We had registered our names for Ganesh Darshan well in time. There were five of us who planned to go by road to Swamiji’s residence for Ganesh Darshan. One of the younger sadhika’s dropped out as her college was re-opening on the 15th, and we had an immediate replacement as Mrs. Poddar from Juhu center said another lady who had joined the Samarpan movement of late was keen on coming with us. A day before we left, I was told that two sadhaks had come from Singapore and had booked a car to go the for Ganesh darshan and they could take one person if anyone wanted to go. In the meantime, the student sadhika said her college opening had been postponed and she wanted to come with us, I informed her that my car was full though I could check if she could be accommodated with the sadhaks from Singapore. That did not materialize as the logistics were too much to manage and the student dropped out. Her mother told me to get her Swamiji’s discourse audio cassettes which were not available in Mumbai anymore. I said I will try.
We left at around 7am from Mumbai and reached Anmol hotel and checked in at around 1pm. We had lunch and then left for the Dham for Ganesh darshan which was to start at 3pm and end at 9pm. Before leaving for Dandi I had fervently prayed for “no rains” so as to have a nice darshan. Swamiji blessed us with a bright and sunny day. We reached the Dham at 2.30pm and got in line by 2.40pm. I could see the Dham’s entrance about 70 feet away. As we were barefoot and the sun was beating down relentlessly, the ground heat was making it difficult to stand, and I was also sweating profusely. I managed to keep my mind away from the discomfort, by chanting a non-stop silent mantra (Om Swami Namo Namah, Shree Swami Namo Namah, Baba Swami Namo Namah, Shree Sadguru Swami Namo Namah). It passed 3pm and the line was not moving at all, and behind me the line had become very long (more than 3000 people visited). We were informed that those who had come from Mumbai and outside Navsari and who had trains and buses to catch were being given preference. At 3pm, live bhajans started, once the bhajans started the flow of energy and the vibrations too started. On closing my eyes, in spite of the heat and the sweating body, I could feel myself going cold internally from head to toe. The energy one could feel was palpable and an experience which needs to be sensed to understand. The moment I opened my eyes, I stopped feeling the energy, with closed eyes and the mantra going on in my mind the energy flow would start again. Slowly, the line moved forward, and by 4.45pm we had completed the Ganesh Darshan taken the Prasad and come out of the Dham.
After the darshan Mrs. Poddar asked if we could stop by the Sahitya office which was on the way to our hotel, if it was open. To our luck, the office was open and we stopped and went to the office. As we entered the office, Umesh, the person in charge told us that the office was closed, but the moment he saw Mrs. Poddar he smiled and welcomed us in. As we were looking at the items on display, I spotted the cassettes which Sweety (the student) had wanted. I asked Umesh if I could purchase and he said yes, and the cassettes on display were the last few in stock (production of audio cassettes had stopped). I bought them and informed Sweety that even though she could not accompany us, I had got her audio cassettes. I have a firm belief that Swamiji takes care of each and every sadhaks needs and desires in his own subtle way – we just become mediums in the happening of events, that’s all!
As we left, another car stopped and people got off to come to the Sahitya office, but were told that it was closed. We then left for the hotel. We sat down to share our individual experiences and then at 7pm we sat for meditation. After meditation we went for dinner and retired for the night at around 9.45pm.
Our room was on the fourth floor and facing the road. The room was extremely hot as we were on the top floor and the noise from the traffic below made sleeping an impossible task. We moved the bed directly below the fan, but to no avail, I could not sleep at all. I then got off the bed, took a pillow and slept on the marble floor, though it was cooler, the constant car honking and the train whistles made my wish for a good nights’ sleep, just that, a wish! At around 1.45am, I remembered the piece of paper which had the Singapore sadhaks phone numbers kept in my shirt pocket. I took out that piece of paper, and in a fit of inspiration, made two ear plugs and shoved them into each year. The sound then subsided and I got to sleep for about two and a half hours. I woke up at 4.15am had a bath and got ready as we had to leave for the ashram at 5.30am.
