Month: February 2021

Swamiji says…

“Man has always placed faith and trust in a force – powerful, greater and stronger than himself. This unique and supreme force – to some – the very forces of Nature themselves ; to others, pictorial representations of higher powers, idols of deities or of great religious and spiritual leaders – have been respected and revered by him. Addressing this invisible force in a manner most personal – mostly by way of a one on one conversation; saying prayers to make oneself heard; worshipping God with sincere devotion and chanting His name to appease Him, has been practised by the human race ever since its evolution on Earth. ‘Insaan ne hamesha ‘Ishwar’ se apne sukhi jivan aur ujjwal bhavishya ke liye prarthana ki hai !”

“It is but natural for us to bow our head or prostrate in obeisance and submission to God whenever we pray. But, is doing just this good enough ! What about the prayer that we read, sing or whisper ! Do we make a genuine, honest attempt to assess, absorb and assimilate the enlightening, elevating sounds and syllables of the prayer said by us,or, do we merely mouth our prayers in a perfunctory manner, as if they were a routine drill, to be attended to and finished with? Do we use our physical being superficially; only as a mechanical tool, while bowing our head in front of God or do we do so lovingly, spontaneously – a joyous response to God’s comforting omnipresence and awe – inspiring omniscience? Do we pray with a heart bursting with love and gratitude for Him; thankful for the countless blessings that He showers upon us in the most unexpected ways? Do we feel our embodied soul stir within us, while we pray, as though trying to free itself from our physical being, the cage in which it is imprisoned, and merge with ‘param atma’?”

” ‘Prarthana karte samay apne tann, mann aur ‘jiv atma’; teeno ko jhukana chahiye. Apni ‘prarthana’ ke har shabd ka prem se uccharan karo, mehsoos karo, aur jo ‘sanskaar’ hum unn shabdon se seekh rahein hain, unko apne andar utaaro!’ “

“Praying makes us understand that God loves us unconditionally. But have we learnt to do the same? Love others around us unconditionally; without any expectations? ‘He’ helps us when all hope is lost; without us asking Him for any help. But do we also in turn help those in need? While we expect God to meet our ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ immediately, do we give precedence over personal matters, to requests for assistance, asked of us, by others? Do we truly look at the concerns and issues of others as our own or do we always consider our own needs to be more important than those of others?”

“We must remember the unfathomable ways in which ‘He’ gives us what is right for us. Praying should make us accept the supremacy of the unseen, invisible power, that is God, and during those few moments, at least, our inflated ego – which most of the times is filled with pride over irrelevant issues – must surrender in all humility to God’s greatness, accepting its own droplet like insignificance in the vast ocean of the cosmos. We should be indebted to our Creator for our time on Earth and for giving us the chance to pray ; to worship Him. We should not waste this lifetime in proving our greatness over others; but must simply strive to be good human beings. We must not forget that our success is not just a result of our actions alone but also an answer to our prayers.”

“Our prayers serve as reminders that we are nothing without God’s help. All of us need His help – some a little ; some a lot more – and cannot succeed in life on our own ; no matter how hard we try. A prayer thus reminds us to be a little more humble, to be a little more respectful, as life is not all about us ; for even in prayer, although, it is man who proposes, finally it is God who disposes !”

Swamiji says …

“It is good to dream. ‘Sapne dekhna achcha hota hai!’ – as it is our dreams that motivate us to do something creative and worthwhile in life. Dreams inspire us to conquer the impossible.Man dares to dream; to imagine; to visualise vividly what he would like to achieve; and his fertile mind responds to this fanciful requirement of his, at the slightest sign of acquiescence, by taking him on a flight of fantasy. But will he only dream and talk big about his grandiose futuristic plans; or, think of getting into work mode – at the earliest and act on the dreams dreamt by him. Mere day dreaming is not enough. Catch the dream. Hold it close to your heart and set out courageously to rewrite your ‘bhagya’!”

