“The question is how to be in this world….as we have come to achieve some divine plan made for us and yet not lose our roots and connections with the divine. That healthy balance of involvement in this material world and still have that toehold or more in the spiritual aspect

As I mentioned in the earlier para……..life is all about equilibrium and balance. So the million dollar question is how does one do this….is there a technique, is there a secret, is there a method, how how how? How does one tap into that Atman without losing sight of your goals of this birth.”

After reading the post Delusion, a new reader asked me the above question. Please note that all these posts are closely linked with each other as we step forward be it Who are we? or Mirage. They prod us to ask one concluding question-

How can I know my true Self?

Instead of answering him through email directly, I thought it wise to write a post on the same subject since this kind of question may or must be arising in other seekers’ minds also. Many of us after reading self searching spiritual texts want to know how can our Atman or Self be known. That should in true sense be the aim of an ideal seeker on his voyage of seeking; furthermore it happens to be the exact essence of pursuing spirituality also. If you have read the question carefully, there are two questions as I can see, that have been asked here and there are two parts that need to be answered.

First is- How to be in this material world and not lose connection with the Divine and second –

How does one know Atman while fulfilling the Divine plan?

Both the questions are interrelated and interdependent. The answer to how to live in this world is incorporated in the following text. I am going to lay open in detail about the pre-qualifications, stages & process of knowing Atman, the three factors that play major role in knowing what is Atman and what should be our attitude and perspective towards our current life or divine plan. And finally, the  stages of ecstasy or divine bliss after knowing Atman called Samadhi.

Before we embark on our spiritual voyage of discovery, I wish to share something with you. Although I knew quite a bit of what I am about to tell you theoretically, the fact is that the knowledge was scattered and lying unused somewhere. By writing this article I have organized and consolidated my knowledge, thanks to someone’s curiosity and quest.  This post is very, very special and a sort of a benchmark for me.

Through this post I have been enlightened so much about the nuances, the fine details and elaboration of the undisclosed sacred knowledge that I am going through raptures of ecstasy. It has been such a joy. I knew samadhi was a state of joy and it was divine bliss and not a normal kind of happiness. When I  discovered during meditation recently about what exactly was Saurabh samadhi and the difference between the three states of samadhi, I was ecstatic for the whole day! Such is the power of the divine that He can give us unparalleled happiness that does not belong to this world.

It was a challenge for me to coordinate and organize the incessant flow of enlightenment into words and paragraphs. In my sincere and humble attempt to interpret the sacred knowledge, I type each divine word and inspiration that has been bestowed upon me with gratitude. I am eternally grateful to Shri Mahavatar Babaji, Swami Nityananda, Swami Dayananda Shaligram of Ganeshpuri.

      Shri Mahavatar Babaji

Swami Nityananda &

 

    Swami Dayananda Shaligram of Ganeshpuri

I first of all bow down to them in all my humility and reverence. Swami Nityananda and Swami Shaligram’s unlimited compassionate grace, personal touch in grooming me and continuous attention has made me richer and fuller as never before. My many, many pranams to my Gurus whose incessant protection, love, inspiration, light and knowledge has flown in me through their words, visions and gentle perceptions continuously in years.

The aim of an ideal sadhak is to distinguish between truth and falsehood, between satya and  asatya or mithya. The husk which covers the rice grain has to be separated and removed to get the white rice which lies inside. Similarly Atman is an illuminating power inherent in all human beings. It gets covered and hidden by thick layers of dark forces of ignorance. The dark forces are the contrary forces of Atman. They are contrary and opposite to each other in every sense in quality and attributes. Since both the polar forces appear akin and are indistinguishable and are unknown to the ignorant man, one will need a special vision and special knowledge to perceive that- which has no form or shape and is beyond normal comprehension. That extra special vision is called Divine vision or third eye. Divine perception, vision is given by the Masters to deserving students to perceive and realize that illuminating power which scriptures call Atman or Self.

I elaborate on the discussion. Please note that there are three prerequisites and qualifications for the candidate if he wants to know Atman. They are :-

• Devayoga
• Daarun prayatna and
• Sadguru kripa

Devayoga or prarabdh, it is our fate or destiny.  One must have it pre-decided in his fate and instilled in his destiny to know the Self. By this is meant that the yogi or sadhak must already have earned so many virtuous karmas as bank balance in the past lives to enable him to qualify for this exclusive attainment. Without this accomplishment, the sadhak cannot attain the sacred knowledge of Self as negative karmas act as a hindrance and deterrents in illumination.

Daarun Prayatna or extra special efforts. By daarun is meant ‘extra great’ and prayatna means ‘effort  and hardwork’. The seeker must have a very, very strong desire and will to free himself. He should be one-pointed and highly determined in achieving his goals and must not give up even if it takes many lives to even come close to knowing Atman. Those who try and give up easily can never succeed in their endeavours as it is time consuming and it requires tremendous unfailing patience. For purification, the yogi does yagya, tapa, yoga and daan, charity in so many lives, in so many ways. Out of all these yagyas, gyan yagya is supreme. Salvation is achieved exclusively when we find Atmagyani guru who gives us knowledge of subtle Atman. We are finally purified thoroughly in the holy waters of his illuminating words and divine touch. The yogi gets success ultimately when he finds Atma gyani or self realized and mukt guru.

