Babaji: It is possible to realize God in one life. It all depends on the person, on the circumstances, one's past samskaras (old habitual tendencies) and one's past lives. It can be done in one month, one year, one life or many lives, depending on how sincerely one wants it and aspires for it. But even if one is not able to surrender everything in this life, once a person has turned to God, even if he leaves Him half way, God will never leave this person.

The possibility to realize God does not depend on one's purity but on one's want and need and sincerity. One has to be clear about the aim. Our aim is to realize God in mind, life and body.

"Realizing God" means to have complete faith and dependence on Him, to know always and in all circumstances that the Divine will take care of us.

For example, one may have faith in one's mind and vital, but standing in front of a lion our physical may still tremble. This is because complete faith and dependence have not yet fully descended into the physical. Once this faith is also completely established in the physical, there can be no more fear and no more suffering.

If we have complete faith in and dependence on God in our mind, life and body, then all suffering and unhappiness will stop forever. Even though realization of God may take place in one lifetime, transformation cannot take place in just one lifetime.* For those sadhaks who sincerely practise this sadhana and repeat the Mother's name always, difficulties will be nil.

Our faith and dependence in the beginning are not perfect, but by aspiration, rejection and surrender and by constantly doing japa, they will develop.

The most important thing is to do japa always, to always repeat the name, everything else is bound to come.

*Note: Babaji completely changed this statement a few years later. In 1997, Babaji said that nobody can imagine at what tremendous speed this Force is working, and therefore everything has now changed and complete transformation is now possible in just one lifetime. Two conditions will have to be met: one must want it and one must give oneself completely to the Mother with faith and dependence.

***

Question: I want to know whether realization can be achieved in one life, so that I can fix my aim firmly in my mind.

Babaji: No, this is not the right idea, it comes from the ego. Do not think in this way. All that is necessary is to surrender by thinking: "Mother, I am yours, I belong to you. Mother is always with me, she will save me", and to constantly repeat her name, 'Ma'. This is what you have to practice, it is all that is needed, everything else will come of its own. We might read books about this or that method, but it will not be useful. The only thing is to think: "Mother, I am yours, Mother will save me.

***

Question: How do we know that the effort we are making is not ego?

Babaji: If you think that you are the only one who can do this work, that you are doing it best, then that is the ego. You have to think, this is the Mother's work, I am doing this work for her.

There are three stages of work when one does sadhana. During the first stage, one offers one's work to the Mother, but one feels that one is the doer and one offers what one is doing. At the second stage, work is done on the divine impulse and inspiration. At that time we feel that the Divine is the doer and we are his instruments. We are aware of the Divine doing the work through us. In the first stage there is ego but there is no ego in the second stage.

In the third stage God and we are one. We do not feel any separation even though we are here upon earth. This can only come when the transformation is complete.

.... Page 109 omitted ...

.... the right time, eat at the right time, do our work sincerely, meditate and always do japa, everything will be all right.

When movements arise within from the lower nature such as desire, anger, ill-will, jealousy etc., do not give them any outward expression. At this time call the Mother and repeat her name very quickly so that no thoughts can come.

There will be times when we feel happy and confident and are full of faith. Then, all of a sudden, something comes up and we start to doubt and feel discouraged and all kinds of thoughts begin to disturb us. At such times do not get upset and do not despair, but hold on to your faith and tell yourself that these disturbing movements have come up for transformation.

***

Question: If one feels uneasy in one's mind or vital or body, does this mean that one is not surrendered in these parts?

Babaji: Yes, this is quite true, but surrender of all the parts of the being cannot be achieved in a few days. It takes time and continues all the way up to the final transformation.

One has to reject these movements that make us feel uneasy, offer them to the Mother and think that these negative feelings are not me, that I belong to the Mother and not to those forces that attack me.

At that moment, one has to call the Mother and do Nama-Japa quickly, and not pay too much attention to the difficulty.

***

Question: Sometimes this thought comes that I am not really receptive, and then I feel upset

Babaji: No, no! This is a wrong thought! Any person who comes to the Divine and has offered his life, is accepted by Him, in spite of the aspirant's weaknesses or past wrongdoings. The Divine does not look at the weaknesses and wrongdoings of a person but accepts the person as he is. Imagine a burglar who stole a piece of gold and tied it securely around his waist. In a similar manner God ties us securely to Himself, regardless of our weaknesses.

***

Question: Many times we feel fear, anger, anxiety etc. but we do not understand from where these feelings are coming.

Babaji: Yes, this happens to everyone, because it is the nature of the mind, vital and body to feel like that.

***

.... Page 112 omitted ...

***

Question: When two sadhaks aspire equally, but one is in the Ashram in Pondicherry and the other one is far away, does the one in Pondy progress quicker?

Babaji: The Supramental Force is the Mother's force, and it is now established all over the earth, which means that Mother's presence is everywhere.

Even though here in Pondicherry the atmosphere is pure because Mother and Sri Aurobindo lived here, it does not necessarily mean that one can advance here faster or further in one's sadhana than somewhere else in the world. The progress in one's sadhana does not depend on the place, but on one's intense need and one's sincerity.

It happens that sadhaks who live far away make more effort just because they are far away and they want to progress as much as sadhaks who are here.

On the other hand, persons who live here are often not aware of the great privilege and the exceptional place they are living in and do not make very much effort to advance. There are sadhaks here who make no progress at all.

***

Question: If one lives here in the Ashram and offers voluntary work for the Mother, how then can ego and selfishness work?

