Double Guru - The Secret Behind Initiation

How did Om Swamiji come to know about the secret that I shared only with my deity?

I searched the solution for this question in various books and on several internet sites for not only days, weeks but for several months. But I could not find an answer.

Some days back while chanting ‘Om Gum Gurve Namah’ on Sadhana App I visualized that I was touching His Padam Feet and requesting Him to reveal the secret to me. I prayed and prayed fervently. The next day, while surfing I landed on a site that revealed the truth behind the secret.

While initiating, He placed an image or copy of Himself inside me. An Inner Guru who always lived with me, knew everything about me, was well aware of my each and every thought, perceived all my sorrows and pains, recognized my penance, sensed my tears n smiles, noticed my hard life and was witness of all that I did in my life. Actually, Inner Guru was always with me but I did not realize it. Swami Satyananda Saraswati said, “The inner guru has to be exploded with the help of the outer guru. The inner guru should be approached by means of the outer guru.”

The Outer Guru how far He might live could scan my Inner Guru randomly at any time and could know everything about me. The Outer Guru could then guide me through my Inner Guru accordingly so that the thorns and obstacles from my spiritual path are removed and I could walk the spiritual journey persistently and effortlessly. If by chance an emergency came, then Inner Guru would inform Outer Guru about it and then He could send an immediately relief in the form of his golden advice.

In the book, ‘Light on the Guru and Disciple Relationship’ Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati said, “It is important to develop a link with your inner guru, which is the center you have been searching for. All the happiness, joy, pleasures you crave in the external world are only illusions in contrast to the infinite bliss that is contained within your inner guru.” As you all know that initiation is a seven steps process. First step is like drawing an outline of the image of Inner Guru and mapping out the general shape. In second step, improving of angles into smaller and more specific segments is sketched. Drawing features, aligning them horizontally as well as vertically, and checking the angles between different features are done at the third stage. Refining the contour is the fourth action. At fifth level, shading the soft layers carefully to achieve the maximum detail and impact is planned. Appropriate hues and shades of color are filled to create a live image is the sixth step. At the last step, the final touch is given so that it appears naturally soft and its elegance is captured. I am at level five and now I have to fill natural colors in it.:) I have drawn my Inner Guru in traditional way with crayons on paper but you can draw it with the help of modern technology in Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, DrawPlus or Clip Studio Paint. ;)

The connectivity with the Inner Guru and Outer Guru can be developed slowly and gradually by satsang, by kirtan, by remembering God, by serving, by chanting, by speaking the truth and by being kind in action, words and thoughts.

According to Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, “As you develop the ties with the living guru, your contact with the inner guru becomes clearer, more vivid and tangible. And, in this way, the guru tattwa (Inner Guru) begins to manifest.”

Dear blogger family, let us sketch our inner guru more elegantly and jump to the next level of initiation together! :)

Pic : Pixabay

Kindness Towards an Invertebrate

“This is how an invertebrate struggle if it falls off and ends up on its back!” My mother pointed towards a beetle on a grass ground that was continuously moving its legs in air to get up. “Life is really hard for an insect as it does not have a backbone like us which helps us in turning over when we fall. It is very painful for all invertebrates. Therefore, with the help of a leaf we must help it in rolling so that it can stand on its legs and live a normal life again otherwise it will die fighting for its survival.” In the beautiful garden full of seasonal flowers like calendula, dog flower, sweet pea, nasturtium, petunia, dianthus, hollyhock and marigold, which attracted lots of beetles and other insects this site, was not uncommon. My mother not only explained the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates but also taught me a life lesson of kindness towards other living beings when I was in middle school.

After that, it became my habit to turn over the insect on its legs if I ever saw it struggling for its life. With the result, many a times in difficult situations in my life when I found that all doors were closed, Nature would send an unexpected help to protect me. Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.”

It had never happened before. As soon as I turned the black tiny insect back on its legs, it would take a few steps and then fall off again on its back. It happened numerous times. This time, I tried to be kinder than necessary. I gently turned it, supporting it continuously but again it fell off on its back. This incidence happened a few days back, I was in my prayer room doing my regular chanting when I noticed a tiny black insect struggling. I continued my chanting mentally while trying to help it. I did not know whether its leg was broken or injured, as I was not wearing my specs at that time. Although I concluded that, the slippery floor of tiles was the main cause of its frequent fall. I interpreted that it could walk on a rough surface. Raktivist quoted, “Kindness is doing what you can, where you are, with what you have”. I placed a round cotton wick on it, pressed it gently, turned it around and placed it on the floor. It was slowly moving on that wick. It did not fall again but keep moving round and round on it. Aha! It was doing salsa on the beats of joy! :)

Leaving it there, I went to my office, as I did not know what it ate otherwise, I would have served a delicious breakfast to it. ;) In the evening when I returned, I found that there was only wick; there was neither insect nor its dead body. I assumed that it must have learnt to move with practice and must be living a healthy and good life with its kith and kin.

Little things make big days!

Pic - Pexels

My Tiny Effort to Keep the Traditional Craft Alive

“STOP THE CAR!”

On seeing a shabby man holding many miniature rainbows on the roadside, I ordered my driver. Before he could react, I explained that I wanted to buy colorful pinwheel wind collector from a street vendor. The driver stopped the car near him and gestured him to come close to the window. I rolled down my window glass and asked him to show one pinwheel. He delicately gave me one.

“What is the price?” I asked.

“Only Rs. 10/-.” He replied in a low tone.

I looked at the craft with almost surprised as it was made up of two wheels and a long stick, thin wires were used to hold them as well as to give them rotating movement and strips of vibrant papers were glued to make it attractive. How much was the cost of raw material? Ten rupees included not only raw material but also its cost of making, time consumed in selling and his profit. How much he would save in one pinwheel, I wondered!

I asked for one more.

To support him, I bought one whistle of Rs. 20/-, one baja (plastic whistle) of Rs. 20/- and one plastic mask somewhat resembling a cartoon character of Rs. 20/-. I asked him to show a plastic car. On inspection I found that this piece of car was an old piece, it was somewhat wear and tear, and its wheels were not functioning properly even on my butter soft hands. I returned it. On seeing a bit disappointment on his face, I asked to give me two more pinwheels although I did not need them but to support the traditional craft and to encourage him I made that small purchase.

I gave him the total purchased cost, a hundred rupees note. A faint smile appeared on his face.

I rolled up the windowpane and asked my driver to give all these toys to his children. In the moving car, I realized that oxytocin was released in my blood in large amounts, which caused the release of a chemical substance known as nitric oxide, which dilated my blood vessels, and as a result, I was feeling a boost in my mood as if someone had injected a high dose of happiness in me.

I decided that if I ever saw this vendor again, I would buy all his pinwheels and would distribute them among the children who could not afford to buy even a ten rupees toy.

Only One Meal Per Day - From an idea to habit formation

Was I suffering from CANCER?

The search showed this answer after I googled the reason for the persistent sweet taste in my mouth. It also suggested that it could be because of a certain bacterial infection, diabetes or a neurological disorder. I refined the search as sweetness in mouth after prolonged fasting. It showed that low carb diets resulted in burning of fat instead of carbohydrates, which consequently increased ketones in blood stream and caused fruity, sweet, or metallic taste in mouth. During ketosis, excess fat got burn and outcome was weight loss.

