Knowing Yourself

When one takes to study of Raj Yoga, the foremost thing one has to understand is that Soul is our essential Being. If we think of the Soul as eternal, I presume we are thinking of it as a pure consciousness, one that is devoid of Sanskars. But at our level of existence, we are an individual Soul, because of the individual Sanskars that we are carrying with it. Therefore every individual Soul is special. This individual Soul is on a journey from one incarnation to another.We are constantly in contact with external material world and therefore tend to be influenced by it. Reason for this is, we have become detached from the Soul awareness. If we are firm in our belief that our Soul is our essential Being, we would have been in Soul awareness and it is then that we don't get influenced by the environment surrounding us. To be in this awareness, we need to do a lot of meditation. In the silence of meditation our belief in who we really are gets firmly grouted. Then we are not influenced by external world of day to day life.  .

Santushtata --the Ornament of Brahman Jeevan

Santushtata is contentment . It is one spiritual virtue that one cannot live without and still expect to make any progress. There is no universal rigid norm or standard in which you can set it or confine it. And because it is so broad based, that the matter is so difficult.to understand and assimilate in our day to day Tapaswi life. This quality has to be cultivated, no matter whether it appears logical or not. Since Baba has emphasised it in his teachings we are bound to cultivate it in our Brahman Jeevan. As Anasuya Didi has said in one of her talks, if a person of Brahman Parivar does not possess this quality, it is well nigh impossible for him  to be in any way contact with Baba. Now coming to the point of how one can cultivate this Santushtata, Didi has given one simple method; that we should make a list of all things that we have got so far. The list should be so long,  that this one little item whose absence is making you Asantushta or disgruntled, should in comparison, appear infinitely small. With steady practice, one cultivates a personality of a satisfied, fully Santushta person. Like an ornament, this will give you a new glorious aura, very easily perceptible to all those with whom you will come in contact. Needless to say, this will take you so much closer to Baba..

Inborn Talents and Cultivated Talents

We being children of one spiritual father need not compete with one another. Our Baba has not spared any effort in giving each of us some special talent. He never differentiates between one of lowly birth or whether one is born a prince. To Him all are equal. Many of us do not get a chance to make use of the talent, and some are not even aware of the special quality that they are in possession of until some discerning person points out to him and offers him a chance. Then almost dramatically that person becomes famous.Now this is one type of a story. But there is also another side to this story. There are some people who from their early childhood know of their inborn talent because everyone around him appreciates them and talks about it. You can say there are number of positive angles to this condition. Yet, from the purely spiritual angle, there is a negative tag to this. Baba sent us into this world with specific role and Baba expects us to grow in different dimensions. He has not sent us to play the same record over and over again as if the needle was stuck in one groove. He has offered us numerous avenues in which to gain new knowledge and grow. To be worthy children of our beloved Baba, we must demonstrate to Him that we are willing to grow and make His dream come true. Let your original talent be the main stay, but give a chance for some new complementary talent to also grow and make your life richer.

Surrender

When we say Surrender, what comes to our mind is surrendering to a higher power. For us spiritual students of Rajyog it would mean surrendering to Shiv Baba. It is our daily ritual when we recognize our true identity as a pure Soul and meet our Baba to spend some time with Him and recharge ourselves. We know quite well how much we are in need of the re-charge. There are people in this world who have lived through the whole life believing they are capable of running their life without the help from any external force or power. Contrary to this there are those who are  totally of the belief that they are merely passive instruments, while even the smallest tasks are done or performed by the almighty, and prefer to do just nothing.We find this  quite paradoxical and difficult to reconcile.What we need to recognize is, since we know that God is the creator of this Universe, He is also the script writer of our role in this world-drama. While God has the full knowledge of all the twists and turns in our life, we are merely acting out our role according to the circumstances offered to us. It is therefore wise to allow God to be our navigator and we be the sailors.One has to be intuitively connected to the navigator through remembrance and yog, so as to get His guidance from time to time. It will certainly make your life far more easier to live in.

