Month: September 2022

Swami ji said …

There once lived a couple who’d seen many a twilight years together. They lived a simple life. The husband fell sick In his old age which left him tired and drained. Despite his deteriorating condition, he unfailingly, continued to offer water to the Sun God every day. One particular morning, his wife, who was naturally concerned about his health, noticed that the sky was overcast with thick grey clouds. She thought to herself that her husband should not strain himself , at least on that day , by going out of the house to offer water to the Sun God as the Sun would not be visible in such stormy conditions. When she expressed her thoughts about the weather to her husband , he replied, that since he had been offering water to ‘सूर्य देव’ devoutly for years, he would neither let his illness nor the grey sky come in his way of performing his daily ritual. He said -“ मै सूर्य को जल रोज चढ़ाता हूं। यह मेरा नियम है, और मै इस नियम को कभी नही टूटने दूंगा।”

Despite his weak physical state, determined, he ventured out of the house to perform his morning ritual, and lo behold – to his wife’s amazement , the thick clouds parted to give way to the Sun, which shone in all its glory. She couldn’t believe what she had witnessed for this was nothing short of a miracle to her. The husband , however , performed his daily ritual with the same devotion, without any outward signs of jubilation, as though he had known all along that the inclement weather would not have caused an impediment in the completion of his ‘routinely ritual’ and his faith in God too wouldn’t have allowed it to happen any other way.

This story tells us of the power of ritual and routine ; of the positive outcome of being disciplined enough, to stay the course , and , perform good and beneficial acts regularly – as a routine. That moment would be scripted as a moment most sacred in that couple’s life as it appeared that God and His creation – Mother Nature themselves had blessed the old man’s routine, ritual and faith – all in one moment.

When we were young we were unable to understand the emphasis that our elders laid on ‘ नियम ‘ – the daily routine that was followed by them with fierce diligence. In fact , we would often wonder as to why were they so particular , so finicky about the time slots that they had fixed to sleep , to wake up in the morning ; a time set for their meals , for a walk. They valued the routine that governed their lives. Every activity of theirs was synchronised with precision – with the moving needles of the clock – during which they not only took care of themselves but carried out all their responsibilities, too, ably. And , if we were to introspect , they certainly fared well, lived happier and healthier lives as compared to us. Infact , we need to take a leaf out of the healthy – routine lifestyle lived by them and get a clear direction to walk towards it – away from the messed up, indisciplined , devoid of routine life that many of us lead today.

Be it eating our meals on time, or exercising daily at a specific time or praying to God – timely and routine actions are a must, as not only do we become more disciplined, but , we are also able to do more in the twenty four hours that we are gifted with daily. Didn’t we follow a routine when we were kids ? Infact, ‘routine’ had become a part and parcel of our life right from our infancy , but , gradually as we grew up, we started resisting the ‘routine’ part that we were supposed to follow in our life. Some of us might have feared the thought of following a routine, as we could have misinterpreted it , and , felt that we would be more like prisoners chained to time – if we did so. But the case, is not so. We are able to do much more in a day if we don’t do what we just ‘desire’ to do in a haphazard manner ; on the spur of the moment which might not be productive for us – than , if , we do what is ‘required’ to be done by us – for our betterment , make it a part of our routine , and , as a result not lose precious time that is flying by.

Following a routine is essential for the spiritual practitioner as it builds fortitude and discipline in him. It builds in him the ability to be able to commit to a plan. If he intends to put in a particular number of hours in a day to meditate, come what may , he stays steadfast to his intent then and does so effectively. Despite the ever changing times and fortunes, a ‘sadhak’ – who follows a routine, is not distracted from that what is most important to him, but , derives the strength and faith to stay committed to his cause , as he is aware that a religious routine is required in order to realise the ‘self ‘.

Swami ji said …

“More often than not, we, as well as others find great comfort in complaining vociferously about how exhausted, tired and fatigued we feel all the time. And, to a certain extent we could be right, if we were to look at it , purely from the physical labour and hard work that is put in by us to meet the requirements of our day to day life. But, have we ever asked ourselves – ‘ What exactly is it that makes us feel tired so often ? Is it purely because of the ‘work’ that we do – the nature of our work , that makes us feel tired , or , is there something else that makes us feel so ! Our elders would wisely say -‘थकान कभी भी काम के कारण नहीं होती है…’ and we can’t really dispute what they said as they used to work very hard to make ends meet.”

