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Swami ji said…

Undoubtedly, “सांसारिक जीवन व्यतीत करना आसान नहीं है — क्योंकि बहुत सारी ‘समस्याएँ’ हमारे सामने आती रहती हैं और आती रहेंगी…” We cannot deny this and it is a truth that must be accepted. To visualise a life free of problems — a lifetime devoid of difficulties — would be to live in a fool’s paradise. Merely wishing them away will not achieve the desired results, for the challenges and trials we are destined to face will inevitably find their way to us. It is during such demanding phases that we must remain alert and composed in order to overcome them.

Our elders, with the wisdom born of experience, often say philosophically, “इस बात में दो राय नहीं है कि ‘संसार’ का दूसरा नाम ‘समस्या’ है…”
Yet, sitting helplessly and saying, “I don’t know how to overcome this problem,” serves no purpose and helps no one.

So greatly perturbed and over – wrought are we just thinking again and again about the problem – that we seem to forget that – ” ‘ईश्वर’ के पास हमारी हर समस्या का समाधान होता
है…” Our faith and belief in His divine ability to provide us with solutions – whenever we find ourselves in complex and complicated situations – will always yield miraculous results.

Problems in life often seem unsolvable. The mind is unable to see any relief in the future. All its analysis and foresight fail to find a solution. There appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. In such moments, one can easily give in to despair, react with anger, or, find fault with everyone and everything around.

But, the spiritual seeker must not yield so easily. He must resign himself to God. He must accept that where he stands now was destined by God, and, where he will reach – is also in His hands. The seeker must continue to act – as instructed by the ‘guru’ — with composure, steadfastness and complete faith in God. He must act with the belief that not only will all be well later, but, that all is well even now – regardless of how things may appear to the world outside.

Only then will he truly experience God by his side. He will realise that he has emerged unscathed, even though the worst has occurred. He will also see that situations once deemed hopeless have miraculously transformed themselves into favourable circumstances. Everywhere he looks, he will witness the divine ‘leela’ of God unfold before his eyes.

Even the greatest souls were not spared from hardship. In the Mahabharata, Kunti prayed to Krishna for difficulties, knowing that suffering deepened her remembrance of Him. In the Ramayana, Lord Rama — the Divine Himself — accepted exile with quiet grace, showing that faith is proved in adversity, not comfort. In the Bible, Christ’s words echo the same truth: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Across all faiths, the message is one — God may not remove our burdens, but , He walks beside us through them – showing us ways to make the heavy burden feel lighter. The storms of life come not to drown us, but, to teach us to keep our gaze upon Him – as He alone is our problem solver.

Once we develop unshakeable faith in God’s will – we will become aware of the fact that even when all paths seem closed, God, in fact , has already prepared the one we are meant to walk. When faith deepens, fear dissolves — and every problem, however insurmountable it may appear, quietly begins to reveal its divine purpose.

We need to remember – “जहाँ ईश्वर में श्रद्धा अटल होती है – तो वहाँ समस्या से उत्पन्न हुआ अंधकार भी, श्रद्धा की रोशनी से प्रकाशित हो जाता है ।”

Swami ji said…

The divine relationship that develops between a ‘सच्चा संत’ and a devout ‘भक्त’, a dedicated ‘साधक’, is one that is ordained by the Almighty. For, “वो जो ऊपर नीली छतरी वाला बैठा है , जिसकी इजाज़त के बिना जब एक पत्ता भी नहीं हिला सकता , तो क्या यह संभव है कि ‘गुरु–शिष्य के बीच का दिव्य तार उनकी इच्छा के बिना जुड़ सकता है…?”

From the very moment an enlightened soul rests His eyes upon those ‘lost’ souls who come to Him for His Grace, nothing — absolutely nothing — remains hidden from Him. Their past, present, and future is already known to Him. Yet the wisdom, restraint, and discipline that years of ‘साधना’ have instilled in Him, equip Him to keep that knowledge to Himself. With only a gentle, knowing smile, He carries truths that ordinary individuals like us could neither bear nor accept — the shadows of our past deeds, the obstacles awaiting us in the future, and the trials woven into the present journey of our lives.