Power of Bliss

Bliss is Anand. Among all the Satogun, Anand is said to be the strongest. The reason for this is that while all the others have an opposite, Anand has no opposite.It stands by itself on its own strength. It has no duality. It is just so.When a Tapaswi has Bliss he or she does not need anything else. You can say Anand is the mother of all other Satogun. It was said by one Sister that this was why most of the Saannyasis like to add  'anand' to their name as a suffix e.g. Dayanand  or  Vivekanand and so on. Just imagine a state where you have no Anand, life will not be worth living. For an average person even a small fraction of Bliss called joy is enough to enliven him.When a Yogi reaches that state of Bliss, the culmination of joy, he will experience Oneness with God, Oneness with Shiv Baba.  Just ponder on this phenomena commonly known as 'samadhi state'. For a pursharthi, the most beautiful and effective Swamaan that he can use is 'I am Power of Bliss'.

Passport to Golden Age

It is Shivbaba's wish that all His beloved children pass the exam for entrance into the Golden Age with honours. Baba has taken it upon Himself to come down to this Earth in Sangam Yug and give regular guidance to those Souls who are interested. It is therefore obligatory that, we the candidates, have to work towards His dream. Baba wants to see us in His image i. e. complete with Satogun. By now we are pretty well clear that Sattwa can be planted only when all the Tamasic qualities like Kam , Krodha and Moha (attachments) are destroyed or atleast reined in. We know well how a farmer prepares the soil, by destroying all the weeds and spreading fertilizer before sowing the seeds, because in his wisdom he knows how to get a good crop. Baba often reminds us that these Tamasic qualities in us are our greatest enemies. He has also given us guidelines on how one can bring them under the control of our Buddhi. The first step is to go into silence for atleast few hours every day.. Then reduce your contact with outer world, particularly your T.V. etc. Practice speaking softly, slowly and sweetly. Change your attitude from arrogance to humility. Cultivate lot of patience and forgiveness. Spend more time in seclusion and meditation. All this will make you Antarmukhi i.e.interiorised. One can then build a rapport direct with Baba,who will readily transform you in His mould.

Purpose of Life ln Sangam Yug

We came into this material world with Soul qualities intact. But  having lived in the physical body, and due to the influence of  the outer world, we have acquired new qualities.The purpose of our coming  here was just to fulfill our desires and wild curiosities of our past life and get some new experience in the bargain. We are here to play our role. The purpose was never to change or loose our Soul qualities,which are so precious. It can be said that everyone  who turns to spiritual life here, does it because the strange recently acquired qualities have hi-jacked their life, making them restless and uncomfortable. So, they are now seeking the original qualities of Soul in the hope of finding  peace.  As the life's end starts nearing, it becomes more and more important to dislodge our newly acquired traits, likes and dislikes and recapture our original Soul qualities viz. Gyan, Pavitrata, Prem, Shanti,Sukh, Anand and Shakti. The Confluence Age, the Sangam Yug  is about to end, and therefore we should put all our efforts in preparing to go back to our Source, the Paramdham, with all the Soul qualities still intact  .Like one Sister said, Khali Haath nahi jaana hai, Bharke jaana hai.

Ishwer Apne Saath Hai

Ishwer apne saath hai, Phir darne ki kya baat hai. This starting line of a beautiful BK song inspired me to write on it. We have many times heard this before, if you have faith in God, all you have to do is to leave everything to Him and be free. For those of us who have surrendered to Baba completely this is not difficult, because when our faith is so implicit we have already started to see some visible results. Then, there is no need for anyone to come and convince us. It has already become our experiential knowledge. If by any chance you feel unsure of your success, it is an indication that your faith in Baba is dwindling, or it could be your own ego is overtaking you. Think about it.

Yadon Me Shiv Ko Samao, O Maanav

The song urges you to fill your mind and memories with the name of Shiva and in return offers: Paramanand, an everlasting Bliss. By being immersed in these positive memories of Kalyankari Shiva, you can dispel your fears, your ignorance and any negativities that you may be carrying in your consciousness. It is a Law of nature, that when there is light, there is no question of darkness. The two cannot co-exist. To remember Shiv Baba every moment of your life, with every breath, requires that much intensity of devotion for Him, that much love and closeness for your Baba as your spiritual father, constantly remembering the line--Mere to  Shivbaba Ek, Doosaro na Koi.  To be so focused, one has to remove all the waste thoughts from the mind, remove all negative emotions which is a burden you cannot afford to have. To be totally attached to Baba, one should try to detach from all those things or even people, to whom you were once so attached.  Yes.  It is a Tyaag,  a sacrifice. Once Baba sees you are conforming to  His Srimat, His teachings, that is when you will see a transformation taking place from within you and that too without your making any effort.