Month: January 2025

Swami ji said…

Shri Ram has always been a shining example of One who bore affection, compassion and love for all – irrespective of their status and state. His compassion and love for every individual was in no way affected – by the ‘physical’ fatigue ; the ‘mental’ exhaustion that He could have ‘suffered’ – during the days of hardship that He was destined to endure in His ‘human’ form. Armed with a disarming smile, love in His heart and patience to hear every one out – He conquered all – who were privileged enough to share His divine presence – with these rare and endearing qualities of His. Anger , rage and jealousy – were traits that were unknown to Him ; that He chose to keep far away from Him. His understanding of the devotion and pure love that Shabri bore for Him – made Him partake a ‘बेर ‘ unhesitatingly – that was first tasted by her, as she had wanted to check its sweetness, before offering it to Shri Ram.” ‘स्नेह ‘ और ‘प्रेम ‘ उनके हर भाव में दिखता था …वह दिल से सबसे स्नेह करते थे …”

At the same time we are also very well acquainted with Duryodhan – ” जिस ने अपना सारा जीवन ‘क्रोध ‘, ‘इर्ष्या और आवेश में बिता दिया … और ऐसे जीवन का उसे फल क्या मिला? दर्दनाक अंत …” It appears as though envy, hatred and constant anger had wiped out every trace of compassion and affection from his ‘being’ – making him impervious to human relationships. This is where we have to decide as to whose characteristics shouldn’t we draw strength from ?

Is the scenario in which we are living today making it easier for us to give into fits of rage – at times over the most trivial issues ? Are tough times around us ‘toughening’ us up literally – so much so that – ” क्या अब हमारे दिल में दूसरों के लिए स्नेह और प्रेम की भावनाओं के लिए जगह ही नहीं है? हम क्या भूल गए हैं कि प्रेम और स्नेह दिल में उत्पन्न होते हैं ? “Are we becoming so cold hearted – that compassion is gradually becoming a distant emotion – not very easy for us to nurture in our heart ? We don’t pause to think for a second before getting angry or about its consequences – both , on us and on others – but – ” हर किसी के लिए अपने भीतर करुणा रखना हमें बहुत मुश्किल लगता है …हम यह भूल जाते हैं की अपने भीतर करुणा और स्नेह रखने से हमारा ही फ़ायदा होता है, क्यूँकि हमारे व्यवहार में और निर्मलता आएगी…” दया का भाव” – develops a certain softness in us ; an understanding of the
difficulties that others are going through. We begin to transcend the barriers of – ” क्रोध का आवेश …” and a certain melt – down in our earlier hard hearted approach will be discerned by us.There is a major shift in our way of thinking ; in our attitude and behaviour towards those who we had earlier felt were not worthy of any ‘करुणा ‘ from our end. Resentment for others in the past that had made us say negative things against them – not only makes us feel small, but, is also regretted by us in the present time. We feel that we need to be more responsible with our actions and words for others in the future. Haven’t our elders always said – ” जोश से नहीं, होश से काम करो… गुस्से में हम कुछ भी कह दे ते हैं और जीवन भर पछताते हैं …”

Can a spiritual seeker seek God with a mind that was seething with rage till a few minutes back prior to his meditation ? The heart and mind will certainly take time to calm down from their earlier agitated state. The mind finds it difficult to prevent the images of anger from replaying over and over again in it. A mind that is calm , at ‘peace’ – and not in ‘pieces’ – will only be able to focus on God. A heart that is pure and suffused with ‘ स्नेह और प्रेम’ for God – will only be able to resonate with the syllables of the ‘गुरु- मंत्र ‘ – not a mind that is filled with the impurities of anger , fury and ill – will for others. Remember that flowers bloom when rain – drops fall from the clouds on them – and not due to the thundering sound that is made by the clouds.

Swami ji said…

‘Money. Wealth. Property.’ The mere thought of the tinkle of coins , the feel of crisp notes in our hands, a plush home, a few acres of land here and there – and we sigh in contentment – as though assuring ourselves – that once we’ve finally acquired all of these – that are coveted by all – we will then be well set on our path of ‘discovering’ happiness.The myth that money can buy us happiness – ‘external’ happiness – which is only temporary, fleeting – as ‘happiness’ today is associated with material comforts , privilege and power – which once again are all transient in nature. We have developed a kind of a firm belief that – ” हमें सुख तब ही मिलेगा, जब धन हमारे घर में आएगा…” The ironical part is that man – who describes himself as the most intelligent creation of God – refuses to see beyond the glitter of money – and ignores the voice that reminds him to be sensible as there is no guarantee ; no written law which states – that money can and will bring him everlasting happiness.

