These days my city is abuzz with Ganeshotsav, the festival of Lord Ganesha and every city dweller is willing to be involved in the celebrations enthusiastically. Lord Ganesha is the bestower of buddhi, riddhi and siddhi. Buddhi means intelligence, riddhi means prosperity and siddhi means attainment of spiritual powers. In my own modest way, on 1^st Sept’11 in the afternoon when the neighbourhood’s clatter and inharmonious sounds waned, I opened the homepage of my blog. I prayed to my very special terracotta Ganpati to bless my blog on that auspicious day as it was him who had also blessed Maharishi Ved Vyas before the commencement of Mahabharata epic, which is the longest one composed centuries ago. I sought the blessings and grace of Lord Ganesha in a quiet manner that pleasant afternoon. Inwardly I bowed down and touched his tiny feet and also prayed to him on that special day to give me and others intellect – prosperity and  deeper insight when we read the content on these pages. Also we should attain inner satisfaction, happiness and joy after we finish reading these pages.

My dear friends, I thank you so much for the overwhelming response that you have shown at the outset of the previous post in the last week. You are going to find many of your answers here in detail. Like you, I too have mulled over and cherished every word that has come straight from the Divine. I had planned to keep the last post brief but when I began to type I was in an unstoppable flow. I believe and understand that it was the will of God and that I should not just touch upon the points briefly, I should explain things in detail. And this time again my situation is impossible to tell apart. As I begin to type on the laptop, there is no stopping, words are just coming in; moreover I shall not constrain myself today given that there is some other Force that is working at present.

We begin from where we left last time. Keeping the reminisces and summary of the last post on  the importance and crucial role of a divine spiritual guru, kindly begin  to read now….

At the end of your spiritual journey when the Guru shows you Divine Light, you become maun, silent because how in the world can you express your feelings of his mercy, compassion and kindness showered on you day in and day out unremittingly?

On the 1^st of Sept’11, the weather was very cool and pleasing. The ambience around my house felt silent after morning’s mundane  jobs. The sparrows were dancing and chirping on the thick green branches of the mango trees and the pleasant breeze left me calm and contented. I worshipped Lord Ganesha in my own way by praying silently for myself and others and I spontaneously took some pictures as you have just seen. I worked on the internet for some time and to take some rest after the activities of steady concentration for a few hours, I retired in my room on the bed gazing at the monsoon’s vast sky from my window. The open extensive sky had a good panorama where at the backdrop were the grey and blue clouds of rain and a flock of white egrets was flying collectively in an arch with their wings outstretched. Their continuous rhythmic flapping in the infinite space was reminiscent of the rise and fall of a melodious musical note in a symphony in the ethereal world!

It must have been about 4 p.m. when all this was happening and after gazing out of the window, I closed my eyes to  rest. Within a few minutes, the body was restored to an earlier energized state and I quickly left the realms of the consciousness of the earth and reached the high levels of consciousness.

At this threshold, alighted a long spell of these flute like words of the Divine, “In 1861, Lahiri Mahasaya pleaded Shri Mahavatar Babaji to allow him to initiate householders into Kriya Yoga. Prior to this, it was only given to ardent seekers who gave up household comforts and left for the thick forests to practice Kriya in a secluded and quiet place. Out of compassion, Babaji broke the rule and allowed Lahiri Mahasaya to give Kriya Yoga to householders or anyone who took his refuge in sorrow, grief or plain quest of Truth. The humanity since then has benefitted much from learning the lost divine science of spiritual practice of Kriya Yoga. In today’s world it is not possible for people to find sufficient time and energy for spiritual evolution and personal progress.

So far the secret knowledge of Moksha or liberation was kept a secret and the Guru would first test the disciple and then only pass the secret knowledge through the word of mouth called shruti that reveals to us the exact path or roadmap that will lead us directly to God by taking a few, well defined definite steps. Yet again, Babaji has shown extreme conviction and compassion for all humanity so that they are able to help themselves by opening their shackles of bondage by getting the knowledge of Moksha through none other than himself. Today’s spiritual knowledge and its presentation are according to the times, type of era and epoch and directly in collusion and approval with the command of God. Somebody for the first time has revealed publicly the secret science of Moksha through this blog. It is a silent revolution. All the words that emanate from him are words of God. Some gurus in today’s world, if asked how to attain Moksha will inadvertently say these lines, “Serve your Guru.” Others may say, “If only it is in your destiny, will you get it.” Still others might say, “Moksha is very difficult to attain therefore do this…this… or that…” Sadly, they themselves have neither the experience of that which is attained with hearing, Shruti. Hence you will find no book or script telling us how to attain Moksha nor do they know the intricate and complex problems arising out of the actions or karmas done by an individual or the sum total karmas that are done by humanity, the consequences of their karmas on our planet! If only the Guru is himself a great divine soul, he will be able to relieve and free others. There is a memory loss in man and he can neither look back in times in the past nor in future time to solve his problems of multifarious and complex life situations which manifest because of his karmas. Therefore read each word very carefully. The secret science of – Who am I? What is Karma?;What is liberation of a soul? What is Shakti? How to find peace within? What is life?  and many more are now all made open for you to read in these posts.

To decipher the hidden subtle meanings, to apply the precepts in your life, to solve your current life problems and yet be able to see a definite beautiful pattern of God and Guru’s Grace; you should prostrate yourself with all humility and childlike innocence at the feet of your holy guru Shri Mahavatar Babaji. Once your plea is accepted at his doorstep, he will convey everything through his mind power or sankalpa. Do not be afraid to follow his counsel and advice which shall come to you as intuition or a hunch; go for it. Listen to your inner Voice and then surrender and the rest shall be taken care of by the Maha Sadguru. Submission with grace and love is the ultimate way to worship the Divine.  Only a pure and clean heart will be able to treat Guru and God as one. The Divine Guru at the start will not give you any explanation; he will only command or suggest to you depending on your nature, frame of mind and stage of evolution. Therefore, do whatever he says, there will be no harm coming your way. This is a test and a pre-condition that a serious seeker has to undergo anyway to establish  firm faith in the unseen Divine guru and a definite method of discarding his or her ego. After some years when the seekers have established themselves in a mature and irreversible state, they will clearly see that the Guru was building a new divine life for them by asking them to do some karmas and activities that would wipe out their past bad, unproductive karmas of innumerable lives as though there is an exigency. Side by side, he was asking them to do those karmas that will slowly shape up a very pious, joyous, simple, peaceful and quiet life for further spiritual transformations. And all this takes time. Since the road of Higher Consciousness itself is never ending, it only depends on your own will when and how far you wish to go. That new life will have no worries, troubles, doubts, sickness and fears of death, dying, illness, loss and so on. Listen to him, obey him; there is no time to question, no time to fear and no time to cry.

After some years when the heavy baggage gets lighter, the pace of spiritual evolution is much faster. Still hold on your Guru; do not drift or sway here and there. There are many unexpected dangers, traps and agencies of swindling in the name of spirituality and you will not be able to differentiate between the real and false. Therefore, even if the going is hard, keep a happy disposition, stay established in resolute faith and recall all those words and divine messages as well as teachings that He has bestowed on you from time to time so that you always have a light that kindles you all the time, in all weathers of life and for you to continue walking on your path steadfastly.”

Now listen to this counsel my dear friends-

-The path of God may be long; the light of the divine words will give you strength.

-There may be trials and difficulties to face every day; the Guru will give you a lamp post in these posts that emerge here.

-The Guru will ask you to become a lotus in this muddy world; believe in his words and counsel.

-Your doubting mind will tell you otherwise, other than what the speech of Divine Guru has advocated. Listen to the Guru and not the doubting mind.

-Sing the praises of Guru; they will reach God up in the celestial skies and heavens.

-God will be pleased with those whose hearts pain at the misery of the suffering world. God will bless you and will give you the knowledge of Moksha through the Guru to you.

