5. Dr. K.Madhava

My dear brothers and sisters,

My humble pranams to all of you who have gathered here on the occasion of Imperience day.

The word Imperience reminds us that the Divine presence or light is felt only in the heart and we have to train our mind to become introvert or turn inwards. To quote the words of Rev Babuji Maharaj “Meditation really means that the mind may be accustomed to the centre itself instead of wandering elsewhere. Meditation on heart is prescribed for that purpose”.

Once the mind is given the object of Divine light in the heart, by practice it becomes accustomed to it (of course aided by pranahuti) and the sweet company of the Divine presence is imperienced. Contemplation on it helps us in making us a real man and we march on the path of righteousness. Once we marching to our homeland Master, the true guide feels happy that his efforts are bearing fruit.

The word imperience and its concept if not grasped correctly may lead to wrong practice or no practice at all causing pain and anguish to Master forcing him to say that they have lost the ocean.

Coming to the topic of the seminar today which is taken from the article “they have lost the ocean” once feels disgusted at the deplorable state of man’s mind. The state of mind which Master describes about the persons whom he has served wholeheartedly and given the responsibility of training others is the antithesis of what is best and noble about humanity. It is the eclipse of the conscious at its worst. It is lack of moral character and ungratefulness.

To put it in his own words ”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! People are defective in the oneness with all. They do not wish to do anything themselves. They wish that I alone should do all that is necessary for achieving their uplift, through the use of my inner powers - I should give them the desire to engage in meditation practice, get them to do their daily practice, give them improvement, progress and promotion and get them interested in all this activity through my own powers so that they do not have to do anything themselves. They do not wish to make the slightest change in any detail of their life or habits, nor do any type of practice etc., that has been taught to them. But when any defect is found in any of them or when any disorder arises in the matter of the spiritual progress of any of them, the responsibility and the blame, all are mine! I experience another difficulty too. Even without the cooperation of the people, my sympathies are with them and I am always interested to help them. Therefore on their expressed request, I become ready to do everything for them even when the request is made only as a mere formality born of bare regard for me. What else can I do when it is my intense desire to pour all my spirituality in them in larger and larger ladlefuls, irrespective of whether they are ready to accept and absorb it or not? When I look into them to see how much more feed I have to put in, my senses fly away and I wish that I could dissolve it all and give to them to drink up. But even of persons capable of drinking it up, only one or two can be found. This is my fortune, my lot - in life! My intense desire is that everyone's work should be completed successfully. Effort of anyone never goes waste, but it seems to be very difficult for anyone to do any effort. All this being told they do not 'get' it. Lakhs of rebirths have gone by without achieving their return to their homeland; and the sorrow that even now, its necessity does not show itself in them. It does not occur to me what I can or should do, when no one desires even to start moving.

My heart is filled to the brim with love for my associates. Whatever service I am able to render to them, all that does not give me satisfaction. My heart is ever intent and keen to ensure that the largest part of them should achieve at least my own spiritual condition in the shortest possible period of time. In order to expedite this and to ensure the message reaching the largest number quickly and in good measure, I appointed a large number of preceptors to do the job of awakening the public so that their work can be done, and their character, conduct and behavior can be remodeled and straitened out.

In the beginning, in ancient India, this system was kept in close preserve, without publicity. In consequence, in times past Rishis just imparted it to a few of their own disciples. Among them, some could not even impart it. Changing times and conditions had their effect. Gradually the method got lost. The Truth vanished and all its opposites were born. Ideas of differences of greatness and smallness were born and people began to be satisfied with microscopic successes, in the belief that the success was complete. The boat had sunk to hide itself in the lake. Even to the onlookers it seemed that this was all. All saw the lake and became so much attracted to it that none had a single thought for the Ocean. Thus they got themselves limited and soon its grosser aspects began to surface, concern for the body and concern for the concern begin to assume tremendous importance and proportions.