Once He accepts a devotee as His own – every joy, burden, and sorrow of that devotee becomes His. He smiles when they smile, and, He feels their pain when they are hurt — even when He is fully aware that such moments of pain were destined to come their way. The devotee may feel hesitant to open the deepest chambers of his heart before their ‘guru’, weighed down by shame or remorse for past misdeeds — but nothing remains hidden from Him. To Him, His devotees are open books. When faced with sudden, overwhelming situations, the devotee naturally feels at sea, unequipped to handle unavoidable developments. It is then that the ‘गुरुदेव’ steps in — beginning a silent, systematic process of guidance. Every thought that stirs in the devotee’s mind is read and deciphered by Him, and, answers are quietly offered by Him to them when their mind is still, away from the noise and clamour of the world…” ‘गुरु’ हर समस्या का समाधान बताते रहते हैं…”

A spiritual seeker must, therefore, cultivate the ability to listen inwardly. For the ‘guru’s’ voice is never absent. It flows ceaselessly in silence. Only when the mind is steady, humble and receptive does one begin to truly hear it.
It is natural to feel fear when untoward developments arise. But even that fear must be turned into an opportunity — a reminder to direct one’s thoughts towards ‘guru’ and God.

The spiritual seeker, especially, must make this a practice. Trials and tribulations come to all; no one is spared. Yet for the seeker, these very moments become sacred chances to hold on even more firmly to the Guru’s presence. Slowly, they discover that what once seemed ‘uncomfortable’ begins to feel almost comforting. For when the path ahead is unclear to the mind, the awakened soul does not fret — it rests in the certainty that the Teacher has already taken over and is carrying the devotee gently towards safety.
Thus, it becomes important to stop wandering anxiously in search of answers. And yes — this is easier said than done. But to panic and lose composure is only to surrender to our most base instincts in the face of fear. Instead, we must summon the courage to keep our faith alive, steady ourselves, and place every worry at the ‘guru’s’ feet. For when the mind rests in calm trust, even the fiercest storm reveals a path quietly lit by the Guru’s Grace.

Swami ji said…

“मैंने अपने जीवन में बहुत कष्ट देखे हैं…” “मेरा जीवन कष्ट से भरा है…”
“बहुत मुश्किल से वह कष्ट काटा है मैंने…” This is the din we hear around us, as each of us, tries to, vociferously,
draw attention to our suffering — magnifying the pain we had to endure, highlighting the intensity of the grief and sorrow we experienced — in an evident attempt to make it clear to everyone around us -“मेरे कष्ट से बड़ा,किसी का कष्ट हो ही नहीं सकता…”

But, how are we going to live a lifetime if we allow ourselves to be submerged in such shallow, hollow, self-pitying thoughts? Are we running a race, holding a placard stating the nature of our ‘कष्ट’ – waiting to be declared the proud winner of the coveted title of the person – “जिसका जीवन बहुत कष्टदायी रहा है..”

One can never deny the fact that – “जीवन में कष्ट आयेंगे…” It is not possible for any of us to pass through the number of days, we are destined to live, without ordeals, obstacles, and issues coming our way. But, we have created the biggest problem for ourselves by giving them a larger-than-life importance – by becoming so greatly attached to the ‘कष्ट’ – that we talk about it endlessly, refuse to let it go, and keep reflecting on it regularly — often unaware that – “वह कष्ट, जिसे हम अब भी पकड़े हुए हैं, वह कब का कट चुका है…”

A spiritual seeker must always remember the words said to him by his self-enlightened गुरु – “जो कष्ट आकर कट जाये उसे कष्ट नहीं कहते…” Once a devotee understands the depth of these words, he is able to deal with his difficulties and tackle them in a mature, rational manner. Once he comprehends that -“कष्टों से वह मुँह नहीं मोड़ सकता है…”— for it is his ‘कर्म’ that is at play before him — his attitude towards suffering begins to change. He might not be aware of the divine fact – that his गुरु is able to see the कष्ट long before it arrives at the devotee’s doorstep and in His unfathomable way has already diluted the potent, lethal effect of the suffering that His devotee will have to go through. And, if, the devotee remains calm and steadfastly focused on the teachings of his ‘गुरु’ during hardships, he will realise that the ‘गुरु’ has carried him through the storm miraculously — leaving him with nothing more than a few superficial scratches at best – which he was meant to, destined to bear in this lifetime.

