July 31, Shabad Surati Sangam Ashram, Malke, Moga: In yet another brainstorming month-end satsang, Swami Ji urged on a basic question every sadhak asks at some point while taking baby steps towards the ultimate One. It was followed by a brief but rousing discourse by Sadhvi Ji. Let’s take a close look!
Swami Ji’s Discourse:
Satsang began with a question which is recurrently raised, i.e. we do sit for our daily prayers but why is it that we are seldom able to concentrate? As long as everything is running the way we expect, all is well. The moment some household or professional downfall prevails, or we do not get what we desired for, we instantaneously lose faith in Guru complaining that God doesn’t hear me anymore!
What do we miss? Where is the gap? We consider ourselves to be this gross/physical body and therefore, to Guru, just a body as well. This body is the reason behind all the knots. Just for the sake of this body, we are constantly running around worldly affairs and then dare to say, ‘mind doesn’t settle.’ This is next to impossible. As long as mind exists, no peace can be found. Sounds unachievable, right? The only easy way out is if we accept this to be true –guru mere puran brahma– my Guru is the living God. As long as ‘I’ is there, ‘I do not commit any mistake,’ this is the biggest mistake ‘I’ is committing. The scriptures proclaim, ‘Ishwaro Gururatmeti, Murti bheda Vibhagine’, i.e. God, Guru and our Soul, are all but one. Sadhana won’t even begin until we believe so until we submit completely to Guru’s command.
So, leaving ‘I’ and ‘you’ behind, keeping naam-japa (contemplation over guru-Mantra) as an only significant thing, it becomes easily attainable. No peace can be found otherwise. Now, it becomes solely our choice whether we wish to arrive crawling or jumping up there because whether today or tomorrow, that is and that will be our only destination.
Concluding, Swami Ji emphasized on three points: 1) daily practice of naam-japa, at least 45 minutes/sitting with closed eyes, 2) fulfilling your worldly duties responsibly while making sure that you do not hurt anyone in the process, because the divine resides in all, and last but not the least, 3) try not to be a master of anyone as there is only one Master. Be a servant, a sewak performing sewa honestly and lovingly.
Sadhvi Ji’s discourse:
“In spite of the scorching heat, people from distant places have assembled for today’s satsanga. This does confirm the desire, the longing for ultimate. However, since it is combined with the worldly aspirations, this divine desire loses its base. This is the reason satsang take place over and over again. Secondly, as Swami Ji already mentioned about fixing the amount of time for naam-japa, we must pay heed to it. It is a must, a necessity if we yearn for Him.”
Getting to the same question scrutinized by Swami Ji, i.e. why we find it hard to concentrate while sitting for Japa; Sadhvi Ji elaborated with a day-to-day example— When we are out in the sun it is but natural that sunlight falls on our skin. Eventually, that warmness travels beneath our skin giving our whole body a good taste of it. Similarly, when we do Japa, without a doubt, it will do its job deep inside regardless we think of it as ‘mind doesn’t settle’. So, keeping the constant nagging aside, we must start giving Japa its due time. ‘Ram naam ratate raho, jab tak ghat mein praan, kabhi to deen dayal ke, bhanak padegi kaan’, i.e. our job is to keep on reciting His name, keep on knocking the door ignoring the tricks of mind and the worldly associations. Certainly, one day, it will fall on His ears.
Let’s become an addict of Guru’s nama-japa, just like a drug addict who is constantly dreaming about his dose. On his way to the drugstore, he is least bothered about any other shop existing on his either side. Likewise, renouncing the sidetracks, our only goal is to reach the doorsteps of the divine. Hold on to this time and make best out of it. Once lost, it is lost forever.