

Don't ask any boon of God. You order God!

Say: "O Lord I know nothing. Thy will be done. Give me thy Grace." Without that you can do nothing.

Don't be weak. You can command all-from inside. You can order the whole world. The whole world comes under your command. You can order God and all devas.

The body will go. Christ came and his body went-he told it to go. You tell the body to go.

If people do bad things, don't condemn. Just watch. But don't you do bad things! Just see.

I don't preach. If a man comes to me, I say nothing. I don't fortell, or do any of these things. But if a man comes with respect, then I may say something.

All relgions speak the truth. You can take from here, from there, and so on. They are all the same.

-94-

Don't believe anyone-don't believe God. Only believe yourself.

You don't want to know. Let God act through you.

Know thyself by thyself-that is Buddhism.

Find out the truth-there is nothing.

I climbed Mt. Everest in three days. There, there is nothing. No sun, no moon. Then you come down and there is dharma, adharma, and all things.

Don't go outside your own religion. All is in that.

Sat Chit Ananda. That is one thing.-Sachchidananda. Sat is-'you are.' Chit is omnipresence.-Prakaasa, light as from the sun--all-knowing. Ananda is bliss. They are three, but they are one. That is your nature.

Om contains all. Tat is Chit - athu (i.e. 'that.')

Don't attend lectures. You know everything inside-it is all in you. People will talk about powers, siddhis, etc.-don't listen!

-95-

I am the servant of all, but I don't show it.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained. How can we talk of gain or loss? The atma is one-it is all and everywhere. So how can there be loss and gain, coming and going, past and future?

Om Tat Sat Om. Tat is God. Sat -'you are' or 'you is.' Chit is light, being everywhere, omnipresence. Om is all. (Devotee: Why is Om said twice?) Because it is all.

You can take things in and let them go out, as you eat and excrete.

Let the atma speak in you. Before you do anything, stop and wait. Then you can act.

You don't want anything. Let things come. Go about. Do your work.

You are the witness. Just be. You just watch. There is a sentence without subject, without object and without predicate. Find out that-then you are at the top, on Everest!

-96-

See all as your friends. All are your friends; all are your enemies!

Don't give your ear to anyone. If the gods come, bow to them, but don't listen! Hear only yourself. God will speak with you.

Don't be caught by anybody. You don't need to talk.

Don't separate people (i.e. make distinctions or show preference.) See all alike - like you!

Don't doubt yourself.

Om is God and it is not God.

(Swami told a story of a Muslim fakir he had met who killed a pig by uttering one word.) All tricks! You don't want these things, if you are pure.

Stand on your own self. Leave aside nature and earth things.

See God everywhere and see bliss!

Look up! Look up everything inside!

-97-

There are many ways. All religions give different ways. You must follow your own path. No one can tell you anything.

Do your own work. I am not master of anyone. I am only my own master. Each is his own master. He must discover the master in him from within. This is the secret.

All are my master. I am learning from everyone. I pick from everyone what I want and pass on, and they too. You must experience this and you will know the Truth.

You can't love others-you can only love yourself.

Within Om is everything. Om is all. Om is present everywhere, like light- Chit.

Do not care for the effects.

You don't want powers or siddhis. You don't want powers. You want to find out the Truth.

Close eyes, ears, mouth, and just sit still. All devas and gods will come to you.

-98-

You are God. God sees through your eyes, hears through your ears, speaks through your mouth.

Don't let in God, devas -anyone!

Don't listen to others, not to devas , not to God - only yourself.

What was I thinking? You can know that, but bad to try.

A man may come and praise, or a man may blame. Do no be affected. You are the witness.

Difficulties must come on a man's path. They are a blessing!

Don't have any friends. All are your friends, but have no friends!

See God in everything - in all people. You must do that!

'Thy will be done' - that is the same as Om.

There is only one man in the whole world - only god. Nothing else, He is everywhere.

-99-

One God - multiplicity in One.

Take everything in, swallow it, then spit it out!

