GURU-POORNIMA – 2017

7, 8, 9 July 2017 – at Kutch Samarpan Ashram - Punadi Village, Bhuj, Kutch

Guru-Poornima  Darshan

I had booked flight tickets to Bhuj in March itself. I got a call from a sadhaks saying that his sister is travelling from the US to take diksha and could she come with me from Bhuj airport to the Ashram. I said of course, no problems at all. I had web checked in and was waiting at the airport. Ramnath Kamath joined me at the airport and after he checked in, I got a call from Mr. Patil saying that his wife had just entered the airport and he described her dress etc and I tried to locate her. I did a couple of rounds of the check-in area and not seeing her there, both Ramnath and I left for security check. I was sure that the Guru-energies will look after her. I did not find her after security check, boarding started and the aircraft was filling up, when I saw her come in the same smiling face which had been whatsapped by her brother. I asked her where she got lost, and she said something to the effect that there was some issue at security clearance and hence the delay. Anyways, I had called the Samarpan Transport Agency and they had said that a vehicle will be available when we reach Bhuj airport. We met quite a few other sadhaks at the airport, including Diwakar Sambhare who had come with a group of 5 sadhaks from Singapore. Once we got out, we contacted the transport liaison man and he called for a Force Toofan (an eleven-seater jeep) – we were nine of us and we got into the jeep. The road to the Ashram was very smooth and we reached the Ashram at just before 8.30am. Once we reached the matter part of the walkway, I put my bag down to remove the handle for using the trolley wheels to pull the bag, and guess what! The handle came in my hand and the bag stayed on the ground. I picked up the bag and lugged it along to the registration counter. There both Ramnath and I stood in line, till someone told us the VIP line was separate. We went to that line and got our registration formalities completed and were told that we were put up in the new Sadhak Nivas and not in the tent. When we enquired, we were told that these are Swamiji’s instructions, so we gladly accepted and walked out again to cross the road and go to the Sadhak Nivas. There was a slight drizzle as we walked and the temperature cooled a bit. We took a room, placed our bags and just then I noticed that Pratapbhai had called. I called back and he said that a meeting was organised so please come to the office. Both Ramnath and I freshened up a bit and left for the Ashram office. Just before reaching the Ashram office, met Binythaji and Mayur from Germany, chatted with them for some time and then left for the meeting. There was no power and it was extremely humid, by the time the meeting started it was 10.30am. After the meeting, we went to have lunch and after lunch went back to our rooms to rest a bit and then returned to the main pandal for the launch of the GP 2017 event at 2.30pm.

At 2.40pm Her Holiness Guruma took her seat to the sound of conches blowing followed shortly by His Holiness Swamiji. Dr Paras Bhatt and Ms. Ketki Parikh were the masters of ceremony for the three-day event. They announced the traditional lighting of the lamp ceremony for which various religious heads had been invited. As a couple of religious heads had not arrived the function was held up and after 10 minutes of waiting Swamiji told them to go ahead with the lighting of the lamp with the heads who had arrived in time. The lamp was lit by following religious heads: Shri Ishwardas Bhagat, Matashri Akhandanandji, Father Zobi along with both the Trust’s Managing Trustees along with Mr. Jigneshbhai Mehta the Head of the Kutch Ashram Committee. After the lighting of the lamp to a round of applause the religious heads were felicitated by the Trustees with the presentation of shawl, coconut, sahitya and a rose flower. At 3.10pm Jigneshbhai gave his welcome speech and thereafter Her Holiness Guruma presided over the launch of a) Darshan Shibir – Anand DVD, b) Amrut Varsha – discourses of GP 2016 in 4 languages, c) Maa book in Bengali language, d) Diary – My Experiences, e) A night lamp which played a tune and last but not least, f) Samarpan Global ID Card. Guruma spoke encouraging words with each launch and she had special words of praise for the Madhuchaitanya team. She announced that Madhuchaitanya magazine subscription would be given free of cost for one year to all those participating in the GP17 event. She clarified that those who had existing subscriptions could gift their copy to friend/family/associate and thus help not only in increasing subscription but also in getting more people into the Samarpan family fold. The religious heads who had come late were felicitated by Shri Sundeep Sharma namely Dilip Bajaji, Shantidas Maharaj, Kalyandas Bapu and Maulana Haji Salim Babu. Anuragji then came and explained the concept of the new Samarpan ID Card with the new UID which would be a global identity card. After that a walk-through video of the Kutch GSD was remotely launched by His Holiness Swamiji and the same was shown to the participants. At exactly 3.30pm His and Her Holiness leaving one after the other to the sound of conches being blown. The religious heads then left together. After that Dr. Ishnath Singh and Hasmukh Vaghela came on stage to talk about Madhuchaitanya. Thereafter Mrs. Priya Pedamkar and Ramakant Tawde explained the nuances about the distribution related Guru-karya. The first session then ended at 4pm with an hour’s tea break.

Her Holiness Guruma

At 5.04pm Her Holiness Guruma took her seat to the sound of conches followed by His Holiness Swamiji five minutes later. I was sitting with eyes shut and my chitta on my crown chakra when vibrations started on the crown and started moving down the body. It was just before the arrival of His Holiness. His Holiness then lit the lamp and took his seat. Then after Guru Avahan, Rambhai then requested His Holiness to shower his divine nectar-filled discourse.

Welcome to all Paramatmas, today on the occasion of the Guru-poornima Mahashibir I extend a heartfelt welcome to everyone. In every event we start the programme with Guru Mantra, Guru Vandana – Gururbrahma, Gururvishnu, Gururdevo Maheshwara, Gurursakshat Parabrahma, Tasmay Shree Guruve Namaha…. We invoke all these three energies through such a medium in whom we believe, and through his medium we connect with all three energies; and when we establish a connection and surrender totally and unconditionally (Samarpan), then at that very moment our inner journey commences. That medium is a mirror, through whose medium we see our own face. We reach our own soul through that medium and on reaching the soul, the Paramatma we are looking for outside, we find Him within ourselves and our entire search, roaming about stops and we obtain the experience of inner peace and satisfaction within us. I had got such an experience for the first time in the Himalayas in the presence of Shiv Baba. On knowing that he was an ordinary man I accepted him as Paramatma and then my entire spiritual journey began. Each person needs to do that. The way to search and the path may be different for everyone but the destination for all is the same. When I got that experience, that was a turning point in my life. That cave is in such a dangerous place; tomorrow Ambareeshji will tell you about that place. 40 years since the time I had gone there, that cave is getting closed. He went with 5 people, you can imagine how I must have gone 40 years ago. You need to find such a place and start your own inner journey. There are many such places in the Himalayas, but it is not possible to reach there. A tribal girl has her own beauty dressed in traditional attire, you cannot dress her up as a city girl. I have given you the knowledge gained from the Himalayan Masters in exactly the same way that I received it, without any change. There are 3 important points to note – 1) The soul accompanies a person when he takes birth, 2) Kundalini energy accompanies the soul with a record of all past karmas and lastly, 3) the subtle body accompanies the other two with the record of that soul’s spiritual progress. These are the permanent things, everything else is temporary and is external and the soul takes on after birth, like religion, language, name, country, etc. – these all come later, but the other three are permanent. Do you ever think about these three things, everything else is a waste of time! Today you will meditate only with these three things. You have to practice this every moment. There should be awareness of what you are focusing on; if you are focussing elsewhere then your energy is getting wasted. I had started by giving discourses while standing; later lots of things got added – meditation mat, lamp, old traditional rituals, havan for surrendering all your faults and burning them, etc. All the rituals got added for purifying your chitta. These are all prams (baba gadis)!

