Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji

Swami ji said…

“बहुत टेंशन चल रही है आजकल…” “Life is so stressful…”

“तनाव के कारण मुझे नींद नहीं आ रही है…” These are emotional expressions heard very often by us today. They convey the frightening degree of emotional distress, strain and pressure which seems to be overwhelming many, many people — eventually leading to poor health, medical complications and, at times, even a complete nervous breakdown.

But instead of merely repeating these melancholic words, do we ever stop and try to understand the reasons that we allow such havoc to be created in our minds, in such an uncontrolled manner, causing anxiety, restlessness and mental disarray within us?

Is this not, perhaps, one of the worst punishments that we can inflict upon ourselves? How do we manage to get ourselves entangled in a cobweb of our own making? The answer, perhaps, is known only to us…“हमने क्या अपने आप से, दूसरों से और ज़िंदगी से कुछ ज़्यादा ही अपेक्षाएँ और उम्मीदें लगा रखी हैं— जो सच्चाई से कोसों दूर हैं? क्या हम किसी भ्रम में जी रहे हैं?”

Is it possible that the gap which exists between our ‘expectations’ from life — from ourselves and from other people — and the ‘reality’ of our lives, and the manner in which we live out our lives, could be one of the major causes of the apprehension and uneasiness that creates stress within us?

Do we ‘expect’ too much from life, while remaining unwilling to ‘accept’ the everyday occurrences of life when they turn out to be a far cry from the reality that we had imagined?

And what is it about man’s obsession with not letting go of his past? Why does he insist upon carrying its heavy burden along with him— loading an already burdened heart and mind with the additional ‘fear’ of the ‘unknown’? That unknown future which, by God’s will, he may perhaps never even have to face.

Won’t man’s negative habit of constantly anticipating the worst that could happen in his life gradually fill him with sadness and despair— nullifying even the humble attempts made by happiness to enter his doorway?
Happiness may knock gently, again and again— but a mind occupied with sad memories of yesterday and fears of tomorrow may fail to hear it. Thus, sad he remains— increasing his own uneasiness, anxiety and stress.

Mistakes are made by nearly all of us— major or minor. In fact, some people have benefited greatly by learning from the mistakes made by them, which later proved to be life-changing.
Of course, one is filled with regret for having erred, for having made a mistake. But merely regretting it forever, and not moving ahead, will neither serve any purpose nor do us any good, except keep us living in tension. A mistake should teach us — not become a burden that we carry for the rest of our lives.

Just like a bird that leaves behind all its fears, sadness and regrets and takes a new flight, we too must shed the baggage of the negative traits that reside within us and begin anew with a positive thought process. There comes a time when one must say to oneself:
“जो हो गया, उससे सीखो— लेकिन उसे लेकर जीते मत रहो…”

The spiritual seeker must realise that the mistakes of yesterday are lessons that we are meant to remember today. They are meant to give us the wisdom to act correctly in the present. And when it comes to the uncertainty of tomorrow, one must learn to let ‘tomorrow take care of itself’.

The spiritual path is no less daunting than everyday life. One will fail repeatedly. One is bound to err. But that is not an aberration from the spiritual path; in many ways, it is the path itself. God will not be realised in one day— or perhaps even in ten thousand days.

One’s spiritual practices today might seem perfect. One might experience great changes and feel that one has made tremendous spiritual progress. Yet tomorrow may reveal how far one still has to go. And the day after may expose flaws within us that we never even knew existed.

This may happen numerous times. Again and again, the spiritual path may appear challenging. Repeated failures may create within us the stress that arises from feeling ‘unworthy’. But even at such times, one must remember- ‘One can only do one’s best’. Perhaps that in itself is among the highest forms of ‘karma’ available to us — to act sincerely, to correct ourselves when we fail, to continue making the effort, and then to surrender the judgement of our efforts to God.

Let God, and God alone, decide the ‘worth’ of our actions and our efforts.
Our duty is to act with sincerity. The result, the judgement and the final measure of that effort belong to Him.

