AMRIT BINDU

Oh mankind ! Forgetting your true self and mistaking this stage as your abode and unreal role as your "self", how long will you continue to be tortured in the frying cauldron of lust and greed, pride and prejudice?

Arise! Enkindle the flame of awareness within. Get ready to return to your peaceful, immortal and heavenly abode and get back your eternal, true and pure self. Then only, you will free yourself from all miseries and fears.

REMEMBER:

You are the immortal and emancipated soul.

Sadguru Sri Sri Arjun

 

 

PRELUDE

Man's ultimate aim is to get peace and bliss. This becomes possible only if he enjoys unfettered freedom from bondage. It is ignorance only, which is primarily responsible for reducing man to a mere bundle of desires. Ignorance is synonymous with "not knowing the truth". That is why, man gropes in darkness and craves for all other things except his own 'self '.

'Self ' is the only source of light and knowledge. Self is the only knowable essence to be discovered by the self. In absence of self-knowledge, ignorance reigns supreme. As a result sorrows and suffering stem out of ignorance.

Like wise, Sadguru Sri Sri Arjun (1933-1989) gave the mankind His "Dibya Darshan" or "The Philosophy Divine" which is an integrated philosophy on Karma, Bhakti and Jnana. Dibya Darshan, a product of the Law of Eternity also contains within it the Law of Eternity and takes care of the total need of the mankind by its lucid expression.

Sadguru Sri Sri Arjun says, "Knowing the Law of eternity is Dharma". Without observance of Dharma, peace and bliss will remain a far cry. Man's sufferings unmistakably indicate that there is breach of Dharma .

Amrit Bindu presents a few nectarine droplets from "Dibya Darshan" which may help in accelerating man's inward journey towards that Eternal Abode where all paths and all journeys get blissfully lost.

DIBYA DARSHAN SANGH

 

The Translator's Confession

Sadguru's instructions to translate Amrit Bindu into English prompted me to embark on this venture so that the divine thoughts may reach farther and farther. Aware of my incapacity, I am also aware of the limitations of translation, which always involves the risk of distorting the original theme. I have tried my best to bring it nearer to exactness with my reflected ideas on the superb thoughts of my spiritual master. It is said that if a fool translates a wise man's version, he does so in a manner in which he has understood, and what he can understand. It is applicable to me too.

However in my anxiety to obey my Master's will I have rendered the translation, which is merely an approximation. I own all mistakes and crave for your forgiveness.

Bless me to do better next time.

 

 

R.N.Mohanty

A student of Dibya Darshan

 

 

AMRIT BINDU

OR

THE NECTARINE DROPS

 

  1. Ignorance is the cause of sufferings.

  2. True, you never welcome sufferings. Only your ignorance brings them to you. You are absolutely divine. Therefore, pursue divine knowledge, desire only divinity and engross your self in divine thoughts. Then only Divine Bliss will be bestowed upon you.

  3. Ignorance breeds sin. Sin breeds sorrows. Hence welcome knowledge and get rid of all sufferings.

  4. Matter can be understood by tuition and God's greatness by (spiritual) intuition.

  5. Dharma emanates from knowledge [jnana] and liberation [moksa] from Dharma.

  6. Nurturing 'ego' due to ignorance, the jive considers himself big but the more he realises the greatness of God, the more he gets convinced about his own ineffectiveness and considers him more and more insignificant. The more insignificant you will consider yourself, the more significant you will be adjudged as, because by this, you are being worthy of blessings from the Divine Power.

  7. Doubts and despair, fear and distress are directly proportional to ignorance, and to get rid of all these, it's inevitable to seek protection from some one else. Therefore dispel your ignorance, tide over all these nightmares and be blessed, realizing the greatness of Jnana Shakti.

  8. Ignorance breeds fear. Ignorance prompts a man to tread on forbidden tracks only to pluck bitter fruits. Ignorance enshrouds the true self and causes rebirths. Therefore enrich yourself with true knowledge, get rid of fear and anxieties, know your Self and attain immortality.

