Girish's Blog

The ego could be called the core or nucleus of the Conscious Mind. Most people spend the vast majority of their conscious time in association with the ego during their waking hours. The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing with reality in day to day life. The ego develops from the individual’s personality and his growth years since childhood in the company of parents. The ego develops and operates on the principle of reality, which strives to satisfy the individual’s desires in realistic and socially acceptable ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action before deciding to accept or reject those impulses. When you try to analyze the Ego and its subtle manifestations with respect to spirituality, one realises that there are two obvious aspects to ego, namely the life-affirming ego and the life-negating ego. Life-affirming ego is that aspect of consciousness which permits an individual to function in the physical world and the ...

Mr. Kapil Sibal says that social networking sites are allowing posts which are against our cultural ethos and hence should be banned, if the posts are not removed. He raises the bogey of religious sentiments being hurt and character assassination taking place through such posts, though I have not heard of any such protest to date. All social networking sites have “report abuse” buttons, which once clicked enable the site administrator to take necessary and appropriate action. Politicians and other public figures are the butt of jokes of cartoonists and spoof artists all over the world, as they provide the best fodder with their brilliant behaviour. Case in point BBC TV serials lampooning politicians – “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister”, which are all time hits. Somebody needs to explain to our Honourable Minister that the only thing which is against our cultural ethos is the behaviour of Parliamentarians whose egos expand the moment they are elected by the people, thereby forget...

We had booked flight tickets for Rajkot almost two months ago. There were five of us initially, of which three dropped out due to personal reasons and only Deepak Tandon and I took the flight. We met a sadhak couple from Juhu center, who were on the same flight. We landed in Rakjot at 6.15am and took the hired cab to the Ashram situated at Sindhavadar which is about 50km from the airport. The drive took us just over an hour. Just as we neared the Ashram, I saw a huge “Trishul” formed in the clouds, which was welcoming us into the presence of divinity. We reached the Ashram at around 7.30am, registered at the registration counter and went into the residential tent. The tent was huge, with the capacity of accommodating 4320 sadhaks. The Ashram land had been acquired only on September 5, 2011 and PP Gurudev’s residence was constructed in exactly 57 days, and co-incidentally this was PP Gurudev’s 57th birthday. The Rajkot sadhaks, under the very able guidance of Ms. Jigna Gohil (Presiden...

Param Pujya Swami Shivakrupandji in his discourses has said that he is non-existence and has reached the state of “ Shunya ”. He has mentioned that it was Shirdi Sainath who came in his dreams and told him to accept dakshina and then see his Gurukarya increase manifold. In fact in one of his discourses, on the fourth day, he makes you experience Shirdi Sainaths energy! Swamiji has mentioned that you can see your own Guru in Him, and many sadhaks/sadhikas have seen Shirdi Sainath, Osho, Swami Samarth, etc in Him. Swamiji has said that Guru Tattva remains the same, the Gurus change with the times, but the essence is always the same. When we come in contact with a living Sadguru, what does that entail for the sadhaks ? At soul level the sadhak has reached a stage for his further evolution, for him to grow further and move into a different dimension. Hence, the sadhak should realize that there are subtle changes taking place within himself/herself, through the Sadguru’s Grace and thro...

In the news papers we read about the stories of female foeticide or infanticide. The National census 2001 has revealed a shocking picture of the skewed child sex ratio i.e. number of female children per 1000 male children in India. The child sex-ratio in 2001 has gone down to 927 females for 1000 males from 945 for 1000 males in 1991. Experts say female foeticide in India is mostly linked to socio-economic factors. The girl child has traditionally been considered inferior and a liability. It is an idea that many say carries over from the time India was a predominantly agrarian society where boys were considered an extra pair of hands in the farm whereas a girl was considered a liability. It is quite possible that the practice of female dowry arose as a result of reduction in the number of men in India due to constant warring and the genetic robustness of the female fetus. There are no male shortages now, but the practice continues to thrive. Males are considered heirs to property, t...

