Blog

November 2018

Without learning to live here, there is no hereafter to hope for. – Chinmaya

What should we learn here?

We must learn to live the right way.

The right way is to perform our actions as best as we can with the God-given talents and abilities, for the welfare of all, as a worship of the Lord, in a spirit of co-operation, without ego and egocentric desires, keeping the noblest goal of moksha (liberation) in mind.

But in the case of most of us, we tend to live an animalistic selfish life.

The photo of a vulture waiting for a starving Sudanese girl to die was taken by Kevin Carter who later won the Pulitzer Prize for this picture.

He was actually savouring his feat and being celebrated on major news channels and networks worldwide. His depression started when during one of such interviews someone phoned and asked him what happened to the child. He replied, “I didn’t wait to find out after this shot as I had a plane to catch.”

And the person replied, “According to me, there were two vultures on that day. One had a camera.”

This statement led to his depression, and within a few months, his suicide.

Kevin Carter could have been alive today if he had just picked that little girl up and had taken her to the nearby United Nation’s feeding Center where she was attempting to reach.

Can suicide solve all our problems?

No. Escapism is never a solution, says the above quote.

Death is only for the physical body (sthoola shareera). Even when the physical body is gone, we continue to exist in our subtle body (sookshma shareera) and causal body (kaarana shareera).

In short, death is only for the body, not for the mind. Our mind continues to remain with us even after our physical death. So there is no escape from existence, from our mind, and from misery.

If we have cultivated a noble mind here, rest assured that our experience will be peace and joy hereafter. But if the mind is trained in unethical and immoral ways, then our experience after death cannot be anything different from misery and agitation. The mental state cultivated here continues hereafter too.

Hence the emphasis to live a righteous life here.

During the time of Guru Nanak, in the city of Emnabad, there lived a high-born man of wealth named Malik Bhago. He was the Divan, or the Chief Minister of the Pathan Governor and thus a personage of high authority.

It happened that on the anniversary of his father’s death, he prepared an elaborate feast and invited all the religious and holy men from far and wide to attend.

Coincidently, Guru Nanak was visiting Emnabad and had planned to take his meals at the house of a poor carpenter named Lalo. As a devotee, Lalo had welcomed the Guru with great reverence.

The news that a saint was staying at the house of Lalo soon reached Malik Bhago. He immediately sent a servant to invite the Guru together with his followers, but Nanak declined the invitation in spite of constant persuasion in repeated attempts. In the end, the Guru went to his house; and Lalo, unable to stay without his Guru, followed behind.

“Why didn’t you come to the meal for holy men at my house?” Malik Bhago asked Guru Nanak.

“Please bring me the food and I shall take it now,” replied Guru Nanak. He turned to Lalo and asked him to bring food from his house also. Lalo hurried away to his house and shortly returned with some coarse barley bread.

In the meantime, a great crowd had gathered around the Guru. When the food was brought before him, the Guru took the plain, dry bread from Lalo in one hand and some of Bhago’s in the other, and squeezed the two. From Lalo’s bread oozed drops of milk, but from Bhago’s bread came blood.

“Now you can see why I refused to eat your food,” said the Guru to Malik Bhago. “Your food is tainted with the blood of the poor. But in Lalo’s house, the food is pure because he earns it by his own hard work.”

Bhagavan Shankaracharya says in Vivekachoodamani:

चित्तस्य शुद्धये कर्म न तु वस्तूपलब्धये |
(Actions are meant for purification of the mind, not to attain anything of the world.)

Many don’t believe in the hereafter, i.e. life after death. For them, this body is be-all-and-end-all of life. For them life is meant to eat, to drink, and to be merry. For them, there is no punya-papa, dharma-adharma, no heaven-hell, no rebirth etc. Since they are not seen, they don’t exist. For them, life is over with the death of the body. Undoubtedly they end up living a licentious indulgent life.

There are people who believe that dying in a holy place gives liberation. So when they grow old and are sure of death, they camp in a holy place like Kashi to die!

There are others who make all the provisions to cremate their dead body in the holiest of places, wrapped up with a holy ochre cloth, to be cremated on sandalwood amidst the chantings of the holiest of mantras. According to them, the disposal of the unholy body in a holy way is the way to liberation!

There are some others, who have heard that the last thought of the dying man decides his next birth. So they chant the shlokas of some holy scriptures in the ears of the dying relative at the time of his/her departure. They are unaware of the fact that the last thought of the dying man is decided, not by what he has heard, but by how he has lived!

Again, there are others who try to take care of their after-life through right investment. They have heard that “what you give here, you get it there.” Therefore to get it there, they, as an investment, give here!

Rare are the people who have understood the mystery of death. True liberation is not the liberation from the body, but the liberation from the ego. It is this ego which forces us to take birth again and again. Unless the ego is destroyed here through right knowledge, there is no hope hereafter, meaning there is no end to the future birth-death cycle, and hence no end to the variegated miseries.

Sadhu Vaswani was on board the steamer from Europe to India. One night, as he paced up and down the deck, his thoughts moved to the bag of clippings which he carried with himself. They were newspaper reports giving an account of his triumphant march through Europe – the places he had visited, the lectures he had delivered, the receptions held in his honour, the articles he had written interpreting the wisdom of India’s rishis.

“What is this I am carrying to India?” he said to himself. “A bag of vanity! I aspire to be a servant of India’s sages and saints. I aspire to live a life of new awakening, of self- effacement and of Self-realisation. And yet…”

The decision was made. He entered his cabin and brought out the bag of clippings. Without another glance at them, he threw them all into the waters.

“Fame and name,” he said, “are the waves on the surface of the sea. They appear and disappear. True life is that which is lived in the depths. It is Life in the Self. Eliminate the ego; eliminate every personal ambition and adventure. And thus slaying the lower self, attain the wisdom of the Self. This alone is the purpose of life, and such a life alone is worth lived. All else is vanity. All else is wastage of lifetime.”

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

October 2018

No hurry is allowed in nature. In our inner growth also, no hurry is permitted. Any hurry or impatience will end in suppression/repression. – Chinmaya

Every constructive process has to be slow.

Because there are so many lessons to be learnt en route.

As a newborn, how many lessons we have learnt unknowingly in a single task called ‘learning to walk’?

A newborn baby lies on his back. But there is no freedom to move. He has no freedom even to scratch when it is itching! Helplessly he learns:

Bondage is pain.

Lying on the back is the safest posture of the body, as there is no fear of fall. But absolute safety comes with unbearable boredom! He realises:

Nothing can be achieved in our comfort zone.

This boredom and bondage make him desperate to seek something better. He struggles, not knowing that he is learning a new law of life:

 Necessity is the mother of invention!

After many failures, in a few months, he at last succeeds. He is thrilled to see his new achievement – the ability to flip, to turn over and lie on his chest. He is greatly excited and practises his newly learnt skill every now and then. He ponders:

Work hard, and success is sure.

His first success of his life boosts his confidence level. And what a change in the perception of the world! Earlier he saw only the ceiling and the fan.  Now, lying on his chest, everything appears totally different! He wonders:

What you see depends on where you are.

Soon he discovers the various advantages of lying on his chest. When the upper part of the body is lifted with the hands, he learns:

Higher you go, the better the vision.

When the hands start paining and he is exhausted, he introspects:

To go higher, you have to pay a price.

 With repeated practice, when the hands no more pain, he observes:

Practice makes one perfect.

After a lot of trial and error, he discovers that the bottom portion of the body can be lifted by the knees. Now he is on all four. His creativity takes him further – “Why not walk with these four?”

He tries, succeeds, and is amazed at his self-discovered creativity! He understands:

Where there is a will, there is a way!

For the first time in his life, he is able to move by himself! He considers it the greatest moment in his life! Movement means freedom from bondage. Movement means a choice of destination. Movement means no dependence on others! He explores:

Freedom is happiness.

In his newly found freedom, he moves around freely towards his objects of interests, picks things and puts them indiscriminately in his only laboratory – the mouth. With his freedom, the mother’s concern also begins. He teaches all:

Freedom without wisdom is calamity!!

