Swami Ramdas
Swami Ramdas
An excerpt from The Gospel of Swami Ramdas, by Swami Satchidananda, p.35
…a sadhaka on the bhakti path goes on joyously singing the sweet name of the Lord, rejecting nothing and accepting everything as the very embodiment of his Beloved. So his sadhana itself is turned into a sadhya. That is, the means becomes the end.
p.20…..By proper discrimination between the real and the unreal, give up the desire for worldly enjoyments which are but ephemeral. The more you fill your mind with God, the less will be its desire for sense-pleasures. Bhakti intensifies vairagya. Strenuous effort and regular practice will gradually fill the mind completely with God and there will be no chance for worldly thoughts or desires to enter it. Now you experience immeasurable joy and the moment you utter God’s name you go into ecstasy. He (Sri Ramakrishna) was often in that state; it is called bhavasamadhi. For one who is used to mental repetition of Ramnam, the moment he starts repeating it, the mind becomes perfectly still.”
Swami Ramdas on July 20, 1928. Page 11 Letters of Swami Ramdas, V. 1.
Love in the making sees faults, but forgives them. Love in its grand fulfillment never sees any faults: hence it has nothing to forgive. This is the supreme innocence, simplicity and holiness of heart. A heart like that is God’s own heart. A ray from this heart purifies millions. This ray is divine grace.