9. Smt Bh. Devasena

Master in his article “Easiest way” delivered at Madurai on 30-04-1977 on the eve of His 78th birthday celebrations mentions that “Suffering is the root and results flowers” which every associate should strive to have. He mentions this while talking about Freedom. Master says Freedom we want but we do not know its definition. Freedom of soul is to free itself from all bondages. These bondages while getting removed come to fruition in the form of samskaras.

This kind of understanding about sufferings which results in flowers has been given by our Master very clearly.

Generally people do not like to undergo sufferings and they pray God for its removal and also attribute the cause of all miseries to God.One who is born in this world is bound to face miseries and none in this world is free from them.

May be it will not be an exaggeration to say that It is easier for persons who are following the method of Sri Ramchandra’s raja yoga to accept the statement of the Master. For this one should have faith in the Master and the method.

Practical experiences in life make us to talk about this with conviction. Every attachment other than to the Divine causes misery. Attachment to God alone gives us happiness. Master says cycle of these sufferings is the direct result of desires and there is no limit for our endless wishes. Our liking for joy and disliking for sarrows and miseries have been supported by the degenerated mind.

First of all everyone should understand that any kind of suffering is the result of our own samskara and nobody else is responsible for it. Constant brooding over our own afflictions increases our worries and also hampers progress. But all of us have one common good samskara that lead us to reach the feet of the LORD OF THE DAY. This Lord gives us the clue through His method as to what are the causes of miseries, how to undergo them and how to take best advantage in such conditions. Through Pranahuti He makes us feel as such. With this we gain courage and confidence to face any adverse situation. He explains clearly that by undergoing every suffering we become purified and light since we got rid of one bondage that obstructed our freedom.

In “Reality at dawn” Master says One’s failure to acquire all the worldly comforts had led to perceived feeling of untold misery and suffering. More importantly such misfortunes be it in the realms of mental, physical or the man to turn the attention to the Divine and seek solace in being in tune with Him should exploit vital spheres of the beings. In fact it is traditionally said that physical afflictions are cures for spiritual diseases. The more is the intensity of our desires and wishes the more would be the enormity and extensiveness of miseries and afflictions. We should free ourselves from these entanglements. The only recourse that has been and can now be successfully followed is to divert our attention from these and fix our eyes on the very real thing. The truth of the truth, the Ultimate.

By recollecting the sufferings each one of us have undergone and still undergoing we understand the flowers we got we had developed tolerence, patience, endurance, empathy etc.,

During every suffering when we observe to ourselves we can feel the company of Master more intensely and gives us solace. Instead some like to brood over the problem enjoy suffering seeking the sympathy of one and all. By accepting the problem we can get over it easily and by fighting it out the pain increases. Problems get sorted out in their own way and the best thing for one is to depend on GOD during such occasions.

Some of the good qualities that I could acquire(to some extent) by undergoing sufferings in life which Master mentions as flowers are as follows:-

1. Feeling of dependency on Master and His presence in heart continuously.

2. Feeling of emphathy. Only a person who experienced a problem can empathize with others problems.

3. Tolerance. we are compelled to be tolerant during problems otherwise it increases the pain.

4. Increase of urge to reach the Goal as quickly as possible.

5. Understanding the transitory nature of life.

6. Feeling of humility and reducing of ego to some extent.

7. When we understand that suffering is the result of our own samskara, then even when somebody causes misery to us we do not develop grudge or prejudice towards them. This has enabled us to follow the 5th and 7th commandments to some extent.

8. Suffering of not able to become a mother was very difficult to undergo. But benevolent grace of our Master had slowly enabled me to feel the freedom from one of the Eeshanatreyas.

To progress in spirituality inspite of all miseries and sufferings Lives of our Masters Lalaji, Babuji, Dr.KCV are examples to be followed. They have faced problems, which nobody else could have faced. They silently accepted the sufferings and diseases as boons of nature in disguise which helped them deliverance from the effects of samskaras. They have reached the highest pinnacle in spirituality and continuously supporting all of us to reach that stage.

When one is constantly restless to reach the Goal ie., when our attention is firmly fixed on the Goal i.e.,to become Zero we do not pay undue attention to miseries or joy. When there is joy we enjoy and when there is misery we cry. But we do not unduly get attached to that condition. Support of our Master through ‘Pranahuti’ enables us to restore the Balance quickly. That is the result of sadhana. Unless we do our sadhana with proper understanding of the spirit behind it with faith and confidence our attitudes will not change. Unless we change our attitudes in life we cannot enjoy the flowers which are the results of sufferings.

Master says when we develop the habit of ignoring the miseries and sufferings they minimize the impact of bhoga and maximize our craving towards the Divinity. When our attention is firmly fixed on the Goal all other things be they luxuries or miseries will have no attraction or repulsion. There will ensure a state of poise and tranquility. This is what Sri Ramachandra’s Raja Yoga strives to bestow on each and every individual so that their collective state of balance and contentment leads to world harmony and order.