Bhagwat Geeta speaks of two things– para, which can be seen and apara which cannot be seen. It is with the facilitator Atma Gyani guru that we can distinguish between these two realities and we can contemplate on the unseen, unheard yet ever present, omnipresent Atman. It is the divine guru who with his godly powers can wipe out the desires and dry up and completely erase the seeds of future desires- materialistic and worldly in nature. Erasing the seeds of dross and materialistic desires is like drying up the waters of the sea. The Atma gyani guru is adept and an expert at freeing bonded souls and can give us transcendental experience to easily relinquish all desires.

Sadguru kripa  Grace of Sadguru.  When human suffers in so many ways because of the impact of his own karmas, he cries. He cries to God with writhing pain to liberate him from his affliction, misfortune and distress. He begs God to free his unbearable agony and hopelessness. As God is very compassionate by nature man is eventually forgiven. God asks us to mend our ways and in return we promise to never repeat our mistakes. God cannot bear to see his children in such deplorable and sorrowful condition and has mercy on us for our disobedience, negligence of duties and careless wanderings that we committed from time to time, life after life.

Besides this, those who have a clean and pure heart, who do bhakti towards God and Gurus, compel God to have mercy on them. If we have a serious desire to liberate ourselves, then it is God who decides which spiritual path should we walk on and who should be our Guru. God’s Grace then flows through the pre-decided Atmagyani guru. After which the chosen Master, who is an embodiment of God qualities dispels all our darkness and shows us light on our spiritual path without wasting any time. Hence, one can never know Atman without the help and support of a realized spiritual teacher who plays a very significant  role in transforming, moulding and divinizing our human nature. Those who are walking on the spiritual path should have complete faith, reverence and obedience towards the God ordained Guru.

To realize one’s Atman, the practitioner must overcome and beat these three combined forces which act and manifest as a design or picture of our life. They are

• fate or prarabdh,
• accumulated immature sunken seeds of future karmas called sanchit karmas  and
• present karmas or kriyaman karmas.

Prarabdh or present Fate – The karmas done in previous lives prove definite results and show a pattern in coming lives. The Guru takes on many of our harmful karmas on himself and starts the whole process of quickly getting over with our destiny. He prepares the student in combating and overcoming three combined forces that are at play in his life, without which the sadhak can never escalate and embark towards higher realms of wisdom and knowledge.

Prarabdh or fate is a portion of all the accumulated karmas which we are living in present life.

Regarding the question that was put up in the beginning as to how to have a healthy balance of our life, so let destiny play its part and let it go on as each day new leaves of our fate open up. The yogi remains calm and unaffected by it and does not go to any extremes where sorrow and happiness in concerned. Have a non passionate and detached outlook towards your circumstances, learn a lesson from them and stay unaffected. The prarabdh karmas will come and go from time to time. We must remain calm without inciting any negative or disturbing emotions while they manifest. We can besides look at our destiny as our duties towards our family and other people. Perhaps that’s why Lord Krishna said, “Do your duties and overlook the fruits of actions by being dispassionate towards the outcome, good or bad whatever they be. Till the moment that a human being’s present life cycle gets over, the fate or prarabdh persists in its effect.  So keeping the right attitude is necessary.

How do we achieve this?

Calming of mind and freeing it from all the turbulence and agitation. This sansara will go on and it will not function to our liking or according to our principles and moral standards. The impact of the outside sansara is only when we mobilize and activate our mind. If we know that the nature of the outside world is fragile, frenzied and disorderly, attempts should be made by the seeker to remain calm and keep the mind in a tranquil state and still the mind by not getting disturbed by the continuous changes that occur like waves in an ocean. And he must be aware not to get entangled in the sansara. People hardly change their basic nature, so why wait or expect positive changes in them? People have a tendency to repeat their behavioural pattern not year after year but life after life. So the gyani does not become sorrowful looking at the state of affairs and stays in equanimity in all duality. Instead he diverts all the energies inwards and remains pure and tranquil in mind and action. His aim is to search and know God.

He pursues God while performing all his duties and obligations with poise, equanimity and serenity.

Sanchit Karmas or effects of accumulated undeveloped and non-manifested karmas. These were to be manifested in future lives. So we finish them now especially the negative ones. The Guru helps us to bear these karmas by undergoing and making us live in particular situations and conditions so that our soul purifies by clearing the dusty layers of ignorance and past misgivings. Though the disciple may whine and complain, the degree of obedience is very important in this situation. The disciple must have complete faith in his mentor and teacher. If the Guru does not burn the seeds of immature karmas, the negative effects are bound to affect in forthcoming lives. The best way is to squash them now at the behest and mercy of the omnipresent Guru.

Kriyamaan karmas or going on present karmas. The seeker has to remain vigilant keeping in mind the promise made to God and Guru by him not to err anymore and only do meritorious and charitable new karmas. When virtuous new karmas are continuously added to the pool of the existing karmas, a new strength and power is acquired by the practitioner which in turn propels him to quickly achieve his goal.

