Want to Be Initiated in TANTRA?

He gently lifted Om Swamiji’s left paduka, rotated it making a half circle and put it on the right side. Then slowly he picked up right paduka turned it around and placed it on the left side so that when Om Swamiji slipped His feet into padukas, they perfectly fit in without any discomfort. As Om Swamiji sat on the vaysapetha to deliver discourse, our eyes moved towards His radiant face and His magnetic smile. None bothered to notice that how tenderly Swami Vidyananda ji changed the positions of His padukas to avoid the slightest uneasiness and wastage of His time. He take care of Om Swami ji selflessly and with divine Bhava. That’s why he is foremost disciple of Om Swamiji and was initiated in the tradition of Sri Vidya, the highest of all tantras.

Swami Vidyananda Om ji very delicately adjusted Om Swamiji’s flaring robe many a times in this video (T:2:34:00 till end) in between His bhajan singing attending to His slightest need without even His asking for. He served Him whole-heartedly with love and reverence.  

In the book ‘Om Swami : As We Know Him’ when Om Swamiji was working outside on a cold night, Swami Vidyananda ji could not sleep in his room and patiently waited for His master. Om Swamiji stepped into his tiny room for the first time, He picked up the photo of Sri Ramakrishna’s photograph, looked at it as if two saints were talking and soon tears started flowing from His eyes wetting His cheeks. Next day, during his morning prayers, Swami Vidyananda Om ji had the darshan of Mother Divine in Bala Swaroop clad in green top and red dress wearing gold ornaments. He serves His Guru humbly, willingly, demurely, unquestioningly, enthusiastically, untiringly, warmly and lovingly. Therefore, Guru’s Grace Flows to him like the water cascades from the waterfall.

As we are thousands and thousands of initiates of Om Swamiji, it is close to impossible for all of us to serve Him. So, we can serve humanity. We can serve others selflessly, which purify our hearts so that God can dwell in. We can live for others.

First start with a family member, serve him or her as if you are serving Om Swamiji. Take care of small needs of that person just as Swami Vidyananda Om ji looked after His Guru. Serve with love and reverence. With time when you are comfortable then include more members of your inner circle in this seva karma. Serve your elders, parents, siblings, children and friends with divine bhava without expecting anything in return. Swami Sivananda said, “Feed the hungry, nurse the sick, comfort the afflicted, and lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful. God will bless you. Clothe the naked. Educate the illiterate. Feed the poor. Raise the downtrodden. The world is burning with misery and suffering. Wake up, O man! Serve! Serve with love. Serve untiringly. Attain the peace of the Eternal.”

Try to see your Guru in the members of your outer circle like guests, teachers, colleagues, juniors, house cleaners, servants, security guards and strangers and serve them as if you are serving your guru with utmost love and care. This is the moola mantra of success on the path of tantra.

Pic : Pixabay

Decline of Hinduism in India – 3

 

Second part is here.

“Thank God! I have read two books.” I thought after watching Om Swamiji’s video in which he shared the list of his favourite books. Under fiction category at number 3 and 4, he mentioned ‘Somanth’ and ‘Vashali ki Nagarvadhu’ by Acharye Chatursen which I have read many years back.

Almost two decades back when I started reading books, I first picked up short stories by Munshi Premchand and read almost all the stories written by him. One day, I shifted from stories to novel. Which novel authored by him I picked up, I could not recall now but I could not finish it because of too much elaborate description of poverty. On my mother’s recommendation, I started reading ‘Vashali ki Nagarvadhu’ by Acharye Chatursen. I liked his writing style and I went through almost all of his works including stories and novels. I could recall only a few names now like ‘Somnath’, ‘Vayam Rakshameh’, ‘Dharamputra’, ‘Takhte Taus’ and ‘Badi Begam’. Three incidents from his life are very famous which I am sharing here.

Before writing ‘Somnath’- a book about Somanth temple Acharye Chatursen sought an appointment to meet the famous Gujrati author, politician and lawyer ‘Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi’ who has recently published the book ‘Jay Somnath’ on Somnath temple. It was quite popular book at that time. Acharye Chatursen requested him to share the material on Somnath temple with him as he also wished to write a novel about it. He bluntly refused. Acharye politely requested again. This time the reply from the other side was rude. He felt hurt, came out of the office and decided that I would write such an excellent piece on Somnath temple that people would forget that K.M. Munshi has ever written a novel about Somnath temple. With extraordinary efforts, Acharye Chatursen made his determination come true. I had read both the works and Acharye Chatursen’s work is just amazing.

