Nazm - ' Tumhi Guru ho ...'

1.        Guzar rahi thi zindagi, khizan ki tarha ;

  Aaye  aap  jashne  baharan  ki  tarah .

2.        Ghiri thi kashti, jahan ki rang raliyon main ;

  Bhanwar se paar kiya, aap ne maanjhi ki tarha .

3.        Daulat ka nasha, aur us pe taaqat ka gumaan ;

  Aaye  aap  teergi  mein,  roshini  ki  tarha .

4.        Bhatak  raha tha,  chauraasi  ki  gardish  mein ;

  Rehmatey khidmat bakshi, noore ibaadat ki tarha .

5.        Sulag raha tha hajoom, dard-o-museebat ki aag mein ;

  Bhar  di  jholiyan,  ishke-aabe-hayyaat  ki  tarha .

6.        Tashnagi mitaney ke liye, hazaar niyamatein magar ;

  Pyar  barsatey  rahe,  aap  arsh-o-abar  ki  tarha .

7.        Jagaa   do   chingari,   ishke   hakiki   ki ;

  Chamak uthe dil-o-dimaagh, aaftaab ki tarha .

8.        Pila do bhar bhar ke, piyaley mohabbat ke ;

  Chha jaye noor rooh mein, masti ki tarha .

9.        Nazr aayen jalwe khuda ke, har shaks mein ;

  Har shaks nazr aaye mujhe, khuda ki tarha .

10.      Tumhin guru ho, tumhin murshid, tumhin khuda mere ;

  Parha  hoon  dar  pe  tere,  roohe  betaab  ki  tarha .

              Note:  See attachment for essence of the Nazm.

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Essence of the Nazm – ‘Tumhi Guru ho…’

1.      Khizan – autumn, Jashne baharan – festival of spring

Before coming unto the lotus feet of Guruji, life was dull, colourless. It was like autumn – dry, empty, uninteresting.  Your coming into my life was like a breath of fresh air and made it bloom like spring.

2.      The boat of my life floundered in the sea of desires. I was engrossed in the attractions of material world.  You took me out of this whirlpool and led me to the path of spirituality.

3.      Teergi  -  darkness.  Wealth and power gave me a sense of pride and I developed ego-centric desires. (it was like groping in the darkness of tamoguni and rajoguni karmas).  You were kind to dispel the darkness and illuminated my life by inculcating satoguna in me.

4.      Rehmatey khidmat bakshi – blessed me to render self-less service.  Noore ibadat – radiance of divine worship.  While I was wending my weary way through a long journey of 84 lac yonis (births),  you were kind, merciful, and blessed me to  render self-less service to mankind which was a like radiance of Divine worship.

5.      Hajoom – public, mankind.  Ishke-aabe-hayyaat – love, nectar of heaven.

Falling upon the thorns of life, multitudes were reeling under the onslaught of misery. Mankind was scorching in the fretful stir and fever of the world.  You were gracious to bestow upon them abundance of love like nectar of  heaven.

6.      Tashnagi – thirst. Niyamatein – delicacies, delightful items.

To quench the thirst, any number of delicious drinks are available, but you blessed our souls with the rains of your love.

7.      Ishke hakiki – Divine Love.  Aaftaab – sun.

Kindle the spark of Divine Love, so that my heart and head illuminates like the Sun.

8.      Noor  -  radiance,  rooh – inner-self.

Fill me to the brim with your love; so that my inner-self is intoxicated with your radiance.

9.      Jalwa– splendour, beauty.

I may see the splendour of God in every human being.  In every human being I may see the beauty of  His Divinity.  Ek se Anek and Anek se Ek.

10.   Murshid – spiritual guide,  roohe betaab – impatient inner-self.

You are my Guru, You are my spiritual guide, For me, you are my God.  I have completely surrendered myself unto thy lotus feet.  I have a burning desire to be one with You.  Please be merciful and bless me to attain salvation. I linger at your door like a yearning soul.

