As long as man sees only with his external vision, he can experience only the external. When man develops the internal vision and experiences the Divinity within, the cosmos will appear as a reflection of the Divine. This is called realization of the Cosmic Divine. What is the difference between the Cosmic Divine and the Inner Divine? There is no difference between the two. But when it is experienced by the individual, it is described as Inner Divine. When the individual experience is extended to the entire universe, it is called Cosmic Divine.
The Individual Self and Paramatma (the Omni-Self) are one, like the rind of a fruit and the juice inside. The differences one notices in the world arise not from the nature of creation but from the perspective from which one looks at the world. Man’s view of the world has to change. This cannot be done by intellectual argument. When the mind is subdued, the oneness of the Jiva (Individual) and the Divine will be experienced. (SSS Vol.26, pp. 193-194)
Realize the Heaven within you and all at once all desires are fulfilled, all misery and suffering is put an end to. Feel yourselves above the body and its environments. The great cause of suffering in the world is that people do not look within, they rely on outside forces. (MBI, p. Back cover)
Man can realise his mission on the earth only when he knows himself as Divine and when he reveres all others as Divine. Man has to worship God in the form of man. God appears before him as a blind beggar, an idiot, a leper, a child, a decrepit old man, a criminal or a mad man. You must see even behind those veils, the divine embodiment of Love, Power and Wisdom, the Sai, and worship Him through Seva. (SSS Vol.9, p. 193)
In this birth itself, before death takes its toll, one must realise the Eternal Truth and the relationship between man and that Truth. The Katha Upanishad (1.3.14) exhorts: ‘Uttisthata Jagrata Prapya Varannibodhata, Kshurasanna Dhara Nishita Dustayadurgama Pathah tat kavayo Vadanti!!! Arise, awake, get initiated from the great.’
Kena Upanishad says, Nachedihavedin Mahatovinashtih, the jewel in the hand should not be dropped aside. When there are many chances of saving oneself, is it not a big loss if no thought is given to ways of escape? (Prema Vahini, p. 63)
By whatever means, the sweetness (the Jnana) cannot be injected from outside; it must grow from within. It is a transformation of the inner nature, won by a struggle with inner foes. Just think of this for a while. You are in this body, in this receptacle, in order to realise the God who you really are. This body is the cocoon you have spun round yourselves, by means of your impulses and desires. Use it while it lasts, to grow wings so that you can escape from it. You came into this world crying, announcing your grief at being thrust into it, grief for having lost hold on God. Having come with grief, decide not to go with it, from here. Get rid of it in this lifetime itself. (SSS Vol.4, p. 10)
God is not something present outside you. He is present inside you. Similarly sin is not something, which is external to you. It is decided by your actions. The moment you realise these two truths, you will not be a servant to your sensory organs. They will be your servants. (SSB 1976, p. 15)
Realisation, which is not possible through logic, which is not possible through offering of sacrifices, and which is not possible through discussion and other disciplines, can be achieved only through love. (SSB 1972, p. 249)
The nature of the body, the nature of the mind and of the desires and senses are not conducive to the realisation of God. We all hear about the Lord who sleeps on Kshira Sagara, the ocean of milk. Our Antahkarana or the inner subtle body is the Kshira Sagara or the ocean of milk, and that which remains after dhyana - the Shesha, or the remnant - is the Adishesha, or the great serpent. The consciousness that lies in between the two is the Lord Vishnu Himself, and the one who worships or, the worshipper is Goddess Lakshmi.
Several great men have taught us how to make God sleep on the ocean of milk - in our antahkarana, or in our own heart. There is a hidden meaning as to why we think of the Sadhaka as Lakshmi. Unless the inert nature is completely shaken off, the Jiva cannot be called Purusha. It is possible to attain that principle of Purusha through the feminine nature or Stri-tattva. (SSB 1972, p. 249)
Use the unique characteristics of man - discrimination, wisdom, detachment, -Viveka, Vijnana and Vairagya - and arrive at the Realisation. (SSS Vol.8, p. 64)
Have all your attachments severed from every object and concentrate yourself on one thing, the one fact; one truth, your divinity, immediately on the spot you gain realisation. Nothing is done in a day. Religion cannot be swallowed in the form of a pill. It requires hard and constant practice the mind can be conquered only by slow and steady practice. Hislop! Moderation in temper is virtue; moderation in principle is a vice. Impurity is a mere superimposition under which the real nature of man has been hidden. My dear! You are the embodiment of God. Fill yourselves with the thought of your almightiness, your majesty and your glory. Open gates of wisdom. Enter the abode of bliss. Rest in peace forever. (MBI, p. 246)
My Dear! You will find it deep within yourself Think it many times, ponder it. It tells you about your true nature, it gives you hope. It gives you new life. It points the way. It proves to you that God is within you and you are not man, man is God. It shows you that it is possible for you to realize God (Swamiji) but you and you alone must ponder this work deeply. You will find that you will begin to know what is meant by the statement. The Self cannot be explained, the mind knows of its existence. The Self God is within man. You are that Self, all else is illusion of the mind’s creation, the mind that creates, preserves and destroys. My Love! The great joy, the subtlety of the bliss that you will feel as you come closer and closer to your Real Self, if you strive to find your self by using your mind, you will strive and strive in vain. Because the mind cannot give you the truth. A lie cannot give you the truth. A lie can only entangle you in a web of deceit, but if you sensitize yourself, awaken your true, fine, beautiful qualities. Above you nothing, Below you nothing, to the right of you or to the left of you nothing and dissolve yourself into that nothingness that would be the best way you could explain the realisation of the Self and yet that nothingness would not be the absence of something like nothingness. That nothingness is the fullness of everything, the power of the existence of that appears to be everything. (MBI, p. 247)
The moments of realisation are those when all thoughts of worldly relations, worldly connections, worldly ties, worldly property, worldly desires, worldly needs are all melted into God, into Truth. (WP, p. 7)
Above all, realise that children are precious treasures. (Dyn, p. 156)
If you want to realise God; you should love Him and live a righteous life. Weed out malice and indifference; develop intimacy and closeness with divine. God will reveal His real nature and form before you.
Many sages and saints did penance for realising Divinity. They said, Vedahametam Purusham Mahantam (We have seen God Almighty). Where did they see Him? Aditya varnam Tamasas Parastat (We have seen God beyond the darkness of ignorance). This darkness is the identification of oneself with the body and attachment to the senses. To realise the Inner Self, you have to transcend the body consciousness and attachment to sensual desires. (SSS Vol.26, p. 349)