Shri Rama Navami

Shri Rama Navami is one of the most popular festivals in India. It is a celebration of the manifestation of Lord Vishnu on earth as Shri Rama. It celebrates the birth of Shri Rama, son of King Dashrath of Ayodhya.  Shri Rama was the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This festival starts from the first day of Chaitra (Hindu month) which is the Gudhi Padwa or Yugaadi – the Hindu new year and continues for 9 days.  The name ‘Rama’ existed before the incarnation of Lord Vishnu on earth. It is a very powerful sacred vibration which means ‘the power of God which beguiles the mind and keeps it in control’.  Only the power of God can keep the mind under control – not man. As only the Lord Himself was worthy of this name and He took an avatar and was named Rama. Shri Rama is worshiped in all households in India and is venerated not just as a Divine Being but also as an ideal example of how to live life in various roles a person lives through in his lifetime.

Traditionally, Shri Rama Navami is celebrated by the parayana (daily reading of an allotted number of pages or chapters) of the Holy Scripture – the Ramayana. Worship is offered at homes in the traditional manner with mantras, fragrant flowers, sandal wood paste, turmeric,  kumkum – the red powder used for marking the forehead and tulsi leaf. The tulsi plant is considered holy by Hindus and  the tulsi leaf is special in worship of Lord Vishnu and His many avatars. The tulsi leaf has ability to attract the subtle energies of Lord Vishnu. Lotus flowers are also offered as they are special to worship of Lord Vishnu. Freshly cooked rice, savouries, sweet (pudding) made of milk, rice and sugar are offered as naivedya(offering) to the Lord and distributed as prasad (sanctified food). Many people also do the chanting of the Ramaraksha Strotra – hymns glorying Shri Rama. Regular bhajans or keertans or devotional songs on Shri Rama are sung at homes and temples. At the temples, at noon, the birth of Shri Rama is celebrated in traditional manner with singing of hymns and worship. After the traditional worship, the portion of Ramayan dealing with the birth of Shri Rama is chanted or told in form of story or katha.

Celebration of Shri Rama Navami takes on many forms. When it is celebrated individually, it is a holy festival. When it is celebrated collectively as a group of people worshipping or at temples, it is a religious festival or utsav. When an individual makes a serious intent (sankalp) of worship in a particular manner it is called a vrat or vowed observance. The anustans of mantra japa done by disciples of the Kundalini Maha Yoga are vrats. The reading of the Ramayana is done individually or at public places and temples. The chanting of the Rama Nama is also done at homes and temples. Many places in India have fairs along with the nine day festival which have spectacular fireworks at the end.

Shri Rama never showed his divine powers or persona anywhere in the Ramayana. He lived as a man and showed how to live an ideal life.  He was an ideal son, brother, husband, friend, king and enemy. He followed all codes of righteousness or dharma. That is why he is called Maryada Purushottam. He is also famed for honouring his given word (ekvachan) using one arrow (ekbaan) and having only one wife (ekpatni).

Many worship Shri Rama as the Eternal Principle, as the Sublime Truth and Light of the Universe and not as King Rama, son of Dashrath. Those who follow the story of Shri Rama of Ayodhya learn from Him the lessons of life, right behaviour, right conduct and right speech from the various incidents of His life. Shri Rama is worshipped both as the Avatar and the Absolute. Worshipping of the Avatar – the son of King Dashrath, teaches us morals, ethics and principles which  leads us on the path of the Universal Form of Shri Rama. Worshipping the Absolute form of Shri Rama as the Universal Power helps us to appreciate His life on earth and how we can emulate Him. His very name chanted with or without love leads us to higher dimensions and finally to the Supreme Knowledge and Wisdom of Universe. The worship of the Form leads us to the Formless and worship of the Formless helps us to appreciation and love for the Form! Jai Shri Rama!

How to attain God Instantly

Every religion in the world teaches us about how to walk the path of God and attain Him. Every religion and all Godmen, Saints, Gurus, Preachers and Teachers tell us to love God intensely. Each religion has its own teachings for the technique of attaining God. 

We have many paths for attaining God: Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Japa Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, Kundalini Maha Yoga etc. Bhakti Yoga is the path of love for God where one sings the name of God and worships Him in temples and places of worship and performs traditional worship. Jnana Yoga is the path of the Intellect where one uses intelligence and logic to understand Divinity and merge with Him. Karma yoga is offering of all actions to God and accepting all results – good or bad as blessings from God and living in equanimity. Japa Yoga is systematic chanting of mantra – the name of God. The vibrations of the mantra cleanse and purify man and lead him to divinity. Dhyana Yoga is meditation and raising one’s level of consciousness and attaining God. Kundalini Maha Yoga is awakening of the Kundalini Shakti and it has the elements of bhakti, jnana, karma, japa and dhyana. Each of us is attracted to the path most suited to our temperament by virtue of our past karmas and present conditioning. 

When we practise any of these methods, our love for God increases, our purity becomes more, our experiences and knowledge increases and over a period of time we move closer and closer to God. We can merge with God only when we are as pure as God. Only purity can merge with Purity. And that is going to take many lifetimes of hard and sustained work, dedicated to attaining God. Is there a way we can attain God instantly? YES! 

A man wanted to know how to attain God and if He could be attained instantly. He asked many learned people the same question but none knew the answer. Finally he found a saint and presented him the same query. The saint said: God can be attained instantly by ardent desire. 

The man asked: What is ardent desire? The saint replied: It is the feeling that you cannot live without God even for a second. The man could not understand and kept asking the saint to explain to him again and again. So the saint decided to show him what ardent desire for God meant. 

The saint asked the man to come with him and they walked to the river. The saint and the man went into the waters to bathe. Suddenly the saint turned and caught the man by his neck and pushed his head down and held him down by force. The man spluttered and coughed and fought back. Then the saint released him. 

When the man regained his breath, he said: Holy sire, why did you try to drown me? The saint said: Please tell me, at the time when you were fighting for your breath and life, who did you remember? Your father, mother, wife, son or your wealth? The man replied: O noble saint – I was drowning. The only thing I wanted was to breathe and live! 

The saint replied: When you remember nothing else but God and that you cannot live without Him, the way you yearned to breathe and live – that is ardent desire. When we remember nothing else but God and with intense longing for Him, it pulls God to us. Even God does not have power to remain unattached in such conditions. And we can attain Him instantly. 

We do not have the capacity to love God with such intensity. We are far too embroiled in the worldly activities and our relationships and wants. Our homes, family, work, hobbies, clothes, diet, weight, looks etc are always on the forefront and God mostly loses the race against them. Yet we have love for God and awareness that He is Supreme and ultimately we all need to seek Him and Him only. For us, the better way is to systematically practice the teachings of the Guru and do our regular japa and dhyan so that each day our love and intensity of bhakti for God increases and one day we will attain Him.

Seeing Reality As It Is

We live, to a large extent, in a world of imagined hurts and happenings. Something happens and our mind picks up the incident and our ego embroiders the incident until it becomes a great epic like the Mahabharata. Our mind goes into a mode of questions and answers, perceived insults and answers to the insults, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth and life for a life. Normal and simple happenings get blown out into gargantuan proportions when our ego is hurt and expectations are not fulfilled. In the darkness of the mind, the hurts are multiplied and a few simple remarks become a dense evergreen forest. We rarely perceive or accept the reality for what it is. What is and how we see it are two different things. The story of the man and the wild dogs given below will resonate well with most of us: 

Once there was a man who lived in a house just outside a town near the desert. One day he called up the Sheriff at late night and screamed excitedly: There are hundreds of wild dogs howling outside my window. I am under attack!! Come quickly! Hurry! Hurry! The sheriff collected several townspeople and armed with guns, rifles and large powerful lights and rushed to the man’s house expecting a terrible scene of animal fury. Instead they found three wild dogs howling away! 

