2. Sri. M. Radhakrishna Murthy

While dealing with the topic of “Spiritual Training through yogic transmission (Pranahuti), Pujya Sri Babuji Maharaj revealed a great secret or mystery unknown so far in any method of yogic Sadhana under Rajayoga relating to the entire course of a man’s life getting changed by this process.

In this context He mentions how human beings are deluded by their own thinking and yet some others are illumined by Divine Grace. One may get deluded (viz. entertaining a false belief or opinion about himself or his situation)- as for instance, in thinking that lord Krishna could have changed the heart of Duryodhana instead of bringing about the battle of Kurukshetra: if he had such power. Babuji says that such opinions need not hinder us in trying to find out the reality, because God’s ways are mysterious. Babuji further states that logical conclusions are no substitute for the craving of the heart. The heart is not satisfied even if the logic stops in some blind alley. (Silence Speaks-230)

It is common knowledge that it is a Divine secret or mystery that the great war of Mahabharata was a dictum of nature in which huge multitudes of likes of Duryodhana should be ruthlessly wiped out of earth’s surface at the appointed time and Bhagavan Krishna descended on earth as Avatar for the purpose of establishing Dharma (righteousness), among others, which He accomplished. Puffed with arrogance and having abiding faith in his army’s power, Duryodhana deluded himself which finally brought about his end.

From the observation of Babuji (which forms the topic for the day’s seminar) one has to conclude that it is the thought which makes or mars an individual’s life.

It is the rare and exclusive prerogative of the human race alone to be inheritors of the precious Divine Patrimony to possess the most Powerful instrument (viz. the mind), the first mind of God Himself, bestowing on humans the capacity to discriminate between the real and unreal and choose the best course of action to realise his own self that can bring about total emancipation from the cycle of birth and death, besides paving the way to him to reach higher levels of realization of the Reality (viz. liberation and finally entry in to the Homeland) which should be the cherished goal of life to a human being bringing about total transformation making him a real man. To achieve the above objective, Samarth Guru Pujya Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Fategarh (UP) India has opened a new way of Sadhana to humanity, modifying the Raja Yoga method of Sadhana to suit the needs of present modern generation, bereft of tedious, vexatious, time consuming practices involving austerities penances, physical mortification and strangulation of senses which are age old, often resulting in sadhaka to give up the practice altogether.

Majority of common people are grappled with their problems of day to day existence and the struggle they face to seek solace from the miseries which are attendant to an embodied being which are inescapable. The methods they are asked to adopt in Sadhana by conventional gurus of religion do not carry them far as they are gross and God is subtle. Only subtle means are needed to realise the subtle being and hence the failure.

The most unique feature of Sadhana in Natural Path is the procedure of introducing the Divine force deep into the core of a sadhaka to awaken the latent force of Divinity existing in a human being enwrapped by deep and thick layers of grossness which a person accumulates in course of hundreds of his earlier lives, not knowing how to extricate himself from the mesh and mess of his own making. Until his exposure to this most sophisticated system of Sadhana, he may not even be aware of the fact, that misdirected tendencies of his mind, led by the craving of senses are the root cause of such a helpless situation. It is actually the WILL of Master which is the Divine Will / Force that infuses Divine Impulse into the heart of the abhyasi. Thus, the master offers his life force (viz. Pranahuti) for upliftment of the willing sadhaka for his advancement in the path of realizing his own self.

It is really a matter of great luck that one gets introduced into the rare and unique type of Sadhana. Unless backed by Divine will, a person will rarely come into the fold of a Master of this greatest achievement in life of attaining complete unity with Ultimate. For unfailing success and advancement on the Path, it is essential that certain minimum procedures and practices need be scrupulously followed to achieve ones’ life ambition of getting rid of the cycle of birth and death, while higher stages are also possible for a really deserving sadhaka, provided Divinity chooses to bestow His grace on him.