After I got ready, Raju too got ready, I checked with the ladies and they too were ready. Mrs. Poddar said we will check out, and so we did at 5.30am and left for the Ashram. We were thinking that due to the relentless heat the road to the Ashram would be open, but no such luck. A couple of locals told us to take the beach route to the ashram. We took the car to the Dandi beach, and as we were getting out of the car, a Tata Indica came and parked next to us- a couple got out and started walking briskly towards the ashram. It was around 6am and twilight had broken out, the 3km walk along the beach was extremely enchanting. One could hear the sound of the sea waves and smell the sea and at the same time you could hear the “miauw” of peacocks in the marshes beyond the beach. The sound of other birds and crickets along with the call of the peacocks accompanied us all the way to the ashram. There were three dogs on the beach and one of them kept coming up and circling me, taking a pat on the head, going ahead, then going to play with her friends and as I passed her, she would come and walk with me for a distance and then the same routine would repeat itself. This dog gave us company right up to the ashram. We entered the ashram at 6.50am, and Mrs. Poddar had to sit for the “chitta shuddhi havan” at 7am along with her friend. We reached the “havan kund” at exactly 7am – the three of us who were not participating sat down for meditation and the other two ladies along with two other couples who had registered sat down for the havan. At exactly 8 am the havan got over, the Sanskrit shlokas for the havan were being recited in tandem by a sadhak and a sadhika who had been trained by Shri Rambhai, the pronunciation and diction were so clear, that the mantras falling on one’s ears early in the morning was like celestial music.
After the havan, I approached the two sadhaks who had got off from the Tata Indica and asked the lady “ You are Meera, right?” She asked how do you know?, I introduced myself and told her that I was the one who was in touch with her for the seat in their cab for Sweety. I was sure that I would meet this couple somehow at Dandi, and my feelings were vindicated! She asked me if I had come with my family, and I told her that we were all part of the same “Samarpan” family. After that brief talk, we left for Murti darshan and dhyan.
At around 9.10am we left the ashram for our walk back to the car from the beach. Swamiji blessed us with cloudy weather with a cool sea breeze, which helped us in our walk back to the car. As we got out of the ashram and started walking on the beach, a moth came and sat on my right hand, this moth stayed on my hand for almost the entire walk back, I blew it on its way as it tried to walk up my arm below my shirt sleeve. We reached the car and left for Mumbai at around 10.30am The trip back as usual was very quiet, as each one of us was lost in one’s own thoughts. Leaving Dandi, is always difficult, as the peace, calm and serenity is something one can only dream of in a megalopolis like Mumbai!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
A Samarpit Sadhaks Narration of messages received from Gurudev
JAI BABA SWAMI
This is being posted with the permission of the author who wishes to remain anonymous, as the messages he has received from Gurudev are universal and are for sharing with everyone. The post is original, except for some minor editorial corrections.
Hi Girish ... Jai Baba Swami ... this is what we had spoken during our trip to Goa. Swamiji with his immense grace has got this done, I do not know why this is done, how this is done and for whom this is being done. Whatever "HE" has been wanting to communicate has been put down. Some of these are experiences which I had in his omnipresence.
Om Ganeshaya Namaha , On Saishwaraya Namaha ,Om Gurudevaya Namaha , Om Shree Shivkrupanand Swami Namo Namaha.
Please read the word "Guru" as "Paramatma" in the entire text.
1. Time discipline -- Get up, sleep, eat, exercise in time and with regularity. If there is medicine to be taken, please take the same in time. No spiritual master or GURU will advise against taking medicine or taking care of your body, however do not go overboard in caring for your body.
2. Manushyata -- not limited to fellow human beings, should be extended to plants and animals. We as human beings have got a greater responsibility of extending brotherhood and harmony amongst ourselves and amongst animals / insects / flora / fauna. It is the lack of this quality in ourselves which is causing problems ( both man-made - problems of war, terrorism and ecological problems causing imbalance in nature ) around the world
3. Give yourself time for meditation and be alone with your atma. Sit alone and try to connect with your atma, start a relationship with your self and you will find that you will seek guidance from your atma and your atma will guide you. Over a period of time, there will be no seeking or guiding, it will become a automatic process, atma will overtake the function of the body, brain and mind to move this bodily vehicle in the direction of salvation.
4. Guru Karya - what your body and mind does, is with Guru's wish hence it is Guru Karya. Do not compare this with others and feel belittled. During chaitanya mahotsav of Nov 2009, there were people who were narrating their experiences and I was thinking that the people who were getting the opportunity to do "Guru Karya " are very lucky.
