None is deprived of BLISS but we are bereft of it because of our ignorance.

Once an army of soldiers was vanquished and was very much depressed and didn’t know how to achieve victory. One of them suggested that there was a retired General and his advice would be sought. They went to General who said that there was a temple of Goddess and they would go and ask for Its blessings. A coin would be tossed before the idol and if head turns up, it means that they had got HER Blessings and would win and should fight. Otherwise the idea had to be dropped. A coin was tossed and Lo! Head turned up. They all shouted with joy,” We got goddess’s blessings and would win. With all vigour and force, they attacked the enemy and won.

They went to express their gratitude to the General who took them the temple to bow before the Goddess. While bowing before the Goddess, one of them noticed the coin with head shining in the sun. He picked it up and was very much surprised to know that it was head on both sides. Upon this, the General said, “All the strength and succour was within you. They were aroused with the faith of blessings in the Goddess. Of course, if you believe in yourselves and have staunch faith in your Divinity, blessings of Divine and Goddess will be with you.

Swami Ram Tirath said in a lecture, “Even if you may believe in thirty three crore or even thirty million crore of gods, but you will not benefitted unless your inner spirit is awakened. When you’re inner Self wakes up, you will find that all the gods are present to serve you with folded hands. You worship them now, but then they shall worship you.”

अपनी न की तलाश, बड़ी चूक ये हुई ।
बरसों किये खराब, खुदा तलाश में हमने ।।

We did not make an effort to awaken our own Self and wasted many years in search of God.        

A prince approached Swami Ram to introduce him to God. He was asked to write about his own self on a piece of paper and that paper will be produced to God and the prince will be called. The prince wrote his name, king’s name and the address of the kingdom which was ruled by his father. After going through his whereabouts, Swami Ram said that this information was about his body whereas he was asked about his real self. As body was his, he could not be the body.

The prince realised his mistake and said that he must be the mind or intellect. Swami Ram said that mind and intellect too are his, so he cannot be mind or intellect. He is far beyond mind or intellect and body. In this body, there are two kinds of functions being discharged, involuntary and voluntary. Voluntary acts are those that are discharged through intellect or mind for instance reading, writing, walking, talking, eating and drinking. Besides there are thousands of acts which are performed directly without the agency of mind or intellect, for instance respiration, the coursing of blood through veins, the growth of hair etc.

Involuntary works are done by a power Divine which are you and which is the infinite power which never changes. Body, mind and intellect change but the real self never changes. It remains same in wakeful state, in the dreamland, which remains the same in dreamless state. There is something in us which remains the same when we are bathing or when we are writing. That something remains the same under all circumstances, unchanging in its Being, the same yesterday, to-day and forever. A deep reflection on that something which is within all of us will bring us face to face with God. So that Self which we were searching outside is within all of us.

ये सैर क्या है अजब अनोखा, कि राम मुझमें मैं राम में हूँ ।
बगैर सूरत गज़ब है जलवा, कि राम मुझमें मैं राम में हूँ ।।

In essence I and my father are one.

The source of unlimited energy is within us. Archimedes used to say, “Give me a point to stand by  and I will move the earth”. That constant point is within all of us. If only we know our own Real Self and believe in Real Self, there is nothing which we cannot know or achieve. Once we fill our hearts with this conviction, we can do whatever we like. Have faith in Atma i.e. in your inner strength. Tateri, a small bird developed faith in herself. She gathered courage. Opposed the ocean and was ultimately victorious. There is a story that the ocean swept away the eggs of Tateri. She asked other birds to start taking water in their beaks to empty the ocean they all started with determination. A Rishi appeared and asked them what they were doing.

“You cannot empty the ocean.” The retries replied,” Respected Sir, Rishi you see our bodies and fail to realise our inner strength, our firm determination”. On hearing the above reply of retries the Rishi asked the ocean in anger.”Why hast thou swept away the eggs of these birds?” The ocean thereupon returned the eggs. In this story, the belief in the immortal is belief in your own Self and the rest is story.

A boy ran from an orphanage of Scotland and ran to London and entered the garden of one of the richest men, Lord Mayor. While he was in garden, the church bell started ringing madly because generally the bell of clock strikes four or eight or at the most twelve but this bell was ringing discriminately as if it was mad. The boy’s name was Wittington. He said,

“Ton, Ton, Ton

Whittington

Lord Mayor of London”

While the bell was still ringing, Lord Mayor came and asked the boy, “Who are you? What are you saying?” The boy, in his care-free nature, replied, “Lord Mayor of London”.

Lord Mayor was very much impressed with his care-free life. He was admitted to school where he worked hard and one day Wittington became the Lord Mayor of London.

There is a story in Islamic Mythology. There was a seeker after Truth. He was wandering in search of a man who might satisfy his thirst. During his wanderings, he reached a jungle where he resolved not to eat or drink and even give up his life till his doubts are cleared. At that time there was a man named Junad famous for his religious studies. He was going to river Delja to make his horse drink water but the horse will go astray. When he let the horse go where it wanted to go, the horse reached the spot where the seeker was. Junad answered all his questions and cleared his doubts. While leaving, he said, “My name is Junad. I live in Baghdad. If in future there are any doubts, come to me. Upon this, the man said, “DID I CALL YOU THIS TIME? IF IN FUTURE I NEED THE HELP OF ANY ONE, YOU OR ANY BODY WILL PERFORCE COME TO REMOVE MY DOUBTS.”

Swami Vivekanand Ji used to remark, “It is the law of nature that if the field is ready, the seed is bound to come. The Saviour will come to save the sinner.” An enlightened person said, “Why do you unnecessarily run after God? If He is God, He must come to you on His free will. You must BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Swami Vishvas Ji recites in his holy voice:

जाम पे जाम पीने का क्या फायदा, रात भर पी सुबह तक उतर जाऐगी ।
मैडिटेशन में उतर कर दो घूँट पी ले ज़रा, सारी ज़िन्दगी नशे में गुज़र जाऐगी ।।

What is the use of drinking, the intoxication of which lasts over just a night? Delve deep into MEDITATION, the BLISS of which would sustain your whole life.