  9. Who is immune from all fears and anxieties? He, who has surrendered himself to the supreme and got His blessings.

  10. Great indeed you are! Divine Bliss is your birth-right. Man is a superb creation and after innumerable transmigrations he is embodied in this rare and fair from.

  11. You are the source of all energy. Therefore pursue yourself, awaken yourself.

  12. Live not a dull and drab life. Containing that divine ocean of love nectar in yourself, profusely pour out the same over the creation. "Behold! The entire creation is flooded with nectar and you will thus be merged one day with the supreme bliss by getting a taste of the love nectar. That is but the real goal of life. "

  13. This is no life at all. To know the infuser of life is true life.

  14. When you realise that God's grace is being showered upon you every moment and He is regulating you, it is to be understood that you have become equal minded. Therefore peace is inevitable.

  15. Where is shraddhaa without faith? Where is bliss without contemplating on Brahman? Where is Moksa without self-surrender?

  16. If you want to live, be dutiful. If you want peace and happiness, possess divine virtues. If you desire liberation, acquire self-knowledge.

  17. Everyone craves for mastering fortune but fails. Because none can acquire fortune by dint of vices. It becomes possible only by divine qualities. Oh mankind! Possessing divine qualities is Dharma. Dharma is the key to all fortunes.

  18. To repose faith on God (Truth) is the first and foremost Dharma. To do good or wish good to others, sacrificing self-interest is the second Dharma. To live (righteously) while letting others live is the third Dharma. Unmindful of whether others live or not but only mindful of "Live I must" cannot find a place in any category of Dharma.

  19. Your true self is not this. Your true self is Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence, knowledge and bliss). In the darkness of ignorance, you are unable to know your true self. Therefore enkindle the light of knowledge within, know your self and free yourself from all miseries.

  20. He is greater than what we know Him as. It is impossible to realise Him without His grace.

  21. To reach God or to get Him, no qualification is necessary but to win His Grace it is essential to have some qualification. Hence be worthy of God's Grace.

  22. Arise and awake! Gird up your loins to reach the goal. Karma is Sadhana, Karma is life, Karma is bliss (Anand).

  23. How are the fruits of actions enjoyed can be understood once one realises one's own self.

  24. Too much of obsession with the matter makes you insentient. It's to be accepted that only spiritual knowledge frees oneself from the clutches of matter.

  25. It is not that easy to know Truth. A glimpse of the Supreme Truth can be had only when inquisitiveness springs up due to the good impulses acquired through many births.

  26. Truth is self-illumined. None else illumines Him. But the ignorant man cannot know Truth. To know Him pursue knowledge, pursue truth and practise truth.

  27. Uphold Truth, apply Truth since Truth can be had by Truth alone. Whatever is possible is achieved by Truth only.

  28. Truth is nectar; falsehood poison.

  29. Falsehood proves nothing; Truth proves everything.

  30. Have faith in Truth, love Truth and respect Truth. Truth is the governing principle of your life. All excellence of your life is contained in it. It is your true self.

  31. We are bred by Truth, brought up by Truth and shall be sustained by Truth. Defying Truth means advancing towards hell which is nothing but suicide.

  32. Divine you are. Divinity is your goal. Divinity is your base. Divine is your life and divine is your true self.

  33. Self-knowledge never comes by mere listening or reading. It dawns upon one who gets engrossed in repeated contemplation on the Supreme.

  34. Mind or intelligence cannot know Atman. Conscience gets some indication of it. It is only by Atman that Atman can be known. "Not mind, not intelligence, not conscience but I am only Atman." When this thought dawns upon, Atman can be known by Atman.

  35. Jnana is a mirror by which you see yourself and others.

  36. By Jnana and Sadhana, the impossible can be made possible. If anything appears impossible, it is to be inferred that there is inadequacy of either or both.

  37. Truth exists in everything. Real peace comes on realising Truth.

  38. The equilibrating state of mind, intelligence and conscience is peace. Conflicts occur when they are in disequilibrium.