(There is a wonderful  poem Grace in Solitude in the end of- The Light of the world- Shri Mahavatar Babaji-I about how God becomes pleased with us)

My dear co-travellers pray! pray ! pray! Pray every day; pray every time you sleep; pray when you wake up in the morning; pray to God to give you devotion; pray whenever you see the sky; pray when you see the flowers bloom; pray when you listen to a melodious tune of lovely music; pray when you see raindrops falling on your windows; pray when you are sick; pray when you are healed; pray when you have questions in your mind; pray when you find answers to your quest; pray when you fall; pray when you rise; pray when you lose something; pray when God gives you something; pray when your eyes are open; pray when your eyes are closed. And when you pray all this many times, the sweet Lord will one day start to answer you and it will be just one of those days when his Voice is audible in you in a splendid way!

Our prayer is the language of our heart and our inner soul. Each sentence, each word, each syllable and sound of every word is gently received by God with insurmountable love and compassion even though He may never say it. But if we keep on sending our messages of unfaltering love every time, every day without fail and delay, He will begin to show response in a direct or indirect way. View His kind act as benevolence, as grace, as unending love and hold it close to your heart which will surely soften and melt you away. His purest love will give you a holy bath. His compassionate words will heal you and show you the path in the darkest days. His Grace will melt you to conjoin him in unity plunging in boundless Joy, Peace and divine Bliss in hundreds of ways! Soaking and dipping in these God Gifts, gratitude will show first not on your lips but in your eyes as tiny pearls of tears!!

His undemanding heart and silent unconditional love to salvage you from the miseries created by you, year after year, day after day may turn the tear drops to erupt from not eyes but your heart; for you will know that it is only God’s purest, pristine, selfless love that reflects in the Divine Guru who has given you salvation anyway! Not flowers of devotion but drops of tears, no words ever born will fill in the void as there will be no word left with you to thank Him ever enough!!!

May our souls rest in peace now; not later, may we experience that bliss and ananda which our Divine Father is so eager to gift us and may we ever and forever serve our Divine Master by first possessing his Grace and then spreading his Divine words far and wide to make his dream come true that we as one planet are one family Vasudeva Kutumbakam which means that this whole planet is one family of Vasudeva, also Krishna. Krishna is the all pervading Spirit residing in all.

We return to the main question that is before us- Why is it mandatory to have a Divine Guru?

The Divine Guru symbolizes Trinity- trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh or Shiva. Like Lord Brahmaa, he gives us a new birth, a new life. Like Lord Vishnu, he nourishes us and like Lord Shiva, he annihilates our sins and vices. But the Divine Guru’s own nature is-

Brahmanandam Param Sukhdam Kevalam Gyanmurtim

Dwandateetam Gagansadrisham Tatvamasyadi Lakshyam

Ekam Nityam Vimalam Achalam Sarvadi Sakshi Bhootam

Bhavateetam Trigunarahitam, Sadgurum Tvam Namami

Sadgurum Tvam Namami,Sadgurum Tvam NamamiI

The Guru’s state of being is Ananda, divine bliss and ultimate happiness. Brahmananda, an ecstasy that results from the experience of Oneness… that bliss transcends form, attributes or gunas. He is an embodiment of knowledge. He is beyond dualities. He is like a sky or space. He is in a state of continued oneness with the One and the only Brahma, the immutable. He is pure, he is steady in Brahma and always in a state of non duality and an Eternal witness. Salutations to the one who is an embodiment of all the qualities of the eternal, infinite Universal Self named as Brahma. Thou Art That!

The Divine Guru nourishes and holds us like the roots of a tree In ‘Why is peace so essential-III’ an analogy between the Banyan Tree and Shri Mahavatar Babaji was drawn to compare how similar they are. Like the strong and mighty roots of an old Banyan Tree, Mahavatar Babaji also holds us tightly and does not let us go astray in this world of  illusive ‘maya.’

The Guru will wipe out the illusory world that has been created inside called ‘Maya’

He will reveal to you the secret of life and death.

He gives the spiritual knowledge or the secret science of Moksha to deserving disciples.

A new divine life full of purity, virtues, stability, happiness and tranquility is bestowed by the Divine Guru to the seekers.

He awakens the memory of the disciple’s many lives in order to establish resolute faith in himself after which so many questions are automatically answered and the disciple eventually attains constant peace of mind.

At a point of time, when the last impressions of the karmas done in uncountable lives are wiped out in the inner most recesses, the disciple awakens wholly and he attains Atma Bodh or Self Awareness The last impressions of karmas act like a veil which prevents the light rays of Parmatma, God to penetrate in the inner being of an individual.

But when the veil is erased completely, one is free from the inevitable negative and positive outcome, more so of negative chain reactions for future to unfold and harvest. And the Atma or pure Light of God shines forth- that is what we call mukti or moksha in the yogic language; breaking free from inevitable effects of the past negative and positive karmas and thus stopping random wandering of incessant meaningless lives on earth. The Divine Guru will only rest after this because there are always possibilities for the vulnerable disciple to awaken his quiescent ego and he may again get misled and lost in the sansara or this world. That is why it is compulsory to have a Divine Guru or else there can never be an interface between the disciple and God.

Therefore, stay steady in your daily spiritual practices, worship the Divine Guru and you shall surely know God one day. This very famous couplet or ‘doha’ of saint Kabir of Bhakti period is appropriate and falls so well in this context and meaning at this point.

Guru Gobind dou khade, kake lagoo paye I

Balihari jaon guru ki jinha Gobind diyo dikhaye II

Meaning- Says Kabir- I am in a dilemma as I stand today between my Guru and God. And I don’t know whom to prostrate first. I decide to salute my Guru first because it was him who showed me God.

So, my salutations to my great Guru Shri Mahavatar Babaji, the bestower of all happiness, the remover of all sins and miseries and the giver of salvation and sweet nectar of ever flowing divine bliss.

Duties of a seeker

If we gain in boundless measure from the Divine Guru, it goes without saying that some duties rest on the aspirant and seeker also. In a nutshell, there are two types of duties laid on the seeker from God- the moral duties and the spiritual duties.

It is the moral duty of the disciple to lead a noble, virtuous, pure, harmonious and peaceful life. He should be charitable, help the poor, people in real need and those who are in distress thus helping the society in some way or the other. As we receive, so must we give!

The spiritual duties are –the disciple should meditate deeply at least once a day and carry on whatever his or her other spiritual practices are, depending on their state of spiritual evolution and aspiration. They must serve the Divine and the  Guru not as redemption but out of sheer love, dedication and devotion.

Wrapping up My dear ones, this journey of segment- C with the title ‘Life Sacred’ has been a long one- from 16.08.10 to 10.09.11, longer than a year and I suppose I must take a short spell of break from writing and take it easy.

I am eternally grateful to Shri  Mahavatar Babaji and all my other gurus whom I have never met on the physical plane but they have been my spiritual guides and teachers since I have known them. Then there are many highly advanced sadhus and yogis who are alive doing their advanced sadhana, secretly in the caves or on trees of the mountains of the Himalayas. Many a times, they have appeared before me in my meditations at home to further elaborate to me the nuances of yogic practices and have given me tips to enhance and speed up my spiritual journey. My sincere heartfelt thanks to them at this juncture of blogging. You might wonder as I did in the past, pray why do they come to me of all the people? The answer to that question is that they all want to contribute in some way in Babaji’s mission of mass human liberation and emancipation on this planet!

Then there are the Holy Spiritual Trees who do the same. I bow to them in thanks for making my blog so entrancing and adding a touch of mysticism to it apart from enriching my bank of spiritual knowledge. I am so much richer today! I once wanted to know what is occultism and why do people use it to harm others as I myself was a victim of this malpractice many a times in the past. I can never forget the invaluable counsel of Shri Mahavatar in 2002 when He told me this one morning, “Occult Science is also a Yogic Science used since eternity even by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati but if the science is used for petty personal gains, selfish goals or plain greed, then you are punished by God severely.