Why Jains do not meditate? Now they are only left with rituals and no meditation. This should not happen to you. The scarf was given so that your chitta could be focussed on the crown chakra. You should be able to go into a meditative state just on shutting your eyes. Examine for yourself how much time you take to enter into a meditative state, slowly you should stop the use of prams (baba gadis). In Mumbai, a sadhaks who was to meet me came late, I closed my eyes and went into meditation for one hour. In Germany there are beautiful places, big trees, with small plants surrounding the tree. In such a place during the retreat, I asked the sadhaks to come towards me in small groups from a distance and they felt my aura. When I am sitting in a place where there is no person I go into a meditative state and my aura expands. This is not fiction – in solitude the aura keeps opening. Observe yourself when you are alone, you should go into a meditative state – it has to happen. Observe your thoughts, and if you are getting thoughts, then in that solitude these thoughts belong to you only. And if you are getting thoughts when you are alone then you will never be peaceful anywhere in the world. This is not a good state. Observe, do you get inner peace and satisfaction? Go anywhere in the world, you can only get it from your soul. You cannot get this peace in the market, whatever you buy in the market – this is momentary – and when you go within your entire search stops. You go to a temple and stand in line, there is a lot of rush and pushing and shoving, but you get darshan for a brief moment and feel good. When you are asked whether you want to go again, you say yes. Go and sit in solitude and introspect on why you want to go to the temple. It is so because you felt inner peace. That idol is a medium which gives energy. Some saint has established it there and you get energy from that idol and feel peace. That idol is a mirror. You see your face and feel happy, you experience your own soul, you reach near your own soul and get its proximity thus getting the inner experience. There are two things which happen – you get dependent on the idol if you go to the temple and get experience. 24/7, if you get that feeling how would it be? When you go to a Guru’s samadhi, the samadhist guru’s aura is spread all over, the subtle body is developed – there also you get a similar experience. The moment you bow in front of a samadhi you get the inner experience, the same experience you get in the presence of a living Satguru – and when you focus fully on him, he is also a mirror. The Satguru does not do anything, as you go close to your soul in his proximity your inner journey begins and you experience inner joy. In a temple, at a samadhi, and in the presence of a living Guru the same process occurs. You experience inner joy. But this same process takes place in the Himalayas in solitude – there is no temple, idol, Guru – they (the Himalayan Masters) do not need prams. They look for such inhospitable and uninhabitable places which are beyond one’s imagination. I have got the knowledge from them and have tried to give it to you. Everything else has been added, I don’t think it is bad, all these prams have helped, they are all props, support. You have used it for a year, stop using it, stand on your own feet. Samarpan should not depend upon rituals. You give importance to things other than meditation, first aarti started, then those who are in meditation are forced to get up to stand for aarti, don’t do that. Do not stop people from coming to the centres because they do not wear a scarf, or because of their dress – don’t impose on others. Let him experience. I have not stopped people from drinking then why are you imposing conditions? If you want to do something, do it, do not force others. If you put all these conditions on new sadhaks, you will make him dependent. These should be minimised – dependence on this. The opposite situation exists overseas – they only meditate. In India, they have added all this because they have absorbed many traditional methods. Overseas, you use your methods. If you can, great! Don’t criticise Indian sadhaks – in India the collectivity is huge like an elephant and when you criticise it appears like a mouse is taking on an elephant. You need collectivity and solitude while meditating. In the morning, meditate alone and in the evening, go to the centre to meditate. In a good state, you will learn to drive the car at high speed when you are alone and when you go into collectivity you will learn to control the car. The chitta should be as strong as is necessary and the same with control. Remember, methods should not be forced, don’t force let them use their own methods. I was myself thinking about what happens during Guru-poornima! What change takes place? It is just like when we send SMS and WhatsApp messages – the message reaches various people via satellite at the same time. The effect of stars also takes place on the body. On Poornima (full moon day), the moon has an effect on the tides, on the sea – it affects the high and low tides. There is no change in me. There is a change in the water inside me – a human body consists of approximately 70% water. My body is connected to lakhs of souls – there is a big ocean flowing within me. On Poornima I get a unique form of energy from the moon and I am also in the proximity of my Gurus; the Satguru does not keep anything, all this energy he distributes to his followers equally. Those sadhaks who are connected with their chitta absorb the energy. Whatever energy you are getting, you should be able to receive. Go within, increase your receiving capacity. How does one increase one’s receiving capacity? Let me explain. Keep your chitta on food and take only that much food as is required by your body. If you are feeling sleepy that means you have eaten food in excess, and your energy is being used in digesting the food. You should not feel lazy or sleepy. Eat only as much as is required. Similarly, your ears also listen. Only listen to good things, if any nonsense is being spoken, just leave. You must decide on what you want to listen to. During these 3 days listen to good things. The third is food of the mouth. Talk little. Sadhikas specially! You talk too much! Talk only as much as is required. If you are sharing experiences then that is beneficial to both the talker and the listener. Maintain a personal diary. It was my desire, that the diary – My Experiences – has been released – I am very happy. You write in your own diary. Whenever you are in a difficult situation, the diary will help you. As soon as your chitta goes on Guru-poornima you will immediately get a good state and feel relief. This will come from within. When you narrate experiences, the truth has its own vibration. Just write what comes to mind and do not bother about what people will think. I just come to talk, I don’t think and I am not bothered by what you think. When you share experiences don’t bother about what people will think. The narration should be from within. Food – take good food through the mouth, ears and eyes. Look at good things. Even by looking at photos you realise who is a good person and who is not. Your chitta decides. Look at people who make you feel good. Visual food should also be good, as also auditory and oral food. If you can keep a control on these for the three days, then this Guru-poornima will be the turning point in your life. The state which I received with Shiv Baba, you can get that state in these three days – I am preparing you for that. You are tying the scarf, the more you reduce your dependence on such prams, the better it will be for you – focus on meditation. There is a couplet of Saint Kabir which in essence says – when I looked for Paramatma, I did not find Him, but when I lost myself I found Paramatma. Till you lose your ego you will never attain Paramatma. I told sadhaks to drop their ego and go and ask friends and relatives to donate. This is not just a Guru Shakti Dham – this is a place which will give self-realisation. 50/100 years from now research will take place on how this happens. When I started my discourses, I was questioned about the Kundalini energy. There was a sadhika who was a follower of Swami Muktananda, she brought a book the next day and showed the sadhaks what was written in the book about the Kundalini energy. Now the Kundalini is awakened even through video shibirs, photos and the next step will be through these auspicious idols. When you get donations from non-sadhaks, you are connecting them to it (the GSD). When you take such people to the Ashram you will awaken a desire within them. This is a way of prachar. The Guru-energies are changing their pattern. I was just a shell on the sea shore, as soon as I got Baba Dham, people started coming to see me. The packaging changes as per the times. The first Gadhisthan came up in Mogar village and the next one is coming up in Ajmer. This is the second place. This is an excuse for connecting those who are not connected. Ego stops you from asking. I have never asked in 22 years. Now I am asking. Ask and see, those who give will come one day to see the Guru Shakti Dham. A desire will come to visit that place. Our own ego blocks us from asking. Just give the card and see for yourself; if a chance is given to a soul to connect and such a soul connects, what an opportunity for you to do good! If you are thinking this will not happen, whether you give or not it will happen! When such a change happens, then it is an indication of the times yet to come. Just as the video shibir started, those people connected with Samarpan Meditation who had not even met me. Lakhs of souls are waiting to connect through donations. You have to reach them. When you go to Guru Shakti Dham, you chitta should be on the living idol, and through this idol your inner journey should commence; and while sitting in the proximity of the idol you should see the Paramatma within. You go to places with expectations – go to the Guru Shakti Dham without any expectations. Expectations are physical, things which you will lose with the physical body, don’t carry those inside. Go without any expectations. In the present Guru’s proximity is rare. All media takes your chitta outside. Earlier there was only radio, now there are thousands of channels on radio, TV, social media – what are you going to do with all this knowledge? - know your self. Once you know yourself you will get to know everything. All the knowledge which you acquire throughout your life you forget during your old age. Obtain knowledge which is permanent. People find name plates, remember car number plates!! Find ways to go inside. Find places which takes your chitta inside. You do not remember your name, religion, gender, language and the more you practice in placing your chitta inside that much greater will be the result of your practice. Now meditate from where you have come, where religion, gender, language, country, place does not matter – you are like a small child who is just born, new born baby, the more you feel this the deeper you will go within. You have taken on this body with a holy and pure soul to free yourself from this birth-rebirth cycle. Forget your existence. My samarpan is towards you and hence I succeed in establishing a connection with you. You establish a connection with your soul and you will get the same thing which I have got. No mantra, nothing….meditate …..meditate …. meditate.

