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Swami ji said…

Do we , at times, ask ourselves whether we’ve understood the meaning of life in ‘whole’ ? Or have we been selective ? Categorised ‘life’ into ‘दुख ‘ and ‘सुख ‘ and have concluded that life is only about these ‘two’ – and maintain a rigid stance – that there can be no other ‘front’ apart from them? Have we in a way developed some kind of a blind attachment to
‘दुख ‘ और ‘सुख ‘ – and is our involvement with them so strong and straight from the heart – that we are not able to either ‘detach’ ourselves from them or remain unaffected by them ? Why do we feel that – “अगर हम आज सुखी हैं, तो हम आगे भी सुखी ही रहेंगे …” “और जब जीवन में दुख आता है, तो ऐसे लगता है की यह दुख कभी नहीं जाएगा …” And this is where we are wrong as life is in a constant state of motion – and things can never remain the same. But we allow these to rule our mind and emotions.

Wouldn’t we make life less complicated if we were to tell ourselves, talk sense into ourselves that in the wheel of time there is no escaping –
‘joy’ and ‘sorrow’, ‘दुख ‘ और ‘सुख ‘ – as they will always show up at every turn ? We can’t avoid them. We will bump into them – not accidentally – but because they were meant to come our way and we were destined to meet them.

To even assume for a fraction of a second that it is possible for us – to prevent events related to ‘दुख ‘ and ‘सुख ‘ – unfold before us – would be a grave mistake. What kind of a life would we be living – if we constantly hoped to see the highs of success and prayed for an escape from the lows of failure ? And, if we were to live life this way- ‘ Would we call it living? ‘ If , we were living with a mindset like this – then there would be no difference between us – and a gambler – who always feels that he is at the mercy of his luck. Isn’t he always gripped in anxiety and suspense at the outcome that awaits him at the end of his game of cards ? Can we live with bated breath through out our lifetime?

“अगर हम हमेशा यही सोचते रहेंगे कि ‘दुख’ आएगा… अब ‘दुख’ आनेवाला ही है…” – then will we ever find ourselves in a state of calmness and peace ? We will always find ourselves tense and edgy ; our nerves frayed – looking fearfully at our doorway for ‘sorrow’ to make its much dreaded entry – and the thought – ” हम अपने आप को इस से निकालेंगे कैसे …” – will be uppermost in our mind. Life is not a cage for us to feel trapped between the cyclic emotions of ‘craving’ for success and happiness and ‘avoidance’ of sorrow and ‘ ‘दुःख ‘. But that life, in its fullness, includes ‘falling’ to failures – as much as it includes – ‘rising’ to name and fame. Similarly, it is not possible that we will always be successful in everything that we do…’ सुख आयेगा और जायेगा …”

When will ‘we’ detach ourselves ; stop taking everything personally – and instead begin to play the role of a spectator – and rise above the so called ‘joy’ and ‘sorrow’? Why do we pray for success and sunshine only?
Why don’t we remain undaunted and fearless while heading into a storm ; praying for strength and wisdom to help us find a way through it ?

We can think of hundreds of reasons to remain unhappy ; but , very often, find it difficult to create moments of happiness for ourselves. Don’t we hear people all around us say – ‘ I am happy ‘today’…’ ‘ I am sad ‘today’…’ Can’t we rise above ‘joy’ and ‘sorrow’? True joy of life can only be experienced when man accepts all that is happening around him as ‘divine’ play. He does not fret over what seems to have gone wrong and does not go overboard with happiness ; when things seem to go in his favour. Neither does he take pride in his success nor is he perturbed on facing failure. He is merely amused by the unfolding of God’s will, like an innocent child – who watches his parents’ antics with wonder.