A heart which is sacred and pure is the only place that can be called Devasthana or temple.

Furthermore-

Once Atman is known and the kingdom of God entered, it is an end to all human sorrows and affliction. Unimaginable profound peace and bliss which is inherent in Atman is achieved. Prolonged periods of ecstasy is prevalent in those who arrive at this stage. This stage is called Samadhi in the science of yoga.

There are four stages of divine bliss called samadhi-

• Jeevanmukt Samadhi
• Nirvikalpa Samadhi
  
• Saurabh Samadhi
• ‘Shunya samadhi’.*

Jeevan mukt Samadhi After living in ignorance and darkness in many lives depending on each soul’s different life journey, the jeevatma begins to make some efforts to find God. After efforts of self transformation in many lives, when in one specific life the soul is at last released from the compelling forces of cause and effects of his own karmas. They were created out of ignorance. Now he becomes conscious of his divine nature. In that particular life, the soul is free from all the mental agitation, anger, sorrows, worries and tribulations and experiences unique tranquility and peace. After dawn of self-realization, the being experiences divine bliss of short duration. That duration prolongs when the practice of living in the Atman state or Chetna continues with continuation of Yoga sadhana. Such a person is called jeevan mukta and his stage of development is known as jeevan mukta Samadhi. It is also called nirvana, turiya avastha or kevalya dham.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi is a thoughtless, breathless state where the heart, lungs and other internal organs cease to function for some time in times of meditation. The yogi now has full control over his body called prakriti. To remain in a thoughtless state, he disconnects the breath or prana from mind without effort or attempt from his side. It just happens without one’s own effort. Consequently, the mind stops completely from its nature of stirring and gives immense peace. It is a short state of shunya or nothing. This state or Yogastithi is a very distinguished state and achieved by few. Hence we call it nirvikalpa samadhi, a state without any thoughts temporarily because ignorance is burnt fully.

What happens to such special yogis? Such a soul who is freed in one particular life is reborn and reincarnates as a very remarkable soul in next life. Since childhood he show signs of extraordinary skills, talents, intellect and possess unusual wisdom. Most of the brilliant Masters and great souls fall in this category. They fall in deep spells of bliss and ecstasy at a very young age and childhood because of  spiritual attainment earned in lives gone by. Some well known achievers of great spiritual feats that I known of- Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Paramhansa Yogananda, Baba Gorakhnath, Raman Maharishi, Anandomayi Ma in Bengal, The Mother of Pondicherry, Swami Nityananda of Ganeshpuri and many more illustrious souls. In such souls, the Chetna or Divine Consciousness is very acute and remembrance of past life memories is reflected in their current lives. Highly illumined souls have a very sharp memory, their imagination is very vivid and perceptions crystal clear. They stand out from the general masses in being extraordinary in every sense and hence also misunderstood and mistreated by society.

These souls are able to liberate a mass of people as they have immense spiritual knowledge and powers or siddhis accessible to them. They have great missions to accomplish on the Earth if and whenever they come. It is our great luck if we ever get a chance of knowing them as we shall be cleared of our sins and misgivings and be liberated forever from the ceaseless chains of birth and death.

Saurabh Samadhi Higher and a deathless state where the body while the person is still alive becomes immortalized by not decaying, not aging and becomes irreversible at a very tender age. A rare state of spiritual attainment is achieved with very intense tapasya of mind and body over a very, very long period in many recurrent lives. Some known examples are Shri Mahavatar Babaji and Rishis Boganathar, Swami Kartikeyan, Maharishi Agastya and a few other maharishis in the past.

 (Some related helpful posts for your reference

The process of liberation

 How to surmount obstacles-II Last portion -Lessons learnt from life experiences

Ignite the flame of illumination -I  to know about siddhas and

 Kundalini Shakti -II & III for smriti)

 

Key terms

# Devayoga,

# Daarun prayatna

# Sadguru kripa

# fate, prarabdh,

# Sanchit karma,

# Kriyamaan karma

# Jeevan mukt Samadhi

# Nirvikalpa Samadhi

# Saurabh Samadhi

# Shunya Samadhi*

 

Updated on 15.08.2020

—————————————–

There is one more type of samadhi called ‘Shunya samadhi’.*

This is the first time ever that God has disclosed about one more type of state of consciousness or a state of God unity called samadhi after giving me the experience of it and asking me to write about it here.

There is no mention of it in any spiritual book or scripture as the Rishis who experienced it did not write about themselves. This is the ultimate state of God union in which the yogi fuses his or her mind directly with God in an instant and is united at the centre of God called Hiranyagarbha and becomes a direct recipient of God’s grace, wisdom and commandment. They are in God space in no time if God invited them to be in it. Colossal is the impact on the yogi of this experience of God and auspiciousness the outcome.

They achieve this Grace since they deposit a phenomenal number of positive energy by doing positive karmas earned due to working in most unselfish manner for the good and welfare of other people untiringly. God wishes to bless them directly in this benign gesture….