Any force of God if misused creates a very negative impact in one’s life at some point.”

In due course of time, Divine Mother of Pondicherry taught me occultism or the hidden psychic powers in a human to counteract the unrelenting attacks on me and my family. She also educated me on this science and I am briefly sharing with you the condensed form of that knowledge for your satisfaction here. She said, “Occult Science is all about mind power. Human mind can connect to the unrevealed Forces in nature for its healing properties, to bring about balancing the panch tattvas or five natural elements like air, space, fire, earth and water in our self. It is good because one can connect with other minds for a good righteous cause also and we can benefit by it by transference of shakti or knowledge or both from one agency to another. There are two types of Forces in Nature – constructive and destructive. If this knowledge of Forces in Nature is applied to gain something by harming  somebody living far away by sending out negative thoughts and one day the same Force will harm you in higher magnitude in long or short duration of time. One should use the Universal Forces only at the behest of God with a definite higher purpose otherwise all is in vain.”

For more than three years, The Divine Mother gave me lessons in occultism to first improve my health and my own life situation as I was targeted by many evil minded people (Ref in an autobiographical post titled ‘The way to surmount obstacles-I. The Mother gave me shakti little by little along with the knowledge of the dark world, the dark Forces and Good Forces in Nature. (To know what is Shakti read Shakti-I, and who was Divine Mother of Pondicherry read Shakti-III). I soon became proficient in sensing the arrival of those negative vibrations and alongside, I enhanced my sadhana to a much greater height. In due course of time, the bad energies around me began to dissipate and wane. I observed that those people who had harmed me then are now in pain and stuck in various, thick life problems where as my life today is so full of contentment, fullness, prosperity, abundance, serenity and happiness and joy. So lesson learnt was this-

Conclusion–Treat everything in this Universe as Divine; everything is sacred. Our lives are sacred, our breath is sacred, our body and limbs are sacred; use them for a good and higher cause. Our senses as well as the mind are sacred; they assist us in sensing and perceiving God and its unblemished beauty spread everywhere in nature. Love God, love Life. Love everyone, everything is beautiful and Divine. Love this life that is given to you by God; consecrate it to the beautiful Lord. This life is beautiful, celebrate it. This life is sacred, live in divinity. Life Sacred is Life Divine!!!

(Reference Autobiography of a Yogi by Shri Paramhansa Yogananda – life incidents of Shri Mahavatar Babaji and Lahiri Mahasaya  to be found in chapter: 35- The Christlike Life of Shri Lahiri Mahasaya

Picture of Divine Mother of Pondicherry- meditation hall in Delhi Ashram.

# In 1861, Lahiri Mahasaya pleaded Shri Mahavatar Babaji to allow him to initiate householders into Kriya Yoga

# So far the secret knowledge of Moksha or liberation was kept a secret

# The Divine Guru nourishes and holds us like the roots of a tree

# The Guru will wipe out the illusory world that has been created inside called ‘Maya’

# Duties of a seeker- moral and spiritual

# One should use the Universal Forces only at the behest of God

# There are two types of Forces in Nature- constructive and destructive

# Any force of God if misused creates a very negative impact in one’s life

Part A 

Mana ki andar ki sadhana karo

 Mana ko bahar ki vastuo se door karo

Mana ko aadat dalo chup hone ki, shanti ki, pratiti ki,

 Eeshwar ke anubhuti ki, atma prakash ke darshan ki

 Aur bahut kaal tak eeshwar ke dhyan mie rehene ki.

Atma bodh kathin hai kyunki is mei parishram and thakan adhik hai

Parantu ek bar prarpt karne ke bad sada sada ke liye vishram hai.

 Isliye mana ko modo, mana ko sansari baton se sada door rakho

Chahe hum sansar mei rahe parantu yadi hum kuch samay pratah kaal eeshwar ka dhyan kare

 To mana poora din shaant rahega,  itni takat hai eeshwar mei ki shanti poora din bahegi

Isliye nirantar eeshawar ka dhyan karo jab tak ki

Avastha aisi aa jaye ki sare din mei kabhi bhi bhagwan ya guru se dhyan hatega hi nahi.

Vaha paripakva avastha tak aa jao aur eeshawar mei vishram karo

Us shanti me doob jayo aur anek janmo ki thakan ko door karo.

Om shanti shanti shanti Om!

Translation-

Perform inner sadhana of mind

Detach your mind from worldly subjects

Habituate your mind to remain silent, to remain calm and to live in divine perceptions

Make it a habit for the mind to experience God, to see Divine Light

And let your mind have the habit of remaining in constant communion with God over a long period of time

Given that Self Realization is arduous to attain since it demands extreme effort and one is exhausted in the process

Yet once you achieve it, there is rest for forever

Therefore transform your mind, keep it away from worldly chitchat and repartee

Although we may live in this world but if we spare sometime in the morning to meditate on God

The mind will remain calm because God has so much power that

Peace begot from God will linger throughout the day

Therefore always meditate on God until you

Arrive at a stage when your mind never off tracks from the thought of God or Guru

Come up till this established stage and rest in God forever

Immerse in that God peace and get rid of the weariness of many lives

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Om !

  These benevolent words of Swami Dayananda Shaligram of Ganeshpuri began to trickle inside me when I sat on my bed on the morning of 17th Aug in Shri Aurobindo Ashram around 9.30 after breakfast and was deeply engaged in meditation for a short duration. The act of meditating is so rewarding and enticing that I wish I can afford to prolong that and avoid all the possible extraneous activities so that I add up some more time to my daily meditations. Although we are tied up with many karmic obligations, yet it is possible to unite our mind with the Divine as and when it is possible, no matter how busy we are in the world. When my normal routine gets disrupted, I meditate whenever I get some time off during the day or at night with joyfulness. As long as I can connect daily to God with my meditations, it doesn’t matter when and where I meditate and how long I meditate. After all it is the mind that should be immersed deeply whenever possible to Higher Consciousness irrespective of time and location.

Meditation is a gift of God, I now understand when at the airport yesterday I could yet again connect effortlessly to get an answer to someone’s question which was put up to me recently. The more I remain connected with divine bliss and peace, the more I understand the great words of the great illumined masters who advocate to me that no matter what happens outside, dive deep within yourself, you shall find deep peace, divine peace, blissful peace waiting for you to be savored. I express my thanks and gratitude liberally to all my Spiritual Masters to have shown me this pathway and gave me great wisdom. It is they who have reiterated so often the importance of diverting the wandering mind inwards and harnessing the infallible ananda, shanti  permeated in Brahma, the Self which is all ours. My heart is so full of thanksgiving and gratefulness this moment to have received such mellifluous and peace-giving gifts such as meditation and along with that the inculcating of the qualities of devotion, tranquility, gratitude, faith, sincerity and the most important of all-obedience towards my gurus.

That morning, I had prayed to God to tell me how can I continue serving them in spite of my overtly disrupted routine and kindly let me know what is it that I must now begin to write for the next post so that all those who are following the blog sincerely may get their answers; their doubts should be dispelled and they should get over their shortcomings as quickly as possible. The response came in instantly in this poem which flowed without a break as I kept on writing in my diary.

After the wisdom filled poem, Swami Dayananda Shaligram spoke these following golden words for all the seekers, whether they are just the beginners or have advanced much higher on the spiritual step ladder. A disciple, he said should have these qualities if he/she wishes to open the door of the kingdom of God.

“Control the senses by controlling your mind. Once the mind is controlled, the senses automatically come under our control.