I had mentioned in my blog on the visit to Dronagiri that the events leading upto the visit would be documented later. Here it is. When I was in college (in 1981) my sister-in-law had taken me to Yogoda Satsang Society (YSS) which was formed by Swami Paramhansa Yoganandji in Mumbai. I had on an impulse subscribed to YSS and their Kriya Yoga course. At that time, though I had a spiritual bent of mind, I did not find the idea of writing exams on spirituality too appealing, what with college exams and CA exams! I thought it would be a bit too much! I did pick up an “Autobiography of a Yogi” and read it, wherein was my first brush with Mahavtar Babaji, who is the Guru of Swami Paramhansa’s Guru’s Guru, namely the Guru of Sri Lahiri Mahasayaji. I have read this book three times since, and every time I have always been fascinated when it came to the passage on Mahavtar Babaji, though the whole book, when read again and again throws more and more light on various aspects of spirituality. It...

I have been reading and watching with deep consternation the repeated assaults on the innocent public by terrorists who are out to kill for whatever cause they support. Terrorists basically are brain-washed robots who have been suckered into an ideology and are used by their controllers to achieve their so called ambitions. That may be a bit simplistic as some of the terrorists are in it for the money and the adrenaline high it gives, but killing people randomly is too cowardly an act to be justified or condoned. Where is the connection between terror and corruption you may well ask! After Mumbai was held spell bound by the antics of the half dozen terrorists from across the border that attacked VT and the Taj and Oberoi hotels, the Maharashtra Government immediately ordered 28 high speed patrol boats for the coast guard at a cost of Rs. 250 crores over and above 20 boats allotted by the Central Government of a total sanction for 58 boats. Of these boats as of date only 8 boats are o...

|| Jai Shree Babaji || Jai Shri Baba Swami || Shree Mahavtar Babaji and Pandukhuli The chain of events (this is a separate story by itself) over the past two months leading up to my visit to Babaji caves led me to believe that I was being called by Babaji to pay a visit to his abode. There was great anticipation that something magical was in store for us on this spiritual journey as we sat in the flight. A group of four led by Prem Parasji and including Deepak Tandon (who took the initiative to organize the trip), his close friend Ramesh Ganiga and self formed the eager foursome who were to go to the abode of the Gods where Mahavatar Babaji’s energy and presence is felt in every atom of nature. We flew down to Delhi from Mumbai and as we passed over Ajmer, I felt cold vibrations and goose pimples giving an indication that the Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisty of Ajmer too was blessing us on this trip. All the travel arrangements from Delhi to Dronagiri in Uttaranchal were made by Dee...

Manish Tiwari on 13 June 2011 said, “Our democracy faces its peril from the unelected and the unelectable….” Pranab Mukherjee labels Anna Hazare a tyrant! Used to politics of mudslinging, the Congressmen have persistently indulged in accusing Team Anna Hazare to deflect public focus from the Lokpal debate. With the earlier allegations like the fabricated CD and plot registration against Bhushans falling flat, they now want the people to believe that Anna Hazare is working for BJP/SS and not for the masses. Only the corrupt, not the democracy, should feel threatened by these mass movements. Democracy is the people, not the Government. And let it be understood by the arrogant in positions of power that democracy is not their personal domain or a ‘members-only club’ where no ‘unelected’ citizens would have any right to play a role. If that were so, shall we assume that Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and the entire galaxy of our freedom fighters got away with their sins and, given his p...

Hari Om Tat Sat: the divine sound - that is the truth... It is one of the great sayings which have been embedded in the hearts of the mystics since eternity. It is not something theoretical, not something philosophical, it is something existential. Those who have gone within themselves have always heard a strange sound, which can only be called the sound of existence itself. It is difficult to reduce that sound into language. Hence for centuries, as far back as we can go, Om, the sound, has been represented not by any alphabetical word but by a symbol. Om is the sound of silence; it is a vibration within you which you hear when you are deep in meditation, when your mind is absolutely silent – not even a ripple of a mind wave occurs – that is when you hear the sound - when you have gone beyond all language, all thinking, when there is pure silence, not even a ripple. Suddenly you hear music, a faint whisper which grows louder as you become calmer and go deeper within yourself. There i...