Month: June 2022

Swami ji said …

” The divine beauty of meditation ; the spiritual wealth that ‘dhyaan’ enriches us with – can only be understood when one begins to devote some time to meditation. Meditate on God or ‘guru’. The time spent in isolation, when one tries to be in a state of external ‘maunn’, notwithstanding the ‘maunn yuddh’ that breaks out internally between positive and negative thoughts – is the time most sacred – as we try to be one with Him during these moments. It is the internal strife that battles within us, that needs to be subjugated and controlled. Believe me , when I say, we are capable of dousing out the fire of rage and envy with a few drops of spiritual nectar that He showers on us , when He sees us making a humble, but, honest effort to know – who we truly are, where have we come from and where will we finally go – through meditation. “

” It takes years of practice to master and conquer the divine challenges of the spiritual path of meditation. There are days when one feels and senses the presence of God or ‘guru’ within the first few seconds of meditation ; but, then there could be days when inspite of our repeated, furtive efforts, we are unable to feel proximity to God. It is during days and moments like these that we need to reflect on and analyse the manner in which we had conducted ourselves during the day. What positives and negatives had we done through out the day ? Had we done something wrong deliberately – knowing very well that what we were about to do was wrong , but , had still gone ahead and done it , silencing our conscience that had tried to protest against the bad ‘karma’ that we were about to do. Had we knowingly hurt someone with our searing words, uncaring about the destructive effect they could have had on that person ? But, we had continued to rant and rave, heedless of the humiliation that we were heaping on him. Do we for a moment think that our ‘अंतर आत्मा’, which is a witness to such harsh behaviour from our end, will be at peace and allow us to experience God’s presence anywhere close to us.”

” But , when our ‘karma’ is noble and good – ‘ हमारी रूह’ that is further purified by ‘humare achche karma’, enables us to see the glory of God or ‘guru’ as He manifests His divine form and love for us in ways, which can only be experienced to be believed, while meditating.”

” All of us pin our hopes on achieving some target or the other , and , on acquiring it , our happiness knows no bounds. We praise the greatness and glory of The Master , worship Him, offer prayers and meditate on His name with great faith and devotion, glowing in the comfort that He is always around us, paying heed to our fervent appeals and fulfilling our wishes.”

” But, does our faith and devotion in Him waver when our desires and ambitions are not met, as and when, we want them to.We have a tendency to question His magical powers and ask ourselves whether our faith in Him – complete and absolute – is actually worth it. Can a mind as doubtful, distracted and suspicious as this think of nurturing ‘ bhakti ‘ , leave alone ‘sacchi bhakti ‘ and centre itself on God out of pure love , devoid of desire even for a few seconds. The Supreme bliss and divine joy that is experienced while meditating cannot be measured in terms of wealth , but , the wealthiest person is one, who has succeeded in cleansing his ‘soul’ from all the impurities that had accumulated over it , in the previous lifetimes, by meditating – earnestly and religiously, and , is recognised by His Creator as being worthy enough to be merged with Him – thereby attaining liberation from the never ending cycle of life and death.”

Swami ji said …

” Society today is obsessed with ‘success’. We are constantly told that we must be ‘successful’. We idolise and worship anyone who society considers to be ‘successful’. Money, wealth, beauty, fame, power – are the general parameters used by us to measure ‘success’.”

” Where are you in your career? How much money do you make? What hold and influence do you have over others? It is answers to these questions that tend to define whether or not you are successful. And it is these questions that drive man to keep toiling and working hard at whatever he decides to pursue.”

” Let us think of success in terms of money. Is having a large bank balance ‘success’ in itself ? For some period of time, it could be. But, then will the joy of this success last forever ? Would it not feel better to have an even larger bank balance? Why are we comparing ourselves with others who are richer than us? The chase would hence begin again. Are joy and happiness thus supposed to be only temporary pit stops in this race towards success? And, what if we are unable to achieve the standards that we have set out for ourselves? Has then all our effort and toil been a complete waste?”

” It would thus appear that we live life only to ‘achieve’ certain results – with much time spent in only hoping and praying that we ‘make it’. It is such a way of living ; such an approach towards life that creates stress and tension.”