Body is your wife - you are Spirit. You must marry! (Swami opened and shut his mouth.) Words are children.

If you want to go beyond, you lose everything. There is no work; there is no you, no I, no God - nothing!

From unity comes multiplicity. But it is the same. Nothing has happened. (Swami held up his hand and twisted it quickly, showing first the palm and then the back of it.)

Be like the bee which sucks honey from the flower and then is silent.

G-o-d, D-o-g. Both the same. Top and bottom.

(Devotee. What is the greatest danger?) Desire. You are atma - you don't desire anything.

(An article from the Sivathondan Journal was being read at Swami's request. At the words - "Shun all pride and jealousy," he said:) this is the first step. We are travelling from the bottom to the top. This is the first step.

-100-

A translation of Sankaracharya's Vivekachudamani was being read. At the words, 'Work is for the purification of the mind, not for the perception of Reality. The realization of Truth is brought about by discrimination, not in the least by ten millions of acts,' Swami interrupted and said: You understand? It is always realized, so nothing can affect it.

Examine yourself every day - examine yourself in heart, body and mind.

(Devotee. Too mush sleep is bad?) Very bad. Too much walking, too much work is bad. Too much anything is bad.

Don't have any suspicions, any doubts.

You must fight with everyone - you must fight inside. Fight the whole time!

You can command all gods and devas! You can order what you want. All are your servants - you can order and they will obey.

Three gunas - all inside. Now one, now another. For the jnani satvika governs. He has the others also, but is not affected by them.

-101-

You must look after the body. Body is important.

Food is God. Food must follow you; you must not follow food. God must swallow you; you cannot swallow God.

Do your work. Through work you can realize God. Work for work's sake!

Hinduism has everything; it includes all-bhakti, jnana -all ways are included.

Philosophy and religion are one. Rituals and ceremonies express philosophical truths.

You can enjoy-enjoy what comes!

If you say Om, you can order what you want.

Tapas is heat. You have to go up by heat-up and up to the top.

You have to go up...to the top. But the top and the bottom are both the same.

Everything works. Everything is rest.

You are on the top, but you have forgotten. You must think that you are there; then you will be there.

-102-

First ask, then think, then act.

On the top there is nothing-there is only God. Everything else is maya.

You can tell body and mind-'you can take this form or that form.' Then they will bow down and worship you. I am the master of body and mind. All are the same, but they don't practise.

(Pointing to people in the street.) All are good. They know how to control their affairs. Work is going on.

Let go the rope! Just go about here and there. See everything. Be a witness. "Die before you die!' (Devotee.What is the rope?) Pasam is the rope.

Samadrishti -impartiality. You don't know that? Have no friends, no enemies-that is best. Treat friends, enemies, neighbours all alike. That is Samadrishti.

Let God give you. Take what you want. Reject what you don't want.

Everything is in you. You don't want to know. Let God speak in you-otherwise there is no God. He is in you, in me, in everyone.

-103-

Do tapas. 'Tapah,' the root, means 'to burn.' You must burn.

Let our bodies be destroyed by the service of others.

With form-without form. Without form it is indescribable. Both the same.

He is a sannyasi, who surrenders possessions, life and spirit to God.

See yourself everywhere. That is the greatest secret!

Just go about and do your work. Enjoy the beauty of the world!

I do not teach. There is nothing to say. I am learning from you, from him, form her (indicating others present). I am learning from all, because the whole world is my master.

Don't go about here and there. Go inside and remain there.

Middle path. No extremes.

We are all bubbles in the ocean. The bubble is in the ocean; the ocean is in the bubble.

-104-

Don't believe me; don't believe anyone. Believe only yourself. If people talk, don't listen.

Sun above, earth below-I am in the middle. Sun gives heat and rain. Earth gives herbs. Without me no one could do anything. Father, mother, son, Holy Ghost, Father, Son. Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra. Three in one.

Tapas -first thing. Go up and up-by thinking. Right thought, right understanding, right observation. Think 'I am on the top.' See all from there.

Think and don't think. First think; then later there is no thinking-there is only Spirit!