On coming back to Mumbai from the Chaitanya Mohatsav in 2009, I went for a walk after meditation at the center, where I got this message :
-- if your "Samarpan" is complete, then whatever is being done by the body/mind is as a "Madhyam" and since the "Samarpan" is towards Guru, the body's actions are performed as per Guru's wish and is therefore "Guru Karya".
-- Hence, as a "Sadhak", what is required from us is complete surrender, with "Shuddha Bhav" towards Guru, rest whatever is happening will be with Guru's wish and grace and will always be his "Karya" which he gets done.
-- There is not a single moment in your life whereby the Guru is not with you , he is always there as the very "air" which you breathe, he is the "life prana" which keeps you "Chetana maya", the moment you connect to him you become "Chaitanya maya" -- this is because you become one with the Guru who is "Chaitanaya Swarup"
5. Accept the situation (Sthiti and Paristhiti) -- We often find ourselves in a "Sthiti" ( situation ) and the way we react or approach the situation decides the "Paristhiti" which we find ourselves in. If a person has "Samarpan" towards the Guru, he / she should learn to accept the situation in which he / she finds himself / herself. The Guru will never allow the devotee to be in a situation which the devotee is not supposed to be in. Further the situation will be controlled completely by the Guru and hence the "Paristhiti" of the devotee will always be good. Guru will always ensure that what his devotee gets is what is good for him, rather than what is wanted by the devotee.
Learn to accept the situation in which you are in as it is the wish of your Guru
6. Accept the people with you in such situations. Remember, Guru has accepted you with all your good and bad qualities. Since the situation in which you find yourself is due to Guru's wish, the people with you in the situation are also due to his wish. It may be seen that a person often tends to forgive his children, parents etc. ( near and dear ones ) and his tolerance towards others is less, this is due to the fact that he has accepted the child as his own , the relationship with his parents ( kith and kin ) as his own, whereas for others the tolerance is not that much hence the irritation, ego etc. takes precedence while dealing with "others".
Most of the times we are not able to accept the people with us in a particular situation or we take the people with us in a particular situation "for granted", which restricts us from accepting the situation itself. The attitude which should be developed is that, since Guru has accepted us with all our shortcomings, we should also accept the people around us whole heartedly with what we perceive as their shortcomings. By only thinking about their shortcomings we will be taking their negative traits. With lots of love, would thus suggest that we pray that our atma and chitta should be concentrated on the positivity around us and should not stick to any negativity. One should pray for Sadguru to bless and shower his blessings in such a manner that one looks within for ones "shortcomings", which have been accumulated over various births and with his "Karuna" give us strength to overcome all our "shortcomings". It is only the power of Guru which can help a person achieve this, provided he has surrendered completely to the GURUSHAKTI.
7. Ego display - counter with super ego reduction , become like a child -- As Gurudev has pointed out many times during his discourses that one of the most important pollution is "Thought pollution" , most of the problems we encounter in our daily lives is due to the EGO which is so subtle in all of us. As Sadgurudev has mentioned time and again "A poor person too has the ego that he is poor", which clearly indicates that EGO has got nothing to do with big, small, rich, poor, male, female etc, rather it is to do with the attitude of "Acceptance and Surrender". This is what has been lacking in all of us. As Gurudev has been consistently mentioning about innocent sadhaks who are given special attention by him, this is so since :
a. The innocence is genuine hence the actions of such a person is like a child, this compels the "Guru mauli" to take special care of the child. The genuineness cannot be faked but rather can be developed with "Atma Shuddi", "Chitta Shuddi", complete surrender to the Guru. When one completely surrenders to the Guru, the person actually has to develop complete "Shraddha" and ""Saburi" which ultimately results in the attitude of "Surrender". It is only due to this can one achieve "Atma and Chitta Shuddi"
b. When there is complete surrender, there is trust which brings out the innocent quality which all of us have, but over a period of time, we have covered the same with thick layers of thoughtful ideas which have become our attitude / ego. This does not allow us to go to the deep buried secret of our own innocence as we usually do not make an attempt to penetrate the thick layers and have got into the habit of adding to existing layers and creating new ones too with regularity. No matter how thick these layers are and how deep our innocence is buried, if we follow Sadguru's guidance ( some of them are indicatively mentioned in the above points ) we can still reach there and do not have to fake our innocence, but rather will attain "Atma and Chitta Shuddhi" which will ultimately bring out the ever glowing innocence within us.