Before discussing how one can get trained to become eligible for Divine grace and a deserving vessel for it, a few items of practice daily and all through the day are to be mentioned. Taming a wandering mind is no mean task. Advice to sadhaka to engage himself for an hour before dawn (observing certain formalities of place position, asan etc.,) keeping constant attention on Divine Light in the heart (mere supposition). This is an important and fundamental item of sadhana in this system. The method helps in abhyasi’s practicing the calming down of the mind, of course, not by forcible means. In the early stages of Sadhana, it may have an adverse effect of mind’s rebelling against the method of enforcing discipline in restraining from its usual play of unsteadiness and wandering nature without any hindrance. By constant and regular Sadhana, though greatly causing disturbance and obstructing Sadhana, the mind gradually comes to settle on its own. It is incumbent on the sadhaka to be always alert during the entire period of sitting, so as to receive any hints or Divine commands. In the earlier periods of Sadhana, the abhyasi gets accustomed to develop sensitivity which again largely depends on his ability to give special attention on the Divine Light for large periods while remaining in attentive to fleeting thoughts. Feeling lighter during Sadhana (which is a sign of mind shedding its heavy weight of thoughts) is a sure sign of progress, which every abhyasi feels; it is an adequate testimony of the efficacy of the system and none needs to confirm it. This is part of his individual Sadhana.

The subtlest Divine energy flowing into the system with force forms a number of plexuses, centers and sub-centers forming whirls, due to polluted thinking of abhyasi preventing abhyasi’s Yatra from point to point thus hindering his progress. While commencing meditation, we render prayer requesting the Master to bring us up to that state (viz. highest level or ultimate). Conceding one’s request Master, in an effort to give advancement, attends to cleaning during the process of transmission. This is the most important aspect of Sadhana leading to quick progress is one’s exposure to Master in individual sittings and also in satsanghs. The abhyasi has the opportunity of exposing himself to the care of Master affording the Master to help him getting cleaned. It is only during the transmission by master that great help is rendered to abhyasi (without his knowledge) by cleaning the system with the Divine Will infused by master.

The sadhaka is advised to individual cleaning everyday at prescribed time, giving certain suggestions to his mind; the methods prescribed also differ from each abhyasi depending on the advice of the trainer. This cleaning by the self effort of the abhyasi is totally different from the cleaning discussed in earlier Para. Sadhaka can get rid of superficial accumulated Mala and Vikshepa to some extent by his efforts, (which of course, he again accumulates as the day progresses on) but it is well neigh impossible to bring out deep seated samskaras embedded in the deep layers of subconscious state of mind, which the sadhaka may not be even aware of. This is the great benefit conferred on the abhyasi during individual sittings and satsangs.

Reverting back to earlier Para, the calmness that we experience during the meditational sessions, helps gradually in our expanding our consciousness to the extent of our capacity in the direction of progress on the path in Sadhana. A sadhaka is expected to retain this condition, even after meditation, for a larger period during the day and also to be in constant thought of Master.

As was stated earlier, ‘Pranahuti’ is a unique process which is the starting point for a sadhaka to become aware of the existence of the Divine within himself. Other salient features in this system are:-

A. To achieve the object of inculcating universal brotherhood willing advancement of all humanity on the path of realizing the Ultimate by developing true love and devotion, meditation is prescribed for all sadhakas, precisely at 9 p.m. every night.

A reference to Babuji’s reply to UNO in July 1957 would help proper appreciation of this method of meditation prevalent in this system of Sadhana.

UNO wanted to have a separate army well equipped to crush power which attacks any country and uses the modern weapons, sought for Babuji’s help for an opinion.

Babuji replied that arrogance cannot be stopped by the material force and it is only the spiritual force that can remove causes of war from the minds of people. Babuji’s final opinion in this regard was: “If my opinion were to be invited I would lay down the simplest possible method as given below.

Let all brothers and sisters sit daily at a fixed hour individually at our respective places and meditate for about an hour thinking that all people of the world are growing peace loving and pious.

This process suggested not with exclusively spiritual motives is highly efficacious in bringing about the desired result and weaving the destiny of the miserable millions (Event Horizon 109-111)

Before going to bed, a sadhaka is required to attend to meditation on a point (A) identified in chest region for a brief period of 15 minutes for the welfare and upliftment of all brothers and sisters in the world.

B. Besides Point A, another point which is the Point B is the point on which before commencing morning meditation every abhyasi shall meditate a few minutes to get rid of accumulated impurities suggesting to the mind that they are being driven out of the body with the force of Divine light in the background.

