Darshan with Swami Krishnananda during 1995

by Swami Krishnananda

18. Human Effort and Divine Meditation

(Darshan given on August 21st, 1995.)

A visitor: I am HIV positive. How should I deal with it?

Swamiji: Think that your body has become strong like diamond because of the entry of God's indestructible power. “I am very happy. I am breathing the air of this supreme abode of the Almighty Himself. The aroma of God is entering into me. The power is energising me. I am in attunement with Him. I have no fear because He is with me, He is in me, He protects me and He is all-in-all for me. He gives me all things. My dear God, bless me with Yourself.” Do not ask for any material things from God. “Bless me with Your Own Self. Come on to me, be with me, be in me, fill me with Yourself so that You are myself. Such energy I have got now. I am very healthy, very powerful. I have no illness. Illness has gone. I am very happy. I am more happy than anybody else because the Great Power is with me. It is blessing me with Itself.”

God need not give you any object. He must give you Himself only, because no object can equal Him. All the wealth of the world, which He can give, is nothing before Him. The giver is greater than that which is given. Do you catch the point? This is a kind of meditation I am suggesting to you. This has to be done every day. When you get up in the morning, whatever be the time when you wake up, don't jump up from the bed and go here and there. If you want to do your ablutions, have your ablutions. Then sit quiet, and face the east where the sun rises. The power of the sun is the most potent in the east because that is where he rises. Sit facing the east in the manner you are sitting now, and go on charging your personality with this intense feeling that I have described to you in these few words. Every day you do it. I would like you to do it for at least half an hour every day continuously, and before you have your tea or breakfast. Breakfast may be taken afterwards. When you get up in the morning, have a wash, take a bath, whatever it is, and sit quiet and do this. Every day, every day, every day. If you can do it once again before you go to bed in the evening, even better. But if you are busy for other reasons, then do it at least once in the morning, and you will find a miracle will take place gradually.

All that God does is a miracle. He does not work like human beings with instruments. He himself is the instrument; He has no other apparatus with Him, like a doctor having surgical instruments. His presence itself is all the instruments. This is a meditation.

There are two ways of handling a thing. One is the human way; the other is the divine way. The human way is, eat a proper diet, take rest, take medicine, take deep breaths, go for a walk, have fresh air, and live with good friends who will talk to you pleasantly, happily, without disturbing your mind. This is the human way. The other way is the divine way I described to you, and you perhaps understand it. This practice should go on. The double practice – the human side and the divine side – should go together. Then it will click like a clock, and really some unimaginable miracle can take place. This is my suggestion. Do you understand me?

Visitor: Yes, Swamiji.

Swamiji: You should not take this as a joke. It is a serious matter. Both things I have told you. One thing is human effort, the other is the divine meditation. These should go together. Effort and grace are two sides of one aspiration, so effort on one side and meditation on another side, both must go together. Every day you do it.

And every morning take some honey with a little lemon juice combined – the juice of one lemon with two spoons of honey. That should be the first thing you drink, not tea or coffee. Take only this.

Do you have any habits other than the normal ones? That you must give up. It is very important because when God works through you, you should cooperate with Him. You should not put any obstacle. If the doctor says to do something, you should not do something else. And whatever the habits be which are not good for the health of a person, you stop. People have got unnecessary habits like smoking, drinking and non-vegetarian food. They do not contribute to the health of a person. I would suggest that these things are to be completely avoided: no smoking, no drinking, no non-vegetarian food. This is also part of the treatment, because you must cooperate with nature. You are opposing nature. Nature does not want you to drink or smoke or eat the meat of animals. It is not nature's wish. You must live a natural life in the manner I mentioned, and on the other side there is human effort and divine meditation, which I also mentioned. Three things I have told you. If this is done, if you understand what I say, then I think you will have the blessing of God.

If you have any difficulty in this matter, that also must be tackled. Sometimes there are insurmountable difficulties, and they must be tackled slowly, little by little, little by little, little by little. I will give you an example. There are people who smoke cigarettes. Ten times, twenty times, fifty times a day they smoke. The method of avoiding is, instead of fifty cigarettes, you make it forty-nine only, so they are not angry because, after all, you are reducing only one. For one month, let it go on. Afterwards, still one less, one less, one less, one less, one less. In about six months it may be about fifty percent less. Then you will have developed a habit of getting on without it in the measure with which you were taking earlier. And also, the mind should say that it is a horrible thing. Nobody will do harm to one's own self deliberately. Will anybody do harm to oneself deliberately? Is it not good to maintain good health? Tell yourself, “This is not going to contribute to my good health. This habit is no good for me.” Tell your mind again and again. “Do I want to be happy? Do I want to live long?” Tell the mind, “Do you want to obstruct this process? I want to live long and I want to be healthy, but these things which I am habituated to are contradictory to it. I will never deliberately go to the pit and fall into it.” So habits must be controlled in the interest of natural health.

And there is the grace of God. You must cooperate with your own psychic personality, you have to cooperate with nature, and you have to cooperate with God. If you are not cooperating, then how will you expect help from nature? If you cooperate with people, they will cooperate with you. If you are against them, how will you get their help?

Today whatever I have told you is sufficient for you. I don't want to burden you with so many things, and what I have told you just now is complete in itself. In my opinion, so many problems can be solved by this method. They look like many, but actually it is one only, and that has to be handled with wisdom, with determination of will, and with a real interest in one's own welfare. No one should try to ruin oneself due to unhealthy habits of any kind. Think over this matter, and if there is anything else, you can tell me later on after bestowing deep thought on it. I wish you happiness. God bless you.