Sitting on his bottom, he discovers that he has scaled greater heights! But many times he loses balance and falls backwards hitting his head on the hard floor. Of course, the mother is always there to soothe and console him. Through pain, he learns another lesson:

Alertness keeps you high. Carelessness brings you down.

As days pass by, he is amazed, “How are these people walking on their legs so easily! Can I too do it?” The very thought makes him shudder with fear. But the Lord, his unknown Friend and Guide, residing in his heart, whispers to him:

“You too can! Keep trying! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Holding on to a sofa, he tries to lift himself up. The experience of standing is amazing but his soft tender legs can’t afford to take his weight. He sits down quietly. But he won’t give up. He tries again and again. His past experiences have taught him:

Perseverance combined with patience is the key to success.

With undaunted effort, now he manages to stand erect, but the height scares him. The intense desire to be like others forces him to take risks. These adventures give him many painful falls and bleeding wounds. But by now he has learnt the law of life:

No pain, no gain.

And finally, there comes a day when he walks, runs, jumps and throws tantrums around!

This is our story of outer growth. So too is the case with inner growth.

Q: What is inner growth?

A: Inner growth is nothing but spiritual growth.

Q: How do we know whether we are growing internally?

A: When we internally grow, the mind becomes more mature. A mature mind is a mind which, through experiences of life, has come to this firm conclusion that the Self/God alone is the source of peace, security and happiness.

Such a mind does not hanker after the pleasures of the world, since it knows the hollowness of all these pleasures. With its vision of oneness, it becomes a storehouse of all virtues. Such a mind is ever quiet, serene and peaceful without any bubbles of desires gurgling forth. It ever remains a disciplined, tamed, and obedient mind.

Q: How long does it take to achieve this?

A: Time frame cannot be set because it depends on person to person. Some have already made great advancements in their past births and therefore their spiritual growth appears very quick and smooth in this birth, while others who are just beginners struggle in every step.

Even among seekers, the majority are lukewarm in spiritual practices, while a rare few are seen pursuing it intensely. So the result will vary depending on how intensely you seek it, and for how long you have been seeking it.

Q: Why no hurry is allowed in spirituality?

A: Just as we don’t expect a newborn baby to walk straight out of the womb, we don’t expect anyone to walk out of the world to the kingdom of God. It takes time, effort and patience. Nothing happens by a click of a button. A child becomes a professional only after many years of sincere study. A seed becomes a huge tree after very many years. No short cuts are allowed in nature. Everything takes its own sweet time for fructification.

Q: What takes time?

A: Replacing the worldly vasanas with the spiritual one takes time. The latent impressions gathered in very many lives cannot be easily erased from the mind. It takes persistent and wholehearted effort. The Sattwic mind which has transcended the Rajas and Tamas alone becomes fit to abide in the Self effortlessly.

Q: Will external renunciation (Sannyas) help?

A: It depends.

For people filled with devotion and dispassion, renunciation is the most ideal path. A lot of time is available for meditation and contemplation, and one is free from all worldly botheration and distractions. Mind being under one’s control, the time is well utilised for the attainment of the higher.

But for the unprepared minds, Sannyas can be suffocation. Very many times, hasty people, inspired by some books or talks on spirituality, renounce their family and possessions and take to ochre cloth (Sannyas). But soon they find themselves in ‘Trishanku Swarga’ – neither here nor there!

On one side mind is filled with all worldly desires, but being a Sannyasi they are incapable of fulfilling them. On the other side, mind, starved of devotion and dispassion, is unable to revel in the Divine. Such a mind experiences a state of suppression which is unhealthy.

For such people, the Lord in the Bhagavad Geeta asks to remain in the world as a karma Yogi. When actions are done selflessly as a worship of the Lord, the mind becomes pure. Such a healthy mind is capable of taking up higher spiritual sadhanas.

 ‘Don’t hurry’ doesn’t mean ‘Be lukewarm.’ It simply means strive hard, but never be impatient.  

As Gurudev nicely puts it: Hasten, (but) Slowly!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

September 2018

The words of the Master can echo their message only in a bosom that has been stilled in complete love. – Chinmaya

Not all bosoms are fit to receive the highest knowledge.

When do we pour water from one vessel to the other?

1. We never pour when the receiving vessel is higher than the giving vessel.

So too an arrogant, egoistic mind is an absolutely unfit instrument for gaining knowledge. A humble mind alone has the ability to receive.

2. We don’t pour when the receiving vessel is shaky/unstable.

An agitated mind is a shaky vessel. It is a mind filled with a hundred thousand desires and aspirations, worries and anxieties. Such a wandering mind is never available for the teachings.

3. We don’t pour when the receiving vessel is already full.

A mind with an ‘I-know-all’ attitude is a full vessel. 

These seekers come to the Master with a good intention to learn; but the ‘fullness’ in them won’t allow them to listen, and they end up being preachers. They don’t even allow the Master to speak!

By beating their ego-drum with their bookish knowledge, they unknowingly proclaim how hollow they are within. Amidst such noisy seekers, the Master remains silent like dumb.

4. We don’t pour when there are holes in the receiving vessel.

A non-serious mind is a hole-full vessel. Such a mind listens, but the knowledge enters through one ear and leaks out through the other. For such a mind, spiritual knowledge falls under the least priority category. Such people come to satsangs when they have nowhere else to go. In such a mind which listens with a ‘time-pass’ attitude, the knowledge doesn’t stay.

5. We don’t pour when the vessel is upside-down.

An un-interested, faithless mind is an upside-down vessel. Such a mind is very clear regarding spirituality, “Neither I believe in these things, nor am I interested.”

Such a mind remains untouched and unaffected even amidst an ocean of spiritual happenings. In this sense, they can be compared with lotus! They are also in a way Sthitaprajna, with a stunted intellect!

In the second chapter of the Bhagavad Geeta, the Lord starts His teaching only after ensuring that Arjuna satisfies the conditions of a true seeker. Arjuna says:

शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् |
(O Lord! I am totally confused. I know nothing. I completely surrender unto Thee. I am your disciple. Please teach me.)

In these words, we see the humility, the surrender and the receptivity of Arjuna and also his intense desire to learn.

Bhagavad Geeta is a revolutionary scripture which destroys all our preconceived notions, making it clear to us that this knowledge can be imparted anywhere – even in a noisy battlefield, at any time – even during the war, if the receiving vessel – the disciple – is ready.

During the period of exile, there were many occasions when Krishna and Arjuna had spent their time in leisure on the river banks, mountain valleys and forests. But even in such ashram-like environments, the Lord chose not to give this knowledge, because He knew, that unless the soil of the seeker’s heart is prepared, the seed of Self-knowledge won’t sprout.   

This story is of those times when the wars between the Sikhs and the Mughals were frequent.

There was a simple peasant called Bhai Bela who wandered into Guru Gobind Singh’s satsang and asked the Master if he could be blessed with some service.

“Do you know how to use a gun?” asked the Guru.

“No Sir.”

“Then can you ride a horse?” the Guru enquired.

“No Sir” was again the answer.

“Well brother, what kind of service do you think you could do?” asked the Guru.

“Sir, I could very well work in the stables and take care of the horses.”

“Very good Bhai Bela,” said the Guru, “you may go to the stables and start your service.”

Bhai Bela started his service wholeheartedly and with utmost devotion. He would feed the horses on time, massage them, look after them with the best of his ability and clean the stables. Within two to three months, all the horses had greatly improved in appearance. Bela’s arrival in the stable had made all the difference. The condition of the horses was now perfect.

One day Guru himself went over to the stables and was delighted to see the horses in such good condition.

“Who is responsible for making these horses look so well?” the Guru asked the head stableman.

“Sir, it is Bhai Bela.”

“Bhai Bela, have you ever had any education?” Guru Gobind Singh asked him.

“No Sir,” replied Bhai Bela. “I have never been to a school of any kind.”

“Very good,” said the Guru. “I will now be glad to teach you, and hereafter you will be studying, as well as rendering service.”

Every morning thereafter the Guru would tell Bhai Bela one line or sentence, and Bela would repeat it the whole day with utmost devotion.

One morning when the Guru was leaving for the battle with the Mughals, he had no time to give a new line to Bela. When the latter saw that the Guru was leaving in haste, he ran after him, and asked a new line for the day.

