PERMEATE YOUR LIFE WITH DIVINE BHAVA

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

11. PERMEATE YOUR LIFE WITH DIVINE BHAVA
Worshipful homage unto Thee, O Thou Universal Spirit, all-pervading, endless, eternal and
infinite, Thou who art the ever-present Reality behind and beyond the ever-changing, transient and
fleeting names and forms of this vanishing appearance that we call this world! Thou art the
ever-present Reality whom the unfortunate do not see or feel, whom the bound and perverted
cannot accept, and whom the obdurate deny. Thou art the one Reality—absolute, non-dual, One
without a second.
All this is verily a manifestation of that Brahman. That Brahman alone shines in all that is
seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelt. That Brahman alone shines in all that has ever existed, in all
that now exists and in all that shall exist in the future. He indwells all things as the one and only
Reality: “What speech cannot reveal, but what reveals speech, know that alone as Brahman, and not
this that people worship here. What mind cannot comprehend, but what cognises the mind, know
that alone as Brahman, and not this that people worship here. What sight fails to see, but what
perceives sight, know that alone as Brahman, and not this that people worship here. What cannot be

heard by the ear, but by which the ears are able to hear, know that alone as Brahman, and not this
that people worship here.”
This is the fact, this is the truth, this is the experience declared by the sages of towering
spiritual experience. They proclaimed this mystical truth, this great divine mystery, that there is
only One and there is no other. The many do not exist, for the One alone has become the many. This
is to be heard; this is to be carefully listened to; this is to be deeply reflected upon, and this is to be
intensely and continuously meditated upon.
And if this hearing, reflecting and meditating upon the truth is to gradually fructify into an
experience, it should be supported during our entire day by the attempt to invoke from within us this
vision through feeling, through Atma bhava, Narayana bhava. This feeling should be kept up: All is
verily that one, great Reality that pervades all, indwells all, interpenetrates all, supports all, and is
all. This feeling is spiritual bhava, divya bhava, divine bhava.
Hearing, reflecting and meditating are but processes—physical, psychological and
super-psycho- logical—but not supra-psychological. They may be very high, refined, subtle mental
processes, but yet they are mental. They are not supra-psychological; they do not go beyond the
mind.
Feeling alone, intense bhava alone, has the power to ultimately take you beyond the mind
into another level of consciousness, another dimension of consciousness. When the Reality
becomes for you a really real reality—not just by hearsay, not as a mental thought, not as a logical
conclusion arrived at through rational processes—then it becomes the basis of your looking at this
world, knowing this world.
It is only when bhava comes into your life as a permanent factor in the way you approach
life and in the careful attitude you cultivate towards everything you have to encounter from
morning till evening, that something happens and things stand before you in a different light. For
then alone this bhava will take you from processes to the Reality which cannot be reached by
processes. Even deep meditation—the mind is still, it is not functioning—is a super-mental process
only. It cannot take you into a level beyond the mind. And it is also for the time being only. You
cannot be immersed in it twenty-four hours a day.
Therefore, there is no other way left than to permeate your life with a divine bhava, a divine
vision where you behold not the many but eko devah sarvabhuteshu gudhah sarvavyapi
sarvabhutantaratma, karmadhyakshah sarva- bhutadhivasah...(God, who is one only is hidden in
all beings. He pervades all and He is the inner soul of all beings. He presides over all actions and He
dwells in all beings).
There is but one Divine Principle, one Divinity hidden in all things, concealed in all things.
Until your bhava penetrates the outer appearance and tries to embrace the concealed, hidden
Reality, your senses will perceive only the outer name and form. That’s all they will be capable of.
It is only bhava that penetrates and goes into the heart of the matter.

In this lies salvation. In this lies the way. In this lies the solution to the problem of the many
that demand, attract and rivet our attention to themselves, not allowing us to go beyond and
penetrate the covering, the facade, the barrier, the armour of appearances, within which the one
Reality in all beings is hidden.
That vision has to be developed through bhava, through feeling. This was the heart of
Swami Sivananda’s teaching: All is divine. See all as divine. Have a divine attitude towards all.
Knowing all to be divine, connect yourself with God in the midst of the most intensive activities.
Knowing that all is divine, live in God each moment of the day. Knowing that all is divine, make
your life divine. Live divinely. Lead the divine life and be free.
That was the call of the master. And, if we are followers, if we are disciples, then this call
has to be answered. That is the only proof of true discipleship. Respond! Kill this little “I”. Die to
live. Lead the divine life.
This call ever issues forth from Holy Master’s permanent presence, and each moment of
every day should be a response to this call to lead a divine life permeated by divine bhava—seeing
with a sight and a vision that goes beyond your mind and intellect, seeing through a vision that is in
That, and in that level of your inner being.
Behold the world as God. In this lies our liberation. In this lies the success of our spiritual
life. So be it, and may God and Gurudev grace and bless you to make your life such a divine life!
We have to decide whether or not we are having the right approach to the guru and his
teachings. Are we to serve the guru, or do we expect the guru to serve us? Are we to obey the guru
and carry out his instructions, or do we expect the guru to obey us and carry out our instructions?
Are we to make the guru the guide and put ourselves into the mould of his teachings, or do we want
to make the guru take the mould we wish him to take? What is the exact relationship between the
disciple and the guru? That should be clearly grasped and clearly decided in our hearts.