64 A Peep into Spirituality devoted to the Guru. Kabir was a great bhakta but remained as an ordinary weaver till the end. Kabir’s son Kamal was also a great soul who had his father’s qualities. Being very poor, the family often had to starve. One day Kamal while playing on the street, fainted out of sheer hunger. A rich man who was passing by gave him some money to buy food. The little boy brought the money to his father whereupon he exclaimed sorrowfully, “You have sold our Rama!” meaning that hitherto they were depending on Rama alone. The boy could not bear his father’s misery. He ran after the rich man and returned the money saying, “Take this and give back my Rama!” There is another story about Kamal which brings out his stature as an evolved soul. One night, a number of sadhus suddenly came to Kabir’s home. There was no food in the house to feed them and it was too late to go and beg for foodstuffs from anyone. But it would be a violation of Grihastha dharma if he let the guests go hungry. So finally Kabir decided to break into a grocer’s shop and steal as much grain etc. as would be required to feed the sadhus. Kabir and Kamal then broke into a grocer’s shop by making a hole in the wall. They took all the materials they required and went out through the hole when it struck Kabir that other robbers might enter through the hole and loot the shop. So Kamal went back inside and woke up the shopkeeper who was asleep. But as he tried to crawl out through the hole again the shopkeeper caught his legs. Kamal was now stuck with his head outside and his feet inside the shop. So
65 A Peep into Spirituality he told his father to chop off his head so that nobody could identify him and to take the provisions home and feed the guests. Knowing that there was no other way, Kabir chopped off the son’s head and took it home. There, he narrated everything to his wife and told her to put aside her sorrow and cook for the guests. Being a pathivratha, she did as she was instructed and the guests had a good meal. In the meanwhile, being unable to identify the headless body of the thief the king ordered it to be impaled near the city wall. The next morning, the sadhus took leave of Kabir after blessing him profusely. He went with them upto the city gate. There, to everyone’s astonishment, the headless corpse of Kamal joined its hands to the sadhus. They enquired whose it was, whereupon Kabir narrated everything to them. They blessed Kamal and he became whole again! Such stories abound in our literature. But our literature is very vast. Ones whole life is too short to read the whole literature. So one should catch hold of the Guru and never leave him. Question: Why does Deva get ailments? Answer: When someone who is ill prays to me his ailment just comes to me. I get the same ailment on the same part of my body. Some years ago, I suddenly got a very painful boil on my leg overnight. Later in the day, a devotee (Mrs. K.B) came to visit me and she said that her son was having such painful boils on his leg the previous night and that the pain became unbearable, so he was calling out to me and in the morning he suddenly became alright
66 A Peep into Spirituality and relieved of pain. On another occasion, I began to have a lot of pain in my right shoulder, for no apparent reason. It was only days later that a letter arrived from a devotee abroad stating that she (Mrs. H.N) had been having excruciating pain in the shoulder, which was not responding to medical treatment. So she prayed hard and soon the pain abated. In the case of Divine Mother, similar incidents have occurred. Back in 1952, Shri A. Krishnaraya Pai, a disciple of Hers developed gangrene on his left leg, and was advised to have it amputated to save his life. Not many people knew of Divine Mother’s greatness at that time and some of the critics asked Krishnaraya Pai why Divine Mother was not coming to save him at this critical juncture. Having full faith in Divine Mother Mr. Pai said that he would definitely recover without having his leg amputated by Divine Mother’s grace. And surprisingly enough, his condition improved. The leg was saved and only his left big toe was surgically removed. At that time Divine Mother was at Tellicherry but She used to come to Mangalore to meet Her mother. One day, after Mr. Pai’s operation, Divine Mother suddenly came to Mangalore along with Her consort Shri Bhagawan. That morning, while in the bathroom She injured Her left toe because a heavy copper mug fell on it. At Mangalore, Divine Mother went to see Mr. Pai in the hospital. With a smile, She told him, “Look, you should not throw such challenges hereafter. This time Mother came to your aid to make your words come true.” It became evident to Mr. Pai and other devotees that it was Divine Mother’s intervention that had prevented
