Category: Uncategorized

Sung by : Jyotima

Video Courtesy : Shashwat

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Sung by Mrs G. Hymavati | Composed by Sri AVR Krishna Rao.
Video credits : Sri Avneesh ji and Shashwat

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“पाप से घृणा करो, पापी से नहीं “

Swamiji says….

” Life, most certainly, would have been dull, boring and unexciting, if each one of us – had been identical … a replica of one another and had borne similar traits and characteristics ! It is difficult to imagine even for a second the monotony that would have descended upon the world, had it been inhabited by billions of similar looking, and similar minded people. But then the difference in our mental make-up should not be so extreme that we fail to register the responsibility that comes along with being a human being and be extremely conscious of what we make of our lives ; to be aware of the consequences of our actions !”

“God’s ingenuity has given Him the sole, exclusive right of creating humanity – and He outdid himself by gifting not only distinctive facial features to every human being, but also, a remarkably different emotional and intelligence quotient … to be rationale ; to know when to draw a line between good and bad.”

” The stamp of God’s amazing creativity is clearly revealed in the different faiths, feelings, beliefs, behaviour, thoughts, attitudes – that are followed and nurtured by us. A stark difference is evident here too. And what we finally become, is the end result of the choices that we make from the contrasting colours that life lays out before us, that could cause us to be either animated and upbeat, or disturbed and guilty. Do we ever reflect and deliberate – ‘What stalls us from doing – ‘punya’ – and instead draws us like a magnet towards the dark corridors of ‘paap’? Why do we hesitate in speaking the truth – ‘satya’, but are very much at ease while spooning out ‘asatya’? When did we decide to stop standing by ‘dharma’, and willingly discard both – values and loved ones – to support ‘adharma’? For how long can we play a hide and seek game with our conscience ! It would be anybody’s nightmare to be branded a ‘ paapi ‘ and to hear himself being pronounced … ‘ Yeh paapi hai … Issney paap kiya hai ! “

” Remember, it is very difficult to remove the stains of this stigma from our name, once we are pronounced sinners – ‘paapi’ by others. The concerned ‘bad’ individual – the ‘paapi’ gains prominence while the wrong action – ‘paap’ fades away in the background; when, in fact, it should have been the other way round – ‘ Paap se ghrihna karo … paapi se nahi!’

“‘Hatred over love! Crime over goodness ! Sinning mindlessly !’ What is it about these dubious elements that attract ordinary folks like us to include them in our daily habits, and entice us to transition to a life steeped in vices, wrongdoing and wickedness? Is it the demonic quality of these words, that by virtue reek of negativity and impurity – that has an affect so lethal on us that we are drawn towards them like hapless victims.The irony of such spineless behaviour is that when a person falls prey to these negative characteristics ; gets a taste of their potency and then indulges blindly in nefarious activities, the blame and hatred falls not on the merciless, chilling – ‘paap’ that incites us to be diabolical , but on the ‘paapi’, who has been enslaved by them. Just imagine his fate!”

” Individuals who are associated with ‘paap’ of any kind become direct targets of others who look at them with suspicion and openly voice their contempt for them. Those of us who fall prey to these sinister, abhorrent, vile habits are hated, detested by others and for what? For having succumbed to vices by giving up virtues ? For not being strong enough in the face of evil’s temptation? For being a victim of circumstances at a particular moment of his lifetime as he might not have had any other alternative but to respond to the inviting call of cheating, theft, deceit and deception by following it blindly ? No one is interested in listening to what the ‘paapi’ has to say…as hatred for him blinds them to see reason of any kind.”

” None of us is born bad. ‘Koi bhi paap jaan bujh kar nahi karna chahata hai ! Paristhitiyan ussey paapi ban ne par majboor kar deti hain.” But at the same time, we cannot make feeble excuses for having sinned knowingly. Rather, we should put up a stiff resistance against anything that can earn us ill – will , wrath and unwanted negativity from others. Why should we become a topic of discussion for others ? We have to be resolute in the face of these short term, profit gaining evil returns, mindful that while no one around us reviles about ‘sins’ – it is the ‘sinner’ who is neither forgotten, nor forgiven…’ Hum aissi koi bhi cheez kyun karein, joh hummey ghrihna ka paatra bana sakta hai!’ Is there any point in walking down a road that can only take us to perdition?”