The sheriff knocked on the man’s door and called him out. He took him out to the yard and showed him the three wild dogs. The man smiled sheepishly: Oh Sheriff! Every night when they howl outside my window, they sound like hundreds of dogs! 

We must remember the next time someone hurts us, and we feel insulted and hurt a thousand times, the above story of the man and the wild dogs. In the dead of the night, tossing between sleep and wakefulness, a few dogs will sound like thousands of them howling away outside our window. In the vast and deep well of our ego, the problem gets blown out of proportion. In the darkness and gloom of our subconscious mind, the hurt is nursed and nourished and it mushrooms and grows into many thousands. Our hurt is not caused by the actual reality. It is caused by our imagination, thoughts and perception and our self- perceived importance and status. 

 Let us learn to observe our worries and hurts. When we attend to our worries they appear huge and solid. We feel it is impossible to break through them and solve them. When we probe into them deeper, we find hardly one or two issues which have actually happened and which makes us feel hurt. But our mind – the devilish culprit -- has the ability and capacity to multiply the hurt several thousand times. 

We live life with a contorted logic. We have our own preconceived notions about what gives happiness. We tell ourselves that fulfilment of desires brings us happiness. In reality it is not so. A man wants to marry a particular woman and does not rest till they are married. After some time, he is miserable and unhappy and does not rest till they are divorced. We must constantly check our self- arguments and talks and see if they are valid or not. Doing this will save us a lot of misery as we see and accept reality for what it is. 

Our mind needs to be disciplined. For that we need jnana – knowledge, and mantra – vibration of name of God. We receive the teachings from our Gurus about the mind and its working and how to observe, react and behave. We also have the initiation of the Siddha Mantra from the Guru. When we do regular japa, the vibration of the mantra shake loose the rigidity and wrong beliefs in us and cleanses and heal us. When jnana and mantra are applied simultaneously, it becomes easier to see and accept reality for what it is and deal with it in the right manner.

Shravana -Liberation of King Parikshit

From the time we are born we are attached – to parents, family, friends, school, work, wife, children, grandchildren etc. This list is endless. Attachment at worldly level is love. When this love is transferred to God- it is called bhakti. Bhakti gives peace of mind, wisdom, endless love and strength. Worldly love gives some happiness but a lot more misery, stress, pain and responsibilities. When we need relief from all the stress and miseries of life, we seek the Love of God. 

One of the ways of developing love for God is by knowing Him through the stories and experiences given in the Sacred texts and lives of saints and devotees. The more we come to know of Him, the more we are attracted to Him. Strong attraction to God leads to sustained love for God or bhakti. This is possible by Shravana. Shravana means hearing. It is to hear with love and devotion the leelas or miracles of God. Shravana comes along with Satsang or company of lovers of God, saints and Gurus. In their company, we are blessed and shown the way to God. Shravana leads to salvation when we are very sincere and totally dedicated and absorbed in the name and deeds of God. The story of King Parikshit from Srimad Bhagvad tells us of the great value of Shravana: 

Maharaj Parikshit was the son of Abhimanyu, and grandson of Arjun. Arjun was one of the five Pandavas and was the best friend of Krishna. When he was in the womb of his mother, he was attacked by a mantra weapon. Lord Krishna protected him and saved him. Later he became the sovereign ruler of Earth. He was a just king. His subjects were happy and prosperous. 

Once when Parikshit was hunting in the forest, he was very thirsty and he entered the hermitage of Shamika Rishi who was meditating at that time. He asked for water but the Rishi was in deep meditation and did not hear him. In rage, Parikshit picked up a dead snake and placed it on the shoulder of the Sage. The Rishi’s son who noticed this later, cursed Parikshit to die on the subsequent 7th day by a snake bite. 

When Shamika Rishi came to know about the curse, he rebuked his son and sent the bad news to the King. Parikshit accepted this curse as good news. He immediately gave up his royal duties and went to the banks of the Ganges. He knew that one who hears the glories of the Supreme Lord gets liberated from the cycle of birth and death. He desired satsang with great saints who could speak to him about Krishna. Great saints and Rishis who had heard of Parikshit’s wish for satsang came together on the banks of river Ganges. The great Sage Sukadev also came. Parikshit accepted him as his Guru and asked him to narrate the glorious pastimes of the Lord. Sage Sukadev was pleased with the request and attitude of Parikshit. So he narrated the thrilling stories of the Lord. These are compiled in the book of Srimad Bhagvad. 

Parikshit was completely absorbed in hearing about the stories of the Lord. After hearing the katha or stories for seven days and nights without sleeping, eating or drinking, Parikshit fixed his mind on the Lord and meditated on Him. The snake called Takshaka bit the king. The body of the king immediately burst into flames and was burned to ashes due to the fire of the snake’s poison. 

Parikshit Maharaj went back home, back to Godhead by hearing the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He attained the Supreme Reality after giving up his mortal body. We can also perfect our lives by regularly reading and hearing about the beautiful pastimes of the Almighty. Anyone who hears the HariKatha or the stories of God with great love and sincerity is on the pathway to getting liberated from the endless cycle of birth and death.

Shravana- Nava Vidha Bhakti

Shravana means to hear. It is the first method of bhakti of the Nava Vidha Bhakti taught by Lord Rama to Shabari. Shravana means to hear stories of God, His Glories and Magnificence, hear about His Leelas or miraculous deeds. When we hear about the wondrous deeds of God, our mind is engrossed and absorbed in the name and form of God as is described in the stories. As we get more and more attracted to the God and His leelas or mysterious deeds, our mind merges in the thoughts of the Supreme Power. Where Shravana is a regular habit, the mind gets charmed with the names and forms of God and loses its attraction to worldly lures and desires. 

When we come to know about a person, his qualities, his actions, his great deeds, we develop love for him. The more we know about his goodness, the more we are attracted to him. The stories of God and His bhaktas, His rescue missions of His devotees, His compassion, the sweetness of the give and take He has with His devotees pull us more and more towards Him and the more we know, the more we want to know. Our bhakti for God increases. The stories speak of divine qualities, ethics, principles and right behaviour. We get knowledge and inspiration for self transformation from them. 

We should sit before a learned Teacher or Saint or Guru and hear Divine Stories. We should hear them sincerely, with a mind full of love and devotion for God. When we hear the stories of God, we must listen with love and surrender to God to understand the messages and lessons and not use our logic, criticism and fault finding ways to pick holes in them. We must pick up points which will be of immediate help to us in our daily lives and reflect on points which we could not understand but will be of use to us. By hearing, reflecting and pondering we learn many great Truths of Life and about Divinity. We get knowledge and wisdom. 

To walk the path of Shravana Bhakti means to keep the company of wise men, saints and Gurus. If we read the holy texts by ourselves, we will face many doubts and suffer. We cannot solve our own doubts as we lack knowledge, wisdom and right perception. We need help from experienced people i.e. sitting with holy men is Satsang. Satsang is essential for sadhana or spiritual practices. Satsang is the foundation of our spiritual work. When we have excellent satsang we are inspired to forge ahead and work hard and become strong. Satsang gives knowledge and wisdom and in the company of saints and Gurus, we are cleansed and purified by their Darshan. In this state of mind we are able to understand and grasp subtle truths which otherwise we cannot. Sitting in the company of holy men and hearing their glories of God is a great way to get rid of worldly attachments. 

Shravana or hearing about the glories of God is highlighted in the Srimad Bhagwad. Prahlad heard the glories of Lord Narayan when he was in his mother’s womb from Sage Narad and he was born with great bhakti for Lord Narayan. King Parikshit attained liberation through Shravana. Suka Maharishi spoke about the glories of the Supreme in the Naimisharanya forest amidst many great Saints and Rishis. King Parikshit heard the supreme nectar from the mouth of Suka Maharishi and attained salvation on the seventh day and enjoyed Supreme Bliss. 