67 A Peep into Spirituality his leg from being amputated. They also saw how Divine Mother had injured Her left toe to relieve Mr. Pai of the pain caused by the removal of his left toe! When I went to the States, somebody brought their pet dog to me. It was very ill and was dying and they wanted me to do something to cure it. I asked them whether they were willing to do anything for the dog and they said they were. Then I told them that I could transfer some years of their life to the dog. But they were most unwilling to make this sacrifice! I then told them that the purpose of the dog’s life was over. It is possible for the Guru to transfer a few years of life from one person to another. He can also take some years of life from the next birth of a person and lengthen his present life. But in the dog’s case this was not indicated. There is the story of the son of a Sikh Guru. He was playing with his fiend one evening when his mother called him inside as it was getting dark. The boys agreed to continue their game the next day. But at night the friend suddenly died, so when the Guru’s son went to call him to play, he was told that his friend was no more. The Guru’s son was also a highly evolved soul. He went up to the corpse and called his friend by name, telling him to come and finish the game. To everyone’s astonishment the child came back to life. But the Guru was perturbed. He called his son and told him that for violating the law of nature laid down by God and bringing his friend back to life either he (Guru) or his son would have to die in his place. Not wanting his father to suffer for his mistake, the son
68 A Peep into Spirituality immediately died. Such was the spiritual force manifested even by children of yore! Question: Why do you attribute everything to Mother when we look up to you for everything? Answer: Mother is my Guru and although in the highest realm of Consciousness I am Mother Herself, in this relative plane I want to remain always as Her child. She is your Guru too and so you too must have the utmost reverence and love for Her. But for those who have not seen Her, I tell them to respect Her but I accept their worship. Once an old disciple of Divine Mother (Mrs. N.) requested me to impart to her the Mahavakya, as she had forgotten it due to old age (she was above ninety). Being a direct disciple of Divine Mother, just as I am, l could not impart the Mahavakya to her again. So I whispered the Sharana Mantra to her and told her to repeat it for sometime. She did so and suddenly her face lighted up with a smile and she exclaimed, “Now I remember it’’, In this relative plane, I cannot put myself on par with my Guru. Here, I am a disciple and child of Hers. Moreover I consider it as a sacrilege to impart the Mahavakya already gjven by my Guru to a fellow disciple even though the latter has forgotten the same. The Guru reposes so much faith in the disciple. He expects the disciple to rise to His own level, The Guru is far above the disciple in spiritual stature. The disciple has to raise his hand so that the Guru can pull him up. Raising his hand means having intense aspiration. Then the Guru raises you, The disciple must surrender completely
69 A Peep into Spirituality and leave everything to the Guru. When he surrenders, he becomes one with the Guru and with the entire universe and existence. In the Bhagavata, there is the episode of Krishna hiding the garments of the gopis and then telling them to come out of the water with their hands raised. This indícates that He wanted the gopis to surrender completely to him without having any reservations, which they did. There should be no barrier between God and the devotee. At that time Krishna was still a small child. He was the all-pervading One and sex never meant anything for Him. He was neither moved nor affected by any physical aspects. When Draupadi was being divested of her saree by Dushasana, at first she tried to protect herself but to no avail. But it was only when she surrendered to Krishna and raised her arms in utter submission that He protected her honour by creating an unending supply of sarees and draping her. When the devotee surrenders to God, he loses his sense of separate identity with Him. Once Sage Narada, asked Radha, the beloved of Krishna, where Krishna was. Actually at that time, Krishna was not there. For a moment, Radha was still and then caressing herself, she said. “Look, Krishna is here!” By intensely thinking of Krishna her mind had identified with Krishna whereby she had herself become Krishna inseparable from Him! Question: Does God love some people more than others? Answer: God is impartial. He loves all alike. But the response of one person differs from that of another. Some Souls are able to hold and reciprocate the love more than others.
