Attachment to Dharma, practice of Dharma and its varied manifestations as Seva and Prema, can alone help transform Manava (man) into Madhava (God). (SSS Vol.9, p. 14)
Mere moral practices or instruction cannot help you to achieve Divine consciousness. It can be done only by Spiritual Sadhana, for it is a basic transformation. It involves the elimination of the mind which is the arch-obstacle in the path. The Grace of God, if invoked and won, can endow you with the power, and the Grace is available within you, awaiting the call. (SSS Vol.9, p. 46)
Love is God, God is Love. If you seek to transform yourself into God, you have to pour the mind melted in the fire of Wisdom, the mind can be melted only after it has been hewn into pieces by means of various acts like Seva, Devotional group singing, Prayer beads, Meditation, all sharp with the edge of renunciation. (SSVahini, p. 27)
God is adored by you when you do Puja as ‘Mridu madhura bhashini namaha’. He who speaks soft and sweet. This is a meaningful characterisation of the Lord. Through soft and sweet speech, we can transform even demonic persons into decent individuals. From words, honey drips; words are fragrant flowers; words enshrine Vedic wisdom; words can build a heaven or hell. Words can plunge you into prison; they can release you into freedom. (SSS Vol.11, p. 199)
Transformation must begin with the individual. When the individual changes, the world will change. This transformation has to take place in the minds of men. Right thoughts will lead to right actions. That is why the scriptures have declared that the mind is the cause of man’s bondage or liberation. (D3, p. 359)
More people, love them more and more intensely; transform the love into service, transform the service into worship; that is the highest Sadhana. (SSS Vol.4, p. 242)
Where there is love, there God is certainly evident. Love more and more people, love them more and more intensely; transform the love into service, transform the service into worship; that is the highest Sadhana. (SSS Vol.4, p. 242)
Some people say that the Bhagavad Gita teaches us devotion (bhakti), some, that it teaches right action (Dharma), others, meditation (dhyana), and so on. All of these commentators, interpreting the Gita in the light of their own understanding and intelligence, are losing the real meaning of what Krishna has said. In the process of developing different interpretations, the real meaning is lost. The first word of the first stanza is Dharma and the last word of the last stanza is mama. Joined together, the message become mama Dharma (my duty).
By reading the Bhagavad Gita we can come to recognize our own Dharma. One may be a student, an agriculturist, a businessman, or woman. For each there is different Dharma. Even among women, one may be married and another not. Thus Dharma is not uniform for all. One must recognize not only what state he or she is in, but what stage of evolution as well. It is very difficult to understand one’s present condition, the direction of movement, and the limits of boundaries in this process. The easiest thing is to dedicate every act to God. Say: ‘God, by Your own grace I can do this, thus I offer it to you.’ However, do not stop with just the words coming from the mouth; the heart must be transformed by that which is spoken. (LIG. p.83)
The mediocre man who relies on his Manas or mind, becomes degraded to a level, even below the Pashu (beast); while the wise man who depends on his Buddhi or intellect will be transformed and transmuted into Pashupati (the Lord of all beasts, namely Shiva). (Uniq, p. 125)
To transform the world from its present state, there is no need for a new social system or a new religion or creed. What is essential is a body of men and women with sacred ideals. When there are such godly persons the country will enjoy divine dispensation. But such godly persons can survive only in a society in which there is purity of mind and good character. For these two to blossom, the basis is morality. But morality cannot flourish without spirituality. Hence the mansion of the good society has to be built on the foundation of spirituality, the pillars of purity and character with morality as the roof. (SSS Vol.27)
Lord Krishna declared,
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya cha duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
Paritranaya Saadhunam (I come down for the protection of the good). The Avatar hence comes for the protection of the Good. There is no use merely lisping Rama’s name; you must realise the Rama Principle first and foremost. The Rama tattva is Prema Tattva (Principle of Love). We have to emulate Rama and transform ourselves by following the path of Love. However deep and great our scholastic eminence may be we cannot achieve anything without undergoing the transformation of the Mind.(SSB 96, p. 18)
