Day: September 6, 2025

Swami ji said…

Can any of us deny hearing the deeply profound words: “हम खाली हाथ आए थे और खाली हाथ जाएंगे?” We cannot. For we have heard this eternal truth spoken around us many times—sometimes in a sombre mood, sometimes in a matter-of-fact manner, and at times even in jest. Yet, somehow, we shrug off the hidden, hard-hitting significance of these words. We pay little heed to their core message— perhaps because we lack courage, or, because we fear detaching ourselves from the love and fascination that we hold for material objects.

“ ये ही तो ‘मायाजाल’ है…” And, since we convince ourselves that the chief purpose of our lives is to become entangled in this web, we, pursue it with fierce determination, making it the sole goal of our existence. So much so, that very often, we hear people in the twilight years of their life expressing their worry about their homes, their wealth, their assets with deep emotion – “मेरे जाने के बाद मेरी संपत्ति,मेरे घर का क्या होगा?”

At this self-created juncture, many of us find ourselves trapped. Our attachment to property—mere structures of concrete—has cemented our hearts and made them hard, unfeeling, and indifferent. Anything can be sacrificed when it comes to matters of wealth and assets. Years of trust, understanding, and respect are easily forgotten — when the issue concerns paper —currency, or, documents stamped with large denominations and symbols of value.

“आजकल लड़ाइयाँ जो रिश्तेदारों और लोगों के बीच होती हैं, वे किसी महत्वपूर्ण, विशेष कारण से नहीं होतीं, बल्कि छोटी-मोटी, बेमतलब की चीज़ों के कारण होती हैं…” Everything that is said or left unsaid to us by others – seems to affect us. We take it all personally and hold it close to our hearts. “उसने मुझसे किस तरह से बात की? वह मेरे बारे में क्या सोचता है?” “What was he saying about me?” All these baseless, insignificant matters that are magnified all the more by our mind – ignite further bitterness for others – even those who should matter the most. Soon battle lines are drawn. Sibling love, once pure in the days of innocence, is overshadowed by rivalry. Competition hardens hearts, and, no one knows where to draw the line. Quite often these conflicts are created not because of principles or noble causes, but, because of trifles and illusions—mere shadows of ‘माया’.

We must shed the manipulation, the deceit, the bitterness that we, unnecessarily, carry in our heart – all the while planning to lay our hands on ‘more’ and ‘more’ of everything – of which not a single particle can be carried by us – when we bid farewell to the world.

In fact, if, we pause and reflect, we realise that no dispute is truly worth the unease it leaves behind. The materials and things we guard so fiercely will one day slip away and wither — for nothing in this world is permanent—yet the hurt caused in moments of anger can linger far longer. Peace does not come from acquiring more, but, from softening the heart and loosening one’s grip. When we choose love over hate, understanding over pride – space opens for trust to return, and, in that quiet space the mind begins to rest. And, it is there, in stillness and harmony, that we draw closer to God.

So rather than focussing on –
“उन चीजों पर है जो हम अपने साथ ले जा नहीं सकते…” – let us work on harboring a good relationship with one and all. Let us be conscious of our ‘karma’, of all that we think – when we are all alone. What will we get by plotting someone’s downfall ? Let us cleanse our ‘soul’ of the impurities that we have allowed to form layers over it and instead purify it to such an extent that God is left with no other choice but to allow us to merge with Him.