Author: thetreasuredivine

Swamiji says …

“‘Pride, arrogance, an inflated ego… ‘I’ ‘me’ , ‘myself’… A superior attitude…’Who can be better than me?’ ‘I am the best !’ ‘There are none compared to me.’ One can sing these words of self – glorification for hours on end. Yet these same words – that look good printed on paper, and sound complimentary to the ears- if fed on regularly like a diet of supplements, can prove to be one’s nemesis. These traits, if possessed in abundance, can turn one into a narcissist. The magnetic power of these words captivates you. The more you experience them, the stronger the stranglehold that they have on you. You are mesmerized and start believing in the hypnotic sounds of these words which create an illusion around you, one in which you see yourself as ‘better than the best’ and ‘mightier than the rest’!”

“Is it extremely essential to live the emotions that these words release within us? Does one really have to gratify them? Does one have to be proud on being blessed with an incredibly high IQ or on being breathtakingly beautiful? Should your academic or professional brilliance propel you to develop an inflated ego?
The thought that you can never make an error, that you are perfect and faultless, that your high standard of work has always been applauded; and that it would be blasphemous for anyone to point mistakes in your work and draw your attention to them – are all signs of arrogance and conceit. The lap of luxury in which you have been raised; your wealthy family background; your affluent social status, your ever-increasing bank account, your coveted degrees from world renowned universities – all these highly treasured ‘positive’ points, can easily go to your head and affect you in the most ‘negative’ manner, unless you remember to keep yourself grounded.
Is the constant chest thumping, the warranted or unwarranted recognition and accolades being showered on you, turning you into a demanding, shrewd person, forever looking to retain that top slot?
Do the consequences not scare you? The fact that you are becoming a stranger to yourself – impatient, selfish, averse to criticism, manipulative, aggressive…is staring at you!
Are you willingly sinking to the most volatile and dangerous levels of ‘self-destruction’ while being churned in a tide of these undesirable emotions? Are you functioning in this manner for the satisfaction of your ‘soul’ or is it to satisfy your ‘ego’? Don’t let the insincerity of these delusionary words give you a sense of false strength.”

“Let us envisage a similar scenario, wherein a spiritual aspirant has evolved spiritually, manifold, under his guru’s guidance. Now, the moment this devotee starts entertaining self-fabricated thoughts in his head – that he has the greatest access to his guru; is most devoted to his guru and is closest to his guru – his ego balloons up , and his brain starts transmitting messages of ‘You’, ‘Your’, ‘Yourself’ and he receives them happily as this is what he wants to hear. Such a person will start developing a sense of false pride in himself – that he alone is the beneficiary of his guru’s Grace and is the true recipient of ‘guru gyan’. This misplaced confidence can prove to be detrimental and regressive, and his all-pervading ego might stall his further spiritual progress. Complacency at receiving enlightening knowledge from the guru might make him think of doing the unthinkable. He might think twice about the necessity of bowing his head before his guru, as he starts feeling that he has acquired greater mystical and spiritual powers than his ‘guru’.”

“In comparison, a humble devotee will always thank God for ear- marking him as the Chosen One and for considering him worthy enough to allow him to sit at his guru’s Lotus Feet. He will make an earnest attempt to seek True Knowledge as his soul benefits from it. He will want to utilize every living moment in remembering God and his Guru; and ensure that his acts are selfless and aimed for the betterment of everyone. He is devoid of ego, pride and arrogance. Everything that he does is done solely with the divine purpose of making his true ‘self’ happy. No temptation will distract and deviate him from leading a life of self – respect, self -pride and self -esteem. He seeks recognition only from His guru and God, as only they matter to him. He is aware that it is their Grace alone that will enable him to open his Third Eye on the day chosen by them.”

Swamiji says …

“I am sure most of us remember the words of concern – ‘What happened to you?’ ‘ Where did you fall?’ ‘How did you hurt yourself?’ ‘ Oh! You have a headache. How bad is it?’ The moment these questions were asked by our well-wishers, we would, being children then, burst into tears and bask in their attention, till the time, either our wounds healed, or we were cured of our illness. Did questions of this kind make us relate too often with the pain that our external self suffered with repeatedly? Did all the fuss around our physical pain make us enjoy being the center of attention? Were we unknowingly being trained to be body-centric?”