Some Rishis in this league are– Vishwamitra, Markandey, Swami Shivananda and Loma.

After Mukti, there are three stages of the yogi which is achieved by doing penance in continued incarnations. They are- anand, shanti, shunya. There are degrees of bliss or anand, peace or shanti and void or shunya as the yogi evolves over a long phase of time and incarnations with God’s grace and own strict and hard penance.

Shunya samadhi falls in the last category. It is achieved after experiencing the highest states of anand and shanti. It is also called maha akash avastha, Cosmic Consciousness state.

Shunya is also the another name of Hiranyagarbha or center, womb of God. It is a state in which God or Brahma is nirakar, nishabd, without form and words and beyond time and space. All the words, wisdom and foretelling of Brahma at this point of time to the Brahma yogi certainly turns out to be true, no matter how many obstacles or uncertainties one faces before the divine intention manifests after a gap of time.

 

 

On one of these Sunday nights, I viewed my photo album of the Kailash Manas yatra once again. The photos are my treasure and a source of delight. I was pleased to meet up with many of the pilgrims to reminisce about the past through the photo gallery. In retrospect, I also recalled how a specific group always indulged in frivolous activities overlooking the sanctity of the purpose of the spiritual trip that was being undertaken. It looked as though they had come to a fun resort instead. It is important for the traveler to know beforehand how one should go on a pilgrimage for reaping maximum benefits so that we make a swift progress spiritually. However, let’s get back to what I was saying- no matter how many times I see the photos, I still keep discovering some which are absolutely mind boggling and they always compel me to look at them again and again with awe and admiration.

 

The subsequent morning I had a dream in which there was a beautiful turquoise lake and that was Lake Mansarovar. From its bank, I begin to walk and I reach the deep waters. I wet my feet in it and I rejoice. So I go little further inside and immerse my legs up till only the knees. I enjoy myself very much but I decide to go back to the bank after standing in the water for a short while. From the bank, what I see is that there are some people who start going in the lake and wet their feet, then they wet their upper bodies and eventually the entire body. After this, they are completely under the water and cannot be seen by me at all. Next.…

After leaving the lake, I begin to walk on a pathway with a companion. There are many houses and I look at them with curiosity. After a short distance, I stop. There is a nice house on my left side and I look at it and I begin to wonder something. Somehow I decide not to stop here and I move on. I walk some steps more after which I see a very beautiful home with an orchard of mango trees. I look at it with fascination, stop for a while at this juncture and look at the road which connects to this house. I wonder for a while whether I should take that road and enter that house or not.  I am unable to discriminate so I move further. As I go ahead and take my first step, I meet a sadhu, an ascetic. I stop and look at him. He was wearing ochre dhoti or waist cloth and has a danda or staff in his right hand. With some gestures he advises me to go back to the house which has an orchard. He then lifts his right hand and with one finger points out and tells me to go there. After that he pronounced, “Stop, take the right turn, take the right road.” So I turn back, walk a few steps, take the right turn and enter the house with many mango trees. The foliage of the trees was dark green and the canopy was thick. I felt good in the house after arriving since it was peaceful and quiet over there. I get a lot of relief and respite and I feel I have found my place of rest.

When I woke up in the morning, I began to untangle the puzzle of my dream.  I tried to interpret the message from the Masters and was in this process for some time. I felt an unusual peace surrounding me while I went about doing the preparations for the day ahead. I had an irresistible and overwhelming urge to go to my sacred space and meditate. With a sense of helplessness and resignation, I left everything as they were and the prevailing power was successful in pulling me to my bed.

I was very relaxed and readily closed my eyes with peace. At this moment, I saw a thick beam of radiant white Light in the place of my third eye. My mind was quiet and I became absolutely still. The beam became thicker and wider. It was with certitude I realized that it was Divine Light entering inside and I welcomed it with all my heart and soul. The beam was retained there for a while. I rejoiced while I welcomed it. From the place of the third eye, the rays of Light entered my spine and moved round and round the vortexes till it charged all the energy centres very swiftly. Along with its current was robbed all the physical weariness of the daily grind and I could see the burnt dark energy particles dissolving and disintegrating out of me. In no time, I felt lighter and renewed.

Unprecedented, profound peace began to circumambulate around me and I took a holy bath in it!! I immediately prostrated with veneration in my heart to this divine Light and uttered this holy word with devotion, “ Ishawara”. I was truly ecstatic at this stage. Moreover this experience left me very humbled to the core because God was so very kind to me that day for revealing thyself to me. My inner being was completely soaked in gratitude and thanksgiving towards the Almighty for this pious moment.

After this, a soft murmur originated within me ,“ You did not understand the dream. Let me explain it to you.” The words in the message was loud and clear so I became very attentive and serious at this point ready for the message to come to me.

The dream was quickly replayed in parts in front of my eyes and this word was spoken, “Mirage”. After this I saw an image of two things- a pen and my black spiral register.

I comprehended that the following explanation has something to do with mirage or illusion and I must write the next post on mirage.