To know 'nam ariyom' (i.e. we do not know) is the final end. When you have passed everything else, you come to that.

All is dream. I am dreaming. Here all are dreaming-all mirage.

All is play. God is just playing everywhere. All are bubbles-small bubbles going down and coming up to the surface.

Heaven and earth-good marriage!

-105-

Mother gives food. Father gives rain. I till the soil in the middle. (Pointing to his heart.) This is soil. Mother is body. Father is spirit. All are in you. You are Siva-Sakti.

A man may make a car, but if there is no oil, it will not run. If one nut is missing, it will not run. Don't permit individual satisfaction. (Devotee: I don't understand.) I may like to eat certain things.

Think, think, think- then you will come to 'I do not know'.

Think, think, think-you can never come to it. Let go the rope!

Only God is summa, but work is going on the whole time.

Do good tapas and enjoy!

By tapas you can become free, but you cannot know the Truth-it is beyond everything.

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained, because simply-It is. Loss and gain imply change-maya.

-106-

Pessimism is bad. Optimism is good. But both are the same. Both are maya. Everything is maya. 'Annam' (food) is maya-Annamaya maya. But 'annam' is very real, very important. Without body, you can do nothing.

All is maya -everything is maya. (Devotee. Only mounam is not maya.) Mounam is also maya. Ananda (bliss) is also maya -not the real ananda. This ananda is only a sheath.

Eat what comes. If nothing comes, then beg.

God speaks in you. God thinks in you. God feels in you-in everyone.

Too much talk is nothing. Talk is nothing. Keep silent.

All are in you. You are Siva-Sakti-Ardhanarisvara. Sakti is the body-very important. Without the body you cannot realize. So you must look after the body. After realization you need not bother about the body.

Don't take anything from eyes, from ears, from mouth, from hands-just sit. Summa iru.

'The patient will rule.'

-107-

Renounce everything to God.

I am the whole. I am the part. The part is atma. (i.e. Jivatma); the whole is Siva. Marriage is between the two.

I am in all. All forms are mine.

Summa. There is no command-summa iru. The atma is summa. You cannot be summa. Only God is summa. He is summa, but work is going on the whole time.

Don't waste time. 'Time is more precious than rubies.'

Don't admit the second person. (This was said in Tamil.)

The Kingdom of Heaven is in you. Let God draw you. You can't do anything. God draws all according to their karma.

Speak the truth boldly-one God, one world!

Be what you are. Don't take anything from anyone else. Roar like a lion! Do your work. Don't listen to anyone else. Do your own work. Work is going on everywhere. Work is rest; work is pleasant-pleasant and present!

-108-

Beautiful world! Very pure world! The whole world is in you. Enjoy the beauty of nature. Love all.

Don't show preference to anyone. 'Impartiality is the basis of good conduct'.

'Kind looks are ornaments to the eyes.'

Stand on your own legs. Go and see the whole world. The whole world is in you.

The true sannyasi is within-not in external show.

All is rubbish! You must be pure in heart.

All are flowers. Some flowers smell sweet; others have no smell-just for show.

Enjoy the world. Go about and do your work-if you have any.

Meditation...You know meditation? Summa iru. Summa iru is meditation.

Be unknown. God is unknown.

All devas, gods, etc. are within you. The whole world is in you. you must command what you want. Order the gods and they must obey. But no gods-only One God.

-109-

Don't tell lies. Don't speak the truth.

Everything is going on well. I say! Everything is going well!

Tell the truth. Don't forget austerity. Do your work. Summa iru.

You can see me everywhere. Only one-the same in me, in him (indicating someone else there), in everyone.

'The Kingdom of God is within you.' Realize that within. Go deeep within.

Truth is everywhere. All is Truth. you can see it from here, from there, from everywhere.

Work for work's sake; love for love's sake.

Nothing has happened.

Everything changes. The whole world up to the highest is changing-changing the whole time. Otherwise there would be no world. All play!

-110-

All are mad. You are mad. I am mad. All are madmen.