8. Value add in the situation /position you hold in office, society , home -- This is a special gift from "Guruma" who has always been inspiring and explaining to all of us in such a manner that we understand and relate to our daily life. Though she is a perfect "Siddha" she acts like a common "Sadhak". She comes down to our level and connects with each one of us to explain in simple and lucid language with practical ( day to day ) examples, on "How to become an ideal Sadhak". Her "Swarup" is "Chaitanya Mayi" and "Ananda Swarup". I shall try and put some understanding to the statement which she made.
We all play various roles in our life ( son, daughter , brother , sister , hold various positions in professional life ). Whatever situation we are in, we should always strive to add value through our skills, knowledge and efforts. God has given us the position along with the responsibility to fulfil particular assignments, while one should not go overboard in doing so, but at the same time if one does not do justice towards the responsibility, it does not do justice to the role/assignment, which is not right.
During my visit to "Om Shanti Ashram" at Mount Abu last year, I had the good fortune to meet one of the "Dadiji’s". I had asked her my doubt as follows :
"We sadhaks strive to attain spiritual growth for which we are expected to behave in a particular manner, i.e. be soft spoken, be kind, be compassionate , not to hurt anyone etc. However such approach in our office life may be taken as a weakness. This can happen in our role at home too. Dadiji , What is the right approach ? Please guide."
Dadiji spoke in kind words which were very effective and assertive: "Beta, when we are in office, we have a certain responsibility towards the work and the position which we hold, if we do not do enough to reach the objective, it is unfair to the organization which is giving you the means of living. Some times in office you may come across instances where you have to be strict, take unpopular decisions to do your work or to get the work done. If you would be soft and compassionate always, there are chances that people may take you for granted, which if it happens consistently may lead to failures and thus hurt your self-confidence. Being strict or taking an unpopular decision, based on a situation, by itself is not wrong, as long as you do not get involved in it and make it a personal issue ( as Swamiji would say - it should not touch your chitta ). By practicing of detachment of yourself from the actions (in the words of Swamiji - think of me and leave everything to me, i.e. submit all your actions to me with complete surrender, samarpan,) will help in achieving both the objectives:
a. getting the work done as required and
b. not owning up the action and the karma phal
This can only be achieved by constant practice ( "abhyas" ).
While at work, we all will have pressures to deliver as per certain objectives. However, when one carries the pressure of work ( role in office ) to one’s home life ( role as a father, mother , son , daughter, brother, sister, husband , wife , friend etc ) there is a possibility that the person may create "stress". Similarly if he carries his home life to office, he will not be able to do full justice to his job. Hence Guruma has mentioned that a "Sadhak" has to understand and identify the difference between "pressure" and "stress" and then strike the right work-life balance.
All "Guruma" wanted to convey is that, we should practice ( do abhyas ) to strike balance for which "samarpan" and "dhyan" is necessary. We, as Sadhak's should hence do "Samarpan Dhyan" consistently so that our "stithi" and "paristhiti" remains balanced.
9. Look at other people as atma, understand the "Swarup", look beyond the body. Especially for males, when you look at females, understand the potential "Shakti" - This is a problem mostly with males and of late gaining popularity with females fast, whereby there is always an attraction towards the opposite "ling". Swamiji has mentioned in various discourses about this problem with males (some of them are sadhaks too). One day, again after meditation, I had been for a walk where Baba was kindly explaining to me that -- look at another person as an "Atma" and try to understand the "swarup" instead of looking at the "roop". This again will come with practice. He instructed me thus - as soon as you see a female and your mind / brain starts to go in a particular direction , you start chanting my mantra ( "Om Kriya Babaji Namaha Om" ) , this will not only divert your attention but also purify your thoughts. Over a period of time, with practice, whenever you look at a female, you will invariably think of me which will automatically cleanse any bad thought coming in your mind about the other person.
