Talk delivered on the occasion of Basant Pancami Celebrations 11th Feb 2008

My salutations to all my brethren on this most auspicious 135^th Jayanthi of our Grand Master Rev. Lalaji Maharaj. It has become a custom for us to disturb ourselves after the deep silence we imperience. Of the several bondages we have this is one such that grants us an opportunity to liberate ourselves from our petty limitations and grow into universal beings. What I state has to be viewed from the spirit with which Master said that ‘Realization itself is an amusement.’ A few days back the message of the Master in our diary was “The divine experiences are the perceptions of the conditions relating to Divinity.” (SDG-27) Leaving aside one of the perennial questions, whether Divinity can have any conditions, it is the common experience of all devout persons to qualify Divinity with Silence, Peace, Calmness, Blessing, Compassion, Confidence, Love and such other similar attributes. It is our experience that we are not able to dwell in such conditions always though it is our aspiration to be in such conditions. Our inability to be so is what makes us pray to Master who is established in Divinity and seek his help to be in such a condition. Prayer precedes and follows meditation is a fact of our imperience. When Master asked us to continue to dwell in the state of consciousness in which we were during meditation among other things, he was asking us to be in the mood of prayer. It is easy now after deep meditation than at other times because the manas has been dwelling on divine for some time. Divine company is something that is found among the devout and rarely without them. Master said that when abhyasis join in a place and meditate that place becomes his temple. Therefore It would be better that all of us abide in an attitude of prayer in which many of us fortunately live most of the time.

Our beloved Grand Master has written about various aspects of spirituality. We are now blessed with access to many articles he has written. The Sri Ramchandra Publishers will be releasing a book which includes to the extent available the literature extant today. The material now made available and the ones which were published earlier are very original and by a careful study one can easily understand the seriousness with which one has to tread the path of spirituality. We will hear more about the book when it will be released later today.

An article of our beloved Master titled “Determination” has come to our notice and we have published the same in this Basanth Issue of Satya Padamu quarterly journal. It will be clear to any discerning aspirant that determination to reach the goal is primary and that cannot be got by requesting or praying to the Master. Prayer is something that we should resort to after we have done our best to solve the problem in any field. Philosophy of prayer and efficacy of prayer has been one of the popular subjects of any system of religion and spirituality. The word ‘prayer’ is one of the most used, abused and misused words and it has a wide range of connotation from the most profane to the most profound. However the place and importance of Prayer in Raja Yoga or the method of meditation has to be primarily understood in the context of varied ways of working of Buddhi (intellect) and Manas (feelings).

It is very clear that in the Prayer that Master has given us, what is to be specifically noted and presented before the Master is that we are slaves of our wishes or desires or cravings or urges or aspirations. By saying so we clearly understand and state that we are all the time under the influence of feeling or Manas. When we apply these terms in the context of our life we realize that we have not found meaning in our lives and we are running all the time looking for some meaning to our lives. We think that the next car, the next house or the next job may be the answer. On analysis we find that we are governed by the ‘pleasure principle’ which works in the domain of manas exquisitely and do not yield to the more rational domain of intellect. To be intellectual by itself is no virtue as it has its own limitation in the realm of spirituality but it is to be kept in mind that it is the root of Viveka. We find in course of time these wishes etc., and their satisfaction are also empty and we keep on chasing something or the other. We seem to walk around with a meaningless life.

Gaining meaning to our life and being happy are synonymous. No one can be entirely happy unless all beings are happy. Happiness and love are like ‘air’ and ‘ether’- indivisible. Universal Love or no love is the logic of happiness. The way we get meaning into our life is to develop divine attributes and endeavour to create something that gives us purpose and meaning and this we know is best done by “loving him who loves all.” Sage Patanjali said “The mind becomes clear and serene when the qualities of the heart are cultivated: friendliness toward the joyful, compassion toward the suffering, happiness toward the pure, and impartiality toward the impure.”-The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1:33. This means that we have to overcome the impulsive tendencies in us which are guided and governed by the ‘pleasure principle’.

Before I proceed further with this subject of overcoming the impulsive tendencies to satisfy our cravings and desires I must remind a saintly advice “Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet first.” That is determination is most essential to reach the goal of human life which by now we all know is happiness to one and all. We should remember that determination cannot be got by prayer in the sense of begging. Cultivating determination is not a desire that can be prayed for.

Desire arises because of attachment. Desire has two sides: (a) craving or wanting to possess and (b) aversion or wanting to avoid. These two sides of desire exemplify the working of a universal law, the Law of Attraction, along with its implication, the Law of Repulsion. This law is reflected in physics in the statement, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." We in this land, thanks to the ethics taught to us by the recluses parading as jnanis, got accustomed to consider these two aspects of desire as "poisons", and we add a third one too, "delusion." Delusion is the perception that something is what it is not. It is a bias of perception and cognition caused by an "afflicted" mind and emotion.

These aspects of desire are movements- towards something or away from something. They cause pain because we give these desires some of our own thought power though it appears odd and difficult to accept this position. During meditation also these cravings and aversions are the forces that are active and this play of the unregulated mind is generally called disturbance by the aspirants. The solution to this problem is detachment from these mental modifications. That is why we are advised by the Master to brush off the thoughts of all types as uninvited guests which is the same as total detachment. While such total detachment is possible during meditation sessions it is advisable to have due attachment in affairs relating to day to day life.