Then the bondage of egoism came in and got firmly established and people started thinking very highly of themselves though they were not so in truth. Ideas similar to this began to arise in some of our preceptors; and the decease is spreading instead of dying down. Endowing them with power has become risky for me. Power exists for achieving the Divine and for benefiting others; but in such persons it started inducing intentions of selfish profit. In addition to teaching others incorrectly they started debating even their own practice. They forgot that along with becoming preceptors, they continue to be abhyasis. They started injecting their own personal ideas into the detailed rules and methods of meditation practice decided and laid down originally and started teaching abhyasis the considerably altered methods of their own practice. Some preceptors teach something and some others some other way. It does not occur to them that in the very fine (sookhsma) rules of practice achieving the Infinite, even the slightest variation of change can have the dire consequences. Can anyone claim to have achieved all Infinity? If a grain of Reality be gained; it is so invaluable that the entire riches of the world can not be its ransom. It is true that power too was given to them, but they desired to u se it, buried as they are in their selfishness and egoism. They never could think that this puts twofold burden on me. (One to progress their advance towards spiritual welfare and the other, to separate them from their self-created and developed ego.) Because of this small but wrong doing of theirs; how much work for me gets increased, never occurs to them - perhaps they are not in a condition to be able to appreciate it at all. They began to believe that their faith in their ego is their Power and became entangled in it. It is quite possible that they become so immersed in their condition that any effort to free them from it is like making pulse grains out of steel. They just learnt the word 'Power', but they did not know, did not attempt to understand, what Power is, and how to use it to help others. A few are so born who confuse dhal for boiled rice and take great pleasure in this confusion. This alone can be said about them that they have strayed away from the path; and to bring them back to the path has become near impossible due to their having gone away from their dharma their duty. This is the reward I get for all my labour. What can I tell such persons? Only this, that such is my fate, my fortune.

The comments of the Master shows us that the degradation has become irreversible or to put in medical terminology a case of advanced terminal cancer. Thus we can say that these people who confuse dhal for boiled rice and take great pleasure in this confusion are like patients who when confronted with a diagnosis of cancer go into a denial and say that the diagnosis is wrong or say the test results become to some body else and that the samples must have been mixed up in the lab, or they enter into delusional state and think that they are healthy and nothing can go wrong with their health. But eventually truth catches up and they succumb to the disease.

Master has given sufficient notice that wrong practice leads to wrong results or swerving away from the path. To quote Master “I hope people will excuse if I add a little more in the context that incorrect way of worship will lead to the incorrect result”.

In another place he said “By the prayer we go from outside noise to outside Silence. By cleaning, we go from outside silence to inside silence. By prayer, we come nearer to our goal because we come in contact with the Being. The same thing gives you nectar if methodically done and the same proves harmful if it is not methodical. Proper method has been prescribed with complete clarity in 'Natural Path' system”.

Wisdom lies in recognizing the Master and following him earnestly and whole heartedly. Rather than relying on our own resources.

This sorry state of affairs are due the following few points (there may be many more) which I thought we should contemplate and correct ourselves.

Goal Clarity

This is the principle reason or cause for not coming up to the expectation of the Master and losing the ocean.

The feeling of self which dominates the consciousness has to loose its density and become less and less and finally become negativated to zero.

So the predominant question every abhyasi has to put for himself is after a sitting or after practice or after a pranahuti sitting, how much of our undue attachments are we loosing? and not how much we are receiving or gaining from the Master. This kind of questioning or introspection will allow our goal to remain in focus.

Generally it is observed that people want o receive peace form Master or help from Master in the fulfillment of wishes, rather than praying to Master to liberate ourselves from being slaves to wishes. Majority of human population wants their wishes, desires and ego agenda to be fulfilled as per their wishes, i.e. in a sense there is a strong psychic trend to remain as slaves of wishes.

If we have goal clarity we will aspire and pray to Master to take us up to his stage.

Master in the same article they have lost the ocean remarked that “people are defective in the oneness with all.”

This concept of oneness has to be well understood by all of us. He has quoted in another place "We are all brethren connected intellectually, morally and spiritually - the main goal of human life. This and that have gone now. There remains the purity alone in all His work and environment which weaves the spiritual destiny of the persons with the Ultimate".

He also said “There is no question of separation. We are coming closer and closer". This is the message to all “.