10. For spiritual progress there are 5 essential elements "Atma Shuddhi", "Chitta Shuddhi", "Atma Niyantran" , "Chitta Shuddi" ( first 4 ) and finally "Guru's Grace" (5th) without which spiritual progress is incomplete. None of the first four is possible without the 5th or we can also say that even if a person achieves the first four, without the fifth, progress will be extremely slow.
11. Understand the difference between good and pleasant. Good should be for the Atma and Pleasant for the body. The choice is left to every individual sadhak. Normally a person always looks at pleasant and often ignores the good. Swamiji has mentioned this in his discourses that when atma takes control of the body, the persons actions are always towards good. This is the good which is not only for oneself, but for the overall good of the surroundings. Lord Krishna too has instructed Arjuna as follows :
Krishna -- "Always strive to become a Rishi "
Arjuna -- "Prabhu , I do not understand"
Krishna -- "When a normal person sleeps, Rishi is awake, and Rishi sleeps only when the normal person and society as a whole is awakened. Do not equate this with the physical sleep and awakened state. While a normal person is bothered only about himself, his physical body and his surrounding, the actions of a Rishi is such that it benefits entire society as a whole."
Swamiji also has been urging us to be with our atma and perform actions which will not only help us but will be beneficial to the society as a whole. This can be done only when we start understanding the difference between good and pleasant.
JAI BABA SWAMI
This is being posted with the permission of the author who wishes to remain anonymous, as the messages he has received from Gurudev are universal and are for sharing with everyone. The post is original, except for some minor editorial corrections.
Hi Girish ... Jai Baba Swami ... this is what we had spoken during our trip to Goa. Swamiji with his immense grace has got this done, I do not know why this is done, how this is done and for whom this is being done. Whatever "HE" has been wanting to communicate has been put down. Some of these are experiences which I had in his omnipresence.
Om Ganeshaya Namaha , On Saishwaraya Namaha ,Om Gurudevaya Namaha , Om Shree Shivkrupanand Swami Namo Namaha.
Please read the word "Guru" as "Paramatma" in the entire text.
1. Time discipline -- Get up, sleep, eat, exercise in time and with regularity. If there is medicine to be taken, please take the same in time. No spiritual master or GURU will advise against taking medicine or taking care of your body, however do not go overboard in caring for your body.
2. Manushyata -- not limited to fellow human beings, should be extended to plants and animals. We as human beings have got a greater responsibility of extending brotherhood and harmony amongst ourselves and amongst animals / insects / flora / fauna. It is the lack of this quality in ourselves which is causing problems ( both man-made - problems of war, terrorism and ecological problems causing imbalance in nature ) around the world
3. Give yourself time for meditation and be alone with your atma. Sit alone and try to connect with your atma, start a relationship with your self and you will find that you will seek guidance from your atma and your atma will guide you. Over a period of time, there will be no seeking or guiding, it will become a automatic process, atma will overtake the function of the body, brain and mind to move this bodily vehicle in the direction of salvation.
4. Guru Karya - what your body and mind does, is with Guru's wish hence it is Guru Karya. Do not compare this with others and feel belittled. During chaitanya mahotsav of Nov 2009, there were people who were narrating their experiences and I was thinking that the people who were getting the opportunity to do "Guru Karya " are very lucky.
On coming back to Mumbai from the Chaitanya Mohatsav in 2009, I went for a walk after meditation at the center, where I got this message :
-- if your "Samarpan" is complete, then whatever is being done by the body/mind is as a "Madhyam" and since the "Samarpan" is towards Guru, the body's actions are performed as per Guru's wish and is therefore "Guru Karya".
-- Hence, as a "Sadhak", what is required from us is complete surrender, with "Shuddha Bhav" towards Guru, rest whatever is happening will be with Guru's wish and grace and will always be his "Karya" which he gets done.
-- There is not a single moment in your life whereby the Guru is not with you , he is always there as the very "air" which you breathe, he is the "life prana" which keeps you "Chetana maya", the moment you connect to him you become "Chaitanya maya" -- this is because you become one with the Guru who is "Chaitanaya Swarup"
5. Accept the situation (Sthiti and Paristhiti) -- We often find ourselves in a "Sthiti" ( situation ) and the way we react or approach the situation decides the "Paristhiti" which we find ourselves in. If a person has "Samarpan" towards the Guru, he / she should learn to accept the situation in which he / she finds himself / herself. The Guru will never allow the devotee to be in a situation which the devotee is not supposed to be in. Further the situation will be controlled completely by the Guru and hence the "Paristhiti" of the devotee will always be good. Guru will always ensure that what his devotee gets is what is good for him, rather than what is wanted by the devotee.
