Month: March 2025

Swami ji said…

” ‘उम्मीद” कभी मत छोढ़ना…” ” ‘उम्मीद’ पे दुनिया क़ायम है …” is what is said by everyone around us and that is so true – as it is ‘hope’ that keeps us going about with the odds and ends of life. We may not realise it, but, ‘hope’ is a key ingredient – in making us feel happy as we look forward to the next day. God has blessed us with this inborn characteristic – if, we would like to call it that, and, we pray to Him – filled with ‘hope’ that all our prayers will be answered.
‘ Tomorrow will be better than today ‘ – we tell ourselves hopefully. But , what happens to us when the events that ‘tomorrow’ unfolds before us could strike us with the force of lightening ? Why is there such a drastic change in the way we behave from that moment onwards ? We give up ‘hope’ immediately and behave as though ‘hope’ is alien to us?
How many times have our loved ones and friends tried to provide us with succour, mental peace and encourage us to keep that spark of ‘hope’ – ‘उम्मीद’ alive within us – with words of motivation and encouragement – when we come across difficult times in life ? But do we listen attentively , pay heed to what is said by them during those moments – when we feel that all is lost and nothing, nothing at all can ever turn things around the way they were earlier?

Or rather than clinging to the last ray ; to the last glowing ember of ‘hope’ – do we turn our back on it and choose to become apprehensive and cynical – about all the undesired that is happening in our lives ? So overpowered are we by ‘hopelessness’ – that we are certain of only ‘falling’ from the edge of the precipice – if we were to ever find ourselves there – instead of ‘flying’ on the wings of hope. It is only this negative thought that rules our mind from then onwards. Isn’t it ? It is as though ‘hopelessness’ knows – that loss of hope – ‘ना उम्मीदी ‘ – can hurt the person where it hurts the most. It can make a person lose confidence in himself completely ; break his faith and belief in not only himself, but, at times, in God and ‘guru’ too – as he begins to hold them directly responsible – for the unexpected, unwanted turn of events in his life and starts forming a firm opinion that things can never, ever be the way they had been in the past and that the worst is yet to come. So bereft of ‘hope’ can we be – once we have made up our mind to remain aloof from ‘it’ and not acknowledge ‘it’.

” कभी तो ऐसा लगता है जैसे की हम ने एक तरह से तैय कर लिया है की मुश्किल समय में हम सबसे पहले ना उम्मीद्दी का सहारा लेंगे …”
We turn into such pessimists during times of hardship and trying moments – ” हम अपने आप को इतना कमजोर मान ने लगते हैं, इतना लाचार समझने लगते हैं मुश्किल समय में” – that we miss out completely on the fact – that the need of the hour is for us to remain hopeful and keep ‘hope’ alive within us ; to nurture thoughts filled with positivity; to develop an unbroken, undefeated attitude – to not surrender to despair and scepticism. But , we fail to understand that we need to hold onto all the support that ‘hope’ provides us with – reassuring us silently – ” जो हमें ये यकीन दिलाती है कि अगर आज हमारा समय मुश्किलों से भरा है तो कल सब अच्छा होगा…”

‘Hope’ – is that magical word that gives us the much needed strength to believe that everything will work out well for us in the near future, and, that belief in itself is good enough to bring a momentary smile on our face…” ‘उम्मीद’ की छोटी सी किरण भी हमे बल देती है , शक्ति देती है , सहारा देती है मुश्किल वक्त का सामना करने की और, आगे बढ़ने के लिए …”

If need be, we should keep on recalling the words frequently said – ‘Never give up hope…’ and, if, we make these words an essential habit, and, believe that irrespective of whatever erupts in our life – we should never let the light of ‘hope’ fade away by allowing the unsettling darkness of ‘hopelessness’ to find its way into our mind.

Being ‘hopeful’, believing that there is something ‘better’ ; more valuable that has to be attained by him – should be an essential practice for the spiritual seeker. Spiritual success – like material success, also demands certain , in fact , more sacrifices. It requires one to unquestioningly believe that not paying a great deal of attention to the numerous wants and distractions of the body and mind , and , instead focusing on the ‘soul’ would be more beneficial for him. But , when one is willing and determined to deny himself the pleasure of the senses and focus his mind on God, he can only ‘hope’ that his quest will reveal to him the ‘unique’ purpose of his life – something that can never be experienced in the material world. The need to live a life of self-denial can make the toughest of minds question whether the spiritual path will actually lead him to his final destination or not. And, it is only ‘hope’ and belief in the words of his ‘guru’ that can power him on in such trying times.

