Month: September 2021

Swami ji said…

” In today’s day and age – looks, beauty and appearances are given paramount importance. People judge others by the cars they drive in, the houses they live in, their dressing sense and expensive life – style. People with attractive physical features, wealth and money are envied and admired.”

” Yet, all this is transient. With age, beauty diminishes and voices crack and weaken. Wealth that had been accumulated over the years can be spent and wasted by the next generation in a jiffy. In the midst of all this, man has forgotten that his true wealth…his real coinage…is not in his wallet , but , in his behaviour. Are we mindful of our behaviour with others ? Do we behave in a manner that is atrocious and far from pleasant but simply don’t care about it?”

” If we truly want to leave behind a legacy ; if we truly wish to be remembered fondly by others, then we must leave behind a treasure trove of fond memories with people so that, when people think of us they remember us with respect, affection and warmth. Only then can one speak of a life well-lived.”

” ‘मधुर व्यवहार’ or ‘good behaviour’ can be termed to be ‘good’ only when it covers all the people with whom we interact.
Snarling at a telecaller who might have woken us up on a Sunday afternoon, but , sweet-talking a potential client or a person with whom we have a hidden agenda, is not good behaviour.”

” Like the Sun that gives its warmth to all during the winters , or , the breeze that brings equal respite to all in the summers, we, too must behave just as cordially and properly with each and everyone from various walks of life. Kind acts, respectful tones, proper language are not tokens to be traded for favours , but , rather are the correct way for us to treat the world around us.”

” Even in situations that justify anger, words that are spoken and actions that are made or taken, should not be targeted from the point of view of hurting the other person, but, rather to make him or her realise their mistake.”

” Good behaviour is nothing but good ‘karma’ and even in the most trying situations, it must not be given up. Even after having suffered because of Ravan’s misadventures, Lord Ram treated Ravan fairly. He not only gave Ravan multiple chances to repent and avoid waging a war ; but even at the time of Ravan’s death, Shri Ram gave him the respect and reverence of both – a King and a learned man. Similarly, when Shri Ram was ordered to leave for exile by Kaikeyi, He still respected her as a mother and uttered not a word against her.”

” Thus, if God in His ‘human’ form suffered like we humans do, and , yet never cast aside good behaviour, etiquette ; then, why should we and who are we to do so ! “

” We need to remember –
‘ मिट्टी का गीलापन जिस तरह से पेड़ की जड़ को पकड़कर रखता है , ठीक वैसे ही मनुष्य का मधुर व्यवहार भी रिश्तों को बांध कर रखता है l ‘ “

Swami ji said …

” ‘How is that person doing better than me? Why did he get that promotion? Where did I go wrong in managing my finances? ‘ – are some of the questions that haunt us, make us toss and turn, as they plague our ‘mind’, night and day. The human mind – touched, created and gifted by God- should have retained the qualities of happiness, bliss and contentment – that ‘He’ had gifted it with. ‘He’ must have been convinced that the mind blessed by Him would always be at peace – with itself and with the happenings around it, but, unfortunately each one of us had a ‘mind’ of our own and begged to differ from God’s plan. The mind was meant to love, to care, to empathise, to create, but, we, being the way we are refused to accept the mind in its existential state, and, behaved in a manner which was a far cry from what was expected of us.”

“We refused to allow our minds to rest and relax in the cradle of calmness, love, compassion, care, empathy and other beautiful, pure and positive emotions that God had placed it in; and, instead, turned it into a boiling cauldron of envy, rage, restlessness and allowed it to run amok in a thousand directions at the same time.”

” We pay the price for this monumental mistake on a daily basis as our mind seems to draw some morbid pleasure by behaving in a manner that is poles apart from its inherent nature – by making us lose our peace of mind. ‘Peace of mind’ – which cannot be bought at any price , and , yet the easiest thing to lose. Just about anyone and anything can cause a flurry of turbulent emotions to rise in our mind and disrupt its peace.The worst part is that we surrender to the onslaught of these unwarranted emotions that cause unrest and turbulence in our mind.”

” The mind would love to function in a simple, uncomplicated manner, but, we have fine tuned our ‘mind’ to run on a frequency that is complex and greatly disturbing ; in which it loves to ‘fret’ about the future ; ‘fears’ the unknown and is ‘filled’ with ‘anxiety’ and ‘stress’ about the present. It only sees problems around it and tires itself by pondering over them incessantly, so much so, that it is unable to find a solution to these problems. Gradually it begins to lose confidence in its ability to deal with various day to day issues, which results in losing its most precious quality – that of being at peace, tranquil and serene – a quality which is priceless.”

” Why does the mind persist in stirring the dust from issues that should be long forgotten, done with and dusted is known only to it ! Our aim should be to ‘seek’ and ‘see’ a moment, frozen in time; when all is calm and peaceful within us…in our mind. Remember , the ‘Truth’ can be heard only in a peaceful, well rested mind.”

“A meditative mind, untouched by bias and impure thoughts, alone can understand the true role that God has planned for it in a particular lifetime. We need to keep our mind happy, healthy and at peace by understanding that irrespective of what ‘it’ wants, ‘it’ will get only that what God wills to give ‘it’. All the time that is wasted in harbouring negativity, hatred and jealousy in our mind will only make it unhealthy. Remember, we can’t live with hate in our mind. Hate harms us, devours us. Rather, let the mind enrich itself with knowledge from the ‘Holy scriptures’ and bloom with love, gratitude and positivity that will help it attain peace and lead us to live a disciplined, purposeful life.”