Can any one of us guarantee that our health will remain perfect – once extra money makes its entry into our homes? Will the much desired increment in our pay package – keep us happy and stress- free, even, if, we are to burn the midnight oil day in and day out – unable to spend time with our family and friends? Won’t we become moody, ill – tempered – running to keep pace with the new demand from life ? ” क्या धन की प्राप्ति कभी भी, किसी भी तरह से दुख या तकलीफ़ को हमारे पास नहीं आने देगी?” Will suffering, grief or sorrow never knock on our gilded doors – on seeing wealth guard our main portals ? So besotted are we with the envisaged happiness of a wealthy, moneyed future – that we fail to see all the goodness that prevails in our present circumstances.In a stubborn way – we refuse to see anything good in our life that we are living in the present time – as we have already pinned our hopes on money to bring – सुखी समय – alongwith it in the future. “पैसे की चमक – धमाक में हम ये तक भूल जाते हैं कि ‘धर्म’ के जिस मार्ग पर हम आज चल रहे हैं – क्या हम कल उस पर चल पाएंगे भी या नहीं ? इस बात में कोई संदेह नहीं है कि जब हम ‘धर्म’ के पथ पर चलेंगे, जीवन ‘धर्म’ के अनुरूप बिताएंगे – तब ही हमारा जीवन सुखमय बनेगा…”

We need to be aware that greed and hunger for ‘money’ – not only corrupts the ‘mind’ – but also the ‘soul’. Their evil influence – not only blinds us to reason – but it also has the power to take away our ability to discern the difference between righteousness and wickedness ; prevents us from doing good ‘कर्म’ – and instead encourages us to indulge deliberately in bad ‘कर्म’ – from which there is no escape when we are in a rush to make some quick money. And why do we do this ? Only because we have made the foolish mistake of relating happiness with money.

Today if we were asked to make a choice between – ” जीवन भर ‘धर्म’ के रास्ते पर चलने के लिए या किसी भी तरह ‘धनी’ होने के लिए – तो हम क्या जवाब देंगे?” Most probably, we might opt to be the latter – as on seeing the fate of many who refused to ‘change’ with ‘changing’ times -” jinhone ‘dharm’ ke path par hi chalna chaha”- we feel it would not turn out to be profitable to emulate them. ” What did they achieve by remaining steadfast to their values and principles ? They have nothing today !” – is what we could say while evaluating them. But on seeing how prosperous are all those who had surrendered to the splendour of ‘धन’ – we somehow feel that it would be beneficial to follow them – who seem to form the majority today.

Would it be possible for a spiritual seeker to focus on his goal to merge with God – if his mind drifts constantly towards matters related to accumulation of wealth and assets ? Certainly not. Once he understands that his greatest assets are his mental strength and physical preparedness – which will enable him to to follow the path of righteousness – no amount of money can ever make him part with the bliss, peace and divine joy that he experiences by following his chosen path – from which he does not intend to deviate.

Swami ji said …

There are many among us who have, unfortunately, for some reason or another, witnessed their plans and dreams drift away into thin air. Desires vanquished – just when they were on the verge of realising fulfilment. We all, in some way or another, have felt a sense of anguish on seeing our life fall apart. We have gone through bouts of melancholy on suffering setbacks and faced the darkness of gloom that descends, refusing to let any ray of light and hope get through to us. We become just a shadow of who we once were. The extra baggage of hopelessness and dejection that we carry with us not only eats into us, but, is visible and palpable to all – although we might not be aware of it. We somehow feel that by projecting a false, superficial face of happiness to others – people are not able to detect that something is amiss and that all is not well at our end. We fail to realise that while making a herculean effort of ‘pretending’ to be happy and alright – we try a bit too hard and that extra effort is not missed by others.

On seeing us looking thoroughly uninspired, lacklustre and crestfallen – others known to us and at times unknown people too – give us their advice; share their personal experiences of loss and gain. They share how they overcame hardships and suggest ways and means of getting ‘help’ from ‘outside’ sources. Many might even tell us to – “Stay motivated! Stay inspired!”

But, we once again return to the point in consideration – what is ‘that’ one thing that can make us feel strong and confident and say – “Yes , I can do it! Things will be perfectly fine once again! I have to regain my confidence!” Nothing and no one else can make us feel recharged and rejuvenated unless and until – ‘we’ – ourselves take it upon ourselves to feel so, say words to this effect repeatedly, and, see magic and miracles unravel before ourselves.

There is no disputing the fact that it is essential to read inspiring stories and know about inspirational personalities, in order to implement all that we learn from these – during sudden, unexpected developments in our life. ” हम अपने आप को प्रेरित रखने के लिए हर जगह देखते हैं… बस अपने भीतर नहीं देखते हैं…” Our biggest loss is our inability to see that it is nowhere else, but, in our mind that we win or lose…” अगर हमें कोई वास्तव में प्रेरित कर सकता है – तो वो सिर्फ हमारे अपने, खुद के विचार होते हैं…”

We need to understand that half the battle is won in our mind – and if we succeed in making up our mind and let positivity rule there – nothing remains ‘impossible’ from then onwards. But, rather than steadying and strengthening our mind with an iron resolve – we are more than happy to go to counsellors and therapists – completely forgetting that it is our ‘own’ thoughts – which can work wonders – in energising and galvanizing us.There is no doubt that medical or professional help could be needed in extreme cases – but , many a times, the cure can be found by us – as it is within ourselves. We just need to drown out all the external disturbing , distorting sounds that do not let us hear clearly the messages that our inner being tries to transmit to us. Once we fine tune – the message is as clear as crystal to us.