Go deep and let the body work.

Realize the Truth. The Truth is within. Dive deep within. Go inwards and find out the Truth. Go deep inside and work it out from within. Work it!

'Truth is one. Sages describe it in various ways.'

It all springs from desire.

It is the greatest folly to take delight in doing what is forbidden.

Nobody knows.

God is in all-in you, in him, in her (pointing to others present.)

Beautiful world! All are working. Everything is going on well!

(When a man came and worshipped him.) I am worshipping.

-111-

Can you worship God?

You are the whole world. You are the whole world and you are part of the world.

You have everything. You are the whole world. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is within you. Then why do you want to run about and beg?

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God." Everything is in that. Very great mantra. You are mantra . I am mantra!

When you are cooking, I am cooking with you. When you are walking, I am walking with you. I am with you, because there is only one.

Christ said-'I speak in parables, so that you may understand.'

'The Kingdom of God is within you.' With that saying a man can go to the top.

God is within you, within me, within everything. Where is God? You cannot say where He is.

-112-

There is no wonder in the whole world.

All are doing work. Work is going on. Bad work, good work-all work!

I do not see you. You do not see me. Do you see me?

Everything is secret. Sacred is secret. What is secret cannot be seen. If it is seen, it is not secret.

I salute you on all sides! You understand? Because you are everywhere.

All are gods, even though they don't understand. Everything is God. How can God understand God?

Where you are, there God is. No going; no coming.No beginning and no end. You are That.

You have eyes, you have ears, you have nose, you have hands? What are you doing with them? What is the use of eyes, if you don't see? What is the use of ears, if you don't hear?

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' If anyone knows the meaning of that saying, they need not go anywhere. They know everything.

-113-

The whole world is in me; the whole world is travelling in me (Swami was in the car. Pointing to Devotee.) The whole world is there-the sun is there; Everest is there. Everything is there.

The whole world is my property. You must give as it is needed. God is in everyone. When you say that to people, they say-"Yes, yes," but they do not understand.

You are my friend. You are my foe. You are a saint. You are a rogue. I am a bad man to me. I am a good man to me.

Everything is in you. The whole world is in you. All are the same. All are the same everywhere. There is no movement, no change. Nothing changes. Changing in the changeless; changeless in the changing.

You are like me. You have eyes; I have eyes. You have ears; I have ears. You have nose; I have nose. I am the same as you. All are the same. All have eyes and nose and mouth. All are the same. All are God, but they don't understand.

-114-

I am a bad man. I am a good man. All is in me.

You do not see me; I do not see you.

The whole world is your school. All are you. You are the commander. You are the Commander-in-Chief! All are commanders. There is no greater or lesser. All are God. God sees god, God talks to god.

I do not know; you do not know. Nobody knows.

Work is going on well. The whole world is going on well. All are doing God's work. (Pointing to his hand.) Hand does its work. (Pointing to his leg.) Leg does its work.

Are you good man or bad man? Who is bad? There is no one who is bad in the world. No good man, no bad man. All are.

All do work. All are working. This car is working. (Swami was in a car.)

God is everywhere. I am who am.

-115-

Very bad to use powers-very bad work. If you use them, you will go down.

The sun is shining in you. The sun is in you, the moon is in you-all things are in you.

Work for work's sake. I have no work. (Swami made signs of eating and sleeping.) No work for me.

I am not a master. I am only my own master.

The whole world is truth.

Body changes the whole time-from day to day, from minute to minute. All the time change. Body is change. Who created all this change? (Swami laughed and pointed to different people in the street.) This God, and that God, and that God. God in all.

Some people put a garb on me, and say 'Swami.' But I am the same as you. All are the same. All are God. God is in all.

You cannot see God, you cannot hear God-because He is everything. You cannot know God. God knows God. You can't do anything. He is. But you can feel God.

-116-

You are a bee. The bee goes into the flower and sucks up the honey. You must suck up the honey.

There is no 'you' and 'I' and 'he'. All are alone. There is that one thing which is the same in all.