Shravana means to hear. It also means to be a good listener. Only when we are good listeners, we can hear and understand what the teacher or the Guru wishes to say. Those who keep on speaking, or sit with questions for the Guru, do not have time to hear the words of the Guru. When one is present before the Guru, one must not speak but simply hear. The Guru will answer all the unasked questions and solve the problems. When we sit with reverence in front of the Guru, we are able to receive the highest truths. Shravana is also a means by which we receive Grace through the Guru’s words.

Learn to trust God

We all love God. We claim to trust Him and surrender unto Him. We present to Him daily, our list of wants and demand that He answers them in the order given and with exactly the brand names we specify in our list. When our prayers are not answered, we rave and rant at God and call Him unfeeling, made of stone, unloving and definitely not a God! Surely, this is not bhakti!

Bhakti is not just love of God. It is an earthly emotion which is transcendental. It is an open sign of the hidden nature and divinity in man. Bhakti is faith, love, loyalty, surrender, trust, attachment and reverence for the Supreme Power. It is a deep and abiding trust which has the innocence of a child trusting his mother to take care of him at all times. Bhakti towards God and Guru is a means of rising higher than the human nature and revealing the divinity within us. 

There is great importance of bhakti in life. We think of God and approach Him because we are in distress or we are inquisitive about the Supreme Power, we need wealth or we Love God for Himself. The man of wisdom who loves God for sake of Love is the one who is dearest to God. 

God always answers our prayers in a manner which benefits us the most. We are not aware of what we need but He knows what we need and when we must receive. And He always grants us the right opportunities, relationships and possessions that we need for our welfare and progress in life. There is no man on earth who can say that none of his prayers were not answered. In fact, when we look back, we find that most of our prayers were answered and what was not answered was for our benefit only. But we spring in anger against God when in pain or when things are not up to our expectations and blame Him. We do not trust that He loves us and does things for our benefit. We rarely see all the blessings bestowed on us by God or the various times He has fished us out of hot waters, or the times he has granted us our prayers. As our wants and desires are endless, we demand endlessly but do not love or trust God in what and how He answers our prayers. 

This is a little story of a man who prayed for help and how God answered his cries: 

A man survived a shipwreck and was washed upon an island. When he woke up, he checked around and found that the island was small and uninhabited. He called upon God and sought for help. As he walked around, he found that the island had water and fruit trees and so he could survive. He searched and collected driftwood and built a little hut and started living there. He was now reasonably protected from the elements. 

Every day he used to scan the horizon to sight a ship or boat and pray to God for help. He asked for being rescued and leaving the island behind him forever, a comfortable bed to sleep on, cooked food to eat and fresh clothes to wear. He used to pray several times daily with great sincerity and fervour. One day he returned to his hut in the evening after collecting food. To his shock, he found the little hut was in flames. The driftwood was burning merrily and the smoke was rolling up in the skies. He broke down in grief. The worst had happened. He wept inconsolably. ‘God, how could you do this to me? I have prayed to You sincerely every day.’ In his pain and sorrow, he fell asleep. Early next morning, he was woken by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. The ship was passing by at a distance and had spotted the smoke of the burning hut. And the man got all that he had prayed for. 

When our prayers or wish list to God is not granted exactly in the order we ask, or the time when we ask or the way we ask, we are discouraged and angry. We feel things are going bad and we blame God. But we should not lose heart. The man in the story was saved, put on an island where he had food and water and wood to build a hut. When the opportune time came and a ship passed by, God set fire to his hut and the ship arrived to rescue him. God is present in our lives and taking care of us at all times, especially in our bad times. If the man in the story had total trust in God – he would have not blamed God. He would have understood that things happen because God wants it for us. God can never want anything bad for us. He is the Ocean of Compassion and Mercy. 

So next time when our boat rocks or our house is on fire, we must remember that it is for summoning the Grace of God. For all the blame we heap on God’s head, He has a positive answer.

Greatness of Satsang

Closeness with God needs a whole hearted approach and unwavering faith.  Devotion to God is declaration of love for God with renunciation.  Unless we are detached from our endless wants, desires and urges, we will not be able to love God wholeheartedly.  Devotion to God with renunciation is the highest form of Love of God which leaves behind all worldly thoughts and attachments and only the bhakta and God are present. Developing such a love is not easy. It is not easy to detach oneself from the worldly ties and be solely focused on God.   We need help, encouragement, right knowledge and support of like minded and wiser people.  Meeting and seeking the help of Guru, Sadhus, Monks and other devotees and disciples is known as Satsang.

The Hindu Scriptures declare that the Universe contains 8,400,000 species of plants, animals and humans. These include the water, land and air forms and birds, reptiles, animals and insects and also trees and plant life. Shrimad Bhagwad says that the soul moves through these 8,400,000 species, life after life and evolves as per the karma and actions. After hundreds of thousands of births and deaths, the soul gets a human body. Getting a human body is regarded as rare and is the highest pinnacle of development. Only when we have the human body, we have the sixth sense and the intuition and guidance to seek out the meaning of life. We have control over our urges and instincts and can rise to a highest dimension of existence, with right and guided effort. We need Satsang – guidance and help from Guru, saints and bhaktas of God. This is a story illustrating the blessings of Satsang:

Once, Sage Narad asked Lord Vishnu about the greatness of satsang. Lord Vishnu pointed to a worm and told Sage Narad: Go and ask him.  He will answer your question. 
Sage Narad was taken aback, but obeyed the dictates of his Lord. He wondered if the worm had the intelligence and knowledge to answer such a difficult question. When he went to the worm, he asked him: O worm, tell me, what is the importance of satsang? The worm looked at Sage Narad and died!

Sage Narad was shocked and ran to Lord Vishnu and reported the happening. Lord Vishnu brushed aside his queries and asked him to go immediately to a parrot that had taken birth in a nearby house and ask him the same question. Sage Narad immediately went to the baby parrot and asked: O parrot, tell me, what is the importance of satsang? The parrot looked at him and dropped dead! Sage Narad was shaken and rushed to Lord Vishnu with the tale of the dead parrot. But Lord Vishnu did not listen to him. Instead, He pointed to a newly born calf and told Sage Narad to go and ask him.

Trembling with fear, Sage Narad approached the calf and asked the question. His fears came true when the calf looked at him and dropped dead! Sage Narad was very miserable as he was responsible for three deaths. When he rushed to Lord Vishnu, the Lord said: Narad, do not worry. This is your final visit. Go to the prince who is   just born to the king of the same town. Please ask the baby and he will answer you.

Sage Narad was mindful of the Lord’s orders and despite his fear; he obediently went to the King’s palace and asked to see the new prince. Then he asked him: O little one, what are the blessings of satsang? The baby laughed and said: Don’t you understand the greatness of Satsang even now? O wise sage, When you first asked me, I was a worm. By your darshan, I was born as a parrot. Then you asked me again and gave me darshan and I was given the body of a calf. Then again with your darshan, I have been given the highest birth as a human being. Just by the darshan of a great saint like you, I have gained so much. 
Sage Narad now fully understood the greatness of satsang.

The worm which had to move through endless cycles of births and deaths to achieve the body of man, was born as prince in matter of hours and had the wisdom to know the importance of Satsang due to the darshan and divine vibrations of Sage Narad. Having understood the greatness of satsang, let us have regular satsang and achieve the highest goal of life – self realisation.

Satsang

'Sat’ means truth and ‘sang’ means association. Satsang is association with truth. It can be association with a Guru or a Monk who is self realized and knows the Supreme Truth. It can also mean association with those who know the truth of life and are on the divine path. 