  39. Mind cannot be restrained unless strong faith is reposed on the supreme.

  40. The more the mind is stilled, the greater is the happiness. More stability of knowledge and mind brings more and more bliss.

  41. Truth is peace. Truth is bliss and Truth is the basis of moksa.

  42. Truth is something, which is not reached easily. If chased, it moves farther. Remember! He is very near to you. He is the heart of your heart and life of your life. He manifests as everything in you. You are not able to understand Him due to ignorance. Once you welcome Him, He will spontaneously come to you in different forms. At last you will realise that ''He is I and I am He." In other words, ''I am the Brahman i.e. Aham Brahmosmi.''

  43. He is Truth; He is Knowledge; He is Bliss Absolute. The basis of all that we see in this creation is He, the Supreme Being. Therefore, surrender unto Him and attain the highest.

  44. From knowledge of the Supreme comes faith, from faith comes devotion, from devotion come blessings. Hence it matters little whether you ascribe any form to the Supreme or believe in His formlessness. You should gather knowledge of the Supreme in order to gain faith and devotion by which you will get His blessings.

  45. Jnana culminates in love and love in bliss. Hence, acquire true knowledge and enjoy Supreme Bliss.

  46. By jnana, the standpoints of others and self can be known. Therefore why negligent in enkindling the latent knowledge in you to know your true self? Remember! You are the Knowledge-Absolute.

  47. We always speak of 'I' but who is that 'I', we never try to know. What else can be more shameful and tragic than this? It should be remembered that the knower of the self is the knower of all.

  48. We try to know others but never ourselves, This is the main cause of bondage.

  49. If you crave for release (Mukti), pursue knowledge of the Supreme. Jnana brings sense of discrimination and makes one improve. Therefore purify yourself by acquiring Jnana and realise your true Self.

  50. We are keen to clean our bodies but we never make our mind clean. To an impure, every thing appears impure. Therefore mind has to be cleansed alongwith the body.

  51. First, purify your heart. God will be reflected on a pure heart. Instead of worshipping Him in our heart, if we worship Him offering decorative seats, flowers and sandal wood etc., then what to speak of fulfilling our desires, it will amount to self-deceit and misleading others too.

  52. Try to understand Him whom you worship. Without knowing Him if you expect anything from Him, remember, all your worship has gone in vain.

  53. By mere outward worship, you do not get His blessings, Only by strong faith and sincere obedience to His Will, His blessings shall be showered upon you.

  54. Only he who cannot beg anything of Him reaches Him. He, who begs, gets only the desired objects, instead of getting Him.

  55. Knowing Him, and His greatness and thereafter conducting oneself in tune with His Will pays much more than merely worshipping and asking for something.

  56. God is realised by Jnana. This so-called Jagat is nothing but His True Self.

  57. It is not necessary to search for God outside. All our visions and thoughts are his manifestations. In other words, He Himself is all thoughts and expressions. Therefore, He is not something to be searched out but only to be realised.

  58. Know the truth to know the Supreme.

  59. Knowing is becoming. The knower of Atman therefore gets immerged with the all-pervasive Atman.

  60. The Supreme is beyond contemplation. Contemplation is His mere play (Lila). Remember! The universe, which appears real to us, is only a product of Lila. But He Himself is more real than the visible and the invisible universe.

  61. His true Self can't be realised unless we know both the gross and the subtle. Know both the gross and the subtle to know the Absolute and the liberate yourself.

  62. He alone, who knows Him as both expressible and inexpressible, knows the Absolute.

  63. It's better to realise Him by Jnana than to visualise only His gross form, because gross form is only a modified state of His Lila or Maya.

  64. There is Maya in Lila. Behind the Lila stands its maker. Unless He is understood, Maya cannot be comprehended.

  65. There pervades Jnana in Lila. The maker of Lila cannot be known by Jnana. To know the maker of Lila, it's essential to reach the transcendental state which is beyond Jnana . On reaching there, when He and His Lila is realised, only the jiva frees himself of Maya.