There is no creation, because God is everywhere.

(To someone who came and explained of some suffering or other.) Everyone suffers, has pain. People have pain in order to get benefit. Suffering means that they are being examined for benefit.

All are mad under the sun.

(A man came up. Swami asked him: Where are you living? He replied: 'Mullaithivu.' ) I am also living at Millaithivu.

(Swami pointed to a small child held in the arms of its mother who was standing by.) That is beyond your limits.

I beg your leave. Of whom am I asking? Of myself. (Swami put his hands together in a gesture of salutation.) I am worshipping myself.

Don't work. Work.

-117-

You don't want God. I can give you God. Do you want that?

I don't want to be down here. I must go upstairs beyond you.

(Swami spoke to a small boy and asked how he was, but he was silent.) You see-he is right. He does not say anything.

I do not want salvation from anyone. You do not want salvation from anyone.

I am the whole. I am the part. All are the same.

Speak out what is in the heart. Everything is in the heart.

All the world is a playground. Very fine world!

There is no one in the world except me.

(Swami was sleeping. On waking up he said:) I am sleeping. I do not see you with these eyes.

There is no such thing. Who knows?

There is no right and no wrong.

No fear at all.

-118-

Blessings are everywhere.

All finished.

I salute all. All are the same as me.

(In Tamil) Through love you can see God.

Nothing is lost. Everything will go to rubbish. There is nothing except me and you.

The whole world is full of Truth.

You cannot see God. Even in your dreams you cannot see Him. Even if you live a hundred years, you cannot see Him. Come back after a hundred years and tell me if you have seen Him.

The world is. But don't touch it.

In a way you can say there is no God.

If I can say 'I know nothing' then I am God.

The whole world is a playground. You must play your part. Understand the truth.-'I am who I am'.

-119-

You cannot fathom God.

Up and in, up and in.

I and you and the whole world are one. All here are one.

No right, no wrong. No coming, no going.

Death is certain. There is no one who can escape it.

You were in the beginning; you are at the end. You are universal man.

My dear friends are my enemies.

All are doing work. There is no higher, no lower.

(A woman came and worshipped.) You saw a woman. (Swami held up one finger.) She is the mother of the whole universe.

I don't ask anything from God, or anyone.

(Pointing to the heart.) You must open this book. Everything is there.

Everything is impermanent.

-120-

What could Christ do? What could Mohamed do? What can I do? What can you do? Everything changes.

What does God do? (Swami pointed to a mango tree.) It grows by itself.

All are in heaven. No earth. I am in heaven. You are in heaven. All are in heaven.

Sickness plays with the body. It cannot play with us.

Grow good habits; throw bad habits! But bad habits also my friend! Bad habits come into your heart. But don't let them control you. You are the master.

Jesus was a good man. He could have remained at the top, but he came down to help others.

Listen to the inner man. Don't be ruled by the outer. But don't divide into 'inner' and 'outer'.

I am That. You are That. All are That. When you know that, that is everything.

-121-

Don't say: 'He is great, he is a bad man.' No good, no bad. No coming, no going. Very hard to understand.

I have no father, no mother. I am eternal.

(To someone who was a farmer.) You are a farmer. My farming is to enter the hearts of others.

I do not want (i.e. need) to give you anything. You do not want to take anything. It is already there.

(At a devotee's house.) After taking tea there, I have a sore throat. If you think, you can get rid of it. It is man who causes all these troubles. If I do Pranayama -breathing exercises, I can get rid of it. But I have no mind to do so.

If you live without dying, what is the use?

'In the beginning was the word...' All religions from the earliest times have said this.

Be loving!

Where is your mother? You must cry for her.

-122-

God is father and mother.

(Pointing to his body.) This is a bad smell. Why do you worship it?

If you say-'He is a great man,' you are a fool! All rubbish!

Did you see God? God does not do anything.

If you want to cut a man, cut him. If you want to murder him, murder him. If you want to chase him, chase him. Nothing has happened.