In the last week of December, 2021 I decided to do a purasacharan of a lengthy mantra, which required sitting for quite a good time. I was not sure whether I was able to do it as my knees and back ached after sitting for long. Therefore, I decided to eat phalahara, a diet without cereals and pulses also, it included fruits, vegetables and dry fruits that too only once a day. One outstanding meal was sufficient to nourish the body. Moreover, my eating capacity was too good. I was eating three meals worth in one go. ;) It only saved my time of brushing teeth after meals. ;) Nevertheless, I would revise my decision if I found it difficult to do in the last days of sadhana due to weakness or any other health issue, and then I would shift to meals twice a day. When I started, I felt pangs of hunger during the evening, my bowel movements were disturbed, I felt tired most of the time and a bitter taste persisted in my mouth all the time. I kept moving, overcoming the obstacles one by one, as I knew my body would get used to this new routine, which was very difficult to master. Gordon Parks stated, “Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.”

In the third week of habit formation, I fell ill because of overburden of work as well as because of low energy levels. I did not stop. Will Durant in ‘The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers’ said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I kept going until I reached the mark of 42 days. As Om Swamiji said, “A new habit is formed in 42 days.” Now, I was quite sure that I could continue with meal once during the day but I was not sure whether I could go for phalahara diet for so long without adverse effect on my health. For 47 days, I ate phalahara diet and as soon as Navaratra were over, I changed my phalahara diet to vegetable khichadi with desi ghee, soup, coriander chutney, roasted papad, curd, salad, fruits and dry fruits. This was the diet given to students when I was doing Sadhana Intensive training in Sivananda Kutir in Uttarkashi. Swami Vishnu Devananda said, “What is consumed by the human body correlates directly to the efficiency with which the brain functions. The diet affects the quality of meditation. The purer the diet, the more easily the mind is controlled. Then with time and practice, success in meditation is assured.”

Slowly and gradually, my body got used to it, now I did not feel hungry all the time, my bowl movements were regular, my energy levels were good enough and a sweet taste persisted all the time in my mouth. Oh! That was not a divine taste!

One meal during the day had now become a habit and a part of my life. With this big change in my diet, I could easily sit in meditation for prolonged hours without knee or back pain. “Just do it! First you make your habits, then your habits make you!”
― Lucas Remmerswaal, The A-Z of 13 Habits: Inspired by Warren Buffett

Pic : An idea that illuminates my spiritual path!

I Can Sit for More Than 4 Hours and 36 Minutes in Meditation.

Have you ever seen a rock crying horribly?

Only humans cry! I cried uncontrollably in meditation. It was close to impossible to be still like a rock while crying. The emotions came gushing like strong tsunami waves without any control disturbing stillness and calmness within a few seconds. I cried aloud and most of the time I had to cover my face with hands. Then tears started flowing from my eyes. I had to wipe them with a hankie, which further resulted in a disturbance in my stillness. Now, I had decided that I would not wipe them and would allow them to flow naturally. Many a times, discharge from nose began to flow and it was a challenge not to wipe it and let it flow over my lips. ;)

After awakening from Kundalini, in meditation I experienced involuntary body movements including moving of hands and head. I could not be still even I wished to be. However, I felt that to rise above vibrations and sensations was more crucial to have a pinpoint focus. From past seven months as soon as I focused on any object of meditation may it be an image of deity, Guru or Mother Divine, I started crying horribly and I could not remain motionless however hard I might try. I meditate for 4 hours in morning with breaks, which includes the longest stretch of 2 hours and more. In the evening, my sitting hours are near to about 7 hours with breaks, which include reading scriptures, likhit japa (writing mantra), meditation, chanting, routine prayers and breathing exercises. Total of near about 10 hours of praying and meditation per day. I could sit in for this period with slight knee pain that disappeared as soon as I started walking. However, earlier prolonged sitting resulted in severe knee ache, which could not be healed with yoga, walking or oil massaging. My strength, stamina and discipline had made it possible to sit in asana for long periods.

1. Hydration - Frequent urination was the problem with advancing age. In general, I did not drink water long before going into deep meditation for a lengthy period. Soon after finishing it, I drank a lot of water to hydrate myself.

2. Nutrition – When I lived without food for eleven days, I could very easily sit in meditation for 4 hours and thirty-six minutes. For perfection in asana, from the past three months I was having only one meal per day, which was either phalahara or khichadi and soup. Sadhguru had taken only one meal in a day from the past 40 years. Moreover, I did not have a feast of chole bhature from past three and a half months. That is real tapas for me! ;) Ab hum khayenge piyange to enlightened hone ke baad! ;) (I would party after I would be liberated) My dietary restrictions had helped me a lot and now I could meditate very easily for stretched period without any pain in my knees or back.

3. Yoga or stretching – In winters, I walked in sunshine and in summers I did yoga additionally. My exercise routine was between 30 minutes to one hour depending upon the workload. On weekends and holidays, I exercised more than on weekdays. Asanas like headstand, shoulder stand and fish pose helped me a lot in concentrating my mind and for maintain a steady pose in meditation.

4.  Sunlight – I daily prayed to the God of Sun, “O God! Please bless os.me family with Vitamin D.” ;) I basked in sunlight for 10-15 minutes or even more as I walked in sunshine while chanting mantra or listening to audio books.

5. Breathing – I daily practiced anolum vilom (alternate nostril breathing) on Black Lotus App. In general, one session sometimes two or more if I was free. Sometimes I also did gentle and deep breathing.

After doing every purashcharan I felt that my concentration and my capacity to sit for prolonged hours had improved immensely. My spiritual experiences also indicated that I was progressing.

Swamiji had never touched me with a mudra on my Sahasrara Chakra. I had never touched His feet physically. I had wholehearted faith that with His divine touch I would become still like rock for not less than 72 hours. :)

Please pray for me that I become like a rock soon! ;)

Pic : A rock near Jatusana, Haryana

When I Walked Like a Saint...

Why was I doing intense tapas?

By the time, my wet clothes dried a bit in the bright sultry sun, I contemplated sitting on a conveniently flat rock on an oblong island in the middle of Giri River near Sri Badrika Ashram. It had been 40 hours since I had drunk anything and near about 48 hours since I had eaten anything. The day before, on MahaShivratri I had kept fast. Today, since morning I was searching for a dog but could not find it. I did not eat or drink without completing my charity work, which include feeding cow, dog and birds.

