" Dhyana yoga is very essential in the spiritual world. There is nothing equal to it in this world. When Arjuna asked Krishna to tell him the direct path to reach Paramathma, he replied ' Dhyanena athmani pasyanthi' .No other path is higher than dhyana;it takes you directly near God. Then Arjuna asked 'everybody speaks about Gnyana yoga. Is it higher than that?' 'Gyanath dhyanam vishisyathe' 'Arjuna, Gnyana is very small when compared to dhyana. You gained knowledge from what is written in the scriptures. From dhyana yogis, you will attain pure knowledge; you will have a vision of what you will actually see when you directly go near God. That is why dhyana is so important; it is higher than gyana!' I went deep into dhyana and realized what experiences we can obtain. That is why I arranged this week-long dhyana yoga. Early hours of morning are the most ideal time for dhyana. You will be peaceful and can concentrate well. Today is the first day of our dhyana week! "

" Any jeeva, whether it is man, animal, insect, fly or mosquito craves for happiness! When you threaten an animal with a stick, it runs away because it knows that it will be hurt and that would disturb its happiness. A rose plant has thorns for self protection, to protect its own beauty. So every plane in the universe, the whole creation itself desires happiness. Every living being runs after happiness. Why? "

" By nature, God is the manifestation of happiness. The origin of this world is happiness. All the innumerable worlds derive their core existence from this happiness. 'Eswarah paramah Krishnah Sacchidananda vigrahah anadivadi Govindah sarva karana karanam'. Krishna is the supreme Lord. Many people are not aware that Krishna is not just a name. Krish means bliss; Na means atraction!. The Lord, Parameswara has a divine power that attracts everybody to the kingdom of transcendental bliss. That is what Krishna means! So do not think of Krishna as a person! The infinite world's gravity clearly states that towards its supreme centre, it is bliss, transcendental bliss! That is why it is declared as the highest bliss. Everybody should finally reach there. "

" The Taithireeyopanishad explains the different states of happiness in detail. The happiness experienced by Gods is higher than that of man; happiness of Indra, the Lord of Gods is higher than that of Gods; happiness of God's Guru is higher than Indra's and so on. In this way, they explained till Brahma's happiness. Still higher, in the final phase, they explain the highest - Rasa. Rasovaisaha. Supreme God in Rasa. The Taitireeyapanishad declares that God is Rasa. Brahmavalli also stresses this point only. Even till this day, the world is filled with rasa. When there is a break in rasa or limit in rasa, we feel very sad. When maya enters, rasa is lost! We cannot accept that rasa is disturbed. It is a clear indication that something wrong has happened! "

" The world where we are living is one in which rasa is depleted. No wonder the human beings, rishis and demi Gods wish to escape from this world and attain moksha (liberation). We do not have peace or happiness here. That is why we want to escape. The Lord also advises us to attain moksha. 'Sarvadharman parityajya mamekam saranam vraja Aham twa sarvapapebhyo mokshayishyami ma suchah' .Moksha is very great. Sri Tyagaraja, the renowned musician and ardent devotee of Lord Rama wrote that unless you are freed from life, how you can attain moksha. What moksha can you find there which is not here? You must try to attain moksha in this world with this physical body; then after death, you will automatically attain moksha. Tyagaraja did not agree that one can live like an ordinary being here and expect that moksha will suddenly come to you after death. That is not right. One who is not a devotee here cannot be a devotee there. A corrupt person in this world will be corrupt even after death. Life is a continuous straight line, almost straight line. Death means moving from one room to the next room. He will not get a new form after death. He will keep on moving. Death is like a coma in a sentence. Great yogis can see the state of death. They can even see the jeeva's state beyond death. That means, he doesn't go anywhere after death. It is a straight line. He goes from this room to that room. That is all! There is no great difference. "

" The Bhagawata declared that rasa is the highest form of God and concluded with Maha rasa in the last chapter. So rasaleela is the highest. This matches with the statement made in the Upanishad. That highest aspect of God is only rasa; not higher than rasa. There are several stages between the happiness experienced by the ordinary man and the transcendental bliss of the highest order - rasa. This journey is significant. He must travel on this path. He must struggle to attain that supreme goal, the divine fruit, rasa. The path is none other than dhyana, dhyana yoga. The journey from this human world to reach the highest divine dham; this journey is dhyana yoga. "