70 A Peep into Spirituality Question: A person suffers in his next birth for what he has done in this birth. Is this justice? Answer: One is indeed blessed to get a human birth but then, the human life has a very short span as everybody knows. Usually, a human being is sent into this world in order to undergo the reactions of his past actions. Without knowing this truth and performing more actions during the current birth, he earns merits and demerits through his deeds for which he has to answer. Instead of exhausting his prarabdha, he adds more through his actions to the sanchita which grows in his account. This is an universal rule whether one likes it or not. Thus a human being has to take birth on this earth over and again until he exhausts all the reactions of his past actions which is well nigh impossible because whenever he takes birth he adds to his sanchita. To know the real meaning of prarabdha, sanchita etc. he has to have real knowledge which will take him out of the ignorant state in which he is at present. Unless you know who you are and what your relation with the Reality is, you will never know the significance of the divine justice. To quote a parallel worldly example: a man has earned much more than his requirement and he banks it as a deposit in his favour hoping it will come in handy when the need arises in the future. He does withdraw a small amount now and then but he is unable to exhaust the entire amount because he continues to earn which again goes into his account in the bank. This shows that he is not able to exhaust what he has banked and thus the amount keeps on growing. Here the banked amount is sanchita i.e., the stock of merits and demerits of so many past births which one has to exhaust by bearing
71 A Peep into Spirituality them oneself. Whereas ones bank account could be transferred to any other individual in the mundane sphere, this is not the case with ones sanchita which has to be exhausted by oneself. The amount he earns and deposits in the bank is akin to agami i.e. the merits and demerits which one earns in the present birth and which he cannot exhaust in his current birth. So he has to be born repeatedly to exhaust the consequences. The amount which he withdraws to spend from his deposit is comparable to prarabdha i.e. a portion of the sanchita which one has to bear in the present birth. While bearing the prarabdha man keeps on doing more actions and adding to the agami which again becomes the sanchita in the next birth. What then is the way out of this vicious circle? When one gets the knowledge that it is only ones body which suffers the sanchita gets burnt in the present birth. When one knows that one is not the body, whatever happens to the body does not affect one. Again, when one attains the knowledge of ones oneness with God, one is not born again and when one has no birth one has no suffering either. All ones sanchita gets burnt off. Question: But how will the ordinary people who are suffering even think that their suffering is due to their past actions? For example, people in Africa are suffering from starvation. Answer: They suffer because they do not know the truth. So they have to be told that every action has a reaction. If you throw a ball against the wall, it will bounce back to you. If you spit upwards at the sun, the spittle will fall on you only. Again, if you go under water and try to breathe, the air bubbles will be formed over your own
72 A Peep into Spirituality head. So you have to suffer for whatever bad actions you do. When this is explained to them they will understand that they themselves are the cause of their sufferings. The people of Africa who are suffering from starvation have to be fed first because, as Swami Vivekananda used to say ‘Spirituality is not for empty stomachs.’ After feeding, them you should explain to them that their suffering is due to their own past actions. Then they will mend their ways that at least in the next birth they will not suffer so much. When these people get some knowledge they will start migrating to areas where they can procure some food and earn a living. Question: Can I do japa even when I eat non-vegetarian food? Answer: Yes, you can. In order to get rid of the evil effects of eating non-vegetarian food, you must do japa. Non-vegetarian food is an obstruction to spiritual advancement. But after you advance in spirituality, you see no difference between vegetarian and nonvegetarian food. There is the example of Gajanan Maharaj who because of his purity made even the gutter water pure. He was eating along with the dogs on the rubbish heap, when some devotees took him home and fed him sumptuously. But he went out on the street and began to drink water from the gutter. When asked why he was drinking dirty water, he took some in his cupped hands and showed it to the devotees. It had become pure like Ganga water.