From the morning, I was looking for a dog - big or small, black or white, furry or skinny but could not find. I went downhill and far along the length of the river. On the way, I saw three mongooses, two dwarf brown cows, a male Asian paradise flycatcher, a spotted dove, an eagle, a pair of pied kingfisher, yellow-vented bulbuls, red whiskered bulbuls, many blue-fronted redstart, parakeets, uncountable rock doves, warblers in various sizes and a Mallard duck taking off from the river Giri but did not see a stray dog! I came back and searched it in ashram. Once again went downhill in a hope to find one, this time in hurry I forgot to wear my shoes instead wore flip flops. I searched it again but no success. I sat down for a while on a rock to take rest. On the other side of the river, I noticed some cows, goats and a shepherd. Assuming that there must be a dog along with them, I decided to cross the river. I took my jacket in my hand and carefully putting one baby step at a time on slippery and precipitous stones crossed a portion of river with shallow water and reached the island. On the other side, the river was quiet fast. I loved going adventure. I pulled up my lowers a bit higher and started walking in the swift flow. The stones beneath my feet were abrupt and perilous. This time I was more careful but hardly had I taken 5-6 steps that I found myself struggling to maintain my balance on algae covered rocks in the high-speed water and abruptly fell into the river. I got up and decided to come back instead of continuing my adventurous journey further.  

I sat on the same rock with my jacket spread on a nearby rock. I was feeling neither hungry nor thirsty although my throat was dry and lips were dehydrated. Tired of brooding over a thought about my intense tapas, I opted to enjoy the present moment. I shed off thoughts of unchangeable past and reflections about the unknown future. The nature was mesmerizing. The murmuring sound of ever-flowing water, warmth of radiant sun, shade of forever-moving clouds, fragrant and cool breeze, chirping of bulbuls and ballet of swallows and willows on pale blue floor. Now I was enjoying every moment of my life. All of a sudden from nowhere a patchy brown dog wailing its tail slightly jumping between the rocks came towards me. I fed biscuits to it. The time in my mobile watch showed 12:40 pm and dining hall would be closed after 20 minutes. I hurriedly picked up my jacket, bolted on the uneven rocks and put my right feet in the shallow water of river to cross it. I slipped. This time, I managed to maintain my balance and did not fall. Though, the little stopper that holds the strap of flip flop came out, one lose end of Y-shaped strap made it unfit to wear it. I tried to push it back with the help of a twig but could not. I hold my slippers in my hand and started walking on treacherous path after crossing the river. The piercing stones beneath my feet made taking even one-step further very difficult. They were penetrating in my soft skin making my walk extremely painful. I told my mind that under my feet are not piercing stones rather soft rose petals. I took the next step and I felt less pain. I told my mind to have firm belief that delicate rose petals were spread on the path. I took one more step and there was neither pricking nor piercing only softness of petals that my sole felt. With full control on my mind, I erased the difference between sharp stones and soft petals. Pain and pleasure became alike. I walked like a saint- mindfully and calmly. I enjoyed every delicate step that I took. A fountain of equanimity erupted inside me!

Pic : Pixabay

My Egoistic Head Near His Padam-Feet

“You haven’t eaten anything today! Have you kept a fast on MahaShivratri?” Ma (my mother) asked me while standing outside the main office of Sri Badrika Ashram around 3:30 p.m.

“That’s true. I haven’t eaten anything.” I replied.

“And water?”

“Till now, I haven’t. Tells see what God’s wish is!”

I woke up at 12:30 in the morning, did my prayers and meditation, drove my car for about an hour on highway, took metro from HUDA City Centre, Gurugram to New Delhi Railway Station, dragged baggage on long railway platform, traveled in train watching live telecast of Sadhana App launch, carried bags on Kalka Railway Station, took a prebooked taxi through the terrain to Sri Badrika Ashram and was now waiting for the room or the dorm bed to be allotted. I could easily stay without eating food for some days but this time I challenged myself by not drinking water while living a normal life.  

After getting fresh, I went to the discourse room to get the seat near Vidu Swamiji’s camera and recording area where I generally used to sit. However, to my surprise, camera and recording area had been shifted to the center of the room to cover the abhishekam of Lord Shri Hari. There was a line of division dividing the seating area into two. Where I generally sat, had cushions with sheets of paper shouting ‘RESERVED’. I asked a woman on other side of the line of division, “Are we not allowed to sit there?”

She said, “No. If anybody sits there, he/she will be asked to get up from there.”

I took a seat on the other side of the line quite close to that woman. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my mantra, but I could not as my mind wandered about the line of division. I had never seen this before. Moreover, why it was two feet wide?

My mind kept wandering about the length, breadth and the twists in line of division. I complained in my thoughts, “Why I am sitting too far from you? Can you do something to decrease this distance and to erase this wide line of division? I neither have eaten nor drank anything today, just to have a darshan of your smiling face.” My eyes became moist.

Just a few minutes before the entrance of Swamiji in the hall, some volunteers rolled the pastel sheets from the line of division and below them; the black velvety mat was shining bright. My Goodness! So, it was the path from which Swamiji would be going to Garbhgrah.

I was too shy to ever sit near those velvety mats on which Swamiji stride from entrance gate to Garbhgrah and back. I happily bowed Him from a distance. Moreover, today, when I was doing tapas, He would be walking on the line of division, and I was sitting just adjacent to it.

“Khudee ko ker baland itna kay har Taqdeer se pahlay”
“khuhda bandey se khud poochey bata therie reza kaya hai”
~Allama Iqbal

(Raise yourself to such great heights so before every destined act, God himself asks what it is you desire.)

It was His pure love and grace that He bestows upon me amidst His busy schedules.

After a while, my egoistic head was near His Padam-Feet only 6 inches away. It lightens my heart, fills my mind with strength, peace and purity. Next time I would do more intense tapas to decrease this distance to zero! :) As it is the greatest and rarest privilege in life to touch the Padam-Feet of Guru.

In Guru Bhakti Yoga, Swami Sivananda says, “Dedication to the Lotus-Feet of Guru must be ideal and watchword for the disciple. On auspicious days, disciple should fast and meditate on the Lotus-Feet of the Guru, to grant him real devotion to His Lotus-Feet.”

Har Har Mahadev!

Pic : Pixabay

Kindness is a Gift, Pass it on.

“Madam, Can I carry your luggage?” A railway staff asked me on seeing me dragging my heavy luggage and bags on the long platform of Kalka Railway Station.

“Sure.” I replied. “How much you will charge?” I inquired.

“Whatever you wish.” He calmly replied.

I was bit angry with my taxi driver who on phone refused to take down my luggage from train. I did not call him instead decided to carry on my own, as I did not find a porter because my railway coach was on the farthest end of the platform, and it took me time to get down with an elderly family member with all luggage and bags.

He removed his waistcoat uniform with company logo. He took all the luggage and bags from us and with ease started walking with us. I was in a habit of conversing with strangers. I asked a few questions about him, his family and his life.

Near entrance of railway station, he put down all luggage and bags. I gave Rs. 500/- for his kindness and his willingness to help others. I took out a golden bangle from my jacket pocket. I handed it to him and said, “Today is MahaShivratri, please keep it as my blessing. It will be auspicious for you.”

He gently took it, bent down, touched my feet, stood up and lovingly said, “Thank you Ma!”

With his love, he made me Shrimata- The Goddess of wealth and happiness! :)

Pic :Pixabay

Roasted Taro Roots with a Pinch of Love

What should I offer Him? Which dainty?