It is the manas, or the mana , our mind that first wanders and then proliferates further in worldly affairs and material stickiness. Beware of its nature of proliferation. We have come here to wind up our sansara, to tie up the loose ends and conclude our accumulated karmas done over past so many lives. Instead we are spreading out, diversifying and expanding our physical and material worlds. The mind should be hooked and anchored to the mind of the Guru or God whatever the state of the disciple is and not become dull because of constant rubbing in of worldly matters. The more time the mind is immersed in thoughts of God, the lesser it will trouble you.

So not controlling the mind can prove to be detrimental and create more diversions for the mind. Because we have done so much wandering in so many lives that it becomes difficult to control and bring the mind to rest by meditating now. Also the mind refuses to budge and cannot be controlled by any tool or method for the reason that it has become a habit for it to fritter, chatter or just be malicious and negative.

It takes a lot of time and unrelenting effort and persistence to master the mind but even your slightest effort adds up to the bank balance of your good karmas. So practice some form of mind taming by controlling it by various types of spiritual and mind training methods and techniques available to you. You may practice anything, but do it regularly and sincerely over a considerable time period to get results.

There is peace inside us.  Our mind must be made peaceful so that its peace helps us to realize God within us. No matter what practice you perform, never give up until you get the desired results. It is ‘tamas’ or dullness in us which stops us and hinders our spiritual growth. To  avoid that, do not postpone your spiritual duties; perform all your daily duties and do no waste your time in negative or unproductive thinking. Perform actions which are helpful in your spiritual goals by saving time everyday.”

Such great wisdom packed in such a small package! Friends, I am expressing my gratefulness once again at the holy feet of Shaligram Maharaj who with great compassion and concern has summarized the pearls of great wisdom in Bhagwat Geeta in small capsules for us to open and assimilate. I offer my many, many thanks and pranams to him for this post!

 Part B

On the last day of my stay in the Ashram on 17^th morning before my meditation, I went to the holy Banyan Tree in its compound to pay my respect and seek blessings.

This time during my trip to Delhi I did not get the probability to sit down at leisure at its trunk in order to have a long discourse with it because of consistent time constraint. So I just stood there silently with much reverence and gratitude and my eyes shut with devotion and I let the moments flow uninterruptedly. In a few instants I got energized and revived as I received abundant pranic energy which gave me respite from the tiredness caused by excess carbon dioxide inside me because the hectic activities consumed most of the oxygen in my cells.

Each pore of my body opened up little by little and each cell began to expand with unconstrained pranic energy entering them with a huge gush. I felt completely rejuvenated in no time and felt at that time as if I was never inflicted with any exhaustion during my hectic days. I inhaled the brilliant air passionately to absorb all the pure oxygen as fast as I could that was prevalent in the vicinity.

When some amazing moments passed by, I felt so privileged when I heard the tree talking with me once again, “Do you think I would have let you go to Bombay with this kind of weariness? You are doing selfless tasks most of the day after finishing your personal duties and  so you must benefit from me. Now inhale deeply a few more times and store that vital force inside your brain to be used up for writing the next article. I too wish to serve Mahavatar Babaji in his mission by giving you prana instantly so that you can use it for his blog.” I was gratified as I felt so very humbled to have got a shot in the arm with fresh air and I bloomed and revived like a  sunflower which was drooping in absence of the Sun!

Keeping that intention and sankalpa  in my view,  I inhaled deeply all the fresh air surrounding me along with the blessings bestowed as I prayed and wished quietly in my heart  that all the readers who happen to read this post must also get the special mental force bestowed on me. Instantly reading my mind, at this point the holy tree said, “On your next post due on 20^th Aug, put a picture of a red hibiscus flower, the red hibiscus which is blooming on that bush next to me. Pluck not the one that your eyes see easily but the one that is just below it and the one which is hardly visible to anyone. That one is sacred and has tremendous energy, it will give you and your blog subtle pranic energy.

Genuine saints never exhibit their real divine powers; they keep their siddhis or extraordinary divine powers a secret because they do not like to flaunt them, just like this red beautiful flower. I revealed to you its hidden subtle powers of subtle energies. But people are ignorant and foolish, just because the good souls are extremely humble and refuse to flaunt their divine powers, they are not respected.

Whatever comes from God is sacred; whatever is sacred should be revered. If you show no respect to your teacher or Guru, you will make errors after errors and consequently you will not get bliss and real joy from God. So tell all the readers to read each word with reverence and instill full faith and devotion in the givers.

This blog has unrestricted yet incomprehensible divine, supreme knowledge bestowed by the compassionate Grace of Shri Mahavatar Babaji. It is timeless and priceless; realize its value and worth. Don’t squander your valuable time in unproductive actions and activities. Contemplate on every word that is being said here, value the time and energy being spent on creating this blog and respect all those who have made it possible. By showing reverence and devotion to those, you shall appreciate and comprehend the hidden knowledge preserved in it, secreted yet disclosed in these words. The Mahatmas are ever waiting for you to change your behavior and wrong actions and have compassion for you yet the human takes infinite time to turn his mischievous mind towards divine qualities. Therefore, do not hesitate to peep inside your inner being and throw out all the trash and negative thoughts and habits like anger, ego, envy, pride, lack of humility and gratitude.”

As if this was not enough, the kind Banyan Tree unfolded yet another secreted piece of scientific knowledge of Yogic world. He revealed to me, “And for those who are real devotees and are seriously practicing meditation I want them to know this- the more prana or vital force you have, the more you will be able to meditate. The higher realms of spiritual kingdom can be accessed with the blessing of the divine guru and high level of fine energy called sukhshma prana.

The more Iccha shakti you have, the more prana your body will contain effortlessly. If you have a strong will or Iccha shakti, the more prana you shall have from prakriti or nature because of which you will be able to meditate more deeply. We can draw in prana mentally from nature in meditation for this purpose. If you meditate on a healthy or holy tree situated anywhere, you can draw huge ‘prana’ while sitting at home when you focus your mind deeply on such a sanctified and revered tree; while staying at home, you shall be revived. Iccha shakti is vital to improve your power of meditation. Therefore improve and increase your power of will.”

I thanked the gracious tree copiously and prayed to it that I should never forget any word of such great wisdom gifted to me by its grace. The red hibuscus flower was hiding so much in the thick bush that I had to bring it in my room in the Ashram to take its picture. Here is that sacred beautiful flower!!

After I left the Ashram  that night in my house, I thought of my splendid experience with the holy tree many a times, more so about the revelation that we can acquire greater heights in our meditations by our power of will and I was so very delighted to discover this truth!

I became so much richer and wealthier with this knowledge!!

As I bring to a close this post, I remember a few lines from Bhagwat Geeta from Chapter 2 from verses 64, 65 & 66. The eternal spiritual wisdom in it stands true even today: these shlokas seem to conclude everything that a struggling seeker must acquire and I would be keen on to quote them here…

Raagdveshviyuktaiastu vishyaniindriiyaishrachran I

Atmavashyaivirdheyatma prasadamdhigachati II 64

But the self controlled Sadhak while enjoying the various sense objects through his senses, which are disciplined and free from likes and dislikes, attains placidity of mind.

Prasade sarvadukhanam hanirsyopajayate I

Prasannachetaso hvashu buddhi: paryavatishthate II 65

With the attainment of such placidity of mind, all his sorrows come to an end; and the intellect of such a person of tranquil mind soon withdrawing itself from all sides, becomes firmly established in God.

Naasti budhiryuktasya na chayuktasya bhavana I

Na chabhavayata: shantirshantasya kutu: sukham II 66

He who has not controlled his mind and senses can have no reason; nor can such an undisciplined man think of God. The unthinking man can have no peace; and how can there be happiness for one lacking peace of mind?

(Refer the previous post and one more titled- ‘The state of Super Consciousness-I to read all the other conversations with the sacred Banyan Tree)

The picture of the lovely sunflower has been gifted to me recently by one blog reader. Thanks Nish.