Swamiji was saying this from a very high energy zone….my eyes were shutting and my hands were scribbling….. there was energy pulsating from the crown chakra and flowing within….. the centre of the palms of my hands were pulsating with energy flowing outwards. This meditation was very deep and divine.

Namaskar!

(After the meditation, Swamiji continued speaking) Like a drop has a special relationship with the ocean, like the sun’s rays have a special relationship with the sun, each one of you us unique, my relationship with each one of you is unique, the relationship which I have with you is not the same as with others. I have tried to clear your faults. It is my desire that you establish this connection and you have to remain connected with yourself. Tomorrow I am not going to come, you stay connected with my subtle body tomorrow, in the same way you have connected with my physical body today. Watch your diet, I am trying to make you independent and strong, to make you depend on your own soul. You have to try staying with yourself. If you can do that, I will try and give you the true vision (Satya Darshan) of the Satguru the day after.

The session ended with shanti path and a break for dinner was announced.

At 8pm the cultural programme was to start, but with the tardy arrival of the sadhaks, Her Holiness Guruma was kept waiting and Parasbhai kept appealing to the sadhaks to take their seats as Guruma was waiting for them. At 8.20pm Her Holiness Guruma took her seat to the sound of conches blowing. The following dances took place one after the other:

1)      Goa Krantinagar Centre – a dance – Gajanana – performed with great joy and energy with the crown chakra getting activated.

2)      Thane East centre then performed a dance – Thin Thanare

3)      Surat Zone 1 sadhaks – Avyo re utsav

4)      Bhavnagar sadhaks – Sachiya

5)      Ramsagarpura-Raipur sadhaks – fusion of 5 songs which was wonderfully executed

6)      Ahmedabad Zone 3 sadhaks – and excellent dance drama based on the story saint Ashtavakra.

7)      Airoli sadhaks then performed a dance based on the three goddesses – Ambe, Durga and Bhavani – superb energy which activated the crown chakra.

8)      Surat Zone 2 then performed a dance

9)      Different centres from Mumbai – Malad West, Charkop, Borivali, Kandivali West performed a Qawwali which had such high energy that they got the participants clapping with Her Holiness thoroughly enjoying the performance. There were shouts of encore, but when they tried to re-run the CD, it did not work – the participants were very tired and hence perhaps the Guru-Energies felt they should rest. Parasbhai announced that time permitting tomorrow they will perform again in the evening.Shanti path was chanted, after which Her Holiness took leave to the sound of conches. It was 9.45pm. We then left for our quarters and ended the first day filled with bliss and joy.

Cultural Programme

8-7-2017

The sadhaks who had registered for havan had to go directly to the tent in which the havan was to be held at 7am. The rest of the sadhaks were to assemble in the main tent to view the DVD on the Anand Darshan Shibir. We enjoyed listening to the DVD, for me it was a revisit to the shibir as I had gone to Anand to attend the shibir in 2010-11. The break for breakfast took place at 8.45am and we were asked to reassemble at 11am. While leaving the pandal, it was raining slightly and I noticed a sadhaks had placed his slippers in a protective plastic bag. I was wondering and laughing to myself, whether the soul gets the same kind of protection as the slippers!