Learn to accept the situation in which you are in as it is the wish of your Guru
6. Accept the people with you in such situations. Remember, Guru has accepted you with all your good and bad qualities. Since the situation in which you find yourself is due to Guru's wish, the people with you in the situation are also due to his wish. It may be seen that a person often tends to forgive his children, parents etc. ( near and dear ones ) and his tolerance towards others is less, this is due to the fact that he has accepted the child as his own , the relationship with his parents ( kith and kin ) as his own, whereas for others the tolerance is not that much hence the irritation, ego etc. takes precedence while dealing with "others".
Most of the times we are not able to accept the people with us in a particular situation or we take the people with us in a particular situation "for granted", which restricts us from accepting the situation itself. The attitude which should be developed is that, since Guru has accepted us with all our shortcomings, we should also accept the people around us whole heartedly with what we perceive as their shortcomings. By only thinking about their shortcomings we will be taking their negative traits. With lots of love, would thus suggest that we pray that our atma and chitta should be concentrated on the positivity around us and should not stick to any negativity. One should pray for Sadguru to bless and shower his blessings in such a manner that one looks within for ones "shortcomings", which have been accumulated over various births and with his "Karuna" give us strength to overcome all our "shortcomings". It is only the power of Guru which can help a person achieve this, provided he has surrendered completely to the GURUSHAKTI.
7. Ego display - counter with super ego reduction , become like a child -- As Gurudev has pointed out many times during his discourses that one of the most important pollution is "Thought pollution" , most of the problems we encounter in our daily lives is due to the EGO which is so subtle in all of us. As Sadgurudev has mentioned time and again "A poor person too has the ego that he is poor", which clearly indicates that EGO has got nothing to do with big, small, rich, poor, male, female etc, rather it is to do with the attitude of "Acceptance and Surrender". This is what has been lacking in all of us. As Gurudev has been consistently mentioning about innocent sadhaks who are given special attention by him, this is so since :
a. The innocence is genuine hence the actions of such a person is like a child, this compels the "Guru mauli" to take special care of the child. The genuineness cannot be faked but rather can be developed with "Atma Shuddi", "Chitta Shuddi", complete surrender to the Guru. When one completely surrenders to the Guru, the person actually has to develop complete "Shraddha" and ""Saburi" which ultimately results in the attitude of "Surrender". It is only due to this can one achieve "Atma and Chitta Shuddi"
b. When there is complete surrender, there is trust which brings out the innocent quality which all of us have, but over a period of time, we have covered the same with thick layers of thoughtful ideas which have become our attitude / ego. This does not allow us to go to the deep buried secret of our own innocence as we usually do not make an attempt to penetrate the thick layers and have got into the habit of adding to existing layers and creating new ones too with regularity. No matter how thick these layers are and how deep our innocence is buried, if we follow Sadguru's guidance ( some of them are indicatively mentioned in the above points ) we can still reach there and do not have to fake our innocence, but rather will attain "Atma and Chitta Shuddhi" which will ultimately bring out the ever glowing innocence within us.
8. Value add in the situation /position you hold in office, society , home -- This is a special gift from "Guruma" who has always been inspiring and explaining to all of us in such a manner that we understand and relate to our daily life. Though she is a perfect "Siddha" she acts like a common "Sadhak". She comes down to our level and connects with each one of us to explain in simple and lucid language with practical ( day to day ) examples, on "How to become an ideal Sadhak". Her "Swarup" is "Chaitanya Mayi" and "Ananda Swarup". I shall try and put some understanding to the statement which she made.
We all play various roles in our life ( son, daughter , brother , sister , hold various positions in professional life ). Whatever situation we are in, we should always strive to add value through our skills, knowledge and efforts. God has given us the position along with the responsibility to fulfil particular assignments, while one should not go overboard in doing so, but at the same time if one does not do justice towards the responsibility, it does not do justice to the role/assignment, which is not right.
