Month: October 2024

Swami ji said…

Man cannot control how his life unfolds. Contrary to his ego’s belief that he can make a lot happen – the truth of the matter is that – he cannot turn even a single strand of hair from black to white – at his will. What he can do – is only try. What he gets out of those actions – are never in his control.

Thus, life, as he experiences is never really in his control. And this lack of control, this inability to ascertain what will happen and when, makes man feel powerless and helpless.
Whatever happens to him, good or bad, is rarely anticipated by him. It is just that he hopes that ‘good things’ happen to him and ‘bad things’ do not.

Yet, man can ever be heard saying the words – “I am very happy with all that life has given me… I couldn’t have asked for more!” ” I have everything that I ever needed… I’m so grateful to God for giving me all that I wanted !” “I understand that things only had to happen that way!”

Since society is greatly enamoured with ‘material’ progress – in terms of one’s wealth, status, power etc – we put in everything possible – physically and mentally – to be the best among the best. So fearful are we of losing what we have gained – that we are willing to undergo great mental duress to retain what is ours – at all cost. The fear in us – to ensure that nothing goes wrong for us – drives our daily mechanical actions to a large extent – giving us hardly any time to – realise what we actually are ; what we can be. Do we ever try to guage how rich we really are in the ‘heart and mind’ ? How full is our heart with contentment and love? How calm and unbothered is our mind with the ups and downs of life – focussed on God ‘s will and His ways ? For this is the way we had been created by God – originally. But did we let ourselves remain that way – pure, calm , at peace, content ?

Not many of us can vouch that we are content, satisfied and genuinely grateful – for all that life has given us; blessed us with. Many of us might have never felt and experienced the bliss and peace – that a thankful sigh of deep contentment – can evoke within us. Instead, we allow the constant clamoring of dissatisfaction, annoyance and worry – reject any possibility of contentment – to make its home within us.

Acceptance is the secret of contentment and non – acceptance is the cause of bitterness. How life has turned out ; how it is proceeding – instead of resisting – all and whatever that is happening in our lives – we must learn to accept it – as it is. Acceptance is not meant to be thought of as – ‘accepting defeat to life’. Rather, it , is but the first step towards acknowledging our circumstances, and, adjusting to them in the best, possible way, that we can. Instead of always trying to ‘control’ what is happening in our lives – as it is not possible to do so – keeping the unpredictable nature of life in perspective – we must focus on how we ‘react’ to it. That is when true living begins. That is when we start experiencing life truly, and become masters of our own ship.

Acceptance is also key to spiritual development. For acceptance can only be there, if , we truly surrender our fate to God. It means that whatever is happening, we attribute to Him. And, live life as if answering to His call. Whatever circumstances we find ourselves in – it is simply Him – engaging with us. It is His way of directing us, gauging us. ‘Difficult times’ in such a case will mean that God is looking at us to act boldly ; make changes in our way of living that will benefit us. ‘Good times’ will tell us that God is seeing how we react on having more resources at our disposal. Will we act in a manner that’s responsible? Will we forget Him altogether? Will we become unprincipled? Or do even more good in such suitable circumstances?

We must remember – ” जब हम हर परिस्थिति में संतुष्ट रहते हैं तब हम खुश और बेफिक्र रहते हैं और जीवन का आनंद लेते हैं…” “स्वीकृति की भावना से जीने में हमारा जीवन अच्छा हो जाता है!” But we create more problems for ourselves when – “हम जीवन के उथल-पुथल को; अलग-अलग परिस्थितियों को स्वीकार ही नहीं करना चाहते हैं…
हम ये भूल जाते हैं कि परिस्थितयों को स्वीकार करने से हम संतुष्ट रह सकते हैं… हमें ये समझना चाहिए कि जिंदगी की हर परिस्थिति हमें कुछ ज्ञान देकर जाएगी और हमारे कौशल को बढ़ावा देगी … हमें बेकार में छोटी-छोटी बातें से परेशान होने के बजाये, उन्हें स्वीकार करना चाहिए…हम हर परिस्थिति में संतुष्ट रहेंगे , हमें यह तैय कर लेना चाहिए ..”