In fact, suffering — which we all fear — too has its benefits. The mind is such that, in good times, it becomes completely lost in enjoyment. There is little incentive to reflect on the ‘soul’, ‘कर्म’, God, or anything spiritual — for the material world holds our senses captive during days of comfort and pleasure. It is only when we suffer, when we look for relief, that we begin to reflect on spiritual matters. For in suffering, it is the ‘senses’ that are in pain — not the ‘soul’. And thus, in suffering, we find solace in the ‘soul’ — for it remains untouched by physical or emotional pain. It is during suffering that we most try to withdraw from the material world and from attachments of every kind.

It is suffering that shows us the importance of recognising the ‘soul’ and the ‘body’ as distinct. It is suffering that forces us to ‘observe ourselves’ as separate from our emotions. We come to realise that even the mind is not the real “us,” and that it is only through controlling the mind that we can truly influence how we feel.

Thus, do not lament about your sufferings of the past — for they are gone and done with – and are now a part of your past. The very fact that you have emerged from them largely unscathed means that your ‘guru’ was right by your side, holding your hand, giving you the strength needed – during all those moments of sickness, disease and difficulties and above all – the benign eye of God. When you see trouble brewing, breathe a sigh of relief — for it is a sign that the worst is about to pass, with the help of God…“जितना कष्ट कट जाये — उतना ही अच्छा है।”

Use the pain of suffering as a reminder to stay on the right side of ‘कर्म’ and to cleanse the mind of the stains left by the material world. Accepting ‘कष्ट’
without lamenting about our ill – luck , our ‘बुरी किस्मत’ ;without complaining as to why are we the ones to suffer over and over again and when we stop playing the victim card – it is only then that we can truly say that we have understood the essence and the core message of the sacred ‘ज्ञान’ that was imparted to us by our ‘गुरु’.

Swami ji said…

One of our favourite passtimes is to ‘talk’ about people we know—or might not even know. We may have just seen them somewhere, yet, we tuck their image away in some corner of our mind. And, then, the moment we recall their face—or the slightly inappropriate manner in which they may have presented themselves before us — we feel qualified to judge them and to give our opinion about them.

We seem to enjoy discussing others, and, at times, even debating about them angrily—especially when we feel that we are not gaining enough support in belittling them. Why is it that we take no time at all to form a one-sided opinion about others and find nothing wrong in making it known to everyone? How we love to analyse others—doing so with single-minded focus—dissecting every action of theirs and every word they speak, as though it were our birthright.

But then why are we—rather hypocritically—so shy, so hesitant, and so weary of being at the receiving end – when others attempt to analyse us? The same ‘we’ who so eagerly record every “unpardonable” act of others in our memory – are quick to produce a hundred excuses when someone voices a negative opinion about us. We defensively say, “That is not what I meant…” or “Normally, I am not like that! Something must have happened that day!”

Have we given ourselves the right to comment freely on others, to think whatever we wish about them, yet deny that same right to anyone else regarding ourselves? Have we vested ourselves with a power -“जो हमें इजाज़त देता है दूसरों पर टिप्पणी करने की, उनके बारे में कुछ भी सोचने का हक़ देता है — परंतु अगर कोई हमारे बारे में कुछ कहे, तो वो हमें बर्दाश्त नहीं होता है…”
When we can be such cowards in accepting the verdict of others—can we truly muster the courage to judge ourselves honestly and critically? “हमें स्वयं का आत्म-निरीक्षण भी तो कभी- कभार कर लेना चाहिए…”

Why do we have such double standards? If we can be so brazenly brave in ‘surveying’ others, why can we not accept an honest analysis about ourselves with the same courage? But, since we have already concluded in our mind that we are perfect in every way, we, tell ourselves that we do not need to undergo any ‘self-analysis’ at all. We conveniently reassure ourselves: “There is nothing wrong with me—why should I reflect?” But, this refusal to examine ourselves keeps us exactly where we are—unchanged, untested, and unevolved.

समय समय पर ‘आत्म-विश्लेषण’ करना — must become our habit. For only when we are honest with ourselves, and, willing to see and hear uncomfortable truths, through our inner voice – about our own actions – do we truly grow. It is always good to question ourselves occasionally – “Am I selfish or selfless ?” “Am I kind to all ?” “Do I stand by others during their difficult days?” “Am I an honest person?” This would be a good way to know where we stand – if we give honest answers.