During my visit to "Om Shanti Ashram" at Mount Abu last year, I had the good fortune to meet one of the "Dadiji’s". I had asked her my doubt as follows :
"We sadhaks strive to attain spiritual growth for which we are expected to behave in a particular manner, i.e. be soft spoken, be kind, be compassionate , not to hurt anyone etc. However such approach in our office life may be taken as a weakness. This can happen in our role at home too. Dadiji , What is the right approach ? Please guide."
Dadiji spoke in kind words which were very effective and assertive: "Beta, when we are in office, we have a certain responsibility towards the work and the position which we hold, if we do not do enough to reach the objective, it is unfair to the organization which is giving you the means of living. Some times in office you may come across instances where you have to be strict, take unpopular decisions to do your work or to get the work done. If you would be soft and compassionate always, there are chances that people may take you for granted, which if it happens consistently may lead to failures and thus hurt your self-confidence. Being strict or taking an unpopular decision, based on a situation, by itself is not wrong, as long as you do not get involved in it and make it a personal issue ( as Swamiji would say - it should not touch your chitta ). By practicing of detachment of yourself from the actions (in the words of Swamiji - think of me and leave everything to me, i.e. submit all your actions to me with complete surrender, samarpan,) will help in achieving both the objectives:
a. getting the work done as required and
b. not owning up the action and the karma phal
This can only be achieved by constant practice ( "abhyas" ).
While at work, we all will have pressures to deliver as per certain objectives. However, when one carries the pressure of work ( role in office ) to one’s home life ( role as a father, mother , son , daughter, brother, sister, husband , wife , friend etc ) there is a possibility that the person may create "stress". Similarly if he carries his home life to office, he will not be able to do full justice to his job. Hence Guruma has mentioned that a "Sadhak" has to understand and identify the difference between "pressure" and "stress" and then strike the right work-life balance.
All "Guruma" wanted to convey is that, we should practice ( do abhyas ) to strike balance for which "samarpan" and "dhyan" is necessary. We, as Sadhak's should hence do "Samarpan Dhyan" consistently so that our "stithi" and "paristhiti" remains balanced.
9. Look at other people as atma, understand the "Swarup", look beyond the body. Especially for males, when you look at females, understand the potential "Shakti" - This is a problem mostly with males and of late gaining popularity with females fast, whereby there is always an attraction towards the opposite "ling". Swamiji has mentioned in various discourses about this problem with males (some of them are sadhaks too). One day, again after meditation, I had been for a walk where Baba was kindly explaining to me that -- look at another person as an "Atma" and try to understand the "swarup" instead of looking at the "roop". This again will come with practice. He instructed me thus - as soon as you see a female and your mind / brain starts to go in a particular direction , you start chanting my mantra ( "Om Kriya Babaji Namaha Om" ) , this will not only divert your attention but also purify your thoughts. Over a period of time, with practice, whenever you look at a female, you will invariably think of me which will automatically cleanse any bad thought coming in your mind about the other person.
10. For spiritual progress there are 5 essential elements "Atma Shuddhi", "Chitta Shuddhi", "Atma Niyantran" , "Chitta Shuddi" ( first 4 ) and finally "Guru's Grace" (5th) without which spiritual progress is incomplete. None of the first four is possible without the 5th or we can also say that even if a person achieves the first four, without the fifth, progress will be extremely slow.
11. Understand the difference between good and pleasant. Good should be for the Atma and Pleasant for the body. The choice is left to every individual sadhak. Normally a person always looks at pleasant and often ignores the good. Swamiji has mentioned this in his discourses that when atma takes control of the body, the persons actions are always towards good. This is the good which is not only for oneself, but for the overall good of the surroundings. Lord Krishna too has instructed Arjuna as follows :
Krishna -- "Always strive to become a Rishi "
Arjuna -- "Prabhu , I do not understand"
Krishna -- "When a normal person sleeps, Rishi is awake, and Rishi sleeps only when the normal person and society as a whole is awakened. Do not equate this with the physical sleep and awakened state. While a normal person is bothered only about himself, his physical body and his surrounding, the actions of a Rishi is such that it benefits entire society as a whole."
Swamiji also has been urging us to be with our atma and perform actions which will not only help us but will be beneficial to the society as a whole. This can be done only when we start understanding the difference between good and pleasant.
JAI BABA SWAMI
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