Swami ji said…

Sublimely beautiful and divine is the day – when a ‘सच्चा संत’, a self-realised ‘Guru’ blesses us , initiates us with a ‘Guru mantra’. A ‘Guru mantra’ consists of ‘sacred words’ – that a ‘guru’ and God alone know to be ideal and most suitable for one’s ‘spiritual’ upliftment. And herein lies the delicate question. “Do we realise how lucky we are to experience the extraordinary moment of ‘initiation’? How fortunate we are to have been chosen by divinity to be blessed in this manner ? Or do we on receiving our ‘Guru – mantra’ become smug and begin to entertain foolish ideas of having already crossed the “final’ barrier”, have ensured a seat in heaven – without having to put in any effort in the future ?Doesn’t the ‘Guru – Gyan’ that is received by us at the lotus feet of our ‘Guru’ heighten our awareness of the beginning of new, unfamiliar vibrations and movement within our inner being? Don’t we experience, sense some kind of ‘awakening’; some ‘thing’ being activated; an ‘energy’ of a different kind – which we find very difficult to put a name to – being released within us?

The ‘knowledge’ that is imparted by Him to us – doesn’t it reveal unknown facets, aspects and features of ‘life’ to us ? Of great meaning and relevance, that should be delved into by us – as they acquaint us with the ‘true’ purpose of our life. Don’t we grow aware of and ‘feel’ the subtle changes that begin to take place in our way of thinking ? Our outlook, attitude and approach towards life – do we not notice a change in them once we start receiving ‘Gyaan’ from our ‘Guru’? Doesn’t the definition and meaning of ‘life’ change for us from then onwards? And, if, even as a novice on the spiritual path – we see the benefits of ‘Guru – Gyan’ and learn from it – then should not that work in our favour – as it would enable us to get a clear understanding about the importance of realising the ‘self’? If God allows us to be blessed in a manner as divine as this, shouldn’t we feel that we’ve been more than lucky in this lifetime?

” ‘गुरु’ के चरणों में बैठ कर जो हम ‘ज्ञान’ पाते हैं , हमारे भीतर जो एक अलग सी आंतरिक जागृति उत्पन्न होती है, हमें स्वच्छता की अनुभूति देती है; एक नई समझ देती है; ताकत देती है जीवन के मुश्किल दिनों से उभरने के लिए…” Doesn’t “गुरु – ज्ञान” give us internal strength to stand firmly against all odds – that could otherwise have left us indecisive and broken, earlier – in the past ? Doesn’t His insight, a ‘gurudev’s’ perspective – develop a new thought process within us to let go of the past – irrespective of what it had showed us – as neither can we relive our past nor bring it back? We have to let it go, but, at the same time – keep in mind the lessons that innumerable mistakes made by us have taught us.

A ‘saccha sant’ works on His devotees selflessly; without expecting anything in return from them – focussing on bringing out the best – from His devotees. But, He would derive happiness on seeing them imbibe His teachings in their day to day life; implement them in their ‘today’ and build the foundation of their future based on His teachings and the Real Knowledge that He has endeavoured to impart to them. A future in which truth, honesty, ‘nek soch’, ‘achche karma’ prevail.

Life is short and a spiritual seeker – who is on a mission – has to accomplish a lot within the time span allowed to him by his Creator. Whichever vice or bad habit that he had fallen prey to in the past – has to be swept under the carpet for good ; forever – and he has to adopt a ‘vice free’ life with immediate effect, which will lead into a future – in which his ‘soul’ will reside in a healthy ‘body’ that is directed by a pure
‘mind’. He could have been an atheist in the past – but certain events in his life had turned him into a believer – and he now hungered for God’s love and ‘realisation’ – and began to lead a life – devoted to ‘tapa’ and ‘japa’. His ego in the past had made him feel that he was the person in-charge ; that he was doing everything and, thus, he was of the firm belief that he was the ‘doer’ – but when an unexpected turn of events in his life had turned tables on his plans- it was then that he realised, finally, that ‘He’ alone is the ‘doer’ and he was only His puppet and it was best for him to surrender completely to God’s will. He also realised that once he had started growing spiritual wings – his ‘life’ had taken off on auto mode – and it so appeared that the spiritual path, which was unknown to him earlier, had opened on its own accord – on receiving a ‘divine’ signal – and he began to understand that it was his ‘प्रारब्ध’ and past ‘karma’ – that had played a pivotal role in making him worthy enough to be led by his ‘gurudev’ to tread the path that would make him see light one day.