“Oh Bhai Bela!” the Guru said, “Can you not see that this is neither the time nor the place?”

Bhai Bela thought that this was the line he was to repeat that day. So he repeated the whole day with the same love and devotion as always. All the people around him had great fun hearing Bela repeat this line all day, and they thought what a great fool he was not to understand what the Guru meant.

When the Guru returned, they asked, “Sir, in your graciousness, what did you give Bela as his new line for today?”

“I did not give him a new line,” the Guru told them.

“But Sir, Bela has been repeating all day long, ‘O Bhai Bela! Can you not see that this is neither the time nor the place?’”

“Though he didn’t understand the time or place, he has understood everything,” said the Guru with a smile.

The moment the Guru uttered these words, Bela entered into samadhi. As a result, whether awake or asleep, whether walking, eating or drinking, he was always in communion with the Guru. His attention was always on the name of the Lord.

Seeing this, some of the disciples were greatly annoyed and openly stated that this certainly was not justice.

“We have been serving the Master for many, many years,” they said, “and at no time such grace has been bestowed on us, whereas this man, who came here only recently, has got everything.”

When the Guru saw that these people were angry, he gave them a huge quantity of hemp.

“Prepare this hemp with all love and devotion of which you are capable,” he told them. “Only after that I will listen to your complaint and decide what to do.”

When they had filled a pot, the Guru said to them, “Now make a liquid of it and each one of you rinse your mouth with it until it is all finished.”

Once everything was over, the Guru asked them, “Do any of you feel intoxicated?”

“No,” they replied. “How could we feel intoxicated when we did not swallow the hemp?”

“You have already received the answer to your question.” The Guru said.

The Guru then explained to them, “Of course you cannot get intoxicated unless you swallow the hemp. By merely gargling with it, nothing can happen. Bela has absorbed the teachings of the Satguru. Bela literally does what his Guru tells him to do. For him, Guru and the Lord are not different. To such a one alone, the Truth reveals Itself.”

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

August 2018

The distribution of grace is not controlled by the Guru, but depends upon the capacity of the recipient. – Chinmaya

God’s/Guru’s grace is ever there. But only a rare few receive it.

What decides the descendance of this grace?

Total faith. Total surrender.

Bhai Manjh was a man who was not only wealthy but also a landlord who owned a village. He was a worshipper of the tomb of the holy man, Sakhi Sarwar. He had hundreds of followers. But one day, he happened to attend a discourse given by Guru Arjan (the famous Sikh Guru), and the words of the Guru made such a profound impression on him that he begged him to grant him the boon of initiation.

“Whom do you follow at present?” asked Guru Arjan. “Sir, I am a devotee of Sakhi Sarwar,” Manjh replied humbly.

“I will grant you initiation only after you have gone back to your home and have completely destroyed the room that is set apart for holy worship,” the Guru said.

Manjh ran to his house as fast as he could and tore down every brick of the room. Several people who had gathered to watch him solemnly warned him: “Bhai Manjh! You will have to pay very heavily for the destruction of this holy room!”

“I have done it,” said Manjh boldly, “and am prepared to suffer any consequences.”

When he returned to Guru Arjan, the Master, considering him fit, bestowed initiation on him.

But it was destined that he be put to still further tests. Soon his horse died; then some of his bullocks. Thieves took some of his other possessions.

Seeing this, people began to taunt him, saying: “This is the result of the disrespect shown to Sakhi Sarwar. You should go and rebuild the temple in your home.”

But none of this bothered Bhai Manjh in the least. To one and all he said: “I do not care what happens. My Guru is all-knowing, and he knows what is best.”

One misfortune followed another, and before long Manjh was not only destitute but owed money to many people. All of them demanded immediate repayment saying: “Either pay us at once or leave the village.” At the same time, many of his old friends pleaded with him: “If you would only rebuild the temple, things would be sure to take a turn for the better.”

But no. Bhai Manjh remained adamant and preferred to leave the village. So he, his wife and his daughter packed up their few remaining belongings and found shelter in another village. As he had been a rich landlord, Manjh had never had to learn a trade. But it was now necessary for him to earn money. So he began to make his livelihood by cutting and selling grass.

Several months went by in this way when one day Guru Arjan sent Bhai Manjh a letter which was delivered by one of his disciples. To the disciple, the Guru had said: “Please be sure to demand twenty rupees as an offering before you give Bhai Manjh the letter. If he does not pay you, bring back the letter.”

Bhai Manjh was delighted to see the letter, but had no money with which to pay the twenty rupees. He asked his wife for the advice and she said: “I will take the ornaments and those of our daughter to the goldsmith, and see how much he will give me for them.”

The goldsmith’s offer was exactly twenty rupees. So Manjh gave the twenty rupees offering, received the letter, kissed it, lifted it to his forehead and eyes, and pressed it against his heart. As he completed these devotions, he went into ecstasy.

Two years went by, and the Guru then sent Manjh a second letter, for which he was to make an offering of twenty-five rupees. Once again, Bhai Manjh had no money. But he remembered that the headman of the village had once asked if his son could marry Bhai Manjh’s daughter. Accordingly, he sent his wife to see the wife of the headman, telling her to offer their daughter in marriage, even though the head man was of a lower caste, and to demand twenty-five rupees as a marriage payment.

The headman gladly paid the money and Bhai Manjh received the letter.

But the Guru wished to test Bhai Manjh still further. So he told a disciple: “Please go to Bhai Manjh and ask him to come to my court.” Manjh went quickly and gladly to the court of his beloved Guru. There he, his wife and his daughter went to work in the kitchen, cleaning the utensils and cutting firewood.

After a few days, the Guru asked: “Where does Bhai Manjh take his food?”

“He eats with us, getting his food from the free community kitchen,” the disciples said.

“It seems to me,” said the Guru, “that Bhai Manjh is not doing real service, for, then he would expect nothing in return for his work. He is charging us for his wages, which he takes in the form of food.”

When Manjh heard of this from his wife, he told her: “I want nothing in return for service to the beloved Guru, who has given me the priceless gift of Naam. We will get our food by some other means.”

So from that day onwards, Bhai Manjh went to the forest each night to cut wood. He then sold the wood in the bazaar and used the proceeds to buy food. During the day time, he and his family worked in the kitchen as before.

A few weeks later, after Manjh had gone to the forest to cut wood one night, there was a great wind storm. Bhai Manjh valiantly struggled against the wind, with his bundle of wood on his head. But the wind was so fierce that it blew Manjh headlong into a well, together with his precious bundle of wood.

Everything that had taken place was already known to the Guru. So when Manjh was blown into the well, he gathered some of his disciples and told them: “Be quick now! Get a wooden board and some rope. Then follow me at once to the forest.”

When they reached the well in the forest, the Guru told one of his disciples: “Bhai Manjh is at the bottom of this well. Shout down to him and tell him that we will lower a board tied to a rope. Tell him to cling to the board and we will pull him out.”

The disciples did this, but he also added some words told to him in private by the Guru. “Brother! See the wretched condition you are in. And it is all due to the way the Guru has treated you. Why don’t you forget a Guru who does such things?”

“What?” shouted Manjh. “Forget the beloved Guru? Never! And as for you, ungrateful one, please never again speak so disrespectfully of the Guru in my presence. It makes me suffer agonies to hear such shameful words.”

Bhai Manjh then asked that his bundle of wood be taken out of the well first. “Take the wood,” he said, “because it is for the Guru’s kitchen. I do not want it to get wet, for then it would not burn.” The wood was drawn up, and then Bhai Manjh himself was pulled up out of the well.

When he came face to face with his beloved Satguru, the Guru said, “Brother! You have gone through many trials and have met all of them with courage, faith and devotion for the Satguru. As a reward, I would be glad, if you would wish it, to give you the kingdom of the three worlds.”

But Bhai Manjh said, “O Guru! My Beloved! This is Kali Yuga, and in it, no one has the strength to stand up to the tests of Satguru. Therefore, my only request is that henceforth the disciples should not be put to such tests.”

This pleased Guru Arjan very much, but he still wished to give a tangible reward of some kind to Bhai Manjh. “Please ask me for some gift or boon,” he said. “You have earned it and it would make me very happy to give it to you.”