Make an effort, I am there (with you)

     In this material world, people involved with sensuous pleasures and worldly attractions, feel a sense of pride in constructing walls of ego-centric desires and self centred-ness around them.  Like in the case of cobwebs, they continue to get trapped in the web of  problems which they have created themselves.  Then, within those walls, they develop the habit of living like frogs in the well.  Amazingly, more and more persons are taking to this tendency, which restricts their vision, their thought process, development and progress.  In such a situation, emotional attachment, desire to possess, jealousy, animosity and the resultant tension and agony are quite natural.  We forget wherefrom have we come and in which direction  we have to go.  This is quite contrary  to  the wisdom of  the  ancient sages and seers of this great land ‘Bharat’, who had imagined creating ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and contemplated the maintenance of internal  as well as external world peace.

     An important and logical question arises:  for how long would you keep wandering in solitude, desperate and discontented, in a crowd full of greed, selfishness, ego, and  jealousy?    For   how   long   would   you   keep   throwing yourself in the torturous fire of physical and mental problems?  For how long would you give opportunities to selfish persons, who claim to be your own but, in the event of their interest not being served, would  not hesitate, repeatedly, to hurt your feelings?  For how long would you allow your self-respect to be humbled?  For how long?    And for how long would you make an exhibition of your bleeding wounds?  More often than not, listening to your heart-rending story, people may laugh at you.  Somebody may sympathize with you for a while and then move on.  Very rarely will someone  make an effort to heal your wounds.

     Therefore, for how long would you carry the load of your ‘karmas’, birth after birth, and keep travelling in the darkness of ignorance?  After all, for how long would you keep going astray with the dirt of your ‘karmas’ (performed under the influence of passion, anger, greed, emotional attachment, and ego) wrapped around your corporeal frame?  In this destructible and unstable dreamland, nobody belongs to you, nor can any material object   be   yours   forever.   You   have  no  choice  but  to abandon  everything here.  The moment your  ‘Antaratma’ leaves this   corporal    frame    made    of   five  ingredients,   your  so-called  close  relatives  will  say  “Take this  body  away before it starts emitting foul smell and perform the last rites at the earliest.  What remains now in a heap of debris.” Then, at the earliest, chanting ‘Ram Naam Satya hai”,  your body will be  consigned  to  flames.   In  a couple  of days  your ashes and bones  will be collected and immersed in the water of holy Ganges.  At the time your bones are being picked up, your soul may cry out,  “where my body has been burnt, my heart must also  have  burnt  there?  What is the object of raking up my ashes now”?

     Alas! you had realized the truth of ‘Ram Naam Satya hai” while in the corporal frame.  Learn to live with restraint.  Make an effort to live this life from a spectator’s point of view.  Your inner peace is your personal property which cannot be purchased even by spending millions.  Keep it safe.  Do not allow others to loot it.  While discharging your responsibilities and obligations towards others, remain within limits, live gracefully maintaining decorum.  Take care of worldly relations with respect, love and affection, but do not get attached to them.  Lord Buddha had said,  “Exercising restraint on your desires is, in reality, their fulfillment.  Desires are like a mirage.  The more you try to satisfy them, the greater is the desire and they keep multiplying.  Howsoever you try, you will not be able to fulfill your desires.”

    

     You have strayed far enough, experienced enough  helplessness and destitution.  Now make an effort to divert your  attention  from  the sensuous  and ego-centric  desires and enter the realm of your inner-self.   For how long would you keep running away from your Father (Almighty God)?  Right from the beginning, only your relationship with Him is true and  permanent, while  all other relationships are false and temporary. You kept embracing the illusory and  ran  away  from  the  truth.   God  Almighty  has  bestowed upon you the status of His highest creation.  Gave you the exalted human body which is like a mobile temple worthy of worship.  In this mobile temple, He established Himself in the form of Aatman.  But instead of making good use of this unique creation, you misused it, abused it and oppressed it with  the heavy load of your bad ‘karmas’ that distanced you from your Father.  He might have left you to your ‘karmas’, but He has been anxiously waiting with open arms, to receive you.  But you preferred  embracing those whose separation was certain and predestined and continued moving away from your Father.  He keeps yearning for you, thinking that one day my tired and exhausted child would come home and lovingly announce, “Father, I have come”. How can  you disappoint your Father Supreme and deprive Him of your nearness? 

