Swami’s letters to Devotees and Students AN ELDERLY WOMAN An elderly woman grieving her husband’s passing received a surprise letter of comfort from Bhagawan, expressing: Wedding binds two persons together as husband and wife. What were they to each other minutes before? The one would not have worried for the other if the wedding had not happened! Where were the son, and the brother before they were conceived and born? Life is an interlude between what was and what will be. This interlude should be used not to lament over what cannot be helped or set right, but to seek God, see Him and take refuge in Him. Your husband lived such a life in the light of Truth he had glimpsed. He did no wrong to anyone; he loved and served the suffering and the illiterate. He salvaged many families from penury and infamy. He helped many young people to go through college. Many sick persons were saved by his timely donations. He was ever cheerful and spread cheer wherever he went. And, at last, God willed that he cast away the body that limited him. Of what profit is it now to calculate what might have happened, had he not gone to Madras that day? Your duty from now on is to sustain the fame he earned, to follow the ideals he had placed before himself. Your husband is here, in MY presence now, and he will be there forever as he had wished to be when alive. Swami will not allow him to be separated from the Presence. He is now free from bonds and boundaries. You are indeed fortunate that destiny drew you to him and gave you so many years of loving companionship with such a fine person. His thoughts were pure; there was no blemish of envy, hatred, or greed in him. So his place is with Me, forever. I am writing this letter to you in order to shower on you the cool rain of love. That rain will scotch the flames of grief that are now raging in you. Your husband is at Prasanthi Nilayam, in the presence of Sairam, having attained that climax by his spiritual attainments. Baba LOVE HAS NO DISTANCE During Bhagawan’s absence from Prasanthi Nilayam in earlier years, He used to send letters to be read out loud for all the residents; to bring them joy and make them aware that He was thinking of them, and knew of their whereabouts—no matter the distance between: Blessings to all at the Mandir! Tell them to fulfill the duties assigned and carry out the responsibilities fixed. The daily schedule of Pooja, Dhyana, Bhajan, Sankeertan and study should be followed punctually and with faithful devotion. People should move along with others with love and reverence. Of what benefit is Sadhana if it is done without controlling jealousy, envy, pride, anger, and malice? However long you may live in the Ashram, these vices will yet undermine whatever merit you acquire. The proof of the rain is the wetness of the ground. The proof of Sadhana is the subjugation of the senses. Give up irrelevant and impertinent talks and activity; cultivate self-examination, self-discovery; develop the inner eye, the inner discipline. Make the best of this chance acquired as a result of the good done many previous lives. Of course, Swami’s Sadhana Baba DISCLOSING HIS OMNISCIENCE AND DIVINE QUALITIES: DEAR CHILD VEERBHADRAM Dear child Veerbhadram! You are Badhram (meaning: happy, full of confidence and joy). Aren’t you? You might answer, “What kind of bhadram is this?” Of course, that answer is natural. When life flows clear and smooth with no hurdles to cross, to feel that it is all because of one’s own choice and to forget God, and when that flow encounters obstacles and obstructions at every turn, to lament and lose heart—are these not signs of the intellectual frailty inherent in man? You, too, are human, dear Bhadram; therefore, it is no wonder that you are overcome by depression and despair when troubles bother you at every step. Bangaroo! Man only is the target of trouble; trees are not. Even when they are, they have no capacity to express how deep they are hurt. And though the life of man is basically a manifestation of Immortality and an unbroken stream of Ananda, he strays away from the awareness of the Atman, the spring of that Ananda, slavishly yielding to the ravishing tactics of the mind, the reason, and the vagaries of the ego. Sinking and floating, rising and falling on the turbid waves of the sea of delusion, he is tossed between anxiety and calm, grief and joy, pain and pleasure. He is afflicted with the evanescence of the world and the unreality of his plans and passions. Why are you confound and confused by this false panorama? Remember, you are thereby despising and denying your own Atmic identity. You have stored in your brain the Vedas, the Sastras, the Puranas, the Ithihasas and the Upanishads, but you behave like dull boor; you bewail your lot and weep at your plight, as it is not worthy of the learning you have accumulated. You have to draw strength and courage therefrom and further the blossoming of holy, heartening thoughts. Should this one single trouble—want of money—make you stoop in weakness and fear? You have with you, and you know its efficacy, the Name, which is Dhanvanthari for the ills and anxieties of man. Instead of letting the name dance merrily on the tongue, why are you paying attention to what you call ‘loss,’ ‘grief,’ and ‘worry’? You are the repository of so many branches of scriptural scholarship; but you have neither realized their value nor attempted to experience the joy they can give you. This must be your goal. On the other hand, you are spending your days contentedly and with vast self-satisfaction, as if the biggest purpose to which you can devote your learning is exhibiting it in speech and demonstrating