At this Bhai Manjh fell on his knees before the beloved Guru, and with tears streaming down his cheeks, exclaimed: “What boon could I wish for, my Guru, but you alone? I want you alone. Nothing else could ever be of any interest to me.”

Upon hearing these words, spoken from the heart, the Guru embraced Bhai Manjh and said:

“Manjh is the darling of his Guru;
And Guru is Manjh’s only love.
Manjh now, like Guru, is a ship,
That carries people safely across
The ocean of transmigration…”

O M   T A T    S A T

July 2018

A face overflowing with inner warmth of peace and smile is a charm which none can resist. – Chinmaya

Why are we attracted towards peaceful, loving and good people?

It is because these are the characteristics of our true nature. We get drawn to anyone in whom the divine qualities of the Self are seen reflected.

It happened in RamakrishnaParamahamsa’s time.

Keshav Chandra Sen was a great intellectual genius, and he was the co-founder of Brahma Samaj – the Society of the Divine. He was known all over India.

On the other hand, Ramakrishna was not known except to a few people. He was uneducated, and people thought he was mad. But slowly slowly his influence was increasing, particularly in Calcutta. People came to see him.

Keshab Chandra Sen was worried about this uneducated, ordinary villager. Even professors of the universities were becoming his devotees; they would go to listen to him and would touch his feet. And whatever he was saying was so ordinary. The man had nothing exceptional. Keshav Chandra finally decided to go and argue with this man and finish this whole thing. He went.

Hundreds of people who knew Keshab Chandra Sen and a few who knew Ramakrishna -they all gathered to see what would transpire. Ramakrishna’s followers were very much afraid, knowing that Keshab could defeat anybody if it was a question of rationality. He had proved his mettle hundreds of times all over India. He had defeated great scholars without much effort. Now, how was poor Ramakrishna going to stand up before him?

Everybody among the followers was nervous, but Ramakrishna was not.

On the other hand, lovingly, with all his innocence, he was, again and again, asking, “Keshava has not come yet?”

Finally, Keshav Chandra arrived with his great following.

Ramakrishna just went and hugged him. Keshav Chandra was not prepared for that.

He had come to fight, and he made it clear to Ramakrishna, “These things won’t help. I have come to discuss each and every point of your philosophy. Don’t try to create a friendship. I have come as an enemy. Either you defeat me and I will be your follower, or be ready to become my follower.”

Ramakrishna said, “That we will be doing soon – hugging has nothing to do with it! I have always loved you. Whenever I have heard about you and your ideas, that you say there is no God… I know there is God, but still, I enjoy and love you. In fact, your great intelligence is proof that existence is intelligent; otherwise from where does intelligence come? You are a proof to me that God is – but that we will discuss later on. What is the hurry? And there is no need for any enmity. The discussion can be in deep friendship.

“And you know, I am a poor man. I don’t know any logic. It is going to be a very easy job for you, so you need not be so tense!

“I have prepared some sweet for you; first take the sweet. I have prepared it with much love. And then you can start your so-called discussion.”

Keshav Chandra was finding it a little difficult. The man was strange; he offered him a sweet, he hugged him. He has already destroyed the animosity, the aggressiveness – in a very subtle way, without saying a word.

After his taking sweet, Ramakrishna said, “Now you start your game!”And Keshav Chandra was arguing against whatever he had found in Ramakrishna’s small books.

These books contained the sayings, stories, anecdotes and similes from Ramakrishna’s life collected by his followers.

And Ramakrishna would enjoy it, and would say to his followers, “Look how beautifully he has criticized it!” And many times he would stand up and hug him and say, “You are a genius! Your criticism is perfect!” Keshav Chandra said, “I have not come here to get your approval; I have come to argue.”

Ramakrishna said, “I don’t see there is any question of argument. You are the proof.

I don’t need to give any other proof. I can take you to the whole world as a proof that God exists – Keshav Chandra is the proof!”

Keshav Chandra had never come across such a man, and what he was saying had immense significance; it was penetrating Keshav Chandra’s heart. And the presence of the man, the way he behaved, his lovingness… Something happened to Keshav

Chandra that his followers could not believe.

By the end of the discussion, Ramakrishna said, “You tell me who is defeated and who is victorious, and I will follow it. If you are victorious I will become your follower. But I don’t know the ways of discussion and I don’t know the judgement.

You judge; you are efficient enough to make the judgement. You can say to me, ‘You are defeated,’ and I am defeated.”

And what happened next shocked Keshav’s followers. Keshav Chandra fell at the feet of Ramakrishna. They could not believe their eyes!

When they had gone, everybody was asking, “Keshav Chandra, what happened to you?”

He said, “I don’t know. One thing is certain, that this person has experienced something about which I have only been talking. I can talk efficiently, but he has it; he radiates it. I have that much intelligence at least to see the aura of this man, to feel the radiance of his love, to see his simplicity, his sincerity, his trust… And he has not argued at all. How can you defeat a person who has not argued at all? On the contrary, he was appreciating my criticism!”

And, needless to say, Keshab Chandra Sen too became a follower of Ramakrishna!

If there is one force which is the most powerful, it is the force of love.

There is a beautiful letter written by the great scientist, Albert Einstein, to his daughter Lieserl. In the late 1980s, Lieserl donated 1,400 letters to the Hebrew University. This letter is one of them:

“Dear Lieserl! There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe. This universal force is Love. When scientist looked for a unified theory of the universe, they forgot this most powerful unseen force.

Love is Light that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is Gravity, because it makes some people attracted towards others. Love is Power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For Love, we live and die. Love is God and God is Love. This force explains everything and gives meaning to life.

“Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of Love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet. However, each individual carries within him/her a small but powerful generator of Love whose energy is waiting to be released. When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that Love conquers all, because Love is the quintessence of life.

Your father.”

The giver of love rules all. In the history of the world, the greatest conquerors have never been the men of might, but the men of heart. Buddha, Jesus, Nanak, Mohammed, Mahaveer, Mahatma Gandhi – all were great revolutionaries who fought their war not with the weapon of steel, but with the weapon of love.

Love knows no religion, nationality, gender, caste or creed. Even animals, birds and plants understand the language of love. Love could reform even great sinners like Angulimala and Ratnakara. Above all, those who are the champions of love, even God becomes their servant!

In Tulsi Ramayana, Tulsidasji calls Hanumanji VaanaraYootha Mukhyam, ‘The king of all monkeys’. Someone objected a mahatma during Ramayana Katha, “Sir! Isn’t Sugreeva the king of monkeys?” The saint smiled and replied, “True. Sugreeva ruled only the kingdom. But Hanumanji ruled the hearts of all monkeys!”

The world is blessed and millions are transformed when such rulers of heart walk on earth.

A nice quote was seen on the wall of a charitable institute:

Urgently needed:- An Electrician to ‘restore the current’ between people who do not speak to each other anymore; An Optician, to ‘change the outlook’ of people; An Artist, to ‘draw a smile’ on everyone’s face; A Civil Engineer to ‘build a bridge’ between angry neighbours, relatives and friends; A Doctor to ‘cure us’ from the disease of ego and selfishness; A Gardener to ‘cultivate positive thoughts’; and a Maths Teacher to ‘count our blessings every day’!

Let us become all-in-one; but this is possible only when we see the One-in-all.

and when we see the One-in-all, we see one’s Self-in-all. And when we see one’s Self-in-all, we have love-for-all.

With this love-for-all, may we serve all.

O M   T A T   S A T

June 2018

Tolerate the world and its endless foolishness. Smile and keep on loving the people. – Chinmaya

What can be called the greatest foolishness in this world?

To forget God and to run after the world.

What is the end result of this foolishness?

Suffering, suffering and more suffering!

Persian mysticism tells of a wanderer who trudged along on a seemingly endless long road. He was carrying all sorts of burdens. A heavy sack of sand hung on his back, logged water tank was strapped around his body. In his right hand, he carried an odd-shaped stone, in the left hand a boulder.

Around his neck, an old millstone dangled on a frayed rope. Rusty chains, with which he dragged heavyweights through the dusty sand, wound around his ankles. On his head, the man was balancing a half-rotten pumpkin. With every step he took, the chains rattled.

