Inner strength May 2009

Dear Sadhak,
From time and time beyond we have heard stories from our Shasta’s that whenever evil triumphed, some great men surrendered and prayed vigorously to God, and then God came and peace prevailed. It is unfortunate that mankind is suffering what it is but, we must understand that at the time of this holocaust the Shiv Yogis are bestowed with reater responsibility to create more happiness and peace.
As the evil forces are working hard to establish their kingdom, we, the good must also find ways to establish peace. Peace cannot be found with violence. Remember the saying “Want a mango? Sow a mango.” But how can we do that? How can we attain peace by not submitting to the raw emotions of our minds?
My dear seekers, the answer lies all around you. Confused? Look out of the window at that tree. Evil is the fruit, it is what the tree produces. That is why it is senseless to go berserk trying to catch, destroy and throw the fruit away. No matter what, the next season will bring more ripe and fresh fruit. You have to cut the roots to destroy the tree. In psychology there is a Maslow Need Hierarchy in which it is said only when a person is not satisfied he will look for ways to subdue his hunger. People do evil when they are deprived. So if we, the seekers, start to love and care for the fellow man who needs it, he will never walk the dark road. It is our duty to destroy the tree and save man. Start caring for and loving and nurturing Society, to make sure that everyone remains happy and once again we live in the Peaceful kingdom of heaven!
Bless You
OM NAMAH SHIVAY

Unconditional Love

E ach one of us is an ocean of love, as Babaji reminded us by lovingly singing “Tu pyaar ka saagar hai, teri ik boond ke pyaase hum…” We are love itself, so how can we be wanting for love? But as is the case with most of us, we feel unwanted, unloved, shunned and neglected by others, especially by our loved ones.
To make things simpler Babaji asked us “Have you ever heard the water in the ocean or river complain that it’s thirsty? That would be shear madness!” In the same way, how can we – the oceans of love- say that nobody loves us? We have to begin with loving ourselves, because if you don’t love yourself, you cannot love anyone else. In the world you see a reflection of yourself, if you are unable to accept yourself as you are – you will find fault in everything you see around you. To begin the process of self-acceptance, Babaji made us do the forgiveness meditation, in which the first person we had to forgive was our self! Then we went on to forgive all the people who we thought had wronged or harmed us through the journey of life. The next step was to send unconditional love to yourself and those you had forgiven. Believe me this was tough! One managed to instill the Ideology of forgiveness over a period of time, with Babaji’s repeated reminders about how harmful it is to carry grudges against others. But to cultivate the feeling of love for one you have been hurt or harmed by was almost impossible! However, Babaji’s sincere effort to get across to us about the importance of this practice paid-off and we managed to brace ourselves to begin this stupendous job!
We must learn from Nature, to give unconditionally. The Sun shines equally on all beings – rich or poor, old or young, happy or sad, big or small, beautiful or ugly. The rain showers its blessing uniformly for everyone, the wind blows everywhere without any inhibitions. Trees stand in the harsh sun providing shade to anyone who needs it. Then why is man – the epitome of God’s creation -so self-centered and grabbing? Why is it that each action is planned and calculated? Returns and reciprocation are expected for every deed. We care for our family and we expect care, love and respect from them. If by any chance they do not react as per our expectations, we demand love and respect, which we never get and thus end up miserable. We pay our servants and extract the most possible out of them. The Moment we are asked to do a deed of charity we want our names inscribed somewhere as acknowledgment. Why? It’s now time for reflection. Where is the mistake being omitted? There is obviously a mistake because otherwise the net result would be happiness and not misery.
This conditional behavior is in fact the root cause for our miseries. We are all looking to others for love and care, never within our own selves. When our expectations are not met we feel unhappy and unloved. We have to wake up to the fact that we are a part of “Param Atmaan”-the infinite. We are oceans of love Immeasurable, boundary less, and vast.
Reflecting again on natural phenomenon, Babaji says “The Sun does not know what darkness is because it has never seen darkness. The moment the Sun appears, darkness disappears. So in the same manner, we are love and wherever we go we should be able to spread love and warmth. In fact this should happen automatically. You are light, you are divine, be yourself.” We must realize the fact that all the people who are there in our lives are not there just by chance. They are there because we owe them something, may be from a past life. We have all heard at sometime or the other that we are here to clear our debts and only when that is done can we move on and progress in our journey towards the infinite.
But how will we clear these debts? In India we try to do this by doing charity, distributing food and clothes and in lots of other ways. While performing these so-called acts of charity, what is our attitude? Are we loving and kind to those whom we are giving? Are we just mechanically distributing? Or sometimes we even exert authority while doing a good deed. What then was this? Ego boosting or a public performance?
Each action, each karma should be gentle, loving and aiming at soothing a hurt, bringing a smile onto the other’s face.
What we do not realize is that the people whom we owe the most to are the ones nearest to us – our family. Our family members are the people we take for granted, thinking that we are always doing things for them. Stop and think- what is your attitude when you do something for them? Let us analyze our behavior.
A father earns a living and provides for the family but, with what feeling? Is it a feeling of joy, love and happiness? Or is it a feeling of being burdened with responsibility? We must understand that we are only mediums and the provider is only one. The Almighty is the Giver, the Creator, the Protector. He is giving; we have the good fortune of becoming a part of the chain. We must do our duties with pleasure, with a smile and with love. Just with this change in attitude we can turn our whole lives around. It is definitely worth a try.
Most importantly, what do we owe everyone? Money? Jewels? Property? No, because these are only earthly possessions and we cannot carry any of these when we leave our bodies and exit this plane. So these do not hold any importance ultimately. There is only one thing and only one thing that everyone wants and that each one of us is capable of giving abundantly. And that one thing is Unconditional Love.
Think back, as a little child what made you happiest? A warm hug, a smile, some loving words. When you grew into a teen-ager, it was love and understanding that you needed. When you get married, it is love, acceptance and understanding that you look for from your spouse and in-laws. As you grow older, you look for love and respect from your children. When you do not get love and respect at the various stages of life, you harbor emotions of being wronged, neglected and end up being miserable. The thought that we can give unconditionally never strikes us! This is the key to real happiness.
Gradually unconditional love began to flow. It was like the thawing of a glacier, first a few drops, then a trickle turning into a stream and gradually a river! Quite an achievement! But the credit goes completely to His Holiness Avdhoot Baba Shivananda who led us through this uphill expedition! Keeping a watchful eye on each one of us, never resting, walking on, encouraging us to continue, assuring us of the amazing outcome – which we have witnessed in our lives continuously since- Babaji tirelessly took us to the culmination of this beautiful five day retreat.