73 A Peep into Spirituality Question: When you are out of town and if I have any problem, to whom should I refer? Answer: Refer to yourself because I am in you. When you have intensity, you will get the answer. Question: While buying things, should I think myself first or of others? Answer: They say ‘Charity begins at home’. First think of yourself and your family. Do not try to show off and waste your money on others. Another thing is that even if you buy things for others, you cannot expect others to do the same. Question: Please explain why knowledge is called a double-edged sword. Answer: Knowledge, whether mundane or spiritual can bring ruin to a person if misused. At the same time, it can be used for benefit. You can use a knife to cut vegetables and also to injure another. The atomic theory, can be used to make a nuclear reactor to produce electricity or the same theory can be used to make an atom bomb. Question: If I do a particular number of japa on one day can I do more or less on other days? Answer: If you want to achieve something in life either mundane or spiritual and once you decide on a number for japa to achieve this objective you have to stick to the number strictly because it is as good as a promise to Deva. On certain days you can do more but
74 A Peep into Spirituality never less than the number you decide and I can assure you that it is possible to stick to the number and your promise if you have love for and faith in your Deva. When you have that intensity, tenacity of purpose and the resolute will to stick to the number, Divine Mother’s blessings become operative and She sees to it that there is no hinderance or obstacle on your part. She gets the japa done by you. Then the question of more or less does not arise. The slackness in japa is mainly due to two causes:- 1) Human being expects more than what he deserves and by doing japa he expects an overall improvement in his stature which does not result immediately. So he becomes a little dejected and disinterested and brings about slackness in his chanting of the japa. 2) Since human being is born in tamas, laziness, sloth and inadvertence are his prime qualities Under these circumstances also there is slackness of japa. If at this time he has any real love for his mentor (the Guru or somebody who has told him to do the japa), he will continue with the japa and not slacken it. His efforts also will be crowned with success. Question: How to control thoughts? Question: Why do other thoughts intervene when 1 do japa? Question: Where to look while doing japa? 1f I close my eyes I am afraid of falling asleep.
75 A Peep into Spirituality Answer: When you do the japa loudly and also roll the beads of the rosary your mind will not wander too much in the beginning. Actually it is the impressions of the past events in the chitta that result as thoughts in the mind. An ordinary human being has no control over the process. However he can learn the art of controlling his thoughts from the Guru. So long as there are impressions in the chitta the thoughts will keep rising in the mind, so the way of getting rid of the thoughts is to exhaust the chitta of all its impressions. But this is very difficult for the chitta as it is a vast store house of the impressions of innumerable births. So the Guru instructs the disciple to concentrate more on chanting the mantra so that good impressions can fill the chitta thereby and crowd out the bad ones. Again the Guru wants the shishya’s mind to be engrossed in the mantra so that when the old, evil, and unwanted impressions rise as thoughts in the mind he will remain unaware of them and allow them to pass out of the chitta without being attached to them. Since he is not attached to them these impressions get attenuated, producing no further thoughts. Thus by loud chanting of the mantra, the mind will calm down to a certain extent. By continued chanting of the mantra like this and when you become attached to the mantra more and more, your chanting becomes uniform and very clear and all your attention is focussed on the same. If on the other hand the chanting becomes mechanical or rigmorolic, your interest in the chanting also fails and the mind wanders more. So always be conscious of your utterance of the mantra and focus your attention on the same.
76 A Peep into Spirituality I would like to state here what I have heard from Divine Mother regarding this, which would be relevant at this juncture. She has said that the nature of the mind is to become attached to what it constantly thinks of. This nature of the mind has to be utilised to the utmost by the sadhaka on the spiritual path. He should constantly think of God and practise the presence of God. This devotional discipline is called as ‘namasmarana’ or ‘japa’. People complain that inspite of doing namasmarana for years together they still have no control over their mind. The reason for this is that they have been merely repeating the divine name ‘nama’ mechanically and have not been doing ‘smarana’ or remembrance of God while chanting the name. The sadhaka must practise focussing his mind on God at every repetition of the name. Mechanical repetition is superficial and cánnot awaken the spiritual impulse and put one in tune with God. Yet, such repetition is not entirely useless for the divine name is imbued with potential power. But it will take a longer time for the mind to become one pointed. On the other hand, if the divine name is uttered with and an understanding of its meaning and significance, it gives faster results. If however, one chants the name with faith., steadfastness (nishta) and dispassion even without knowing its significance, one can attain the Highest as has been demonstrated by Sage Valmiki. More effective than mechanical japa is japa done with the remembrance of God. Greater than that is japa done with the remembrance of God with love at each repetition of the name.