“Time passes by. We grow up and mature; but as far as a few of us are concerned, our emotional quotient remains nearly the same. Suffering of any kind – physical, emotional or mental and the trauma of bearing distress, till date, still triggers a tide of negative emotions within us. These emotions find an escape route when people enquire about our welfare. We readily begin narrating the story of our aches and pains in graphic detail; and, once this conversational odyssey related to our pain begins – there is no stopping us. We go into the details of how the illness made home within us; the nature of the disease or how the unfortunate incident happened; and we recall its onset and follow- up-procedure vividly. Our personal distress is so great, that at the slightest suffering, we pour it into the ears of anyone and everyone, who is willing to listen to the recital of our ordeal, over and over again. After all could anything be greater than our duress and pain! Could the other person actually relate with the intensity and severity of our suffering? We wonder, and then convince ourselves that he most probably could not as he had not experienced it. But we feel a sense of peace and lighter mentally, as we have shared our problem with other people. It doesn’t matter to us if we have increased their stress by pouring out our anguish to them. They express their sympathy and do everything possible to make us feel better and livelier. But then, till when will we depend on their pity and empathy to feel better? We need to battle out our fears and worries ourselves, and emerge victorious.”

“Is it possible for us to outgrow this weakness? Do we really need to wear our pain on our sleeve and display it to one and all incessantly. What do we truly gain by doing so? Will we get better only by earning their sympathy and seeing a look of compassion in their eyes? Do we spare one precious moment to pause and think of the unecessary unhappiness that we could be causing our sympathizers? Have we ever tried to understand the deeper, hidden, underlyind meaning behind our ‘kasht’ – problem and suffering? Is it possible that God could have chosen us for the beautiful purpose of staying connected with Him and remembering Him through our suffering? What if the unbearable pain being experienced by us is enabling us to reduce the baggage of our previous bad ‘karma’ – ‘humare purva janmon ke kasht kat rahein honge’. ‘ Hum chote se chote kasht ko itna bada bana de tey hain ki hum swayam usi mein kho jaatey hain’. We give such importance to the most insignificant physical suffering that we are more than willing to drown in the waves of pain that engulf our physical being. Shouldn’t we make ourselves stronger and test our endurance power without making a big hullabaloo about our suffering?”

“It is possible only for a ‘sachcha sant’ – a self realized ‘guru’- to rise above the shackles of the ‘state’ and suffering of his gross body. Only he can disassociate himself totally from ‘it’ – as he understands that ‘He’ is not the ‘body” – and welcomes with his head bowed and arms opened, every opportunity, painful or painless, that will further enhance the possibility of cleansing his soul and awakening ‘him’ in the ‘true’ sense as He realizes that he is being shepherded closer to God. Oblivious and undeterred by his physical state, a true saint will shoulder his responsibilities selflessly and perform His duties towards society and His devotees uncomplainingly; without as much as mentioning a word about the good that he has done for those who seek His Grace. Can he curse his fate, bemoan and lament the fact that he is suffering the way he is?
He ‘suffers’ in silence, quietly; without paying any heed to his ‘kaaran shareer’ as that form doesn’t hold any relevance for Him. There is no one with whom He can share pain. At times, a guru’s vital organs might not be functioning adequately , but the power bestowed on him by His Creator, empowers him to ensure the revival of a failing organ of His ‘sachcha bhakt’ – a true devotee – and to rescue him from the jaws of death in time.
After all, His soul too resides in a human body! The vital difference between Him and others is that He, unlike others, has conquered his senses and trained his physical being to rise above pain or pleasure; to accept all that comes His way as His Master’s will and blessings, and above all has taught Himself to smile through his pain.”