After reassembly at 11am, we were waiting in great anticipation for Her Holiness Guruma’s discourse when the conches started blowing at around 6 minutes past 11 indicating the arrival of Her Holiness. We chanted the Guru Avahan Mantra with Rambhai after Her Holiness took her seat and then Rambhai requested Her Holiness to deliver her nectar filled discourse.

Welcome to all souls present to Guru-poornima 2017, Jai Baba Swami! The Guru-poornima celebration is an occasion where we spend the entire time in the Guru’s proximity – meaning the Guru takes you from darkness into light. Who is your Guru? Our Guru is our soul and when we do samarpan (complete and unconditional surrender) of our body to our soul, then our soul becomes our Guru. Till we do not get that feeling within us, we need a third person. The third person who takes you towards your own soul is the Satguru. The Satguru who teaches you how to live and helps you to establish oneness with the soul. We know that the soul exists, but we don’t listen to it and when we do listen to it we do not accept what it is saying. Sometimes, we become so intellectual that we don’t believe in the soul. How to make the soul the Guru? Why has the soul taken birth? 2-3 years ago, an incident took place in Australia. While conversing casually in Australia a lot of things get discussed. One sadhika said, that when the children are born a lot of different kinds of efforts are made to get a good soul. In Mahabharata, Abhinmanyu’s story is well known, where he heard the discussion of Subhadra-Kriahna on how to enter the battle formation – ‘chakravyuh’ while in the womb, but did not hear the part about how to come out once he had entered. In Australia, people are trying to create designer babies with such thoughts. Parents think about what kind of child they want – sportsperson, then should he/she be a footballer, tennis player, cricketer? Then prior to the child’s birth, prior to even conceiving they start reading about the sport, watching videos of such players and when the child is conceived the mother watches such DVDs and the entire pregnancy period is filled with thoughts and discussions of such favourite player. After the child is 8-9 years old, the training starts. If it is swimming then the put the child straight away into the pool. With such kind of training does such a soul take birth? We also do the same for birth of pure souls (punya atma avahan). What efforts do we take for pure souls? Do we devote our time for such a birth? Do we read books, listen to audio, listen to discourses? Both parents need to devote time! I felt inner satisfaction that the parents surrender to the Guru and secondly no burden is placed on the child saying that you have to become so and so. What birth has taken place for liberation, lots of karmas are burnt when you are giving a body to a soul for liberation. One thing needs to be done while giving birth, listen to good audios, etc and by that values are instilled into the foetus in the womb. Child born thus is born without any faults. Such a child is indebted to the parents, similarly all of us are indebted to our parents. A physical body is needed for the soul to attain liberation. Do we have a feeling of thankfulness towards our parents? How do we get liberated if we don’t get free of our debts – debt to parents, teachers, school, country, society? What can we do? Can we do what they did for us? Can we do the same for others? Make a commitment – we are souls, but we will get free of all our physical debts. When we meditate, we do so as a soul. The body is a facility for completing our birth to death cycle. The soul can show the path to free us of our debts. The Satguru guides the soul and the soul guides us. During the Guru-poornima celebrations we live as souls; after Guru-poornima you leave and head towards your home, talk of family, responsibilities, work – all these thoughts will come to mind. I have to do this work at home, this work in the office! We start remembering everything again. Is this a sin? No! We have to do this, there is no objection! Just don’t think about it. If we start thinking, then pray, Gurudev once I reach home let what needs to happen, happen; the more you surrender, the work will keep happening automatically. Then you will not get the feeling of the body working. The mind remains calm and the work happens and you won’t get the feeling that I did the work! When you get the feeling that I did the work, then it becomes karma. Surrender – not for the body to become free but for the soul to become free; why is the body tying itself to work/karma? Whatever work the sadhak does, whether it is right or wrong, and if the body believes and the soul allows the body to believe then it gets tied to your karma. If you say, Gurudev let it happen, then there is no karma attached. There are two benefits of saying this – 1) No ego develops on success and no feeling of guilt on failure, you live as a soul. We have lived for a long time as bodies, from now onwards we will live as souls. Once the body (physical feelings) rises to the brain, how will the crown chakra open? We will try and live as a soul, our brain will keep trying to remind us that we are a body, we eat, drink, sleep, breathe etc. Just as we take care of our vehicle, we service our vehicles, isn’t it? When we live as souls, we should maintain the body – the soul will do it. It will control the tongue. In this wonderful weather let us eat pakodas with hot tea, but when we become tools of our soul, then the soul will the body what it needs, what is of use to the body. The soul will make the body sit for meditation. Then you will sit in a state of meditation without any physical feeling. Take a step in that direction – make the body a tool for that.

Let me tell you a story. There was a king who had everything, his kingdom was peaceful and secure and everything was available to his subjects because of which they too were happy. He had good relations with his neighbouring kingdoms. And as his subjects were all very happy, he felt that he should now progress spiritually for his soul. He asked the royal Guru, prayed to him, prostrated in front of him and asked his Guru – my subjects are happy, safe and my relations with my neighbours is good. I want to do something for my soul. I am thinking of handing over the charge of my kingdom to some suitable person and then go and do penance in the forest. I will take some wealth with me and fend for myself and I will take guidance from my soul. I will take your guidance to find who is suitable to look after the kingdom. Who is suitable for the role of king. His Guru told him to give the entire kingdom to me. The king obeyed his Guru and handed over the kingdom to him and said from today you are the king. When the king asked him for some wealth to fend for himself, the Guru said I have responsibility to the subjects and hence I will not be able to give you anything for free. The Kings said I will work and the Guru said I will give you work to do. The Guru gave back the kingdom to the king and told him to rule it, and the Guru also gave him some money for doing the job. Now the situation had changed – there was no tension and he had surrendered everything to the Guru. He did the same thing – surrender, we all need to do the same thing too. Surrender to the Guru. Engineers, doctors, software engineers, teachers, etc all surrender to the Guru. Whatever the Guru is giving, we spend, we waste; but once we become his workers just observe what happens – your patients will recover, the software engineers and engineers will take the country higher, the country will progress with our soul showing the world a new path, a positive way to live, we will take the message, values to our family and circle of friends and not get stuck in useless matters. Every moment in life is surrendered to the Guru, meaning our soul and Guru’s Guru meaning, our Satguru. When we spend our time with our Guru, Guru’s Guru, they will not distract us, nor take us on the wrong path; it will take us to the final destination, the soul will attain the ultimate goal. From this moment onwards we will live as souls and progress as souls. When the soul is progressing as a soul, no attachment will tie us down, there will be no maya (illusion), no attachment, we will progress as souls and this is our last birth, whatever karmas have to be endured, this body will be used by the soul to get free from bondage. In this, there is no work for the brain. Let the soul do the work, it is getting free of debt. The soul wants to do work for the Guru Shakti Dham, so that it will get free of debt of the Satguru. Even if one debt remains outstanding the soul has to take birth again. There will be no obstacle for liberation that is the Satguru’s commitment, the Soul – our Guru, has to ensure that it does not get tied down. Why should one go away from the path of the soul, it is the pure wish of the soul, how can the body hinder you, the body is the tool of the soul; the body has been given to the soul to get free of bonds by enduring them, so as to reach the stage of freedom/liberation – death will be the beautiful moment to everlasting freedom. Why not experience that from now itself! When death has happened, what we see, what we hear is just illusion. Why not live the moment of freedom from today itself? If we do so, then our ego will be dead from today, give it up, give up the ego – what ego, what guilt, what attachment? Leave all from this moment onwards. Attain moksha now! 