I looked at my plate full of delicacies, which include kuttu ke pakode (buckwheat fritters), aloo (potato) dry veg, tomato- carrot- beetroot soup, green coriander chutney, sliced apple, green and black grapes, orange, dates, roasted peanuts, curd and roasted taro roots. I felt that Swamiji pointed out that He wished to try roasted taro roots- a new recipe so I offered Him a piece of it. I practiced Guru Bhakti yoga in which Guru is considered as the greatest God because Guru leads you to the God. Therefore, I offered food first to my Guru and then to my deity. I fed taro root to my deity. Then I felt that Swamiji said that it was very tasty. I smiled. This happened in Magha Navratri, 2022.

Dear readers, I am sharing this recipe with you.

Roasted taro roots with a pinch of love

Taro roots are rich in fiber, potassium, magnesium, Vitamin C and Vitamin E. It helps in keeping blood sugar levels in control and helps in reducing weight by keeping one fuller for longer time.

Ingredients

Arbi or Taro roots – 5-6 or more

Crushed black pepper – a pinch to sprinkle

Oil for greasing

Rock salt to taste

Method

Rinse taro roots thoroughly in water to remove dirt or mud. Boil them in a pressure cooker till they are soft. Slide a knife in taro roots to check that they are cooked completely. They should not be mushy. Peel them once they are warm. Put a taro root in between palms and press a bit to give it a thickness of a cutlet. On medium flame grease a tava and roast it until light brown in color. Turn it and roast it from other side as well. Take it out in a serving plate. Sprinkle rock salt and crushed black pepper on it. And do not forget to add a pinch of love on it. ;)

Swamiji liked it this way, but you can also sprinkle red chili powder and mango powder on it.

It might seem like a Tollywood movie scene but for me it was truth and only truth.

My Second Personal Meeting with Om Swamiji

“Oh my God! He remembered me!” These thoughts came to my mind as soon as I lifted my head from the mat after mentally thanking Him for giving me asana for seating. Before stepping on the asana, I sat down on my knees, put my both hands beside my knees and bowed down to touch the asana with my head to mentally expressed gratitude to Guru for providing me asana for seating. I lifted my head and found that He drew up His right arm to indicate that I must sit in front of Him and not on the farthest corner of the mat unlike the previous meeting. He not only remembered my mistake but was also rectifying me. I felt as if I was walking on air with clouds beneath my feet but in reality, I was ambling on the white soft cotton mat. I was elated and excited like a kid. I deleted my introduction part from the opening paragraph that I would be going to speak which I had repeated numerous times in my mind before entering the meeting room. I sat down crossed legs in front of Him. I folded my hands in Namaste pose and closed my eyes. Mentally, I remembered my deity. Then I chanted the mantra ‘Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara; Guru Sakshat Param Brahma, Tasmai Shri Guravay Namah.’

I expressed gratitude, seek forgiveness and asked my question. While replying, He blessed me with a bunch of five crimson wildflowers, which He had collected from the forests of Assam. The fragrance of these flowers totally changed the direction of my spiritual journey.

Pic : Unsplash 

Waiting for My Second Personal Meeting with Om Swamiji

“Tomorrow you will not be able to meet Swamiji as He already have meeting with 75 people.” An office staff told me when I asked for the next day appointment after the discourse.

“The day after tomorrow I will be leaving early so, please give me tomorrow morning time with Swamiji.” I requested.

“Fine. I will adjust your meeting time with a person who is staying for a longer time in the ashram. Please reached sharp at 8:30 near meeting room.”

Next day, the calendar showed the date 2nd June, 2019 and the watch showed the time 5:45 a.m. I had just finished my prayers. I placed my charity bag on my left shoulder and walked out in search of a cow, a dog and some grain eating birds. I fed the cow. I placed the grains on a nearby rock. Nevertheless, I could not find a dog. I went downhill near Giri river, I went uphill until I reached a neighbor’s house, I looked behind the bushes, I searched below the parked cars, and I hunt near the dining area. Surprisingly there was not a single dog! 

At last, I saw a stray dog and fed it some biscuits. The watch showed 8:15 a.m. After I washed my hands, I went to the dining area. The queue was so long that my turn would not come before 9:30 a.m. What was my preference - breakfast or the question whose answer I wished to know? 

Without wasting another minute on food, I moved towards the meeting room, thinking that I would have breakfast after the meeting, it would end up soon.

Every day I had my breakfast between 7 to 8 am, which did not consist of light food like poha, idli, upma etc. but full meal consists of roti, vegetables, dal, curd, salad and fruits. My hungry stomach was saying it was the food time, eat like a king! A tug of war started within my mind – what did I want- food or question? A part of my mind warned me if food were not taken on proper time, it would be converted into stomach ulcer, which I was prone to. Another part of my mind told me to relax, as a shot of steroids would resolve every useless problem. First shouted food was the most important thing in life. Second part calmly replied to eat the delicious food once you were back home but now focus on question whose answer could not be find on any internet page or in any book. Finally, my mind decided and commanded that you were here for the question only so focus on the question and not on food.

To my utmost surprise, the opening was made with group meetings and not with personal meetings. Five groups went in turn by turn. I waited and waited. Then personal meetings started. I was hoping that my turn would come first but I was the last to meet Him. It was around 11 a.m. when I was called in for the meeting. Until that time, I was empty stomach and whether I had taken one or two sips of water, I could not recall now.

Two years later, I came to know that it was a special initiation, which needed to be done empty stomach. I was in His leela shetra and it was His leela!

Once again, I am on a waiting mode, this time it is very long and very tough. It is tough because from the past three months I have not eaten chole bhature. ;)

Pic : It is not an owl but a cat on the tree near meeting room in ashram. :)

I Am Most Attached to My Spiritual Experiences.

“I am really surprised to know that you can’t remember what you have recently written on your blog.” My mentor said a bit agitatedly to me.

“After writing I forgot what I have written. It is a boon as well as a bane.” I replied and tried to pacify him on hearing the words of praises about my latest post of which I could not even recall the topic. He made fun of me that I could not remember what I had jotted down a day before.

I wrote about my spiritual experiences on my blog so that I could easily forget them. These experiences were like heavy weighted baggage and I had to put them down to feel light so that I could move forward with ease. In general, spiritual experiences were like milestones on a highway but most of the time a seeker like me made a grave mistake of being attached to them by constant contemplating on its beauty and magnetism. Then, the milestones turned into traps. Suppose while travelling in a train, I spotted a beautiful lake with lotus flowers amongst the mountains, not only I kept brooding on it even after moving away from it but also had a strong desire to go back to enjoy that scene for some more time. The striking scene constantly kept hitting my head, which I found almost impossible to shed off, ultimately became a shackle because of my mere ignorance.

Nevertheless, as I advanced in practice it really became difficult to be detached from those experiences as they were about my weakest point. I had to walk through once again down the memory lane where even my shadow haunted me. Even if the spiritual experiences were the most pleasing, delightful and gratifying, they haunted me like ghosts in a dark room. It really became hard to ignore them and forget about forgetting them.