Babaji: If one is not conscious, they can work very well! When thoughts come such as 'oh, I do such good work' or that one wants to become a great sadhak etc. then, together with the work, one's ego will greatly increase and become very big.

Question: Then, how to distinguish whether something is ego or not and how to get rid of the ego?

Babaji: In the beginning it is very difficult to recognise the play of one's ego because mind, vital and body are completely wrapped up in ego and selfishness. When one begins to observe one's ego and thoughts come of being a great sadhak one should immediately offer this thought to the Mother for transformation. One has to have complete faith and dependence on the Mother, then one will begin to see these ego movements.

Now we see ourselves as separate beings: I, my person, my money, my family, my relations, etc.

Whenever we say 'I' we mean our mind, vital and body. We do not include in this 'I' our Psychic Being. Once we become aware of our Psychic Being then we know that we are 'That and not mind, vital and body. Slowly the ego will get transformed and the person will become divine.

***

Question: At work, when we see that someone is making a mistake or doing things in an awkward way, should we say something to the person or will this activate our ego?

Babaji: First of all, we have to make sure that we have sympathy and total goodwill for the person concerned and are interested in his progress. Out of this genuine goodwill for the person, we can calmly point out his mistake. But if we encounter any resistance from the other person we should not insist on our point, we should become silent and leave it up to the Mother. Even the Divine does not interfere and remains silent if the right moment to change someone has not yet come. So who are we to think that we can change someone?

***

A group of people was sitting in Babaji's room.

Babaji asked whether there were any questions, but nobody asked anything. After a short silence Babaji said calmly but with much force:

"Repeat the Name! Mother is always there, always helping! When difficulties come, repeat the Name!

BELIEVE! Mother is always there, BELIEVE IT!"

***

Babaji gave the following instructions to a sadhak:

"Repeat the Mother's name always, meditate two times a day for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or half an hour. Concentrate in the heart and repeat her name very fast, then no thoughts will come. If doubts come do not care but inwardly repeat, 'I am Mother's! I am Yours!' Continue to repeat her name. If you forget, then think to yourself 'Oh, I forgot!' And immediately start your japa anew.

All the adverse spirits and forces are very afraid of the Mother's name and cannot stay with a person who repeats the name with faith and dependence."

***

Question: But it is so difficult to always do japa!

Babaji: Yes, it is difficult. We must always try. If we continue trying, we will succeed. Always keep trying!

Note: Babaji said that this yoga, because of Nama-Japa, is infinitely easier than the old yogas. If we do japa then automatically we surrender, we aspire and we reject the wrong movements.

***

Question: Will all sadhaks eventually repeat the Mother's name?

Babaji: Yes, all will eventually repeat the Mother's name.

Ouestion: There are those who work sincerely, but who only repeat her name at certain times during the day. What about those?

Babaji: They repeat the Mother's name only for a short time, because they do not understand its immense value and importance. If they understood it, then why would they repeat her name only for a short time? They would repeat it always.

***

More from the sadhak's diary:

Babaji was bending down towards me, listening to something I was telling. Suddenly he looked at me intently. Then, pointing his forefinger and sweeping his arm across the air in support of his words he said with great force:

"Have faith in THE NAME!"

It went through my whole being from top to bottom.

***

Babaji was telling us tirelessly to repeat the Mother's name always even at the time of getting dressed, taking a bath or brushing our teeth. He was encouraging us to repeat the name loudly when alone and silently in the mouth, using the lips at other times, as expressed by Sri Aurobindo so sweetly in his epic poem Savitri:

“A key to a Light still kept in being’s core,
The sun-word of an ancient mystery’s sense,
Her name ran murmuring on the lips of men
Exalted and sweet like an inspired verse”

One day a sadhak told Babaji that if he repeated the Mother's name silently moving his lips, others would think that he has gone out of his mind, uttering things to himself. Babaji answered:

"So what! Let them think whatever they want!

They will observe the way you live and they will begin to respect you. Eventually the day will come when they will realize what it means and they will follow your example. When one repeats the name it is as if the person is actually present. The name and the force of the person are one."

***

Question: Can one learn to increase one's concentration?

Babaji: Yes, Sri Aurobindo speaks about 3 centres of concentration. The heart, the third eye and the head.

Question: Inside the head or above?

Babaji: Better above, just above the head. In the beginning though it is better to try to concentrate in the heart. It is difficult to concentrate in the heart or above the head. At first one cannot do it. Then one should concentrate outside the heart. Keep an image of the Mother in front of you, concentrate on it and do japa. Gradually try to go deeper and imagine the picture in the heart. If one goes into the heart or above the head all thoughts will stop.

By meditating on the heart-centre the psychic aspiration will automatically grow. One has to be very determined, very determined! Have determination!

***

A sadhak was complaining about his difficulties in overcoming certain defects in his nature.

Babaji: You know, sadhana is not done in one day!

Do you know this? (Yes, Babaji). It takes time! The mind, vital and body of a person do not want God.

They want to control the person. When someone does sadhana, then the mind, vital and body are gradually being controlled by this person. They do not like this and throw up all lower movements to disturb the sadhak. They try to lure him away from the path by any means using all kinds of suggestions. At such times it is important not to listen to these suggestions and not to follow them. One has to offer them to the Mother and think that these disturbances have come up for transformation. These things are bound to come up, but do not care.

You know, if you are really sincere, Mother will do everything, arrange everything and you will know what to do!

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