“‘Sirf ‘vicharon’ aur ‘khwabon’ mein khoye rehne se kuch nahi hota hai! Humey apna ‘kartavya’ aur ‘karma’ bhi toh karna chahiye!’ A detailed narrative of one’s most dramatic dream could sound good for a day or two; but, this habit of building castles in the air has to be brought to an end, and empty words must be replaced with an action plan and its immediate implementation. A determined effort has to be put in as…’Bhagya’ khud banane se banta hai! ‘Bhagya’ tumhare apne karmon se bann ta hai!’ “

“Hard work. Perseverance.The insight needed to prioritize our work and to systematically plan the task at hand will undoubtedly help us – ‘Apne ‘bhagya’ ko ujjwal banane mein…’and also enable us to see our dreams fructify ! But will an attitude of passivity and slumber ever help us in making our ‘bhagya’ better and productive? No. Never! The blame-game to which we resort, ever so conveniently, so that we are able to accuse our lacklustre ‘bhagya’ for our sorry state of affairs; the habit of holding our ‘bhagya’ responsible for every unlucky moment in our life – is abominable, and the earlier we stop doing this, the better it would be for all of us! ‘Apne ‘bhagya’ ko kosna band karo! Kewal sapney dekhna se aagey badho aur unko poorna karne ke liye ‘karma’ karo!’ “

“What we must remember here is that it is only our actions, deeds, thoughts and words that determine our ‘bhagya’. Nobody else has anything to do with it! Not for a minute should we forget that we are the sole writers of our destiny ; that we are the true masters of our destiny.”

“‘Koi bhi kukaram mat karo! Itney ‘pavitra’ aur ‘shudh’ karam karo ki ‘vidhata’ bhi, jinka likha hua koi nahi mita sakta hai ; ek baar swayam sochne par majboor ho jayein ki woh khud ka likha mita kar, tumhara ‘bhagya’ dobara likh sakhein ! “

Swamiji says…

“Man’s actions, creations and deeds are borne of his emotions.The nature of one’s emotions is reflected clearly in one’s body language, expressions and every gesture made by him, each of which vary, from one moment to another. So, in the end, it is the purity of our ‘bhavna’, the ‘intent’ of our mind, the ‘character’ of our emotions that defines us, not only, during our lifetime, but also, which determines the legacy that we leave behind.”

‘Apni bhavna ko shudh rakho! Kamal keechad mein khilta hai! ” A lotus blooms in swamp and is a vision to behold, as its beauty provides joy to all. It retains its uniqueness, unmindful of the polluted environment in which it grows and finds a place most divine to adorn – the Feet of God and ‘guru’. Nature tries to impress upon man, in a subtle manner, that we should remain unaffected by our external environment ; the family, circumstances and conditions in which we take birth and are raised ; the people around us; as it not only these factors that finally determine what we will evolve into, as we progress in life; but it is also our ‘internal’ being i.e. ‘humari bhavna’ … our emotions, sentiments and the nature of our perspective towards life and others, that gives shape to what we do and achieve in life !”

“It is thus important to maintain purity in our ‘bhavna’ – ‘Apni bhavnaon mein shudhata lao, prem, sadbhavna lao !’ Emotions of love, genuine concern and sympathy should rule over us; as good, pure emotions are seeds that bear fruits of a happy, successful and contented life.”

” Pious, pure and positive emotions are palpable and always felt by whosoever we come in contact with. Remember, every emotion that we hold within us is evident to people. Try as much as we would like to refute, but our vibes speak louder than our words. The aura that we radiate conveys the quality of our emotions.The Great Masters of old taught people to live a life of compassion, consideration and concern for others, emotions that have influenced and motivated mankind more, than the contribution of some great emperors, who had come before and after them.”

“Do we see happiness only where there is wealth?”
“No.”
“Do we see happiness only where there is health?”
“No.”
“Our happiness is only and only a function and manifestation of our emotions.The less aggressive, disturbed and agitated they are, the better it is for us. ‘Agar ‘bhavna’ maili hai toh, mahal bhi khandar lagta hai ! ‘Bhavnaein’ irshya ki, nafrat ki aur superiority ki …’ can only make one feel trapped and caged, and he must find an escape from such misleading, negative emotions at the earliest.”