There are three steps which lead to transformation; Jnatum, Drashtum, Praveshtum. Jnatum means experience. Consider a book. First you must know about the book .Then you should acquire it. Finally, you must read it; then only you will enjoy the Book. Similarly, it is no use if you simply repeat the name of God. You have to translate the Ramasmaranam into actual life. Ravana mastered Vedas but did not practise even a single word of it. The entire Lanka used to reverberate with the chanting of Vedas. Many demons were well – versed in Vedas and used to recite them. But these people did not practise even and an iota of what they repeated. Though all the Shastras proclaim Help Ever Hurt Never, Ravana did not practise the teaching. (SSB 1996, pp.78-79)
Man can acquire the sweetness of wisdom by keeping very good company (satsanga), or even by remaining solitary, as in meditation, for example. There are no means through which one can inject from within. It is a transformation of the inner nature, won by a struggle with inner foes. (LIC, p. 126)
Changing the material world without transforming the mind is of no use. Transforming man is transforming the world. The world will not change without the transformation of man. The world does not mean the visible earth alone. It is also society that we see and interact with. Society is suffused with consciousness and not inert. Society will be transformed only when man’s mind changes. Today we have changes in the world - in finance, science and politics, but not the transformation of the mind. For the transformation of the mind, spiritual transformation is essential. The transformation of the mind is present in the spiritual transformation itself. (SS Sept ’09, p. 4th cover page)
Man does not mean the body alone. Man has the mind, the intellect and the atma (the Spirit). It is the combination of all these that constitutes true humanness. When the balance among these four constituents is upset, man is plunged in troubles. When man maintains the balance among these four, the nation will prosper.
The transformation of man is based on transformation of the mind. When men are transformed, the nation is transformed. When nations change, the world is transformed. Hence, if the world
has to be changed, there has to be a mental transformation at the individual level. The human mind should be filled with love.
The mind is a remarkable entity. When it is filled with wisdom, it makes a man a saint. When it is associated with ignorance, it rums into an agent of death. Hence it has been declared that the mind is the cause of human bondage or liberation. All change, in education or other spheres, has to begin with transformation of the mind. (SSS Vol.30)
Cleansing the mind of dirt,
Grow in it pure and holy thoughts:
Then you can view the world
With Wisdom Vision, as Right and Light.
No fruit can grow on tree sans flower;
It cannot ripen into sweetness
Without emerging Grace.
Disciplined work alone can grow
Into devotion; and that alone
Can transform into Wisdom deep.
(SSS Vol.15, p. 16)
There are many destructive forces in the world; but, luckily, there are also, along with them, constructive forces. Students of Vidya you should not turn yourself into worshippers of bombs and yantras.. They must transform themselves into active persons worshipping Madhava and Mantras.. Authority and power are powerful intoxicants. They pollute man until he is completely destroyed. They breed misfortune. But, Vidya will confer on them fullness and fortune. (V Vahini, p.39)
What is the use of man’s existence if the mind does not undergo transformation? He is changing his dresses, not his mind. He would do well if he changes his mind instead of changing his dresses. All the spiritual practices like meditation, penance, etc., will prove futile if there is no transformation of the mind. Mano Mulam Idam Jagat (the mind is the basis for the entire world). Man is not making any effort to understand what is most important on the path of spirituality. (SSS Vol.33, p.122)
Man is transformed when the mind is transformed. It is the transformation of the mind which makes man truly Divine. Mental transformation is the main spring of human transformation: human transformation is national transformation; and national transformation is universal transformation. The chaos and the confusion, the agony and the agitation that we witness in the country today are nothing but the manifestation of the distorted mind. (SSB 1996, p.46)
Actually transformation of man is transformation of mind. You wrongly tend to call it transformation of the heart. The heart is not the physical heart located in the left side of the chest. The spiritual heart is quite different and is all-pervasive. This is existence of awareness, and is not subject to change. Transformation of the mind is truly important, for only the one endowed with mind is to be called Man. An individual passes away, but his mind survives.
That is why it is said,
mana eva manus yanam,
karanam bandhamoksayoh
The mind alone is the cause of bondage or release of men. When the mind reaches out, as it does in the Pravritti marga, it gets saturated with desires, ideas, and worldly concerns. But when it is withdrawn in the nivritti marga, all these are subdued. This state is called amanaskam, disinterestedness, and facilitates the experience of peace and joy. This is what is meant by transformation of the mind. Then alone is transformation of men possible. (Satyopanishad)