-Karunanjali Singh

Chanting

Chanting, the holy name is the best scavenger for all sin and impurity infesting the human form. It reaches each pore, each cell of the body fabric and cleanses it. It is the angelic hand that soothes when it takes you in its embrace – its holy aura. You are lost to yourself, your lower-self- the debacle of all that is unholy and unsavory, out to shatter your peace of mind which actually is your birth-right. So, back in Mother Nature’s lap, you revert to a child’s glee and comfort. Such is the benediction of a chant from a Holy Being, a divine soul, an ascended master such as our unassuming and simple Guru, Avdhoot Baba Shivananda. He leads us straight to the gateway of heaven – to heavenly bliss whilst still on this materialistic plane called the Earth.
One of my first impacts with Babaji consisted of a splurge of sound. Did it spring from the depth of an ocean of silence or thunder, splitting the skies with high velocity movement? This took place after watching Him as a quiet saint in red attire, squatting in peaceful existence – eyes closed – before a smoldering fire, indicating the remnants of a Hawan- like dedication to the higher powers that be. A thunder out of the blue! It held all the force of flood-waters, after the flood-gates of a canal are opened and there is a sudden gush of Sounded Glory!! I have heard versatile singers, ventilating their successes through hour-long practices. With all that routine procedure, conspicuous by its absence, here was a sudden outburst – as forceful as the lightening in the skies and as peaceful as could be culled out from the innermost depth of an ocean. At the same time it was effective enough to penetrate any heart, however pained or stressed it May be!! There is a secret behind Babaji’s chanting. He sings from the core of His heart and not for anybody else but for the Almighty Himself. It is actually a state of deep meditation and as sadhaks chant along, Babaji transfers to them the divine shakti which He has received as a result of all His sadhna and austerities practiced for many life-times. He virtually implants it on his devotees with sheer love called “Shaktipath” as a gift! Once this “imported seed” has been inoculated into our blood-stream, the ‘strain’ or species of our being undergoes a transformation. You no longer remain your old self. It is the base of a “Kaya Kalp”- a renewed and over-hauled, reformed you! You trigger off to a new journey, after the U-turn has been taken -not by you! Don’t be mistaken. It is by The Gracious One, who doles out benedictions, without a return or recompense for the same. We can only sit in silent admiration and pray to be deserving enough for these divine benefits.
Once the seed is sown, it is for us to nurture it like caring gardeners -practice watering it regularly, weeding out any unnecessary intruders of alien origin and replenish it with all the energy in us. Mother Nature shall help us grow, purifying our throat chakra and activating it fully for the voice to flow out full-throated. We need not keep an eye on the harvest or the end result, which may be way out yet but sure to appear in proper time. Time, devotion and practice make one perfect. Sieving, thrashing, winnowing are all in the process towards success. Our free flow of thoughts is an area to be watchful about. Let the Sunshine of Divinity never wane in the path of enlightenment.
-Sheila Kapur