77 A Peep into Spirituality Mechanical japa is a preliminary sadhana. Japa with remembrance of God is a mental discipline. And when remembrance is graced with love, the japa becomes a communion with the Supreme. Other thoughts intervene when you are doing japa because your mind is not interested in the japa and your attention is elsewhere, not on the japa. Under these circumstances there is an onrush of thoughts other than the japa. While doing japa if your eyes are not steady, the best thing is to gaze at the photograph of your Guru or Divine Mother. After sometime the photograph will disappear from your vision because of your constant attention on the mantra and the eyes will close of themselves. Even when they are open they assume a very blank expression but even in this state moving objects disturb your vision whereby your attention on the japa is also disturbed. When the eyes get closed automatically at this juncture, it is not because of boredom, fatigue or even sleep. Man is capable of fully using only one faculty at a given time to the exclusion of others. So when the ears really concentrate on the sound of the mantra, eventually the eyes close automatically. This is not a condition of sleep. Your whole attention is on the mantra and the mantra vibrates in you. Question: How to be humble? Answer: Your attitude should be humble. When somebody asks you something, you can express your opinion, but do not be arrogant. Do not interfere with matters that do not concern you and do not express your opinion unless you are asked. Do not try to show off, but speak
78 A Peep into Spirituality softly and lovingly and get the work done. Humility is not slavery. It is absence of haughtiness and arrogance. Through humility comes self-abnegation wherein the feeling of ‘I’ slowly disappears. Humility commands respect. Try to obliterate the feeling of self-importance. Never think ‘I shall do this’ but think ‘This has to be done’. Be impersonal. Remember that everything happens because of the Guru. Give up the thought of ‘I’ then everything will be alright. It is the exaggerated individuality that causes all the problems. Real humility begins when one becomes aware of ones own shortcomings, faults and bad qualities and knows ones own helplessness to overcome these, without the grace of the Guru / God. Under such conditions, the egoism cannot raise its hood. When ones mind constantly thinks of the greatness, the glory and all-powerful nature of God / Guru, one naturally becomes humble, for one is aware of ones own smallness and weakness in the presence of the Almighty. Divine Mother exhorts Her children, “Be humble. You cannot approach the sacred shrine of wisdom, unless you bathe yourself in the holy water of humility. God is the friend of the lowly, a constant companion of the humble in spirit. Dignified humilty is the most effective antidote to the pride of holiness. Merely prostrating oneself before all, or making frequent statements of self-deprecation is not a sign of true humility. Humble yourself before the adorable Almighty Who resides in every heart. Have constant awareness that He is everywhere, that His Will is omnipotent. At the same time feel
79 A Peep into Spirituality that the Almighty is within yourself as the glorious Atman, This is humility combined with dignity.” Question: What is duty? Answer: People often tend to confuse the meaning of duty and ‘obligation’. To know who you really are is your duty. Everything else is but a an obligation. You earn a living for the upkeep of your family. But that too is an obligation and not a duty. God has given birth to all the jivas and brought them into this world and He will take care of them. But man does not know this. He thinks, he is looking after his family. Were he to die or become disabled and incapacitated, will his family starve to death? No, God will provide for their sustenance through some other means. But man thinks it is his duty to provide for his family. Man’s duty is to know his own nature and his connection with God. A doctor may say, ‘It is my duty to look after my patients’ He may even say, ‘I see God in my patients’. For one thing, he does not know who or what God is, because he has never seen God, then how can he say he sees God in the patients? Secondly, looking after the welfare of his patients is only an obligation, which he has taken upon himself. If he is not able to attend to the patients due to one reason or other viz., he has to go out of town for some days, some other doctor will take care of the patients. Hence, none is indispensable. First, you must know who you are, then you can see yourself in others.
80 A Peep into Spirituality Question: What is Pathi bhakti? Answer: One cannot please everyone. So one should try to please only one person exclusively at a time to the best of one’s knowledge / ability, sincerely and truthfully (without displeasing others). Then the God Who is all-pervading and Who is also in that person will be propitiated. For a pathivratha, her husband is the only God according to Divine Mother and the scriptures. She knows that she and her husband are one only. When the true import of this statement is understood by a woman and also she knows that God is all-pervading because of whom everything exists, she will know she and her husband are one only. She knows that when she does something for him she is doing it for herself only. So she does everything perfectly. Moreover, she submits to his wishes because it is the same as fulfilling her own wishes. Thus, pathi bhakti is atmanusandhana. Take the case of Savithri, the great pathivrata. She knew her own real nature and also that she was inseparable from her husband Satyavan. So she followed Yama and brought back her husband. She knew that as long as she existed, he had to exist. Yama too had to release him from death. Husband and wife are Purusha and Prakrithi respectively. They are one in essence and cannot be separated. The Tamil Saint Tiruvalluvar’s wife was a pathivrata. She knew only to obey her husband. If he called her while she was drawing water from the well, she would drop the pot instantly and go to him. The pot would stand unsupported in mid-air until she returned.