Once, Acharye Chatursen went to see his friend. When they were chatting, a young boy of near about six years of age came close to him and wished him ‘Namaste’. He noticed that boy was very weak, malnourished, had gloomy face and grey hair at such a tender age. He told his friend to feed the boy daily with ‘Amla ka murabba’. After six months, he visited his friend again and inquired about the child. The friend laughed and said, “As you enter the house the boy came near you to wish in between his play was the same guy.” Achaye Chatursen was surprised to see a total transformation of the child, he was now healthy, fit, had glowing face and with pitch-black curly hair. Acharye was also a famous Ayurvedic doctor.

He was married four times and all his famous works ‘Somnath’, ‘Vashali ki Nagarvadhu’ and ‘Vayam Rakshameh’ were written after his fourth marriage. I am not concluding here anything. ;) He had a ‘Loh Lekhani’ meaning an iron pen as he had boldly written about the ancient India, historical fiction and brutal truth about the repeated invasions on India. Have you ever come across any mention of Acharye Chatursen in any textbooks from first grade to Ph.d level? His name had been wiped out from the Hindi literature because of his bold writings supporting Hinduism.

Surprisingly, the great devotional work of great poets like Govind Swami, Vidyapati, Brahamdas, Keshvacharya, Puran Singh, Priyadas, Nabhadas, Gadhadar Bhatt, Gopal Bhatt Goswami, Govardhanacharye, Govinddas, Narharidas, Chaturbhujdas, Dhruvdas, Nanddas, Nagaridas, Nagaridas (Haridasi Sampradaye), Nahi Nagaridas, Vallabh Rasik, Biharindev, Madhavdas Jagannathi, Madhuridas, Rooprasik, Vitthalvipul Dev, Shivdeen Ram Joshi, ShreeBhatt, Sarasdas, Sevak (Dhamodardas), Hariram Vyas, Harivyasdev, Hitharivansh etc. have been wiped out from Hindi textbooks. The bhakti poetry is that which expressed love, devotion and deep affection towards God. Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and other deities are focused in such poetic works. It articulates spiritual love that engages both emotion and intellection. It helps in breaking attachments and in annihilating ego. It also does the revival, reworking and recontextualization of ancient customs. But, unfortunately our young generation is being deprived of deep love and affection for not only God but also friend –friend, parent-child and king-servant which resulted in emotional problems at tender age. They are taught dohas like ‘Pothi padh padh jag Mua, Pandit Bhaya na Koi!’ which infuse a feeling of impertinence for our scriptures. Therefore, no liking to read Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Bhagwat Gita, Ramayana and other works by great saints and sages. Sometimes, mere one line can act as a tiny bomb causing enormous damage and devastation to a system of beliefs.  

Pic : Pixabay

Decline of Hinduism in India - 2

First part is here.

Only one laughed loudly, the rest of the disciples in the hall were silent.

In a discourse, Om Swamiji was narrating about a video, which went viral about Ramleela played by AIIMS students. The students group acted as Ram, Lakshaman, Sita and Shorpanakha. In the skit, they used absurd language to address Lord Ram and Lakshman. They mocked at various scenes from Ramayana and made fun of Hindu deities. Moreover, Shorpanakha said to Lakshman, “Tu chez badi hai mast mast....” In the video, the audience clapped and laughed. And something similar happen when one disciple could not control her laugh on this mockery. Like the rest of the disciples, I was sad and angry at the same time.

While surfing on social media, we daily come across so many videos, clippings and jokes that directly or indirectly make fun of our deities, saints and sages. Like that disciple we consciously or unconsciously make a grave mistake of laughing at them. We can either make fun of our respected deities, sages and saints or can seek their blessings. Both cannot happen simultaneously. In Bollywood movies, this trend is more prevalent. In the second chart depicted by Swamiji the decline of Hinduism was shown from 1951 census. Are Bollywood movies responsible for this decline? We pay for tickets to watch movies, which unconsciously drag us away from our culture and heritage in the name of humour.

There is sharp decline after the T.V. became the most important member of our homes. In most of the T.V. serials, the jokes are targeted at our deities and depiction of our saints as wrongdoers who have all the vices. Consequently, filling the viewers’ hearts with hatred and disrespect for them. Tantriks are presented as addicts and womanisers instead of kind and compassionate beings. Saint Narad is presented as a muckraker instead of the great devotee of Lord Naryana who constantly chants divine name. We all know that Ram is maryadapuroshotam, with divine qualities and an obedient son who willingly left for the exile just to obey his father’s words. Rather he is depicted as a cruel person who banished his wife to forest with no valid reason. Lord Shiva is represented as a consumer of bhang. His simple living style and intense meditation practices are not highlighted.   