     In this material world, to take birth in a particular species or in a particular family, (depending upon your ‘karmas’ and ‘sanskaars’)  is a mile-stone  of your  journey and not the destination.  Nothing is permanent or stable here.  Everything is subject to change - Relationships, friendships  acquaintances, associations, items, objects, materials,  desires,  actions,  circumstances,  situations.   In fact, your own body is  temporary  and subject to change.   What was available yesterday, is not available today; what is available today, will not be so tomorrow and the never ending wheel of  time will continue  to  revolve.  Our close relatives, our loved ones  who  were  so very dear  to  us,  our  friends  on whom we relied implicitly, left us.  So much so, that we did not even realize when our childhood, our youth left us quietly.  But one existence, i.e. jeevatma,  that kept watching these changes as a spectator, is the only real, stable and permanent entity.  It is a law of nature that the one who takes birth, grows, changes, decays and over a period of time will be  destroyed.  In such a situation, any attempt made to establish a permanent relationship in this temporary world is a mirage.

     How many tears would you have shed on separation from a loved one or on breaking of any worldly relationship that you treasured?  How much would you have mourned the agony of separation? How many songs of separation would you have sung, in the saddest tunes, touching the depth of heart.  Worldly relationships are destined to be broken or lead to separation.  Only one  relationship  is capable of giving you permanent happiness, and  that  is with the Supreme Lord.  If you have the intense desire to meet him, why don’t you learn the art of diving deep into the ocean of His existence?  Be sensitive to  the agony of separation.  If you have the burning desire to be with your Lord, then let the tears of separation freely flow from your eyes and wash the dirt of your ‘karmas’.  Dive deeper for a while into the Ganga or Yamuna  of   ‘Satoguni’  thoughts  and  let  the  dirt  of ‘Rajoguni’ and ‘Tamoguni  karmas’  be  washed  off.   Hold  the  reins  and bring under your control the five   wild horses – ‘kama’ (passion), ‘krodha’ (anger), ‘lobha’ (greed), ‘moha’ (emotional attachment),  and  ‘ahankara’ (ego) – enough of the indicipline these five senses have exhibited so far like spoilt children – and take the chariot of your innerself (your ‘antaratma’) in the right direction of your Lord.

     Light the flame of His pious name in the temple of your heart.  Let the bells toll and the harmonious sound of His ‘Japa’ reverberate in your heart. Get completely absorbed and meditate on the ‘Jyotirlinga’ of your innerself.  Then look at your enlightened self and recognize  your original, pure and pious reflection. In the cosmic whispers of music (anhad naad), your ‘Antaratma’ will hear a  resounding sound -  ‘Hari Aum Tat Sat, Hari Aum Tat Sat,  Aham Brahmasmi’.  Then you may not even feel your outer existence.  You will experience enlightenment, happiness,   and tranquility around you.

     Where are you lost, my child, in the false and temporary attractions of this material world.  Recognize your real-self.   You are the TRUTH, PURE CONSCIOUSNESS, and BLISS.  Just as waves rise from the ocean and  merge into it, because they are a part of the ocean; similarly, you are a part of ‘Paramatma’ and it is only right and natural for the ‘Atmatatva’ to merge into its original source, the ‘Paramatma’   As  simple as  it was  for you   to accept  the existence of  this material world (which is false), it is far  simpler to accept the ‘Paramtatva’ – The Supreme Lord – because, in reality, you are truly a part of Him.