81 A Peep into Spirituality When this pathivrata lay on her death bed, the saint gently put her head on his own lap and asked her whether there was something she wanted to say or know. The only thing she wanted to know was why her husband had asked her to place a small bowl of water and a needle near his plate when he had his meals! The saint explained that this was only so that if any particles of food fell outside his leaf when she served him food, he could pick it up with the needle, wash it in the bowl of water and then eat it. But in all these years, she had served him with such care that never had even a grain of rice fallen out of the leaf he ate in. Such was the perfection of her service. All this was possible for our ancestors, so why can we not do it now? Now-a-days, people have no shraddha, that is why this is not possible. Modern man wants a scientific explanation for everything. But science too has its own limitations. It can explain only tangible objects. It cannot probe beyond the visible universe. Our scriptures say that creation emanated from the Pranava or Omkara. Some scientists have reached the conclusion that the universe came out of a big bang. But how this happened the scientists are yet to explain. One must have faith in something, just as there should be a starting point for everything Even to draw a line you must start from some point. In spirituality, the existence of God is a premise which cannot be questioned. Our forefathers had great faith in God. They would go to the temple and call God once, but that call came from the heart of hearts
82 A Peep into Spirituality and was overflowing with love. Now-a-days, people go to temples only to ask God for something. If they get what they ask for, they believe in God otherwise they have no belief. Now-a-days, everyone wants instant results Nobody wants to work for attaining what he / she desires. Question: How to meditate? Answer: Meditation is not all that easy. One may claim that one is sitting for meditation for so many hours but that is not real meditation if ones mind wanders. According to Swami Vivekananda, when one is able to maintain three times consecutively the stillness of mind which occurs between two consecutive thoughts, one can easily get into Samadhi. If one sits for meditation for half an hour, it takes nearly twenty five minutes for an ordinary person to achieve some measure of calmness in the mind. Out of the remaining five minutes, he spends a couple of minutes thinking that he is meditating. And it is hardly for one or two minutes that one gets real peace of mind. When such is the case, how difficult it is to make the mind still for three consecutive times. Inspite of this the Guru tells one to sit for meditation. This is only so that one can get control over ones body and sit motionless. Meditation should be spontaneous and voluntary. For instance, if you fix up a time and say, “1 am going to sit for meditation”, your attitude will be only regarding sitting for meditation and not meditation itself. Never assert that you are meditating. Just drift into meditation smoothly. If you are under the strain of the thought “I have to meditate”, you will still be under the same strain without
83 A Peep into Spirituality entering into meditation. Meditation is a process and not an end in itself. So the two processes, “I have to meditate” and meditation proper cannot go together. That is why it is always said that when you sit for meditation you should not even think of yourself. Real meditation is becoming one with the object of meditation, whereas when you sit for meditation with the thought that ‘I am sitting for meditation’ the thought becomes the object and nothing is achieved because meditation is a thoughtless state. But for the beginner a certain amount of discipline is necessary. That is why Divine Mother always said that you should sit in a sukhasana atleast for half an hour in the morning and evening. This is only as a disciplinary measure and not as a process. Meditation could be resorted to at any time and anywhere also. It requires only a clean and tranquil mind. With an agitated mind one cannot meditate. That is why if one resorts to chanting of the mantra prior to meditation, the mind also becomes calm and fit for meditation. Thus meditation is not sitting stiff and still with eyes closed in a secluded spot. It is neither an act of escapism from the cares of this world with its multifarious functions and obligatory activities; nor is it a favourite past-time of a few. It is not an imposition by the Spiritual Master either. It is an essential for spiritual life or even mundane life as water is for fish. It is a way of life for attainment of freedom from the shackles of birth and death and to secure eternal Bliss. Meditation opens your eyes to the liveliness and loveliness, colours and brightness of everything that is beheld. Through
84 A Peep into Spirituality meditation you advance in your journey from the outward to the inward. Purity, ethical excellences and constant devotion are the outcome of meditation. Although subjugation and control of the wild, spirited, tumultous mind is desired through courage, constancy in efforts and resolute determination developed as a result of meditation, yet meditation itself should be spontaneous, effortless, natural and casual, with cheerfulness rather than forceful. One must first have love for the Guru, then one will do everything the Guru tells one. The Guru knows what one wants because He is ones own Self. But because of the veil of ignorance one does not know that one and the Guru are the same. The Guru is ready to accept the disciple but the disciple does not go to the Guru. If he loves the Guru, he will rush to Him and not care for anything else. When this happens, ones love will have a positive effect on others too. When Radha used to run to Krishna, her husband never objected, for he too loved Krishna. Question: What is prayer? Answer: Prayer is annihilating oneself by exhibiting ones smallness. One should praise God but not ask for anything. God gives one what one asks for. If one asks for bhakti, He grants it immediately, because through bhakti one can elevate oneself and also others quickly. Otherwise God considers whether one is fit to receive the boon one asks for and whether it will benefit others or not.