The Voice continued,

“This place called the sansara is a mirage, mrig trishna. We come in this world and get attracted to its glitter and charm and fall prey to its trap because of illusion or trishna and in  return we get birth after birth and death after death. We must live in this world but involve ourselves only in limited ways and measures. If we indulge ourselves completely, we will drown in it.

During our short tenure here, there are many turning points in our life where because of lack of spiritual and divine knowledge, we take a wrong decision and a wrong turn. The wrong turn stops and fails us from reaching our abode, the Abode of our Divine Father, the Lord.

If we are fortunate, then the Voice of the Divine in our Spiritual Master directs and helps us to take the right turn and the right path to our inner abode where God resides.”

Since then these sacred words are reverberating inside as I look around and see how true it is. I am contemplating on these words of wisdom of the Divine. Most of us are so involved in this world that we are totally drowned in it and we never ever realize that we are attracted to temporary and ephemeral elements of this Universe. If we wake up today from delusion and not get attracted blindly to the impermanent, ever changing world; we shall liberate ourselves from so much suffering and sorrow, both in this world and thereafter.

The Kailash Mansarovar yatra commences from Kathmandu, Nepal. Irrespective of  where we came from, we all assemble at Kathmandu. We stayed in a palace converted into a hotel named Shanker hotel and the stay was very comfortable. Ours was a large group and all of us looked forward to what lay ahead of us.

Behind the buzz and excitement when I looked at the people a few questions raced my mind and I wondered to myself if they really knew why they were here. Were they really prepared physically and mentally to cover the distance, brave the unpredictable climate and the other hardships that one is expected to on a pilgrimage like this? Many of them looked out of focus to me to be honest. I introspected the situation for some time and then I consoled myself by deciding to  let them all be and to let them get a grip of the situation on their own. I focused attention on myself and put my mind completely on attaining what I had come there for.

Now let’s move away from this thought for a while so that I may be able to explain the main point of the post and elaborate on a  few thoughts more explicitly.

 

On a  recent trip to Delhi for personal reasons, I chose to stay in Sri Aurobindo Ashram. I usually like to stay there not for the convenience it offers but primarily for spiritual gains one makes there. The meditation hall which had become old and weak had been reconstructed with a very strong building keeping the French style of architecture in mind. Irrespective of the condition of the building, the soul of the place has always been the same- very dynamic and powerful. I take advantage of this and it is no secret that it enhances my spiritual efforts to a great extent. It always adds something. I wish to share with you some pictures of the place so that if you are in Delhi, you may spend a few quiet moments of silence in the Ashram.

The hectic stay in Delhi gave me very little time to think or write anything.  And most of the time I encountered people who I thought were so deluded that it made my life impossible. The only refuge was my inner sanctuary. I was holding a conversation with Shri Mahavatar Babaji mutely in my mind to stay calm and live in truth and reality. I prayed to him many times during the day and night. One of the prayers made was that I should be able to commune with him all the time irrespective of the disorder and absurdity that I saw around me.

On the return journey home, I reached the airport many hours early so that I could do my prayers, meditation and contemplation in order to wipe out the disorderly and inharmonious movements of the people’s thought -vibrations that had been surrounding me for days. A startling episode took place the time I settled down in a chair with my luggage as I contentedly closed my eyes. As though Babaji was waiting for this opportune moment; he showered me with a cascade of thirst-quenching knowledge of self- realization. We had a very long communiqué between us over a period of a few hours . It comprised of everything that was going on in my mind and much more. All I could say to him was this- “You are the answer to all my prayers.”

A great deal of that exchange is written here for all to read and discern from the ocean of spiritual knowledge of salvation. It is for us to consider this, mull over the profound knowledge and then apply it in our lives. At this hour, as I finish my last words to complete this enlightening post, I pray to God to give us light and keen understanding and to eradicate our deep seated ignorance of many, many lives.

Cryptic questions and answers that took place between Shri Mahavatar Babaji and me mentally at the airport while I waited to catch the air-flight.

 

Q- “Who gets enlightenment?”

A- “Those whose heart is pure.”

Q- “When and how can one clean and purify the heart?”

A- “When the intellect is pure. The intellect should be purified of ego, ignorance, jealousy, fear and all other insecurities.”

Q- “What is delusion?”

A- “Doubt, skepticism and confusion. When they cover the mind, the soul is in delusion.”

Q- “How do we eradicate delusion?”

A- “By cleaning the heart.”

Q- “How can the heart ,manas, (mind) and buddhi (intellect) be purified?”

A- “By awareness, meditation, selfless activities, kindness and charitable actions.”

Q- “Why must we eradicate delusion?”

A- “Because it gives us chains and recycles of birth and death.”

Q- “What happens in delusion?”

A- “When we are in delusion, a sort of mirage is created in the mind which in reality is a reflection of the true self- that is yatharth or reality. There is distortion of the vision. When we are covered with distorted perceptions, our actions are distorted. Our judgment goes wrong, we create wrong actions. The consequences of our actions are ours and hence we suffer adversely.”

Q- “How does one know that he or she is in delusion?”

A- “There will be bouts of confusion, temptations, frustration for having lack of control over things and most of all, one is uncertain.”