" Yoga means path, the path of dhyana! We must understand the stages, the steps, the difficulties and troubles in dhyana path. If you follow correctly, you can achieve your goal in one year. The scriptures say that if you diligently and systematically do dhyana yoga, within one year, you can realize yourself. It is not too difficult. It is as easy as it is difficult. It is the fastest; it is the highest; it is the greatest. We must understand the steps involved, the method involved and also the hurdles involved. You must know how to overcome these hurdles. All these points form a part of dhyana yoga. It has various steps. I request you to realize the importance of dhyana and listen attentively. "

" The jeeva is moving towards happiness. The centre of innumerable Universes is bliss! 'Eswarah Paramah Krishnah'. Krishna means infinite bliss and attraction power. Man is naturally attracted towards that bliss without his conscious efforts. Everything is gravitating towards the transcendental bliss. The kingdom of bliss is the limit for the whole world. Everything moves around it. The human world and the divine worlds are revolving around this transcendental bliss. That is the uniqueness here! Vedas said 'Ananda ghanam Brahma' The Vedas mention not just happiness but solid bliss; As water solidifies to become ice; happiness becomes solid bliss! That is Brahmananda! Rasa is higher than that. That means highest is rasa! "

" Bhagawata ends with maharasa indicating that we must reach maharasa. We must begin our journey from this materialistic world, cross all the steps and finally reach rasa; Rasaleela. That maharasa is our destination; our goal. That must be our single aim. Rasa tattwa is wonderful. Particularly in Brindavan, rasopasana is the highest. We know Hanumadupasana, Ramopasana or Krishnopasana. Rasopasana is the highest and unparalleled. The gurus teach rasopasana to their disciples towards the end after they cross all the spiritual levels. Rasopasana forms a part of dhyana yoga. Right from the beginning till rasopasana stage, we must cross every step associated with its characteristic qualities. We must be careful at each and every step, thus slowly move forward. "

" Now I will tell you what is essential for dhyana yoga and how to reach God and rasa. I felt, I must begin with my experience rather than speak from the books. I had a very important experience. My travel of sadhana (spiritual practice) took place in Brindavan at midnight where I had to move 40 miles deep into the forest to reach my destination! One night around 11 p.m., a 5 year old girl came near me and said 'Mujhe alankar karo' (Adorn Me). This is how Mother began Her play. I requested the vraja ladies to decorate Her idol. That night, She again appeared in my dream with a pout and said 'this decoration is not good' . The vraja ladies are known for their art of adorning idols in the best possible way. Moreover, we bought the most expensive veil for Mother. We did not compromise on anything. Yet She did not like the decoration. What can I do? The next day we changed the color and adorned Her idol again beautifully but She did not like that also. I am explaining the actual journey, the path that leads towards Mother; how She finally took me near Her. That is very important. I requested the Brindavan mahatmas to tell me what Mother wanted from me. 'Mother told me to adorn Her. Almost all the well known vraja ladies came to decorate Her in so many ways. However beautifully each of them adorned Her, She always left saying that She did not like the decoration. Please tell me how to decorate Her in the way She likes.' They all unanimously replied 'We can tell the meaning of Vedas but we cannot tell what Her words imply. We do not know the meaning of Her words.' Nobody could tell me anything. When Mother and other Gods utter a sentence, it has two meanings - an apparent and an implied one. She says something but shows something else. She expects some action from us. Now how does She expect me to adorn Her? "

" Finally a mahatma told me 'Mother descended as a two year old girl in Ravali, located within a deep forest. Millions of people participated in the occasion to witness Her divine arrival on earth. You must go there at midnight. Do not take many people with you; one or two yogic persons are enough. It is better if you can visit the cosmic plane in the yogic state. Mother's sakhis will be present there. They will reveal what is in Mother's mind. You can act accordingly.' "

" We went in two taxis and stopped near forest. When I went inside along with one person, and sat for dhyana, Her sakhis came. With folded hands I told them 'Mother asked me to decorate Her. How should I decorate Her?' The sakhi laughed. 'Can you adorn Her? Even Brahma cannot. She does not mean to decorate Her idol. She has a message for you. You must understand it.' 'Then what does decorating Her imply?' 'It means the jeeva must decorate his mind' "

" A boy will not accept a girl as his wife unless she is beautiful. God not only enjoys beauty but he is the manifestation of beauty himself! The Vedas described him as 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' God possesses beauty that attracts everybody towards him. So we must first understand what beauty really means; not the worldly materialistic meaning! Jeeva adorning his mind beautifully is really an arduous task. One whole life may not be enough! He must adorn his mind in such a way as directed by Mother. "

