16 August, Harisar Ashram, Kila Raipur:Like every month, devotees gathered around to gear up for the upcoming month ofBhadon, seeking Guru’s blessings. Sadhvi Ji talked about how one can get better of his/her ‘I’ growing over the ladder of intellect. Adding further, Swami Ji delivered on how to avoid getting stumbled over the name of karam yoga, a much talked about and mostly mistakenly perceived concept of today.
Glimpse from Sadhvi Ji’s discourse:
‘It is my life! I will live it the way I want it to be. I am the Master of my own mind’, says our mind. Isn’t that so? Surprisingly,we’ll find this to be the other way around, i.e. we are rather servants of our mind, if we choose to peek in well enough. Illusion has bound us in five subtle physical elements (panch-vishays): sound, touch, sight/light, taste, and smell. These physical elements further bind their respective organ systems (indriyas) followed by our mind, struck in the transitory pleasures offered by these. The moment this phenomenon reverses, i.e. vishyas are bound by indriyas, which in turn are bound by mind instead, is the moment we’ll be ready to surrender unto Guru’s command. That day onwards we’ll actually lead the life the way we want it to be.
The question –how can this be done? When we were in the mother’s womb we were nourished by the milk availed by the divine. We were not even born yet but He had made all the arrangements. Then why wouldn’t he continue to do so? We are constantly running around saying that ‘I’ need to work for a living. Whatever gave us that impression of ‘I am the doer’! So, the job on our part is just to accept this very fact that ‘He is the doer’. We are so much drowned in this ocean of ‘I’ that we are cribbing all day long;‘Mr. X did this to me. So, he is Wrong! That kid said this to me. So, he is Bad!’
Gurbani says, ‘Awwal allah noor upaya, kudrat de sab bandey. Ek noor te sabh jag upjeya, kaun bhale kau mandey’, i.e. ‘at first, God created light. Then, with His creative power, he sculpted mankind. From this one light, the entire cosmos welled up. So, who is good, and who is bad?’ If we believe that He resides in all then backbiting, disrespecting, or hurting anyone is equal to treating the divine dwelling within each in the similar fashion. Do we scold our own hand or any other body part for that matter? No, we do not. So, the foremost step towards Him is that we must glue this concept –we are all but one– and stick it in our minds.
True, this doesn’t happen overnight. And until then the soul-wife is wandering in delusion, performing rituals to impress people. They are of no use because as such she cannot get God-husband’s love. In such a scenario, soul (we) must seek refuge in Guru who is the only divine ship authorized to carry the soul across the world ocean to unify with God. Because those who love their Guru and gulp down his teachings are loved and protected by him from the never-ending cycle of life and death. For this, we must practice Guru-mantra on a daily basis and attend satsangas at least once on a monthly basis. With consistent aural faculty, recurring resolutions, we’ll gradually aboard the divine ship!
Glimpse from Swami Ji’s discourse:
Satsangas occur over and over again with the sole purpose of offering a clear view of our final destination. As for guru, all are His creation. He neither expects nor keeps any hopes. But, at the same time, he understands that our goal is not easy to be perceived. He himself keeps on working, i.e. doing sewa (service) tenaciously while guiding us through our journey. ‘Work’, what kind of it? The kind, that takes us a step closer to Him. Rest everything is meaningless.
It is not about being right or wrong. It is about improving step by step, making the world a better place. For that, we must work. People say that Gita is all about karam yoga, worldly actions. Know this, it is buddhi yoga that has a realistic purpose. It leads to clarity. Karma is the outlet for the buddhi, i.e. it steers one towards the nishkama karma (selfless work) gradually leading to the purification of the individual, taking one away from ‘I’.
We say we want to meet God, get liberated. But in 24 hours how many times do we actually recall that I need to meet God? If worldly endeavors are our priority then we got a long way ahead. Therefore, making a balance, practicing Guru-mantra, we must try perceiving our ultimate goal. Narada says, don’t waste even half a second waiting for the right moment. Grasp this; life is short. We won’t even know when it’s time to leave this world. So, let’s stop tale bearing of the person living next door. Let’s not waste these precious human breaths in slogging otherwise. Lose no time; let’s surrender ‘I’ unto Guru.