Moaning and groaning, he moved forward step by step, complaining of his hard fate and the weariness that tormented him.

On the way, a farmer met him in the glowing heat of midday. The farmer asked, “O, tired wanderer, why do you load yourself down with this boulder?”

“That’s awfully dumb,” replied the wanderer, “But I hadn’t noticed it before.” With that, he threw the rock away and felt much lighter.

After going a long way down the road, another farmer met him and asked, “Tell me, O tired wanderer, why do you trouble yourself with the half-rotten pumpkin on your head, and why do you drag those heavy iron weights behind you on chains?”

The wanderer answered, “I’m very glad you pointed it out to me. I didn’t realize what I was doing to myself.” He took off the chains and smashed the pumpkin into the ditch alongside the road. Again he felt lighter. But the farther he went, the more he began to suffer again.

A farmer coming from the field watched him in amazement and said, “Oh, good man, you are carrying sand in the sack, but what you see far off in the distance is more sand than you could ever carry. And that big water tank – as if you planned to cross a desert.  All the while there is a clear stream flowing alongside you, which will accompany you on your way for a long time.”

Upon hearing this, the wanderer tore open the belt of the water tank and leaked out its water into the path. Then he emptied the sand from his knapsack. He stood there pensively and looked into the sinking sun. The last rays sent their light to him. He glanced down at himself, saw the heavy millstone around his neck and suddenly realized it was the stone that was still causing him to walk so bent over. He unloosened it and threw it into the river. Freed from all his burdens, he gave a deep sigh of relief.

All our problems are only self-created. By the time we realise this truth, unfortunately, the entire life is over!

Bhagavan Shankaracharya laments in Bhaja Govindam:

बालस्तावत् क्रीडासक्तः तरुणस्तावत् तरुणीसक्तः । वृद्धस्तावत् चिन्तासक्त: परमे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्त:||
(In the childhood one is busy with play; in the youth one is busy with the opposite sex. The end result? In the old age one is busy with worries and anxieties. Alas! None is attached to the Lord!)

How we busy ourselves with the unimportant and the insignificant things of life!

These are the words of Manohar Parrikar (Chief Minister of Goa) while he was under treatment for Pancreatitis in US Hospital:

“Life has given me abundant political respect and it has become synonymous with my name. However as I have noticed, except my work I rarely had any other moments of enjoyment. Only my political status has remained a reality.

Today in this bedridden state I introspect my life… The popularity and wealth – I thought to be milestones of life. And the inflated ego – all of it appears to be jaded and meaningless as I stand facing the death.

“With each passing second as the death creeps to me stealthily, I see the green lights of life-saving machines around me, their humming noise makes me realize my proximity to death. At this critical moment, I have understood that there is so much more to life than accumulating wealth and fame… I realize that of all the political success that I have earned, I can carry nothing with me… 

“This bed of sickness is the most exclusive bed as nobody can use it except yourself. You can have servants, drivers, employees to serve and earn for you but none to share your sickness… All the things that are lost can be found or earned back but what cannot be retrieved is time…

“As you run through the rat race of life pursuing success you must realise that at some point of time you have to reach the last part of the drama in the theatre where the end of the show is inevitable…”

According to scriptures, happiness is our nature. When we seek it in the outer world, the scriptures call us “Vimoodhaatma”, a completely deluded fool.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Former Mr Universe, Hollywood actor and Governor of California) posted a photo of himself sleeping on the street under his famous bronze statue and sadly wrote: “how times have changed”…

The reason he wrote the phrase was not only because he was old, but because when he was the Governor of California he inaugurated a hotel with his statue. The hotel staff had told Arnold, “At any moment you can come and have a room reserved for you.” When Arnold stepped down as Governor and went to the hotel, the administration refused to give him a room arguing that he should pay for it.

He brought a sleeping bag and stood underneath the statue and explained what he wanted to convey: “When I was in an important position, they always complimented me, and when I lost this position, they forgot about me and did not keep their promise. Do not trust your position or the amount of money you have, nor your power, nor your intelligence. It will not last.  When you’re important in people’s eyes, everyone is your friend. But once you don’t benefit their interests, you won’t matter.”

This is the way of the world.

यावत् वित्तोपार्जनसक्तः तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्त:। पश्चात् जीवति जर्जर देहे वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे ||
(As long as one is an earning member of the family, he gets love and respect from others. Once he becomes old and incapable, none bothers about him.)

What should be our attitude in such a world?

First and the foremost – never be a fool to run after the world forgetting God. But when we have to deal with people who have done this mistake, let’s love and serve them with a compassionate attitude.

Gandhiji’s door was open to all.

Some came to seek his help to find employment; some to seek his help to settle disputes between husband and wife; some with the domestic problems of their families; some with tenant-owner problems; There was a theft in somebody’s house; somebody’s child was untraced; somebody had lost all his belongings; some came to narrate their woes; someone would seek advice on whom should one marry; someone on how one could make both ends meet with his or her meagre income; someone would raise problems of the traders.

Gandhiji not merely sat through all these but was totally tuned to the subject and to the person presenting the problem or seeking advice.

Thousands used to come to him with their sorrows, but there was hardly anyone who returned without feeling better and lighter.

Even when Gandhiji served all, he never expected anything from anyone. His inspiration and strength were from God and only God.

Let us hold on to God. Then alone can we, amidst all foolishness, tolerate, smile and love all.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

May 2018

If you cannot do great things yourself, remember that you may do small things in a great way. – Chinmaya

All cannot do great things. To do great things we need great talents or abilities, power or position, influence or contacts, strength or intelligence. Only a very rare few are blessed with even one of these.

But all of us can do small things in a ‘great way.’

When even the most insignificant things are done with great love, care and attention, with a selfless attitude, as a worship of the Lord, then that way of doing things is called ‘great way.’

Bruhadeeshwara Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu). It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary evidence of the greatness of ancient Hindu architecture. Built by Raja Raja Chola I, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the major tourist attractions in South India. It stands today as a monument of the prowess as well as the devotion of Chola monarchs.

Raja Raja was a mighty emperor who ruled during 985 – 1014 AD. The whole South India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were under his sway. He had a large fleet and the whole of modern Malaysia and Indonesia and parts of Burma were being ruled by him. Even at the heights of such power and glory, he held himself humble before the Lord.

The temple construction began by 1003 AD and was finished and consecrated by about 1009 AD. There is an interesting story connected with this temple.

Alagi was an old woman of the city, a very pious, meek and humble devotee of the Lord. She considered herself too low to receive any favour or blessings from the Lord. She loved all fellow beings with sincere warmth and affection. She considered all human beings as manifest forms of God on earth and so she never hesitated to perform little acts of service and help to men, particularly the saintly men.

She knew that the King was building a mighty temple to the Lord. Every day she would go to the temple site and watch the sculptors, masons, carpenters and engineers employed in the construction work. She envied their services and wanted to be of some help in their work. But on account of her old age, they could not employ her. Her devout mind was always seeking some way in which she could be useful in God’s work. Her love for her fellow beings showed her a way.

She had been visiting the construction site quite often and she noticed that the workers were feeling very thirsty and tired during the hot midday hour. She planned to help them at this hour. She took a few pots of buttermilk spiced with ginger, mustard, curry-leaves etc., went to the workers at their work spot and gave each enough cups of cool and refreshing buttermilk. This was very welcoming to them. They were thankful to her for her thoughtful service. The cool drink refreshed them and they were able to continue their work for their remaining part of the day without feeling exhausted.

She was doing this service for a long time. Finally, the finishing stage of construction work was reached. The vimana – a magnificent tower on the central shrine, 216 feet high – was nearing completion.

One day she approached the sculptors and said, “Brothers! I have a small request to make to you. Can you kindly comply with the request of this old woman?” She asked them. The sculptors and masons were all very grateful to her for the kindness she had been showing them for several years and so naturally they would willingly concede any request made by her. So their foreman said, “Grandma, you have only to say your wish. We shall all carry it out with pleasure.”

She said, “I have a large piece of granite stone in my courtyard. I have no use for it. I believe that it can easily serve as the coping stone for the central tower of the temple. You see, I also wish to serve the Lord. Can you bring that stone and use it for the coping? I shall then be satisfied.”