Satsang is a gathering of people who are spiritually inclined and interested in self development and cultivation of love for God. Followers of all religions in the world, congregate to listen to a priest or teacher or a wise elder or guru speaking about God and the Universe. There are many wise people with a predominant satwa quality – or goodness in them and such people ponder on the meaning of life and God and how to attain him. They refer to the experiences of the seekers of past, given in Holy Scriptures and they also go by their personal inner experiences. They speak and guide others in matters regarding the way of life and Godhead. There are spiritual activities like Naama Smaran or chanting the name of God, singing of bhajans or songs of devotion to God, question and answer sessions and meditation. 

In a satsang, the thoughts of the people are not impure due to their love for God. When we are in satsang, by association, our thoughts are also purified. By regularly attending satsang, we can uplift ourselves and get inspiration for self transformation and change which are essential in the divine path. When the satsang is conducted properly, it generates powerful thoughts  and vibrations which cleanse, purify and uplift us. The place of satsang is also purified and by merely sitting in silence in such a place we get peace of mind. 

When we have satsang with the sadhus, saints and gurus, the effects of such satsang are life changing. The powerful radiation of love and compassion which pour out from the eyes of such great ones bring an immediate change in our karma and we are transformed. Regular satsang keeps us steady on the divine path and it protects and nurtures our bhakti till our bhakti is Himalayan and can face any storms or hailstones without any damage. 

We all have in us the satwa, the rajas and the tamas – the purity, the activity and inertia in varying proportions. The balance of the three gunas or qualities in us depends on our nature, food, other habits and the company we keep. When there is increase in satwa or purity in us, our love for mankind and God increases and we have good thoughts and perform actions which elevate us and mankind. When the rajas in us increases, we are fully involved in actions of earning money and protecting our property, name and fame. Our ego operates in full force and we do not have much time or concern for others. When tamas increases in us, the qualities of laziness and insensitivity in us increases and we speak and perform actions which degrade us and others around us. Tamas leads to our downfall. Those with predominant rajas or tamas cannot walk the divine path. When we are in regular satsang, the vibrations around us will increase the satwa or purity in us and gradually the satwa will dominate. We will become more reflective and intuitive. Our mind will be at rest and our ego will not dominate us. We will be drawn more and more into love of God. There will be a cleansing of all the negativity within us and purification. Over a period of time we transform into beings with divine centered thinking. 

We must have regular satsang. We can do our japa and dhyana with likeminded friend and disciples, several times a month and have discussions of God and Guru. Readings can be done from holy texts and discussed. In today’s hurried world, satsang may not be possible for all on regular basis. We can have satsang by reading about lives of saints, gurus and the holy texts. These will give us inspiration and elevate our thinking and being. We must avoid the company of those who do not have strong bhakti, and whose way of life and thinking are very different from us. Then it is possible to sustain our bhakti and grow in the divine path.

God is Omnipresent

We all know who God is. God is the Supreme Force of the Universe. He is present everywhere and in everything. Yet He is a mystery to all of us. Those of us who have experienced and acknowledge the Love and Protection of God and have pondered over His Greatness, His Sublime Love, His Unending Compassion, His Strength, His Management of the Universe Skills find Him so awesome, overwhelming and magnificent. We cannot behold the wonder of God with our limited perceptions of time and space and He is beyond them. We get glimpse of God or the ParaBrahman during the course of our life and spiritual practices and even those small experiences are mind blowing. Our glimpse of God are like seeing the reflection of the Sun in the pond and being dazzled by the light and glory of reflection of the Sun in the waters of the pond. 

God is Omnipresent. He is in every atom of life, creation and Universe. He is within all of us and yet beyond all of us. When we look at the skies at night, any stars that we see are a part of our Milky Way. Our Milky Way is said to contain 200 to 400 billion stars. Our solar system is a very tiny part of the Milky Way – if we assume size of our solar system to be size of a rupee coin, we could say that the Milky Way is larger the size of India. The size of Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light years in diameter. There are countless Milky Ways in the Universe. The human mind fails in comprehending the colossal vastness of the size of universe. 

God is beyond any measurement or limits. But because of our incapacity and our inability to comprehend infinity, He has limited Himself to levels  that permit us to understand Him. He is the epitome of all goodness and virtues. Such goodness is beyond human capacity. Our knowledge of Him is a grain of sand in the infinite shores of the Universe and this prevents us from approaching Him with any semblance of true understanding. As the Creator – the Father and Mother- He loves and cares for us very much. He longs for our love and He seeks to help us find a truth, an opening which will lead us to some understanding of Him. Then having tasted the sweetness of His Love, we yearn and desire for more. He, then, opens many more doors and sends a Guru to lead the way to Him. God manifests to us His Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence in many ways. This little story tells us of how God leaves us clues to go closer to Him: 

A king had some questions about God humming in head since a long time. He raised these questions in his Court. They were: Where is God? In which direction does He cast His look? What does He do? 

No one could answer the King’s questions. A minister suggested that a Sage who lived in a nearby forest would know the answers. The Sage was brought to the court with due honour. Then the King asked him the three questions and sought to know the answers from him. 

For the first question the Sage replied: Like butter is present in every atom of milk, God is present everywhere. 

To answer the second question, the Sage asked for a lamp and lit it. Then he asked the King: In which direction does the lamp shed its light? The King said: In all directions. The Sage declared: In the same way, God is Radiance and His vision is not directed to a particular person. He is all seeing. 

Then the King asked: What does God do? The Sage replied: Since I answer your doubts and give you knowledge, you must give me the respect of a Guru and seat me on your throne. Then I will answer you. The King did so and the Sage, seated on the elevated throne, replied: God brings down the mighty and elevates the humble. He can make the poor, rich and the rich, poor. God can do anything. He is all pervading. He is all seeing. He is all powerful. The King was very pleased with the answers and he rewarded the Sage suitably. 

Like the king in the story, we should try to understand the true characteristics of God: God is Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent and Love Him for His sake! Bhakti, Mantra Japa and Meditation are easy ways to going closer to God and understanding Him.

How to enjoy every moment of Life

Life is a gift given to us by Divinity, to live, enjoy, learn and experience. It is full of beauty. It is full of miracles. The rising sun which spreads its orange reds in the skies, the cool breeze in the morning, the fragrant flowers, the lush and colourful fruits, the sea of green grass which is rice and wheat and which feeds and nourishes us, the tweets of the birds and the strength of the animals, majesty of the hills, the stillness of the lakes, the vast skies and countless stars -we are surrounded by miracles, every moment of our lives. The pleasure of the breathing, the coordinated movement of the limbs as they swing in walk and action, the delicious flavours we taste and eat, the refreshing fragrances we smell and enjoy, our ability and capacity to think and work are all divine gifts and miracles. 

Every moment of life is different and is filled with surprises. Each surprise is a gift from the Supreme Source. But we rarely enjoy any of the surprises bestowed on us. We have preconceived notions about what is a surprise or a gift; about what we should receive and when we must get them. When things do not happen as per our plans and expectations, we are disappointed and we are not able to enjoy or relish the gifts and surprises bestowed on us each moment of our lives. Our expectations contaminate our experiences and we lose the ability to enjoy the gifts and miracles of day to day lives. 

We are unable to see and appreciate beauty and miracles of life. We seem incapable of experiencing fun and laughing at the surprises of life. Our life has become very boring. Nothing moves us or enchants us anymore. It takes something very extraordinary to please us and extraordinary things do not happen daily. Hence we are bored all the time and life is a drag. What should be a bubbling and exciting life is now a humdrum. We deny ourselves all good things and we suffer and poison ourselves. Look at this little story – it is the story of our lives: 

Once there was a crane with two heads with a single trunk and common stomach. One day one of the heads found a jar of nectar and wanted to eat it. The other head butted in and wanted to taste it. The first head refused to give the nectar to the second head. Enraged, the second head found a jar of poison and ate it to punish the first head. The poison reached the common stomach. Both the heads died. 