I worship X - X who is the same as me. I worship God who is the same as me. I worship all who are the same as me. No difference.

All are pure. The seed is in all. Every life is a question.

Don't talk, but work! Work, work, work! Work is rest. Work is pleasant.

If you know the truth, there is no 'greater' self or 'lower' self.

There is only one man in the whole world.

It is beyond limits.

-123-

All are one. You cannot separate this man from that man.

You are all in me. I am in you all.

Keep straight. Don't go here and there.

If you start anything, you must go through with it.

The hero has his enemies on his side. He makes all fall in line.

Don't seek God! It is in you.

Every man must travel by his own path.

My friends are my enemies. All are my friends. All are my enemies.

It was finished, long, long, long ago.

There is nothing wrong.

He (a devotee to whom Swami was thinking of paying a visit) is a family man. We should not trouble a family man. I am the greatest family man!

-124-

'Don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves and your children.' (Luke XXIIIv28)

All rubbish! Give up everything. Stand on your own self. Go your own way. You don't want all this rubbish-gods, devas, etc.

I will not submit to anyone (said in Tamil.)

I don't know; you don't know; nobody knows. It is so. Who knows? There is no language.

God finds work for all. I will not tell God to give anyone freedom.

I do not see you. I see only myself.

See God everywhere. See yourself everywhere-in all beings.

The whole world is God. There is nothing else.

I am everywhere. You are everywhere, but you don't believe it.

Beautiful world. Dance! Dance as you like. Be as a child. Do as you please.

-125-

You are not the body. You are the atma.

We see we.

You are beyond everything. You are not the body. You are not the spirit. You are the whole world. You are beyond explanation. No one can explain.

You are without beginning or end. I am without beginning or end. He (someone else there) is without beginning or end. Work is going on without beginning or end.

God, father, mother-all are in you. You can see that if you are pure.

Sameness is strength. We are the same. Christ is the same. Manikkavasakar is the same.

I am a witness. I just look at everything. You are not the doer.

God is in the world. The whole world is in God.

"Each is great in his own place."

-126-

Be summa. Don't think of anything. Let thoughts come and go.

You struggle hard and fall down many times. Then you say to God-'I haven't received anything. You must give me something!' Then he will come to you.

If you try to get, it won't come. If you go on battling direct, it won't come. There must be surrender and spontaneous action.

(IV)

Nothing is gained; nothing is lost. Nothing has happened. It is changing, yet it remains unchanged. (E)

The body is an instrument for good as well as for evil. Take care of the body and let it engage itself in good action, but remain apart and let your mind dwell on God.

The great Sellappan said: 'Pati has become Pasu and Pasa. No one has ever explained satisfactorily how the infinite becomes the finite.

When you see yourself everywhere, you have the vision of God. Nothing exists apart from God-it is like the waves and the ocean. (E)

Why burn camphor? God does not need it, nor anything else. But it is necessary that you burn camphor-you have not seen God.

When you go on a pilgrimage-it directs the mind towards God. But remember-God is within.

-128-

We (Swami and another) went right up to Rishikesh. The people there were exactly like the people here. It is the same everywhere.

You are able to see me. God is unknowable. He can only be known through His great devotees. We do best when we serve His devotees.

'Knock and it shall be opened.' God is always with you. No one can take him away from you. (E)

Work for work's sake; love for love's sake. This world is a big temple to which all kinds of pilgrims come-good, bad and indifferent. Let us concentrate on our own worship, and not find fault with what others do.

Nothing has happened. Neither you nor I have been born. It is all a dream. (E)

You are going out to work. You must dress well and look dignified. Everything should be an offering to God. The world is an altar.

Dream is relative truth. The undifferentiated is beyond dharma.

-129-

Be yourself! Stand on your own feet! (E)

God Himself performs all actions. Look at the twelve hands of Lord Subrahmanya. Each hand is symbolic of a different action. He laughs, He weeps, He kills-countless and unending are His actions. All this is very difficult to comprehend, and much, much more difficult to communicate.