Swami ji said…

” वो कितना कमाता होगा ?” “How much would he be earning ?” ” उसकी साल भर की कमाई कितनी होगी?” – are queries and questions that we are accustomed to hearing; as most of us have a deep-rooted and mysterious fascination with the ‘pay packages’, salaries, and earnings of others – an issue that keeps us riveted right up till that moment when ‘the figure’ is either figured out by us or told to us. It is bewildering to see us maintain, even today, the same degree of keenness and inquisitiveness that was shown in the other person’s ‘कमाई’ – say around fifty years back. After all some habits of man are eternal – very difficult to change – and, thus so is the case with this. Our interest in another person’s earnings remains undiminished. The words – ” वह अच्छा कमाता है ” – “He earns a good amount”- are often the magical words needed to successfully seal matrimonial alliances for many a young men. Parents rile at their young offspring on seeing their inability to earn at an age when they should be working – and remind them about it by rebuking them angrily- ” कुछ कमाते तो हो नहीं तुम…” … “You barely earn anything…”

Money matters. There is no doubt about that as it provides us with our daily bread and butter; with basic comfort ; even with luxury – and all of this can only be planned and attained when we are in a position to earn an income of our own. The ironical part is that – ” इंसान को अपनी कमाई हमेशा कम और दूसरे की कमाई हमेशा ज्यादा लगती है…” And he is always looking for avenues that could help him increase his source of income. Social conversations mostly veer around property, land and other acquisitions, and the unasked question – ” How much is he making ?” – can be literally seen hanging in the air. And since most of the time we feel – the pasture is greener on the other side – we assume that the other person must be earning much more as compared to us. And just the thought of that is good enough to give us sleepless nights and a disgruntled look on our faces.

Interestingly, from our perspective, one’s ‘कमाई .. ‘earnings’ – have always been compartmentalised ; bound by a figure, an amount and that is how we have always defined it. ‘This’ per say is the amount of money that ‘he’ makes and – ‘this’ is what ‘we’ make. And, this in a way sums it up for us. Period. And the rest is up to us – whether we are happy or unhappy – on knowing about his earnings. But, if, only for a minute – we tried to rise above our habit of defining -‘कमाई’ only in monetary terms, financial gains and profits – but also looked above and beyond these – and tried to recollect – “ ऐसा और क्या है जो जीवन में हमने किसी और रूप में कमाया है?” ” ” हमारा परिवार” – which is bound by love and happiness… “हमारे मित्र” – who are more than family to us … ” हमारे अनुभव, लोगों की दुआएं, हमने अपनी मेहनत से जो मान सम्मान कमाया है …“ What about all these other blessings?

Isn’t every experience of ours unique to us – be it good or the not so good ? Didn’t we learn from every experience of ours ? “अपने हर एक अनुभव से hum ne kuch seekha hai …”
“जब हमने किसी की मदद की – तब हमने क्या उनकी दुआ नहीं पाई?” Our polite behaviour with whoever we interact with ; be it those who matter and are known to us – and even ‘those’ who wouldn’t fall in the category of family and friends – would undoubtedly earn us their respect and a good name. Aren’t we the wealthiest when we are blessed with children who are respectful, helpful and caring – even when we turn old and are dependant on them for quite a many things ? ” जो हमेशा अपने माता-पिता का सम्मान करते हैं, चाहे उनकी आर्थिक स्थिति कैसी भी हो…” And what about the presence of good friends in our life – those who have stood by us through thick and thin – and with whom we are able to share close details about the events in our life in an unguarded manner. Haven’t we earned all this too ? Are not these just as valuable, if not even more?

The spiritual seeker, in this day and age, could also find it difficult to stop himself from evaluating the monetary worth of all those he interacts with – with the same ‘lens’ of ‘कमाई’ –
with which others judge people around them. His mind too has been conditioned by society to consider those with more wealth to be somehow superior than those with less. To see the true value of a person, he will first have to abandon his own ideas of ‘what’ and ‘who’ is truly wealthy. He will have to shift his gaze from the ‘material’ to that which is ‘subtle’ and which cannot be measured in monetary terms. He will have to learn to value honesty, integrity, decency and simplicity above mere wealth. Such a change in perspective will be challenged by societal norms and current day practices. All of a sudden, those who were deemed ‘uninteresting’ and ‘useless’ by society will appear to be more ‘likeable’ and ‘praiseworthy’.

