Sri Saradamma
Q: Is seeing you and Swamy (Lakshmana Swamy) in the mind and being with you in imaginary scenarios beneficial?
Saradamma (S): Yes, this is very good. It is always beneficial to think of Swamy and me. I did this a lot during my sadhana.
Q: I will have many desires. How shall I try to get rid of them?
S: It is not good to suppress desires as that gives them more strength. It is much better to surrender them all to God.
Q: How can one do that?
S: By self-enquiry or by replacing the desire with the thought of God. When I was doing my sadhana I got rid of such thoughts by fantasising about Swamy. I used to imagine that he was my child and I would spend my time imagining that I was laughing and playing with him in a beautiful garden.
One can get rid of all unwanted thoughts in the same way. For example, you have been working. Then you stop to do something else, but the thoughts about your previous work stay with you. When this happens offer each thought to God as soon as it arises, or just keep the thought of God strongly in your mind so that no other thoughts have a chance to appear.
It is very hard to give up desires; the longer one carries on fulfilling them, the harder it will be to eventually give them up. If one leads an ordinary life and only turns to God in old age, spiritual progress will be very difficult because many desires will come up. These desires will be very strong in old age. However, if one has been thinking of God throughout one's life this habit will continue even through the difficult period of old age.
Q: Is seeing you and Swamy (Lakshmana Swamy) in the mind and being with you in imaginary scenarios beneficial?
Saradamma (S): Yes, this is very good. It is always beneficial to think of Swamy and me. I did this a lot during my sadhana.
Q: I will have many desires. How shall I try to get rid of them?
S: It is not good to suppress desires as that gives them more strength. It is much better to surrender them all to God.
Q: How can one do that?
S: By self-enquiry or by replacing the desire with the thought of God. When I was doing my sadhana I got rid of such thoughts by fantasising about Swamy. I used to imagine that he was my child and I would spend my time imagining that I was laughing and playing with him in a beautiful garden.
One can get rid of all unwanted thoughts in the same way. For example, you have been working. Then you stop to do something else, but the thoughts about your previous work stay with you. When this happens offer each thought to God as soon as it arises, or just keep the thought of God strongly in your mind so that no other thoughts have a chance to appear.
It is very hard to give up desires; the longer one carries on fulfilling them, the harder it will be to eventually give them up. If one leads an ordinary life and only turns to God in old age, spiritual progress will be very difficult because many desires will come up. These desires will be very strong in old age. However, if one has been thinking of God throughout one's life this habit will continue even through the difficult period of old age.
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