Acceptance and patience is the key to escape the anxiety and uncertainty of life. As long as we live by our principles – seek to do good and be good in all circumstances- we would have done all that we were meant to do.
Slowly but surely, we will realize that the times we worried about the future and the times we claimed that everything was perfect , in place – for the future – could later turn out to be moments of misjudgment from our end. As time proves to us, many a times, we end up being wrong in both cases. Only then do we begin to understand that such behavior in the past was merely a waste of precious time ; a distraction from the ‘present’ moment – as it is ‘that’ moment that holds all that we need.

Swami ji said…

We all are guilty of being narcissists – happy and content with our nature and temperament – finding nothing wrong with who we have become over the years. And so convinced are we of our own perfection that we are sure there is nothing that others will ever find or have to complain about us. To reinforce our misled conviction, we recall every compliment that was generously paid to us by all those who know us and are fond of us. We feel wonderful on being recognised and lauded, basking in the glory of praise and admiration. But, as has always been said – ‘Nothing in excess is good’ – and an excess of approval and applause by the people around us is quite undesirable – making us accustomed to receiving only appreciation and compliments in abundance ; but, we are disconcerted on being criticised for even the smallest of things. Criticism causes us great distress. We worry as to what could have gone wrong – for someone to have looked at us with an eagle eye and to point out our faults to us – one by one. Censure is not known to us – when it is we who are at the receiving end – “परंतु दूसरों की आलोचना करने में हम सबसे आगे खड़े रहते हैं…”

Do we have some kind of a double standard when it comes to our refusal in accepting any criticism that comes our way – as compared to the readiness with which we participate gleefully in coming down heavily on others…”हम खुद तो औरों की ‘आलोचना’ करने में माहिर हैं – लेकिन अपनी ‘आलोचना’ सुनने के लिए बिल्कुल तैयार नहीं हैं…” Much like a lioness that springs to her cub’s defence – we stand up to defend ourselves from the volley of hostile words that could come our way.

“हमे , ख़ुद मे , थोड़ा सा भी परिवर्तन लाने
मैं बहुत कठिनाई लगती है…” Why do we find it so challenging to ‘change’ ourselves – even when we know that ‘change’ is a universal truth ? We see it happen all around us. All the time – the ever ‘changing’ world. But , we withdraw completely – when someone tries to suggest a few improvements that we could make in ourselves. Why are we averse to criticism?

“We are above criticism” – we reassure ourselves. And critiques warrant no more than a scornful look – a reward to those for criticising us – we tell ourselves complacently.
How dare he condemn us? Why should we listen to him? Such are the counter questions that come to our mind.

Why do we have such a closed mind when it comes to hearing a few words that could potentially help us correct ourselves? Do we really believe that it is possible for us to have no imperfections? Doesn’t a flower need both – the Sun and the rain to grow and flourish ? In a manner much similar – we too need to remember that it would be best for us to accept both – compliments and criticism – to evolve in the best possible way. Rather than resisting the changes that honest criticism could bring about in us ; we feel it to be to be below our dignity to be rational and to hear what the other person has to say about us.

Often times, criticism comes from quarters most unexpected. It stings and even enrages us. But, we must have the self-control to try and observe what is said to us. We must try and understand why someone sees certain shortcomings in us. More often than not, these shortcomings are already known to us, but are overlooked by us due to the immense affection that we have for ourselves. In fact, if , we observe closely, it is criticism – which rings true in our ears – that agitates us the most. For it highlights that which we have subconsciously chosen to ignore and turn a blind eye to.
Instead of feeling slighted and angry, we must accept such criticism and begin to work on our deficiencies.
That is the only way we can grow and be happy with ourselves. For the one person we can never really fool – is ourself. Even if the world thinks of us to be great, we should never be satisfied with ourselves, if, we have not pushed ourselves to be the best version – that we can be of ourselves. And that means to accept criticism and use it as a guiding light to improve ourselves.

To be spiritually successful, humility is the only virtue that is needed. The humble have no ego that makes them stray from the path of God. The humble accept what they need to change and what they need to do to receive His blessings. They do not argue over what they can and cannot change about themselves.

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?