" This is Brindavan dham; rasa dham! Radha Devi, the sovereign of rasa has told us how to adorn our mid through Her sakhis. Let us understand it carefully. God is attracted by a jeeva who has adorned his mind. Jeeva must attract God. The Vedas clearly stated that none of the paths we follow can lead us to God. He will not agree. 'Nayamathma pravachena labhyaha na medhaya.' The Kathopanishad states that spiritual lectures, chanting divine name day and night which the yogis normally do is not enough. By listening to their discourses, can we attain God? No. He cannot be attained by discourses and spiritual rituals. Vivekananda also gave a special message to this effect. That is the quintessence of all Vedas and all the scriptures. Even if you are a great scholar and intellectual who can easily explain the inner meaning of the Vedas, it is not enough. The paramahamsas and mahatmas utter important spiritual secrets but by listening to them again and again, can we attain God? Though your sense of hearing functions day and night to listen only to spiritual words, you cannot attain God. That is also not enough. See how difficult it is to attain God. Man can only listen to spiritual discourses, repeatedly memorize what he heard and incessantly contemplate on them in his mid but God cannot be attained by any of them. Then what is the way? The Upanishads states 'Yame vaisha vrinathe thena labhyaha.' He must accept you! (Vrinathe literally means wedding) That means God must wed jeevathma, the bride. How wonderful! "

" Rabindranath Tagore hinted this secret in his famous book 'Gitanjali' God must accept the jeeva. The jeevathma waits for him longingly .Finally, he will attain divine grace. It is very difficult to attain divine grace. You must yearn for him; long for him, wait for him. Rukmini Devi possesses such an imaginable bhava for Krishna. 'How can I attain you, O Krishna, I am a kshatriya girl who has never seen any man's face. If I convey my feelings to him through a letter, how will he react? Will he think I should not write to him? Otherwise how will he know my feelings for him?' In this way, Rukmini spent several days and nights weeping; without food or sleep; lying on the floor yearning for Krishna. Finally she sent a letter through a Brahmin. 'Lord, if you do not accept me in this life, it does not matter. I will take birth and rebirth sixteen times till you accept me. I want you and only you. I have one pointed devotion towards you. My goal is to reach you; nothing else.' Krishna was overjoyed to know her feelings. "

" What does waiting really mean! Not for an hour or two; or a day or two. It may take several years. Vivekananda said 'We have to wait for life after life.' So even if the waiting for divine takes many births, you must not feel ashamed. You must struggle and wait! That's all! It is very difficult to attain God. It is not as easy as you think. You may be lured by some that you can attain God the same day. That's trash. Don't believe them. "

" When you begin your sadhana, you will actually realize how difficult it is! It is like swimming against the tide. This materialistic world is a vast ocean. Jeeva must swim against this. Sadhana is swimming against prakriti. You will face some hurdles every moment in your sadhana. You will face whirlpools and obstacles; you must face them and overcome them. That is sadhana. Only then, you will attain divine grace. So what is the important point here? God must accept you. He will. He is the manifestation of beauty. We cannot even comprehend his beauty. The Vedas described God as 'Satyam Sivam Sundaram' He is so beautiful! All the beauty that we see in this world belongs to him. The divine rays of his beauty have pervaded throughout the world. "

" Krishna told Rukmini 'Maybe you wanted to be with me because you are a woman and naturally you would like to be with a man but Rukmini, I am not a man! This is the truth. Since childhood, I am only associated with Brahman (divinity). My mind, senses, thoughts are all concentrated only on the sublime. That is why I do not have even the seed of masculinity in the materialistic way. I will look out for a suitable groom for you, a prince. I will celebrate your marriage and personally accompany you to your in-laws house. What do you say?' Rukmini replied 'Your path is my path also. I will come into your path and shatter all the thoughts. I do not want your beauty or money. Don't think that I came here because you are a man, a handsome man. I vow that I do not want to enter into an ordinary man-woman relationship with you. You are endowed with divine qualities. They attracted me towards you. Your divinity attracted me. Your humility, your love, your grace, and your softness all these qualities attracted me' When Krishna asked whether she was offended by his words; she said No. "

" You must understand the depth of a person. The farmer sows the seed and the tree grows. The tree is contained in the seed. He can only water the seed, put manure and nurture the sapling present within the seed. In the same way, God will observe the inner stage of the sadhaka and nurture the good qualities in him. He works from within, not from without. "