Can we relate with the elation and exhilaration of those of us who are successful in understanding that the greatest source of motivation – apart from God’s Grace and the ‘gyan’ imparted to us by a self – realised ‘guru’ – are our own thoughts ? Thoughts that encourage us and spur us – to have faith in ourselves and which lead us to believe that we are capable of doing anything and everything – irrespective of where life takes us. Why do we allow anyone else to play the role of a ‘motivator’ in our life – when we ourselves – each one of us – can be our own motivator ? Shouldn’t this privilege exclusively be ours?

Did Shri Ram bemoan His fate and curse His destiny on being exiled to the forest for fourteen long years ? Did He lose composure and seek motivation from an external source ? No. His thoughts – which were always pure and well – intentioned – detached themselves from the kingly duties that He was about to take over – to those of one who had been banished from His kingdom – with the same sense of readiness and acceptance. He saw no difference in living a life as a king – as desired by His father – or living a life in acute hardships , filled with challenges in the forest – as commanded by His stepmother. Is it possible for us to attain this level of equanimity – ever ?

Swami ji said …

“ज़िंदगी में इतने उतार- चढ़ाव क्यों हैं ?” “ज़िन्दगी- मुझे अब और क्या दिखाएगी ? “मेरी ज़िंदगी में यह क्या हो रहा है?” – are some of the questions put up by many of us to ‘life’ – no matter how old or young we could be. We never stop questioning ‘life’, holding it accountable for the ‘bad’ that is happening in our life and labelling
‘ज़िन्दगी’ as ‘अच्छी’ या ‘बुरी’. Good or bad.

How convenient it is for us to do that! Since we are so efficient at making someone else a scapegoat – it is the turn of poor, hapless ‘life’ – to bear the brunt of our wrong, incorrect choices – when we indulge ourselves by doing what makes us feel ‘happy’ – without giving much thought to the consequences of our actions – and later on, on seeing an untoward outcome – we counter attack ‘ज़िन्दगी’ and declare that – ‘ मेरी जिंदगी बहुत ‘बुरी’ चल रही है …”

Somehow, in a strange way, we tend to bypass the main issue – that we are only blessed with ‘life’ … ” हमें जीने का एक मौक़ा दिया जाता है …” We are provided with a golden opportunity to live a ‘life’. Life doesn’t come to us as good or bad. It is ‘we’ – each one of us – who make it either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ – by living and leading a life that makes it either of the two.The inclination and responsibility of living a worthy or unworthy life rests completely with us. But, rather, than being answerable for our ‘bad’ options – we find it easier to play a blame – game with life.

If we were asked today – ” तुम बड़ा आदमी बन ना चाहोगे या अच्छा आदमी ” – what would our honest answer be ? Our chorus in unison could be – ‘बड़ा आदमी’ – as, so greatly enamoured are we at the very thought of being a moneyed , powerful and influential individual. Maybe, we wrongly feel, that leading a life focussing entirely on creation of wealth and assets is more beneficial – than standing firmly by the values of honesty and goodness that had been our pillars in the past.There is no doubt in the fact that it is essential to do well in life ; to achieve what has been achieved by very few – but, if, we attain our dreams at the cost of giving up our scruples and values – then it is time for us to give importance to the essence of nurturing – ‘अच्छाई ‘ in us – the ‘goodness’ which we have allowed to drift away in the deluge of the greed of materialism. A balance has to be maintained to not let the ‘good’ in us be swept out by the ‘bad’. Let us not forget that it is good to rise in life, but, it is always better to be a good human being.

Similarly, again, don’t we have a choice when it comes to choosing friends and others with whom we want to maintain proximity ?
‘अच्छी’ संगत में रहने से और अच्छे लोगों से मिलने जुलने से हम हमेशा अच्छी आदतें , अच्छे संस्कार और अच्छे विचार रखेंगे …” But, then, again – this is a personal choice and those looking for excitement and adventure might find ‘good’ company boring and unfashionable. In a rush to be ‘known’ by others we are willing to compromise on anything and everything – in order to be accepted by them. Can we really retain goodness unless we exercise some self – restraint on ourselves ? The element of goodness in us can be wiped out within a fraction of a second – if we are willing to submit to the power of ‘bad’.

Don’t we meet people who smartly suggest a way out of a tricky situation in which we find ourselves – by telling us – “तुम ऐसे बोल देना … झूठ है तो क्या हुआ…बच जाओगे ?” – and we obediently follow the direction shown by them – forsaking the path of honesty – just that once – we promise
ourselves, but , find it very difficult to get back onto the path of honesty after doing so – as dishonesty makes us lose our way very quickly.

” हमें यह याद रखना चाहिए कि अपनी ज़िंदगी को अच्छा या बुरा बनाना सिर्फ़ हम पर निर्भर करता है … हम इस के लिए किसी और को दोषी नहीं ठहरा सकते हैं… हमें हमेशा अपनी ज़िंदगी को अच्छा बनाने की कोशिश करनी चाहिए…”