Swamiji says …

“Man, undoubtedly, is God’s most fascinating creation; creative, competitive and combative. The world has witnessed , time and time again , amazing rags-to-riches stories of how men with burning ambition, complemented by their intelligence, business acumen and innovative ideas, were successful in turning around their fate and destiny , and established huge business empires.
Every person wants to improve his financial condition, standard of living and seeks a better tomorrow; and in order to change his lifestyle, he pursues his dream with determination, focuses to swing the tide in his favor, by doing all that is needed to ensure that he achieves his goal. At times , he educates and empowers himself with knowledge pertaining to his field of interest, with the sole aim of becoming successful and wealthy. One can’t really blame him as ‘to be successful and wealthy’ is the new ‘mantra’ echoed by one and all these days.”

“A man of humble origins, endeavors to realize his goal of making it big in the world. He is often distressed by the manner in which life treats him and aspires to change his state of living – monetary, professional and personal. During these trying and tiring moments, he beseeches God, implores to his ‘Gurudev’ to pay heed to his appeal for compassion and consideration, and spends countless hours remembering God, chanting His name and worshipping Him devoutly, unfailingly, every day with the hope that his voice will be heard by Him. He crosses the threshold of His ‘Gurudev’s’ Darbar, regularly, in his times of despair and want; stands in a long queue to prostrate in front of his ‘guru’ and to seek His blessings. His devotion and love for both God and ‘Guru’ is unquestionable, during this difficult phase of his life, and he is more than willing to do anything to appease ‘them’, as he understands that they alone are his problem solvers.”

“But it is in the latter, successful phase of his life that he will have to withstand the test of time. He will have to see for himself whether, after attaining his dream of being a wealthy person, and having made a name for himself in industry and society, some distance and stiffness has developed in his proximity to God and Guru?
Has the fruition of his fanciful fantasies, the habit of living in the lap of luxury, around which his life has begun to revolve now, taken away from him the time to think of God and to thank him? Are his priorities misplaced now ? Do only swelling bank accounts, excessive wealth creation, and acquiring more assets only, interest him and give him happiness now? Have prayers been replaced by worrying thoughts of the never-ending payments that are to be made by him? Is the fruitful time that was spent in worshipping God and ‘Guru’ earlier, most probably, being spent now, in settling disputes between his warring family members. Has chanting of the ‘guru mantra’ been replaced by chaotic and confusing thoughts of brokering a deal with a rival company to buy mental peace? In many cases, when people live such a fast -paced, hectic life-style, it is but natural, that they find it difficult to take out time to think of God, everyday. Since time is money now, they procrastinate visiting their ‘Gurudev’…the same ‘guru’ who had meant the world to them earlier, and without whose advice they wouldn’t take any decision in the past, is now relegated to the background. Once they have benefited from the blessings that He had showered on them, they conveniently forget Him. Their indifferent attitude causes a major reduction in the quality time and number of hours, that had been genuinely devoted by them, earlier , in communicating with God and ‘Guru’.”

“Lord Krishna had been so greatly moved by Sudama’s plight and poverty, that without being asked for anything by him, the Lord had given him everything. All the comforts of life that one could have wished for, were given to Sudama by Lord Krishna. The lure of these materialistic gifts ensnared Sudama to such an extent, that he was completely blinded by their sparkle and shine. He forgot everyone. He forgot the Lord Himself, Lord Krishna…his best friend…that very person, that very spiritual power that had made him wealthy. When a person as worthy and humble as Sudama could not resist the vile, magnetic effect of excessive wealth, then can normal human beings like us stand up to, and thwart the temptation of acquiring wealth, without compromising on the most valuable asset that we have? ‘His Grace on us … His love for us’. Never let anything come in the way of your divine connection and sacred relationship with God and your ‘Guru’. Don’t make ‘money’ alone…bundles and bags of it, the single purpose of your life; but earn enough, so that you can provide your family with a dignified life, and meditate with a calm mind … a mind at peace.”