Perhaps a great deal of our stress does not arise merely from what happens to us. It arises from our insistence that what happens to us, with us, around us – ‘should have happened differently’ — from our inability to let go of what has already happened, and from our fear of what may never happen at all.

This dilemma — this incessant and self-defeating thought process — can perhaps be overcome only by practising the acceptance of life as it really is. One must stop fantasising about what a ‘perfect world’ should be, and, instead, become curious and enthusiastic about seeing how life actually unfolds before one’s eyes.

Yes, this may sound odd. But if we learn to embrace the uncertainty of life, and, even begin to appreciate the manner in which life so often defies the expectations of our own mind, we may find ourselves far better equipped – to handle whatever comes before us.

We may then find that we spend far less time cursing our luck and instead spend far more time focusing on the task at hand. We may also spare ourselves much of the emotional upheaval that so often arises when we feel caught unawares by life. Take joy in life as it is. Marvel at how suddenly it can change. Learn from its impermanence that detachment is one of the keys to protecting oneself from grief.

Remember that nothing lasts. Death is a certainty — not only for man, but, eventually for everything that he considers his own: his possessions, his name, his fame and his relationships. Everything, in time, comes to an end. And thus, there is perhaps nothing that we can gain or lose in this life that is truly more valuable than our ‘soul’.

Life is a ‘गुरु’ in itself. It is constantly showing us what we need to focus upon and what path we must take. If we observe it carefully — with a pure heart and a clear mind — we may begin to realise that life is not a struggle meant to break our spirit, but, a journey meant to uplift our ‘soul’.

Swami ji said…

The aplomb and disdain with which we address others — when we are either angry or frustrated with their behaviour- by telling them off arrogantly- “मैं तुम्हें बहुत अच्छी तरह से जानता हूँ…” – might not be the wisest policy to adopt- as this could leave the other person flabbergasted — but, since we are determined to sing our own tune, we fail to see the questioning and astonished look on the other person’s face.

Can we visualise, even for a second, what would our response be if he could turn back and counter-question us : “पहले तुम मुझे यह बताओ कि तुम अपने आप को कितनी अच्छी तरह से जानते हो ?”And that rebuttal could certainly take the winds out of our sails — and leave us floundering — on detecting the underlying truth in that statement!

Are we truly as sincere, honest and genuine as we appear to outsiders? Or do we play a game of pretence and present a false façade to others around us?

And this is the major mistake that we make by thinking that ‘no one’ will know about the deceptive role being played by us.
We can fool ‘others’ by playing a ‘dual’ role — but the One above, who knows us ‘in’ and ‘out’, cannot be deceived by us.

So much in love are we with our ‘intelligent’ selves that we feel we can somehow outsmart ‘Him’ — by maintaining a ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. And, thus, we go about desperately- trying to do everything ‘good, noble and kind’- that is apparent and clearly visible on the surface — to those around us, and, of course, to Him too- since we are certain that He is watching over us from above, from ‘outside’ of us.

In a strange way, since most of us have always placed God on a pedestal — at a distance from our physical being- we have taken it for granted that ‘He’ sees all our ‘external’ activities- and we can conveniently hide from Him- ‘all’ that exists within our ‘internal’ being- as we have never felt that ‘He’ is within us. Pride, jealousy, falsehood, the art of deception- that He is the ‘only’ spectator to- but, we go on with life- secure in our ignorance that He will never know about these hidden characteristics of ours.

Can we ever hide from Him our thoughts, our feelings, our true emotions? How have we come to the conclusion that He doesn’t know about our true nature; about what we truly are?

Just like the food that we consume gives shape to our body- our thoughts give shape to our inner nature, our real personality- and ‘who’ could know better than ‘Him’ – about every thought of ours, about our ‘true’ personality.

Man, of course, can always ‘maintain’ a façade. He can give the appearance of being pious, simple and honest — while not really being so. Moreover, he can even convince himself of the same.