The first head and second head of the bird were parts of the same. The first head of the bird denied the goodness of nectar to the second head and did not have it either. The second head ate poison wanting to punish the first. But the heads did not realise that they were one ultimately and denying the nectar to one and not consuming it was denying the blessings of it in totality. We must learn not to be indifferent to the gifts and glories of life. We must train ourselves to see the miracle of life. We must enjoy and allow the blessings of Divinity to nurture and strengthen us. We must not deny ourselves the miracles and gifts of life and poison ourselves. 

Let us learn to enjoy the cool breeze on our face, the sweat pouring off our body when we walk, exercise and work, the sweetness of water as it rolls down our tongue when we drink our fill and the incredible mechanism that is our body and the marvels of its functions. Let us look at the skies and marvel at the Milky Way and the colossal intelligence of God which governs and makes every minute part of creation work with clockwork precision. 

Let us not take life for granted. Let us learn to appreciate every small joy and at the end of the day we have a huge bundle of joys. Let us learn to accept the things which just happen, the surprises of life and go along with them. These surprises will take us in new bylanes of life and not our dull routines and we can enjoy the new enchanting sceneries of these places. Life has a large lush variety of surprises for us which are adventurous, exciting and teach us new things and add new colours to our lives. Only a true lover of God has the ability to accept and enjoy life as it is. Let us do our SitaRam mantra and meditation and increase our depths of love for God. Let us enjoy every moment of life.

Why we worship Idols

Divinity is formless. Divinity is Intelligence, Love, Peace, Wisdom, Infinite, Courage, Balance, Omniscient and Light. How can the formless Supreme Godhead be imagined or worshiped? Initially man worshiped what was powerful around him - the Sun, the Earth, the Water, the Wind and Skies. Nature was worshiped as she sustained all life forms.  As and when needed, the Divine Force manifested itself on Earth in various forms called Avatars and these forms were Supremely Powerful and Loving. These forms were worshiped as idols in temples and home.  Divinity manifested itself as Gurus and these Gurus who showed the path to God were also worshiped. Such idol and picture worshipped was encouraged by the Ancient Wise Men of India as they were very easy and accessible forms of worship for the common man.

The formless God is called the Nirguna Brahman. The Nirguna Brahman is worshipped by those in the Jnana Marga or Jnana Yoga – the Yoga of Wisdom. It is very difficult to worship God as the formless. Hence the various forms in which He manifested to His devotees and the forms of His various avatars are worshipped. Adi Shankara who taught Advaita – worshipping of the One Form, and walked the Jnana Marga, realised later that worshipping of the form was easier and sweeter to the heart and being and hence he built many temples of Shakti – the Mother Goddess, in India and worshipped Her in these holy spots.

Many religions and many people take offense to Idol worship. This is because the concept of Idol worship is not known to them.  When we bow before an Idol in a temple, we bow to the Divinity it represents. We pray to it and seek answers or blessings from the Intelligence, Love, Peace and Wisdom etc it symbolizes.  When we keep the picture of a Guru and bow in front of it, we are not bowing to a piece of paper; we bow to the Divinity it represents. The same is the answer for bowing to a Live Guru. When we see God in the Guru, the Guru Shakti or the Divine Force of Guru answers our prayers and guides us. This same force also blossoms in us when we worship the Guru. The external form of Guru teaches us practices and when we follow them, the internal form of Guru within us manifests. In this way the worship of the external Guru by following of the spiritual practices taught, leads us gradually to self realisation. We respect and honour all holy books, pictures of God and Goddesses, Saints and places of worship as they all represent Divinity to us.  No one worships an idol for the sake of the stone or a picture for the colour combinations. They are symbols of the Supreme Godhead.

The idol in the temple is a symbol, a form the mind can connect with and concentrate on. The ultimate reality, the Godhead is beyond symbols, beyond intellect, senses and logic. The abstract form of God is unappealing to man and it is easier to adore, pray and worship a form or idol which represents the Supreme Power. The devotee cries out his woes to the Idol and seeks help and also offers his thanksgiving for blessings given. When we congregate in a place of worship and do the Naama Smaran – chanting the holy name of God, the Supreme Power is present there and blesses all.

In Hinduism, the ancient texts give permission and also examples of worship of idols by many and the success attained by them. The rites and methods of worship are given. It is also explained that where one cannot offer fruits, flowers, candles or incense or other things, one can just offer love and surrender to the idol (God). The worship of the Supreme Formless is also described. The Hindu has a wide and unlimited approach and choice in his worship of God. Having an altar or room in home for the Idol of God makes the home a temple, a sacred place where one finds solace at any time.

The stone in the temple becomes a focus of mantra offerings and devout prayers and love of the countless bhaktas. The Supreme Power which is all pervading in Space is invoked through mantras into wind, from wind into fire, from fire into water and this empowered water is poured over the Idol and  the Image is consecrated. It is also empowered by the daily ritual worships. Such a place becomes a power spot where the mind can easily focus and concentrate on God. We find it easy to connect to Divinity here.  There are many temples in India where Divinity has manifested itself for the devotee and such temples have powerful vibrations and divine atmosphere. Meerabai, Tukaram, Sri Ramakrishna and others are proof to the idol in the temple coming alive and talking and dancing with the devotees.   There are many instances where the pictures of the Saints and Gurus have manifested miracles in answer to the cries of the disciples. Sri Paramhamsa Yogananda and many others speak of such instances.  Idol worship is an integral part of man’s worship of God and is one of the best ways of leading the fickle mind towards God.

Guard your Bhakti

When we develop love for God and start walking the Divine Path, we need to take care of our bhakti and faith. Our bhakti is a like a new sapling. If a new sapling is left untended to in the garden, it will wither  and die. It can be eaten as a snack by a cow or goat or pecked at by birds. Too much sunshine or too many rains will destroy it. It must be protected from naughty children who thoughtlessly pull it out for fun of it.  So we need to fence the little sapling to protect it against animals, birds and man.  We must tend to it daily and ensure that it is watered sufficiently but not too much else it will rot and die. We must ensure that it is protected from the harshness of the sun, winds and rains.

We have great enemies of bhakti within us. Our laziness, ego, pride, lack of  discipline are all great enemies to the development of Bhakti. Bhakti is a glorious crop that is cultivated painstakingly, by day to day sadhana. We must do disciplined japa and dhyan daily. We cannot afford to be lazy and let go. Once we let go of our practices, there is a break for a long period of time. Then getting back our practices to the same level takes a lot of focussed effort and time. It is an inner battle with our own selves to remain steady in practices. Our expectations, lack of depth of love for God, lack of surrender to God, lack of knowledge and experience, long time taken for appreciable results to manifest- all shake our bhakti and we let go and stop our practices. We not only face internal enemies but also external enemies – those around us who do not want us to grow and progress in life and who enjoy destroying our practices and happiness.  See this little story:

There was a Brahmin who lived in a village. He performed pujas and other ceremonies and earned his living. Once he performed a big puja in a rich man’s house. As a reward, he was given some money and a young healthy cow. The Brahmin was very happy with the cow. It would provide him with milk, butter, ghee and curds. His young son would be able to have good milk and his family would be able to have nourishing food. He would worship the cow daily and gain spiritual merit. Thinking thus, the Brahmin walked towards his home leading the cow behind him.

Three men were watching the Brahmin walking with the cow. They envied the Brahmin for his cow. They wanted it for themselves. So they hatched a plot to get the cow.

The first man approached the Brahmin and asked: Are you a washerman, leading a donkey?

The Brahmin glared at him for being thought of as a washerman but kept walking. He did not answer him back.

After a while, the second man passed him by  and  yelled: You are  a Brahmin and shame on you for carrying a pig home!