” It has been said – ‘ Work is worship’ – and that is the way we must look at it – be in a state of eternal gratitude to God for enabling us to earn our bread and butter by blessing us with an opportunity to work ; by giving us good health so that we are able to work and an alert mind to absorb knowledge that can be applied by us. WouId we actually like to lead a life of inactivity ; not work ; not have a goal or task at hand to attend to. A life devoid of work , a profession or lack of talent – would not be worth living and to just live aimlessly would itself be a monotony. Work we must for our survival and self dignity by throwing ourselves completely into it – body , mind and spirit. Yes, it can be understood, if, once in a while, we did complain of physical tiredness on returning home after putting in long hours of hard work or after weathering an otherwise physically demanding activity or a challenging sport event. But , if , we were to look at the lifestyle adopted by most of us in the present time, we would not be wrong in saying that more than physical tiredness, it is the weight of all the anxiety, fear, disappointment and dissatisfaction – the mental pressure that we create in our mind – it is this that tires us the most. Rather than directing our energy into the successful fruition of our work, we waste it by focusing on negative thoughts.”

” Is the mind over burdened with us becoming over ambitious? Is the thought -‘ There is too much to do in a short time !” weighing us down. Too many desires to be fulfilled. Too much to be achieved. Are we realistic and practical while working ? Or are we building castles in the air knowing somewhere deep within us that what we are striving for is not attainable. What do you think will be the state of our mind when it bears the unwanted stress and pressure that is exerted on it from all sides? And for what – for some more money , fame and name.“

“ The rush that we are in to attain everything is bound to create stress for us. Stress is counter productive. It is our enemy as it gives birth to negative thoughts , disturbs our minds, feeds on our health, affects our physical prowess and mental ability. Unrealistic targets, greed, impatience, envy – all lead to stress. “थकान ज्यादातर चिंता, निराशा, भय और असंतोष के कारण होती है… ज्यादा काम के वजह से नहीं होती है…’ One begins to buckle physically and mentally under the self created stress as he fails to manage the time on his hand, leading to delay in completion and submission of his work , thereby leading to further unwanted problems. Half the purpose is lost If we don’t enjoy our work and like what we do. Our approach and attitude towards our work is what matters the most.”

” The spiritual practitioner, in particular , should be wary of letting the mind fall prey to these dark, stressful emotions for they distress the mind, weigh heavily upon it and tire it out. Can a mind covered in such darkness of stress and tension ever allow divine light to illuminate it ? We need to urgently clear the mind of all the clutter that crowds it making it dull, ineffective and less focussed. It fails to give priority to work which should be done first as it wants to do everything at the same time, worried about its outcome in the future.To escape from stress one must learn to live in , and ,focus on the present moment.”

” In life, we are bound to feel overburdened and overwhelmed by circumstances. Everything seems important and urgent ; logic does not come to our rescue. During such times, we must take His name, begin our work with faith in Him, pray to Him to accept the fruit of all that is done by us and the sense of calmness that descends on us then, enables us to work with a fresh and balanced mind.”

Swami ji said…

” ‘मैने’ ये किया … ‘I’ did this ! ‘I’ achieved that ! – if said once in a while by us, to highlight the amount of hard work put in by us , and , to motivate ourselves further – can work wonders for our personal growth and self – confidence. But, when the same words are said repeatedly with even a slight trace of self-praise and arrogance, they can have a toxic effect and sound a man’s doom at the hands of his own ‘झूठा अहम”. When success is celebrated as solely a personal achievement, and , progress becomes a yardstick of one’s own abilities , without giving due credit to those who have helped us reach that position, be rest assured then that – ‘ हम झूठे ‘अहम” की गांठ मे उलझ रहे हैं।”

” It is thus important to pay heed to the words – ‘ Pride comes before a fall ’ – but we seem to have formed a kind of a disconnect with the principal truth of these prophetic words.These words were meant to serve as a gentle reminder to all of us – of the perils of giving in to the pull of complacency, smugness and high headedness that ‘हमारा ‘झूठा अहम ‘ can lead us to. We fail to see the wicked pleasure that ‘अहम’ derives when it sees us behaving the way it wants us to. And, the worst part is that the problem doesn’t end here.”

” झूठे ‘अहम को पाल कर हम जिद्दी भी बन जाते हैं … as one negative quality triggers the growth of another negative characteristic quick and fast. Once our inner being is tied in the knots of ‘झूठे अहम ‘ and “जिद्द’ हम इन गांठों मे उलझते ही जाते हैं … as it becomes next to impossible to untie these knots ; the firmness of which refuse to loosen their hold on us and make us think in a twisted manner. Only one thing matters to us then. We must have our own way – always. Once we’ve said something ; asked for something – it has to be done, followed to the last detail and fulfilled. Do we realise that life cannot be lived this way ? Why should we force our thoughts on others and then take it personally if others are not willing to do things as desired by us ?The net result is that we are upset with all those who are strong enough to say ‘no’ to us and we allow cracks to develop in our relationship with others … be it family members or friends.”