" That is why you must move within you in dhyana yoga, not externally. If you want to develop that qualities required by God, you must have inwardness. Lalitha sahsranamas (1000 names of Goddess lalitha) are very famous in India, two names clearly state that inwardness is essential to attain God. 'Antharmukha samaradhyayai namaha; Bahirmukha sudurlabha' 'You must worship me in inwardness. If you approach me externally, I will not speak or even look at you. Journey of inwardness is very important. You must come to me through inwardness only.' "

" What great words indeed! 'I will not speak to you, if you come to me with external vision.' You must realize that these are all divine qualities. He revealed the qualities one must develop so as to reach him. The first - 'Anany nishta' (one pointedness) You must have single pointed devotion only towards Mother. I have no likes of my own. I like whatever She likes. I am here only to serve Her. I will die the same day when I cannot serve Her. I live only for Her happiness. That is the significant point here. That is 'Ananya Nishta' - one pointed devotion. I don't want any second entity. My link is with Mother and only Her. None other than Mother! "

" Sumathi showed such devotion towards her husband. Though he was leper, she would clean him every day and look after his needs attentively; she never felt any disgust towards him. He was a short tempered man who often scolded and even beat her yet she tolerated everything and served him lovingly. One day he said 'Sumathi, I want to enjoy with a prostitute. My desire is that you must carry me till her house and make her agree to spend time with me.' Can anything be worse than this?' His body had leprosy; his mind was always engaged in abuses; his character was so immoral. What was the way for her? How disgusting. Yet, that is the only way. Don't think it is disgusting. 'This is my path. I must move in this way only. I must serve God in this way.' "

" No questions. Our beloved Lord is a great rasika. Our dearest one, the supreme God is a rasika (Nanna was weeping) If you go towards east, he will show you the west. If you move towards west, he will point out towards north. Rukmini came to him with so many hopes. He shattered her hopes in one moment! You must move very carefully in the path leading to God. Adornment is not for the body but for your mind. The jeeva must carefully adorn his mind in such a way that he will be accepted by God. That is real sadhana. That is the only sadhana. Whether you chant his name or mantra, it does not really matter. You don't need the beads to count the number of times you chanted the mantra. In Brindavan, only service (seva) is needed. Surrender yourself completely to the Lord. Observe what he likes and mould your life accordingly. This is a very difficult task. Contemplate on Her leelas! Only through this contemplation, we can search for real God. Contemplating on Her leelas is such a great tapasya. "

" There is another dham like Brindavan in the higher plane. Mahatmas have witnessed the leelas of Radha and Govind occurring in that dham in their visions and recorded their experiences in their books. Since so many ages, till today, daily leelas take place there. This is bhowma Brindavan (on earth); that is mano Brindavan (in the vision), higher than this. Recently a building worth Rs. 40 lakhs was constructed exclusively to play rasa - the divine transcendental plays of Radha and Govind. Mother wakes up at 6 a.m; Govind also wakes up at the same time here. Here also, this leela is enacted at the same hour. That means, the hours of Bhowma Brindavan are matched with those of Mano Brindavan. Many foreigners come all the way to India from America and Germany to see these leelas being enacted in Brindavan. Contemplating on leela has such immense love. Love is most lovable on earth. That is what God wants too. Jagat leela! (Worldly play) Rasa leela! (Transcendental play) He wants everything to be a leela. What is the use of a routine ritualistic tapasya? His leelas are so wonderful! "

" Many devotees weep during these leelas because so many bhavas are enacted. They forget themselves completely. So don't think of tattwa; let us follow leela. Tattwa emerged from leela. Leela is the origin. Tattwa is formed according to the leela. Rama's life is Rama leela. Rama leela is Rama tattwa. This Rama tattwa uplifts human beings. This is the secret. So let us look at it in totality. Recently, we discussed the life of a great muslim mahatma. He exhibited such a beautiful and exemplary life. Even today, anybody who passes by his hermitage pays respect with folded hands. 'Don't waste your life. Your life is not yours. It belongs to Mother, to God. You are born to serve God; not for yourself.' "

" Man is filled with ego. He strives to satisfy his ego giving what it desires. If his ego wants to be immoral, he is born like that only. If his ego wants to be rich, he is born in a wealthy family. Whatever life your ego selects, your body is formed accordingly. The human body is developed according to your own individual will. God will give you the body your ego desires. 'Ye yathamam prapadyanthe thamsthavaiva bhajamyaham' If you wish that you will act according to the wishes of your ego, the Lord say 'I will give you the suitable body. I will cause your birth wherever you want. I will give you everything'. See how strange are God's ways and how original! So the most important point you must understand is Satsangatvam . "