Swami ji said…

Life, in its brief span, shows us something new and unfamiliar – each passing day. No two days are ever quite the same. Yesterday’s rhythm and tomorrow’s melody are always different, even, if, subtly so.Yesterday may have been filled with joy, but, tomorrow might bring sorrow. One day, you stand tall, ready to take on the world, and the next day – you find yourself lost, weary. Such is the way of life. But , to grumble, to complain , to be always critical of life ? That’s not what life asks of us.

Change is the law of the universe. You can be a king, or , a pauper in an instant.Lord Ram understood this to be the natural order of life. He was born a prince, destined for the throne of Ayodhya, yet , in an instant, His fate changed. Banished to the forest for fourteen years, stripped off all royal privileges – Lord Ram accepted His fate with grace. In the Ramayana, we see his unwavering acceptance of life’s changes.

And, so, with each dawn, a new beginning unfolds before us – different from the last. To live – means to accept these changes ; not resist them. Life, after all, is a gift – a precious one. Yet, how often do we let ‘time’ – its moments slip through our fingers ?Wasted – never to return. We cherish the gifts our loved ones give us and tuck them away safely – yet , we forget to treasure the greatest gift of all – this life, this breath, this present moment – gifted to us by God.

We must thus strive to check ourselves when we find ourselves complaining about how the day is going, or , how hard we have been working, and , the number of obstacles we have faced to get things done. We must look at every instance and happening with the view that there is some divine reason behind it, and, accept it with a sense of complete surrender.

Life – is the greatest opportunity – that we have been gifted by both – God and the universe – and to ‘live’ with purpose – should be our aim. To live a life without attachment to the fruits of our actions, but, to find meaning in the journey itself. But, very often we stray from that purpose, losing ourselves in fleeting comforts, or , in despair. The world tells us to find happiness in things that don’t last. But , real peace ; real contentment, comes – when we align ourselves with the eternal ; the unseen.

Life – untarnished and unblemished – it should remain. Pure – like the first rays of the morning sun. Yet, we make mistakes. We are human after all – we tell ourselves , sheepishly. Sometimes we fall. We act – out of anger, out of fear ; and guilt settles in our hearts like a heavy fog. But, one must remember that there is no condemnation for those who keep God in their heart and thoughts. Negative thoughts will creep in – they always do. We start to feel unworthy, overwhelmed by the weight of it all, and, in those dark moments, some may even consider ending – what was so lovingly gifted to us by God – their life.
But , we must remember that the ‘soul’ is neither born, nor does it die. Our purpose, our spirit – is eternal. God created us not to be crushed under the weight of the world , but , to rise above it. We were made for victory, not defeat.

The spiritual seeker too will sometimes feel dejected and unworthy – when he is unable to gauge whether he has been able to make adequate progress in his spiritual journey. He might feel that despite all his effort and the number of hours that he has been devoting to meditation ; he does not sense an increased presence of God in his life. It is during such anxiety filled moments that his mind could question him – whether his spiritual belief and practice – is even worth it. He might be going through difficult times and feel that his spiritual practice has not been of any use. He might feel like giving up on God altogether.

It is all the more important – when one is plagued with such doubts – to remember the instances when we have undoubtedly felt God’s hand in shaping our destiny. This will help us in staying motivated and renew our faith in the spiritual path that has been adopted by us.

Thus, in life, when darkness surrounds us, we must endeavour to let the light within us shine brighter. And, just as Shri Krishna encouraged Arjun – on the battlefield – we must rise – with determination – above fear, doubt and the darkness that clouds our hearts – and fight the battle within. For , greater is the power within us than the forces outside. Yes, life may be filled with trials, but , it is also filled with promise, unlimited possibilities and His Grace. And, with each passing day, we are given the chance to live it fully – to rise, to grow, and to become all – that we were meant to be.