C. Another important unique feature in this system is the strict adherence to the principles of conduct by a sadhaka forming the Ten commandments prescribed by Babuji. Essentially they help in moulding of one’s moral character, to develop fortitude and forbearance in facing miseries in life (whether created by circumstances or by any external agencies), treating all citizens as members of common fraternity, to regulate food habits with emphasis on pious earnings in making a livelihood; The aim of all these commandments is to make a sadhaka a deserving person to receive the Divine grace by developing utmost moderation at all levels of existence and to be always in constant remembrance of the Divinity which he has in his heart keeping company with Him always.

As Babuji Maharaj mentioned about illumination by Divine Grace, we may consider briefly about the ways and means to attract the Divine Grace.

In the words of Babuji “There must be one thought, one object, and one pursuit in view and that must be related with the Divine. That is the type of mania which I wish every one to develop in himself. It is only then that one may perhaps be able to have a view of That which he craves for. When God feels that there is one in quest of Him, the Divine grace is set into motion to take him in. If the quest continues with a pining heart, it becomes so very forceful that the Lord himself sets out in quest of him. The intensity of eagerness together with restless impatience creates within him a vacuum for the Divine grace to flow in, establishing a connecting channel between the two. Remember brother, the time gone by shall never return! Therefore, try to avail of the opportunity to its best. One who gives himself up to his master in toto can alone be successful in the pursuit. Giving up everything means reducing one's self to beggary. In other words one has to become a beggar at the divine door.” (Silence Speaks 84).

While dealing with the role of Master and Master’s support, Babuji explains the relative features of individual Sadhana and Master’s help in obtaining Divine Grace. He says that abhyas is meant only for creating inner conditions helpful for abhyasi’s attracting the flow of the Divine Grace involving his self-effort which alone is not sufficient. It must be supplemented by the Master’s support. What we really stand in need of for our ultimate purpose is only the Divine grace. To have this grace, master’s help is indispensable. Because of ones inner complexities, it is almost beyond the capacity of a sadhaka to have Divine Grace himself, master’s help is needed to divert Divine grace through Master which is interpreted as Master’s grace both being the same Divine grace (SS187 &188)

Babuji stresses the importance and indispensability of a Master of highest caliber for another reason also. In our spiritual march, to extricate us from the network formed during our stay at a particular place entrapping ourselves completely and to shatter the network a master who has established an irrevocable connection with the Divine Source is only helpful with his power that can take the abhyasis through all those intricacies. Period of bhoga gets reduced considerably at the point of entanglement besides undoing the effect of the network by the kind help of the Master (Silence Speaks 194 & 195).

Babuji explains how the Divine grace can be had by constant remembrance of God. One must have a deep impression of the Divine upon his heart. Impression on heart would mean imbibing of the very thing one aspires for. In that case, the Divine thought will continuously remain alive in his heart and his attention will remain drawn towards it all the while. This is what constant remembrance exactly means. (Silence Speaks 307 & 308). By associating one’s thought with Master who is merged in the Absolute, his relationship is indirectly related with the Absolute. Idea of personality (of master) becomes nominal. The deeper the thought goes the more are the subtle coverings getting torn off till the original remains in view. When once the origin is in view, the Divine grace is bestowed upon the abhyasi. (Silence Speaks 308)

Babuji exhorts us not to get disappointed of the Divine grace. God being the supreme Master, His Will must be carried out in every respect. We should ever remain busy with worship and devotion not minding the interruptions and disturbances that come in the way. One should train his thoughts to have proper regulation and discipline by themselves in due course of Sadhana by raising ones’ inner state of mind to higher spiritual level. This can be the actual process which serves to regulate the activities of mind and the Indriyas. (Silence Speaks 314).

For seeking Divine grace Babuji stresses the importance of creating within one self the things required for the actual experience of that which is sought for. He considers that it is Divine grace if one gets under the charge of a perfect master. With sufficient abhyas alone one will be able to draw His will towards oneself. (Silence Speaks 343)

May all our brothers and sisters become worthy of Divine grace.

Pranams.