Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji

Swamiji says …

“The popular adage – ‘Promises are meant to be broken…’ has, quite remarkably, never been taken literally by most of us – the reason being our ablility to relate with the worth, true weight and responsibility of the words – ‘ I promise …’ from the moment we utter them. The thought of not valuing the said words, does not rise within us, as the ring of sincerity and commitment in them, is not lost on the person or people, to whom we make a promise – but rather, is clearly audible to them, as we give them the lifeline needed to tread from insecure hope to definite attainment.”

“But I had promised! How can I break my promise? I cannot let down that person!’ Our voice reflects genuine pain and sadness at our inability to cover the wide distance between making – and fulfilling a promise. We present a picture of utter despair and misery on sensing the possibility of not being able to live up to the words of promise that had been said by us, and we most certainly do not want to feel that we have been dishonest with others…’ Kyunki hum yeh sochte hain ki vachan ko poora na karna, jhooth maana jayega aur hum paap kar rahey hain !’ Many a copious tears have been shed…heart wrenching sobs have racked our body…while growing up – as we felt disconsolate, restless and helpless on facing the possibility of breaking a promise. The thought of not keeping a promise, of being unable to fulfil a verbal commitment – would make us feel as guilty as a criminal, and we would be certain that the world of friendship and faith that we had created would come crashing down on us – at our inability to live up to the expectations and trust that our friends, siblings and others had reposed in us, from the minute we had given them the much needed assurance, to stand by them and help them in accomplishing their task, or meeting their need or requirement.”

” Promises have a strange trait. They bind us; make us feel duty – bound, accountable and answerable from that very moment in time, when we make a promise.
Some people, in fact, are fiercely passionate about the promises that are made by them.They safeguard their promise as their honour, and it appears as though their words are cast in stone. Breaking a promise is considered to be a sign of weakness and an act – unpardonable by them.”

“At times, we make a promise, at the spur of the moment. Our reaction is spontaneous. We don’t pause to think about the curve, that the graph of our promise could take. A promise should be made to a person who understands the worth of our commitment to him. An appealing face, a helpless hand or a noble cause – draws an emotional response from us that makes us want to reach out, assist, help – and before we realize it , we end up giving them our word…make a promise ; shrugging off the gentle reminders that question us … ‘Should you be making such a promise? Are you capable of fulfilling such a promise?’ But the great rush that we are in while doing so, do we forget to pay attention to the finer details ? Do we happen to overlook the specific nature, purpose for which we had willingly extended our hand , in an emotional moment – filled with promise and hope – towards the other person?”

“Believe me, we are in no way bound by the promise … the words that had been said by us …if we see things shaping out in a way completely against our wishes, belief and trust ! There is no need for us to develop an emotional attachment with the promises that we make, but, it would be in the best interest of all if we were pragmatic, alert and aware while making promises.’

” ‘Kai log vachan badh ho jaate hain …vachan de baithtey hain! ‘ Very often we get carried away and make a promise – ‘Vachan, ya pratigya le letey hain’ – but it is here that we need to draw a line of caution, and analyse about the crop of fruits that our promise would yield – whether they were edible or rotten! What if, the person that we have promised to help…’Agar woh galat kar raha hai , toh aisa toh nahi ki tum vachan-badh ho gaye ?’ Would we want to see the net result of our promise culminate in the most unexpected, ugly shocking manner? The moment we experience a sense of foreboding ; a premonition of something not being right in the outcome of the promise given by us, or in the intent of the person to whom we have made a promise… ‘Jiski madad karne ki hum ne pratigya ya vachan liya tha, humey tabhi uss vachan ko todh dena chahiye…uska saath nahi dena chahiye !’ We should not allow confusion of any kind to cloud our thought process during such moments of dilemma, but make it very clear to the person concerned, that we will neither support nor side with him, if he plans to indulge in acts of dishonesty or treachery. ‘ Hum me sey koi bhi adharm, ya kisi bhi galat tarah ke kaam mein kisi aur ka saath nahi dena chahega !’

“Thus, when we break a promise ; take back the words that had earlier been placed in the loving care of the other person – as we later feel, that the promise made by us had been misinterpreted, and could be misused …’woh paap nahi mana jayega …kyonki humein adharma ka saath kabhi bhi nahi dena chahiye !’

Swamiji says …

“The physical form; our outer being; the body that we love and cherish, means everything to us, as it enables us to experience life in all its glory; enjoy its enthralling, giving nature one day; and question its unpredictable, mystifying element the very next. At the same time we also get busy and involved with our routine activities, from which we try to take out some time to serve God – ‘Hum ‘Narayan’ seva mein aur doosron ki seva mein ‘tan, mann aur dhan’ laga dete hain …’ and are filled with a sense of satisfaction – ‘ Achche, nek karam kar ke, rituals kar ke, punya kar ke! ‘ – as we feel that we have done all that is possibly required to serve , both, God and man, in this lifetime.”