" The second point - Rehman baba, the youngest devotee, the hero. He is a recent character who showed us the strange divine play. The Lord rules the world with leelas only. Rehman saw Mother's idol through the window of some devotee's house. He felt as though She was looking at him only so lovingly. He was filled with the urge to see Her again and again. He did not even know Her name. Mother showed that even though you are in an ignorant state, you can reach Her through leela! That is divine play. His life was so wonderful. He was so enchanted by Her that he longed to see Her again and again. He was engrossed only in chanting Her name and contemplating on Her in his heart. When his father heard about this, he beat the boy with a cane and refused to give him food and water. The boy showed two admirable qualities - he did not hate anybody despite being physically abused and he did not give up chanting Shyama's name even for a single second. He maintained a positive attitude throughout. This is what is needed. When you establish a link with God, you are no longer affected by the qualities of the people around you. His mother begged him to stop chanting Shyama's name. 'I can stop eating but I cannot give up Her name.' He cannot give up the name; he cannot give up the memory of the Divine. That is Her training. His life is historical evidence. Finally, after 8 days of starving, he went near his mother but did not ask for food. 'I cannot give up Her name so I am leaving this house. I received divine guidance from within'. Every jeeva will attain this stage sometime or other when he receives divine guidance from within. You are getting help. Don't question who is helping you. The Lord assured that he will look after your welfare every moment, only if you have one pointed devotion towards him. That is the condition. Ananya Nishta! "

" Rehman left his house even in that state because he had spiritual stamina. There is a fundamental difference between Prahlada and Rehman. When Prahlada's father hurt him physically, the Lord protected him and ensured that he was not in pain. Mother said 'Let the world see how you suffer. You must suffer. I will give you stamina from within, not outside.' When a potter moulds the pot, he hits it from outside while holds his other palm inside the pot for support. 'That is My play. Do not see the external bruises. See the inner support I am granting you.' You will get mental support and physical support from all sides. Rehman survived from his starvation only by this support. Arthur Scott said that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Sometimes truth seems to be a lie and a lie appears to be the truth! It is a fact that Rehman was beaten mercilessly yet due to the inner support, despite the beatings he was filled with patience. "

" When he sat on the banks of Yamuna, Champaklatha sakhi came near him. 'Whom do you want?' 'I want Shyama.' 'Did you see Shyama before?' 'Yes, She appears like me only' 'What if Shyama does not come.' 'If She will not come, I will jump into Yamuna and end my life in front of your eyes. I do not wish to live without Her. I will evaporate like camphor.' Sakhi fed him porridge and finally took him near Mother. "

" What a wonderful lesson the boy taught us! Man and God are linked every day. It is foolish to think 'will he come? When will he come?' He will certainly come. Have that faith. Have a strong will. You will get some experience. With each experience, man's stamina will increase and he will be pushed spiritually higher. "

" Universal leela! Rasa leea! The whole universe is a leela, God's leela. Hari leela! Rama leela! Krishna leela! He creates a world of leelas. He is endowed with supreme beauty of leelas! Rehman narrated his story to Arobindo Yogi's disciple, Pramod Kumar Chatterjee. Otherwise, nobody would know about his life. 'Did you see Shyama?' 'Yes, She is in my heart. She is just like me. Her attraction cannot be explained. I cannot live without seeing Her. I cannot sit or stand without Her. I will die if I don't see Her.' "

" See that attraction. A little boy who moved about doing mischievous pranks reached such spiritual heights due to divine leela. Dhanurdas, a Vaishnava devotee showed such modesty that he donated all his wealth to construct the temple in Srirangam. 'Take all my money for the temple. I will eat only the Prasad offered to the Lord.' "

" Man will automatically attain that glow due to divine contact. This cannot come by reading books, verses or listening to discourses. "

" Rehman told Champaklatha that he would jump into Yamuna river if she would not take him near Shyama. One must attain that stage of yearning due to separation from the divine. That is our sadhana. Man cannot face that state of separation. Ramakrishna exhibited that state. Goddess Kali smiled and said 'I am here, with you all the time.' Then he regained confidence and extraordinary spiritual stamina. The stamina and power that cannot be obtained through penance, reading books and listening to speeches can be obtained only by Her touch. This is what actually happens. So the divine must hold you. Man can attempt up to a certain limit only. Later God must accept him. He must be blessed with divine grace. "