Remain as a Guru in Guru’s proximity – then this will be a Guru Durbar, and we can then enter the Guru Darbar at any moment. (Her Holiness was speaking at a very high energy level – it was as if Swamiji himself was speaking through her – this showed that Guruma’s surrender to Swamiji was complete and unconditional and she had merged into Him – total oneness) Why not become free from this very moment. Sadhaks express a wish to go to that level, they want to undertake the journey to Gurulok. Every soul can do so without the burden of expectations, etc. Without any burden, the soul rises by itself, meditation just takes place. Let us try a small experiment. Swamiji has given a solution. I will tell what the solution is. Meditate in a place created in your mind. With this practise you will not require any tools. The soul always meditates to connect with Paramatma. All the other tools are external to help you, to support you, but you should not make that into a habit. No harm in using these tools, but do not become dependent on them, if we depend on external help how will we meditate – photo, mat, lamp, aarti, scarf – all these are symbolic. Earlier Swamiji used to conduct meditation chakra-wise. Then it was a full stop to this method – and the meditation then took you direct to the sahastrar. Then this became a habit, mention to yourself that this became a habit, and to break the habit, meditate tomorrow without any scarf. Without scarf take your chitta to the crown chakra, because even if you wear a scarf if you get thoughts, then it is of no use. Get rid of the scarf. You have grown so big, no – now you don’t need any support. You are now grown up, so get rid of the tools, no nappy changers needed any more, no one to help you change your clothes. Definitely bathe in consciousness but without any expectations. Do you keep any spoilt machines at home? No, you call the mechanic and repair them isn’t it, or if it cannot be repaired you get rid of it. If your physical health is spoilt, you go to the doctor. The all- round mechanic is Prarthana Dham. You do not have any problems – you are a soul! If the body has problems then there is Prarthana Dham. If after prayer nothing happens, that means these are the karma which you have to endure. Some people send the same prayer every week. Are you so dependent? If you have created such a beautiful place to meditate, then go there. If you have meditated for several births then you will automatically reach that place of meditation which you have used in your past births. You all have done such spiritual practice in the past births, then lost your way, found it again, and now you have become free of the physical, now you are a soul; and you practice daily you will reach that place which has been your place of spiritual practice of several births. That place is full of your consciousness, and when your soul reaches that place then there will be no illusion that you are a soul, you will remain a holy and pure soul always, and the soul will not let the body waiver. Now onwards practice in that place and get rid of all your physical burdens – the soul is not a brother/sister/father/mother – it is just a soul. The body will endure all its bonds, let it do so and become free. If the body does not do so then it will be reborn. Get connected with other, get connected to the Guru Shakti Dham. My experience is that what remains with us is what should be with you. If you donate, that money comes back to you if it has to remain with you. When my salary was Rs. 1500 I used to put money away for Guru-karya and I was never short of it. Whatever was best for this body, this body provided. All students who were in school, whoever learnt from me, I gave them my best. Whatever was best in the market I ate, and also distributed. I never thought about the future, I never thought about the future and stayed happy. Whatever I had surrendered to the Guru, I got back the money when required at the time my son had to study for engineering. Do guru-karya without fear. I am telling you to do Guru-karya, once our karma gets over we will stop. What should we do to stay connected? Keep performing Guru-karya selflessly, do propagation, pray, donate money, give birth to souls, lead souls to this path – each soul should bring at least one soul. At least this much prachar you should do and then you have the right to achieve moksha. All of you remain free and obtain moksha from now onwards, from this moment, free from body, free from thoughts, let the tools help you to work, you remain free – these are my wishes.

Her Holiness took us deep into meditation, very deep as consciousness filled the tent and I went into a sense of total void. I could hear Her Holiness cough from a great distance, just as Swamiji does and then again, the self dissolved into nothingness. After what seemed like twenty minutes announcements started. Parasbhai was saying that lots of questions come on Swamiji’s e-mail ID. Very lengthy questions which are difficult to decipher. Please send questions in brief and to the point. Ask questions in a maximum of 50 words. If you get an answer do not send a thank you reply by email. We accept that you are thankful. Remember questions are to be to the point only.

It was announced that for Guru-pujan the next day Singapore couple Manoj and Anisha Bole and Mrs and Mr Hasit Joshi have been selected. Best wishes to reach the ultimate goal, live as souls. After this the session ended and lunch break was announced.

There were lots of Trust event related meetings during this break, and by the time we became free it was almost 2pm. After lunch we again reassembled at 3.30pm. Ambareeshji’s Shibu journey was to be narrated.

At 4pm Ambareeshji took the stage and with the help of a video narrated his precarious journey along with 4 sadhaks. He mentioned that after 40 years the cave was now getting shut naturally. This narration was wonderful and showcased the tremendous changes which have come over Ambareeshji. It was very soul uplifting and a huge thank you and Jai Baba Swami to Ambareeshji for visually bringing the starting point of Swamiji’s spiritual journey to all of us!

Thereafter both the Managing Trustees briefed the participants about the progress made by both the Trusts in various fields. Thereafter the President of the Guru-Poornima committee Mr. Jignesh Mehta and his colleague Ms. Neelam Sakhariya explained the Kutch Ashram Development projects and the progress the Ashram had made. At 5.36pm the session ended for the dinner break with the sadhaks being informed to reconvene at 8.15pm for the cultural programme.

At exactly 8.30pm Her Holiness Guruma entered the pandal to the sound of conches being blown and took her seat. Parasbhai and Ketkiji then invited the cultural programme participants one by one to take the stage for their performances.

   1)      Surat Zone 2 performed a dance based on classical fusion music. 

   2)      Mumbai’s Lokhandwala and Dahisar centres performed a dance.