85 A Peep into Spirituality One may get what one prays for but left to God, He may of His own grant much more than one expects. The best thing therefore, is to leave everything to His will. Sometimes God gives one the capacity to do everything if He thinks He can propagate Himself through one. Then even without prayers one gets everything. The Atman is covered with veils. When these are removed, one knows that the Atman alone exists. (Refer to ‘Death Unto Immortality”, Pg 99) Question: Should we not pray for anything? Answer: Prayer has to be done by someone who knows what prayer is. It is not asking for anything or soliciting God what to do. Real prayer is Atmasamarpana or offering oneself completely “Oh Lord, I do not know anything. Please get everything done through me as per Your wish and will.” This attitude of surrender is prayer. The prayer, homa and japa of ‘Mityunjaya’ is usually resorted to by individuals with the common notion that death will not overtake them. ‘Mrityu’ means death, and ‘jaya’ is conquest. So ‘Mityunjaya’ means conquest of death. While it is certain that death (in the esoteric sense, because the Atman has no death) will not overtake a person doing this homa or japa, it will not prolong his life on earth either. This means that he will have to leave the body as ordained but will be spared the misery and agony of death which is conquered through this homa or japa and will reach the state of moksha, as easily as a ripe cucumber falls off from the stem of a creeper.
86 A Peep into Spirituality No prayers can change what God has ordained. When He Himself has decided to do something nobody else can change it. Question: Does that mean one should not pray or that nothing happens because of prayers? Answer: Prayers are necessary and should be resorted to whereby you think of the ultimate Supreme Immensity constantly, which takes you nearer to It. Prayers also help you to accept the inevitable with a cheerful attitude. An individual who constantly prays is always in tune with the deity of his choice and is found to be cheerful and joyous under all circumstances. Even though you do not pray, what is ordained will come to pass. Mr. A. G. went abroad for FRCS and failed six times. Every time before his exams, his mother used to go to Kedgaon to offer coconut and fruit (plantains) to the Devi’s temple there. Inspite of all this he used to fail. Finally, I asked her why she was offering this to Devi and she said that it was because she wanted her son to pass, I told her that inspite of this he was failing and that she could not bribe Devi to do anything. I also advised her not to offer anything this time. She listened to me but was very apprehensive about what would happen. To her great astonishment, he passed! This just shows that if something is ordained, it is bound to happen. The above does not mean that one should not go to the temple or offer poojas. One should definitely do both without expecting any results, because if ones wishes are not fulfilled, one is liable to be disappointed
87 A Peep into Spirituality and dejected and may also turn to be an atheist through despair. In the above case, when the son passed, the mother was very much delighted and I asked her to celebrate the event by having a lavish pooja with feeding of the poor, which she did joyously. She ultimately became a member of our mandali. But man does not know this, so he prays to God, just as a person caught in a flood, clutches on to anything he finds at hand, even driftwood. One should pray to the Almighty thus, “Oh God, I am in darkness. I am helpless. You look after me.” If God does not will or ordain that a certain thing should happen, it never will happen. Even riches will slip away if one is not destined to have them. Once upon a time Shiva and Parvathi were wandering through the sky together when they saw a very poor Brahmin, who was in dire straits. Devi Parvathi had pity on him and told Shiva to make the poor man wealthy but Shiva said that he was not destined to be rich. Parvathi, however, said She would give him wealth, come what may. So the next day, She filled a hollow pumpkin with gems etc, and disguising herself, handed over the pumpkin to the brahmin as he was going along the road. The brahmin decided to return home and give the pumpkin to his wife to cook. But on the way, he met a man who loved pumpkins and offered to buy this one from him. The brahmin parted with the pumpkin for a good price and went home satisfied. The other man went home and cut the pumpkin. To his astonishment and joy all the jewels spilled out.