The true spiritual seeker must maintain constant self-vigil. He must be critical only of himself and his behaviour—for it is only criticism of himself and being conscious of his behaviour, his attitude, his ‘karma’ – and not of others – that will be of any real use to him.

It is only those, who have the courage to see and acknowledge themselves for what they truly are – are the ones closest to taking the next steps towards ‘self-improvement’. Only when we recognize our own faults – can we rid ourselves of them and make ourselves worthy of receiving God’s grace.

Did not Ravan fall prey to such blindness? What did he lack—power, knowledge, strength? And, yet, he was blind to his own weaknesses of nursing a huge ego and senseless pride. It was this blindness that ultimately caused his downfall.

‘Self-reflection’ is the key to gaining control over our ‘कर्म ‘. “स्वयं का आत्म विश्लेषण और ‘आत्म निरीक्षण’ करने से – we become aware of our ‘self ‘, of our actions, conscious of the importance of choosing right over wrong, of forming good habits, not succumbing to desires, of being truthful and honest – all of which shape us into better human beings. This is often – the very first step that takes us towards truly knowing God.

Swami ji said…

The ability to speak, to talk is a gift that God has blessed most of us with — and we have made the most of this gift – as talking with others, about others is something that we enjoy greatly. We talk with gusto, with energy, with passion — about anything and everything under the sun. Be it about the weather in a formal setting, or, gossip in an informal one – we simply want to partake in conversation. Some of us are guilty of slipping into monologue, caring little for others, just as long as we are heard.

But, herein lies the catch. While we are in a great hurry to speak first, to answer quickly, to convey a point, or , to say something — anything at all — to anyone, do we pause for even a moment to ask ourselves: “हम अपनी ज़ुबान पर लगाम लगा रहे हैं या नहीं ?”

Do these words of wisdom urge us to place gentle restraints on our tongue, making us pause before we speak and consider the weight and consequence of our words? We would benefit greatly if we remembered that every syllable we utter carries the power to shape, sculpt, and script the very reality of our lives.

It may not be difficult for us to recall those moments when, in anger, frustration, or , retaliation, we might have spoken negatively or pessimistically to someone — only to later see those very words take a definite form before our eyes – filling us with regret for having said those fateful words…“हमने अपनी ज़ुबान को ऐसा कहने से रोका क्यों नहीं?” we lament.

Once we understand that the tongue is powerful and its power cannot be dismissed — as time and again it has been proved that its effects are real and immediate — it becomes essential for us to be careful and cautious before speaking. Many times, when asked about our welfare, we respond by saying we are unhappy or depressed. In doing so, we unknowingly give strength and permanence to those feelings. It is said that physical wounds can heal, but, the scars borne by the soul — on hearing words of hate, humiliation, or contempt — may never be erased…“शब्द बाण हैं, निकलते ही लगते हैं, लौटते नहीं…”

The words we speak set in motion a chain reaction, affecting not just those who hear them, but, also our own minds and hearts. Thus, controlling the tongue is an act of controlling one’s ‘karma’. Words are action. They can injure, and they can inspire. What our words do — what mark they leave on the world — is entirely under our control. Words spoken thoughtfully, with kindness and care, create a positive impact all around. Those spoken mercilessly, with the intent to hurt, are like drops of acid rain that destroy everything they touch.

The spiritual seeker — who struggles against the mind — must always be observant of what and how he speaks. If he finds that he speaks before he thinks, then he has a long way to go on the path of spirituality. For the ability to be silent, to resist the urge to argue or justify, is the mark of one who has begun to gain control over the mind.

Words must not come cheap to us. They must be measured and valued. But how can we do this – that is the question? Just as a lamp shines brightest in the dark, just as the rains break after the scorching heat of summer — our words, too, must arise after deliberate and mindful silence. And, not just any silence, but, the silence of meditation and reflection.

Just as gold emerges from the blacksmith’s blazing furnace, so too must words emerge from the depths of thought and patient consideration. And, just as the blacksmith hammers away impurities to create something beautiful and radiant, we, too must remove every trace of bitterness, anger, or , malice from our speech before presenting it to the world.