The spiritual seeker must always remember — God knows when he sits and rises, knows his thoughts, and even knows his words before they are spoken. One cannot hide anything from God. In fact, it is better to acknowledge one’s flaws and weaknesses in the presence of God. One should seek His help in removing the obstacles that come in the way of spiritual development.

Our aim should be to purify our ‘inner being’ to such an extent that we are certain that we have made ourselves worthy enough to have Him seated in a pure , positive and peaceful abode- within us ; where He is worshipped with a pure mind, heartfelt prayers and meditated on with a heart that is filled with love for Him.

Swami ji said …

What makes any man act? What makes him do anything at all? Why does he do what he does? What motivates him? What inspires him? What is it that he seeks? What fruits does he hope to obtain from his actions? These are indeed important and highly consequential questions in the life of anyone— and even more so from the perspective of one who seeks spiritual upliftment and joy.

If one observes children, one might notice how they seem to enjoy certain things—drawing, reading, solving puzzles, or something else altogether. It is not that they are masterful at them. Rather, they simply seem to enjoy doing them- and it appears as though- it is the ‘soul’ that is partaking in this action of theirs- making them experience pure, divine joy- as they giggle with delight and radiate happiness.

No matter how much they struggle, or ‘fail’, they do not judge themselves for it. They simply keep at it. They are merely enjoying ‘doing’ whatever it is that piques their curiosity. They have little inkling of ‘gain’ or ‘loss’, of reward or failure.

Yes, the first thought that comes to one’s mind on hearing this is that life is not as simple as that. And that is true. Life can seem complicated, with all its shades of grey. Reward and failure can have very real consequences. But, then, life is also not meant to be an enslavement to ‘results’.

One cannot live today only for tomorrow. Of course, the future must be considered. But, one who walks while looking only further ahead is bound to stumble on the path beneath his feet.

And that is the essence of the question that stands before us: Can we do something simply because we like doing it? Simply because it gives us joy?

The spiritual seeker must ask this question repeatedly. And, more often than not, answering it can be difficult. Not all days in the office can be great for us. Not all days in business bring a profit. Not all days spent taking care of a child or an elder seem rewarding or joyful. Not all days spent studying at school feel equally satisfying.
There are just as many bad days as good ones, just as many losses as wins— if not more. The fruits of our actions, whether in the short term or the long term, cannot always be- what we would like them to be.

That is simply not how life works. It is important for us to awaken the mind— to rid it of its obsession with ‘results’.
Yes, one needs an aim; that is certain. But attachment to that aim is fatal and must be avoided at all costs. True joy comes when one realises that an unwavering commitment to one’s cause, and anchoring one’s happiness to the fulfilment of that cause- are two completely distinct perspectives— and two completely different ways of life.

Take the story of Eklavya and Arjun. Eklavya’s devotion was centred upon the act of learning itself. Without Dronacharya physically present to teach him, he practised with such dedication that he attained extraordinary mastery. His commitment was so complete that, when Dronacharya asked for his right thumb as ‘guru dakshina’, he gave it without hesitation.

Arjun’s path was different. He had been promised by Dronacharya that he would become the greatest archer of his time and the fulfilment of that promise naturally became important to him. Thus, in the same story, we see two very different relationships with an aim: one in which fulfilment lay largely in devotion to the pursuit itself, and, another in which the attainment of a particular result had assumed great importance.

History remembers Arjun as one of its great heroes. Yet it also remembers Eklavya. Perhaps that itself tells us something. Achievement may determine who wins, but, devotion to one’s pursuit can leave behind a greatness of an entirely different kind.

But the reality of life is that we cannot truly control what happens tomorrow, nor can we ever know with certainty what results our actions today- will bear tomorrow or in the future. We can only take joy in knowing that we did our best today. That we left no stone unturned in the pursuit of the path we chose. And that, in fact, is all the joy that we are allowed. Joy in the action itself.

That is when our actions become our prayer and our praise to God. Every moment we live, we are grateful for having lived it and for having done the best we could. Every day of our lives then becomes an ode to God and His mysterious ways.