Dear readers, which was the last movie or T.V. serial you saw which filled your heart with love and devotion for our deities, saints or sages? I recollect the famous scene from Bahubali movie in which Prabhas lifted Shivlinga. So, it is better to watch Tollywood movies than Bollywood movies. ;)

To be continued ....

Third part is here.

Pic : Pixabay

Decline of Hinduism in India -1

The foreigners’ gang laughed but my heart cried!

One of the jolly person in the group commented that Swami Sivananda said, “An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory!” after writing more than 300 books. They all giggled on his intelligent joke. The person who cracked this joke was a great hath yogi who could practice toughest of yoga asanas holding them for quite a long time, he could do difficult mudras and bandhas with great ease, he was voracious reader, he was very kind, intelligent as well as truthful, he was good looking and above all he was happy-go-lucky person. My intuitive mind told me that despite of all his yogic qualities, he would never be able to grow spiritually by following the path of Hinduism because he mocked at the greatest saint. It was our last day at Sivananda Ashram. Later I came to know that he shifted to Buddhism.

Swami Sivananda said in Guru Bhakti Yoga, “Don’t cut jokes with Guru. If you cut jokes with him (gradually) you will lose reverence for him and you will feel equality with him.” In Siphon, a U-shaped tube is used to cause a liquid to flow upward above the surface level of reservoir to the lower level of the surface then the reservoir from which it came only by the gravitation pull. The liquid flows from higher level to lower level. If the level is equal then it does not flow. Same is with Guru Disciple relationship wisdom, knowledge, spiritual powers and Grace of Guru flow continuously if the level between the two is not equal. We always touch Guru’s Feet never shake hands with Him, right!

I am fun loving person who has the habit of cracking jokes all the time, therefore, to keep the Guru Disciple bond intact I have never commented on any of Om Swamiji’s post although I have written 164 posts on osdotme till now. Even in personal meeting, I constrained myself to speak as less as possible and to convey my meaning in the least possible words. I firmly followed Swami Sivananda’s words, “A sadhaka should not cut jokes before his Guru however great he (sadhaka) may be.” I try my best to never make fun of any saint, never crack jokes on my Guru’s post and under no circumstances pass any humorous comment in His presence.

To be continued....

Part 2 is here.

Pic : Unsplash

My Spiritual Experience in Dream

“It is so difficult to do this task, Swamiji!” I complained. “I do not get the time to sleep neither at night nor in the afternoon. I am sleep deprived most of the time.”

In March 21 Zoom Satsang, Swamiji assigned a task to us, “I just need to make some change in the pattern in your life. Actually, I give you a choice, either you go to bed 40 minutes early, or you get up 40 minutes early every day, no matter what.” I was going through a very hectic schedule at that time where there was no room to either get up early or go to bed early. However, to obey His command, I had to make some adjustments in my daily routine, and I slashed my sleeping timings by 40 minutes. I decided to wake up early by 40 minutes every day to do some extra chanting. As a result, I did not get enough sleep and I was sleep deprived most of the time.

One day, in my dream, I saw Om Swamiji in ochre robe, and I complained to Him about my present situation. I told Him that this task was difficult for me to do because of my jam-packed time schedule. He listened to my grievances patiently. He smiled. And as we all know, His smile can do wonders!

Yay! I did the task obeying Him like a true disciple.

Pic : Pexels

My Little Effort to Transform Someone’s Life

Will Mother Divine’s vahana (mount) lion come to shake hands with me on the last day of Sadhana?

This thought came to my mind after reading Sadhvi Vrinda Om’s blog on Sadhana App website where she had mentioned that an owl came to her balcony to kill pigeon on the last day of her Sadhana of Ma Lakhsmi. Seriously speaking, I was sure that a lion could not arrive as I live in a high rise building in a densely populated area. Mostly I had experiences after doing three-four sadhana to the last day of Sadhana. Somewhere in between it can happen anytime; I had to be just watchful. Before reading Sadhavi’s experience, I was totally unaware of the fact that a spiritual experience could take place even in the outside world. I thought that it could be experienced with only closed eyes. This time the Devi I was worshipping did not manifest but I was watchful in my external world that something would happen.

Since the past few days, water from RO water purifier was dripping from the bottom. I kept using it, ignoring the leakage. After two days, it stopped working. I was left with no other option but to call the company to send a repairing mechanic.  