Swamiji says…

” None of us have any memory of the day, the moment, when we had taken our first baby steps, and after many failed and successful attempts, had gradually learned to walk. The excitement and joy that had been derived by the elders of our family during those moments is reflected as they narrate, with great clarity, the landmark moment in our lives. And why not? After all it is they who had directed our little feet to walk…and it is later, as we grow up, that the steps taken by our feet in the direction chosen by us, determine our present and future life. Our parents would prevent us from walking in the wrong direction or towards an unsafe area by pulling us back in the nick of time and save us from falling and hurting ourselves. What happens to those very feet that were schooled to be careful, watchful, sure-footed as we mature ? Why do they tend to wander off in any direction aimlessly, without any particular purpose, buckle under peer pressure and willingly fall into the first pitfall that comes in our path? Is it because we have loosened the hold , the well- intentioned grip that our parents had on our hands, guiding us on the right path and correcting the wrong course on which we would set out unknowingly as a small child.”

“As children we were introduced to the beautiful practice of touching the feet of our elders and saying ‘pranam’ – an act that conveyed our respect and regard for them. Most of us were unable to understand the relevance of this particular act as children , but we did as directed by them happily, as it was our duty to obey them. It was only later on that we realized the supreme significance of this age-old custom. We were not only being taught the importance of respecting our elders; receiving their blessings that were showered generously on us by them, but apart from this, our most important learning was that it was the miniscule portion of ‘divinity’ inherent within each one of them, that was paid obeisance to by the ‘divinity’ within us as we touched their feet.”

“Have we ever given a thought to the fact that our feet have borne our weight, quietly; taken us wherever we wish to go, tirelessly, without complaining? They follow our command and submit to our control over them, silently, never voicing any grievance against us. But do we even think for a second whether the direction in which we take our feet is appreciated, liked by our feet or not? Do they have a choice to resist when we take them to questionable surroundings? Do we seek their opinion and ask them – ‘Are we going to the right place or the wrong place?’ We stumble and fall while walking, but within seconds we are back on our feet again, and our feet support us, although they too could be shaken by the fall. But what do our feet experience and feel when we, at times…fall, in a state of drunkness or drug abuse – a state into which we had knowingly led ourselves? Do these limbs of ours feel let down when we opt to go to a bar or pub, regularly and repeatedly, and return home tottering on our feet? Do they feel sad when they are not directed towards sacred places of worship, towards ‘satsang’, centres where healthy spiritual discourses can uplift us spiritually and intellectually , but head only for dark and illegal , illicit areas? Let us not misuse our feet.”

” The ‘parampara’ – centuries old tradition and ritual of bathing and worshipping The Holy ‘charan’ – the Lotus Feet of God, saints and self-realized ‘gurus’ has been practiced since time immemorial. Devotees of saints and ‘gurus’ whose simple teachings and pure, exemplary life had influenced them greatly, were encouraged to anoint their ‘sadgurus’ with the title.
‘Mahapurush’ – ‘aur aise mahapurushon ke charan anant anadi kaal tak puje jaate hain aur yeh mahapurush samay aane pey samadhi mein chaley jaate hain.’
Believers and followers of such devout ‘mahapurush’ reverentially drink the water with which their ‘guru’s charan’ are washed, accepting it as ‘amrit’ – nectar. They opine that this water is as pure as the water obtained from the most sacred rivers. They lovingly rest their head on their guru’s ‘charan’ by saying that all the ‘punya’- ‘good karma’ that they could have accumulated from their ‘tirth yaatra’ is attained merely by sitting at their guru’s Lotus Feet. People willingly observe such practices as they accept the fact that ‘aise mahapurush’ – great men like them – have lived a life that was raised on the foundation of sound principles of truthfulness, honesty, good-will and hardships, and these extraordinary men had never deviated from the path of righteousness and goodness. The unparalleled reverence that was nursed for the Holy ‘charan’ of Lord Ram is immortalised by the manner in which His ‘khadaoon’ – wooden slippers were used as His substitute, by His younger brother , Bharat, to rule Ayodhya, in Lord Ram’s absence, when He was sent to exile for fourteen years. Such unshakeable faith was placed in the Holy Feet of Maryada Purushottam.”

“Think ot the words – ‘Watch, where you are going’ the next time you are drawn towards places and areas that cannot benefit you in any which way and which cannot have a positive effect on you. You must take a u-turn or turn back immediately, with a steely resolve, to begin walking anew on “the righteous path”- ‘nek raaste pe chalo’, so that your feet too can participate voluntarily and enthusiastically with you
and transform you into a complete, wholesome, good individual.”