Swami ji said …

Through the ages, man has worshipped God in innumerable forms. Sometimes in the form of powerful beings, sometimes in human form, and sometimes as other mysterious creatures. Various holy books are believed to be the ‘Word of God’ and are often treated as the ultimate law to be followed.
Then there are holy places believed to be the abode of God, to which pilgrimages are made— sometimes even at one’s own peril — in the hope of experiencing or sighting the divine.

Many a time, one seeks God to alleviate one’s troubles. One hopes to seek His blessings so that one’s problems may be taken care of. But, then, there are those who use these various means of divine worship and knowledge, rituals and practices- in the hope of enriching themselves spiritually.

They fast, they pray, they observe rituals, they read scriptures— strictly following everything that has been proclaimed to be the path to God. And that is, in fact, a great feat in itself. For it takes great effort and strength to do this. It is only those with enduring discipline- who are able to take out the time and sacrifice other aspects of their lives to devote themselves to God and self-realization.

But, there is one danger that always lurks in the shadows, and, everyone on this path must be aware of it. It is that, in the midst of all this hard work, daily meditation and prayer, one may forget to keep an eye on how one actually ‘feels’ and ‘thinks’.

Every spiritual seeker must ask these questions: “How good… How pure are my thoughts?” “How truthful am I?” “What is the true purpose behind my spiritual practice?” “Am I being honest with myself when I say that I am doing all this only to attain ‘self-realization’ or do I want to attain some powers that can make me more powerful than others?”

The mind has a curious way of contorting one’s perspective. After years of ‘जप, तप, ध्यान’- one might end up feeling superior to others and feel that he has a right to judge their actions. A departure from humility after so many years of focussed effort on controlling his impulses- would be catastrophic for one’s spiritual progress.

This can happen to the best of us. We might begin to feel that we have the ‘right’ to be judgemental. We might convince ourselves – that reprimands and harsh words from us are justified because, after all, we are seekers of God- which somehow gives us the birth-right to ‘tick off’ people, hurting them deeply while doing so.

Some of us begin to feel that our spiritual practice makes us deserving- even of material wealth. The mind convinces us that since we ‘serve’ God, we truly deserve the best even in this world. In fact, without realising it, we begin equating our spiritual efforts with material results.

Sometimes, we might even lie in the belief that we possess the moral superiority to do so, convincing ourselves that the person being lied to is only being done a favour.

We begin to think of others as being below us— convinced that those who live ‘non-spiritual’ lives are, in some way, lower than us in stature.

If we closely follow the message of Lord Krishna, it simply boils down to keeping a watch on the ‘nature’ of our ‘actions’. Our actions can only be pure, if, we are truly pure from within— when our thoughts and intentions are untainted by greed, anger, jealousy, pride and other such impulses.

Thus, inner purity becomes an essential and uncompromising characteristic for those who seek God and spiritual upliftment. This can only be achieved through constant reflection and honest questioning of oneself.

The inner voice within us— God’s voice— is always there to be heard. It might grow faint amidst the tumultuous windings of the mind, but, it is always there. Whenever we begin to stray, it whispers to us, reminding us to be watchful of our thoughts, words, deeds and actions. “Are they pure, noble and well-intended? Are we being honest when we praise someone and laud his achievements or is it a farce that we put on for others to see? Are we genuinely happy on seeing others progress or are we consumed with jealousy- but pretend to be ecstatic on seeing them prosper? Can a double-faced person ever succeed on the spiritual path?”

It is completely up to us to clear the mind and listen to this ‘Voice’- that is loud and clear- in the din and confusion around us. For it speaks only the Truth— the Truth that can set us free- from the never ending cycle of birth and death…” जितना ध्यान हम तन की सफाई में लगाते हैं , उतना ही ध्यान अगर हम मन की सफाई में लगाएं, तो जीवन स्वर्ग बन जाए…”

Swami ji said…

Don’t we often hear people around us – asking in a worried voice, “हमें उस जगह जाना है… हमें वहाँ का रास्ता ठीक से पता नहीं है… आप रास्ता बता सकते हैं क्या?”
And once the directions are made clear to us, we usually do not face much difficulty in finding the destination we had intended to reach. On finally locating the place, we are filled with relief and silently thank the good samaritan who had helped us in our time of need.