From what I have learnt of the scriptures and my own experience of great souls, I can tell you-there is no imperfection. God, the Infinite, overwhelms the finite universe. What a rare and beautiful world! The world is sacred and secret.

You have seen the goldsmith at work? He alternates the beat on the gold with a beat on the anvil. The latter appears meaning less, but in fact it helps him to fashion the gold.

In our true nature we are eternal. We are not bound by the law or by the dharma. These are necessary for the world and for the society in which we live.

Constant occupation keeps away temptation. Constant meditation leads to liberation. (E)

-130-

You must sit in meditation in the morning and in the evening. You will then get better understanding. The God within you will guide you. Take long walks and see for yourself how people live.

'Name and fame' are like a mirage in the desert. Work goes on. No human being is responsible for it.

Have faith and confidence in yourself. Let the Greater Self guide you. Faith can do wonders. Doubt is the greatest sin.

We must take a lesson from Mother earth. She treats alike both the good and the bad-the snake and the tiger as well as the cow and the goat. (E)

The world is a gymnasium.

Don't boast of your achievements. Things happen by themselves. Do not create enmity.

It has ever been so.

Surrender yourself to God. Let Him lead you. Be a tool in His hand. Then htere will be endless bliss.

-131-

Sellappan used to say that there is not a thing that is evil. When God is everywhere, how can there be a place for evil? There are changes and they sometimes appear evil. Everything is at work. Only God knows what He is about. There is balance and order in the universe. Parasakti adjusts herself to maintain this balance and order.

Ill-health is also a blessing. The flesh and the ego are weakened and contemplation of God becomes easier.

Hinduism is very broad. It can take in and assimilate all kinds of religious thought, even atheism.

Nothing exists apart from me. Neither am I any one thing in particular. (E)

If there is peace in your mind, the Almighty will manifest Himself.

God is here, there and everywhere. He is all of us. He is greater than all His aspects. He cannot be contained. Harmony and discord are the obverse and reverse of the same coin-God.

-132-

The world is sacred and secret. It is like a 'string-hopper.' It cannot be unravelled. It must be taken as a whole. Nothing is lost.

Through ignorance we become involved is pleasure and pain. The world changes all the time. God remains unchanged.

God is like the ocean and the waves. There are all kinds of fish in the ocean. They cannot exist outside it. Even a grain of sand is full of God. No one can ever fathom this ocean.

God is neither 'one' or 'two'. Do not ascribe personal authority to anyone. All authority is derived from God.(E)

Nothing is lost, nothing is gained. If you are firm in this realization, nothing can shake you.

God is; God is not. At the top of the mountain there is nothing but God. At the foot of it there is all the manifold variety and conflict.

Live like God in the midst of all the evil. Remain uninvolved.

-133-

Do good. Do what is acceptable to people. Control your tongue, even if you don't do anything else.

All life, all the elements, all the variety of existence-all are like the streams flowing from the mountain top. All streams ultimately merge in the sea.

How do we know the Will of God? Sometimes it is clearly reflected in the mind. Sometimes the words of sages will reveal it. And at other times, it is not clear at all.

It is a function of God to remain a mystery. It may all be necessary for His work. But God cannot harm anyone or discard anyone.

The world derives from God. It is also God. I do not require the help of any God. God is; we is. I manifest myself in the same way as God.

The correct measure has been measured out to each one. This cannot be altered. You should realize this and do what comes naturally to you. Then you will be happy.

You must meditate in the morning and evening and at night before you go to bed. Just pronounce the name 'Siva,' and sit quietly for about two minutes. You will find everything in your life falling into place and your prayers answered.

-134-

Everything emanates from the Great Silence. The world has been a playground of the Lord from time immemorial.

Purity of heart is most important. The rest is all work. The whole universe is engaged in the work of God-Sivathondu.

Events take place according to prarabdha karma. They do not affect the soul. But man, by mere habit, identifies himself with these events and becomes subject to pain and pleasure.

Don't go halfway to meet difficulties. Face them as they come to you; God is always with you-and that is the greatest news I have for you.