“We shall have it done this day,” said he. He went to her house with a band of workers, found the stone to be quite adequate for the purpose, brought it to the temple, chiselled it and in due time mounted it on the top of the tower.

The construction work was finally finished and the King’s priests fixed an auspicious day for the consecration of the temple. The King, as usual, inspected the work the day before and was feeling happy that the work of building such a majestic temple for Lord Shiva was after all over. He was naturally proud that he was chosen by God as the instrument for such great work. The temple had by then come to be known as the Great Temple.    

Finding everything in order, he gave the necessary last-minute instructions to his ministers for the consecration ceremony the next day and returned to his palace.

During the night, he had the vision of Lord Shiva (Bruhadeeshwara – the Great Lord) in his dream. The Lord said, “O King! I am happy to dwell in the shelter provided by the old woman Alagi in the Great Temple.”

King Raja Raja woke up. He could scarce believe his ears. The Great Lord dwelling in the shelter of the old woman? Had he not built the Great Temple? The conception of the temple, the whole plan, pooling of all resources – human and material, its execution and finish – it was all his and nobody else’s.  No old woman had any hand in it.

But the Lord Himself said so! So it must be true.

In all humility, the King went to the temple and tried to seek out an old woman who had some part to play in the building of the temple. But there seemed to be no such woman. He set his ministers to the task of finding the old woman, whoever she was.

After an elaborate enquiry, they learnt her story. Then they told him that Alagi, an old woman, used to go about among the workers distributing cool buttermilk to them during the hot hours of the day all the several years of the construction work.

At once the King realised that this little service of hers had pleased the Lord so much as to make Him say that she afforded Him shelter!

With folded hands, he sought her out in her little hut, brought her to the temple, honoured her before the public and only then proceeded with consecration ceremonies.

Alagi, humble as usual, bowed before the Lord for the recognition given to her humble and insignificant service and passed the remaining part of her days in the service of God and God’s servants.

People were wonderstruck when they realised how dear the Lord considered her little service. They celebrated her devotion with folklore and legend. The place where she has been living came to be known as the ‘Alagi Gardens’ and the small tank in front of the hut came to be known as ‘Alagi Tank.’ (The site which housed her hut in the 11^th century now houses the city municipal office in the 20^th century.)

When the Lord of our heart is pleased, then we have done our small things in a great way. The small squirrel with its humble service while building the bridge could win the love and affection of Lord Rama. Sudama won the heart of Lord Krishna with a mere pouch of beaten rice.

In Bhagavad Gita, the Lord says:

 पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति । तदहं भक्त्युपहृतं अश्नामि प्रयतात्मन: ||
(I accept even a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even mere water when it is offered with devotion.)

What touches the heart of the Lord is not what we do or how much we do, but the devotion with which we do. He is touched not by the mighty magnitude we venture, but the unassuming attitude we nurture.

Hence let us focus on ‘great ways,’ not on great things.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

April 2018

Thoughts feed the desires. The desire vitalises each flimsy dream. In a short time, the consequent chaos creates a roaring inferno within. – Chinmaya

Beware of the thoughts; else the result would be chaos within and tragedies without.

In the Bhagavad Geeta, the Lord describes the ladder of fall:

ध्यायतो विषयान् पुंस: सङ्गस्तेषूपजायते । सङ्गात् सञ्जायते काम: कामात्क्रोधोऽभिजायते ||

क्रोधात्भवति सम्मोह: सम्मोहात् स्मृतिविभ्रम: । स्मृतिभ्रंशात्् बुद्धिनाश: बुद्धिनाशात् प्रणश्यति ||
(Thinking about the sense objects brings an attachment towards them. Attachment breeds desire and desire leads to frustration, which in turn leads to delusion. Delusion leads to loss of memory, and with it the power of discrimination is destroyed. In the absence of discrimination, the individual perishes.)

Shree Krishna Vilasa Kavyam authored by Sukumaran (Popularly known as Sukumara Kavi) is diademed as the Crest Jewel among the Sanskrit poems written in praise of Lord Krishna. The poet shot to fame, shining like the North Star in the literary horizon with his only work. But behind this composition, there is a tragic story.

Sukumaran was a wonderful child – obedient, intelligent, humble, virtuous and deeply devoted to his Guru. But his Guru was always harsh and rude towards him.

 The Guru was soft towards all other disciples and never scolded them. He was ever ready to explain again and again to them whereas in Sukumaran’s case lessons were taught only once. But then, Sukumaran was smart enough to grasp the lesson in that single explanation. But the teacher always appeared to be angry with Sukumaran. Even though depressed and deeply hurt, Sukumaran never compromised with his studies. By hard work, he acquired great knowledge in various subjects.

 Years went by. Though he had mastered everything, Sukumaran went on with his higher studies and the teacher too was not inclined to allow him to leave.

One day a grammar lesson was in full swing when Sukumaran raised a doubt. The teacher lost his temper. He began to cane Sukumaran. The pain was unbearable. When it began to bleed Sukumaran ran away from there. He felt deeply hurt and humiliated. “I cannot bear it anymore. Tonight I will take him on,” he decided.

When the negative emotions storm the mind, even the brightest of intellects is paralysed, and the greatest of sins appears justified.   

When the Guru was engaged in his evening prayers, Sukumaran sneaked into the attic with a big granite piece and seated himself on a beam straight above the teacher’s bed. “Let him sleep. I will drop this granite piece straight on his chest. He will die on the spot,” Sukumaran planned everything while hiding up in the attic.

When the teacher had finished his prayers, his wife asked him, “Shall I serve you dinner?”

“No, I am not well, I don’t feel like eating today,” he said in great distress.

The lady could deduce that her husband was unhappy. “What is wrong with you? Tell me,” she coaxed him.

The subsequent conversation between them went thus:

Teacher: “Today I canned Sukumaran harshly. I feel sorry for him. He always used to face my cane silently. But today he ran away from the class. Maybe I was too harsh. My heart is too heavy to eat or sleep.”

Wife: “I have been longing to ask you about Sukumaran. He is so good at studies and gentle in manners. I have not heard of any other boy as intelligent and disciplined as him. He is humble and obedient too. Yet you have been so cruel to him. Is it fair on your part to punish boys of his age?”

Teacher: “You are right! Do you know something? I love him more than our own son. I didn’t pamper him because I was afraid he will turn priggish. Sukumaran is the best student in this school. His mind is like gold. But I also see a few drawbacks in him. I scold him so that I can make him the best!
Wait and see, he will become a great scholar one day! The whole world will be at his feet! But I cannot pardon myself! I cannot even imagine the pain he would have gone through today! I will never punish him again.”

Hiding in the attic, Sukumaran overheard each and every word of the conversation. A deep sense of repentance swept over him. He started crying and when the Master was fast asleep he came down and went to his chamber. But he could not sleep even a wee bit that night.

Burning with guilt, Sukumaran went to his master early in the morning.

The teacher was overwhelmed with joy seeing his beloved student. He embraced him bestowing on him his wholehearted blessings. After a few moments of silence, the teacher spoke, “I was very cruel to you. I know you are hurt. But my dear child, please bear with this old man. I shall never hurt you again.”

Sukumaran pleaded with folded palms, “Sir, you may chide me again; cane me as much as you like. I will be only happy to face anything. I was hiding up in the attic with the evil intention of killing you. I was shocked when I realised that you have got the deepest affection for me. The very thought of killing the teacher is unpardonable. Now that I have sinned by thought and by deed, please lead me on to the right path of redemption.”

The teacher consoled him, “Repentance is the best form of redemption. You have repented from the bottom of your heart. I have pardoned you. What more do you want?”

But Sukumaran said firmly “No sir. That’s not enough. Unless I punish myself I will not have peace of mind.”

There was no way Sukumaran could be dissuaded. At last, the teacher relented in a broken choked voice, “If you are so keen, go to the Brahmana Sabha (the assembly of Brahmins) tomorrow and seek their opinion.”

At daybreak, Sukumaran had his bath. After the morning prayers, he went straight to the Brahmana Sabha. The assembly was in full session. He gave a genuine report of the previous day’s incidents.