Q- “What are the correctional methods?”

A- “Introspection, reflection, contemplation, study of scriptures, listening to the ancient wisdom of the sages and realized entities. And most important of all- correcting your present actions to redesign the future life.”

Q- “How does one know that he or she is getting the wisdom from the right person?”

A- “If what you read or hear can be identified with and you are convinced, if your mind accepts the mentor or guru’s wisdom and advice and counsel. If your mind does not oppose or contradict his or her knowledge and if you are applying the spiritual philosophy with positive results, then you have found your mentor or spiritual adviser.”

 Q- “If there is a contradiction in mind, what does it apply?”

A- “It applies that it is the ego which is acting as a wall between the teacher and the learner.”

To sum up, delusion is created when the dark clouds of the dark world cover the mind in the form of self-doubt, confusion and skepticism. To annihilate delusion, regular practice is required in the form of meditation. In meditation is involved- concentration, contemplation, reflection and thinking upon the idea and concept of God.

At an advanced stage, the yogi is able to receive solutions to all his problems, advice, plans for future and also thoughts about the nature of God effortlessly. The yogi at this stage does not require any special technique or method to bring his mind to a central point. His mind is completely absorbed and immersed in the Universal Spirit which is the guiding Voice and Light.

Delusion can never again cover the mind of an accomplished yogi because the darkness has been completely eradicated once and for all by divine wisdom. His nature is spiritual and not worldly at this stage. After this stage, the yogi has only one thing to practice- remembering God in every moment of wakeful state, with or without meditation. He reaches a stage where there is no effort as the layers of darkness and ignorance are wiped out completely. God in the form of knowledge, wisdom, love, peace and pure bliss manifests all the time.

Our nature is spiritual and divine. Our motto and aim in life is to discover this nature, achieve a higher state of divine consciousness and rid ourselves of all the consequences of ignorance and delusion. There are mental and physical suffering and pain in acts done with delusion. As we sow today, so we reap tomorrow. If we make an attempt today to uncover the spiritual nature and beget divine wisdom, we shall experience permanent peace and joy, a worry- free state where we have God’s fountain of lasting peace and silence.

Om shanti, shanti, shanti Om.

 A pilgrimage  to sacred Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar in the  impressive Himalayas was a journey of a life time. It was a wonderful journey and will always be treasured and remembered with fondness and sweet memories.  From today, we begin our holy journey once again. As I move along with you  recounting my trip, I will share some of my experiences and realizations along with a few visual memories through photographs. In case there is no appropriate photo for the topic that is being dealt with, I will attach just a photo or two of the beautiful panaroma of the landscapes of Tibet, China or Nepal for that matter. Tibet has one of the most scenic views of mountains and sky that one can encounter. When I saw these eye catchy vistas, I very seriously regretted not being a painter!! It was all a play of rain clouds, white fluffy clouds, clear blue sky and mountains of myriad shapes and colours. The landscape out there is an inspiration for poets, painters and philosophers alike.

Instead of a photo gallery, I have decided to attach  one  photo in the beginning and one in the end  in every post. If I am too tempted, then there can be three pictures also as it has become very difficult to select and choose. Every frame has something to offer, each one speaks a story of its own.

I warmly invite everyone to participate in viewing the photo album with me.  Those of you who cannot go there due to acclimatization problems on those high altitudes, kindly see the photos and worship God in abstract a well as visual form!! The photos will also provide a vivid description of the scenic beauty of the Mother earth not explored yet.

And those of you who are interested in making this pilgrimage a reality in near future, I would like to suggest you Anil’s blog . It is a  travelogue which is a must read for you. The blog is a very well written, informative and encouraging one. I had taken this blog’s help as my preparation tool. Anil Mavinkurve’s encouraging words were a great help to me when I required some FAQ’s answers.  

Let’s begin –My dear friends, we all take a trip and travel once in a while with our friends and family members. We travel for education, adventure or just for the sake of  fun.

 To accelerate their development,  the seekers perform deeds  like worshipping, charity, fasting, chanting, reading, meditating, maintaining silence, contemplation and so on.  These  activities help the seekers to take leaps on their passageway. There should be one more reason to travel and that is necessary for the earnest spiritual seekers. They must travel some times to develop themselves further in Spirit and to further expand their minds to have a wider horizon. Going on a pilgrimage is a combination of all these kriyas or karmas. Pilgrimage provides us  a chance to do all these activities. It is a great opportunity to get away from mundane activities of daily life and focus  entirely on one’s inner self during the time of the pilgrimage.

We live in a noisy, chaotic &  agitated world where we lose so much energy. The holy places are dynamically charged with divine vibrations. So we must travel to holy places where we can also recharge and rejuvenate our mind, body and soul.The pilgrim gets an impetus by travelling far and wide by visiting places which are spiritually charged.