Make an earnest effort

I am  there  (with you)

                           

Guruji often used to say

 Writer is one of the prime disciples of Guruji of Himgiri - Neelkanth

On every Bara Guruwar, he renders selfless service with spiritual powers to

thousands of persons at his Guruji's samadhi (Neelkanth Dham, Najafgarh, New Delhi)

Importance of Guru in our Lives

     GURU -  This one word has such a vast, such a deep and such a profound meaning that it is very difficult for any person to elaborate it.  No language in the world has the capacity to translate it and no amount of words has the capability to explain it.  The stature of Guru is so exalted that even if one surrenders completely, he is only able to touch the tip of His toes – where Guru has His feet, shishyas or  devotees bow their heads in reverence.  In other words, Sadguru’s lower-most level (i.e., His lotus feet) is the higher-most level  (i.e., the head) of shishyas.  As such, the latter are just not in a position to describe the overall stature of a Sadguru. 

     The translation of the word Guru that one comes across in the English language is a ‘Teacher’ or a ‘Master’.  These words can at the most be understood in the commonly used sense of the word, but do not touch anywhere near the ambit of its entirety.  The term Guru is one of the most intractable terms in Hindu philosophy – a philosophy which is the oldest and has a unique living tradition of over 5,000 years, if not earlier.

     Sant Kabir, the well-known Indian saint and a highly exalted soul, in one of his dohas (couplets) expresses his inability to describe Guru.  He says, even if he takes the entire earth as paper, the waters of all the oceans to serve as ink and he makes kalams (traditional writing instrument) out of all the trees in the world,  yet he would not be able to describe the full meaning and glory of the word ‘Guru’.  Such is the degree of reverence a shishya (or a devotee)   has for his Guru that is reflected in the following doha of Sant Kabirji:

Guru Gobind dou khade, ka ke lagoon paaye

Balihari Guru aapne, jin Gobind diyo milaye

    Guru and Gobind (God) are both objects of reverence and worthy of worship, but Sant Kabir puts ‘Guru’ on a higher pedestal than God.  He says that if both Guru and God together condescend to give him darshan, he would first touch the lotus feet of his ‘Guru’ before seeking blessings from God, because it is He (Guru) who showed him the way to God.

     The word ‘Guru’ is derived from two roots – ‘Gu’ and ‘Ru’.  ‘Gu’ means darkness and ‘Ru’ means light.  The one who dispels darkness and takes you to light is a Guru.    The one who dispels the darkness of sensuous pleasures and pains (which are temporary and fleeting) and takes you to the light of eternal bliss (which is permanent and everlasting) is a Guru.  The one who helps you to break the shackles  of  birth,  death  and rebirth  and attain salvation is a Guru.

    Before we were born, our parents existed, our neighbours existed, our society existed.  We are born into a stream of existence and this cycle of birth, childhood, youth, old age, death and rebirth continues.  The quality of  this cycle (success or failure) may differ from one individual to another, depending upon his past and present ‘karmas’ , the birth that he takes in a particular family (rich or poor), his upbringing, his education and his environment.  Depending upon our past and present ‘karmas’ and ‘sanskars’, we take birth again and again in any of the eighty-four  lac  species  (yonis)  and   keep  drudging  and travelling in the darkness of ignorance from one birth to another, forgetting wherefrom we came and what  our ultimate destination is – i.e., salvation.

     Mahatma Kabir prayed. ‘Oh God, save me from two fires – one, hanging upside down for nine months in my mother’s womb, and second, when my corporal frame is consigned to the flames soon after the soul leaves the body.'

      Having created mankind along with the spirit of sacrifice at the beginning of creation, the Creator, Lord Brahma, gave them the following advice:

     “May you multiply and prosper by this spirit of sacrifice (free from attachment), may this yield the enjoyments you seek.  Foster each other with a sense of sacrifice and let the Gods be gracious to you.  Fostering each other unselfishly, you will attain the highest good.  Fostered by sacrifice, the Gods will surely bestow on you unasked all the desired enjoyments.  He who enjoys the gifts bestowed on him without sharing them with others is undoubtedly a thief.”