Swami ji said…

It is very common , nowadays , for us to feel stressed, hassled, weighed down under the pressure of managing the never-ending needs and requirements – that ‘life’ seems to ask from ‘us’. It is during moments like these – when we blame ‘life’ for putting us in the spot where we find ourselves – instead of doing this – we should look within
ourselves – fairly and squarely – and determine exactly – to what extent are we responsible – for feeling a sense of disquiet, lack of peace, restlessness within us – that is difficult to define clearly. On screening ourselves – we might not be too surprised at seeing what is revealed to us – as somewhere deep down – we always knew this to be true in our case. The feeling of discontentment that seems to be our faithful companion – seems to have nothing to do with an unfulfilled burning ambition or a dream not realised – but the reason for it could be most puerile and silly.

The mind thrives on a healthy nutrition of knowledge , information and new learning.It is curious and inquisitive about everything and wants to know more – all the time – and we follow its directions obediently. But , somehow , somewhere – our curiosity gets the better of us in an unwanted, undesirable way – by making us think , talk and discuss a lot – about ‘others’. ” पूरा समय हम दूसरों के बारे मे- उनके जीवन में क्या चल रहा है ? कौन क्या कर रहा है? वह जो भी कर रहा है कैसे कर रहा है? और अगर वह कुछ कर रहा है तो क्यों कर रहा है? – इन्ही सब चीज़ों के बारे में सोचते रहते हैं…” Why is he doing this?And why now? How has she obtained this? Why is she or he behaving this way? How do they make money? How did they manage such wealth?” These are the sort of nonsensical questions that we let our minds get engulfed in. And, without realising it, we waste precious time on trying to solve these useless questions and riddles.

To make matters worse – we further add two plus two from our end ; create either a dream like or a nightmarish sequence to what must be happening in their lives – come to a conclusion – good or bad – depending on our perception and what gives us happiness- and we are cat’s whiskers after that ! Most of us are prone to this indulgence – which comes at no cost. All we need are some ‘like – minded’ people whose keen ears will absorb every bit of gossip said by us attentively ; add some more spice to what’s been said and their wagging tongues will pass it on to others. One could understand , if , we slipped on the threshold of gossip, once in a while , but , there are some amongst us – who will just not stop – दूसरों के जीवन मैं ताँक झाँक करना… उनके बारे मे मन गड़िथ कहानियाँ बताना..”

All of us are familiar with the proverb – ‘ Curiosity killed the cat ‘ – but when it comes to people as curious as us – in this particular scenario – we come across as fearless, intrepid – and do not hesitate in taking the lead in ‘discussing’ others – as we seem to know so much about them. Is this what we are going to do through out our lives ? Day after day – without a break ? And for what purpose? To gain popularity of a kind that should be least desired by us ? Imagining, vividly, about all the good that is happening with others – we , unnecessarily, become morose and sad – at the way our lives are shaping out and lose our peace of mind. We end up feeling unhappy – as it always appears to be greener on the other side – “इन सब बातों से हम जितना दूर रहेंगे , हम उतना ही खुश रहेंगे…”

As it is , in today’s world, we, are just a few seconds away from finding out what the other person is doing. A few clicks on the internet, a bit of scrolling on the phone and we know what someone has eaten, what did he do over the weekend, where had he gone on a holiday, all about the new things that have been bought by him. In fact, most of us spend an unreasonable amount of time doing exactly this – finding out what the other person is up to. In a physical or digital form – we are always engaged in some sort of chatter or gossip – trying to find out what the other person is doing.

While it is always good to be curious, and, there is certainly nothing wrong in knowing about one another; it is altogether an unhealthy habit to stick our nose into other people’s business. And, unfortunately, we are often guilty of indulging in this habit. We love to discuss about someone else’s life with others.We spend a tremendous amount of effort on dissecting other people’s lives.

For those on the spiritual path, this is the biggest obstacle to overcome. For even when they are trying their best to live a life that is principled, disciplined and virtuous – they still, often, end up observing others, and , before long – their mind starts to wonder – ” Why do these people not try to seek God? Why do they lie? How can they live like this?” Should a spiritual seeker be doing this ?
Just because he is attempting to take a few tiny steps towards God – he starts differentiating himself from others and feels he is superior and better than the ‘others’. And, eventually, he begins to waste time – as the precious time that could have been spent in self-reflection and worship – is now wasted on passing judgement on other people’s way of life. Such thoughts often displace thoughts of God. What we end up doing – is giving precedence to other people’s lives – over our own. We find ourselves getting agitated, distressed – and all these negative emotions – severely affect further progress of his spiritual growth.

