“अपने ‘कर्तव्य’ और ‘धर्म’ को निभा कर ही मनुष्‍य अपने ‘भविष्‍य’ को बेहतर बना सकता है …”

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Swamiji said …

“भविष्य को किसने देखा है। ” – Who among us has seen the future? None of us. Yet, we, who are mere puppets in the hands of our Creator ; alive, only till the moment He wishes us to be, continue to derive great pleasure in making end number of plans for the future…our ‘bhavishya’, although unknown and unseen by us in the present moment, holds a mysterious fascination for us. A minute or less is all that it takes us to imagine ourselves in certain roles, places, and positions , in the future, with such ferocious certainty and conviction, that even a fortuneteller would think twice before cutting short our flight of futuristic plans. We constantly talk and dream about the manner in which we intend to go about planning and securing a better future for ourselves.There is nothing wrong in doing so – but we must remember that our ‘future’ is moulded by our habits of today, of the present time ; how conscious and diligent we are towards fulfilling our duties and responsibilities, today, and as we grow, and fulfil our ‘dharma’ towards our family, friends, society or the nation. After all, it is the strong foundation of faith, trust, belief and good values on which we stand today and hold close to our heart that will govern our future actions, thoughts and way of functioning.”

“Planning for the future, verbally, is always easy. It is acting upon one’s plans doggedly that takes effort and true dedication. A few of us; health conscious and troubled by our weight gain, could ‘plan’ to lose five kgs within a month; yet, in a matter of moments after making such a ‘plan’, we find it difficult to resist mouthwatering temptations. We end up pushing our slimming down ‘plans’ ahead by a few days. It is always easy to promise ourselves that we could restart our action plan from the next day. But, isn’t it our ‘duty’ to keep the body, that God has endowed us with, fit and healthy with a nutritious diet ? At such a time, it becomes our duty; an obligation that we owe to ourselves to follow a simple and healthy diet. If we approach our eating habits with the intent of being responsible for our health, the need of the ‘plan’ to lose weight would not have arisen in the first place !”

“ Be it academic recognition, financial reward or societal achievements – all such future ‘goals’ actually need us to live in the ‘present’ moment in a sensible and organised manner. We need to reinforce the thought and make it a part and parcel of our lives that
it is our ‘habits’ and ‘actions’ of ‘today’ that define ‘who’ and ‘where’ we will be tomorrow. Instead of constantly worrying about the future, we must learn to stay focussed on the present. A student who studies dutifully, regularly and completes his homework conscientiously, does not need to worry about getting into a good college later. A small time businessman who understands his ‘ dharma’ towards his customers, on making the needs and requirements of his customers his topmost priority, will most certainly see his business expand and grow in the near future. A farmer who genuinely cares for his crops will water them daily, keep them pest free and do everything that he needs to do as a responsible farmer. Needless to say, not only will he be rewarded with a rich harvest, but also, be successful in securing a better future for himself and his family.”

“While it is important to have goals and plans, one’s effort must also commensurate with them.We must strive to end our day with the satisfaction of knowing that we have done everything that was needed to be done by us – whether it be attending to professonal issues with sincerity ; meeting the emotional requirements of our family sensitively, and above all, by devoting time to spiritual growth earnestly. Success begets success. Life will give us better opportunities, tomorrow, and , in the future, only, if we are able to complete and achieve all that we were supposed to do today, in the present moment.”

” ‘Agar hum yeh aadat bana lete hain ki hum apne ‘aaj’ ke saare ‘kartavya’ karenge, apna ‘dharma’ nibhayenge, achche ‘karma’ karenge, toh avashya hi humara ‘bhavishya’ achcha hoga !”

‘Karam’ aise karne chahiye ki ‘aatma’ bhi humara samman kare…’

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Swamiji said…

“Our soul…the ‘aatman’ observes and experiences ‘us’ all the time. ‘Us’ being the mind and the body acting in unison. The thoughts that transcend our mind are translated into action by the body, and the ‘soul’ remains a mere spectator while the two tango. Thus, it is our ‘soul’, which is both, a witness as well as a judge of our actions.”

“But our clouded vision and ignorance fails to focus on the Real Master that is seated radiating its divinity within us …’ Humari ‘ruh’, the only true ‘ gawah jo ki humare har ‘karma’, har shabd, har karni ki saakshi hoti hai!’ We fail to realise that it winces every time we hurt it by humiliating someone with demeaning words.
Why do we sully its purity by expecting something in return for every good ‘karma’ done by us and pollute its sanctity with high pitched complaints, by back biting and making insinuations against others ? The ‘aatman’ is filled with shame at donning a body as fickle as this, but, on finding no place to hide, resigns sadly to its fate, awaiting for a miraculous change in its fortunes, by clothing itself in a body inclined towards spirituality, in its next journey.”

“While society places a huge impetus on us for being remembered as a good or great personality, such a goal is in itself insufficient and flawed for one’s spiritual development. Man’s true character emerges when name and fame cease to matter to him and his best ‘karma’ is done not to impress others, but, when no one is watching him, as it is done for his spiritual upliftment ; when he has no selfish motive to show how good he is to the outside world: when every ‘karma’ is done purely with the intent of cleansing his ‘ruh’ further, aimed at winning the respect of his ‘aatman’ as he understands that… ‘Agar uski ‘aatman’ hi uska samman nahi karegi toh doosra koi aur uska samman kaise karega!’ An intent as noble as this is undoubtedly recognised by the vigilant soul and it is filled with happiness on seeing him hold ‘it’ in such high esteem and prove his loyalty to ‘it’ by not straying from the path of virtue.”

