Swami ji’s Sandesh… “मन की शुद्धता के बिना आध्यात्मिक उन्नति संभव नहीं…”

Swami ji said …

Through the ages, man has worshipped God in innumerable forms. Sometimes in the form of powerful beings, sometimes in human form, and sometimes as other mysterious creatures. Various holy books are believed to be the ‘Word of God’ and are often treated as the ultimate law to be followed.
Then there are holy places believed to be the abode of God, to which pilgrimages are made— sometimes even at one’s own peril — in the hope of experiencing or sighting the divine.

Many a time, one seeks God to alleviate one’s troubles. One hopes to seek His blessings so that one’s problems may be taken care of. But, then, there are those who use these various means of divine worship and knowledge, rituals and practices- in the hope of enriching themselves spiritually.

They fast, they pray, they observe rituals, they read scriptures— strictly following everything that has been proclaimed to be the path to God. And that is, in fact, a great feat in itself. For it takes great effort and strength to do this. It is only those with enduring discipline- who are able to take out the time and sacrifice other aspects of their lives to devote themselves to God and self-realization.

But, there is one danger that always lurks in the shadows, and, everyone on this path must be aware of it. It is that, in the midst of all this hard work, daily meditation and prayer, one may forget to keep an eye on how one actually ‘feels’ and ‘thinks’.

Every spiritual seeker must ask these questions: “How good… How pure are my thoughts?” “How truthful am I?” “What is the true purpose behind my spiritual practice?” “Am I being honest with myself when I say that I am doing all this only to attain ‘self-realization’ or do I want to attain some powers that can make me more powerful than others?”

The mind has a curious way of contorting one’s perspective. After years of ‘जप, तप, ध्यान’- one might end up feeling superior to others and feel that he has a right to judge their actions. A departure from humility after so many years of focussed effort on controlling his impulses- would be catastrophic for one’s spiritual progress.

This can happen to the best of us. We might begin to feel that we have the ‘right’ to be judgemental. We might convince ourselves – that reprimands and harsh words from us are justified because, after all, we are seekers of God- which somehow gives us the birth-right to ‘tick off’ people, hurting them deeply while doing so.

Some of us begin to feel that our spiritual practice makes us deserving- even of material wealth. The mind convinces us that since we ‘serve’ God, we truly deserve the best even in this world. In fact, without realising it, we begin equating our spiritual efforts with material results.

Sometimes, we might even lie in the belief that we possess the moral superiority to do so, convincing ourselves that the person being lied to is only being done a favour.

We begin to think of others as being below us— convinced that those who live ‘non-spiritual’ lives are, in some way, lower than us in stature.

If we closely follow the message of Lord Krishna, it simply boils down to keeping a watch on the ‘nature’ of our ‘actions’. Our actions can only be pure, if, we are truly pure from within— when our thoughts and intentions are untainted by greed, anger, jealousy, pride and other such impulses.

Thus, inner purity becomes an essential and uncompromising characteristic for those who seek God and spiritual upliftment. This can only be achieved through constant reflection and honest questioning of oneself.

The inner voice within us— God’s voice— is always there to be heard. It might grow faint amidst the tumultuous windings of the mind, but, it is always there. Whenever we begin to stray, it whispers to us, reminding us to be watchful of our thoughts, words, deeds and actions. “Are they pure, noble and well-intended? Are we being honest when we praise someone and laud his achievements or is it a farce that we put on for others to see? Are we genuinely happy on seeing others progress or are we consumed with jealousy- but pretend to be ecstatic on seeing them prosper? Can a double-faced person ever succeed on the spiritual path?”

It is completely up to us to clear the mind and listen to this ‘Voice’- that is loud and clear- in the din and confusion around us. For it speaks only the Truth— the Truth that can set us free- from the never ending cycle of birth and death…” जितना ध्यान हम तन की सफाई में लगाते हैं , उतना ही ध्यान अगर हम मन की सफाई में लगाएं, तो जीवन स्वर्ग बन जाए…”