(Bhagvad Gita, Chaper III, shlokas 10-12)

     The object of this advice must have been to ensure peace, progress, prosperity and tranquillity for the entire mankind.

     Then the ancient sages and seers of this wonderful land (Bharat) conceived and expounded the doctrine of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’  (this entire world is one family and we are members of this global society) in order to elevate human dignity and universal brotherhood for the attainment of peace and prosperity.

        

     But as the human race multiplied, somewhere down the line we forgot the divine advice and the message of our learned rishis.  We became more and more materialistic and self-centred.  In the process, we developed a tendency to construct walls around us – walls of  ego-centric desires.  That is how  we  restrict  our vision, our thoughts, our actions, through the identification of oneself with the body.  Myself,  and those related to me through this body, set    the limits of my expansion.  Engrossed in the material belongings, what we see within those walls, we think belongs to us.  And anything unknown to us and outside those walls, we regard  as a stranger and as an enemy.  This identification with the body not only builds walls around me, but cuts me off from others who are beyond these little walls.  In the words of Rousseau,  the  famous French  philosopher,  “damn that man who said:  this is mine and that in thine  –  thus  sowed the seeds of self-centredness and a feeling of jealousy and animosity”.

   

     Guru plays the pivotal role in reminding us of Divine advice, teaches us the art of living a balanced life with restraint and stability of mind.  He  is  the  one  who  brings about awareness that actions (karmas) performed under the influence of senses give rise to sensuous pleasures and pains, which are transitory and fleeting.  He guides you how to discipline and bring under control the five wild horses – ‘kama’ (passion), ‘krodha’ (anger),  ‘lobha’ (greed), ‘moha’ (emotional  attachment)  and  ‘ahankara’  (ego)  - and  helps you to take the chariot of your life in the right direction of inner peace and tranquillity.  He brings about a realization in you that over-indulgence in sensuous objects give rise to Tamoguna which results in regret, remorse, sorrow and loss of peace.  Like a  father,  Guru  holds  your  little  finger  and  conditions  you  to  fearlessly  travel  from  the   illusory material world to the realms of spirituality, so that you could be one with the Real One and realize the ultimate truth – i.e., God.                          

     He tells you that the actions (karmas) performed under the influence of mind and intellect are obsessed by desire and devoted to material gains. Such actions are generally performed to serve the self and those closely related to the self, through this body.  This gives rise to Rajoguna.  The more you seek material pleasures, the greater is the desire to have still more, and you are caught in a mirage (mrigtrishna).  The mind has a tendency to swing like the pendulum of a clock – sometimes towards senses and at others to the intellect.  Therefore, it has to become steady.

     Where are you lost, my son, says the Guru, with all his  love  and  tenderness.   You are  not the body,  you are  the soul.  You existed before entering into this body and will remain even after leaving this body.  Illuminate yourself.  Perform   actions   under    the    influence    of   conscience (antaratman), which is an inseparable part of ‘Paramatman’.  Detach yourself  from the outside material world and enter into the inner world of consciousness.     Be  enlightened,  be equanimous and free from attachment.  He who is unattached,  his mind is stable.  Sensuous objects cease for him, walls of ego-centric desires do not exist for him.  He belongs to the entire world and the entire world belongs to him – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

     Under the guidance of the consciousness, you would realize that God resides in every human being, who is like   a mobile temple worthy of worship.  Make an effort to perceive Him in every human being that you come across.  To serve humanity is the best way to worship God.  The shortest path  to attain salvation  is to  render  service  to his creation – the mankind.  Remember, you are  not obliging   people  by  rendering  service  to  them.    On  the   contrary, they are obliging you by giving you an opportunity  to serve them  and helping you  to increase the bank balance of your ‘karmas’ with the Divine Banker,   the Supreme Lord.  Serve them with a sense of dedication and sacrifice and earn the prayers of ‘Daridra Narayan’.  When our act of ‘sewa’ (service) is performed with love and compassion and filled with feeling (bhavana), then the resultant contentment and happiness is gratifying both to the giver and the recipient in an infinite measure.