Very little is known about Swami Dayananda Shaligram of Ganeshpuri.He was the foremost disciple of Swami Nityananda. Other posts divulging about his shrouded personal life and spiritual teachings are in these  articles-What is renunciation?-II,& How to make your life extraordinary from ordinary?

The great epic Mahabharat depicts the history of Pandavas and  Kauravas, the descendents of King Bharat; it  includes the Kurukshetra war and most importantly Bhagwad Gita. Bhagwad Gita is a part of Mahabharat and the holy scripture originated 5000 years ago which was compiled by Maharishi Ved Vyasa, the great rishi. He was the son of rishi Parashar and has to his credit of compiling the longest epic titled Mahabharat. This epic was compiled keeping in mind that basic spiritual knowledge should reach every segment of the society be it the uneducated, women or the deprived ones, hence it is so vast and lengthy. And in addition to Mahabharat, Maharishi Ved Vyasa also composed 18 puranas (legendary stories), Brahma sutra and most notably Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.  Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is a song divine, the nectar of God and has endowed in it the eternal knowledge or shashwat gyan of immortality of our Spirit.

The Pandavas and Kauravas were cousin brothers and Kurukshetra became the battle ground of wicked Kauravas and the pious Pandavas over inheritance.  They were the warring clans because of Duryodhana the eldest Kaurava, who vehemently declined to transfer the legitimate kingdom to scion Yudhisthir, the eldest of all the Pandava brothers.  It was this fierce war that Arjuna refused to fight against his own kith and kin and instead accepted living as an ascetic. However, Lord Krishna motivated him during that time and advocated not be averse to face the formidable situation as this was his duty, his dharma. And afterwards, being pleased with his obedience and devotion, Lord Krishna also revealed to him his divine form. Surprisingly, Bhagwad Gita is the only holy scripture that was born during the time of a war while all other great scriptures have originated in times of peace.

The teacher and  guru in Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is Lord Krishna who is considered to be a holy avatar and the recipient or disciple is his foremost believer Arjuna, who in great distress and  grief turns to Krishna his savior, friend, philosopher and personal guide in all times. Lord Krishna explains Arjuna about his duties as a warrior, prince and individual self and preaches him that never should we ignore or fear any life situation that we encounter, as that is our karma and dharma both. Yet the fruit of our karmas should be surrendered to the Almighty without any expectations or desire of any kind.

Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is the ultimate statement of spiritual knowledge comprising of 700 verses of Sanskrit verses which reveal the essence of ancient Vedantic philosophy. It is a holy science of Vedantic knowledge comprising of Hindu philosophy of indestructible Atman. It is an Upanishad in its own right and is a concise guide to Hindu theology. It has an universal appeal because it confers upon us the answers to our self enquiry on our quest and journey to self realizatioin.

It is also called ‘Geetopanishad’, song of Upanishad. What’s more, some even  call it ‘Mokshashastra,’ the scripture of liberation, since it contains exact knowledge of Atma, Parmatma, yoga, karma, reincarnation, duties of a seeker in times of personal crises and a lot more.

 During later times, a Bhakti sect saint, poet and social reformer named Gyaneshwar was born in Maharashtra in the 13^th century in India. As the language Sanskrit was inaccessible for the masses, he expanded and translated those 700 verses into 9999 verses in local language, Marathi in order to reach out to maximum people and thus gave them access to this ancient knowledge which is endowed in Bhagwad Gita. Until before this, Sanskrit was a Brahmin’s language. The sacred book is ‘Gyaneshwari’ and it has detailed knowledge about metaphysics, kundalini and astrology as well.

 With god’s grace, I was fortunate to have made a visit to the pilgrimage city Alandi, in Maharashtra in April 2006. It is the samadhi  place of saint Gyaneshwar who has authored the Marathi commentary on the Bhagwad Gita. However, I have read just some part of it which pertained to why and how should one be in control of one’s senses and mind in order to attain calmness and enduring peace. Controlling the restless mind and eager senses is the duty of the sadhak, it said. The verses are metrical and beautiful and has profound richness endowed in it.

Dear friends, now we will move on to the lesson of our day. But before that let me request you to kindly read the two parts of this post together to get a better understanding on the discussion that is going on since quite some time. This blog is a worldwide forum and as people from all over are getting interested slowly in the ancient knowledge of self realization, it is suggested that you read both these posts a few times more. And if possible also run through a few pages of Bhagwad Gita to get to the depth of Vedantic philosophy, and chapter 2 in particular.

And here I need to quote and go back to the last article-‘Why is peace so essential for a seeker?-I.

 “How should one read the holy book Bhagwad Gita?

First and foremost we must invoke the spirit of Lord Krishna and his chief disciple Arjuna, both.

Why?

Lord Krishna will impart the eternal knowledge of Self while the all pervading Spirit of Arjuna will teach us how to be an ideal disciple of the Spiritual Master and mentor. And how to balance one’s inner spiritual life with the outer physical and material world consisting of our family, relatives, society, profession and others areas; that is to say that the inner world and the outer world must meet and converge on a positive note. We need to learn to balance both for our happiness, emotional security and sustained peace of mind.”

 In the Bhagwad Gita, seeing the divine form of Lord Krishna, the consciousness of Arjuna expands by breaking the narrow limits of his old self. The temporary clouds of ignorance float away and he sees the infinite form of Cosmic Consciousness. He saw the light of thousand suns in Lord Krishna and they both merged as one in each other into that Cosmic Light.

 Once the consciousness of Arjuna incorporates with that of Lord Krishna and becomes one, they both have one thought or sankalpa and there is no demarcation and difference between the disciple and the Master, the individuality of Arjuna disappears.  After this, there is resonance in their intention and thought as they are in unison with the all pervading God and they both can impart spiritual knowledge to their respective disciples.

Arjuna is an epitome of an ideal disciple in Indian history who had complete control over his senses and mind. He was an ideal yogi, disciple, son, husband, father, archer, marksman and a compassionate and just human being. He was equally skilled in yogic practices as he was in worldly affairs. He struck a balance between both his worlds and delivered more than satisfactory results as the situation at that time demanded of him. Like him, we too need to have knowledge of Self and the world alike.

One can’t realize God until the environment that one lives in is calm and peaceful steadily. If there are tiffs and tensions in relationships or if there are financial problems at home, the mind cannot be in a peaceful state obviously. So invoke the spirit of Arjuna to bring about a change in attitude by not neglecting the assigned duties for personal growth and development, financial security, family’s progress, cordial relations with society and family. They all are important.

In the last post it was mentioned that peace is a prequalification to know God. It is true that we must shed egoism, frustration, earthly desires etc. so that the mind is in tranquil state and we do not create wrongful thought patterns in our consciousness. The frittered mind breaks the unity with God hence the mind’s attention and focus should be extended as much as one can. After practicing controlling the wavering mind like Arjuna, the seeker faces yet another major problem- that of offensive attacks from other people without one’s own fault or mistaken action and that too quite often!

There will always be enough people who will be malicious and wicked and will target you even though you will wish good for them always. You may be too preoccupied with your routine tasks and spiritual practices yet their snipes and verbal attacks may shrink your joyous temperament. What should one do in such a case?? How can we try to return to equilibrium?

First of all remember this -Do not lose your peace…. And

• Have minimum contact and talk as less as possible with such troubling people.
• Do not do anything that will provoke them and in return they might harm or play a mischief with you more than ever before.
• When you meditate, pray for them that their nature should be more kind, sweet and caring.
• Listen more and talk less with such nasty people.
• When they harm you, tell God about it during the time of your prayers. God will send help to you in some form and will also give you solutions and answers to your problems in that relationship.
• When you will meditate, their face will re -appear in front of you. Ignore it and bring back your mind to your point of concentration.

 How to seek and maintain peace while living here, in this world?