The Brahmin was confused and did not refute him. He increased his pace of walking. He wanted to reach home safe.

After a few yards, the third man came to the Brahmin and asked: why are you pulling a wild animal? Are you not afraid?

The Brahmin was confused and scared. One man can make a mistake, even two. But how could all three of them be wrong? He thought that he was tricked  by the rich man and given a devil animal which changed shapes and forms. He left the cow behind and ran for his life. The three men had a hearty laugh and took away the young healthy cow with them.

When our bhakti deepens, there is a transformation in us. Many of those around us – friends, family and co workers notice the change in us and cannot bear it. How dare we improve when they are still where they were? We dare not be happier than them! Their Guru is more superior to our Guru. Their techniques are better than what we do. They will probe and poke and ask questions. Then sneer at us and make fun of our efforts. ‘This method is wrong. You are following a Guru!! What is the need for sadhana now? You can do it when you are retired. You are doing wrong to your family by taking away time from them. Your Guru and practices have made you selfish!’ A daily procession of such demeaning attacks will rain on us daily until one day we simply give up all our practices. Then like the Brahmin, we lose a healthy cow which will give our child milk to grow on and give us nourishing food for body and permit us to worship and gain spiritual merit. With the loss of our practices we grow depressed and live in a state of misery. This loss will immensely cheer many around us. Misery does love company and will ensure that others are made miserable to increase the company.

So let us safeguard our bhakti with regular and disciplined spiritual practices, following of the Guru’s teachings, being conscious of our thoughts, not talking about our practices and progress to others except with those who are advanced on the path, reading of Holy Scriptures, keeping satsang. We must have tremendous faith in God and Guru and the faith that we will reach the goal. As we keep practising this way, we will find that we grow stronger by the day and then a time comes when  sneers of others makes no difference. Our bhakti and conviction will help others walk stronger in their path. We become a living example and inspiration to others. The tiny sapling of our bhakthi would have grown into a huge tree which gives shade and protection to many birds, animals and man.

Fools follow only hunger

A wise man is one who has deep understanding of people, things, events or situations. He has the ability to apply his understanding and take decision which results in greater good and least loss for all. He has to exercise restraint and have self control to overcome passions and emotions so that universal principles, knowledge and reason prevail on him and influence and guide his actions. He has insight. He observes everything keenly. He has understanding of human nature. He has ability to rise above his own needs, desires, and applies his intuition, knowledge and discernment to arrive at the right decision.

All of us have a level of knowledge and understanding. But when it comes to our needs and desires, we do not have self control. At times our lack of control makes us take decisions for which we have to pay  heavy price at once or  later. When we take impulsive decisions and fulfil our desires, we are called fools. We are the ones who pay the price of our follies and at times make others also pay for our hastiness.  We see objects of desire in the shops or online stores and buy them and overdraw ourselves. We repeat such behaviour again and again and collect things which are of no use and for which we cannot afford to pay. We are greedy and over eat and make ourselves sick.  We give in easily to our urges and lust without thinking of the consequences. This is a story about fools who followed hunger of desires.

There was once a caravan of several hundred carts which travelled to far off lands selling merchandise. They had a wise leader who took care of them. Once they had to cross a dense forest. The leader called all of them and warned them not to eat anything if it was not familiar to them and also seek his counsel before eating. After a while they came to a village and outside the village was a tree. It looked exactly like a mango tree. The tree was heavy with fruits. But unlike the mango, the fruits of this tree were poisonous.

Seeing the tree laden with mango fruits, many of the travellers who were very hungry and greedy for food, quickly climbed the tree and plucked the fruits and ate.  Others remembered the warnings of their leader and were cautious. But seeing the fruits being plucked fast and eaten by their friends, they decided to pick a few for themselves and eat before all of them were finished. Yet a few more were wiser. They examined the tree cautiously and waited for their leader to come. When the leader came, he examined the tree and said the fruits were poisonous.

The travellers were terrified. The leader asked them to drink strong solution of salt and vomit out the fruits as much as they could. Then they were given raisins, cane sugar paste, sweet yoghurt and honey to cleanse their mouth and taste buds. The greedy and foolish ones who ran first to the tree and over ate could not be saved. The poison had done its work on them. Those who ate a fruit or two could be saved.

In the past, caravans had come to this village and many travellers had eaten the deadly fruits and died at night. In the morning, the villagers came out and buried the dead body in a secret place and looted the caravans. In the same way, the next morning, the villagers came to the caravans to loot them. To their surprise they found most of the travellers alive. They went to the leader and asked him how he knew that the tree had poison fruits. The leader replied: this tree is easy to climb and is next to a village. It cannot be laden with fruits unless the fruits were poisonous and none wanted to eat them.

It is amazing that such life saving wisdom is based on common sense. All saw the same tree but could not understand if the fruits were safe to eat or not. In life, we are surrounded by many such poisons parading as sweet and safe objects of desire. Our urges are overwhelming and we have no control over them, we do not think if it is safe for us to indulge and we rush headlong and act. Then we suffer terribly.

The wise are lead by common sense. The fools follow only hunger.

Dattatreya - Discipleship

We have gone through the twenty four gurus of Dattatreya. They were creatures, people and natural phenomena from which he learnt invaluable lessons for walking the divine path. Dattatreya was the Adi Guru – the First Guru of the Nath Panth. He was the first manifestation of the combined powers of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva – the power of creation, the power of sustenance and the power of destruction. He was born to teach and lead mankind to God.

Yadu met Dattatreya in the forest. Yadu was the son of King Yayati who was cursed by a Rishi for this uncontrolled lust, to age earlier than normal and become old. This curse could be reversed if he could exchange it with someone else. When King Yayati asked his son Yadu to help him out, Yadu refused. He was aware that both youth and lust are impermanent and youth is the time when both body and mind are strong and can be used for spiritual sadhana and cultivating higher consciousness. His father disinherited him as he refused to oblige him and Yadu left home in a spirit of detachment, seeking a guru to show him the way to God.  Yadu saw a naked ascetic with ash smeared body walking towards him. This ascetic was radiant and full of bliss and Yadu was strongly drawn to him. Yadu asked him who he was and the ascetic replied he was an Avadhoot. Dattatreya explained that an Avadhoot is one who has cut himself from the bonds of the impermanent and transient world and is linked with what is Akshara – the Imperishable. The Avadhoot lives in bliss of his own Self. He is beyond the ignorance, attachment and maya of this world.

Yadu sought teachings from the Avadhoot. He too wished to learn to separate the impermanent from permanent and reach the Akshara- the Imperishable. Dattatreya was pleased with Yadu as he found Yadu was sincere and had deep longing to know the truth. Dattatreya then explained to him the qualities needed in a sadhak or disciple. If the disciple had the requisite qualities, he could learn from Nature and Life. Dattatreya himself had learnt from twenty four such situations. He had twenty four Gurus. For those who were rich in qualities of discipleship, Life itself was a Guru. He then narrated the lessons and situations of the twenty four gurus he learnt from. When Yadu finished hearing, he was enlightened and paid homage to Guru Dattatreya and went on his way.

The stories of the twenty four gurus of Dattatreya have tremendous implication for any seeker and disciple. We must have openness of mind and receptivity to new ideas. We must have capacity to understand, practise and reject concepts and move on to reach the inner truth. We must have ability to see beyond forms into the inner essence of things and situations. Discipleship is a state of consciousness with an intense longing to experience the truth and not give up until it is reached.  In life we lose out, as we move on from Guru to Guru, analysing their speech and motives because we look at them through eyes of ego. Until we have the disciple consciousness or state of mind, we will not be able to see beyond the words and learn from silence. We keep missing the truth again and again and wander from Guru to Guru.