Till date I have had numerous spiritual experiences. In my dreams, I had seen various idols of Lord Hanuman, colored full vision of Lord Dattatreya, Glimpse of Ma Kalratri and many times had darshan of Om Swamiji. In meditation, I had seen different coloured lights like yellow, white, and a mixture of red, indigo, blue coloured dots, lines of various sizes sometimes crossing each other, a triangle, vision of Om Swamiji’s silhouette, vision of Ma Kalratri’s fierce eyes, Ma Katyayani’s delicate lips, Ma Skandmata’s greenish sober eyes, Ma Shailputri’s third eye, myself adorned with jewellery as Goddess, Mother Divine’s meenakshi eyes and Mother Divine’s attractive face from front as well as from side.

Nearly a decade back, I had experienced bliss, a mini Samadhi. ;) In which, I forgot to breathe, I could not see or hear anything and found myself immersed in ecstasy. Besides this, I was also blessed when Swamiji was 24 years old, an astral body experience, and His tears, Him as Shiva and Shakti. I was whimpering from the past seven months while chanting and meditating, my eyes welled up on remembering God and sometimes it became difficult to control my tears even publicly. Above all, I had telepathy with Om Swamiji. :) Sometimes the reception is weak on my side because of my negative thoughts. ;) Soon, my name will appear in Guinness Book of World Record for wide range of variety in spiritual experiences. ;) The most surprising fact was that I never had any spiritual experiences, neither in dream nor in meditation, related to my deity whom I worshipped day and night. In meditation, only I saw various intensity of brightness and different sized indigo dots of the same color as that of my deity. Moreover, this color was considered as the rare color to be seen in meditation. The vision of this color in meditation gave vairagya quickly.

Was I puffed up with spiritual pride after acquiring a few experiences? My pride had enhanced the feeling of separateness from others as I looked upon others with contempt. My arrogance became a serious obstacle to God's realization. It was an unhealthy attachment, and it was blocking my vision to see through. My lower nature was not purified yet.

The spiritual experiences were like fragrant garlands, which became tight shackles for me as I kept thinking about them and was not able to focus on my object of meditation. I was giving too much importance to them and felt that I was distracted from my path. I was unable to remain indifferent from these experiences. I found it difficult to interpret and contemplate them. I could not understand tenses till date then how could I understand the deep meaning of these spiritual experiences. ;) They were the silver lining, which was even thicker than my negative emotions like anger or egoism. I had to wipe it so that I could progress further. These visions and spiritual experiences would come and go, but they were never the goal of my meditation. I was working hard to substitute them with higher thoughts. I had to diligently remove conceit and boastfulness, to realize Divinity. Detachment from spiritual experiences whether pleasing or horrible was necessary for spiritual progress. It is truly said that the less attached you are, the more peaceful you are!

Swami Vishnu Devananda in Meditation and Mantras says, “Looking back to past experiences gives life to the memory-picture, reinforces and pulls the mind away from its true nature. A sage never looks back; he concentrates only on identification with the Absolute.” My final and true goal of meditation was the direct experience of God. Meditation was the treacherous path of difficulties where each hindrance served only as a challenge to goad me onto a higher achievement. I jotted down all my experiences so that I could overlook them and started afresh as an infant who did not have an iota of idea about what spiritual experiences were. Just innocent I in MA’s tender lap! :)

Last time when I was in ashram, in one of his discourses Swamiji said, “Spiritual experiences are like a breeze. They come and go. Only for a small period, you experienced the coolness. However, the presence of Mother Divine is as if you have switched on an air conditioner. The cool air is always there.” (Sorry I could not remember the exact words said by Him, but this was the gist.)

Even after thorough search, I could not find the air conditioner button. I had full faith that whenever I would be ready, He would turn on the switch for me. :)

Pic : Pixabay

A Big NO to Retirement

‘Retirement’

This word never existed in my parent’s dictionary. They worked hard throughout their lives for their children, for their families and for the society. Even after retiring from a decent post and having ample of funds, my father continued to work day and night. A few years later, he fell sick. However, his illness was never a hurdle in his work routine. He used to open his office at 9 a.m. and closed it around 7 p.m. without taking a break on Sundays and holidays like Diwali, Holi etc. His philosophy of life was ‘Work is Worship’. To cope up with my father’s hectic schedule my mother would always be busy with cooking, home management, creating beautiful articles of knitting, stitching and embroidery, attending friends and relatives and doing charitable work. She had not retired even now. I am surprised to see a septuagenarian working hard even at this age to manage her funds, to learn accounting and to write with keypad on online platforms.

Betty White said, “Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren't going to get rid of me that way.”
Retirement can be defined as a time to enjoy life and relax, without any pressure from work. My life is dedicated to society and social causes, and I truly enjoy it. I totally agree with Toba Beta who in ‘Master of Stupidity’ said, “You get old faster when you think about retirement.” Irrespective of my age, I will continue to do my charity work without getting tired and retired from it. For the constant supply of funds in my various acts of kindness, I have to hammer away to maintain a balance between the cash inflow and cash outflow. I will go on to generate and share funds till my last breath.

I will not retire from cooking various dishes, trying new recipes and experimenting with new foodstuffs. Cooking is my lifeline as it is an art, science and craft of food alchemy. It is like a food adventure in which I adore losing myself in the rituals of chopping, sautéing, simmering and garnishing. It is a great stress buster. Moreover, I love to satiate myself with my culinary skills as well as by savoring delicious dishes. Food provides nourishment for the body, but cooking provides nourishment for the soul. Dishes cooked by me have special powers to bless the famished with prosperity and happiness. I cannot back from using my special powers for the welfare of the society.

Whenever I entered a property, just in a glance I can scan it and can tell the monetary position, wealth accumulated, happiness status and other things about the residents or its owners. I can suggest rectification for their welfare and betterment. I cannot retire from giving advice based on my knowledge of Vastushastra. With my jyotish gyana (knowledge of astrology), I can suggest native to do some charity and if he does it, he definitely feels better. It is my intuitive power or the power that I have accumulated from my nonstop charity work, I do not know.

I cannot retire from planting trees because if we wish to breathe in fresh air in future, we have to plant trees and some more trees. Moreover, retirement is just out of question without developing a new variety of mango tree, which can be harvested in winters. ;)

I love teaching and I love teaching yoga very much. Retirement from teaching and learning new practices in yoga is just not at all feasible as I wish to be a be a great yogi. I will practice it till I shed this body. Although I have taken a break from teaching yoga because of my health reasons.

When I started writing in 2009, I never thought that I would be writing continuously for more than a decade. Writing has helped me in improving my command over the English language and enhanced my vocabulary. It has also helped me in throwing away those emotions, which are baggage and bondage for me. Most of the times, when I write I am getting rid of my load. Yasunari Kawabata quoted, “I wonder what the retirement age is in the novel business. The day you die.”

I will even work after leaving this body. Whoever will chant ‘Chole Bhature Ma ki jai!’ I will quickly reach near that devotee and will elatedly bless him with prosperity, wealth and happiness. Tau phir bolo............;) Seriously speaking as the lineage guides me while doing charity, I will be guiding the generations to come after I shed this physical body. Sandra Day O'Connor said, “I need to retire from retirement.”