     To enable us to understand the stature and level of Sadguru in its entirety, our holy scriptures have given us the following Mahaguru mantra:

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu,

 Gurur Devo Maheshwara

Guru Sakshaat Par Brahma,

 Tasmaye Shree Guruve namah

     Guru and God are two different names of the same ultimate power.  It is equally true that when we worship God in the form of Guru, we place Him on a higher pedestal.  We are rewarded or punished by God by virtue of our own karmas (actions).  But when we worship God on the pedestal of Guru, who is benevolent and bakshanhaar (the one who gives and forgives generously), we may be amply rewarded for our good karmas, and punishment condoned or curtailed for our sins committed innocently or otherwise.

     Such is the abundance  of love and affection showered by a ‘Sadguru’ that you can keep diving into the ocean of that bliss for as long as you wish to.  In a simple and modest manner, he would tell you how clear is the path and show you the shortest route to salvation – i.e., practise ‘Japa’  (inward  recitation  of  mantras),  ‘Nishkaam Sewa’ (rendering selfless service to mankind), and ‘Dhyaana’ (meditation).        

O my revered Guru Dev

Thou art the lofty imagination

Of the Lord Himself;

My salutations to thee,

My salutations to thee.

Tasmaye Shree Guruve Namah

Writer is one of the prime disciples of Guruji of Himgiri - Neelkanth.

On every 'Bara Guruwar', he renders selfless service with spiritual powers to

thousands of persons at his Guruji's samadhi (Neelkanth Dham, Najafgarh, New Delhi

Five stages of realization

     Vishwas:  One  of  the  basic prerequisites  of  self  realization or  God  realization  is  to have implicit faith and trust in one’s own self, your Guru and God. A firm belief about the existence of God is equally important and that we belong to HIM and HE belongs to us. Our relationship was established  right  since  the inception of  this universe  and  there  is no doubt  that we shall attain Him.

     Nature and material world are composed of five tatvas.  What relates to nature (like human body and material objects) are temporary, ever-changing, destructible and mutable while the soul derives from God and is, therefore, unborn, eternal, everlasting and primeval.  The human body and the material world, because of their very nature, are prone to decay, but the soul is incorruptible.  This material world is not real and the unreal has no permanent existence.  The soul and God are real, are part of each other and the ultimate truth, and the real never ceases to be.  This reality of both has thus been perceived by the seers of truth.

     We practically observe every day this changing world with a naked eye and     what  we  see  with our own eyes does not need any proof.   Everything is subject      to change – relationships, objects, insatiable desires, actions, circumstances, situations.  Change is the very essence of life in this material world.  Our own body changes every minute.  Modern scientists maintain that in seven years  the whole body changes and that not  even a  drop of old blood remains.  Nothing is  permanent or stable here.  What was available yesterday, is not available today;  what is available  today, will not be so tomorrow and the never  ending  wheel  of   time  will continue  to   revolve.   Our close relatives,  our loved ones  who  were  so very dear  to  us,  our  friends  on whom we relied implicitly, left us.  So much so,  we did not even realize when  our childhood, our youth left us quietly.  But one existence,  i.e.  jeevatma,  that kept watching these changes as a spectator, is the only real, stable and permanent entity.  It is a law of nature that the one who takes birth,  grows, changes, decays and over a  period of time will be  destroyed.  In such a situation,  any attempt made  to establish  a permanent relationship in this temporary world is a mirage.