” Dare anyone try to contradict us and our ‘झूठा अहम’ goads us to take it as a personal insult. It beguiles us into believing falsely that the entire world could be wrong and ‘we’ are always right. And , we much like lame sheep obey the ‘conscience’ silencing commands of our ‘झूठा अहम’ and gradually begin to grow ‘जिद्दी’ as we start believing that there is no one like us ; we are always right and we can do no wrong. Ever. Can that really be possible ?”

” A man’s ‘झूठा अहम’ और उसकी ‘जिद्द’ are his worst enemies as they take away all his goodness and turn him into a person disliked by many. An ego-controlled mind causes us to indulge in destructive actions bearing disastrous consequences. One’s speech becomes authoritative when it should be kind. What should have been humble requests become entitled demands. Slowly but surely, a superiority complex comes about. We believe we are above our fellow brethren.We are quick to point out people’s mistakes and shortcomings to them, but, are not open to the idea of accepting any flaws in ourselves.”

” ‘ जिद्द ‘ karni hi hai toh ‘Ishwar’ ke darshan ko paane ki जिद्द karo … Unke dikhaye huey ‘satya’ ke maarg par chalne ki karo… Har haalat mein ek achcha insaan ban ne ki जिद्द karo…” If we want to be stubborn, then we should emulate the stubbornness of all those great men who refused to deviate from the path of honesty and renounced all the pleasures of the world for their spiritual awakening.”

Swami ji said…

“‘ How dare that person speak to me like that?’ ‘How could they treat me that way?’ ‘What do they think of themselves? I will sort them out. I will not spare them.’ Vengeful words filled with hate and venom echo in our mind, deafening out all logic and reason. And, from that ill-fated moment, when we vow to neither forgive nor forget the person who has wronged us – for either doing or saying something that we hadn’t liked – our decline begins. Our downward fall is swift and detrimental to our spiritual growth, as from then onwards our thinking and morality gets corrupted. The negative energy we release ; the uncaring manner in which we compromise our values – as we begin to navigate on a journey most useless, self destructive and dark – as it is based on ‘बदले की भावना’ .. seeking revenge and crossing swords with those who have hurt us , knowingly or unknowingly. “

” It cannot be denied that most of us are sensitive and emotional. This makes us prone to being easily hurt by the unexpected rude behaviour of others around us – be it a scornful look, being ignored or passed over or the fact that someone deliberately disagrees with our opinion. It could just be anything that touches our sense of pride. And, we take these acrimonious actions to heart and promise ourselves that … ‘हम बदला लेकर ही रहेंगे।’ But, not once do we think – ‘To what avail, to whose advantage are we embarking on a revengeful course of action ? As individuals, we most certainly will not gain anything by igniting this spark of negativity within us. As a matter of fact , we could get engulfed in the fire of hate lit by us and be ravaged by it.”

” If we were to think with a calm, peaceful mind and question ourselves – ‘ What would we truly gain by constantly thinking of ways and means of bringing down the other person ? Our transformation from happy , positive individuals into unhappy, sour beings – only to experience a sense of satisfaction on humiliating them later ? Is it worth it ? Would we then be any different from those who have misbehaved with us? Why let them feel that they are winners as not only have they taken away our mental peace , but , they are also responsible for bringing about a drastic change in us which is harmful for us in every possible way ? Who is affected the most by this distasteful way of thinking ? Who ends up wasting all his precious time by plotting and thinking of hundreds of ways of belittling and insulting the person who had heaped insults on us…”हम अपना सारा समय ये सोचने में लगा दे ते हैं की मैं उसके साथ ऐसा करूंगा और ऐसे बोलूंगा…” We rant and rave in anger and wish misfortune to befall them. Such obnoxious, inhuman thoughts, if not restrained and checked, can scar the mind and soul for good. Precious time that should be utilised in taking God’s name is instead wasted in planning revengeful acts.”

” The strongest men are those who do not let the wrongful words and actions of others directed at them fill their hearts with poison. It is said that when Yudhishthir finally reached Swarg Lok ( Heaven), he was astounded and angry to see the Kauravas already present there – enjoying themselves. He was perplexed as to how – those very people who had caused him and his family much grief could enjoy Heaven in the afterlife. He was then told by the Gods, that his anger was unfounded – since the Pandavas had already killed the Kauravas in the war and regained their kingdom on Earth, they had already made the Kauravas suffer for their misdeeds. Yudhishthir too was only carrying within him anger and animosity that was no longer relevant.”

“We too must ask ourselves from time to time whether holding a grudge is truly necessary. Perhaps it is better to let bygones be bygones. Such reasoning will help us unburden ourselves from the primal need of vengeance , and , instead enable us to become better human beings and focus more on evolving spiritually. “