This very moment I will love to retire from cleaning utensils because then I will not have to eat the frog in the morning. ;) :D

Pic : A sunset of retirement on the vast canvass of life! :)

My Tiny Steps Towards Sainthood

“I will never allow you to take sannyasa (renunciation). You can do whatever prayers you like to do in your room and nobody will disturb you.” Ma (my mother) instructed me on seeing my inclination towards sannyasa. Newton’s third law is ‘for every action there is equal and opposite reaction.’ I decided I would become a saint without taking sannyasa. I threw my bed out of my room and declared that I would sleep on floor from now onward. She tried hard to convince me to sleep on a low height bed, bed with wheels or any designer bed that fit in my Sankalpa. But I was adamant. This happened almost one and a half decade before. Till date in summers, I slept on cotton durrie and in winters on a cotton gadda (thin mattress).

When I became comfortable with the change in my sleeping habit, I challenged myself by saying goodbye to the slippers. Like saints, I began to live barefoot. Most of the time I did not wear any footwear. These restrictions I followed in my house and only my close relatives knew about it. I lived like a queen in the outer world, but I lived like a saint in the four walls of my house!  

When last time I attended Swamiji’s discourse, he looked towards me and said, “Sannyasa lene ki jaroorat kya hai (What is the need to take sannyasa)?

Pic : Pexels

This is How I Awakened My Kundalini - From Root Chakra to Crown Chakra

As my past was haunting me, I could not sleep. I was trying hard to slip into dreamland, but I was failing repeatedly. That night, I took a bold decision. From quite some time, I was struggling between my materialistic and spiritual desires; whether should I struggle more on the materialistic path or should I focus my time and energy wholly on my spiritual path. Finally, I decided I would be concentrating fully on my spiritual journey. My courageous decision was that I would awaken my Kundalini Energy, which once awakened could not be made dormant rather had to be worshiped daily without failing for a single day. I opened a book by Swami Sivananda whether that was online in pdf format or in paperback I could not recall now. I reached that page on which Kundalini awakening pranayama was written. (This pranayama is also mentioned on page no. 93 in the book ‘Japa Meditation : The Easiest Way to Calm The Mind’ authored by me.

I inhaled and exhaled as per the mentioned instructions. I hardly did that pranayama for ten times or even less then did I feel a throbbing sensation in my Muladhara Chakra. I could distinctly feel that I had awakened my Kundalini. My body was like dry twigs that just needed a spark to ignite. In Bliss Divine, Swami Sivananda said, “When there is throbbing in the Muladhara, when hairs stand on their roots, when Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Mula Bandha come involuntarily, know that Kundalini has awakened.” This happened sometime in 2011 or 2012. At that time, I did not know who Om Swami was, but He knew me well and showed me the correct path because He knew more about me (my past lives) then what I knew about myself.

In the following days, I became more confirmed as I felt jolts in my legs just before slipping into the sleep. One day in dream, I felt an electric current passing through my spinal cord. I also experienced bliss for near about 60 seconds in which my breathing stopped completely, and I felt immense joy. That was just a drop of nectar, but my heart was yearning for the ocean of nectar – Samadhi. Some months later, I felt involuntary body movements, which became vigorous with each passing day. For many years, my stomach got upset very frequently because of Kundalini jumping at Solar Plexus Chakra or because of my somewhat bad eating habits I did not know.

These days, most of the time my Kundalini was at Heart Chakra as I could feel the burning sensation there and I cried horribly while meditating. Sometimes I felt difficulty in breathing and many times coughed in deep meditation, which meant that my Kundalini was active at Throat Chakra. Generally, while worshiping Devi my Kundalini arose to Eye Chakra and during astral body experience, it reached Crown Chakra and I felt a fountain of ecstasy and joy. Finally, dhoodh mein ubal aa he gaya (Milk boils)! ;)

Pic: Pixabay

Praise is Necessary -To Keep the Wheels Turning

Two thousand rupee note flickered under a raw peeled onion!

Instead of putting the currency in moneybox, he put in on an aluminum plate and used the onion as paperweight so that it may not fly with the gust. I gave a tip of rupees two thousand to a redewala, a street vendor. He reluctantly took it. He neither expressed gratitude nor smiled. I was bewildered. It was a quite big sum of money for him as he could only sell ten to fifty rupees of his freshly prepared foodstuffs to a single customer. Even then, his face was stern!

While munching the mirchi bada (potato stuffed green chili fritter) which I bought from him, I decided to minutely observe him for some time to find out the reason or at least one reason to bring a smile on his face. Although the fritter was too tasty, but it was too spicy for me. I had a burning sensation in my mouth. To neutralize it, I needed something sweet to eat or to drink. I saw a sugarcane juice machine on a nearby stall but there was no vendor to sell it. On asking the stern-faced vendor, I came to know that he also owned this. I gave order for two glasses. He prepared it while attending the customers on both stalls. While slowly sipping the deep-green viscous liquid, I found out that he had good cooking skills, fine managing ability but poor communication skills.

I met him for the first and this would be the last time. Before leaving this place, could I bring a smile on his face? I went near his stall and smilingly said, “The mirchi bada was very delicious. I really enjoyed eating it.”

He beamed.

After all, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace said, “In the best, the friendliest and simplest relations flattery or praise is necessary, just as grease is necessary to keep wheels turning.”

Pic : Pixabay

My Journey from Foodie to Sainthood

“Jija ji (Brother-in-law) is out of the town!” My mausi ji (maternal aunty) uttered as soon she entered our kitchen and saw a deep-frying pan filled with hot oil on the gas stove.

“Yup, one hour before he left for three days tour to Chandigarh.” I replied and inquired, “How do you come to know?”

“Kadhai (deep-frying pan) was on the fire just a few minutes before as fumes are coming out of it. You must be frying something.” She smiled while replying.

“I just prepared paneer pakodas (cheese fritters). Do you want to taste?” I served freshly prepared pakodas with coriander chutney to her.

She took a bite and said, “So, for the next three days you guys will be partying.”

We laughed heartily.

My father loved to eat simple food- chapatti, dal (cooked pulses) or seasonal vegetable. However, my mother who was a foodie would always serve him chapatti, dal, stuffed vegetables, vegetables with curry, salad, fruits and freshly prepared cheese. Although, he never relished eating fried food like puri, bhature, pakode, samosa, tikki etc. On festivals, he just took a morsel or just a tiny piece of fried food and never asked for more. Whereas I always wondered why he made so much of money day and night if he did not want to eat delicious food. What is the need to do so much of hard work if he just wished to eat dal and roti? At that time my philosophy was chole chature khaoo prabhu ke gun gao (Relish chole bhature and sing the glory of Lord)!

Not only that he never eats oily, junk, processed, canned or frozen food but also, he never criticized the food on his plate. Whatever my mother served him he would eat it without commenting on it. Only occasionally he would say, today salt was more in veg if by chance, there was some extra salt in veg and my mother had forgotten to taste it before serving. Simple food gave him strength and vigor to work for prolonged hours. Throughout his life, he had a very good control on his taste buds, which was the underlying reason of his success in academics as well as in business.