Endurance is a great quality of a sadhak. To increase endurance of  both physical and mental capacities, one must leave their homes and go on pilgrimages. To complete the journey, one must have endurance. On my trip, we were exposed to harsh climate, lack of healthy food, lack of sleep, lack of basic amenities and many other  discomforts. But I soon got used to it, and realized that a man’s basic needs are very few. The rest is only for mental comfort more than physical comfort. So we must practice spartan living during the pilgrimage tenure to break the habit of compulsive comfortable living. It was a great experience for me to live in those frugal and basic accommodation and food, to overpower the mind’s compulsive habits and to practice austerity.

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Dear friends, today is Krishna Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. Those of you who are not aware   may know that I took a long break from writing regular posts on this blog in order to go to Mt. Kailash and Lake Mansarovar  in the Himalayas. I today resume posting new articles in a new segment titled’ LIFE SACRED’ on this auspicious day. Like before, I humbly dedicate all my posts to His Holiness Shri Mahavatar Babaji in this segment ‘C’ and ask Him to bless all those people who are striving and also for those who wish to be initiated in spirituality with a serious mind and intention. The following topics are going to be grave in nature and one should reflect and ponder on the underlying  philosophy and thought to make his life beautiful and sacred. Whatever is sacred is beautiful. If we make our life sacred, it is beautiful. Hence Babaji gave me this title so that we make our lives sacred.

To make it sacred, we must strive to do penance or tapasya by which we are prepared and happily agree to undergo hardships and discomforts in order to gain spiritual wisdom and enlightenment. More on this in future articles.

There are many people in this world who do not know why they are born and why they have come here. When such questions are never asked in moments of silence and stillness, the purpose of living  is lost. We all, barring a few, live in a fool’s paradise because we believe or understand that we are going to live here permanently and that life is never going to be different from what it is at present. If one understands that there is a purpose, a mission in living this life, the clarity about why are we living is born in our psyche. So the first basic question  now should be-Is there any mission in my life? Do I have a vision for my future? If not then please have one.

A memorable journey to holy Mt. Kailash and Mansarovar in the Himalayas was undertaken with a deep sense of purpose and mission by me recently. It was to accomplish something that was never imagined by me even once before- to climb, trek and live in the Himalayas at altitudes much above 16,000 feet above sea level.  And also to climb such impossible heights, roam in wilderness and no man’s land and to meditate in solitude. Though I could not meditate there because most of the time we were either traveling or I was all the time surrounded by people. But nonetheless from time to time I either took some time off from people or switched off my mind to enable me to connect with my inner source of Light.

Just a few fleeting moments were enough to fill up my body, mind and senses with immense enchantment and fruitful realizations. It is impossible to blog the entire spiritual voyage with personal experiences but I can surely jot down some of the everlasting, vivid recollections and sweet memoirs of the blessed moments that I had there. But before we really begin on a new journey called’ life sacred’,  let me first give you an idea and a glimpse of the most sacred mountain and the most mystic, serene and vast lake that I have ever seen.

They say that even if you look at the picture of the Kailash mountain with reverence, your sins are washed away. I have been quite close to the revered mountain and felt the vibrations of its sanctity  and purity. This is what gives it the power and magic to pull so many people to risk their lives by coming to the land of the most difficult pilgrimage on the earth.

The following posts are not going to be a travelogue in the true sense but I wish to document my spiritual journey or yatra in a different manner. I will draw parallels between my travel on the physical plane with that of my trip to spiritual plane. I wish to make this comparison very simple in nature and explanation as it is related to our life. I will put down my sacred and metaphysical learning for other devotees and spiritual learners so that they can make a journey inside- a journey deep inside the cave of the heart.

I will enter 3 posts every month on 10th, 20th & 30th. Feel free to send me your queries or responses  through e- mails or as comments on the blog.

Dear readers,

I am about to leave for a long pilgrimage to the Himalayas and shall return in the beginning of August.

The last post Shakti-III was the concluding post of segment B- ‘The door to Heaven’.

 I shall resume entering new posts with renewed energies and ideas after I return.

Rgds

Sarika

Shakti is the Universal primary Force. As mentioned in the last post, it could be both-constructive or destructive. We are concerned with constructive force as spirituality involves dealing with positive force.

Prior to the post on ‘Shakti,’ 3 more articles were written about one more type of force and that was Kundalini Shakti. In those posts I have documented my personal experiences of advancing spiritual stage. In those times I merely got glimpses and visions of some saints like Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and goddess Kali of Dakshineshwar. But a visit to the holy city of Dakshineshwar was taken much later. Even before I made a visit, it was my earnest desire to visit the birth places of Ma Sharada, the spiritual life partner of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and the birth place of her husband too. I do not know why this desire was born as I am in no way linked to West Bengal and had no connection or background of people worshiping Kali, the goddess of both- preservation and destruction. Jairambati is the birthplace of Ma Sharada and Kamarpukur the birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Both are about 6 kilometers away from each other in Hoogly district of West Bengal.

 I have visited both these places twice and have attained high degree of spiritual peace and clarity of thought. In Kamarpukur, I have seen the old house, the courtyard, the more than 160 years old mango tree under which the small house stands even today. It was here that Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa was born. The small room in which he was born is situated there. The mango tree was planted by him and it still bears fruits. And I have seen the humble mud house  of Ma Sharada in Jairambati where she would sit for hours in the courtyard praying and chanting the holy name of Lord Jagannath or the Lord of the universe. Both places still radiate immense peace and vibrations of spiritual message and enlightenment.