  66. Varieties in Lila create the ideas of dualities but on knowing the maker of Lila, all dualities disappear, yielding place to monism (Adwait). Then only the Jiva gets mingled with the One. Hence, Oh seeker of truth! Try to know the maker of Lila instead of getting lost in Lila.

  67. Brahman is one, not two. The One only appears as many. Those who take Brahman as many, realise neither Brahman nor His Lila.

  68. Brahman is beginningless and endless too, neither created nor destroyed.

  69. Everything has a comparison but the Absolute Truth has none. Therefore to get Him, He has to be relished by detachment from worldly thoughts. Then only He Himself will unveil the screen and appear before you.

  70. Whatever man desires, he gets. Whatever man gets, comes to light. Therefore be proud of getting that Eternity, Truth and Bliss and make others attain such excellence.

  71. Be happy, be delighted because God has designed the creation to suit all your needs and bestowed upon you the required knowledge.

  72. Your creator is also your liberator.

  73. Oh mankind! Are miseries, misfortunes and fear of death your ultimate goal? Do these represent your true self? Never, all these are only the outcome of your ignorance. When you can realise your true self by Jnana you will feel that you are pure and pious, wise and immortal.

  74. Sensual pleasures are momentary, always dogged by miseries. Renunciation gives real happiness i.e. the Supreme Bliss.

  75. What is renunciation? He who has realised, "I am different from this body", has truly renounced to some extent.

  76. If you brought nothing while you came, how do you cherish the desire to carry things while you quit? Things you have collected here are to be left here, but you have omitted to collect those things, which you can carry along with you. Those are good knowledge, good deeds, good thoughts and good contemplation.

  77. Everybody wants to be happy freed from miseries, misfortunes and maladies holding fast a sense of belongingness. Once the feeling that another power injects life into this life dawns on, the man can be immune from all such sufferings and be immortal.

  78. The life as you understand is not true life because that life is followed by death. The realization that you are immortal, pure, pious and blissful is true life.

  79. You are a part and parcel of that inexhaustible power. You are wandering aimlessly and leading a wretched life being estranged from Him. Oh mankind! Trace Him out after knowing the Matri Shakti. Then only you will derive power from Him and ultimately free yourself from all miseries.

  80. Who is powerful?

    81. The Jnani (b) Who upholds love (c) Who serves with dedication (d) Who forgives with an equal vision (e) Who embellishes himself with feeling of devotion (f) Who embraces truth and applies the same (g) The vanquisher of the passions.

  81. By whatever name you may call Him, you are being blessed and controlled by God. While denying this, remember, if you are denuded of all wealth, you will have nothing to claim as your own. Hence, have faith, have devotion to God.

  82. If man cannot believe even after witnessing the play of the Supreme in guise of this universe, then what else he will see to believe? Not being able to believe can be attributed to ignorance. Just as a child cannot understand himself and the world, likewise man cannot believe God since he does not understand Him due to his ignorance.

  83. The knower of Dharma does get the Truth.

  84. He is truly Dharmic who observes the spirit of Dharma and not he who merely unfurls the banner of Dharma.

  85. Dharma protects us if we protect Dharma.

  86. Liberation is inevitable for the observer of Dharma. But indulging ourselves in activities opposite to Dharma, we weep and afterwards crave for God's shelter to save ourselves. Will it really help us? To save ourselves, we must confess our mistakes, swear not to repeat it and follow the path of Dharma. Remember, "As you sow, so you reap".

  87. Release from miseries comes from the knowledge of the Supreme. Therefore, Oh mankind! Acquire self-knowledge and free yourselves from miseries.

  88. Whatever you say that you know is reflected in your conduct, if it is not, it is to be inferred that you have assimilated very little.

  89. The more one gathers knowledge about Dharma, the more one can know and understand truth, which will ultimately lead one to realisation.

  90. When the Jnani often fails to understand Dharma, What to speak of the intellectual (vidwan). The basic fact is that unless elevated to super-conscious state, Dharma cannot be realised in its totality.

