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Swami ji said…

‘Man proposes, God disposes…’ – is an age old saying which directs us to focus only on our actions, our ‘कर्म’. In numerous ways, we have been told to follow this one principle in life – with complete faith in the ringing truth of these words. But, despite this wisdom being given to us through the ages – we always fall into the trap of expectations –
big or small. Barely do we start on any task or project, and we start thinking about its outcome ; how our lives could change; how it could benefit others ; the applause and recognition that would come our way.

The blue print that we form in our mind of all that is needed by us, what we must get and when – makes us feel absolutely certain that everything will happen the way we want them to happen and –
any deviation – even the slightest – leads us to feeling disappointed. And, not getting what we expected, is as good as the greatest tragedy having befallen us.

This often leads us to experiencing a sense of failure, shame, sadness – all of which is unfounded. So fixated are we with results – that we forget to celebrate the successful completion of our tasks. Life’s true joys, like most, can be found where we look the least. Taking joy in our ‘karma’ ; नेक , पवित्र , अच्छे कर्म करते हुए – being happy in simply performing our duties selflessly and sincerely – without worrying about the fruit of our labour – with complete faith in God’s will and His plan for us – would do wonders to our way of thinking and functioning. This is a skill we must learn immediately.

All of us must learn to trust God. Once He gives us an idea, some direction, a path to follow – we must rejoice in that moment too ! There are so many in this world who are like lost sheep. They have no idea about what to do with their lives.They simply survive day to day, hour to hour. Atleast we have a routine, a path to follow , a goal to achieve. And we must follow this path shown to us – with the utmost conviction, with the utmost joy – as it is God who has shown us this path!

Let us not be bothered by what others have gained. Let us not waste time thinking how we can get the same, or , whether we will get the same as them.The path that God sets us on could be as difficult as the one through dense forests and hills. It might not be possible for us to see where we will end up, but , there are many sights to take in and enjoy – if , we understand that God wants us to tread that path – as it is best for our future growth and development.

We must not forget – that the only life we are experiencing is the one we are living right now ; at this moment. Hence , we must take joy in performing our duty, knowing that God will be pleased with us for doing so, and, His is the only praise we should strive to achieve. How we will experience the future, how today is connected to tomorrow – are questions that only He can answer.

But, even from a pragmatic perspective, those successful in this world, barely spend time fretting over tomorrow. They remain focussed on excellence, which in simpler terms – is ensuring the quality ; the nature of their ‘karma’ or how well they perform their duties. This requires them to focus on the present and not waste thought and energy on the future.While they, too, never are sure of the fruits of their labour , they are well aware that good ‘karma’, dutiful actions, never go to waste…” तुम पूरी इमानदारी से मेहनत करो…परन्तु आगे सब ईश्वर की ईच्छा प़र छोड़ दो… क्यूंकि होगा वही जैसा वो चाहेंगे …”

Swami ji said…

Life – replete with its unpredictable
share of the great , and , not so great happenings ; our inability to deal with the unexpected ; our failure in understanding life’s perplexing and puzzling nature – makes us look for a source of guidance ; seek support, advice and directions – from a ‘soul’ – pure and holy – knowledgeable and wise. And , the conclusion that we come to is – Who could be better than a ‘गुरु’ to answer all our questions ? And, we feel fortunate and lucky on being blessed with the opportunity of being blessed with the presence of a self realised ‘गुरु’ by our side. In our excitement and happiness on establishing a connection with a ‘सच्चा संत’ – we must not forget a point most vital – that it is not ‘we’ who choose a ‘गुरु’, but, in fact it is the ‘गुरु’ – who chooses us, allows us to be His ‘शिष्य’, ‘भक्त’, ‘साधक’ and once He accepts us – we become His responsibility.

Each ‘guru’ has his own unique way of imparting instructions and teachings to his ‘bhakts’. Some ‘gurus’ could address their devotees in numbers of thousands ; some in smaller groups and a few on one – to – one basis through direct interaction.The ‘गुरु’ knows very well that He will be tested many a times by His devotees – who expect every unanswered question of theirs to be addressed by Him – related to all spheres of their life ; expect miracles to take place that could change their time and fortune – further validating the faith that they have placed in their ‘गुरु’.The divine bond that connects a ‘गुरु’ to His devotees is further strengthened during the invaluable moments when He reveals the beauty of the spiritual path to them.