We must learn first to be disciples. Discipleship is not an emotional intention or an intellectual understanding of the Principle of Guru. Discipleship is a state of consciousness, a state of being where one leaves ego and is present in innocence before the Guru. In such a state of being, learning from the Guru comes spontaneously and naturally as a sunflower opening up at time of dawn. Logic and intelligence, discussions or debates do not work while learning from the Guru. When the consciousness of the disciple is open to learning and he is without ego, the essence of the Guru pours into the disciple. Then, like Dattatreya, ants, spiders, sun, moon and water will teach great lessons of Universal Truth. If we wish to progress in the divine path, we must develop the state consciousness of the disciple.

The Leopard can change his spots!

We are creatures of habit. Most life is habitual and we keep doing the same thing we did last week, yesterday and now. We form habits from the time we are born and continue having habits and follow them till we die. Habits help us have a smooth day at home, work and play. We are able to cook, run, ride a cycle, drive a car, and operate the computer effortlessly. All simple and complex routines in our life are effortlessly completed due to habits.

Good habits like regular exercise or right eating habits help us in having good health. Bad habits like oversleeping in morning, overeating, drinking alcohol, and smoking create problems in health and in life. These bad habits have a vicious grip on us and unthinkingly we keep doing the same thing again and again. Any action performed again and again becomes a habit or karma. Karma is only habits, and habits are so hard to change.  Let us see this little story:

Once there was a fisherwoman who had gone to the village market to sell fish. After selling all the fish, on her way back home, she was caught in a storm. The thunder rolled and lightning flashed in the skies and there was a torrential downpour of rain. It was dangerous to walk back to her hut which was far away. She looked around for a shelter. She saw a large house with a big garden. There was a shed in the garden. She knocked on the door of the house and sought shelter in the garden shed for the night. The kind house-owner permitted her to do so. Gratefully she made herself comfortable in the shed and lay down to rest till the storm blew away. After sometime she felt suffocated and could not sleep. A very strong fragrance of jasmine was blowing in with the wind into the hut. The shed had jasmine creepers all around it. The perfume of the flower was very disturbing to her. She was not comfortable. So she went out and held out her hands and collected the rain water falling from the roof. She wetted the fish basket and at once a strong odour of fish permeated the hut. Putting the basket over her head, she fell asleep. It felt just like home!

We are just like the fisherwoman. We are not comfortable sleeping in the fragrance of the jasmine as we are used to the smells of fish. We are extremely comfortable in our old habits which are bad and which cause harm to body, mind and emotions. We do not notice better alternatives or if we do know about them, we are not comfortable with them. We wish to wallow in the old scents and old memories and habits. Some of these habits have a death grip on us and they continue with us through many lifetimes. Two college boys go out and have a drink in the bar. One boy never goes back into the bar again but the other is hooked for life and becomes an alcoholic. Why is it so? This is due to previous karmas or habits. We all know it is so difficult to change habits. Can a leopard change his spots?

Yes! A leopard can change his spots. A time comes in our lives when we are ourselves irritated with our own behaviour and habits. An awareness dawns on us that we are going wrong somewhere. When we make a conscious decision to change ourselves and move forward in life, we can change our habits and karma. Keeping company of good people, reading about great men, taking help from those who have the traits we wish to emulate, helps us to change ourselves. When there is a ParamGuru in our lives and we have the energy of his teachings and the Siddha Mantra from him and do regular japa and dhyan, these are giant boosters which help us to change our spots. Love brings about transformation in a man. When we become parents, the depths of our love for our child, the levels of our patience, understanding and balance increase tremendously all of a sudden. We are different people. A lover undergoes many trials for his beloved to win her. When human love can bring such changes in us for better, how much more we can achieve with Divine Love? When we develop deep bhakti or love for God and Guru, we tap into willpower and energy resources which are beyond normal human capabilities. The vibrations of darshan of a ParamGuru and his blessings burn off many of our karmas at root and we change. So let us bring about positive changes in our habits and move forward.

Naama Smaran - Jnanadev and Namdev

Chanting the name of God in our mind is the easiest sadhana we can do. It is simple.  This sadhana can be done at any time and any place and under any circumstances. It is sustainable. It does not require any special equipment or time or purity factor. This is the best type of sadhana for the modern type of life where we are rushed for time and are always on the go. This sadhana is universally accepted by all religions of the world. We can call on God by any of His names in various languages, connect with him in any relationship of father, mother, friend, child etc. The name of God contains His Beauty, Benevolence, Peace, Love and Knowledge.  The name of God enshrines Him and brings Him to us.

The saints of India have preached and popularised Naama Smaran as the ideal way of life for the average man. Meerabai, Tukaram, Narasi Mehta, Jnanadev, Namadev, Eknath, Kabir and others taught people to chant the name of God day and night. They spoke and sang about the power of the Name of God. Their lives and happenings were demonstrations and proof of power and grace of Naam Smaran. We take a look at an incident in the life of two great saints of India.

Jnanadev was a great jnani – a follower of the Jnana Yoga or Path of Wisdom or Discernment. He had mastery over  himself and the elements and was a great Siddha. The purpose of his birth was to write the Bhagwad Gita in Marathi – the Jnaneshwari- so that the common man had access to the great wisdom and teachings of Sri Krishna. During the same period of time, lived Namdev who was the son of a tailor in Pandharpur. Namdev was great devotee of Lord Vitthal and follower of Bhakti Yoga. Namdev spent every moment of his life doing Naama Smaran – chanting the name of God. He also had attained self realisation.

Once, Jnanadev persuaded Namdev to come with him on pilgrimage to holy places all over north India. Jnanadev and Namdev were walking through a forest. They were thirsty and looked around for a well or a lake for drinking water. At last they saw a well and walked towards it. When they looked into it, there was water – but at the bottom of the well. There was no rope or bucket to pull out the water. How to drink the water? There was no possibility of   getting water as the well was old and had no steps. Jnanadev closed his eyes and used his siddhi or powers and transformed himself into a bird. He flew into the well and drank the water to his satisfaction.

Namdev sat down and closed his eyes, prayed to Rukumini Maa – Goddess Mahalaxmi- and began Naama Smaran – chanting the name of God with intense devotion and love. The water level in the well began to rise and it came to the level where Namdev could just bend and using his cupped hands and drink his fill of water. This well is seen even today at Kaladiji, ten miles off Bikaner, Rajasthan. Such is the power of Naama Smaran.

The ancient scriptures of Hinduism extol the glories of Naama Smaran. The Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, the Srimad Bhagwad, the Bhagwad Geeta all speak of it as an easy and effective method of sadhana. What people could attain through meditation in Satya Yuga, through yagnas in the Treta Yuga, through pujas in Dwapar Yuga, now is attained easily in Kali Yuga by Naama Smaran. We are  in Kali Yuga now. God grants the direct vision of Himself to His devotee – the one who does continuous Naama Smaran with bhakti and surrender. The Lord says that He does not live in a remote heaven or Vaikunta. He resides where His devotees sing His name. When we do regular Naama Smaran, we are guided in living a good life in this world and the fear of death loses its grip on us. The Naama remains with us after death guiding us safely through the valley of death.

Naam Smarana - Remembering the Name of God

Naam Smarana is chanting the name of God in mind at all times. It is remembering God continuously. The name of God comes from the Holy Vibrations of Aum and Aum is God. Where the name is chanted, God is present. Narad Bhakti Sutras say that wherever the bhaktas of God sing His glory, God will manifest and be present there. The Name of God is extremely potent and powerful. It contains all the powers of God. Just as a seed contains a huge tree with its roots, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits, the name of God contains His Greatness, Love, Knowledge, Wisdom, Patience and other qualities. It is the most effective cleanser and energizer.