   3)      Goa West Zone, Vasco D’gama centre gave a wonderful presentation on Adi-Guru Lord Shiva.

   4)      Bhavnagar sadhaks then performed a dance – ‘Aoji aoji’.

   5)      New Panvel centre performed a Lord Shiva dance.

   6)      Bangalore 0 Samarpan Bhavan sadhaks performed a local folk dance – ‘chinappa chinappa’.

   7)      Mumbai’s youth sadhikas gave an excellent dance recital – ‘Tu hi rab, Tu hi aa’ which ended with       the Guru Shakti Dham banner.

   8)      Surat Zone 1 sadhaks performed a dance – ‘Jag gumiya tare javisa na koi’.

   9)      Bhuj, Kutch sadhaks performed a dance – ‘Mere mann me jyot jaga re sahib’.

   10)  Kandivali West, Borivali, Lokhandwala, Thakur Complex centre gave a repeat performance of the      Qawalli – Ali. This performance was more charged up than yesterday’s, which honestly speaking I      had thought was not possible – in fact this performance had such high energy that the entire pandal      was up and dancing and clapping. Superb performance and my heartfelt congratulations to the            entire team. In fact, one could see the joy on Her Holiness’s face as she clapped away with great          enthusiasm and joy.

After this performance, announcements were made for tomorrows Guru-pujan and what arrangements were to be done. After shanti path, we retired for the night.

9-7-2017

Today was the big day……the day when the Guru-energies shower at the maximum – Guru-Poornima….the one day in the year where you literally have the chance to merge with the Satguru. We assembled in the main hall at 6am. There was pin drop silence, for a change the sadhaks had registered the importance of the day and come as holy and pure souls. Her Holiness Guruma entered the pandal to the sound of conches at 6.20am followed shortly by His Holiness. After lighting of the lamp and Guru Avahan, Rambhai prayed to His Holiness to shower all those present with his nectar filled discourse.

Welcome to all Paramatmas who have come here. In this world, some people have a spiritual thirst awakened in them, and when that happens they run away to the Himalayas. What is the reason? What is there in the Himalayas, what attraction is there that man starts walking in that direction? In the Himalayas, many rishis/munis have been meditating for years together, and through their meditation have created massive auras, and because of those auras a kind of attraction, a kind of pull is felt by people. Actually, those who go to the Himalayas in search of inner peace, they keep on roaming around, and when they forget themselves, they experience Paramatma. Paramatma is not something to be searched, you find Paramatma only when you lose your self. The road to the Himalayas is a one way path and whoever has gone has never returned, and if such a person has returned then his existence has become a void. In the Himalayas one merges with nature, becomes one with nature, there is no separate existence over there. You too experience this when you go to the forests where there is no one, you too become one with nature and start observing things minutely, there are absolutely no thoughts. You see the flowers, trees, stones, rivers, etc in a new light, you see the consciousness and the beauty of nature, you become one with nature. Similarly, those rishis/munis who have established oneness with nature, the values of nature got established in them, and thinking that these values should reach society, they created a medium and instilled these values in him and sent him to society. When a sadhaks introspects on this and the sadhaks does so, he will realised that the mediums thinking is different from that of other Gurus. During Mahashivaratri, Jain munis told me that in your discourses you say that Samarpan Meditation is a technique, but there is no technique involved in Samarpan Meditation. When we are asked about this, we realise that there is no technique – there are three types of meditation techniques in society. 1) Control on one’s breath, 2) Tratak (focus) on a lamp, and 3) Bhrashtika pranayama (a kind of breathing technique) and then focus on meditation. Whatever is practiced in society is not what we do here. We have not done anything, but we have come and just sat here – this is not a technique, these are values – transfer of the Satguru’s values into the sadhaks. We have thought a lot about this – this is not a technique, these are values; in technique, it is control of the body, breath, body and then meditation. I thank the Jain munis from the bottom of my heart for making this discovery. In any technique the body is used, and you say I used this technique and then meditated, here the I is involved and you could get an ego of this. In Samarpan Meditation you just come and sit and a connection from soul to soul takes place. An atomic particle is place in the other soul and a connection is established. No process can be external, it has to be internal and hence the medium establishes a connection with lakhs of souls. Each soul feels this – a close personal connection, that unique particle has been given to each individual separately. This is natural and it is given equally, that is how nature functions it gives equally, similarly, the medium has also distributed his energy, values, powers equally to all; some have experienced more and some less, but this is because some have opened their doors more and some less. For you to let the Sun in, you have to open your doors – the knowledge, energy, light has been given equally to all. This relationship is unique to each individual, it has been given to each person to find Paramatma within.