Rev KCV has stated “The need for another Darshana or system of spirituality can be justified only if we accept the goal of Divinization of Man. If this system is to be one more method of attaining "liberation" - then it is just one more. But the call of the Master is not to liberate a few souls, who come to his fold.”

“The New Darshana is for those who participate in the Divine Work of Divinizing Man - rather than those who seek individual transformation. The assurance of Master that He is taking care of every abhyasi and that every abhyasi should spread the message means that every one should actively participate in bringing about simplicity, purity and fraternal feeling in all, not worrying about his own realization. It is not therefore meant that one should not have the craving. It is a must, it is the promise and it is the beginning. But that is not the work of the Master nor is it His mission.”

Thus by following the methods of Master, divinity starts emitting its fragrance and since we are all from the same source and connected to the center and also interconnected with everything living in a seamless fashion the quality of the existing consciousness is lifted towards its divine nature. Thus apparently individual efforts lead to a general improvement of the human consciousness.

You must have realized by now why the institute places so much importance to the 9 pm prayer. Thus leading the ninth commandment in its true spirit is another way of having goal clarity which in turn cannot be attained without practicing and living all the other nine commandments.

Means

Abhyas is a consciousness decision to move in the direction of the chosen above goal. Thus determination and will power is a must.

Thus not doing sadhana and succumbing to laziness and harboring under a delusion that Master will take care of me is simple escapism. This surrender to laziness and egotism (another avatar of this egotism is self pity) will surely lead you away from the path causing dejection and depression in Master and finally forcing him to say they have lost the ocean. He is saying that there are some congenital idiots who mistake dhal for rice and take great pleasure in this confusion.

This is surely a wake up call or shock treatment to bring us out of our stupor.

I will quote the oft repeated quote of ISRC from satyapadham

[“What I want is that all of you rise as sun of Spirituality

But how is it possible? And when that is possible?

When you orbit in such a way as your movement be direct.

How to find this orbit ?How to move direct?

By keeping the destination in full view.

How to remember the destination?

By becoming one with it.

And when can a person be one with that?

When you lose yourself.

And how to lose oneself?

By bearing no other thought in the heart than that.

And how is that possible ?

By Practice.

How practice is possible ?

Through love and interest.

How love and interest can be cultivated?

Through determination.

How determination is possible?

When we gird our loins to sacrifice our pleasures and to shake off idleness.”]

A person who has no determination or will power should not come near the subject of spirituality. Or be lucky to get a guide who motivates you to give up laziness, comforts and pleasures.

Weakness of character

Is mainly due to the influence of lower urges and undisciplined sense organs and not following the Ten Commandments.

Not following the Ten Commandments are again due to not practicing mediations on point A and B.

The greatest gift to humanity—the discovery of mediations on point A and B by Rev Babuji Maharaj if properly and assiduously done will help us move to human and later to divine consciousness and develop into humans with characteristics of truthfulness, non-violence, non covetousness, brahmacharya, sharing, cooperation, service and sacrifice.

In my personal opinion one of the main reasons why weakness in character persisted in people who were given the responsibility of training others and consequently lost the way is because of non practicing meditation on points A and B. It forms the pillar of the foundation of spirituality.

Lack of gratefulness

In the earlier days people went to jungles forsaking their families and kingdoms and underwent rigorous practices to woo god and get His blessings and in the fag end of their sadhana some of them succeeded in getting the blessing of the divine. Here on the first day itself the pure divine consciousness is made to enter the heart and helps you to move towards more and more purity. Practice begins with a link (yoga) to pure divine consciousness which is the object and the goal. This all due to pranahuti.

The enormity of the help and blessing has to be appreciated and one is fortunate to come to hear of Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur.

Instead of being grateful and being oriented to Him we are spurning him (a few excluded), misrepresenting Him and bringing bad name to Him. It really saddens me to write this. Practice and feel Him and then tell about Him. By not practicing and feeling Him and not following his method as per his instructions and then telling others that we are his abhyasis is plain falsehood.

On Imperience Day a day of celebrations I do not want to dwell on the degraded state of man’s mind which made Master write about loosing the ocean, but bask in his sweet presence and live in His consciousness.

Let us make a firm determination to woo the Divine Master and surprise Him with our determined and sincere effort.