“You will have to smoulder yourself to death in burning awn of paddy. This is the only way for your redemption,” the Brahmins passed their judgement.

Arrangements were made immediately. Sukumaran positioned himself neck-deep in a heap of awn, which was set fire at its base.

“However, I must compose a poem in praise of the Lord before shedding off my mortal coil,” decided Sukumaran and began to recite the verses that reflected in his mind as the flames were slowly spreading upwards. (These verses were noted down by his friends and later compiled into a great work, which became famous as Shree Krishna Vilasa Kavyam).

He had reached the 12^th chapter when the flames caught hold of his throat. In a few minutes, he was reduced to ashes.

Thus the voice of a genius was silenced forever. But his memories are alive even today and he will ever be known as the symbol of devotion to the teachers.

(Later the poet laureate Kalidasa made an attempt to complete the composition of Sukumaran. But as he was about to write, he heard an incorporeal voice forbidding him from his attempt, “Don’t try to join plantain fibre to the silk thread.”
The divine voice, comparing Sukumaran’s composition with silk and his own with fibre, put Kalidasa to shame.)

May the Almighty Lord give us the ability to detect and eliminate the negative thoughts before they turn into a roaring inferno.

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

March 2018

Life is as light as a feather to one who has renounced his over-exaggerated pride. – Chinmaya

Ego is an entity born out of Self-ignorance. Hence it can only make our life miserable.

Our ego deludes and misleads us, making a boulder of even ordinary situations in life.

The vision of life:

The mind of an egoistic man is like a lacerated wound oozing with pus and blood of negativities like anger, greed etc. When such an unhealthy mind makes contact with the outer world, the result is pain.

Mental wound (ego) + worldly contact = mental disturbance

An egoistic person, being an extrovert, is unaware of his sick mind. He sees only the gross worldly situations and thus blames the world for his misery. According to him, he is a “Perfect man in this imperfect world.”  Like the one who wears dark glasses sees everything dark, a person’s dark egoistic mind makes him believe that except him, nobody is right. Misguided by this ego, he becomes a self-coronated world teacher and his life becomes a mission in setting others right.

Definition of happiness:

An egoistic person is absolutely unaware of the higher joys of life – the joy of cooperation, of service, of forgiveness, of surrender, of devotion, of loving and sharing, of peace and tranquillity.

The joys the ego is aware of are: the joy of defeating, of being praised, of taking revenge, of sensuous indulgences, of belittling others, of gossip, of bossing over others etc. Ego’s definition of happiness is – “Boost the ego, and expand your joy.”

 Whole life the egoistic person beats his own drum of achievements in seeking happiness.

The end result? An egoistic man remains a beggar of happiness. A little praise – he is above the clouds; a little criticism – he is buried underground in sorrow! The key to his happiness is in everyone else’s pocket! Like a football, he is kicked hither and thither. Like a puppet, he is made to dance to others’ tunes. The balloon of his happiness is ever ready to burst at the slightest pin-pricks of life.

For an egoistic man, peace of mind is ever a distant dream.

 Way of Life:

An egoistic person always compares and competes. He compares himself with others around him – be it looks, possessions or positions. He always craves to be the first and the best in all fields. He expects his children to be super-humans excelling in sports, studies and all other extracurricular activities. This puts a lot of unnecessary pressure upon him.

If only he is aware of how much he suffers because of his ego! Wrapped up totally within the spicy encasement of egocentric delusions, soaked fully in the boiling oil of sky-high ambitions, his ego fries him like a ‘pakoda’ over the self-created fire of cut-throat competitions.

His attention is always on what he doesn’t have. Discontentment never leaves him. Gratitude never finds him. Surrendering to God is unknown to him. Not knowing that he is sitting in the Godly train, he burdens himself with the worldly luggage on his head, and vainly boasts himself to be a ‘self-made man.’

His ego doesn’t even allow him to accept old age with grace. Whether grey hairs or wrinkles – he is quick to hide it from public notice, thanks to beauty parlours and saloons. He feels insulted when he is addressed as ‘uncle’ and refuses help while climbing the staircase.  

During conversation:

An egoistic person is like the peak of a mountain; the water of knowledge hardly gathers there. He thinks he knows everything. Even if he becomes aware of his ignorance, his ego will not allow him to admit it in front of others.

Even the little knowledge that an egoistic person has is of no much use to him. There is much show of his erudition and scholarship. If the other person doesn’t agree with him, he turns the discussion into an argument.

He argues – not to know, but to win. He has no patience to listen to the viewpoint of others. Even when he pretends to listen, deep within he is preparing the counter-arguments to defeat his opponent.

Or, the conversation very soon zeroes down to his personal heroisms. He is so full of himself that he wants to talk only about himself. He will go on and on with his adventures and achievements. Many times he forgets that he has told the same stuff to the same person umpteen times!

He is so engrossed about himself that the expressions of boredom and restlessness on the face of the listeners are never even noticed by him. Many times the listener feels more like an unchained prisoner, though externally, out of social obligation, he pretends to be an interested learner!

Soon everyone avoids him and he finds himself suffocating and bored in the self-created prison of loneliness, thanks to his self exaggerated pride.

Decision making:

A wise person makes a decision in life by asking himself: “Do I need it? Will it be useful for me?”

On the other hand, an egoistic person is bothered only by one question: “What will others think of me?” His whole life as though is spent living in the fear of others.

Thus, despite his poor economic status, he lives in posh bungalows and roams around in luxurious imported cars. He takes great pride in attending all public functions with his wife on his side wearing diamond and platinum studded jewellery. His children study in prestigious International schools. He is very active on Facebook and Whatsapp, posting photos of his adventures and world-tours. With too much of pomp and show, his whole life is a non-stop attempt to declare to the whole world that he is successful, happy and prosperous.

There is a wise saying: “An egoistic person buys things which he doesn’t want, to impress people whom he doesn’t like, with the money which he doesn’t have”!!

Trying to feed his ever-bloating ego, he is stressed out wondering how to make both ends meet. Soon, he engages himself in all corrupt malpractices and immoral trades to make extra money, not knowing that through such unlawful ways, he is only jumping from the frying pan to burning fire.

He finds great pride in calling himself a part of the ‘elite, cream class of the society.’ He keeps regular contact with the influential and the famous, never forgetting to post the selfies with them in social media. The drink served in the late-night parties becomes the panacea for the day-long egoistic exhaustions.

With parties and drinks, worries and anxieties, diabetes and blood pressure, he looks like a man of sixty, though hardly he has crossed forty.  

In relationships:

An egoistic person has only one philosophy: “Either my way or hit the highway.”

He is a man of extremes. Others opine about him thus: “If he likes you, then he will lick and kill you; and if he hates you, then he will kick and kill you!”

Either way, for the other, death is sure!

He is adamant in his belief system. For him, he alone is right. Hence he forcefully implements it upon his near and dear ones. If they don’t accept his suggestions, then he takes it as an insult and will not even hesitate to break the relationship. He suffocates the life of all who depend upon him.

He is the last person to admit his mistakes and say, “I am sorry.” He will always have innumerable justifications lined up to prove that he was always right.

But when others make mistakes, he will never miss the opportunity to say, “See! I told you!”

If someone hurts him, he is quick to retaliate. ‘Tit for tat’ is his way of life. Revenge alone is the balm which heals his wounded pride. In the process, he creates false friends and true enemies around him waiting for their turn to retaliate.

About people, he is extremely biased. Only his sycophants find themselves in his inner circle. But his critics – even though they may be knowledgeable people or his well-wishers – are mercilessly shown the door. Thus his ego digs for him his grave of self-destruction.

The worst part of the whole story is: Despite that Infinite, Immortal Lord being right there in his heart as his own Self, his ego expels Him out and rules his heart, thus denying him the infinite joy of his own true nature.

What greater tragedy can there be in his life that, in spite of being rich, thanks to his ego, he lives and dies so poor!!

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T

January 2018

The joy of living is clouded when the seeker has no dynamic goal or ideal. If there is a goal, then life gathers a sharpness, a glow of its own accord. – Chinmaya

The best in us can come out only when we have a noble goal. And very many times, we find our noble goal in the company of the enlightened masters.