“It is excellent to have such noble and pure intentions, but at the same time, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were to understand the deeper and divine purpose for which we have been blessed with this life and body – which is to attain ‘moksha’. ‘Jab tak insaan, spiritual marg mein nahi chalta hai , tab tak usey ‘moksha’, ‘mukti ‘ nahi mil sakti!’ We have to understand that the body not only serves as a robe and encasement for the ‘soul’ that resides in it, but should also be utilised to make an earnest, honest endeavour so that – ‘Insaan – apne shareer aur atma, dono mein, parmatma ki lau jalaye! Aur aisa karne ke liye, woh apne shareer ka upyog, atma ko ‘bhagwan’ mein leen honay ke liye karay ! ‘Bhakti’ hi woh marg hai joh insaan ko ‘moksha’ dilwa sakti hai !’

” Very often we hear people talk about their good karma …’ Log apne kiye huey bahut achche, aur nek karmon ke baarey mein batatey hain … ‘ and undoubtedly they must have selflessly served God, observed the required rituals with great piety, donated large amounts in charity and extended a helping hand to those suffering from disease and poverty. The good ‘karma’ accumulated by them for their selfless service to God and innumerable acts of charity will not go unnoticed by Him, and they will most certainly be awarded by Him for their commendable and praiseworthy acts. One can most certainly take birth in a wealthy, reputed family – ‘Woh achche kul mein paida ho sakta hai! Raja, maharaja ya samrat ban sakta hai, apne pichley janam ke achche karmon ki vajeh se …’ He could be born with a silver spoon in his mouth, taste success of an unprecedented level, enjoy a position of power and status – but attaining ‘moksha’ purely, by having done such noble deeds alone, is not possible !”

“All saints and great religious Teachers – whether they were kings or ordinary individuals – had to walk the path of ‘bhakti’ – deep devotion, unswerving faith and implicit trust in God, by leaving the comfort and confinement of their palace and home and spending hours in ‘tapasya , dhyan aur sadhna mein… Unn sab ko ‘bhakti’ ke raastey pay hi jaana pada !’ Their fervent desire to seek the Truth made them oblivious to the rigors that their body had to bear as they chanted ‘mantras’ while in ‘tapasya’, with their minds fixed on God. Their material, gross body did not mean anything to them. Their yearning and unsuccessful attempts for the divine darshan of the Omnipresent brought tears to their eyes, but they shed not a single tear when they turned their back on their kith and kin, as they considered them to be the greatest distractions during their ‘dhyan’, and thus they renounced them… and the valuable time spent in loving ‘sadhna’ of God…created ‘nek vichar aur unki shareer aur atma ki shuddhi hui.’ What mattered to them was ‘bhakti’ of the highest level ! We too must strive to devote, at least, half an hour, out of the twenty four hours that we have in a day in ‘tap, jap, dhyan aur sadhna … joh ki saare nek kaarya hain…’ which will give us an opportunity to be completely immersed in God and experience spiritual bliss – pure and divine.”

“Similar to the joy that we experience on seeing a once parched area of land – green and replete with a yield of golden crop, later…the soul, too, dances with glee on seeing its bearer, put in his time and energy in purifying it, cleansing it of the layers of impurities, ignorance and darkness in which it was enmeshed … by reaching a point when ‘parmatma’ allows it to merge with Him. When one meditates on Him and repeats His name, he should do so reverentially, with humility and without a trace of pride and arrogance in his being …’Bhagwaan ka naam lete samay abhimaan aur ahankaar nahi hona chahiye ! Apne andar jhanko …and look beyond your body. You are much more than the body… Apne shareer aur atma dono ko jhukao … aur sampoorna tarah se samarpit kar do unhey, bhakti aur spirituality ke marg par!’ There has to come a point in time when after having comprehended the significance of rituals, one needs to find a way out of this cycle of life and death that can only be discovered by walking the spiritual path.”

” A spiritual ‘guru’, a ‘saccha sant – ek maadhyam hota hai, apne shishya ko ‘parmatma’ ki lau se milwane ke liye … un mein merge karwane ke liye ! ‘Guru’ ek raasta hota hai janam maran se chhutkara dilwane ke liye ! Once we develop a spiritual bent of mind we understand clearly that the body has to be used by us for our spiritual growth and mundane issues like ‘dukh aur sukh’ humarey liye ek saman ho jatey hain!’ ‘Ek ‘sadguru’ apne devotees ki adhyatmik unnati ko khoob badhava detey jaatey hain…’ and makes us aware that once we have fulfilled our ‘kartavya’ and major responsibilities towards our family, etc.we owe it to ourselves to give topmost priority – ‘ apni ‘ruh’ ko pure karne ke liye aur sampoorna roop se aagey badhtey badhtey, ek samay aaye jab hum uss sey hi jud jaain…’ and we finally realise that the sole purpose of our ‘janam uss sey lau laganey ke liye mila hai !”