My nature, my values, my attitude towards other people and my perspective towards life was more like that of my father. As I had worked with him for ten long years, so my style of working was also inspired from him. I was his carbon copy except his food habits. A trait that I could never acquire from him.

I was a foodie until I did a 40-day Sadhana in which I ate meal only once in a day and that too phalahara (without cereals and pulses). The Devi did not appear as distinctly as before, but I could fit into my purani (old) jeans. ;) During the last days of Sadhana, I experienced two unique experiences. Someday, one I would share with you, readers and the other one I would keep intact in my heart forever. :)

Pic : Phalahar at The Ancient Barbeque, Gurgaon in 2016.

My Second Trip to Sri Badrika Ashram

“What?” I exclaimed as T.T. told me that the ticket I was carrying with me was not a confirmed ticket of first class but 47th in the waiting list. I was shocked. I was surprised. I thought that a ticket was booked only for a confirmed ticket. I overlooked the microscopic W.L. letters written on the right-hand side of the ticket. At that time, I was standing on Kalka railway station to catch a toy train to Solan.

“Buy a passenger ticket from the ticket window and get into the last passenger compartment.” He calmly suggested.

With my luggage, I almost ran towards the ticket window at the farthest corner of the station. The ticket window was open, but the staff member was not willing to give tickets, as he was busy with some other work. I repeatedly requested him to give me ticket as early as possible. He gave me ticket after ten long minutes. Holding that precious piece of paper, I ran back on the long platform to catch the train, but it had left the station just a few minutes before.

Should I take the taxi to Solan? The construction work of flyovers was going in full swing and if there was so much rush in rail then it must be thrice on roads. Traffic jams on hills meant that I would go through severe travel sickness. To avoid uneasiness of travelling in terrain, I decided to get into another train which was about to leave after one hour. To my utmost surprise, there was no space in any compartment in that train too. I somehow get in and find a place to stand near a wall. There were people on the seats, in between the seats and their bags and baggage on the over-head racks, below the berth and scattered everywhere on the floor. I thanked God that at least I found a place to stand in this jam-packed train.

After one hour the train started, more people get into and there was no space left to move even an inch. A few minutes later, an elderly woman asked me to move a bit. I twisted and turned to make space for her movement. She opened the door, and a foul smell made me realize that I was standing, taking the support of the toilet wall of the compartment. I remembered my deity that I was not going to stand alone in this mess, you have to accompany me and felt the same what I was going through. Every time someone opened the door, the stinking smell made me felt that I was not alone; my deity was with me holding my hand and comforting me.

I was hopeful to get a seat on the next station when somebody would get down, but I did not get any seat on that day. I was unlucky to get the seat, but I was lucky to have the company of my deity. I was standing for near about four hours until I reached Solan and took a seat in my pre-booked taxi.

As soon as I reached the riverside of the ashram, I gave my bags and baggage to local guide and started running towards the ashram as only a few minutes were left in the start of the discourse. I ran madly on the hard ground, in between the rocks, uphill without stopping for taking a breath. Even if I was short of breath while climbing the hill, even then I kept pacing forward until my breath became a bit normal and I could resume running again. I ran, I ran, ignoring the ache and heaviness in my legs until I reached the discourse room before closing of the doors. As I occupied the seat in the last row of the hall, I was sweating heavily, and my face was crimson red.  

I had His darshan, His sweet smile washed away all my tiredness! :)

Pic 1: A view of Giri river near Sri Badrika Ashram

Pic 2: A view of Sri Badrika Ashram

My World - Ma, bhai and….

 

The day he died, I realized that he was an integral part of my life. Before that, I never felt that he was an important part of my tiny world.

Since childhood days, Ma (my mother) and bhai (my brother) were always with me to share life stories, to relish meals, to play indoor games, to do art and craft work, to listen to radio, to solve my emotional problems, and to have fun in every moment of this blessed life. But my father was never there to enjoy those precious moments with us. As he was always busy in making money, working for success in his career, winning numerous awards including the highest fellowship award in his field ‘B.P. Pal Fellowship’ and in obeying his father’s orders. He never had the time for us. Moreover, I could count on my fingers those vacations or festivals on which I spent some time with him. However, he was always there in my life to feed me bitter medicines, to make me recite tables while standing close to a wall on a cold night, to scold me on my slightest mistakes. An emotional bond was never built up with him. It was like that seed, which never germinated!

The tears welled up in my eyes as I opened the office file and saw a note in his handwriting on the third page of the same file. He had jotted down some important points on the border of the page, which made my work easier. He was there to guide me with his scribbles but was not present physically. Taking the file with me, I hurriedly left his room and came to my room to calm my emotions. They subsided a bit. Soon after this, I needed a diary to consult some business-related issue; I gathered my courage and went back in his room to get that. As I opened it, I found a newspaper cutting, on which a quote was written which highlighted the importance of hard work over destiny. On every document, on every page, on every diary and on every journal contained his teachings, his guidance, his advice, his instructions and his suggestions. These all were there, only his physical body was not there!

For the next two months, I struggled with my emotions and when I found that I was not able to focus on my business, I shifted into a property where I had never spent a single minute with him leaving Ma and bhai behind. On that day, I understood that I had a much stronger emotional bond with him than what I had experienced with Ma and bhai although I never realized it till, he was alive. It was my sheer ignorance to overlook the thick, dense and blooming tree that was fully grown in my heart!

From the past ten years, after he fell severely ill, my daily routine was to enter his room at 8 am and leave his room around 7 pm. All day long, I took care of him and his business. I was his peon, his cook, his typist, his accountant, his wealth manager, his risk manager, his general manager, and his personal secretary. When he saw that I was serving him while forgetting myself, he gifted me a property. He had a very strong desire that I must progress spiritually which he could not do because of his busy schedule and his strong materialistic desires. In the gifted property, I did most of my Sadhanas and Devis always gave darshan to me. Swamiji too visited me in an astral body in the same house.

After He blessed me with the astral body experience in which I felt that my Kundalini rose up to the crown area, only His Padam Feet are my world! :)

Pic – Unsplash

Vision of Ma’s Third Eye - My Kundalini rose to Agya Chakra

One eye!? Why I couldn’t see another one?

While meditating I saw only one eye, which was quite different from my earlier experiences when I saw both the eyes of various Goddesses very clearly. I was having a vision of only one eye near about 7-8 months back. It might be a fake experience as I might have dozed off. I reflected that I might be too tired because of workload. Moreover, I was writing and commenting too much on os.me and other social media sites, which could be effecting my concentration. Therefore, I was not able to focus properly which resulted in this weird experience. I ignored it.

Twice more I saw one eye. Now, I was sure it was a spiritual experience as my mind was always filled with divine joyfulness and a deep sense of calmness. Was it a third eye?