The repairing mechanic instructed, “Madam, send the location of your house and the photo of the product.” I shared the information with him on WhatsApp. When he did not arrive at the appointed time, I called him. “Madam, my mobile is running low on battery, and it could shut down anytime. Please tell me the name of your society and your house number.” I waited and waited for some more time. He arrived 45 minutes late.

He thoroughly checked the parts and told me that all the parts needed to be repaired except the RO motor. I asked him to repair all the parts as I did not have the enough funds to buy a new one for me and it should be repaired immediately as water in my locality was highly polluted. He started changing parts with a lightning speed. He completed it. But there was leakage of water from the filter. He checked it again and did the needful so that it might not leak. Still water was dripping. He was taking more time than usual with the result that my prayer time was delayed. At 8:15 pm, I asked him to wrap everything in the next 15 minutes or come again tomorrow morning.

“I cannot come tomorrow.” He replied. “Tomorrow is my wife’s death anniversary, so I have to do some rituals.” To put a check on my temper I started talking with him. In the conversation, he told me that last year his wife died of cancer within one year of tying the nuptial knot. He took a loan of 30 lakhs to spend on her treatment. Out of which10 lakhs he repaid, and 20 lakhs was remaining. He started earning at a very young age and spent all his savings on his wife’s illness and in helping his in-laws. I paid him a one-month salary as a tip to help him to repay his loan.

I realized that he was tensed, depressed and was surrounded by negative thoughts related to his wife’s illness and death. He had a strange cloud of thoughts that if he got married again his dead wife would haunt him and would spoil his new married life. He stopped the leakage, assembled all RO parts and left my house within the next 15 minutes.

After finishing my prayers around 11:30 pm I checked RO. It was working fine. I went to sleep. At 1:30 am I went to the kitchen to drink water before starting my morning prayers. I was a bit surprised to find that RO water was leaking from the same place.

Next day, when he came, it was my last day of Sadhana. I had prepared prasadam. I offered him ghiya ki kheer. He ate it. Devi, Herself blessed him!

Till he was working on RO, I was working on him. I talked to him for more than an hour, convincing him that he would be married soon, all his miseries would end, and he would be able to live a happy and prosperous life. I tried my best to drag him out of his gloomy past memories. I told him that I could only help the genuine seekers who had prayed to God and cried hard for help. He said, “Yes that is true. I had prayed to every deity, saint and sage I had known.”  

In Ramcharitmanas, Ma Sita prayed to a particular form of Mother Parvati before Swayamvara. Mother blessed her “Sunu Siye satye ashish humari, pujahein man kamna tumari (सुनु सिय सत्य असीस हमारी। पूजिहि मन कामना तुम्हारी॥) Ma Sita was married to Lord Ram. The form of Mother Parvati whom Ma Sita worshipped; I was doing Sadhana of the same deity – Ma Katyayani!

“Soon he will be debt free and married!” I blessed and prayed for that repairing mechanic in my heart. I knew Ma Katyayani had sent him to my house so that I could absorb his pain and could transform his life. Om Swamiji says, “When a sadhak prays with fervor, he/she becomes the divine in that moment.”

Soon after he left my house RO was dripping again, he had to visit my house repeatedly to rectify it. Till now, he had visited my house thrice, but the situation was the same. But I felt that Mother Divine wished that I must bring a change in his life and frequent leakage of RO was just an incident so that he must be given a dose of positivity of my powerful words time after time so that he could breathe properly in a fresh air of happiness.

It was the most beautiful spiritual experience of my life when I wanted to absorb the pain of a person who was suffering for no fault of his own. It was my tiny effort to transform his life.

My feelings are now his healing!

Pic : Unsplash

From Raw Mango Speech to Ripe Mango Speech

“Ma, you forget to put the leftover food in the freezer.” I said in a bit louder voice to my mother. “I cooked the food to eat and not to waste.”

“It was hot, so I did not place it in the freezer, later I forgot and as I was damn tired, so I slipped into the dream land.” She clarified.

I went into my prayer room to do the next set of chanting. When I came out of the room after one hour or so I went to my mother’s room and said to her, “In the dinner, have the soup. Last time you did not even taste it and the whole bowl of soup I had to finish as I did not want to waste the food.”

“Do you do prayers in the prayer room, or you keep thinking that when you come out you will talk rudely to me about this or that topic?” My mother inquired.

“Do not make excuses like a kid. Have the soup.” I said or rather ordered and went again in my prayer room to do meditation.