Dreams and nightmares are our own original version of Reality, essentially a creation by our ingenious Mind. They are part of our personality and we keep feeding them to stay alive. It is usually our desires that feed the dream and our aversions that feed the nightmares. During meditation also this type of dream like experience occurs even in advanced aspirants in the path. Everyone has both negative and positive aspects within, as does all manifest reality. Perceived negativity within ourselves is a problem only when it is an object of aversion, because then it starts controlling us. That is the reason why we are not able to accept negative states of mind or negative emotions in us during meditations. When we fail to convince ourselves through our own resources we crave for the indulgence of a superior person or Master. Through such a craving we try to convince ourselves as feeling dependence on Master and this attitude itself becomes an addiction. This is most often confused with a state of mind immersed in prayer. That is the reason we find many aspirants repeating the words “master, master, master… or Babuji, Babuji, Babuji” or some such word or phrase instead of continuing to meditate ignoring these thoughts of negative import. Virtually all conditions that are judged to be negative become objects of aversion. That is the reason we are asked to accept certain fundamental truths of spirituality which in our system are covered under the Commandments 5 to 7. The Commandments given to us by the Master are mandatory for spiritual unwinding and upliftment.

But similarly the positive aspects eventually become a problem when they remain the object of craving, for this type of attachment negates wholeness. When we crave the positive it is because we do not have due recognition or appreciation of its presence within us, and we feel the lack it. Therefore we feel the need to get it or merge in it. Many advanced aspirants in the path though are aware of the immediate presence of the Master in the cave of their heart; crave for his presence as if it is something outside of them. It is curious how craving for something positive, such as acceptance by the Master, for example, brings an experience of the negative, such as rejection of our own worthiness due to subconscious awareness of our deficiencies. We usually do not see this, and say that it is because we experience rejection that we crave acceptance. We see that the craving for something external does not bring us what we crave for, because it is always an inner reality that must be embraced. In this example, we must accept ourselves as deserving persons and have been embraced by the Master.

This is what Master means when he says we should have faith in ourselves. But the recluse ethics has indoctrinated us to think that we are unworthy and sinners. It is obvious we should consciously embrace both the positive and negative within ourselves. The prayer at 9 P.M. which commands us to accept all the people as our brethren is in fact asking us to accept ourselves and others as worthy human beings. Further by exhorting us to think that every one is developing true love and devotion to the Master we are asked to accept all and love all. Such is the road to Universal Love and Universal Consciousness.

It is customary to hear in spiritual circles that material possessions do not give us happiness and infact hinder us on the spiritual path. But our Master asserts that desires and material possessions do not hinder the spiritual life as long as we are not attached to them or controlled by them. In other words, as long as we are free to be ourself and are free to choose our responses to ever changing situations, then desires and material possessions are not hindrances at all. Then they, too, can be enjoyed and appreciated in moderation. But taking shelter under this praying to Master for material progress is a total misunderstanding of the fundamentals of spiritual path. Master has clarified this position very clearly in the commandment two.

When we do not experience what we need to during meditations that is the Master or Oneness which is our essence, we feel a lack. This lack is felt as a dissatisfaction which results in craving of some kind. When we are afraid or insecure about who we are and what our value is we tend to become defensive, which often results in aversion, trying to push away and reject what threatens us. This is what actually happens when we feel disinclined to continue meditation. It may be noted that perseverance is an important aspect of determination. With determination we begin to get centred in our meditation. When we are Master-centered we do not experience aversion because we value who and what we are and imperience Oneness.

Oneness is not any magical process as a way of being, that is quite possible for those who imperience the same. In the absence of help through Pranahuti it is regrettably foreign to most people. Many persons do not realize that they can change their actions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and identity the moment they imperience their Oneness. Instead most people perceive their actions, feelings and thoughts as a result of influences upon them, and feel they are manipulated and molded against their own choices. We who are blessed by the Master through several influxes of Pranahuti imperience Oneness which is the only Truth of existence. We have many case studies proving that transformation is possible and real through the influx of Pranahuti. Therefore compared to the ordinary person we feel we are responsible for the quality of our life and this is an important revelation. It is because of this we have the courage to think of changing things around us and make this world a Paradise even as our Master wished.

It is such a responsible approach that the Natural Path seeks in its followers. Current events have demonstrated a tremendous desire of perhaps the majority of people in the world for peace in their lives. They are no longer satisfied with the mentality of political conflict, which endangers economic progress and human rights and freedoms. But most importantly, we feel that many people are now aware that if we want peace in the world, first we need to make peace with our own lives. This message of the Master has percolated for sure. It is human nature that needs to change, and we are capable of making such a transformation. As earnest followers of the system of Natural Path, we as a group mirror our consciousness in world events. It is our personal responsibility to be aware of our contribution to the collective human consciousness of Oneness, of harmony, of Love. We need to work hard towards this end.

What is it that prevents us to feel this urge or impetus always? We find that the purposes and goals that we hold dearly are often compromised in the face of problems that we discover in trying to achieve them. We seem to forget about them or actually suppress them and opt for safer solutions. Playing the safe game is a sad conflict with the game we really want to play. We find that we have already become someone else, a substitute for our true self. Reinforcing this position are the attachments we have come to cling on to, the fears we may have of losing comfort, prestige and honour and the resistance we feel against elements of change. This formidable challenge can be met by us when we are firm in our faith and confidence and determined to be glued to the Sri Ramchandra consciousness. It is possible when we take a positive approach to life empowered by the unbridled universal love, that is the nature of our true being which is powerful and effective in creating universal peace, harmony and happiness.

Our prayer then is not any desire or craving in any ordinary sense of those terms but a prayer for maintaining our inseparable harmonious relationship with our Master and a commitment for universal good. Our prayer does not seek any fear to be got rid off nor any favour sought for but a total unconditional dedication to serve the cause of the Master. I understand that to be the goal of human life and our destiny. In that state of prayer we shall dwell for ever.

Pranam.