On a serious note- “Would it really be possible for any one of us to grow, evolve, and develop into a mature, sensible, and balanced person- without the wisdom, experience, and knowledge of a guide, a mentor, or someone who shows us the right direction and the correct way – with the selfless intent of drawing out the best in us, making us aware of our potential and capabilities; the options that lie before us, and the need for us to make the right choice?”

The choice is ours to make. The best mentor in the world- with all his precious, valuable advice- could find himself being stone-walled by us, and, see us shrivel like a rotten apple- due to our lack of will, our disinterest- at the thought of venturing into the field- which ‘he’ knew was apt for us. But, our attitude- speaks volumes about our unwillingness to act on his suggestions and guidance.

The question then is: ” How many of us are actually willing to walk the path that we, too, deep within our hearts, know to be the right ‘way’ for us? ” But again, the challenges and obstacles- that we are certain await us on our path- often appear to be humongous- because of our habit of overthinking. They, mostly, make us take a U-turn or veer away from the path meant for us, without even pausing to reconsider whether our decision to do so is right or wrong; childish or mature.

Why are adolescents drawn towards all the vices in the world at such an impressionable age, in spite of all the motivational talks and counselling sessions they attend? Do they, even for the shortest span of time, replay in their minds the values and principles that their parents tried to inculcate in them? Can they even recall the number of times their parents had told them- ” बेटा, सही मार्ग पर चलना…”
“अच्छे संस्कारों के रास्ते पर आगे बढ़ना…”

And, if, once in a while, we were to quietly reflect upon our own past, we might be left astounded at the number of individuals who, knowingly or unknowingly, tried to guide us in the right direction as- “कोशिश तो बहुतों ने की थी हमारा मार्गदर्शन करने की, परन्तु उस मार्ग पर चलना हमें ठीक लगा या नहीं, उसकी ज़िम्मेदारी हम पर थी – और आज भी, हम पर ही है…” But, how does one really hope to know what the right course of action is ? ‘Paralysis by analysis’- often leads to indecision and missed opportunities.

The spiritual seeker can only hope to do this by training his heart and mind. Regular meditation and prayer create an instinct – a subtle understanding of the world around him – that guides him ‘correctly’. What might initially seem to be an ‘irregular’, ‘illogical’, or , ‘hard’ choice may, at times, appear to be the correct path to take.
This may be for moral reasons, or, even for more practical ones – such as knowing that, whilst there may be difficulties in the beginning, he will be far better off in the long run.
What this means is that he is no longer driven by impulse, instant gratification, or greed. He must choose his actions wisely, weigh them morally and principally, and commit to them with the understanding that they are for the best and for his good.

An earnest devotee understands at a point in time – that the pauses, the many things that are left ‘unsaid’ by His ‘guru’ – while He imparts ‘gyaan’ to Him – hold a wealth of meaning in them.The devotee then has a choice- to either use his mind- and fill in the words that were not said aloud by his ‘guru’ – which would benefit him greatly in everyday life- or, maintain a careless attitude and not read too much between the unsaid lines- and go about his spiritual life in a casual manner- depriving himself of further spiritual growth.

We will always be shown the correct path – by the Guru, by parents, by teachers. But, taking that path and continuing to walk upon it can only be done by us. This commitment can only take root within us when we truly imbibe God in our hearts, minds and way of life. Those who develop faith in Him find it increasingly difficult to follow an immoral path. Their awareness that they are doing something wrong, and, the guilt that follows, compels them to self-correct.

In other words, their spirituality becomes their guiding light. And, the more one surrenders to God, and, the more one keeps Him in one’s thoughts and prayers, the brighter that light shines- within and without, further reconfirming that- ” आध्यात्मिक मार्ग सबसे सुंदर मार्ग है…”