3. Sri R. Sharath

My Dear Revered Guide, Respected Brothers and Sisters,

My humble Pranams.

With my humble salutations to the eternally present Supreme Masters of the Order, I would like to begin by sharing my perceptions on the topic of the day on this August occasion of Imperience day. Broadly speaking, from what I understand from this sentence, it means that there are a few who consider pseudo-spirituality for the Real or the Reality and further derive pleasure in this confusion causing harm not only to themselves but also to others. They have not understood that spirituality is for self-dissolution and not for self-aggrandizement.

It is to be noted that this message “They have lost the Ocean” is an appeal from our Revered Master who, in deep agony, has stated and stressed some important aspects that a Sadhaka has to be aware of and some other important aspects that a Sadhaka has to be beware of. The latter is the cause of the drift that Master noticed in quite a few as in the very next sentence of the message he states that “This alone can be said about them that they have strayed away from the path”. He further goes on and says that “to bring them back to the path has become near impossible due to their having gone away from their dharma their duty.”

The path of truth or the path to transcend the EGO is a steep and a slippery one. That there is a possibility to stray from the path and that it is almost near impossible to come back on track if we do not follow our dharma or duty as mentioned by our Master is a very important fact that we must pay attention to. After contemplating on this sentence, some questions came to my mind.

What are the factors that cause us to stray from the path?

1. Character:

Our Grand Master says that he is not as much a lover of spirituality as he is of character and also expresses that “I also desire that there should be no weakness of character among the abhyasis of our Mission; but what use is it that I desire it so!” Kindly observe the last part of his statement. It shows the necessity of one to work for his own betterment. We get what we seek. Here, due to the Grace & Kindness of our Benevolent Master, we sometimes get what we do not seek also. But, what do we seek? What is the effort on our part to make ourselves deserving to receive what we seek? In our Master’s system, one gets according to what he deserves. It is a fundamental that we should deserve and then desire. Pranahuti works wonders only when we truly feel and seek to transform. It is a common saying that “God helps those who help themselves.” Our transformation starts from our WILL and only when we aspire for our realization, we will be able to fulfil our primary duty.

The importance of Character, as stated by our Master, cannot be emphasized any more. One should attempt to improve one’s character always. One must be ever aware of the presence of Master inside and know that he is watching all our actions, our thoughts and our deeds. One must be pious, moral and display impeccable behaviour which will help him to progress steadily on the path. Rev. KCN Sir told me that we should be sure of Masters presence by our side always and that will mould all our behaviour and attitudes over a period of time.

To improve our character, we must practise restraint in thoughts as our Master has told us. I used to wonder how this is possible as we are not supposed to suppress our thoughts in the system of Satyapad Marg. Then I learnt that by thinking about our Master, we divert our attention to Master and thereby develop restraint in a natural way without actually suppressing any of the thoughts. Rev. Sir has mentioned on several occasions that being in the thought of Master will help us to get rid of our Mala. It is also one type of cleaning. And it is also my conviction today that the only solution to any problem that we face in Sadhana is to be in “His thought”. As our Rev. Master said, this would ensure that we are in HIS remembrance and our problem too will be solved. I do not hereby say that we just be in his remembrance and not act when we face problems. When we are in HIS thought, we will get the right guidance from HIM and we will be able to act in a balanced manner according to the situation.

Moulding is the way to propagate the message of the Master. We must mould ourselves to such an extent that others, when they see us, must be reminded of the Master. We must put our best effort in making ourselves. I still remember one sentence that Rev. Sir told me several years back in a Bhandara. He looked at me and pointing at me, he said “What type of role model should we set so that, people of his age, in this present environment, leave all the entertainments and take up this Path seriously”. I was deeply moved by this statement and I started to view the system seriously from that day, though I took my own time to take up the practices seriously.

