Today being Vaikuntha Ekadasi, many of you are yearning to get Amrita (nectar) from Me. But, of what benefit is it to merely swallow a few drops of nectar created by Me? It is when sattvika quality wins and subdues the rajasika and the Tamasika in the battles between them that go on in every heart, that Amrita arises therein. The Amrita that confers Immortality is the Amrita, which wins through one’s sadhana. One word that is used in dhyana is urdhva-drishti (upward vision) to indicate an exercise in which the two eyes are directed together upwards, to a point between the eye-brows. Urdhva means upward and drishti means look; so, the word means, not a physical; exercise, but a general whole-time-effort of the mind to avoid lower desires, and to uplift itself to higher values. Such an effort will win Amrita; it will emanate from the spring of the heart! (SSS Vol. 6, pp. 111-112)
Amrita means immortal; it does not follow that he who takes in amrita will live eternally; even avatars cast off the body, when their task is accomplished. It means fixing the mind on Reality, becoming aware of the Imperishable Entity that one is and merging the consciousness in it. Look at the Rakshasas! Ravana and Kumbhakarna went through extreme austerities for thousands of years. God manifested himself before them and granted them the boons they prayed for. But, since the austerity did not win for them purity and cleanliness, virtue and wickedness. They had no trace of the sattvika in their make–up. They had the grace of God in such a large measure; God appeared, inquired and granted. But, they behaved even worse than before! They denied by their ‘ways’ the grace of they won. (SSS Vol. 6, p. 112)
Amrita comes out of water. Amrita is born out of water. So also, poison is born out of water. Here we see that the birth place of amrita as well as poison is one and the same. It is in this context that it has been said that for both the bondage and for the liberation of man, his mind alone is responsible. It becomes necessary that we should recognize the nature of the mind, if we wish to understand this dual part played by our mind. (SSB 1977, pp. 2-3)