At this juncture I recall a very interesting incident between Arjuna and his wife Draupadi.

When in exile after Varnavata mishap, the mother of the Pandavas had taught them to share  everything that they got as alms equally amongst themselves. Upon returning home with Draupadi whom Arjun won in swayamvar, he addresses his mother by saying, “Look mother what we have got in alms today.” Unmindful of what Arjuna was referring to, she unassumingly asked the brothers to share whatever they got. And in order to obey the order of their mother all five Pandavas accepted Draupadi as their wives. Later Draupadi told Arjun, “You won me as your wife in the contest held at my father’s palace. Although now I am to be shared equally with all your brothers, my mind will always be with you, although physically I may be with other brothers.” Such should be one’s mind- always focused on God though physically we may live anywhere in this world.

Like Draupadi, who was in soul and heart of Arjun but outwardly she belonged to all other Pandavas, in the same way we should be of God although we may live in this world and we may have to live with all sorts of people and face many kinds of tough situations. The mind should be stabilized, steady and ever fixed on omnipresent God to retain peace and equanimity. How?

• Always remember to recall God and your gurus for help in times of distress and difficulties. Peace shall return. You will find solutions to your spiritual as well as worldly problems; seek their guidance and supervision to find your way out of darkness and difficulties. Meditate more often.
• While doing normal daily activities cut off for a while from the existing scenario and gather peaceful vibes by recalling some tranquil moments of your meditations or peaceful places that you have visited.
• Practice composure every day, even till the last day of your life as there is no substitute for peace in our life.
• Listen well and attentively to others. Give a gap between the words that stream in your ears and the words that fall out. Increase that gap. Although this might sound easy but the mind is forceful and often gets out of control. One needs long practice in controlling the flow of words and the choice of words also that one may use while speaking.
• Learn and practice the art of speaking.  Talk less; speak a small number of words which may meet your requirements.
• Save mental energy. Practice silence and peace; speak still fewer words and live in peace. It is essential!!!

 Narayan Narayan Hari Hari Prabhu Narayan Narayan Hari Hari

              Hari Om! Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Om!

In Alandi, in Apr 2006

 As one can see these days there are quite a few new readers from all over the globe who have made their presence felt on this weblog by giving their regular feedback recently and are showing keen interest in self awakening. One of you has even requested me that I attach more pictures to drive home a point. Sure, I will do that as long as I have an appropriate photo for that purpose.

 I thank all of you heartily before we begin to discuss the central point today. Your overwhelming positive response and expectations make me raise my bar of excellence in every arena- be it making regular entries of useful content, better explanation of spiritual phenomenon and its underlying spiritual principles along with bridging the gap by cementing a bond between us for mutual growth and spiritual excellence. 

 And this blog initiated by none other than His Holiness Shri Mahavatar Babaji  is also fulfilling the purpose of laying the foundation for future generations for road mapping. Therefore this post is once again an offering at his sacred feet and is a ‘prasad’ or blessing for all his disciples and devotees alike all over the world, wherever they may be. 

 May we all cherish divine love and friendship and may we all be a helping hand to each other on our voyage towards knowing God within ourselves. May the flame of illumination always glow in our sacred hearts and may we for all time offer blossoms at the holy feet of our Divine Lord and all the sacred gurus.

The aim to write this chain of eight posts is to in some way answer your budding questions and also furnish further details on topics with which many of you are already familiar with in this field.

This segment is now divided into two parts as you will see. Topics related to Consciousness and Super Consciousness are listed in section I while the last eight posts for the new as well as old readers are added in section II.  They are related to mixed topics usually pertaining to an upcoming and struggling aspirant and also for those who have their feet firm now on this path.

So let’s all now begin our next step on this lovely path full of fragrance of spiritual bouquet.

If you recall in my last post I had mentioned to you about my sublime experience of rendezvous with complete silence during meditation on one blessed day not long past . Since then, I tried a few times to relive those splendid moments when I could get in direct touch with the omni present. Even the flashes of those exclusive times left me recharged and have given me so many insights without which I cannot go on writing relentlessly. Once more, this post has emerged out of those potentially dynamic spiritual moments and we all shall now bathe  and baptasize ourselves in that glory and immortal beauty of God.

Just a night before the previous one, when I wrapped up my day accomplishing quite a bit, I was still hazy about the content of the upcoming post due today. But leaving that to God and being assured in myself that let the right time come, I will be given directive about the content of the subject, I was feeling at ease and serene. Thinking so, I put my head on the white pillow with placidity and began to say my prayer as an offering for the day’s blessings. My heart welled up with emotions when I closed my eyes and remembered the Lord residing within me as I did mental chanting of His holy name-

 Hey Prabho, Hey Eeshwar; Hey Prabho, Hey Eeshwar ; Hey Prabho, Hey Eeshwar ……. (synonyms of God)

No sooner did I repeat His name that I saw a drop of gleaming Light emerging from the higher space and then hitting me at the place between my eyebrows.

The Light was fairly square in shape and sparkling rays were emerging out of this drop of Light in outer direction as my eyes could see them distinctly. I promptly absorbed all the rays as I now understand every shred, every speck, every miniscule part of it is so forceful and is a gift from God and should be humbly accepted as a ‘prasad.’

I was sliding into absolute tranquility when God’s benevolent words began to trickle in like little drops of golden light over me…

“Why is peace so difficult for man to achieve?” In a continuous flow of words, quickly came in the answer too.

“Because he has never tried to find it, since man is ignorant about it.

And why is he ignorant?

Because he does not know that there exists something so benign, so propitious, so auspicious as peace. And that peace should be attained at all costs the way we know that material prosperity, success and fame should be sought after. We do not know peace because we have long forgotten it. We do not yet know where to look for that peace.

And how to attain that peace?

By purifying yourself of all the inner impurities, being grateful to God and others, being unselfish in all your goals and doing charitable and kind acts. Learn to meditate to calm the disturbed and troubled mind”

Regarding me He said, “You have all your life searched for love and peace and have gone for it undauntingly, so you are an appropriate person to tell others about it. Those who seek it, one day find it if they are centered and one pointed in their goal. Man has created a putrefied mind in today’s world and he is leading an inharmonious, immoral and senseless life. Ask them to alter their present life. Who can help you if you help yourself not! To get a few moment’s pleasures, they are ready to sacrifice their whole day, all energy and their age. Isn’t it ironical that even after dedicating all the years and all their physical and mental energies, one is not at peace with oneself? There is not a moment’s peace in them.

Why is it so?

Because these days  people don’t look within, their sight is reaching outwards. The more you seek inside, the more peaceful you shall become. Dive deep inside, stop the turbulence, stop the constant bickering of your mind.

Go further inside and your mind will come to a complete rest. Progressively, once the mind is quiet, you will find peace, absolute peace. The shadows of restless thoughts, the churning of worldly desires must end as peace awaits you. Go for it, run after everlasting peace of mind. Live for lasting peace and yearn for spreading peace wherever you go. You are the children of God. God is love, God is peace. You are love. You are peace. Live in peace now and forever.”

Like the rain drops falling on my windows these days, I admired those drops of golden words falling over me that night as I lay warm in my bed on a rainy night on 8^th July. Each drop of golden word was packed with life, unlimited energy and limitless joy and bliss. You too devour these words, introspect and get illumined with the shimmery drops of golden Light!!!!

Part-A

Many times for what reasons I don’t know; unexpectedly God’s kind grace is bestowed on me. Perhaps I may have done a kind act, or in moments of great reverence or devotion must have poured out loving feelings for the beloved God. Whatever it is, but God’s benevolence should be shared with others so that we, the seekers can apprehend what it is like when one perceives the ecstatic nature of God in some benevolent moments!