This change in perspective however, is a must, as only then will we open our eyes to the world around us. Only then will we get a chance to experience and learn from others, and not from just a certain kind of people. God himself never prioritised wealth when He lived on Earth. We do not remember Lord Ram and Lord Krishna as the wealthiest of Kings. We remember them for the qualities and principles they lived by and espoused. Why then must we consider other peoples’ greatness through the limited view of wealth only?

Swami ji said…

Remember the good old days of yore , when ‘valuable possessions’ – far and few in any home – could be counted on one’s finger tips. One took great pride in having worked tenaciously to buy any such ‘कीमती वस्तु’ and such a possession would be treasured and cherished and always held a special place in one’s heart. At times, months and sometimes even years of planning and saving were required to acquire a valuable thing – and the joy experienced on finally possessing it made one feel it was worth all the sweat and toil. Parents saved money, to buy bicycles, clothes and gifts for their children to reward them for getting good marks in their exams or on their birthdays.
These were preserved by children for as long as possible.
People worked hard and saved whatever they could. They did not look to spend on anything unnecessary or frivolous.

Homes were basic and simple – with hygiene and cleanliness being given great importance. But what made them really ‘valuable’ was the peace, love and happiness that resided in the hearts of all those living there. Of course, certain material possessions did matter – but not to the extent where many would be willing to sell their ‘soul’ to the devil. They were men of integrity and their aim was to live an honourable life. Undue importance was not given to one’s physical appearance. People mostly kept it simple, wearing only that what they could afford to wear. They did not feel the need to create an ‘impression’ on anyone with their attire. Younger ones in the family would often wear ‘hand me downs’ from older siblings. The elders of the family would often step out of the house to meet various social obligations wearing the same very clothes that they would be donning at home. Issues of this nature were rather insignificant to them – as they were more focussed on ‘investing’ their energy in inculcating good ‘values’ in their offspring.

However, staying healthy and happy were the top priorities during those days – as they were considered to be one’s most ‘valuable’ assets. ” हम सब के परिवार थोड़े में ही खुश रहते थे…” ” कम में भी काम बन जाता था…” – as everyone was willing to sacrifice for one another and truly believed in sharing and caring.

But gone are those days now. All of us have been bitten by the bug that has made us extremely conscious of the ‘image’ that we need to project to others ; to the outside world – to be considered ‘worthy’. And, to achieve that we are more than willing
to go to extreme lengths to appear sharp, and project a sense of power and wealth that we might nowhere be close to possessing.

And, thus, irrespective of the fact whether we can afford to or not – we are desirous of wearing expensive, branded clothes, costly watches, exorbitantly priced shoes ; ensconce ourselves in all these ‘valuables’ – step out of resplendent homes and luxurious cars – and on seeing that we have succeeded in impressing others – by our ‘valuables’ – we feel that this false projection was worth it – even if it came at the cost of taking a loan. There is no denying the fact that the ‘valuables’ we carry may ‘impress’ others – but , what we need to remember is that – it is the ‘values’ that we hold – that can ‘inspire’ others. It is upto us to decide – what is more important – ‘impressing’ or ‘inspiring’ others?

As man becomes more and more embroiled in materialistic gains – the lesser he focusses on the ‘values’ that were an essential part of his life till then. As he fills his coffers with gold; his ideals, principles, belief in an honest way of life – slip out of his heart and mind – and get buried beneath the numerous ideas and greed to acquire more and more. But this definition of success is wrong. A bigger house does not make the ‘man’ bigger in any way. It is his behaviour, his actions and words that define how big or small a man he is. We might remember or recollect the name of the person who owned and drove a fancy car in our neighbourhood, but , we would admire the person who made an effort to help us in our time of need or said kind words when we were completely down and out. It is our values and principles that dictate our words and deeds. Any compromise in our values has a direct bearing on the quality of our actions. Good deeds arise out of a belief that doing the right thing, irrespective of the cost, is what matters. Kind words are said when one is secure in enabling another person feel good and confident. And, this only happens when one has strong and empowering ‘values’.

