We are also currently observing the auspicious Ramayana Week. The reading, which was taken from the writings of Swami Sivananda, glorifies the Power of Ram Nam. This theme is a fitting tribute to beloved Pujya Swamiji who strongly advocated the chanting of Ram Nam as a solvent for all life's troubles and also the quickest road to liberation in this Kali Yuga. We reproduce excerpts from this message: "The Name of Sri Rama is sweeter than the sweetest objects. It is the haven of peace. It is the very life of pure souls. It is the purifier of all purifying agencies. It quenches the consuming fire of worldly desires. It awakens the knowledge of God which is dormant in our hearts. It bathes the aspirant in the ocean of divine bliss. Glory to Sri Rama and His Name! Blessed is the pious soul who drinks uninterrupted, the nectar of Sri Rama's Name, which has been churned out of the ocean of the Vedas, which removes the impurities of Kali Yuga or the iron age, which lives constantly on the tongue of Lord Siva, which is a sovereign remedy or unfailing specific to cure the disease of worldly existence and is life itself to Mother Janaki."
In the pre-recorded audio message, Pujya Swamiji spoke about the Path of Divine Grace. "Everything is done by God. Even the so called bad is also ultimately traceable to God's action. So, the one purpose of Divine Grace is to give you that experience—is to take you towards Him. And, that is the only purpose of the action of Divine Grace. The path of God leading you is the safest path. There is not much chance of going astray. Even if you go astray, the Divine Grace will put you on the right track. When there is less reliance on God, there is more chance that we can go the wrong way. But when Divine Grace is leading you, as I said you have to be conscious of it, then everything goes on fairly safely. You cannot practise this Yoga of Divine Grace until you have faith and until you also have a great deal of strength and courage. In Divine Grace, there is very little questioning—we accept. So that faith was there. And, because that faith was there, I was able to see Gurudev's hand in everything, in the good and the bad.
"The Path of Divine Grace takes us along the spiritual path with the least bit of suffering. Everyone has to endure suffering. The transformation is not something that is pleasant. The ego has to be uprooted. It resists and gives us a lot of pain and suffering—mental suffering, physical suffering. But on the Path of Divine Grace you can go through everything with the least bit of suffering. That is the great benefit of allowing God to direct us and accepting whatever He does, knowing that it is for our good. So, this fundamental faith must be there, that whatever is done, whatever means whatever. And, our surrender to God must be unconditional. But surrender must come gradually. It does not mean that self-effort plays no part in our spiritual life. Both self-effort and self-surrender go together. This Yoga is very necessary in this period. Because we are all going through a great deal of problems. Nothing is stable at all today. Whatever we have built up materially, is crumbling to pieces. This is where self-surrender comes in. Accept everything as God Wills and everything will end up quite nicely".
The world owes a debt of gratitude to our Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda for guiding the divine soul of Pujya Swami Sahajananda to take birth in this country. We, in the Divine Life Society of S.A. are eternally grateful to Pujya Swami Sahajananda for guiding and inspiring us by personal example. But, the power of his example alone will not transform us. We must do intense Sadhana to effect this transformation from passion to peace.