” Today, people are constantly stressed. In a world where everyone knows what the other person is upto – they put in everything to be one up. They work hard tirelessly – only with the constant pressure to outdo others and to make a name for themselves. Such a life, though initially thrilling – is one that is shortlived in terms of mental peace and joy – as everyday there will be someone doing better than us at work , or , in their social life, or , in some other aspect. On the other hand being unhappy with our personal set up, status and slow success rate ; and envying the other person’s fate will only keep us up at night leading to further unhappiness and ill health.”

” It is thus important to understand that happiness is not something we need to earn or receive from external factors. it is something we need to bring about ourselves ; find it within ourselves. Just because we did not hit a target today, or, some unexpected obstacle presented itself – does not mean that we cannot be happy. We make life morose and depressive by sweating about every other problem or shortcoming we face. Instead, we must learn to shut our minds from all these at the end of the day , and , simply seek to enjoy the time we have to ourselves. Infact, we must strive to smile even in the trenches. Facing and solving problems with a smile more often than not sees half the battle won.”

” We live only in the present moment and if we are not happy in that moment, then we should be asking ourselves – why that is so ? Life must be lived with the aim to be as joyous and blissful as we can be.This will direct us to perform our actions in a better and thoughtful manner. We will automatically gravitate towards good ‘karma’ and no matter how hard the task – we will be motivated to tackle it efficiently. Our actions will make us ‘happy’ and ‘joy’ will drive our actions. A happy mind is one that knows it is not doing anything wrong. We will thus work as hard as we must; we will stop when we know we must; we will also be responsible and dutiful, as our conscience will not allow it otherwise. At the end of the day- if our heart is satisfied with our efforts – we will be happy – and that would mean being ‘successful’.”

” It is thus important for us to recalibrate and think in terms of ‘true’ happiness. It is only then that we will no longer feel the pressure to ‘compete’ and always ‘win’. We will instead simply be doing what we had come to do in this world happily – God’s work – and, that in itself, is all the reward and ‘success’ in this world.”

Swami ji said…

” In every pride of lions, the alpha male is generally the biggest and the fiercest. Yet, with time, it gets old and the aura of invincibility and domniation around it diminishes. What once seemed indomitable, becomes fragile and old, with time. In the world of sports, there are stories of many athletes, who look all set to conquer the world with their fine talent and physical traits; yet, a freak accident or injury derails all their plans and leaves them in a state of utmost
helplessness.With time, even mountains erode and the biggest of rivers run dry.”

” If we look, we will observe this phenomenon – happening again and again, everywhere in life – all around us. But despite this if we pause and consider how most of us live our lives – it would appear that we are almost certain that our ‘today’ will play out exactly in the same way ‘tomorrow’. Be it the good or the bad times – our actions, plans and decisions will belie our foolish assumption that there will be no change in the status quo of the pattern of our life tomorrow.This is where we are wrong. There will be a change.”

” It is often the case that when we hit a rough patch, we curse our luck and lament our fate, and, assume that the sun will never rise again in our dark and dismal life. Similarly, when time is favourable and good for us – it becomes difficult for us to comprehend why things could turn bad for us in any way.”

” The reason for this is that we underestimate the ever changing nature of ‘time’. With time, our surroundings, our situation – everything can and will change – sometimes, gradually ; sometimes, in an instant – but, change, it surely will.Thus, it becomes important to be mindful of this while living our lives.”

” One way to do this, is by learning from, and , observing the lives of others around us. We will see some in despair, and, some having the time of their lives. But the possibility of ‘time’, turning tables on their fate and fortune, in the near future, cannot be over – ruled. What we should glean from this – is the immense power of time to change our lives – and that it cannot be subjugated by anyone’s will. We should then think about – What we can do to prepare ourselves to face the changing moods and nature of time ? The puzzling question – ‘How can we remain unaffected in ‘mind’ and ‘soul’ by the ups and downs of life?’ – needs to find a solution at the earliest.”

” The first step is to accept that we can never know what tomorrow truly has in store for us. The acceptance of this eternal truth will cast a rein on the mind and will make us look at everything with a sense of stoicity. Our actions will then always be measured, and , not be extreme in any way.”

” We should also not be foolish to pray to God to keep hard times away from us. Even Shri Krishna had to flee from the battlefield, when fighting Jarasandh, simply because, it was not yet time for Jarasandh’s death. God himself had to respect ‘time’ and let it follow its own course. What then – are we trying to change? We should instead make the ‘mind’ and ‘spirit’ strong through meditation and reflection. We should detach ourselves from the material world – and rid ourselves of the fear of ‘losing’ things such as money, position, wealth. We must focus rather on our abilities, our skills, our mental strength ; those – that will enable us to ease through the toughest of times. If we want to ask God for anything – then ask Him – to make us capable in the face of adversity.”

