A selection of Sri Svami Purna's Spiritual Messages are offered here to support attunement and to help develop a deeper understanding of the great purpose of life - the realization of your Divine Nature. Sri Svamiji provides Guidance for seekers of all ages and experience so they may celebrate the different stages of the journey as they walk on the path individually and collectively.
Below each passage there is a reference to the publication from which the excerpt has been taken. The print publications are available in the online Adhyatmik Store under Sri Svami Purna Publications. Click here to be directed to the Adhyatmik Store website. E-books may be found in the Digital Store on the Adhyatmik Foundation website. Click here to be directed to the E-Book Store.
Below each passage there is a reference to the publication from which the excerpt has been taken. The print publications are available in the online Adhyatmik Store under Sri Svami Purna Publications. Click here to be directed to the Adhyatmik Store website. E-books may be found in the Digital Store on the Adhyatmik Foundation website. Click here to be directed to the E-Book Store.
Bhakti - Purified Love
There is a traditional approach that originates from India in which spiritual knowledge and development can be simplified and very much enjoyed – it is called bhakti – love. The Sanskrit term bhakti means love and devotion; it is also the path of devotion itself; and it is very rare indeed. In this connection, therefore, I am not talking about the normal human love that is so often easily embraced and discarded in daily life. Instead I am referring to a purified love; a pure love that is without condition and without conditioning. This love does not ask or demand, does not expect or judge. Normal human love is not like that. You love someone because that implies a condition. That is qualified and conditional love...
Therefore it is useful to consider the traditional texts explaining the path of bhakti. This can assist in understanding vital aspects of love . Mīrābai, for instance, sings songs of love that she has for Krishna; she does not want worldly love. It is a process of going through the various stages of yourself. It is like meditation, you become one with the object of your meditation. The thinker becomes thought itself. Everyone, at some stage, has felt the intensity of oneness in the process of love, but that is not a permanent state. It is a process of understanding yourself stage by stage. Vedānta says: Be an observer, for only then can you be objective. If you are involved you cannot see yourself, you lack the clarity of the clear crystal waters.
Only when mind and emotions are purified will you no longer have any confusion, your mind will no longer be muddied. You have to let the mud settle. That is why purification of mind and emotion through bhakti is important. The teachings show that if you truly want to see your Beloved you have to remove the veil you created – a veil of many layers to reach the purified love.
Excerpt from Practical Wisdom.
There is a traditional approach that originates from India in which spiritual knowledge and development can be simplified and very much enjoyed – it is called bhakti – love. The Sanskrit term bhakti means love and devotion; it is also the path of devotion itself; and it is very rare indeed. In this connection, therefore, I am not talking about the normal human love that is so often easily embraced and discarded in daily life. Instead I am referring to a purified love; a pure love that is without condition and without conditioning. This love does not ask or demand, does not expect or judge. Normal human love is not like that. You love someone because that implies a condition. That is qualified and conditional love...
Therefore it is useful to consider the traditional texts explaining the path of bhakti. This can assist in understanding vital aspects of love . Mīrābai, for instance, sings songs of love that she has for Krishna; she does not want worldly love. It is a process of going through the various stages of yourself. It is like meditation, you become one with the object of your meditation. The thinker becomes thought itself. Everyone, at some stage, has felt the intensity of oneness in the process of love, but that is not a permanent state. It is a process of understanding yourself stage by stage. Vedānta says: Be an observer, for only then can you be objective. If you are involved you cannot see yourself, you lack the clarity of the clear crystal waters.
Only when mind and emotions are purified will you no longer have any confusion, your mind will no longer be muddied. You have to let the mud settle. That is why purification of mind and emotion through bhakti is important. The teachings show that if you truly want to see your Beloved you have to remove the veil you created – a veil of many layers to reach the purified love.
Excerpt from Practical Wisdom.
Jīvātman and Paramātman
Two birds of identical appearance come to rest in a tree full of ripe, deliciously tempting fruit. One of the birds, Jīvātman , tastes the fruit and finds it so enthralling he cannot stop eating. He forgets the presence of his companion bird, Paramātman , who sits quietly on a branch and watches, unperturbed and content. Paramātman is not tempted by the fruit.
The season changes and the fruit is no more. Frantic with hunger and sorrow, Jīvātman flies from tree to tree in search of the fruit . He cannot live without it. His faithful friend accompanies him, patiently awaiting the return of Jīvātman 's sanity. He understands the delusion of attachment and knows that once Jīvātman remembers his true identity and sees his friend, Paramātman , as his own self, he will be able to live without the fruit. He will be free from attachment, sorrow, pain or reliance upon any tree.
This story from the Upanishads illustrates the illusion of duality which separates the individual soul from the Real Self. The tree symbolizes the physical body. Jīvātman , the personality, is the enjoyer who becomes increasingly involved with sensations and external activities; thereby losing identity with his true self. Jīvātman is caught in the web of illusion and has forgotten the external reality which is his friend, Paramātman . He will suffer through the cycle of birth, death and innumerable incarnations always obsessed with the fruit until the key to Reality is realized.
Excerpt from The Truth Will Set You Free and Spiritual Messages and Guidance.
Two birds of identical appearance come to rest in a tree full of ripe, deliciously tempting fruit. One of the birds, Jīvātman , tastes the fruit and finds it so enthralling he cannot stop eating. He forgets the presence of his companion bird, Paramātman , who sits quietly on a branch and watches, unperturbed and content. Paramātman is not tempted by the fruit.