“Just as children often try to be at their best behaviour to get a ‘pat on the back’ from their elders, we too must strive to gain appreciation by our ‘aatman’ and behave in a manner that makes our ‘aatman’ proud of us. All we need to do is go about quietly doing good ‘karma’; putting others before ourselves; respecting all, regardless of their standing in society; remaining patient and respectful in all situations; offer to solve someone else’s problem and lend emotional support when most needed. It is this good ‘karma’, done quietly in the background, selflessly, that not only makes us good ‘souls’ but also makes the ‘soul’ joyful and proud; and makes us worthy of its respect.”

” ‘Karma’ aise karne chahiye ki ‘aatman’ bhi natmastak ho jaye humare ‘tyaag’ se; gadgad hojaye humari meethi vaani se, garvit mahsoos kare humey satya ke marg par chalte dekhte huey !’ “

” A ‘Guru’ gives, without expecting anything in return …”

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Swamiji said…

” God knew that man could not survive without relationships and emotional attachments ; and thus ‘He’ gave him, both, in abundance and, alongwith these cherished affinities, ‘He’ also gave him a bag of expectations and needs to be filled by all those who came within his close knit fraternity of loved ones.”

“Most relationships that we live through, experience and develop, over our lifetime, appear to be ‘transactional’ in nature. They have a ‘give’ and ‘take’ connection. Parents,too, raise children so that their bloodline lives on; continues after them.They do expect their progeny to take care of them during old age – a reciprocity for all the love and care that they had provided to them from the moment of their birth. Spouses provide each other with emotional, physical and financial support. Even pets expect food and shelter from their master, in return, for the love and loyalty that they bear for him.Thus, relationships and expectations go hand in hand; each entwined with the other, suffused with hope and assurance, that each will not let the other down, even when the shades of dawn and dusk change with age and time.”

” Out of all such relationships, it is only a ‘saccha sant’s relationship with his devotees that is not based on a two-way transaction. ‘Ek ‘saccha guru’ hamesha apne  ‘bhakt’ ke haath ko pakad kar rahega; bina kisi apeksha ke ; parantu, jab ek bhakt apne ‘guru’ ka haath pakad ta hai, tab uss mein apne ‘guru’ se thodi bohot apeksha toh hoti hi hai !’ which is understandable. In all honesty we need to accept the fact, that since we are mired in materialism, we do have certain expectations from the ‘Guru’.”

“The nature of the vagrant desires that grow within us could vary, but since a ‘Guru’ derives happiness from our happiness, He continues to ‘give’ us magnanimously; be it materialistic pleasures, academic brilliance, professional promotions; but He is happiest when He gives ‘adhyatmik gyaan’ to those who yearn to attain ‘self – realisation’.”

” An ‘adhyatmik guru’ is enlightened; is self-sufficient. He does not look for any materialistic profits or gains while blessing His devotees. He is neither swayed nor influenced by physical wants or sudden cravings as ‘He’ is completely in control of his mind and physical senses. He no longer lives for his ‘body’ or ‘mind’, as he has outgrown such ‘worldly hunger’. He has nothing left to gain for himself from this world of ‘moh maya’. Every precious moment of His existence is spent in meditating on the ‘Neeli chatriwaala’. All that a ‘Guru’ would truly like to see is the spiritual enlightenment and transformation of his disciples; an enrichment and purification of their minds and souls. A ‘Guru’s’ well-being resides in the spiritual well-being of his disciples. And, for that, he constantly shares his ‘gyaan’ ; his True knowledge with his disciples; directing them to realise the true purpose of their existence.”

” The disciples, on the other hand, nowhere close to spirituality, barely know what is good for them. Confusion in their minds while choosing between the much needed success in today’s world,or, sacrificing monetary gains to give time to ‘awakening’ of the soul, makes them look around for a ‘guru’, who can give them a new direction and suitable guidance. A few fortunate ones are blessed with the physical presence of a ‘guru’ and before long they start looking at Him as their ‘Saviour’!”

” Unfortunately a few of us look upon our ‘guru’ as a ‘wish fulfilling’ magician,
expecting all our dreams and wishes to be granted by Him. A ‘Guru’ does make us realise only those dreams that would benefit us in the long run,and, this too He does purely out of His divine love for us. Yet, He never asks us for anything in return. He only expects his disciples to tread the path of spiritual upliftment. He is not too vocal about this keen desire of His, too , but communicates it to us in the form of a silent appeal; leaving it to us to understand His subtle message. The ‘guru’ does not coerce us in any way ; but, leaves the final decision to us.’ ‘Guru’ ka kartavya hai ‘bhakton’ ko ‘gyaan’ dena…Apna ‘gyaan’ baatna ! Aagey woh ‘bhakt’ par nirbhar karta hai ki woh ‘guru-gyaan’ ke marg par chale, ya, kaan se baat ko nikaal de aur bhool jaye ! ‘Guru’ humse yeh ‘apeksha’ bhi nahi rakhte hain !’ Woh bas apne shishyon ka ‘prem’ chahte hain ! “