These two places worth visiting are now under Ramakrishna Paramhansa Mission and are maintained very well, particularly where cleanliness is concerned.

Ma Sharada was a symbol of spiritual and divine force. Although she was not able to live  with her husband for a long tenure, she helped him and his foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda in the worldwide mission of spreading Vedanta knowledge in modern times.

Shakti can manifest itself in a subdued and mellifluous manner. The dynamic force works quietly unseen to the eyes of people in some cases. Ma Sharada was a perfect example of such a silent force.

She spent almost all her life in Japa sadhana. Japa means to repeat God’s name silently and sadhana means to acquire or attain spiritual enhancement and advancement. She would sit silently in the courtyard or sometimes on stairs alone and was often found in the wee hours or midnight with her rosary between her fingers chanting the name of the Divine. Towards the later stage of her life, she was once asked by one of her devotees, “ Ma, why do you do japa, when you have attained the highest? What more is left there for you to do?” She answered immediately, “My dear, this japa is for my beloved children who neither somehow spend time nor have the inclination to invest their time in taking God’s name. I am doing ‘japa’ for them, for their kalyan,  for their well-being and good.”

‘Naam Smaran’ or remembering  as well as chanting of God’s holy name incessantly, repeatedly is a very good tool to trick the wandering mind. When we silently remember God by speaking or whispering or uttering his name at the back of our mind while keeping busy with our routine tasks, the subconscious mind does not absorb the prevalent negative and impure thoughts of people floating in the ether. In this way, we increase our own Shakti or positive power and reduce negativity present in or around us.

It is not possible to write the complete life history of Ma Sharada, but I will talk about a few extra ordinary incidents of her early childhood which undoubtedly point out towards divinity that she was born with.

Born in a small, quiet village of Jairambati in West Bengal in 1853, Ma Sharada was married to Sri RamaKrishna Paramhansa in early childhood. As the Divine play had, they both led a pious life.

Jairambati did not have its own market.  It was a very small village with no zamindars or rich people but the villagers celebrated all festivals with Harinam kirtan, Kali Pooja, Shitla devi pooja, Durga pooja and mythological religious plays.

Her birth was in a devout, humble Brahmin family. The father was generous and helped everyone who came to him asking for help. Her mother worked in the fields where they grew cotton. Her mother’s nature was of firm determination and she was a pious lady. She was very simple and compassionate and she used to feed many people in the villages nearby as well as people in her own village in times of famine and drought in spite of lack of funds at home. The child was showered with love and affection from parents and uncles. As a girl, Ma Sharada  was quiet, sober and diligent. Though the family was not very prosperous, her parents were very helpful and generous.  Thus the sowing of  seeds of virtues in the sacred heart of the little girl took place very early on in her life.

An extra ordinary event is associated with Ma’s birth and her arrival. Once her mother went out for a nature’s call near a pond in the evening. There was this sacred tree of Bilvapatra near the pond. She saw a very beautiful divine girl of about 5-6 years old swinging on this tree. The girl came down with soundless footsteps from the tree’s branch after which she soon disappeared. On that night, the pious mother felt that a big Force had entered her womb because of which she became unconscious. Such was the power of the Force.

At this time Ma Sharada’s father was in Calcutta.  After having lunch that day thinking of mundane things he fell asleep. He dreamt that a small girl with a golden glow has jumped up and clung to his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. The girl’s looks were extraordinary and she was wearing glittering ornaments. The Brahmin father asked her, “Who are you?” The girl answered gently, “I have come to you, receive me” After he awoke, the father felt he had a darshan of Goddess Laxmi  with all the divine aura present around her.

I have read the life story of Ma Sharada and wish to quote some important lines-

Q- “Ma, whenever I sit for japa-meditation, why am I am surrounded by all types of worries? Do something by which I may forget all my worries”.

A- “After touching his head, “From now onward, you will never worry, even the shadow of worry will not linger”

Q- “Ma, I am unable to concentrate during meditation and japa”

 A-“Continue doing japa, increase the duration of japa and if you are able to do one lakh japa, you will attain what I have told you about. Read one chapter of Bhagwat Geeta daily and if you are short of time, read just 2 shlokas. Sit in a comfortable position of meditation and do not move. If your one leg gets tired, shift to another and you will not find any difficulty.”

Q- “Is japa any different from meditation?”

A- “No, they are not contrary to each other, they are one. In fact, they both are complementary to each other. Do japa-dhyana,  do meditation through japa”

She has also told her disciples in those days that the Shakti of the Guru lies in the mantra given by him or her. Through mantra it reaches the disciples. The sins of the disciples are absorbed by the Guru. Hence after giving mantra to the chela or disciple, the Guru takes on the karmas of his disciples and his body gets diseased.

Dear readers, such is the power of a Self realized soul and a divine servant of God because of which we are able to bear the weight of our karmic consequences and are in turn able to achieve the kingdom of God.