We clean our bodies daily with bath and other routines. We clean our homes by dusting, sweeping and mopping. We keep our minds and hearts clean by the constantly remembering the name of God – Naama Smarana. We bathe in the morning but by evening time we are dirty and need a wash again. Our mind is constantly bombarded with internal and external pollution and stimuli. It gets stirred up and stresses us up. No other method is as effective as Naam Smaran for calming and cleansing the mind. When our thoughts are good, our heart is good and body functions better. How can a small name of God guide us through life? Let us see this story:

A villager was walking through the forest. He had to walk another six miles to go through the forest before he reached his destination. The sun had already set and suddenly it was very dark. The man had a small lantern and he lit it. To his dismay, he found that the lantern could give light up to yards only. He wondered how he could walk six miles with the help of the flicker of the lantern. A wise man was passing by. He saw the villager looking worried and asked him why. The villager told him his problem. The wise man said: my dear man, please hold the lantern in your hand and walk. You will always be in the circle of light around the lantern. You can see where you are going and walk safely. This small lantern with its flickering light is enough to light up your steps. You will reach where you want to go soon.

A small torch is enough to guide us through the any distance to our destination.  We can easily pass through the thick forest at night. We don’t need blazing lights. We must not mistake the name of God to be small and insignificant. It is a burning spark which can guide us through all the trials and tribulations of life. The name of God is not merely mumbling or murmuring a few syllables. These few syllables are enough to help you realize the principle of Supreme Godhead.

Every single person born has the right to the name of God. Naam Smaran is the birth right of all beings. We must chant the name of God silently within ourselves. We can also chant it aloud if we wish to. We can chant it at home while sitting, cooking, cleaning, washing or doing chores. We can do naama smaran while travelling, driving or walking. At work, we can multitask with one part of our mind and the other parts of mind focussed on work. When we chant it falling asleep, the name of God will work in us through the night, protecting us and cleansing us and we will wake up fresh to a new day. When we do the Naama Smaran, we remain stress free and are able to function at our maximum potential. Life becomes extremely rewarding when we are able to give our best at work and home. The Naam Smaran irons out the kinks in our personality and smoothens them. We have better and happier relationships with our family and others around us. Naam Smaran will always give excellent results even when done in a mechanical manner as the vibration in the name is so powerful that it generates in us deep and abiding love for God.

The Naama Smaran is a technique which can be practised with utmost ease. It is most suitable for our lifestyles. Let us hold on fast to the Naama Smaran and attain worldly happiness and Grace of God

Do not create problems for yourself

Problems abound all around us. All of us face problems. The little kid going to play school also faces problems. So does his father, his mother and everyone around him.  We create our own problems when we are not able to face and overcome our own shortcomings.  We are filled with anger, hatred, jealousy, rivalry and pride and these qualities hold us in their vicious grip. All our energies are geared to deal with our own inadequacies and we do not have time and energy left for work, love and relationships. When we think of God, it is only to blame Him for our miseries. We often try to solve our problems by offering God bribes of material worship and donations of cash at temples or places of worship. But we do not know how to stop creating our own problems.

It is rare for two people to live or work together without clashing. We are social creatures who live and work with others. We have our own opinions and we tend to force them on others. The stronger always tries to control the weaker. This need in us to control others causes problems. When we cannot forgive others and let go of our anger, pain and dislike, we are in a subtle prison without walls. We suffer and feel suffocated in our own prisons. These psychological prisons have no walls but they exist and hold their prisoners well. When we look into the eyes of people, we can see hatred blazing out, pain, depression, greed, jealousy etc. We live in a world full of material comforts, luxuries and excesses and yet suffer from inner shortage of noble qualities.

Our mind always yearns for what is not. It lives in past or in future. Ifs, buts, and hows are its language: if only he was more nice to you, life would be fine; but for her, I would have been the star of the party; how would it be if I had three cars... ? Our mind creates illusions all time and we accept them and live in a mirage. But the external world is a reality and it hits us repeatedly and we are stressed out and miserable.

We need to train our mind to accept reality and things as they are. Once we have this acceptance, we can minimise and even overcome most of our problems. And we will also stop creating problems.

When we willingly accept the knocks of life, we flow with the tide and are not drowned in ocean of sorrow.  The man who was with Buddha knew the art of acceptance of knocks. See this little story:

Buddha was walking through a village  with a group of his disciples.  Suddenly a man came running and fell at the feet of Buddha.

Buddha: what do you want my son?

Man: I wish to follow you, be your disciple and practise your teachings.

Buddha: yes, you can do so. But you have to beg for food.

Man: that is alright, I will. We are all dependant on others in some way or other.

Buddha: when you beg, others may speak ugly words to you.

Man: that is alright as long as they do not hit me.

Buddha: it may be possible they will hit you when they abuse you.

Man: that is acceptable as long as they do not kill me.

Buddha: It is possible you may be killed while begging for food.

Man: that is alright. We all die only once. But before I die, I want to be your disciple and learn from you.

That is positive outlook. The man knew how to turn every query raised by Buddha into acceptance and opportunity.  We can be sure that Buddha accepted this man as his disciple and he would have surely progressed and attained Nirvana. By his own behaviour and thoughts, the wise man creates heaven where he is and the unwise man creates and lives in his personal hell wherever he goes. Do not create your own problems!

Balanced Development of Man - Four Ashramas

The Rishis of yore were spiritual scientists. They were able to see profound truths in meditation and they taught these truths to the people for development and progress in society and nation. They foresaw that man’s life had to be planned systemically so that he could live his life to the fullest, gain knowledge, earn wealth, fulfil all his desires, contribute to development of society and walk the spiritual path to attain salvation or moksha. They charted out the four ashramas or stages in life of man. Life expectancy was a 100 years and four stages of 25 years were made. The purpose of this life planning was to ultimately attain self realisation or enlightenment in this very world and in this very life. In the modern world today, our lifestyles have changed but the basic idea of the development given in the four ashramas are applicable today as it was in those days.

Brahmacharya – the Celibate Student: this is the time when the young male left  his home and went to the ashram of the Guru to attain learning, attaining knowledge and foundation of lifestyle.  It was a period of formal education. During this period, he is called a brahmachari and is a celibate. He prepares for his future profession, family, social and religious life.  The focus was on healthy and positive training and discipline and all round knowledge.

Grihastha – the Householder: The student is now a man and gets married and earns a living. He takes care of his wife, children and relatives. He earns wealth and fulfils all his desires. He shares his wealth by way of donations and offerings to needy and the saint community. He learns to give, live, love in family and community. All religious and spiritual practices are done in context to worldly life and service to others.

Vanaprastha – the Hermit: by the time man was fifty he was a grandfather with grown children. His duties as a householder come to an end. He should renounce all physical, sexual and material pleasures and reduce his participation in the family affairs. He is now a matured mentor for his children and community. He does not renounce his home. He reduces to minimum his involvement in family and social affairs. Both husband and wife live a simple lifestyle and start longer and more disciplined spiritual practices.

Sanyasa- the Renunciate: At  the age of seventy five,  the husband and wife are totally devoted to God. They are now sanyasis or renunciates. They have no involvement in any worldly goals. This is the final phase in which they seek the ultimate goal of self enlightenment. They also play the role of an elder teacher of spiritual knowledge.

We can see that each stage of life provides man with ample opportunity for development in all areas of life – physical, material and spiritual. Throughout life, man is given training and opportunity to develop his spiritual aspect along with other duties. Having fulfilled all desires and relationships in life, man walks towards his ultimate goal – self realisation.

We all come from different countries, cultures, religions, philosophies and approaches to life. The framework provided by the Rishis for the four ashramas of life and the life planning has great value for all of us. We are now in a particular stage of life. We may have not lived our previous stages of life in the prescribed manner. But if we are aware and committed to the current and later stages of life, we can live our lives with comfort, clarity and peace as we progress on path of Self Realisation.