It becomes on us – devotees, to be aware of the immense significance of those precious conversations that take place between a self realised ‘संत; a ‘सच्चा संत’ and His ‘भक्त’ ; a ‘गुरुभक्त’. But then are we alert enough to understand the essence of every word that is said and at times left unsaid by our ‘ गुरु’? Do we understand the meaning of the pauses ; the telling silence between His words while He makes us understand the main purpose of our life ? Do we understand what He is trying to convey to us through His silence ?

Before his crucifixion –
Jesus Christ told one of His followers – Peter – that he (Peter) would disown Christ publicly – thrice before the end of the day. Peter was aghast to hear this – as Christ was his Teacher and he loved Him dearly. He could not believe his teacher’s words. Such was the faith that he had in his love for his teacher, his guide. Yet, just as Christ had foretold – Peter, later on, out of fear for his life, did deny knowing Christ in front of the Roman soldiers. Peter eventually became a saint himself and was regarded as one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.

What we learn from this story is – that a ‘गुरु’; a spiritual teacher ; the One who has taken upon himself the responsibility of showing us the way out of the miseries of this world, knows us better than we know ourselves.That He sees in us – our potential as well as our drawbacks ; our flaws and also our strengths better than us. We are an open book to Him and nothing escapes His eye. Once He allots a task to a devotee of His – He expects His instructions to be followed in letter and spirit – as He knows that the devotee was destined to do it and will benefit from doing so in the long run. He stands by the devotee, giving him the strength and direction needed to perform the divine duty to the best of his ability – without letting him getting attached to the outcome of the ‘karma’ being done by him – as he is not the ‘doer’ but a mere instrument in the ‘guru’s’ master plan.

In fact, He even sees that – what we do not want to admit about ourselves. He sees us exactly for what and who we are ! We cannot hide anything from Him. In such a situation, can we ever know better – than our ‘गुरु’? What is good for us, what is not ? Will a ‘गुरु’ know better or us? How can we ever claim to know what is beneficial for us, when we are not aware, or, do not want to acknowledge what is lacking in us? Truly, a ‘guru’s’ guidance, thus, is not just an option, but , is the ‘only’ option for us to act upon in life.

If one observes the relationship between cattle and their shepherd ; one will realise that the survival of the cattle depends solely on following the shepherd. The shepherd does not abandon his cattle nor does the cattle abandon the shepherd.They go exactly where he goes. They follow the path that the shepherd takes. Any cattle that strays, often, never survives long on its own. Their only chance at survival is – if , the shepherd comes back looking for them.

In the spiritual journey, the ‘गुरु
is the shepherd, and the disciples are the cattle. Any and all instructions of the ‘गुरु’ should be followed to live a meaningful life. And, this must not be mistaken for rigidity. A ‘guru’s’ instructions, are like guideposts in a maze.They are to help His devotees from getting lost. One can ignore them at one’s own peril. Following them, has always led to delight and wonder.

Swami ji said …

None of us can deny not having heard the elders in our family say – ” जितनी चादर हो, उतने ही पैर पसारो
…” Why did they say this? These words were not said randomly. They were said and are still said – after much deliberation and reflection – and are said to serve as gentle reminders to one’s loved ones; whenever they appear to be going overboard; or show an inclination to stretch themselves too thin while trying to acquire something, or, fulfil a desire that is not within their known means or resources. Someone has to check them. Remind them of the ground reality – before their wings of fantasy make them soar, and, perch on branches which could break under the weight of their aspirations – which would come at a huge cost – by literally abandoning their principles – ‘उनके आदर्श’…’जब हम ऐसे ख्वाब देखने लग जाते हैं जो हमें हमारे उसूलों से दूर लेजाते हैं…’ Who could be better than our wise elders to school us with their experience and sound words of advice ? But are we willing to pay heed to their inputs and opinions?

Of course, we should dare to dream. Dream big. Why not ? There is no harm in dreaming – as dreams have the power to motivate us – thereby making us work very hard with sincerity. They give us the strength to put in effort – that we had never thought that we were capable of drawing from within ourselves and strive to labour everyday with honesty – filled with positivity that – ‘एक दिन हमरा ख्वाब पूरा होगा …’

But , not all dreams can be realised at once. Some take longer than others to take a concrete shape. Some are not meant to be realised at all. We must accept this too. There will always be something bigger and better to set one’s eyes on – at the very next moment. That is the nature of the world.What we have today, will always appear to be less tomorrow. The dreams achieved today, will lose significance tomorrow, for , there will be another mountain to conquer, another aim to meet and accomplish. But, the rush in which we are to see our wish and desire turn into a reality – we feel no compunction in compromising – “अपने उसूलों के साथ …” ‘After all , wouldn’t it be foolhardy for us to stick to our old jaded and faded life of principles and values – and forego realising our shiny dream in the process? ‘- we chide ourselves – and part ways – ‘अपने उसूलों से ‘- without any demur.