     Shradha:  Having realized the temporary nature of this material world and frustrated by the dualties such as, attachment and aversion, love and hate, pleasure and pain, success and failure; strayed human beings need  guidance of the One who will lead them out of this morass  of desires, sufferings and  ill-will.  They need someone who can take them out  of the darkness of this illusionary material world, show them light and put them on the right track.  The solution to these problems lies in the solicitude  of a true Guru,  who can give them  the knowledge  of truth  and lead them to salvation by teaching them patience, detachment and selflessness.  It is the Sadguru alone who gives us the strength to intelligently fight adverse circumstances and come out of such situations by transcending all limitations. At a particular level, there is no difference between a Sadguru and God; both assume the same position and have solutions to the problems of suffering humanity.

     Guru plays the pivotal role in reminding us of Divine advice, teaches us the art of living a balanced life with restraint and stability of mind.  He is the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance and shows  the path of light and eternal  bliss.  He  is  the  one  who  brings about awareness that actions (karmas) performed under the influence of senses give rise to sensuous pleasures and pains, which are transitory and fleeting.  He guides you how to discipline and bring under control the five wild horses – ‘kama’ (passion), ‘krodha’ (anger),  ‘lobha’ (greed), ‘moha’ (emotional  attachment)  and  ‘ahankara’  (ego)  and  helps you to take the chariot of your life in the right direction of inner peace and tranquility.  He brings about a realization in you that over-indulgence in sensuous objects give rise to Tamoguna which results in regret, remorse, sorrow and loss of peace.  Like a  father,  Guru  holds  your  little  finger  and  conditions  you  to  fearlessly  travel  from  the   illusionary material world, to the realms of spirituality so that you could be one with the Real One and realize the ultimate truth – i.e. God.  With Sadguru’s grace, at this point of time, when you look upon your Guru with love, awe and reverence, then faith and belief (Vishwas) transforms into ‘Shradha’ (reverence) and, unconditionally, you start following him unto the path of  truth.

     Sewa:   Sewa can also be termed as karmayoga.  Service to mankind should be rendered with a sense of sacrifice and dedication, relinquishing all attachment.  Alleviate the sufferings of humanity and earn the prayers and blessings of Daridra-Narayan. Rendering service to mankind with a feeling of selflessness is, in fact, serving the Lord himself, because He is present in every human being.  By doing so, we attain the highest good.  In return, the all merciful, benevolent Narayan showers His abundant blessings on us and accelerates the process of our spiritual advancement. Interestingly, when we render service  with a feeling of  selflessness,  not  with ostentation,  pride  or  a desire to  gain fame;   not  as charity  to  give a  feeling  to  the recipient that he is an object of pity; but with love and compassion,  with a   feeling that to do so is our duty;  then we establish an unbreakable bond of ‘bhavana’ between the two.  When our sewa  is  moistened with love and compassion, resultant contentment and happiness  is  gratifying  both  to the giver and the recepient   in   an   infinite   measure.  Such   an   act   of   a ‘karamyogi ’ generates  ‘satoguna’  and  the  all  pervading  infinite  is  always  present  where such ‘karmas’ (actions)  are being  performed. Guruji said, “no  form  of  worship is greater than serving his creation – the mankind.   Japa (inward  recitation  of mantras), dhyana (meditation), and nishkam sewa (rendering selfless service to mankind with a sense of dedication and sacrifice) is the simplest and shortest route to attaining salvation and God realization.

     Gyan: Knowledge about the existence of God, the ultimate truth, and the temporary  nature of this material world, is Gyanyoga.   That this material world  is subject to change  and is destructible, but the soul and God are permanent, everlasting and eternal.   Mankind  is the most exalted creation of the Lord.  In fact, every human being is like a  mobile temple in which He  has established  Himself in the form  of  an Atman.   Atman  is  an inseparable part of Param-atman.  If our thoughts are pure and satoguna  is predominantly prevalent in us, then  we can perceive the presence of God in every being that we come across.  Clearer the mirror, equally clear would be the reflection.