When I went to the Himalayas I found people who had found Paramatma, and when they found that energy, in that aura, they too reached that Paramatma within themselves. When you are seeking you will never find Paramatma, when you stop seeking, you will instantly realise that Paramatma is within, for that you have to be inward looking. You cannot find Paramatma outside, I did everything to find Paramatma, I participated in rituals, prayers, etc but that Paramatma was momentary. I did not stop searching till I reached Shiv Baba and he gave me the experience, in that very instant my search stopped and I realised that Paramatma is within. Even though I knew he was ordinary I accepted him as Paramatma. Paramatma’s existence – there are three steps. You will find the Paramatma whom you have accepted with your chitta in your Agya chakra. When you reach your Agya chakra you will see the vision of the saint, deity you have accepted as Paramatma. Actually, Paramatma is not a form, it is formless – Paramatma appears from time to time through a medium in whose presence we feel good. Paramatma has no form, he is beyond form, he can only be experienced. Paramatma is not so cheap that you can buy him, find him. You can do so only by extinguishing your own existence, your ego should become zero. The current medium of Paramatma is the Satguru. To reach Satguru is not easy, it is not so easy as happens now through video shibir, spiritual experience, Guru-poornima – to reach here you have performed penance in many births and only then you have reached here. Try not to know him (physically), try to experience him, there should be no physical connection, your chitta should be on those values. Those Satgurus who are samadhist, sadhaks connect nonsense with them, they feel he never has to leave for ablutions, he is made so miraculous that the common man does not connect. When I had gone to Ramakrishna Mission to talk about meditation, I was told by the head of the mission that my product was good, the teaching was good but the packaging was bad. He said that you come looking like an ordinary man, he said you should dress appropriately so that your look matches the product you deliver – you should look like a spiritual person when you are giving spiritual discourses. If I have to invite a person to come, I have to take baby steps, so that they can try to become like me. If I wear abnormal clothes they will not come to hear me. For example, a Sanskrit newsreader wears a necktie and suit while reading the news, it will appear strange – the clothes should fit the occasion. A Satguru after being interred is made so miraculous, that we feel we cannot reach that level. This does not happen during the lifetime of a Satguru. Such people are normal. Paramatma of today is the Satguru. Why does a Satguru get disturbed and why a samadhist Guru cannot be caught beyond normal means? Both Ramana Maharishi and Ramakrishna Paramhansa – both dies of cancer. Satguru cures others, so how can he fall sick? In spite of dying of cancer their samadhi has such a beautiful aura. Why is that? If someone enters the aura and puts their sickness in him, then the Satguru cannot do anything. Even now their samadhi is pure. If aura protection is broken and illness is placed in the Satguru, he will become sick. Satguru is blissful, he may throw stones, curse, behave strangely, but these are all illusions he creates to protect himself. Many saints have smoked pot, drunk liquor but all that is part of tantra sadhana. A question was asked during the recent Acharya Sammellan – If the Satguru suffers from pain, how to relieve the pain. When you ask a question, I don’t think for an answer – I get the answer from above. The answer to this question is that whenever a person breaks the aura and enters within, then it happens. A Satguru cannot stop anything he has to accept whatever comes his way. Let me explain by means of an example. Imagine a beautiful mountain, a beautiful stream/waterfall is flowing, the stream/waterfall is Guru’s Grace, Guru’s Blessings. The Guru has no control over the grace and blessings. The Guru is the mountain and stream is grace, the stream has no control over the mountain. You sit on the banks of the stream/waterfall and pray, nothing will happen. Go calmly and stand underneath the waterfall, the water will cleanse everything, the energy will purify you completely. This happens only when you go beneath the waterfall. When you go under the waterfall you don’t have to bother about which part of your body is dirty. The waterfall will do everything, when you come out, not only your body but also your chitta, thoughts, everything gets purified. The mountain is like the Satguru, the grace, energy is always flowing, it keeps cleansing everything that comes in its path. Once you become completely surrendered, whatever belongs to you becomes that of the Satguru – your existence becomes void, there is nothing, no body, no head, nothing! Totally surrender – then your mind will not waiver, zero existence then you will have a wonderful bath! If you carry your problems with you, then nothing will happen. The person who comes beneath the waterfall will bathe, not otherwise. Mountain is mountain, waterfall is waterfall. Waterfall flows from the mountain, but it is not the mountain. They both have a separate existence. A stone on the mountain cannot go under the waterfall, hence that stone cannot bathe. Of a person who has come to bathe in the waterfall, that person can take water and pour it on the stone. If the sadhaks prays with his heart then the Satgurus pain will go away. The Satguru cannot cure himself. This one path is there. There is one danger, I have not highlighted it before – that is developing an ego of curing the Satguru with prayer – this can occur. After years of spiritual practice, you can get an ego, hence I had not told you this. Whatever prayers you perform after meditation, after havan, those are all at the physical level. The prayer has to happen at the energy level, use the same energy received from the Satguru to bathe the Satguru, then only the pain will go. Where there is form, there is a body, where there is a body, there are faults. It’s like the yogi and bhogi. When a yogi does bhog (enjoys life) he does it while doing yoga (union of mind and body – in oneness), nothing gets attached, but when a bhogi (a person who enjoys life) does yoga, he does yoga at the physical level. A yogi appears to be asleep, but he is awakened – his consciousness is awake while the body is sleeping. Let me explain – I arm-wrestle with my grandson and I lose all the time, because his victory is my victory. Similarly, you will never realise what I am doing. I am playing with you daily. The game is Guru Shakti Dham, so that you connect with it. The Guru Shakti Dham is going to be created anyway. All guru-karya is a game, it is going to happen, you get involved in it; stop thinking – become a holy and pure soul. Firstly, get out of your thinking mode, stop being a physical being – you cannot make your existence zero like this. Many people who have established the confidence that they can do anything. If while playing arm-wrestling with my grandson, he gains confidence that he can win, then as he grows he will get the confidence that he can win anything. This is what gives you self-confidence to do anything. Many sadhaks, when they come out of their problems have become so one with Guru-karya that their external search has stopped. The search for Paramatma has disappeared. Paramatma cannot be known, seen, searched – he can only be experienced, experienced and only experienced and then attained that experience. There is no need to know the Satguru, he is also a means, don’t stick to him. There is a river, you sit in a boat and surrender to the boatman, you sit wherever he asks you to sit, and he takes you from this side to that. You do not know him, but still you sit with full faith that he will take you from this side to that side. After crossing the river if you hold on to the boat and do nothing else, the purpose of crossing is defeated. Don’t hold on to the medium. Once you cross you have to exit the boat and walk. Similarly, once you cross you have to leave the boat, if you don’t then the purpose is defeated. Photo, aarti, scarf – let go of all this and continue on your inner journey, leave the medium, and you will find Paramatma within you. Medium is only a motive for you to go within. In today’s life obtaining proximity of a Satguru is rare. You have got this proximity for years, I had got only for a few days. Use this proximity to go within, with the proximity go within – deeper and deeper within. Satguru is the only one to take you within, you could become very knowledgeable, but in the last moment this is of no use. Your own inner knowledge will take you inside. All kinds of media take your attention outside and nothing will happen, progress will take place only when you know yourself, when you make your existence zero – forget which country you are from, forget religion, gender, race – these things have no meaning. Just remember that you are Paramatma! Your existence from Paramatma is not different. You feel different because of your ego – you are also playing a game with me. You should be like me, you should have no ill feeling against anybody. When there is no body, there is no existence. Void your existence and attain the free state, once this happens fear of death will go. When physical feeling is gone, you will never fear death. The Satguru was never born and never dies, he is mahakumbh of energy/consciousness. Many times when you come in his contact you keep competing – your parents have taught you to compete. All efforts to compete are physical! To earn money you compete, you come to Samarpan and perform Guru-karya and your ego gets transformed – I do Guru-karya, you try to maximise Guru-karya, it becomes competition! Now your ego has found a new form. You too will not realise that you are competing for Guru-karya – and competition takes you to the physical level. Witness the Guru-karya you do – if you get to do it feel that it is your good fortune. Shirdi Baba asked me to help his sadhaks and I went and surrendered to him. There is a huge difference between them. You have a chance to perform Guru-karya, do not get an ego, that too is Guru’s Grace to make you happy – expectation and ego are two words which you keep alive at the physical level. Faults of both are there – expectation and ego. Sadhaks feel that they have been meditating for so many years – they get ego. Actually, doing nothing is meditation. Empty yourself completely and experience for yourself that Paramatma is within me. Whatever is happening in life is his game – no need to become sad, happy – these are all problems related with the body. Once you leave the body then there is no pain, sadness, happiness – focus on the nothingness and you will hear the sound of silence within you…… hhmmmmmmm, hmmmmmm, hmmmmmmmmm. Focus on the sound, your physical existence will become void.

