1.1.1 FNS

I will speak upon the topic of Divine love. There are those that feel that love is something to be acquired, that it is a quantity to be possessed. There are those that feel that love is like a product which may be purchased, it is attainable for a price. "If I do so many pujas, if I do such and such discipline in a regular fashion, if I am a good person and I do so much seva, so much service, then I may purchase Divine Love. God is bound to love me, because I am a good person and I can prove my point. I have done so many pujas. I have done so many meditations and so many different task. I have worshipped in such and such way. I have done so many good deeds. I have it all on my list and so I may demand that I receive the Divine Love, because I have paid the price." Some people think like this. But you know, that love can not be purchased, it is not for sale. Divine love is an experience which is given by the Grace of the Supreme. It can not be purchased, it can not acquired, it is not a commodity which one will attain. It is instead a state of existence. It always exists, it has always existed. It exists in this very moment and it will continue to exist through all time and all space. You can not buy it, it is not for sale. Even though you have the finest credentials, even though you have the best deeds, you can not purchase it. It is not a quantity to be attained, it is a state of existence. If you are to experience this state of existence, this realm of Infinite Love, Infinite compassion, this realm of sweet and gentle love which has no boundaries, which does not judge, which is free to you; if you would like to experience this, you need not have a great resume, you need not be an important person, you need not impress anyone. That Supreme Entity, that all knowing, all loving Consciousness, Parama Purus'a, always knows your innermost heart, your innermost secrets, and you can not hide anything from that One. If you think that great show will bring you His love, you are mistaken for He knows the person who is behind the show, who feels vulnerable, who feels shy, who feels weak, who suffers. He knows that person as much as the grand show which is presented in the outside world. So you see, He is not overly impressed with anyone's credentials, but He nonetheless has great affection for each and every person, for each and every living being. He has great affection for each of His children, each and everyone is His family member. They are very close to Him and it is His sincere desire that each and every person comes to Him, that each and every living being get an opportunity to recognize their divine origin.

He has the desire that living beings should have an opportunity to know Him, to know the infinite beauty, the sweet love which is their own essential state of existence. Only living beings have forgotten who they are. They have forgotten what they are. They think they are so and so who lives at such and such place and does this and that. They have forgotten who they are. So It is His desire to remind them, "Oh my children, you are not so far from me. You are

very close, you are intimately close, and I reside within you, within your 'I' feeling, within your very sense of existence."

The experience of Divine grace, divine love is within your very existence, within your own Self. You need not purchase it, you need not show fine credentials, because what you seek you can not buy. You already own it. All you must do is remember. Remember who you are, what you are. Remember the Divinity which lies within you. Remember your own source from which you have sprung. Remember your eternal existence. Remember who you are now in this moment. Divine love is your nature. What you will purchase with so many credentials you already possess. Only you must remember. For that Infinite Being is with you always, like a radiant sun within you, emanating waves of Infinite Love. Within you is beauty that is unmatched, is light that dims the sun in the sky, is love that has no boundaries, no beginning and no end, is timeless existence. It is your origin and your destiny. Go deep in the cavern of your own heart to find the love that is endless, the love that is without any qualification, that is your essential nature. You are good enough as you are, you need attain nothing, you need qualify for nothing, you are already enough. What you must do is remember. Go very deep, deep in the cavern, deep in love, and in this way the Grace of Parama Purus'a comes to you. For when you reach within to Him, He reaches out to you.

My children, are there any questions?

Q: Ba'ba', you said that while meditating I should go deeply into myself. And I have been meditating trying to go deeply, but I go with my mind as a tool. My mind does not know what I am looking for. And what you describe is something that my mind has never understood or experienced. So I am looking for something that I don't know how to look for. I do not know what I am looking for. I am only looking with faith and with will, but I don't know what I am looking for?

Those are the excavating tools. You know if you will dig the well, you must have a shovel. The excavation tools are the focus of mind and will, they are the excavating tools with which you are digging the well. The experience lies yet hidden, but it will not remain such. Use also your feelings and make the mind very quiet, very quiet. Bring the heart forward and soothe the mind with the focus of your attention in the direction of Divine Love, Divine Light. You will find that deep within yourself, you already know what you are looking for. But your conscious mind has not yet recognized it.

Q: Ba'ba' you said that love is a state of existence. May be, it is evident that none of us really has it, may be we have no inclination what that love really is. How can we dwell on an idea without having the slightest inkling of the totality? How can we aim for the Infinite when we know only the finite? How can we follow an idea when we have no experience of it?

Because, my daughter, it is not an idea. It is a state of existence. You know it within yourself, because it has always existed and it will always exist. With your ideas you are attempting to replicate what exists. With the mind you are attempting to conceive and replicate.

It is good that you are doing this, but remember it is not an idea that you seek. It exists, and fundamentally within yourself you already know.

Q: Ba'ba', what are the stages of spiritual development and how do we know we are making progress? Are there inklings, intuitions, like sign posts that tell us when we are on the right track, doing the right thing, moving in the right direction and is that the same for everyone?

You will often know in two ways: one by pleasing experience in your meditation, the other by events in your life which may be both positive and negative. You focus with a sincere heart and you can not go wrong. What you seek is closer than you think. What you search for, you already have. Sink deep into it. There is only one existence, Infinite, pure effulgent. One radiant whole, here and now.

You must trust the guidance you receive. You do not walk alone. That Divine Being wishes you only the best, and if you, just for a moment, turn to Him and say, "Lord please take my hand, bring me home to you." What can He do. He loves you very much. He will take your hand and He will guide your way. You are not alone.