When dreams turn to desires ; never – ending desires ; that is when the mind begins to corrupt. For one loses patience and self – control …“
हम अपना ‘संयम’ खो बैठते हैं …”, and the next thing we know – we have made a deal with the devil. To grab and hoard wealth and power ; to fulfil every little whim and fancy of ours – we begin to play fast and loose with the rules. What we would know to be morally wrong – the mind would convince us to do anyway. ‘Everything and anything would fly…’ – जब ‘उसूलों’ से ज़्यादा बड़े हमारे ‘ख़्वाब’ हो जाते हैं …” and then the change in us is so drastic – that we are more than willing to do anything – to acquire and possess whatever it is that has caught our attention; to get what we desire.Scruples and ethics give way to lies and falsehood ; relationships could be sacrificed ; trust could be breached. All these are bound to happen to a person addicted to and intoxicated with the fleeting sense of gratification on obtaining the material desires of this world.

What would make the journey towards realising one’s dreams – most beautiful –
would be- when we remain consistent and stay determined to hold on to the good values, strong ideals and sound principles that had been inculcated in us from our childhood. When despite the challenges, we had refused to waver from the firm principled foundations on which we had built our lives; refusing to loosen the threads – ‘ हमारे उसूलों के ‘- because of which we had not buckled, bowed down – ever – in the face of any dream – however big the dream could have been.

Swamiji said …

The world today believes in moving fast and moving ahead. And , whatever gets trampled, broken or left behind is not to be given a second thought ; as doing so would only slow one down and hinder progress.Such is the prevalent thought of modern society. And, thinking on such lines is what is making society harsher, colder and increasingly impersonal by the day.

Mistakes made by one are not meant to be taken too seriously – we feel. After all , he’s made this mistake just once – we say.
Wrongdoings committed by us or are loved ones are increasingly being met with indifference and leniency. Repentance and regret are signs of weakness. What has replaced these – is complacency and smugness.
Lying, stealing, spreading falsehood – have become common practice to us. Easy to resort to as they seem to be the only way to save one’s skin and satisfy one’s dark desires. And, on not being caught and remaining undetected – even after acquiring a taste for these sinful habits – a sense of false confidence develops in us to walk on this treacherous path with a swagger.

But, things can take a dangerous turn when we are motivated to stay on the sinful course without feeling any remorse or regret…“बिना किसी तरह का पछतावा महसूस करना , अपनी पिछली गलतियों के लिए…” It is a paradox that while man often finds other people’s mistakes unacceptable and reproachable, he treats his own with kid gloves – shrugging them off as if they were ever of any consequence. While even a single misstep by others is met with great disapproval – mistakes as colossal as the pyramids, made by oneself, are made to appear like minor errors.

Yes, there is no point in just feeling guilty for our mistakes for long durations of time without making any effort to change ourselves. But , we must not block out , or , try to numb the guilt of the mistakes made by us. It is very easy to sin – but to seek repentance for our sins – turns out to be a very difficult task for many of us.
How many of us are willing to acknowledge the fact that we have sinned ? What wrong have we done that we need to own up – we question ourselves? Once we’ve gone adrift from the safe haven of honesty and righteousness – the thin line between sin and morality seems to blur. The addiction to sinning could make us impervious to the urgent calls made by the ‘soul’ – prompting us to drop our ego ; to feel genuinely sorry for having sinned ; for having done something terrible in the past and wish with all our heart that we had not done it.
It uplifts us with words of encouragement – ‘पश्चाताप’ कर के अपने आप को समझाओ , सुधारो , बदलो औऱ बेहतर बनाओ …”

Many a times, simply as a defensive mechanism, we resolutely prefuse to acknowledge our mistakes in front of others, in the fear that we will appear weak. But, it is in such times that one’s true character is shown. There is no wrong time or place to acknowledge one’s mistake. Doing so is the first step towards becoming a better version of ourselves – as this makes our mind very aware to not repeating such misdeeds a second time. Repent, we must.