  91. Peace and bliss go together with Dharma, because Dharma protects us, sustains us and liberates us. Wherever any deviation is marked, it is to be concluded that there is breach of Dharma in its observance either by self or by others. Therefore, carefully understanding its importance, corrective steps should be initiated.

  92. Truth remains at a distant horizon unless the egotism of knowledge is cast off, since whatever we know is negligible. Real Truth is beyond all Jnana.

  93. Truth can be known by Jnana. Vidya gives an indication of that Truth.

  94. Stop killing the Truth on the pretext of duty because there is Truth in duty. Therefore try to appreciate the Truth.

  95. The dutiful alone owns life and is able to get the Truth. Misery and fear remain far away from the dutiful.

  96. Waste not your time. That's the source of all magnificence and the yardstick of life. In other words, every moment is invaluable and nectar like.

  97. Be not desperate. Success and failure are the two dimensions of Karma. If Karma were your duty, accomplishment of the ultimate goal is inevitable.

  98. Man enjoys the fruits of his actions. Hence, well-thought-out deeds must be done.

  99. Don't take others as witnesses since you are yourself the doer and also the enjoyer of fruits. You are yourself your witness and in the court of the Supreme, only you are to depose for yourself.

  100. "Change" is the best and the strongest proof of God's existence.

  101. The Brahman can be realised by a spirit of total self-surrender along with homage of Atman.

  102. Know the creator, and you can know the tit-bits of His creation.

  103. Humbleness is strength. The more humble a man is, the more powerful he is. Therefore humbleness characterises a powerful man.

  104. Be wisely submissive. Be not rigid but be a firm believer. Welcome criticism and make self-introspection.

  105. Not to get God is no big lapse but not remembering Him is some thing big.

  106. By self-realisation, Truth expresses itself as Bliss.

  107. The real peace comes from self-knowledge. When the sub-stratum of every thing is Atman, how can there be final solution without knowing Him?

  108. Truth expresses itself as Existence, knowledge and Bliss. Chi-Shakti is Jnana; Jnana is bliss. Oh mankind! Acquire knowledge and attain the Absolute Bliss.

  109. Do good to the society by noble thoughts, noble deeds, and noble advices.

  110. Guna excels appearance, jnana excels Guna and God excels jnana. In other words, God manifests Himself as Rupa, Guna and jnana. Hence the Jnani, on realising God becomes entitled to all excellence.

  111. Inspite of all virtues, you are unable to know yourself due to the shadow of ignorance, which is like the darkness beneath the lamp. Therefore radiate yourself. Be subtler from subtle. By subtlety alone, you can penetrate into everything and merge yourself with it, Remember, the subtle has no shadow, but the gross has.

  112. Until a sense of love has sprouted in your heart, how can you know Him and His love towards you? Therefore, make your heart soft, compassionate and pure by which you can realise His love.

  113. Our knowledge is improper and meaningless if we do not have sense of love and devotion towards God. It is only by Jnana that we know God's greatness and as a result, sense of devotion comes in our heart. In the next stage, devotion (Bhakti) is transformed into love (Prema) . Once there is love towards God, there is no necessity of Jnana.

  114. He is the real devotee who is keen to follow God's instructions.

  115. He is great who reposes faith on God and loves Him, because faith paves the way clear to God and by a sense of love, both Anand and Moksa come forth.

  116. Words without love, awareness without Truth become poison. Everything becomes nectarine only by love and truth.

  117. There is a name in thought (Bhava) and thought in name. Therefore, reflect upon Name and have the excellence of the nectarine awareness therein.

  118. Goal is not achieved without duty. Inquisitiveness and contemplation pave the way clear to the Goal.

  119. Contemplate well and in depth and pursue Truth. Be confident that you shall get it.

  120. Change your mind if you want to be free from sin because when mind changes, everything also changes.

  121. Innermost feelings buoy up as your conduct. Conduct reveals one's personality.

  122. Man becomes lovable by casting off ego, free from grief by giving up anger, affluent by devouring the desires, happy by giving up greed.

  123. Love others if you yearn for good will; Be truthful and humble if you want blessings; Hold unto love if you want bliss; Try to know your true self if you want liberation (Mukti).

