Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji

Swamjji says …

” Similar to the manner in which a lamp illuminates a dark room ; knowledge too illuminates the mind. The light of a few more lamps can illuminate a house ; and thousands of lamps can illuminate cities; similarly, every bit of knowledge that we gain, enables us to understand ourselves and the world around us all the more.”

” Yet, man has always had a false sense of contentment with the limited knowledge that he is able to acquire during the different stages of his life.Once he acquires a certain level of ‘academic education’ that is considered adequate enough for him to earn a good livelihood and to be accepted socially, he starts believing that his quest for knowledge is over, and doesn’t really make an earnest attempt to assess – whether what he ‘knows’ and has been ‘taught’ to him… does it, actually, equip him with all the required abilities to be a ‘better person’ or ‘understand – who or what – he, and, the world around him is!’ “

“Right from the moment he first steps into the premises of a school – the rat race begins. He is apprised with the harsh reality that the subject marks on his report cards can, strangely, either ‘make’ him or ‘break’ him. He is acquainted with the fact that he is now a part of a system which will rank him and solely, decide his future. He gets accustomed to the bait that is thrown at him repeatedly -‘ Aap jab first aaogey tab aapko chocolate milegi , gift milega!’ These words stay with him forever and serve as a grim reminder about the crucial part that the number game will always play in his life. “

“Mata, pita ki zimmedari hoti hai ki bachpan se hi bachchon ko achchi shiksha do…!’ But are they truly doing this? The blind faith that we have reposed in the need to excel and succeed in the expensive, and singularly bookish, and theoretical education system alone, is the only way which will enable our children to realize their materialistic and worldly dreams’… ‘aur yeh agyaanta joh badon mein bhi hoti hai …’ becomes the cause of their children’s undoing. Studying at a prestigious or renowned school alone doesn’t necessarily ensure that the child will turn out to ‘educated’ in the true sense of the word! ‘ Parantu insaan agyaanta ke andhere mein dooba huwa, ek pal ke liye bhi nahi sochta hai ki sampoorna shiksha kya hoti hai ! ‘ Yet, these days, nothing makes parents more proud than the opportunity that their offspring provides to them; when they are able to announce to the world that their child has secured admission in a premier school or a top ranking university. There is no doubt that such an occasion should be a cause of celebration, but can we vouch and say that expensive education can give a cent percent guarantee that young children will evolve into good human beings in the future!”

“While children possibly get tired of hearing it, their parents show no sign of exhaustion from repeatedly emphasising on how essential it is for them to ‘top the class’ and secure the highest marks possible! They maintain that the professional future of their children rests completely on their rank in the merit list. A child is rebuked mercilessly for failing to obtain that ‘one’ mark which could have enabled him to maybe get a scholarship or to have his name embossed on the school roll of honours for posterity. Why have we developed this kind of a thought process? Why can’t we appreciate the result that the child has obtained and encourage him that with continued persistence and hard work he will certainly secure that one ‘life changing’ mark the next time! Why do we not gauge our children on the basis of their ‘character’ and the ‘principles’ on which they build their lives; but rather judge them on their performances in tests and exams!”

“So great is the focus of today’s parents to ensure and see their progeny secure a seat in the Hall of Fame, that they seem to completely forget that – ‘Humari bhumi ek ‘tapovan’ hai jahan ‘gyan ki Ganga bahti hai !’ Ours is a great nation ; the land of which has witnessed and borne testimony to the exchange of sacred words between ‘Bhagwan’ and ‘bhakt” – between ‘ Guru and shishya’ … the golden words of which, resulted in the creation and compilation of an abundance, a reservoir, a treasure of True knowledge in our revered epics … be it the Ramayana or the Gita! How many parents take upon themselves the responsibility of imparting even a fraction of knowledge from these treasures to the younger generation? Children are blamed for every wrongful act made by them, but do parents today take out some time from their personal hectic schedules to instil ”sanskars’, values, principles – ‘neki ke, sabhyata ke, ‘satya’ ke apne bachchon mein… Apne kartavya aur zimmedari ka jab bachche ehsaas karenge, tabhi toh woh jivan mein achche insaan banenge!”

” Kaafi baar bachche agyaanta mein galti kar detey hain !’ But …’ Yeh agyaanta bahut pehle hi hatai jaa sakti thi …’ if their parents had inculcated sound values in their children, guided them correctly… and made them aware that sincere ‘puja’, ‘prarthana’ can achieve miracles … aur ‘aadhyatmikta’ can help them in establishing a direct connection with God. The delightful amalgation of good schooling and True knowledge would compel the darkness of ‘agyaanta’ to vacate their minds and, instead , encourage the rays and light of ‘gyaan’ to purify, cleanse and illuminate their young minds, and make them aware of the True purpose of their lives.”

Sung by : Jyotima

Video Courtesy : Shashwat

🌼🌼🌼🌼

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

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

“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?”