I asked Google Baba and came to know that it was Ma’s third eye or one’s own third eye, which meant that my Kundalini energy rose up to Agya Chakra and my third eye had started activating. Seeing an eye in meditation meant that, I could now connect to my inner self or higher self as the eye was the window to one’s soul. Some yogic masters considered seeing an eye as a very good sign of progress on the spiritual path. In our body, there are seven energy centers where the nerve points meet. The Agya Chakra is the sixth energy center located in the middle of eyebrows and it is also known as the trikuti, the seat of the mind. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Third eye is equivalent to intuition. It develops when one is more centered and content.” With focusing on eye chakra one could rose from lower perception or limited perception to the higher perception as well as one could be full of devotion, love, calmness and deep joy. Om Swamiji said, “It is the absence of all bookish knowledge and it is about becoming that knowledge. It is the awakening of insight.” According to Swami Vishnu Devanada in the book ‘Meditation and Mantras’, he told, “He who meditates successfully on this centre destroys the karma of all past lives and becomes a liberated soul. Intuitional knowledge is obtained through this chakra, the seat of primordial power and soul. It is here that yogis consciously put their prana at the time of death.”

Sadhguru explained, “There are two ways to open the third eye. One is to burn everything in the body to create a vacuum inside so that the door of third eye is opened inwards. The second way is to build a pressure inside and let the door open up outside.” I followed the former way and most of the time felt that a kangri, a pot filled with hot embers was burning inside me, which was consuming all negative tendencies, and creating a partial vacuum inside me.

The confusion arose in mind because I saw a normal eye unlike the third eye as depicted by painters - a vertical eye. Since ages, what artists had imagined, I was experiencing quite different from that. It must be their imagination only but what I was experiencing was a reality.

Sometimes, I felt that Lord Vishnu resting on Sheshnaga, a 1000 headed serpent in kshirsagar, the ocean of milk was wrongly depicted by painters. It should be as Bhagwan was sitting on His table and chair, His eyes fixed on laptop, typing with lightening speed and forgetting about Himself – His health, His exercise, His recreation activities and thinking only about the welfare of His devotees. :)

P.S. : For all those who are interested to know more about my ‘Foodie Ashram’ project, I would like to share Aarti with you. ;) :D

प्रभु आइये, प्रभु आइये,

छोले भठूरे खाइये।

फूला फूला लचीला,

हमें बनाइये। 

प्रभु आइये, प्रभु आइये,

गुलाब जामुन खाइये।

रसीला रसीला मुलायम,

हमें बनाइये।

Translation

O, Lord, Please visit us,

Have a hearty meal of chole bhature,

Make us fluffy and flexible.

O, Lord, Please visit us,

Have a hearty meal of gulab jamuns,

Make us sweet and spongy.

Pic : Pixabay

360 Seconds with Om Swamiji - A bunch of spiritual experiences in my lap

Believe it or not!

I was blessed to have only 360 seconds with Om Swamiji in two private audiences in Nov,18 and June, 19 each 180 seconds long. I did not have ‘Om’ in my name like other devotees, I did not have white or ochre robe, I was not in any Om Swami Team and I did not reside in Sri Badrika Ashram. I did not have the quantity time like all of you had. Still I had a bunch of spiritual experiences in my lap and one of them was extremely rare.

He initiated me when I did not know anything about initiation. I only knew that I was asking a tough question which Guru answered only if the disciple had served the Guru for at least 12 years. I was very happy when He answered my question in my second audience with Him. Near about after one year I came to know that, I was initiated and I had to chant the mantras without using ‘Om’ in the beginning of any mantra. Last year in July, I came to know that I was initiated to Level 5 of initiation. When there is such a long queue for Level 1 initiation, I was surprised to be blessed with such a higher level of initiation. He is karunamaye!

You all would be surprised to know that I had never touched His feet physically though I touched His feet mentally numerous times in a day. He had never placed a mudra on my Sahasrara Chakra. Although I felt all the time, He surrounded me like an aura, a protective spiritual covering, which always helped me in growing spiritually and continuously guided me on the treacherous path.

He was so kind that He had blessed me many times in dreams, gave darshan in meditation, visited my house in astral body many kilometres away from ashram and bestowed the vision of various Devi’s whomever I worshiped. When He was 24 years old, He chose me as His disciple long before I chose Him as my Guru.

He graced me with quality time instead of quantity time. It was the most beautiful gift He had gifted me. Only quality time and not the quantity time created a deep and loving bond between Guru and disciple.

To be blessed with more quality time with Him, I woke up between 2-3am and sleep at night between 10-11pm sometimes rather most of the times without any nap during the daytime. Out of which I spent 7-8 hours in mediation or chanting, 1-2 hours in charity and rest in money making to keep the charity work going without any hassle. I worked very hard day and night to utilize every minute of my time so that I could have quality time with Him because even a fraction of His second counts!

Quite often in life, quantity has very little quality, and quality has very little quantity. After all it's not the quantity that matters, it's the quality that counts. Steve Jobs said, “Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.”

One more private audience with Him and I will be self-reliant to open a ‘Foodies’ ashram in which chole bhature and gulab jamuns will be served as prasadam, by creating a blue ocean as no other ashram served them as prasadam. :D Prebooking starts now! ;) :D

P.S. : 1. This is my experience, yours may be different! :)

2. While searching quotes on internet, I came across an interesting quote that I could not resist to share with all of you. In Killosophy, Criss Jami quoted, “A lonely day is God's way of saying that he wants to spend some quality time with you.” :)

Pic : Quality over quantity created by me.

Breathe Smile Meditate Let Go

 

I could not smile. I did not know how to smile. I knew how to laugh, laugh aloud heartily.

“Chandrika, were you howling a few minutes back?” A batch-mate inquired while I was sitting on the stairs with my friends near the main entrance of the college gate.

“Yup!” I replied. My contagious laughter was a soul elevator, which could take my whole group onward and upward.

“You would not believe I heard your laugh on the opposite gate, about 400-500 meters away and guessed it must be Chandrika, as no one else could laugh so loud.” She said with surprise in her voice.

“Chandrika, I came here to check whether your laugh has created crevices in the old walls and ceilings of college building.” A senior colleague teased me when I was working, as a lecturer and I were cachinnating with the staff members of my department in a free period.

“Chandrika, you teach yoga or laughing?” A middle aged woman who was interested in joining my evening yoga classes asked. “Both.” I replied, as my hearty laugh was a gift of the soul as pure as ringing bells in a temple.

People recognised me because of my noticeable, full of joy and warm-hearted laugh.

Breathe Smile Meditate Let go

I could breathe with ease.

I could meditate for hours and hours.

I could let go of anything.

But I could not smile.

Smiling was a big missing point in my meditation.

I attended the online Creative Writing Course about mastering the craft of writing compelling fiction and non-fiction by Sadhvi Vrinda Om ji. How much I learnt creative writing I could not say but I definitely learnt the art of smiling from her. During the course, I was watching her smiling baby face minutely, her bright, brilliant, and broad smile. She was beaming. She was dazzling.

While meditating, I tried to copy her winsome smile. With practice, I learnt to smile like her. I could Breathe Smile Meditate  Let go very easily. In May, 2020 in my mool Sadhana, Goddess manifested three times, two times I saw the front view and one was side view. However, I was not satisfied with the vision. I felt as if I was watching MA in black and white T.V. I want to see HER in colour T.V. And then in 3D. :D  

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”