spirituality blog

Question: Mother, just see how much this world has degenerated!
Amma: Son, do not look at the world. Look within your own self and remove the impurities from your mind. Practice seeing only the good in others. When all the impurities are removed from your mind, then you will be able to help make others good. Whereas, if you go on blaming the world and finding fault with others, your own mind will become degenerated and you will also become like them. If we try to make the world good before becoming good ourselves, that will do harm both to us and the world. Only one who has studied can teach others; only one who is rich can help others financially; only one who has accumulated can give and only one who is completely freed from sorrow and impurities can free others from sorrow and make them pure. If you know your own Self, the world will become your wealth, but to know the Self needs constant practice. Mother sees only the Pure Essence in you. One can become like that through practice. When a blacksmith sees a piece of iron, he will not care about the rust covering it. He will think of the object he can make out of the iron after removing the rust. A sculptor, when he sees a rock, thinks of the form he can carve out of it. He does not pay any attention to the moss on the rock. In a similar manner, we should see only the good in others.
Question: Mother, can householders attain Liberation?
Amma: Yes, but they must be real grahasthashramis. Living in the house, they must live like Ashramites. That is real grahasthashrama. While remaining in the house, they should live for God. It is possible to carry on a spiritual life while living in the world. The one condition is that one must perform actions selflessly without any attachment. One should not worry about the past or the future. Live in the present, surrendering your actions and their fruit at the Feet of the Lord. Perform your duties as sincerely as possible, keeping in mind that all is entrusted by God. Be satisfied with whatever is provided by the Supreme. Anyhow, when we act with an attitude of surrender and devotion, it will bear the best fruit. But do not confuse your mind thinking of the fruit. If you perform your duties in the present, sincerely and wholeheartedly, considering it as your duty entrusted by God, then the future will become your friend. Live today with dedication, then tomorrow will be your friend. Get rid of "I" and "mine" and consider everything as God's.
Question: Mother, who is a real Guru?
Amma: A real Guru is one who kindles and sustains the Light of Knowledge or spirituality in the disciple, destroying ignorance. A genuine Master always works with the vasanas of the disciples. He makes the disciple realize his negativities and helps him to eliminate them. A true Master never gives importance to siddhis. He has all the powers needed under his sway. Even then, he will always remain simple and humble. A true Master is a Self-Realized Soul. One can see and experience all the eternal virtues like universal love, renunciation, patience, forbearance, endurance, etc., in him. He will have equal vision and perfect balance of mind in all circumstances. There will not be even an iota of selfishness in him. He will have no desires except the good and well-being of the entire creation. He will neither find fault with others nor will he criticize anyone. Peace and tranquility are his nature. Anger can never overpower him. If you see him get angry, that will only be for correcting and guiding others. His anger is another expression of his love. Such a Master's anger is like a burnt shell. The burnt shell will have the shape of a shell but will disappear if tapped with a little force. The real Master will appear to be angry but that is only an external show. His mind will not be affected by it.
Question: Mother, what are the signs of a true Guru-sishya (Master-disciple) relationship?
Amma: In a genuine Guru-sishya relationship, it will be difficult to recognize who is who because the Guru will have more of a servant-like attitude than the disciple. The Guru will have the attitude to transform the disciple by every possible means. The Guru will watch each and every action of the disciple, but the disciple will not understand this. In a true Guru-sishya relationship, the Guru will have tremendous patience. Even if the disciple commits serious errors, the Guru will patiently forbear and will give opportunity after opportunity for the sishya to correct himself and become flawless. A real Guru will be like a true mother and a true father to the disciple. That means not only will he love the disciple selflessly and wholeheartedly, but at the same time, he will also be a good disciplinarian.
     On the other hand, the disciple will serve the Guru with an attitude that the Guru should not even know that he is serving him. That is the duty of a true disciple. Seva or service means obedience. Obedience means self-surrender. Self-surrender means giving up one's own ego, the feeling that "I am doing and I must get the fruit of it." A true disciple will be ready to sacrifice all of his comforts and even his body to serve the Guru. A true disciple's love towards his Master will be like the love of the Gopis towards Krishna. The disciple will have no secrets. He will be like an open book in front of the Master. He will always have the awareness that his Guru knows everything. Therefore, he will not commit any mistakes. In such a Guru-sishya relationship, the Guru will be in the disciple and the disciple will be in the Guru.
     A real disciple wil eat and sleep only after the Guru eats and sleeps. He will get up before the Guru gets up, and having finished with his nature calls, bath and other morning necessities, he will do whatever is needed for the Guru. He will never show impatience or impertinence. Humility will be his trademark. Just as water flows automatically to where the field is low, the Guru's grace will automatically flow into the disciple when he sees the disciple's movements endowed with sraddha (faith) and bhakti (devotion). But today it is very difficult to find such a Guru-sishya relationship.
Question: Nowadays we hear about many Avatars (Incarnations), but the Srimad Bhagavatam says that there are only ten Avatars.
Amma: Son, nowhere is it stated that God will incarnate only during a certain time, place and in a certain form. Nobody can predict where, how or when the glory of God will assume form. All that takes place according to His Will. He can incarnate in any place at any time. He is not bound by time or place. To protect dharma, the unlimited and formless Supreme Being accepts different limited forms according to His own sankalpa and again makes them merge in His Infinite Self. This is like the waters of the ocean rising up as vapor and returning again to the ocean as rain.

Mata Amritanandamayi. Awaken Children! Volume II. Pages 87-90.