     The human body is a creation of nature and therefore mutable, while the soul derives from God and is, consequently, eternal.  The body, because of its very nature, is prone to decay, but the soul is incorruptible.  Tamoguna, Rajoguna, and Satoguna are the characteristics of nature, whereas God is beyond these gunas. It is human susceptibility to Tamoguna and Rajoguna that binds us to the material world and makes us suffer.  In the ultimate analysis, to be one with God, we need to transcend these three Gunas, because these Gunas also have a binding factor. Transcendence from these gunas, releases us from the short-lived fruits of our karmas in earthly existence and we become one with  ‘Sat-chitta-ananda’, where there is no ego, but a state of bliss. The moment this knowledge dawns upon us, that moment is attainment of ‘Nirvana’.

     Bhakti:   Unconditional surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord and a firm conviction that you belong to God and God belongs to you and both are one entity,    is Bhaktiyoga.  Inculcating more and more of ‘Satoguna’ and relinquishing ‘Rajoguna’ and ‘Tamoguna; i.e. realization about the existence of God, detachment from the material world, and overcoming ego-centric desires (I, me, and mine) are importance milestones towards that end.

    Light the flame of His pious name in the temple of your heart.  Let the bells toll and the harmonious sound of His ‘Japa’ reverberate in your heart. Get completely absorbed and meditate on the ‘Jyotirlinga’ of your innerself.  Then look at your enlightened self and recognize  your original, pure and pious reflection. In the cosmic whispers of music (anhad naad), your ‘Antaratma’ will hear a  resounding sound -  ‘Hari Aum Tat Sat, Hari Aum Tat Sat,  Aham Brahmasmi’.  Then you may not even feel your outer existence.  You will experience enlightenment, happiness, and tranquility around you.

  

 Writer is one of the prime disciples of Guruji of Himgiri-Neelkanth.

On every ‘Bara Guruwar’ he renders selfless service with spiritual powers to

thousands of persons at his Guruji’s Samadhi (Neelkanth Dham, Najafgarh,  New Delhi.)

Life Pattern

Live life fearlessly.

Living a fearless life calls for truthfulness.  Remember, you tend to hide what you do not wish to be transparent.  What you do not wish to be transparent necessarily has elements of fear or sin built in it.

Your utterances and actions should not have different dimensions and meanings; otherwise, you will land up in projecting a dubious image or your personality.

No problem in life is insurmountable.  Most of the problems exist in imagination only and are the result of an illusionary fear.  Good Lord has bestowed upon you the requisite competence, intelligence, understanding, and vision to resolve any problem; howsoever intricate it might be, provided you maintain stability of mind.

Rather than we overwhelming the situation, the situation, more often than not, overwhelms us, which deludes our thinking power.  When our mental faculties are not under control, confusion arises.  Confusion leads to loss of power to discriminate.  In such a driven situation, we often take wrong decisions and repent later on.

Clearer the lens of camera, clearer would be the picture.  We need to have clarity of thought, which comes from stability of mind.

Just as turbulent waters of different rivers, when they enter into an ocean, though ocean is full from all sides, remains calm and quiet; likewise, the human mind which is also an ocean of thoughts should also remain calm and quite while receiving agreeable and disagreeable thoughts/communications.

We need to take an important decision in our life as to what kind of life pattern we wish to lead.  To maintain peace of mind and be in a state of placidity, is the most exquisite treasure that we can possess.  It is only in a state of tranquility that we can contemplate, have clarity of thought and can do some creative thinking.

Like the flow of rivers that finally enter into an ocean, life must also go on and progress towards the ultimate goal.  Like an ocean, we should be able to feel the vastness, depth and richness of our personality and take out ‘amrit’ and ‘navratnas’ during our lifetime as it happened at the time of ‘smudra-manthan’.

 Writer is one of the prime disciples of Guruji of Himgiri-Neelkanth.

On every ‘Bara Guruwar’ he renders selfless service with spiritual powers to

thousands of persons at his Guruji’s Samadhi (Neelkanth Dham, Najafgarh,  New Delhi.)