This article is a conclusion and an outcome of my meditation of 13^th June morning. On that day without trying hard or having any expectations, I once again dipped into profound ecstasy, then intense peace and eventually quietude. Out of that brief incumbency of silence emerged this enlightening exposition and piece of knowledge. But before I begin to tell you more, first let us recall this-

Mahavatar Babaji- “Once the Spirit unfolds in us and you know Atma, there are three levels of aspiration and heights to accomplish after that. In accordance, there are three types of gyan or wisdom – Teevra gyan, Prachand gyan and Prabhutva gyan.  When we translate that, it means wisdom that is intense, very intense and most intense respectively. In between these three stages there are other sub-stages of spiritual and God’s wisdom.”

From post Expand your consciousness-II

In connection and reference to the above, further knowledge was given to me on that auspicious day. Shri Mahavatar Babaji explained to me, “After enlightenment, there are three types of experiences that are experienced by the yogi- bliss peace and silence- Ananda, shanti and shunya respectively.

Ananda is in samadhi’s first stage.

Shanti is in second stage and

Shunya is the third.

And this is not all. Those who are always in tune with God’s will over a very, very long period of time may  even cross the third stage swiftly as Brahma is beyond even shunya while those aspirants who are distracted will stop at one of these steps.

For the yogi, attainment of joy and peace are essential to detach from worldly obligations and karmic burden. His karmas produce only  ananda and shanti– joy and peace. He gives enlightenment to all those who come in their lives. Most sadhaks are not aware that that there is something more beyond ananda and shanti and that is shunya– silence, silence of mind.

Karmas originating from periods of intense silence are like dynamite. However, unlike dynamite they are not fatal or explosive. On the contrary they are resilent, constructive and effective. They bring about a significant change in someone’s life if they are directed towards the welfare or spiritual improvement of some person who deserves those dynamic thoughts.

Part-B

Karmas are of two types-gross and subtle called sthool and sukshma karma respectively. The thoughts and actions visible to others that are done by the senses are gross while the ones that are done invisibly by us with our mind are the subtle ones. Usually what our eyes see or what our ears hear are considered karmas or actions by a lay man. But know that our thoughts are also our karmas because they yield results someday.

Managing, controlling and riveting the subtle thoughts on one point or at a centre is a subtle act or sukshma karma which ultimately increases our working power- the Kriya Shakti .

Like karmas, thoughts are also of two types- gross and subtle type.

Thoughts that are born and harbored in the mind, that are bubbling and swirling during day and night inside a man are in fact his subtle thoughts. One day they produce either negative or positive results. Subtle thoughts of compassion, love, kindness, charity, empathy are positive karmas. The intemperate, prodigal and uncontrolled thoughts that are emanating in the background are our subtle negative thoughts. These are more harmful and troubling as there is nobody who can see them and their results are detrimental and unfavourable for us in future. They will be unbearable to endure. Such injurious acts propel and throw us on harmful and destructive path and should be therefore discontinued right away.

The after effects or fruits of the actions called karmafal borne by the doer is also in accordance- either gross or subtle which show up in future course of time. The result of our actions manifest only when the time is conducive in nature.

The mind is by nature fidgety, frivolous and impish. It likes to rush and surge downwards instead of upwards. When this feature is expressed by our mind, we are not even aware that this silent act of the mind is in fact creating a new karma though silently and one day we will have to bear the ill consequences in accordance to the laws set by the Providence.

That is why Lord Krishna repeatedly reiterates to Arjun that by virtue of vairagya detachment and abhyas practice, control your restless mind. Quoting 3 verses from chapter 6 of Bhagwad Geeta once again:-

 Arjunauvach:

Yoyam  yogastvaya  proktah  samyen  madhusudan  I

Atsyaaham  na  pashyami chanchaltwastithim  sthirim  II 33

Arjuna said- Krishna, owing to restlessness of mind, I do not perceive the stability of this Yoga in the form of equanimity which you have just spoken of.

Chanchalam  hi  manah  Krishna  pramathi  balvaddridham I

Tasyaham  nigraham  manye  vayoriv  sudushkaram  II 34

For Krishna, the mind is very unsteady, turbulent, tenacious and powerful; I consider it as difficult to control as the wind.

 SriBhagwanuvach:

Asanshaya  mahabhaho  mano durnigraham  chalam  I

Abhyasen  tu  Kaunteya  vairagyen  ch  grihute II 35

Sri Bhagwan said- The mind is restless no doubt, and difficult to curb, Arjuna; but it can be brought under control by repeated practice of meditation for mind control and by the exercise of act of dispassion, O son of Kunti.

 So this same mind when brought into control with right methods and practice and turned inwards from the delusion or maya of this world called sansara, gives us immense joy, happiness and relaxation and along with this, we escape the wrath of negative actions or karmas. We begin to perform only those actions which are beneficial according to the cardinal rules of the Universe.

If we begin now to spend maximum time to bring our uncontrolled mind and senses in our control, the same mind shall be our friend and not our foe.

When our mind is immersed in God and functions under the guidance of the Divine we experience the bliss of heaven in our current life. All our past sins are extinguished and our life becomes sacred and beautiful. The mind is saturated with peace, love and goodness. The seeker should therefore save his energy as much as possible and controls his senses to have a pure and peaceful life and also to enrich himself in many ways.

Those who follow the good advice of their spiritual Master their future is bright and the forthcoming lives are created which are also wonderful, superior and righteous.

 The grosser the matter, the lesser the consciousness in it. The subtler the matter, the higher the consciousness.

The subtler the thought, the more the energy in it. The more energy we possess in this way, the more power we have to do actions.  Or the subtler our thoughts, the more power we have to do the actions and we increase our Kriya Shakti manifold in this way.

A note- The subject Kriya Shakti has three parts I, II & III. If you must have noticed in part I there was a picture of just a bunch of yellow Amaltas flower dangling on a branch. In part II, there are a few branches with some flowers while in part III, I have uploaded a picture of a  huge Amaltas blooming tree as you can see here. In the beginning of this article, I have mentioned that knowledge that is attained by a seeker after self realization can be intense, very intense or blazing . The three pictures represent the three stages respectively.

Revised on 17.04.21

 (From – The state of Super Consciousness-I)

How do the yogis achieve the highest levels of Consciousness?

Each man possesses a mental body of his own. It is the energy of the kind of thoughts that dwell and are nurtured in the mind. His intellectual property, his process of thinking and the kind of thoughts nurtured are all included in the mental body. Each thought that we send out, each thought that we receive and the cumulative power of it all makes a man what he is and it this thought power to which we are attracted in some people or repelled depending on the quality of thought.

Every thought has its own vibration and wave length. The nearer it is to Super Consciousness, the higher its power. The lower the thought, the denser the wave. The higher the consciousness of the person, the subtler the thought. Our thought waves float in the ether like sound waves. One’s mind is able to catch the wavelength of a similar thought, they resonate. We should be careful in mixing with people, spiritual aspirants should try to mingle with strong, healthy and positive minds.

There are three types of power that a man possesses in his consciousness.

Ichcha Shakti or the power of one’s desires.

Sankalpa Shakti or thought power and

Kriya Shakti or the power to do actions.

Dear friends, we have already discussed 3 posts each on Ichcha Shakti titled ‘The role of power of will in a seeker’s life’, and 3 posts on ‘Sankalpa Shakti’ titled ‘Thought Power’ and now we are embarking on one more post titled ‘Kriya Shakti- the power to act’.

These days the word ‘Kriya’ is generally used for the ancient type of breathing technique or pranayam in Kriya Yoga system that is intended to accelerate spiritual development.

‘Kriya’ also means to do or actions performed.  From the word ‘Kriya’ here, we are going to deal with typically those actions which are performed in order to attain God in this life.

‘Kriya’ performed as an act of respiration and pranayam is to purify the body and the breath i.e ‘prana’  in order to achieve divine illumination.