January 23^rd happens to be the Samadhi day of Pujya Mataji Krishnabai of Anandashram. Krishnabai was born on 20^th September 1903 as the third child of Venkat Rao and Indirabai.  On the premature death of her husband in 1923, she was very angry with all the gods for having made her a widow. She tried to end her life by consuming heavy doses of opium, but soon her relatives came to know of it and she was brought back to life. She passed her days in intense bereavement, finding no direction or purpose in life. To give her some solace, her relatives took her to various saints.  

In 1928, she came in contact with Papa Ramdas of Anandashram, and in him, she found her Master, her goal, her God. From then on, her entire life was dedicated to the service of her Guru, her beloved Papa, who was all and beyond all. After the first eventful meeting, her spiritual progress was so fast, “like a rocket,” as Papa Ramdas would put it, that she reached the goal in a very short time – in just three years.

Mataji’s sadhana, as directed by Ramdas, was constant chanting of the holy Ram-naam. Her burning aspiration to realise God, the true nature of her beloved Papa, made her scorn all worldly enjoyments. She wanted nothing but God. She was literally God-mad. Nothing in the world would distract her attention. People teased her; some even tried to molest her. Thanks to the blazing purity of her heart – she came out unscathed from the fiery ordeals to which any ordinary individual would have succumbed.

On a Purnima day, listening to the inner call, she left behind all her belongings and came to the Ashram carrying only the clothes she wore at that time. Papa, who was observing a vow of silence, wrote on a slip of paper, “Mother, you have come to your home. This Ashram shall, in future, be your permanent place of residence.”

In the Ashram, before Papa got up early in the morning, Mataji would be up and would first do three pradakshinas of Papa and would place her head at his feet, praying to bless one and all in the universe with realisation. She would then attend to Papa’s needs such as arrangements for bath, breakfast, etc., and then she would go down to do her work in the kitchen. But her mind would always be on Papa.

Mataji would give Papa his bath as he found it difficult to bathe because of rheumatism. While pouring water on his head, her attitude would be that of a devotee performing abhisheka to the Lord.

In all matters, Papa’s word was final. By her behaviour, she taught other devotees also that Guru should be implicitly obeyed. She did not like anybody arguing with Papa on any subject. She would say, “Why do you argue? Do you know more than Papa? Be always humble and submit to what Papa says. That alone will do you good.”

When writing about Papa, if anyone wrote ‘Beloved Papa’ she would immediately correct, “That is not the way you should write. There must always be an adjective showing his attributes like ‘Infinite and All-Merciful Papa’ etc. You should never think of Papa as an individual or as the body. Keep always in mind that He is God Himself.”

Mataji was once asked, “Papa’s body, we know, is also subject to the law of nature and has to perish sooner or later. How can we say he is God?”

Mataji replied, “Papa is not merely this body. Though Infinite and Eternal, Papa is in this body, works through this body which is purified and made divine. You must worship this body also as God Himself, because it is through this body you are initiated, guided, helped and blessed.”

While serving Papa, Mataji would wash her hands several times and ask others to do the same. If it was making Papa’s bed, one had to wash the hands before touching the bed. Then the sheets were removed, mattress lifted to a bench and the cot dusted and wiped with a clean towel, which was then put aside. The hands would have to be washed again before touching the bed.

Mataji would explain, “Any service you do to beloved Papa must be perfect in all respects and everything must be scrupulously clean. You should never be half-hearted or careless or shabby while serving Papa. Hence you should maintain the highest standard of cleanliness, purity and devotion in whatever you do, so that every act of yours becomes a worship of beloved Papa.”

Mataji would observe from a distance the visitor-devotees or inmates of the Ashram and lament, “Look at these devotees! They remove their chappals with their hands and immediately come inside. They touch Papa with their dirty hands. Papa, of course, does not mind these things. In fact, His mind is not on these things at all, except, sometimes, when He expresses jokingly how devotees massaging His legs would blow out their noses with their hands and continue their massage without washing their hands and Papa would laugh. Beloved Papa sees only their devotion, but I am not that kind of a person. I cannot stand such dirty habits.”

Mataji wanted to do all the seva of Papa herself. But when some devotees requested her to permit them to do seva, she would agree as she was anxious that they should also get the benefit of serving Papa and thus gradually many devotees started doing various types of services to Papa such as preparing food, massaging, washing his clothes etc.

Mataji herself did not think anything impossible, at least in her willingness to be of the utmost service to Papa in various ways. When she found that Papa did not have a good secretary, she decided even to learn English, and even to learn typewriting to serve Papa!

In September 1961, Papa had some trouble with the liver, and the doctors suspected that it was malignant. On hearing this, Mataji then and there decided to start a 11-Crore Naama Japa Yajna, praying to beloved Papa himself for his good health. Luckily, the disease was not serious and Papa’s health improved and the pain in the liver became considerably less.

On July 25, 1963, at around 7 pm, when Papa attained Mahasamadhi, Mataji sat beside the body the whole night massaging his feet, refusing to eat, drink or sleep. She was seen frequently weeping unable to control herself. When asked why she should weep so much when she had realised that she and Papa were one and that Papa, being Eternal, had not gone anywhere, Mataji would reply in a choked voice, “I and Papa are one. Yet he had a separate form and I am missing that form. Though all are Papa’s forms, the particular form whose company I had all these years is lost to the sight. When can we see another such form?”

On another occasion, Mataji remarked, “I am weeping only because nobody amongst you took advantage of Papa’s presence all those years. How unfortunate! Everybody took things easy; nobody took things seriously. Now that Papa has left, who will light up the path for you as he did?”

After the Mahasamadhi of Papa, Mataji made it a daily feature to have beloved Papa’s book read by someone in Papa’s room and in the bhajans hall. She also made the group sitting in her room chant Ram-naam, and this became a daily routine. When devotees asked her any question, she would reply, always adding that she was just passing on to them what had been taught by beloved Papa.

Mataji was allergic to praise. When praised, she would feel extremely uncomfortable and would try to avoid that person. Once she was heard saying painfully, “When you all praise me, I feel as if many pins are pricking me.”

Pujya Mataji was very happy to possess nothing. So whatever extra things she received over and above her minimum necessities, she would give away immediately. Twice she gave away even half of her sari she wore to two women who were badly in need of them.

Papa casually remarked laughing, “Krishnabai, you are giving away everything. One day, you may give away Ramdas also!” He laughed again and again. Mataji did not speak a word then. But after Papa’s Mahasamadhi, when Mataji was giving the holy ashes to the devotees in small packets, she remembered what Papa had remarked some years earlier in jest.

Mataji did not like the word ‘charity’. She used to say, “If you call it charity, it has a tinge of superiority complex in it, that is, you look upon the recipient as someone below your status as if you are doing a great favour in giving anything to him. That attitude should not be there. You must give to the other person as an ‘offering’ to Beloved Papa and pray to him to accept it. Then it becomes real worship.”

Many times people came to her for money narrating false stories of family tragedies. When she was informed of how she was fooled and cheated, she would laugh and say, “Beloved Papa! What all types of people you bring here!” She would forget the matter altogether without the slightest hatred or regret.

Someone asked, “Mataji! Please tell us how you could progress so fast in spirituality. She replied, “It was all because of Papa’s grace and blessings.”

When again asked, “So many have been striving for God realisation. How is that Papa showered His grace only on you?”

Mataji’s answer was, “Beloved Papa asked me to chant Ram-naam constantly. I did exactly what He told me; rather He made me do exactly as I was told. I only felt that I should obey implicitly whatever he said. I never argued with Him, but implicitly obeyed Him. That might have been the reason He took me into His Eternal Swaroop so soon.”

Again Mataji was asked, “Why are we not progressing then?”

Mataji would say,” You should know the reason yourself. Do you feel that you want Beloved Papa and nothing but Him? Have you started loving Beloved Papa as your own? To get the realisation of Beloved Papa’s Eternal Swaroop is not so easy. It requires the highest type of internal renunciation. You people still cling on to the narrow family circle and consider that the family alone is yours. Unless you expand your vision and mentally accept everybody as yours, how can you be entitled to get that grand universal vision? Beloved Papa will surely give you that vision if you fulfil this condition.”

O   M         T   A   T         S   A   T