88 A Peep into Spirituality Thus the poor brahmin could not become rich even when wealth was given to him for, he was ordained to remain poor. People conduct Bhagavata Saptahas thinking that they can attain something. A real Saptaha is one in which the one who expounds the Bhagavata is himself a realized soul and can raise the listener onto one step of wisdom everyday until he becomes a Mukta as Suka Muni did for King Parikshit. The listener too should be a mumukshu of the calibre of the king. What is essential is shraddha, humility and surrender. Question: In everyday life, questions arise whether to do a certain thing or not. In such a situation, what is to be done? Answer: For a bhakta such questions never arise for he leaves everything to God. Question: What is meant by leaving everything to God? Answer: This means that when one is faced with a dilemma, one should appeal to God for help. If you really have faith in Him, He will guide you from within. Question: When the Guru tells you to do something, isn’t it in your hands to do it or not? Answer: When the Guru tells you, just obey Him, If you do so, everything will be well with you. But the truth is that whether you will obey or not has already been ordained. For example, the Guru tells you to do japa early in the morning, although He knows that
89 A Peep into Spirituality you will put forward excuses for not doing it. Out of love for you He advises you for your own benefit. A mother tells the child not to go near the pit as it may fall into it. But the child does not listen to her and falls in. One cannot blame the mother for this. Likewise the Guru warns the disciple against doing certain things but if the latter is disobedient, he has only himself to blame for his downfall. The trouble is that the disciple does not take the Guru seriously when He says something. In order to understand the Guru, you must have contact with Him, your intellect should become illumined by His grace. Those who disobey God / Guru have to suffer. In the Bible we read how Adam and Eve had to suffer for having eaten the forbidden fruit. On the other hand, our shastras narrate how the Sanakadi rishis, who were constantly in tune with God through meditation, again merged into Him.
90 A Peep into Spirituality EPILOGUE The present day human being, physically and mentally, is identical with the human being first created by God. He has the same faculties as his ancestors but he has become more worldly because of circumstances. Our ancients had more shraddha and more faith in the Ultimate High and also revered and worshipped the Guru, which is sadly lacking in the present generation. Whereas our ancients knew how to approach God, present their difficulties to Him in person and also get relief through His grace, by sincere prayers and supplications, the modern man has lost this ability through sheer spiritual ignorance and his pride of possession of achievement in the field of science and technology. He feels he is more comfortable now than his forefathers. Whereas his ancestors were throughout serene and peaceful, the present day generation possesses a confused mind with not even a semblance of peace; it is always worried about his future and thinks that it is its responsibility and duty to look after everybody who looks up to it, without being aware of the fact that God is the Creator and Sustainer of everything that is created. In
91 A Peep into Spirituality contrast to this, our ancestors depended only on the guidance, grace and the blessings of the Supreme High. They possessed intense humility. Under these circumstances, if the modern day man can emulate his ancestors, he will also be a carefree individual with no worries or anxieties, but filled with peace and supreme joy. In the present publication, efforts have been made to provide answers to the questions put forward by the individuals in the present times, to present easy practical solutions to spiritual problems commonly faced by sadhakas. My efforts would be highly rewarded if even a few revert to our ancient traditions and culture and also turn to a spiritual way of life. Everything rests with my beloved Gurudev Divine Mother, Whose grace and blessings I invoke upon the entire creation for peace and prosperity.
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