2. Oneness with All:

Rev. Master also says in the first page of this message that “People are defective in oneness with all”. When one does not feel the oneness with others, he cannot claim to have felt the oneness with the Divine. If we feel oneness with Divine in meditation, it will naturally culminate into love for others. Not feeling oneness with others is either due to feeling of superiority or inferiority. We sometimes feel that we are better than others. We should avoid this feeling lest we will become egoistic.

3. Truthfulness

Adhering to the values of Truth is of utmost importance. In order for us to become truthful, we must practise speaking truth always and follow truth in whatever we do. We should utilise all the opportunities that we get and must exhibit truthfulness in everything.

4. Negative Thinking

Our Rev. Master continuously and constantly guides us all, through Pranahuti, by shattering our networks of illusions, and prepares us to be better souls. We have been bestowed with the thought power which should be used to strengthen the pious and the good thoughts and at any cost, should not be allowed to strengthen the negative thoughts and thoughts that are against the life. Meditation is the process of gathering the individual mind at one place in a natural way in Satyapad Marg. When we meditate regularly, we develop the Ekagravrtti mind and we naturally develop Single Pointed Orientation in any duty we perform. This, in other words, can be expressed as Concentration, a result of regular meditation. When we develop such an orientation, we will able to control and channel our entire thought force for any task we take up and the quality of the output or outcome of the task will accordingly be better.

This is how we will gain perfection in anything we do in a natural way by gaining control of our mind. Now, we know clearly with conviction, that all our actions are thoughts and vice versa. Therefore, we should understand that by entertaining negative thoughts, we will be feeding them with our thought power and in turn strengthening them rather than weakening them. Therefore, in order to stay positive, as our Master told, we must practise restraint in thoughts. This can be considered as a part of co-operation with the Divine. Stoic attitude and Positive thinking are very important accelerating factors for our progress in Sadhana.

What is dharma (duty)?

One of the main reasons that cause one to stray from the path of duty are the excessive desires and attachments of different types which may be hidden inside. Master classifies desires into three planes namely, the animal plane, mental plane and the spiritual plane. “In desires of the mental plane is hidden the secret of self-aggrandizement, self-progress, self-ability, etc., when these things are carried on to the spiritual plane, one is reminded of his duty, and is worried about getting out of the snare. The tendency is diverted towards God - Realisation.” (SS-90) Whatever desire we have, it must be only in spiritual plane. We must purge all the impurities inside us so that we will be able to secure complete and permanent union with God. As our Master states, God Realisation is our primary duty and must be the primary object of our life. The only impression that must be left in our heart is that of Realisation.

“Duty is the carrying out of the commandment with non-attachment with the motive.” (SS-270, 271) When our Master said that “He makes Masters”, from what I understand, it means a “Master of the Principles or the Commandments” that he gave us. When one becomes such a MASTER, he will be reverberating HIS Consciousness. Only the MISTAKES are ours. Any credit whatsoever for our actions goes to HIM and HIM ALONE because he is the Knower, the Doer and the Enjoyer. We are only instruments in HIS hands. Our focus must only be in moulding ourselves and become such an instrument that he can use us howsoever he wants.

Factors which will help us to stay on the path:

One must always feel the dependence on Master. This must become our main concern. Master himself conveyed this to an abhyasi as the most important thing in a speech.

Regularity and Sincerity in approach are musts. Maintaining humility is very important.

Contemplation on the feelings that we experience during meditation are very important. Clarity emerges through contemplation. If we are sincere in seeking an explanation for any question that arises in us, and if our thought touches the deep core of the heart, then it will be answered through meditations as our Master has told.

One should avoid brooding on his defects. Once the defects are identified, steps must be taken for necessary correction. By dwelling on the defects, we will unknowingly strengthen them.

The Master has clearly said that self dissolution is the only way. He has also advised strongly to all the trainers and abhyasis that they should put into practice the following ancient teaching:

“There is nothing for me that is ‘mine’,

What little there is, ‘Yours’.

Herein lies all that is good for all of us.”

This is the way by which one can stay in the path without confusing dhal for the boiled rice and be ever in the ocean.

My humble Pranams.