As Swamiji spoke he took everybody deep into meditation with his energy, his aura and consciousness spreading and covering the entire pandal….a smooth silky energy form enveloping you with its love. The meditation was deep and profound. After about 20 minutes of meditation Swamiji spoke again. Guru-pooja is not pooja of the body but of the soul which the Himalayan Rishis/Munis have made into a medium. Through this medium we are going to do the pooja of the Rishis/Munis in the Himalayas who have given these values to you. Please come for the pooja as holy and pure souls, totally empty.

After this shanti path took place and Her Holiness followed by His Holiness left the pandal to the sound of conches being blown. A few announcements were made and then the participants were asked to reconvene at 8.30am for the main Guru-Poojan event for the new sadhaks who were to take initiation and for old sadhaks to renew their commitment.

Guru-pujan in progress

Swamiji just after the Guru-pujan

Guru-pujan in progress - another view

By 9am the seating arrangement was still not happening. Parasbhai and Ketkiji were pleading with the sadhikas not to argue with the volunteers. There was a lot of chaos and shouting in the ladies section, total indiscipline, loud arguments……complete anti-thesis of what to expect prior to diksha. ☹ Once the preparations for diksha were completed and the sadhaks finally took their seats, Her Holiness Guruma entered at 9.15am followed 3 minutes later by His Holiness Swamiji. There were loud shouts of Baba Swami Maharaj ki jai, Gurumaiya ki jai….. Swamiji lit the traditional lamp after which Guru Avahan was chanted and then Rambhai explained the importance of Guru-diksha. He said it is a very subtle process in which the Satguru instills the seed of spirituality and his values into the initiates. The Guru-pujan started at 10am with the chanting of the Ganpati Atharvashisha. We were all sitting in silence with eyes closed enjoying the flow of consciousness and the solemnity of the occasion. Manoj and Anisha Bole and Mrs and Mr Hasit Joshi were performing the Guru-pujan on behalf of all the participants. After the puja got over both couples turn by turn presented Swamiji with silver padukas, then placed perfume, rose petals on His feet. Thereafter each of them wrapped a shawl around Swamiji, followed by a floral necklace, Manoj and Anisha then placed a Nepali royal cap on Swamiji’s head applied vermilion on His forehead. Then Mrs and Mr Hasit repeated the process and placed a solid gold crown bedecked with precious stones and a peacock feather on Swamiji’s head. After that a golden pugree with a peacock feather was also placed on Swamiji’s head. After this Aum Shree Shivkrupanand Swami Namo Namaha was chanted 108 times.

At 10.51 am the aarti took place with sadhaks handing over candles made out of cotton and camphor mixture at the Ashram, no wax involved in its making. After the aarti, His Holiness left to the shouts of Babaswami Maharaj ki jai. After Swamiji left a traditional Maharashtrian form of offering respect to Guruma took place – ‘oti bharne’ ceremony, in which both the couples participated one after the other. After this ceremony, Her Holiness Guruma left to shouts of Vandaniya Guruma ki jai.

Special thanks were given to Ashokbhai Chavan for making a unique Baba Dham, in which Swamiji got the solitude he desired and the rest of the family stayed in independent houses built on either side of Baba Dham. Guruma mentioned that fruit plants had been planted and once they grew there would be fruits for the plucking by sadhaks. Ashokbhai’s felicitation was done by the Managing Trustee of YPBSST, Mrs, Sharmila Patil.

Baba Dham with independent houses for family members, thanks to Ashokbhai

At 11.15am the paduka naman ceremony started to the playing of devotional songs by Sanjay and his party along with Rambhai and his party. After doing paduka naman I along with Ramnath left the pandal and visited the exhibitions. As we went through the wonderful displays, we came to the Guru Shakti Dham section. I had crossed and gone to the last section when Ramnath called me back and asked me to stand in front of the photos of the Melbourne Guru Shakti Dham. As I stood in front of the photos at a distance of about 3-4 feet with my palms facing the photos, I felt a cold rush of energy flowing from the photos into me, the energy flowed down from the crown chakra and through my hands- absolutely amazing. Just goes to show the divinity which lies in the Auspicious Idols! I asked the volunteer also to stand and feel the experience. We then left, the exhibition centre, took lunch and contacted all the others who were to travel with us to the airport. We went to sadhak nivas after taking the prasad from the dining hall, packed our bags, changed clothes and got ready to leave.

This Guru-poornima had a few innovations, they had put a giant screen behind Swamiji’s seat and displayed images/videos of whatever was relevant during the programme. The walkways were reasonably protected from the rain, though it did not rain that heavily this year – rain was intermittent and light. The fans in the pandals were too high to be effective and ventilation was not adequate, resulting in a feeling of stuffiness to those seated in the pandals and in living quarters. There were complaints from the VIP section, saying that after the services offered in the VIP section were way below expectations. This is just feedback for improving services, not to be taken otherwise. The organisers did a very good job otherwise and the three-day event went through without any hiccups. 

My heartfelt congratulations to the Kutch Ashram Committee and the organising committee for a bliss filled Guru-Poornima and for a wonderful job done. In such large events, there is always room for learning and improving, so we will take the feedback positively to improve going forward.

It was 2pm by the time we got out and looked for the taxi we had booked – a 11-seater Force vehicle. Luckily it was parked just outside the sadhak nivas so we did not have to lug the bag too far in the heat. Once all the sadhaks came, we left for the airport, sharing experiences on the way.

At the airport after checking in and clearing security we were told the flight was delayed. Pallavi had got a severe attack of migraine. I told her to wear her dark glasses and she would feel better. She did that, and then we started narrating experiences one after the other, and the atmosphere became consciousness filled – Pallavi’s migraine vanished by magic as the Guru-energies did their trick.

The flight left at 6pm instead of 5 and we reached Mumbai by 7pm. I reached home by 8.15pm after another awesome Guru-poornima.

The translation of the discourse will not be exactly accurate as the translation and writing live may not have captured the entire essense, though I have made an honest effort to do so. I have been asked many times how I manage to translate on the fly - my reply has always been that it is HIS Energy, which makes the pen fly. Any errors are entirely mine - whatever you like is entirely HIS.

Jai Baba Swami

Birds eye view of Baba Dham and Sadhak Nivas complex