Swamiji said …

“Do we take the moments of ‘life’ that we are blessed with for granted, without valuing them the way they should be ? Do we realise how fortunate we are to be alive, to breathe for that every precious second of the lifetime that we are granted by Him ? Has the hectic pace of today’s demanding life, which makes us run from pillar to post, to fulfil the obligations that we have drawn, as the larger picture for ourselves, to remain in a celebratory mode, is preventing us from seeing the beauty of the miracle called – ‘life’. We plan and wait impatiently to celebrate birthdays, festivals promotions, anniversaries, but, in this long wait to celebrate specific dates and occasions, have we forgotten to celebrate – the value and significance of every second, minute, hour and day, which once lived by us, will never be seen and breathed again by us… ‘Humari zindagi, humara jivan ek maha utsav hai, jis ke har kshann ka humein ‘bhavya jashn’ manana chahiye !’ – in a state of thankfulness and gratitude to God.”

” Remember – ‘Life’ is God’s greatest gift to us and, thus, it would be wrong on our part to waste it away in worry and despair. We simply have to, must endeavour to find a reason to smile and laugh often. After all, happiness is not contingent on one’s achievements ; rather, it is a state of being. If one truly begins to seek joy in nooks and corners, in small happenings of life, one wouldn’t need to look far; as, believe me joy will find us. But, if we make the mistake of pinning happiness with the fruition of only our major endeavours and achievements, then it is possible, some of us , might have to wait an entire lifetime to celebrate that hoped for successful moment. The true value, love, positivity and gratitude that we hold for life is recognised by ‘it’ and ‘it’ too responds in a manner most benign. After all, the Moon stays bright when it doesn’t avoid the night ! Doesn’t it !”

” Emulating this quality from the moon, why can’t we celebrate life the way it is served to us – sweet or sour, dark or bright? If life can be a buoyant ride, replete with triumphs and trophies – then, it has an equal right to ‘balance’ us – by creating an occasional speed breaker, packed with trials, turmoil and tribulations! All the accolades and appraisals are celebrated with gusto, but, why are we in comparison, so greatly affected by fears, anxiety, grief, heart break that we easily allow permanent furrows of worry to settle on our face, so much so, that even a distant, faint glimmer of hope, refuses to bring a smile and glow of happiness on our face. None of us know what awaits us the very next moment, so, live the present moment as if it were your last.”

” Never forget that it is the small things in life that give us the greatest pleasure. Simple things that do not cost us anything.The delight on seeing a flower bloom is incalculable. The fragrance of the soil of Mother Earth when its thirst is quenched by the first shower of the monsoon is incomparable. The list is endless. And, the happiness derived is divine.Why then do we think that we are allowed ‘happiness’ and a reason to celebrate only when we ‘achieve’ something grand ? Will we spend the rest of the time stressed about hitting the next target ? Some might even question – ‘What is there to celebrate ?’- as life defined by them is an incessant uphill struggle. Right from our birth, they say, our struggle begins. As newborns, we gasp for air as we come into this world, learning to breathe. In childhood, we repeatedly fall before learning to walk. And, once we learn to walk, we are constantly moving at a hectic pace – school, college, career, family…. never-ending societal obligations and pressures to be successful in these various spheres of life.”

“While there is nothing wrong in being ambitious and hard-working, the journey of life is not meant to be one akin to that of a weary and thirsty traveller, in a desert, who finds some solace only at the occasional oasis. The journey enroute should also be enjoyed.
Celebrate life. Give it a meaning, a direction. Live life to the fullest as this is the only one we have.”

Swamiji said …

“The words ‘Thank God!’ ‘Thank heavens!’ are often heard in a tone that is part relief and part exasperation. God is rarely the actual recipient of the ‘Thanks’ in question in such cases. Yet, we often find ourselves thanking God repeatedly in different settings. We bow our heads, cross our hearts, touch our foreheads, when we pass a place of worship, end a journey safely, find something we thought we had lost etc. But what is the purpose of these gestures? Are they not a result of conditioning by society? Are not all these various ‘Thank yous’ to God not just a part of a quid pro quo, where thanks is offered in return for a favor or fulfillment of a desire?”

” How many of us truly ‘Thank’ God from the bottom of our heart for giving us much more than we deserve and for taking care of us every single day of our lives? How many of us truly acknowledge His Grace in enabling us to bring food to our table ; fulfilling the desires of the family that is dependent on us or having a loved one return home at the end of the day and look upon it as a blessing from God? We instinctively ‘thank’ God when we escape a turmoil, but do we ever ‘thank’ God after reflecting over all that He has blessed us with? We thank God eagerly on a big payday, but, do we ‘thank’ God for giving us another day to try and earn a living, achieve our dreams, or pursue our goals.”

” It is only when we reflect deeply and acknowledge the various things that we are blessed with and fortunate to have in our life, that we will truly be thankful to God. True gratitude and thankfulness emerges when we thank God not only after eating a hearty and healthy meal , but, also, when we see that we are spared the hunger that millions of other people die of everyday.
True gratitude arises in our heart when we learn to appreciate the supposedly ‘small’ things in life and are not put off by the lack of ‘wordly riches and spoils’. The world of ‘maya’ ensures that we are never happy after acquiring the best of possessions and titles.
Alexander conquered and plundered land after land, people after people, yet, could not bring happiness to himself or those that accompanied him on his conquests. Yet, the ‘yogis’ and saints he encountered were more than content with only the earth beneath their feet and the sky above their heads. This was because unlike Alexander, who thanked God only for his mighty victories and grand achievements, the sages and ‘yogis’ were filled with gratitude for whatever little they had, and , thus found no reason to remain discontented and unhappy.”

” Being truly thankful to God, from the heart and soul, is thus not a duty, but, actually the only way to contentment, happiness and a stress-free life. A heart filled with gratitude does not ‘seek’ but rather looks to ‘give’. And, this, would be the best way to live a truly meaningful and wonderful life.”