Theory of Karma

The true Guru is the one who shows the right path to his followers, the one who drives away sorrow. The one who eliminates the darkness in your life and fills it with the light of wisdom. The Guru leads you to enlightenment and shows the path to self-realization, for which you have taken birth. This is his first and last aim and one who does this is the real Guru.
In this discourse, if you be with the Guru, then your whole life is going to change. Your way of living life will be so transformed that you won’t be able to recognize yourself. You will u n d e r s t a n d a n d acquire what you are searching for since long. You will be in bliss. This bliss can be experienced only by your soul – the Atman – but your ego is a barrier. The Guru will break this barrier to make you realize this.
There is a song “Duniya banaanewaale kaaheko duniya banaayee” (O Creator, why have you made this world?). Here in this universe someone is crying, someone is laughing, someone is a king and someone a pauper. Some throw away excess food and someone feeds himself with wasted food. Who is responsible for this? The Creator of the Universe? This is to be realized. One man is happy in a situation. Whereas another man is unhappy in the same situation. For example in a family of five people, four are loving and one person is quarrelsome. He keeps fighting with others, why so? The circumstances are the same for everybody in the family.
Sometimes two people from similar backgrounds go out to work and one is very successful whereas the other does not get results even if he works very hard. Someone is not physically fit in spite of being operated upon six times. Someone is wealthy having all the possible luxuries, but he has a single mentally retarded child. One person is not happy with all his luxuries while the other is very happy with minimal belongings. Why is this? Why do I have scarcity in my life or why am I happy? This is what I am going to reveal to you.
Everyone experiences incidents according to their ’sanchit karmas’. If I am happy, I feel the whole world is happy. If I am in the wrong, then I feel that everybody in the world is wrong. Why so?? Your past sanskaras make you think and experience such things. You have created the present with your karmas and are now experiencing it and at the same time creating your future.
Our Shastras say no one can stop the events in your life, on the other hand it is also said that you are the creator of your own destiny. Both statements are in contrast to each other, but you will understand soon. Many times you say that you knew everything in advance but did not utter a word. That too you will understand as we go on. You have to endure your destiny, you cannot change it. This is a journey in which you cannot retrace your steps. There is nothing that you can change or re-arrange in your past. So you have to let go of it. If you drag the past (which is dead) into your present, it will only spread the unpleasant odor of decay in your life. The present is the truth and remember your future will take birth from it.

-Avdhoot Baba Shivanand Ji

Maybe. . . we were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one
so that, when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

Maybe . . . it is true that we don’t know what we have until we lose it,
but it is also true that we don’t know what we have been missing until it arrives.

Maybe . . . the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
After all, you can’t go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and
heartaches.

Maybe . . . you should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

Maybe . . . the happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Maybe . . . the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.

Maybe . . . happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched, and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.

May be . . . you should do something nice for someone every single day,
even if it is simply to leave them alone.

Maybe . . . there are moments in life when you miss someone — a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child –
so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.

Maybe . . . giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back.
Don’t expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but, if it doesn’t,
be content that it grew in yours.

Maybe . . . you should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go,
be what you want to be, because, you have only one life and one chance to do all the things
you dream of, and want to do.

“Life is only traveled ONCE; Today’s MOMENT becomes TOMORROW’s MEMORY.
Enjoy every moment, good or bad, because the GIFT of LIFE is LIFE itself….”

By: Anonymous

• In a day, when you don’t come across any problems? You can be sure, that you are traveling on the wrong path. Swami Vivekanand

• The Sentences for getting SUCCESS:
  A. Know more then others
  B. Work more then others
  C. Expect less then others

William Shakespeare

• If you WIN, you need not explain… But, if you loose, you should not be there to explain. Adolph Hitler

• Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself. Allen Strike

• If we can not love the person whom we see, how can we love GOD, whom we can not see? Mother Teresa

• Winning doesn’t always mean being first, winning means you are doing better then before. Bonnie Blair

• I will not say I failed a 1000 times, I will say I discovered there are 1000 ways that can cause failures. Thomas Edison

• Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. Leo Tolstoy

• Believing everybody is dangerous: But, believing nobody is very dangerous. Abraham Lincoln

• Love your job, but never fall in love with your company because you never know when it stops loving you… Abdul Kalam

• If someone feels that they had never made a mistake in their life, then it means they had never tried a new thing in their life… Einstein

• If you start judging people, you will never have the time to love them. Mother Teresa