Swami ji said…

” हम बहुत जल्दी दूसरों पर संदेह करते हैं …” ” हम सब पर विश्वास नहीं कर पाते हैं
…” “हमें लोगों पर भरोसा करने में काफी समय लगता है…”Why? Why do we find it so difficult to trust others? Why do we always suspect and doubt the motives of others ? Man today places no trust in his own brother. It is very hard for him to believe that there is not some self-serving agenda in everyone else’s heart – which could turn out to be perilous for him.

We could, of course, quite simply defend ourselves for our lack of trust in others – by citing the prevailing scenario around us – and we would, maybe, not be completely wrong in assuming that no one seems to be trustworthy any more. But it is not just the ‘other’ who is at fault for this. Our own desires, our ambitions of worldly success make us not just ultra-competitive, but, also, insecure and threatened.And, thus, we find ourselves just trusting ourselves and nearly no one else.

Since we now prioritize status, wealth and property over and above everything else – faith, belief and trust have skittled away like nine pins – making us suspicious of each other’s doings. This ‘deficit’ of ‘trust’ – be it among family members, friends, or even spouses – is highly unfortunate and saddening.

And, because of the ‘mistrust’ – we feel that certain issues are best kept ‘safe’ – away from the keen, prying eyes of ‘others’. ‘Good news’ is kept hidden.
‘Happiness’ is shared only with a select few. There is constant fear of someone’s ‘evil eye’ or ‘बुरी नज़र’ causing unnecessary problems for us.

Could there be anything more shameful than what we witness nearly all around us today ? Every one is scared or worried – “Am I doing the right thing by leaving everything in his name?” ” What if he doesn’t take care of me in my old age ?“ ” कोई और मेरा हिस्सा नहीं लेगा ना?” Why can’t we change our thought process by first questioning ourselves as to what is this ‘share’ that we are always thinking about ? And, if and when, we do think on such lines – isn’t it clear that we are unable to ‘trust’ our ‘own’ kith and kin?

Well, this weak aspect of our nature – of not trusting others could be understood – if ‘it’ was only limited to other mortals like us. But, don’t we cross a sacred line when we begin to mistrust God ? When we lose faith in His plans for us; lose faith in His Supreme ‘will’ and even question His ‘safe keeping’ ability – when disconcerting developments in our life make us feel insecure and we don’t feel safe. We feel that although ‘He’ is supposed to be our ‘protector’, He is unable to ‘protect’ us from the catastrophes and mishaps that erupt in our lives; and we no longer feel confident in His ability to rescue us from the darkness of the deep pits into which our jealousy and anger might make us fall. Have we reached a stage when we no longer repose the same conviction , certainty that we had in Him in the past that – ” ‘ईश्वर’ हमारी डूबती हुई नैय्या को बचाएंगे…” as we feel that, now, we have been left to flounder on our own, far too many times, and, our pleas for help have gone unheard. Doesn’t it appear that rather than God testing us – it is we who put Him to the test – again and again. And, our expectations from Him are so high that we expect Him to wish away the tiniest probability of any adversity crossing our path – and we expect Him to do all this for us – with us still doubting Him , unsure whether we can pin our hopes on Him ; trust Him that He will – most certainly and definitely come to our aid.

Infact, we are so full of fear of losing our material and worldly belongings, that we refuse to even consider that there might be some good in the so called ‘hardships’ that God places us in at times. So blinded are we by our ‘logic’ – that we wonder what good can there be in any difficulty that is faced by us! If we, cannot ‘see’ any ‘good’ in a situation – we abandon any belief and hope – that God actually has something fruitful planned for us.

How beautiful can life be when we make it a habit to ‘thank’ God – for keeping us alive in the present moment ; for every little comfort that He has provided us with ; for keeping us disease free and joyful ? But, apart from thanking God for blessing us with a smooth life – it becomes all the more important for us to trust God when without any warning – our lives become difficult and we are faced with challenging times – and we ‘believe’ that this demanding time period shall also pass and we will emerge stonger on realising that it was He who had given us the strength to overcome the obstacles valiantly. When, once in a while, some things go wrong – we must take a moment to be thankful for the many things that have gone right – with His Grace.

For the spiritual seeker, ‘faith’ in His Maker is of utmost importance – as it is the foundation on which his spiritual development is based – which he must ensure remains deep-rooted and firm. He has to believe, through and through, that ‘His’ plan alone – is the best for him. The spiritual seeker does not need to be in a hurry to see light at the end of the tunnel as it is his faith, his belief in God and ‘Guru’ that lights the way – as he takes one step at a time – leading him to ‘His’ divine light.