  124. Arguments yield no answers but questions do.

  125. Enmity cannot be conquered by enmity but by amity. Therefore True victory lies in conquest of heart and not simply in claiming superiority in particular situation. Situation changes when heart is conquered.

  126. Appearance is no credential. It's Karma alone that speaks for oneself.

  127. Confession is not cowardice; it's welcome to truth.

  128. Oh mankind! It is meaningless and wasteful to talk high of others or to indulge in self-adulation. It is Karma only that reveals one's person and potency. Therefore Karma is the yardstick of life.

  129. Where there is wealth, there is bliss. If you are the source of all wealth, Oh Almighty! You are but blissful.

  130. Any badness triggered off by you to harm others will ultimately hit yourself. Therefore abstain from badness forthwith.

  131. The ignorant lose temper at once as they are incapable of understanding truth. They cannot appreciate the essence in confessing the wrong as wrong.

  132. Arguments beget arguments but not Truth. Truth can be had by a sincere mendicant who gets engrossed in repeated meditation.

  133. It is shameful to criticize or praise other religions without following own religion. Therefore, be keen to observe own religion after knowing what it is.

  134. He only tries to find other's guilt who himself commits guilt.

  135. Stricken by sufferings, man seeks an escape from desires. This paves the way to Godhood, but the affluent in their cravings for luxuries and sensual pleasures, plunge into the frying cauldrons of desires as a result of which the way to Godhood gets blocked and they remain away from God.

  136. Who is really dearest to God? He, who works to fulfil God's will with all sincerity.

  137. Who is the real hero? He, who is firm in fulfilling God's mission braving all odds, even death.

  138. One speaks out within the range of one's knowledge. When one strongly feels that some more remain to be learnt, refinement is inevitable.

  139. Man ultimately seeks the protection of truth to get rid of miseries arising out of falsehood. Had he followed truth from the beginning, he would not have fallen a victim to miseries. This deviation is due to his ignorance.

  140. There are many who feel proud of not eating fish or meat, onion or garlic but they have no sincerity for acquiring true knowledge.

  141. A father has equal vision towards his children. So has God. But man, by the fruits of his actions, enjoys pleasure and pain, until he offers all fruits of actions to God .It is tragic that the ignorant man mistakes himself as the doer of Karma and enjoyer of fruits.

  142. Always see the good, as it helps you move higher and higher. But if you see evils, evils will enter into you and cause your downfall.

  143. If you are unable to understand the latent power of the visible man even after establishing close contact with him, how will you understand the invisible divine power?

  144. Where there is dualism there is a debate. But monism (Adwait) and debate do not stay together.

  145. The Absolute Truth appears when doubts and debates disappear.

  146. 'Form' may be a medium for the ignorant to understand things but for the born-blind, how can forms help to explain? Therefore jnana is essential both for explaining and understanding.

  147. Men of ordinary knowledge are attracted towards appearance, the wise towards qualities but the sages realising Atman in transcendental state get attracted towards Atman.

  148. Ego blocks the way to self-realisation but fades away on the advent of true knowledge. Therefore everyone should acquire that True knowledge.

  149. Destruction of body is not death. To get upset with misery and fear is death.

  150. Knowledge is greater than wealth because we protect wealth and in turn, we are protected by knowledge.

  151. The more the doubts, the more one becomes lifeless. The more the knowledge, the more one blossoms with life and lustre.

  152. He gets something who desires after knowing. He loses who desires without knowing.

  153. Who is a Jnani? He, who knows that there is much more than what he knows and affirms that knowing the Absolute is the ''True knowledge'', is a Jnani indeed. He, who holds an opposite view, is steeped in ignorance.

  154. True knowledge never comes until the ego of knowledge is cast off.

  155. Never restrict yourself to reading and listening; delve deep into the inner meaning. Never confine yourself to mere speeches but express jnana in your conduct. Remember that Sadhana brings in humbleness, submissiveness and truthfulness. If these traits are not reflected in your conduct, all your Sadhana has been a waste.




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