“The process of purifying one’s emotions can be set in motion, by trying to keep a watchful eye, on the kind of emotions we carry within ourselves. We must be mindful of the moments when we let angry, violent or impure emotions run loose,and, must question ourselves as to why such emotions rise within us, and, look to fix the root cause. There are numerous occasions where we rejoice in the misery of others, get angry and frustrated at seeing others succeed, and, wish harm upon others. It is at such times that we must check ourselves, and, let go of such worthless emotions, as the perils of harbouring such emotions will only harm us.”

“After all is not a murderer consumed with ghastly, gory and violence filled emotions before he commits a gruesome murder ! ‘Kya uss ne aisa paap kar ne se pehle, ek kshann ke liye bhi shaant ‘chit’ se yeh socha, ki woh kya karne jaa raha hai!” And does not a thief’s lust and longing for the wealth of others lead him to thievery ? Had they considered the ensuing consequences of their momentary lapse of judgment, they might not have succumbed to the evil temptation! Why can’t we douse the fiery emotions of negativity, impurity and hatred with emotions of empathy, love and peace, so that those around us feel wanted, loved and cared for?”

“Shouldn’t we rather have an approach ; calm … ‘vinamra’, ‘shant bhavna’ ko utpann karne wala aur doosron tak apne mann ki shanti ki bhavna ko pahuchanewala !’ – thereby making others too feel calm and reassured with our presence; one that is at peace with itself; undemanding, unassuming, and radiates happiness and joy. “

Swamiji says…

“ The underlying message of the proverbial saying – ‘Time and tide wait for none !’ was instilled and reinforced in us from a very young age ; the memory of which , I am sure, is still vivid in our minds. As children and adolescents we wrote numerous essays on this subject too.Yet, its lessons seem to not have seeped through and been absorbed by us in a manner as adequate as they should have been !”

” Quite a many amongst us fail to give ‘time’ its due ! Not for a second should we forget to value time; to respect it ! A building razed to the ground can be rebuilt and refurbished again ; wealth lost, too, can be regained. But time lost once can never be retrieved or reclaimed! And it is herein that precedence should be given to living a life with an aim to achieve a time bound target ; a goal to pursue; a mission to accomplish. A person who does not give a specific direction to his life, by either following an educational dream , or , by working for the upliftment of society, will never understand the ‘worth’ and precious nature of time. He will find nothing unusual in wasting time by indulging in unproductive and fruitless activities.”

“How many times do we find ourselves scrolling through Instagram, Facebook and numerous other apps on our phone, ignoring the work at hand ? And then we complain about ‘not’ having enough time to complete our assignments or projects ; not having enough time to ‘relax’; oblivious to the fact, that we while away so much time ‘whatsapping’ others, ‘liking’ photos and ‘scrolling’ through gossip websites ; all of which eats into time, which we could otherwise have used constructively; by refuelling ourselves mentally ; by giving adequate time to our physical wellbeing or just by interacting with our near and dear ones…’Vyarth ki baaton mein hum sara din gawan dete hain !’

“Paradoxically, while we all crave ‘more’ time, we do not ‘value’ it.Time lost is nothing but a wasted opportunity. And every second that is lost in excessive sleep, gossip, entertainment etc. is an opportunity lost, missed – that prevents us from learning more, growing manifold and succeeding in our personal and professional lives. It thus becomes important to monitor how we use our time. Armies practice in ‘peacetime’ to bleed less in ‘time of war’. Similarly, we must use the time we have to prepare, to become stronger – mentally and physcially, to gain more knowledge ; so that in the time of crisis ,or , in the time of opportunity, we are not found wanting.”

” Much like a sadhu, who lives in a state of detachment, with no relationships and obligations to the physical word ; but, makes optimal use of the cycle of time from sunrise to sunset, and uses his time on earth, to take the name of God; so that when the time comes for him to leave this physical realm, he does so with God’s name in his last breath ; we too must utilize every moment to do good ‘karma’ ; something concrete, meaningful and of consequence ! ‘Har ek kshann ki kimat ka mahtav samjho aur uska sadupyog karo !”