I could not focus on Devi and realized my mistake that although I did not mean to hurt her, but my loud voice and rude words did it. At my workplace, most of the people spoke Haryanvi, which is a lath mar language. To show my authority, I spoke to them in a high volume. Unconsciously, it has become my habit to speak loudly. My raw mango speech that was like a sour mango immediately needs to be replaced by a sweet tone as ripe juicy mango. I must apologize to Ma to maintain a good focus on MA.

I hurriedly completed my prayers and went to my mother’s room and said to her, “Sorry, I should not have spoken to you harshly rather I must have spoken to you just like Swamiji speak - softly, gently and mindfully.” I took a deep breath and continued, “Ma, please have the soup which I prepared for you with so much love and care.”

“It will be a miracle if you learn to speak soothingly like Him.” She said with a big smile on her face.

Sometime later, I peeped into her room. Surprisingly found that she was having the soup instead of regular glass of milk.

Pic - Pixabay

The Himalayan Rat(s) in My Life

“Rascal!”

“Scoundrel!”

“Bastard!”

Mr and Mrs Rat lived above my flat and quarrelled on pretty issues every now and then. Most of their fights were decided based on who could abuse more brutally, more loudly and more times. Coincidently their fighting time and my meditating time clashed.

Whenever they started shouting in their top voices, my mind would become curious to know the reason for their fight, the reaction of the baby rat - whether he was on mamma's side or papa's side, who was going to be the winner — Mr or Mrs Rat, to know whether the fights were action-packed or not, I had to focus more on sounds coming from the top.

Until I realized one day that I was meditating on them rather than on my deity. Slowly and gradually, I accepted that they were nuisance rats in my spiritual life. They caused obstruction in my concentration and distracted my mind every now and then. I had to learn the art of completely ignoring them. More importance I gave to rats, the more they jumped. The more I ignored them, the more they became quiet. I learnt with practice to pay no attention to noises coming from the rats’ house whether they were loud songs on T.V. or the abuse or the verbal clashes.

With my progress on the spiritual path, I became more sensitive to loud sounds. I found the loudspeakers were irritating. I consider them the worst invention done by humans. In the deep corner of my heart, I always wished that they should be banned permanently. My flat was situated close to a temple in which loud mantras were played every morning and evening.

It was also adjacent to a park where loud music played during Navratri for dandiya. I could not interpret the connection between the songs ‘Hat ja tau pachchhene’and ‘To Brazil’ being played for dandiya. Maybe it was more about dancing on beats than about the words of a song! The shopkeepers on the roadside put up loudspeakers to lure customers and boost their sales, which was jarring and harmful. I lived close to two marriage palaces so the loud noise from band baja and DJ could not be avoided during the marriage season.

Some daring neighbours played loud music on weekend nights in ‘No loudspeaker’ time between 10 pm to 6 am. During festive seasons, most of the time a low sound from far off kept hitting the glass windows. The residents in the nearby houses were very religious; they frequently did ‘Mata ki Chauki’ and ‘Jagran’ in which whole night katha vachak (storyteller) or sangit mandali (group of singers) sang or spoke loudly with loud music on loudspeaker. Is their God deaf?

The loudspeaker is a big Himalayan rat in my life, which I had to handle diligently to proceed on the spiritual path.

Earlier, as soon as the loudspeaker started playing music, I got irritated and disturbed. I used to tightly close all my doors and windows as well as draw all the curtains so that the sound did not reach my sensitive ears. Sometimes I could not sleep the whole night because of loud sounds from loudspeakers, which disturbed my next day's routine. Once I contacted a security guard and requested him to stop the music in ‘No loudspeaker’ timings. But who listened to a security guard? I contacted the police. I must confess that Bollywood police are more punctual than Indian cops are. It came after the function was over and all the stage decorations and tents were dismantled. 

The corona period was a very peaceful period of my life as there were no loudspeakers playing deafening music. During that period, I could do sadhanas as if I was meditating in a Himalayan cave — so serene and so calm was the environment.

As the corona restrictions were lifted, the loudspeaker again started causing a nuisance to me. First of all, I trained my mind not to be irritated if loud noise was coming from anywhere at any time. Secondly, I tried to focus on the object of my meditation ignoring disturbing music. Thirdly, I could concentrate on my meditation not entirely but mostly without being affected by parody songs.  As Om Swamiji says, “I can focus my mind regardless of what was going on around.”

Instead of saying “Alexa, stop the loudspeaker!”, I ordered, “O’ my mind, turn a deaf ear to the loudspeaker!”

Picture : Pixabay

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