The season changes and the fruit is no more. Frantic with hunger and sorrow, Jīvātman flies from tree to tree in search of the fruit . He cannot live without it. His faithful friend accompanies him, patiently awaiting the return of Jīvātman 's sanity. He understands the delusion of attachment and knows that once Jīvātman remembers his true identity and sees his friend, Paramātman , as his own self, he will be able to live without the fruit. He will be free from attachment, sorrow, pain or reliance upon any tree.
This story from the Upanishads illustrates the illusion of duality which separates the individual soul from the Real Self. The tree symbolizes the physical body. Jīvātman , the personality, is the enjoyer who becomes increasingly involved with sensations and external activities; thereby losing identity with his true self. Jīvātman is caught in the web of illusion and has forgotten the external reality which is his friend, Paramātman . He will suffer through the cycle of birth, death and innumerable incarnations always obsessed with the fruit until the key to Reality is realized.
Excerpt from The Truth Will Set You Free and Spiritual Messages and Guidance.
Recognizing the SatGuru
Although He comes to us in different forms we can recognize our SatGuru when there is a sense of longing to learn and serve as recognition becomes easier and a loving connection is established. There is a Sanskrit term for this. It is Shraddhā – an evolved form of love with a different understanding. It is a relationship not based on worldly love; rather it is based on the Divine Principle, an elevated sense of love with a deep sense of gratitude. When there is a sincere desire for learning and growing, there will be an instant recognition, a feeling deep in your heart that needs no confirmation. It is like a spring of love and gratitude that naturally wells from your heart, with a sense of recognition and a longing to learn and to remain in that blissful state of consciousness – a natural kind of development.
Excerpt from Be Who You Are.
Although He comes to us in different forms we can recognize our SatGuru when there is a sense of longing to learn and serve as recognition becomes easier and a loving connection is established. There is a Sanskrit term for this. It is Shraddhā – an evolved form of love with a different understanding. It is a relationship not based on worldly love; rather it is based on the Divine Principle, an elevated sense of love with a deep sense of gratitude. When there is a sincere desire for learning and growing, there will be an instant recognition, a feeling deep in your heart that needs no confirmation. It is like a spring of love and gratitude that naturally wells from your heart, with a sense of recognition and a longing to learn and to remain in that blissful state of consciousness – a natural kind of development.
Excerpt from Be Who You Are.
Contemplation on the Highest
There is no I, ME and MINE. Instead think: “I have no form, no form as such, and if it appears that I have form, then it will soon be over. Therefore, I cannot be my form, it cannot be my name, because as the body dissolves, so does my name. This name and this form to which I am so much attached and on which basis I communicate and recognize myself, are completely unreal at the end. I know that I am not this and not that; what I am, you are too - and what you are, I am.”
Such contemplation will let you recognize other aspects in yourself without any conflict whatsoever, bringing harmony within yourself and letting the process take place. The karmic process of Māyā although Māyā is an illusion also appears to be real in daily life. At the same time one who knows Māyā and what appears to be real recognizes it as just an illusion. Complete recognition of oneself in its totality is to be pursued and to be attained. That is the meditation to be practiced.
Excerpt from True Reflections: A Guided Meditation.
There is no I, ME and MINE. Instead think: “I have no form, no form as such, and if it appears that I have form, then it will soon be over. Therefore, I cannot be my form, it cannot be my name, because as the body dissolves, so does my name. This name and this form to which I am so much attached and on which basis I communicate and recognize myself, are completely unreal at the end. I know that I am not this and not that; what I am, you are too - and what you are, I am.”
Such contemplation will let you recognize other aspects in yourself without any conflict whatsoever, bringing harmony within yourself and letting the process take place. The karmic process of Māyā although Māyā is an illusion also appears to be real in daily life. At the same time one who knows Māyā and what appears to be real recognizes it as just an illusion. Complete recognition of oneself in its totality is to be pursued and to be attained. That is the meditation to be practiced.
Excerpt from True Reflections: A Guided Meditation.
Path of Positivity, Happiness and Fulfillment
You follow your path of positivity which will lead you to fulfillment. Your external path may be somewhat limited, but your inner, spiritual journey is infinite. When you make a journey in the world, this is limited, finite. The inner journey, however, is infinite. Your body may be connected with the world, but your Self is connected with the Infinite, which is endless.
We have previously spoken about finding the ‘Technique to Live’. The most valuable gift is the gift of knowledge. What can be better than a blueprint on how best to live your life? It gives you optimum advantage, provided that you integrate such knowledge along the way. You should not have regrets at the end of your days. It is important at the end of your life to be able to review it with sincerity: I have lived well; I have no regrets; I have opened every door available to me.
It is important to conclude with true understanding: I have done everything possible to make my life happy and fulfilled.
Excerpt from So You Shall Know The Truth: A Collection of Discourses.
You follow your path of positivity which will lead you to fulfillment. Your external path may be somewhat limited, but your inner, spiritual journey is infinite. When you make a journey in the world, this is limited, finite. The inner journey, however, is infinite. Your body may be connected with the world, but your Self is connected with the Infinite, which is endless.
We have previously spoken about finding the ‘Technique to Live’. The most valuable gift is the gift of knowledge. What can be better than a blueprint on how best to live your life? It gives you optimum advantage, provided that you integrate such knowledge along the way. You should not have regrets at the end of your days. It is important at the end of your life to be able to review it with sincerity: I have lived well; I have no regrets; I have opened every door available to me.
It is important to conclude with true understanding: I have done everything possible to make my life happy and fulfilled.
Excerpt from So You Shall Know The Truth: A Collection of Discourses.