Swamiji says …

“Your eyes and ears open the doors and windows of your vision and mind, and introduce you to the sights and sounds of the world in which you are born. Your eyes see your loving parents who have given birth to you and all the other people who love you and take care of you. They see the beauty of all that bounteous nature has to offer you and see everything else that makes life so wonderful. Your ears were acquainted to what is sound, when they had heard your mother’s voice cooing endearing words into your ears. The same ears had also listened to the sounds of nature – a gushing stream – the chirping of the birds and the sound of tinkling, gurgling laughter of people around you, and life is beautiful when we use two of our main sense organs for such a delightful purpose.”

” Now, these very sense organs can behave in a very unreliable, slippery manner, play tricks on us and at times create havoc in our lives by enacting the role of the devil by willing themselves to believe that ‘something’ was most certainly wrong in that, what had either been seen, or heard by them. They are so taken in by all that has been captured by the camera of their eye-lens that they refuse to erase that picture from their mind, irrespective of the mental agony that it could cost them – even to the extent of becoming suspicious and doubtful of people very close to them. Unwanted suspicion can make you miserable and suffer unnecessarily, but you are so besotted with the images of what had been seen by you, that they corrupt your mind totally, and you are willing to misconstrue and misread a situation witnessed by you. ‘Pavitra’ – pure relationships that had blossomed after years of understanding and care are destroyed overnight, within a fraction of seconds. Families are broken within no time at all. Rather than being judgmental, be sensible and rational. Revisit mentally, and replay the incident that had been seen by you. Try getting down to the root cause of the problem that is troubling you. Are you reading too much into what was seen by you? Are the persons truly guilty or is there a possibility of their being innocent? Was it the truth or something that you willed to see and believe? Speak to the people concerned – be it your spouse, sibling, or child; before you make them guilty, controversial victims in the eyes of other people. Don’t trust your eyes blindly, as doubt and suspicion could blur your vision…’aur tumhara, aur doosron ka sukh chain cheen le’. Your eyes will always believe what they see. After all seeing is believing and it is here that you have to be very clear about what you want to draw out from what you see. Train your eyes to see good in others. “

“Similar is the case with your ears! They enjoy hearing and listening to the sounds of the hustle and bustle of life; but, they also derive great pleasure in listening to ‘gossip’ and happily listen to people talking about one another behind their back. Ears are very easy to win over with words – good or bad; meaningful or meaningless, and the minute a smart Alec realizes that you are easy on your ears, he will fill them with garbage. What the other person thinks of you and what he says about you. He will feed your ears with vitriolic words that he claims were said by someone, known or unknown to you. These words poison your mind against the person who has said those words …and from that very moment you start bearing a grudge against that person. It appears that the anger that rages within you on hearing such words, engulfs you to such an extent, that you promise yourself that you will never see his face, never talk to him, and will have nothing to do with him ever again. You even decide that if need be, you’ll destroy him, even if he is a loved one – a family member or a dear friend. You are willing to burn the very fabric on which the threads of your relationship were woven. When the seeds of mistrust are watered regularly with hatred, they can easily gnaw and break the foundation of your home. Happiness, joy and laughter of hundreds of thriving families is transformed into unhappiness, tears and screams simply because of the insane, diabolical behavior of a few crazy people. How can you be so naive and weak to believe this person without giving the other person a fair chance to say something in his defense. Don’t you think that the person supposedly vilifying your name needs to be given a fair trial?The possibility of this person trying to completely ruin the other person cannot be ruled out! Have you lost your sense of reasoning?”

“Did the sacred words said to you by your Guru or your ‘guru mantra’ have an effect as potent on you as the words whispered in your ear by this scheming person? You were taught to remain calm, composed and to rise above your ego, but you forgot all those teachings and rather allowed suspicion, doubt, blind faith and belief in a loose talker’s words to gain complete control over your mind. Will you be able to walk the spiritual path with a mindset and attitude as negative and useless as this? It is ‘gyaan’ … true knowledge and pure thoughts alone that can save you from falling into a trap as nefarious as this. You will only vitiate the environment around you with such impure and wasteful thoughts otherwise.”