Mistakes will be made by us. We will make blunders. In our professional and personal lives both. But we must never turn a blind eye to them. Glossing over and ignoring what we have done wrong makes us insensitive. We harm not just ourselves, but , even those around us by being oblivious to the mistakes we make.

The spiritual seeker too must learn to repent. In fact, he must even repent over what others might think to be trivial, but , which nonetheless are sins. A bad or harsh word for someone else; an undeserved remark ; a bad thought – these too are sins, and, must be regretted and repented immediately. It is only by doing this that the mind can be brought to exercise control and improve the quality of one’s ‘karma’.

Swami ji said…

Since pre-historic times, man has always preferred to live in groups. Initially, he found strength in numbers.
This strength was useful in hunting, gathering and safe – keeping. It also led to the development of relationships between people, giving rise to social structures of family, communities – as we see around the world today.

As a result, today, man is always, in some way or another, always ‘connected’ with someone else. If it is not in one’s physical presence, there is always the digital world of messages, video calls – that keeps him connected with
others. And, he, mistakenly, feels very secure with that tangible connection.

In fact, the assurance of constant accessibility to others ; of
‘someone being around’ us ; the availability of immediate family, relatives and friends has made us almost alien to the idea of being alone. In fact, the idea of living alone, of spending time without someone with us – is almost daunting and scary…” मैं अकेला कैसे रहूँगा ?” मैं अकेला रहने के बारे मैं सोच भी नही सकता !” – we say with a tinge of worry. Many a times, seeing someone live alone makes us pity them, or , wonder how lonely they would be. We are convinced that someone who is alone cannot be happy or lead a life of contentment. This repeated narrative has created a negative and fearful perspective on being alone. On seeing a ‘sanyaasi’ , a monk – aren’t we left wondering – ‘How does he live alone?’ ‘How does he manage all by himself ?’

Yet, in full honesty, can anyone really say that they know what it feels like to be alone? How many have even ventured to try and experience it? What is it about being alone that is so scary? Is it simply being alone with our thoughts? Or, is it, that we have to then live only with ‘our selves’ – something we possibly do not find very pleasing? We need to define the meaning of being ‘alone’ – individually – to understand what it means to us and follow it up.

We have to ask ourselves whether we avoid being alone – to avoid self-reflection – aware that we might not appreciate when we see what we truly are ! Many a times, we feel overwhelmed, when we take stock of ourselves and simply want to avoid ‘thinking’ about the unanswered questions that could ring out about us – in the quietness of loneliness.

Yes, of course, there are situations when we certainly need other people to be around us. But , we must reflect on why we do not try to enjoy the bliss of solitude. To understand the divine significance of those precious moments when we find ourselves alone – we just need to remind ourselves that God has sent everyone else away – so that we can spend time with Him.

The spiritual seeker must always strive to spend some quality time with himself ; question himself as to what is it that he seeks in this lifetime ? Is he aware of the significance of this lifetime of his ? What does he intend to do with it ? Does he want to be a conqueror of material goods or overcome the lure of all the trappings and win over God with his devotion and faith ? This is what would make him aware of how the mind operates ; its nature to wander and worry ; to procrastinate on doing what is essential – yet difficult. It is when we are alone that we can truly begin to work on ourselves.When we make an earnest attempt to cut ourselves away from the distractions of engaging with others – only then, can we truly begin to engage with the ‘self’. We begin to understand what our character truly is – as then there is no one to ‘act’ in front of us. We gain an opportunity to get a true measure of ourselves in black and white, and, who we are as a person.

Loneliness becomes solitude as the process of self-reflection and self-improvement begins. As we take steps to improve ourselves, we begin to enjoy the warmth of the ‘soul’ ; we begin to ‘feel’ a live connection with God ; oneness with nature. Our process of self-discovery, also begins to tell us a lot about the world around us. More importantly, we begin to realise how fruitless a lot of social interaction is – as it does not necessarily make us happy. In solitude, we begin to appreciate the value of our own time, our thoughts ; to preserve the sanctity of the mind – and make constructive changes to our lives to improve everything about ourselves. It is only when we are alone, that we begin to understand – what it is that we truly need. We realise the importance of keeping company of those people – who contribute further to our spiritual and mental development and try to move away from those who unfortunately seem to hinder conversations related to the awakening of our ‘soul’.