” And, most importantly, we should empathize with others – in bad and the good times. We should try to share others sorrows, help whenever we can, give words of encouragement , give a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind. This will also keep us grounded and make us appreciate our own lives and thank God for all the good things He gives us. We must also celebrate others success. This will enable us to better ourselves too, and , strengthen the belief that we have a better life awaiting us.”

Swami ji said…

“The urgency to earn appreciation, approval and to be accepted by one and all, is experienced by nearly all of us in today’s scenario. We crave to get a thumbs up sign from those in particular who matter to us and those who have succeeded in impressing us greatly. Modern man constantly seeks validation from society. What others think of us, how others perceive us has taken front row in our hearts and minds. And, thus we endure great pains to ensure that we do not lag behind in projecting our outer self to the world in a blitzkrieg way.Be it through photos and videos on social media ; attending social functions, or other attention grabbing methods. We have to be seen everywhere, make our ‘presence’ felt everywhere.The gap between who we really our, and , how we want the world must see us – is constantly growing. This widening gap, however, is what creates an internal turmoil within us, and places great stress on the mind and soul as our physical looks begin to take precedence. The thoughts – ‘How fair or tall am I ? Am I beautiful or handsome enough ? Why am I so fat ? ‘ – plague us constantly.”

” As is often the case, we associate fame and glory with a sense of happiness and joy. And , yes, words of appreciation do make us feel good.They give our ego quite a boost. But the ‘happiness’ we experience is such cases is only momentary and superficial. As a result, we feel we need to do something to earn this appreciation again and again. And, as is often the case, this means we begin to look at ways to get the world’s attention, to do that, which would be appreciated by it. As a result, people stop living and experiencing their lives and rather ‘project’ one for the world – one that is false and full of pretence. Can we guarantee that the most beautiful person on Earth is truly a happy person within ?”

” Unfortunately, society also appreciates only ‘physical’ beauty, wealth and power. It is no wonder that people thus become obsessed with ‘looks’ and ‘money’. Sincerity, honesty, simplicity on the other hand are barely acknowledged and even ridiculed. Complex about one’s plain looks are good enough to make him lose his self confidence and maybe feel depressed too ? Is it worth it ?”

” Amazingly, just like ‘maya’, we too create a different picture of our lives for others – than what it ‘truly’ is. Is such behaviour not counterintuitive for a true spiritual seeker? How can one who depends on others for his measure of happiness ever even begin looking ‘within’? Yes, one should not strive to be a pariah in society, but, just as importantly, one must also not let one’s nature and soul be enslaved by it. God has a thousand forms – at times He takes the form of an ‘avatar ‘, when He wishes, He takes the form of a ‘vanar’, sometimes the form of a ‘tree’ – and we accept Him in all forms. Why then can we also not accept that we too are different from the others in rest of the world, in various ways, and , embrace our originality ?”

” The complex that one develops due to his physical shortcomings, seeps into his day to day behaviour too. In schools, obese but intelligent students, are wary of asking questions, as the fear of being ridiculed and being branded ‘fat’ by their peers frightens them. Young college going students spend a large amount of money, much beyond their means, to improve their complexion and skin tone – on anything , to look good – only to be ridden with debt later on. People are fully prepared to lose all sense of dignity just for a few days of fame. All this self-destruction and madness is inflicted on oneself only to gain society’s approval. Yet, in the end, happiness still eludes them ; appears to be missing from their lives.”

” ‘Suparnakha’ was a demon and in order to hide her true features, she assumed the form of a beautiful woman to win over Laxman. What did she gain by doing so in the end ? She suffered the humiliation of getting her nose cut by Laxman. We too must learn from her fate. We must accept who we are – physically, what we are and not care , if , people around us dislike us for how we look. Do they forget that we have been created by God and He loves us the way we are ? We cannot be puppets, with society behaving as the puppeteer, but , rather, we must be the master of all our actions in life – ‘As it is our good ‘karma’ aur ‘achche vihar’ joh humari ‘ruh’ ko aur pavitra, saaf karte hai ‘ – and it is on cleansing of the ‘soul’ that we must focus, as the beauty of the ‘soul’ surpasses physical beauty.”