Acts performed as  ‘dhyana’ or meditation are for purifying and stilling the mind. It is the act in which the mind or thought is disconnected from the outer world and is fixed on the waves of God vibrations.

But all actions or kriyas performed with sincerity in worshipping God purify the soul! They are termed ‘devik kriyas.’  

Christianity preaches mankind to give love and service.

Buddhism teaches us to remain calm, be non-violent and to live life with kindness. It however, does not teach us how to deal with recurring life challenges or difficulties of a human life.

Hinduism or Vedantic knowledge which is condensed in the eternal holy scripture Bhagwat Geeta, teaches us to face difficult life situations and unexpected challenges thrown at various stages of life apart from revealing us what Brahma is or the eternal, undying Spirit and guiding Light present in all of us. It teaches us to rise to the occasion and remain calm even in the face of difficulties. And also whatever actions we do, we must do with all our sincerity and honesty.

Those men who perform their present karmas or life situations with sincerity, calmness and honesty get connected to their Higher Self and receive inspiration and guidance in terms of answers and solutions to their problems.

Therefore, the seeker must know and remember that we have been bestowed with the power with which we either choose to act or not to act. We have also been given the power to choose what kind of actions we wish to to perform.

(To be continued)

(picture of rangoli-courtesy google image)

Today is 6^th of May, the Akshaya Tritiya festival in India being celebrated all over India. It is one of the most auspicious days for Hindus and celebrated in various ways in different parts of the country and has many legends and stories woven around it. As per the Hindu traditions and culture, this festival is considered as the most significant day to perform sacred deeds, punya karyas. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the giver of bounty, prosperity, bliss, peace and liberation. Worshipping of Lord Vishnu on this day eradicates and removes one’s sins and makes free from all sorrows and one attains salvation, moksha.

During this whole morning there was intense calmness inside me and in spite of doing many tasks, I just could not disconnect my mind from the unbroken serenity lingering since I woke up. After all the daily cares were performed, I sat down to meditate again. The irrepressible calmness held on to me firmly. I plunged deep inside and became one with my Soul. The intense calling of my Soul quickly took me back again to one of my previous visions which I had on January the 21^st, when I first saw Lord Vishnu in a white temple.

(You may find the complete narration of this occurrence in my earlier post titled Expand your consciousness-I.)

For some unknown reasons quite naturally, on every Akshaya Tritiya day, I in one way or another remember Shri Mahavatar Babaji more than other days.  The ancient Badri Narayan temple in the Himalayas reopen today for all the devotees after winter. Before the fall of winter and heavy snow, the idol of Lord Vishnu in Badri Narayan temple is taken down to Joshimath and brought back today every year with much fanfare and colourful procession. As Mahavatar Babaji lives close to the temple in the caves, my mind always remembers him as if Lord Vishnu and revered Babaji are one and the same. Spontaneously, Vishnu Sahastranaam is churning in the back of my mind today as though the chants are being sung there and I hear the rhythmic chanting travelling from the mountains of Himalayas here. Perhaps some of you may find it queer, but that is what is happening.

I have decided to spend this auspicious day in compiling and finishing a new post as a mark of respect and devotion to Mahavatar Babaji and I dedicate this post on ‘The role of power of will in a seeker’s life-II’ at his sacred Lotus feet.  I call upon Him to bless and help all seekers today so that they cultivate and increase their will and their minds get unclamped from the grip of worldly attachments. In addition to this, they may instill a desire in themselves to liberate their bonded souls from the gripping attachments of their smaller self.

His holiness Mahavatar Babaji who has unlimited compassion and mercy on all humans and every creature alike, responded to my prayers in no time during my meditation. Telepathically, he transmitted this liberating education or Moksha Vidya on this fortunate day. He thus began with a question and gave answers in the form of cryptic solutions to the crippling ignorance of humanity-

“How did Arjun get spiritual knowledge?”

“Because of detachment, vairagya.”

“When there is detachment or vairagya in life, there is a desire or will to know God. However, before those situations arise it is you who has to develop this will after which I shall help you. Kindle a yearning and will within you for liberating yourself. Detach, concede so that your future is laden with bliss, happiness and absolute peace.”

The power of will is a gift to us from God with which we accomplish all our undertakings and tasks. First comes the will to do something; God comes to our rescue later, he sends us help to accomplish all that we wish to attain. Prior to all this, it is you who should have the initiative in your heart to do something grand, something new, something huge.

Similarly, only if and when the human being is ready to get rid of his dimness and unawareness only after such a will is awakened in him, only after he possesses a will to liberate himself that such an aim is accomplished at an appropriate time.”

Acquainting about himself, Shri Mahavatar Babaji disclosed,

“Before my present incarnation, I had a burning desire to help mankind, to salvage them from ignorance and do good to all in the world. So when I was born this time I was born with the same power. Therefore, the spot at which I was born still radiates powerful rays of my power of will. There is a yantra or geometrical figure at this spot which till this date radiates powerful rays of my power of will. You must benefit from it by focusing your mind on this spot in your meditations and the power of will shall be ignited in you and you will be gratified.”

And about me he revealed, “You were born with a burning desire to free yourself from the bondage of the fruit of your actions. Therefore when the right time arrived, I quickly sent you to Yogananda(YSS),  Nityananda and Shaligram (Ganeshpuri) and to The Mother (Pondicherry) for your spiritual education. They all are your gurus, Masters and I am your Param Guru, Highest Master. The will to cover up and complete your karmic obligations was so intense that you fulfilled it in the minimum time possible.

The time taken by any seeker or learner to accomplish and complete his spiritual duties and obligations is entirely dependent on the extent of will power possessed by him or the will generated, exerted by him.

It takes as much time as he decides to free himself. God is very merciful; God will not initiate or stop the help and cooperation that he sends through nature unless you want it. Therefore reduce that time and meditate on God and pray to Him right now.”

My prayer to You oh Lord!

Oh my Lord!  Please accept my prayers lovingly. Clear the darkness and gloom of my infinite incarnations, bring my darkness to an end. Free me from the binding forces of my actions. Please reveal thyself, give me your glimpse because of whose power my darkness will fly away. Show me Light, my Lord! Show me your divine nature not by miracles but by your spiritual light. Light the flame of your Light, Jyot inside me. Lead me from darkness to Light by holding my hand, my Lord, I am your ignorant child!

May love, peace and brotherhood be my attributes and may I always serve all your children untiringly. Expand my heart so much that I include all your sons. Appear before me, my Lord, show me your attributes, reveal thyself, my Lord, reveal thyself, please!

Oh God! From this day on my attention and mind will be always fixed on you. May I always bow at your pious  feet.

May your children live long at all times, may there be life on earth eternally, may there be greenery always everywhere and may your children spread the message of universal love, immortality and peace in all corners of the world. God, I shall also be a part of this sacred work and I wish for the well being, auspiciousness and goodness for all your children. I shall be your obedient child and serve you always. This is my wish, my will, please accept my wish on this auspicious day my Lord!!”

 Asatoma sadgamaya

Tamsoma jyotirgamaya

Mrityorma amritamgamaya

Om shanti, shanti, shanti, Om!

Oh Lord! Lead us from ignorance to Truth

From darkness to Light and

From death to immortality

Om Shanti, shanti, shanti Om!!

This is a Shanti Mantra, a hym of peace from ancient Rig Veda.

Foot note- For beginners: In Bhagwat Geeta, the holy scripture of Hindus, Lord Krishna imparts the knowledge of Self and immortality in the battle field to Arjun, one of the Pandava brothers. In a state of complete remorse and detachment, Arjun wishes to renounce everything for the sake of peace and brotherhood. So it is implied that even before such a drastic stage appears in our life, we must kindle a will to liberate ourselves from the bondage of karmic compulsions so that we know God.

You may avail a rendition of Asato Ma Sadgamaya, the Shanti Mantra.