The solution to this is to learn to find comfort in God. When we find ourselves – thinking about and voicing our opinions on others, we , must pause and tell ourselves that – “Thinking of them will change nothing. Let us focus on the glory of God instead.” Doing this repeatedly
will let the spiritual seeker focus on his spiritual development, instead of getting the mind embroiled in such frivolous matters.

We need to remember that nothing will give us greater peace than minding our own business.

Swami ji said…

Do we ever consider and reflect on the kind of surroundings ; or at what time of the day ; or in the presence of which people – is it – that we have mostly found ourselves to be happiest or most joyful ? The chances, most probably, are – that there is no such common thread to be found. There is no particular place ; no particular time of the day ; or season ; no particular person’s presence ; no physical conditions which could have guaranteed a permanent and long lasting positive effect – on our mood ; our state of mind. We can be happy in the sweltering heat of the sun, and, be sad in the cool environs of our home. We can be exuberant in solitude, and , be depressed in the presence of even our loved ones. Even the opposite of these hold true.

Yet, inexplicably, we , still live life with this almost singular approach – to obtain that – which we think will make us happy. “If I could go on a holiday there, I will then be happy !” “If I could buy a house there, I will be happy then !” “If I could buy this watch, this car, then , I will be happy !” “If only he or she would listen to me, I would then be happy”. There are always these numerous terms and conditions – which we set for ourselves needlessly – the ownership of which once accessed – we make our ourselves believe – alone will guarantee our happiness. And, more often than not, we spend a lot of time and energy focussing on making these things happen, and, do not even allow ourselves to be happy otherwise.

But, that is not how God made us ; that is not meant to be our sole purpose. Man’s sense of hunger was meant only to indicate a sign – that he was hungry – to eat food, ; and his thirst was an indicator – that he had to drink water. With a full stomach and quenched thirst, he , was meant to be content physically, and, could then address his mind. But, now, man, hungers for things like status, wealth and power – mistaking them as his needs. Without these, there is no relief in his mind ; and , even with these – there is none. Such struggles and labour – are eventually, going to be futile , if , we are looking for ‘pure’ contentment and ‘genuine’ happiness. For , there will be no ‘true’ happiness found at the end of such journeys.

Yes, we , need physical comforts. We need homes, jobs, decent living conditions etc. We all have to strive to obtain these. But , that does not mean that everlasting happiness is dictated by them ; can be obtained by them. Does not happiness arise from the heart? And , if , we were to be realistic , we would understand that it is actually the smallest of things that make the heart happy ; and this is what we mostly miss out on.

Can we not enjoy a cup of tea in the morning – without stressing about the tasks of the day ahead ?Can we not have a light hearted laugh with the shopkeeper we buy our groceries from, or, with our colleague at work? Or , bring a smile to our children’s faces with a funny joke?Can we not be grateful to God when we are able to eat a nice hot meal at home? Can we not take out just a few minutes in a day to help someone out with a task?

Does not such a life already seem to be filled with happiness ? Would leading such a life not guarantee that one has a day – with the occasional spark of joy? With such an attitude – the problems, trials and tribulations of life will be met with a smile. All endeavours will be made – not with the tension and pressure of having to succeed, but , with confidence and a smile on one’s face.

The spiritual seeker must learn to untangle the threads of the sensory world, societal expectations – from those of the spiritual world. He must learn the simple truth that – he ‘is’ joyous and cannot be ‘made’ joyous. One ‘is’ sad, and cannot be ‘made’ sad. The mind, its perspective – with effort can be tamed. It can be made to not just see a glass as half full, but , also see how good a thing it is – for it to be half full. The spiritual seeker must strive to become a ‘happy’ man who goes to work’, and ‘not a man who goes to work to become happy’. He must seek paradise not in the world outside, but , in the ‘world’ within him. It is only when he strives for this in earnest will he begin to lead a ‘blissful life’. Such a person will not ‘go to heaven’, but , would rather have ‘found heaven within’ already, and will take it with him wherever he goes.