Swamiji says …

“‘ ‘Pariksha’ … Exams… Tests … Viva … Assessments ! These words have always sounded formidable, frightening and formal ! We became very familiar with these words – exams, ‘parkisha’ – very early on in life ; perhaps from the tender age of five or six – and the mere mention of them filled us with dread. The stern intonation of these words; the intrinsic accompaniment of the note of an unmistakable warning and strictness in them – was never lost on us ; and that is what made us feel all the more scared and frightened. The thought of appearing for an exam filled us with a sense of foreboding – that our life, our future and destiny depended on the outcome of the result of our exams. We were expected to perform very well in them; outdo others – and as the time to the exams got closer, this caused us greater worry, as we knew there was no running away from them!”

“Ironically, despite our great aversion for exams, they played a great role in helping us, analyse our scholastic intelligence, ability to study and work hard. They were also clear indicators of our academic standing in school, and in our family – all of which was judged by our performance in the exams ; the end result of a year’s hard work. Excelling in exams earned us laurels, certificates and awards ; but the same exams could cause us humiliation and embarrassment, too – in the form of a dressing down, a verbal thrashing and a whole lot of sniggering that could be directed at us – on being labelled a failure!”

“’Pariksha’ … A simple enough word – but, strangely, this very word succeeds in eliciting extremely different responses and reactions from different individuals. At times, the mere thought of sitting for an exam or an interview – triggers an emotion, that could be highly volatile and could cause panic and anxiety in some of us; while a few remain unaffected, unperturbed and sail through exams, without as much as a grimace.”

“Butterflies in the stomach, pangs of nervousness ; a pounding heart in one’s mouth ; the deafening replay of the terrifying word – ‘exams’ – drowns the sound of the memorized subject matter, that our memory desperately tries to recapitulate, during an exam – which raises the worrying concern – ‘ Zyaadatar , jo bhi insaan pariksha deta hai , woh ghabrata hai … uss mein darr , bhay utpann ho jaata hai !’ Why is one so fearful, terrified of exams ? Why do we allow ‘fear’- a negative emotion to make an uninterrupted foray into our mental faculties ; and rule over us to such an extent that it succeeds in erasing the relevant, required subject matter from our memory during those essential moments when needed the most, while taking an exam.”

” ‘Insaan ko bhay nahi hona chahiye! Ussey apma ‘karma’ karna chahiye!’ We have to do our ‘karma’ and thus … ‘Pariksha’ ko apna karma maan kar, bina darrey karo!’ Vidyarthiyon mein kissi bhi cheez se bhay utpann ho jaata hai!’ – and this is something that should not happen. The younger lot should be happy that they are being given an opportunity to prove their mettle and showcase their capabilities…be it in academics, sports or in their professional life. Redundancy and rusting of the mind can only be fought off by testing ourselves; both, our physical and mental skills – and thus, it is important for us to look forward to exams, with confidence and positivity.”

” The solution to this problem lies within us … and believe me it is very simple find a solution for this. We cannot remain foot soldiers for ever and listen to every order and instruction that is issued by our ‘mind’ blindly. No! We have to take charge; adopt the role of a commander and eject these self – damaging thoughts out of our mind…’Bhay ko apne andar se, apne dimaag se har haalat mein nikaalna chahiye!’ We might be completely unaware of the detrimental effect that fear or exam phobia has on us. Time that should have been utilized in preparation and revision for exams is wasted in dwelling on the horrifying anticipation of the exams. Rather than thinking of a way out of the sticky situation, and improving things for ourselves, we spend hours getting all knotted up ; forgetting the right answers at the crucial moment of our exams. Many a times we draw a blank during the exams and realize later that we could have solved the problem easily, but by then it is too late and our fate is sealed.”

” The earlier we accept the reality of the fact that exams too fall in the gambit of our ‘karma’, the better it would be for all of us. Every test and exam that we clear, helps us in inching closer towards our final goal. We have to face them ! We don’t have a choice ! Exams spare none ! An enlightened ‘guru’, too, has to pass the ‘exams’ and ‘tests’ that his devotees expect him to clear ; before they express their willingness to accept Him as their ‘guru’. Can he be fearful of the ‘exams’ set for him by his devotees?”