My Reading List and Giveaway of My Favorite Book on Chole Bhature Day! :)

From mid-August 2021 to the end of October 2021 I was totally absorbed in studying scriptures, reading books, listening audio books and watching videos to collect and absorb maximum knowledge about spirituality. During that time, I was experiencing bouts of spiritual crying quite frequently. This was the time when I was not crying then I was reading a book, when I was not reading a book then I was listening to an audio book and when I was not listening an audio book then I was watching a YouTube video. I was as busy as a second hand in a clock. 

Read these books…

If Truth be Told – A Monk’s Memoir By Om Swami (Reread)

Om Swami – As We Know Him by Ismita Tandon (Sadhvi Vrinda Om) and Swami Vidyananda Om

A Prayer that Never Fails by Sadhvi Vrinda Om

The Book of Faith Compiled by Sadhvi Vrinda Om

Bhakti and Sankirtan by Swami Sivananda

Guru Bhakti Yoga by Swami Sivananda

Laksmi Tantram Commentary by Shri Kapildev Narayan (Reread)

Geet Govind by Jaidev

The Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna

Hatha Yoga Pradipika Commentary by Swami Muktibodhananda

Nav Durga from Geeta Press Publications

Listened these books on Audible...

Swami Vivekananda by Gautam Ghosh

Essence of the Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran

The Guru Drinks Bourbon? By Amira Ben-Yehuda, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

Draupadi by Pratibha Rai

Tantra Illuminated : The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition by Christopher D. Walls

Attended these online courses...

The Art of Meditation by Om Swami

Kundalini Meditation by Om Swami

I watched numerous videos and out of them, my favorite video is by Gautam Sachdeva  Gorakhnath's Rule (with Hindi subtitles).

Yesterday was my birthday and I am giving away gifts to my lovely readers. Unfortunately, Amazon do not deliver chole bhature so I am giving away my favorite book. Out of all books that I have read in two and a half month time, I liked ‘Om Swami – As We Know Him’ the most. Whoever is interested in reading this book, please send your address to me at CHANDRIKASHUBHAMATGMAILDOTCOM. I will send a copy of this book through amazon.in (Indian addresses only) to you. Hope you will also enjoy this book as much as I. :)

Tears Washed off all Negativity from My Heart

“Gandi Aurat (wicked woman)!” I thought as I looked out of windowpane of my moving car. I saw a not so elderly woman sitting behind a young guy on a scooter. We were in opposite lanes. Was it she? Her chubby cheeks glowing like oranges now resembled more like squeezed oranges. I saw her after one and half year of corona time. It seemed to me that from glowing beauty now she was a mere wrinkled diseased woman. Time changed everything. I had changed too. Like every other time, I did not feel any surge of negative emotions in me on a glimpse of her. There was neither hatred nor anger for her. I was neutral as I was feeling Swamiji dwells in all. This happened in mid Oct, 2021.

I moved out of my house locking all my emotions behind to meet an important client who was adamant to see me in person before finalizing the deal. During those days, I was confined to my house because of excessive spiritual crying. In a way, while going to my office this incidence took place.

Nobody utters her name out of her scare or her wickedness, everybody called her ‘Gandi Aurat’. She was notorious for tearing her own clothes and charging rape case against who ever tried to stop her from doing any wrong deeds. She had done this against a police officer, a politician and a reputed educationist. She misused the laws, which were made to protect a female, as poisonous weapons to injure others.  

Six years back, she tried to grab my property, I stopped her. As she could not play rape card against me, she played caste card against me, which resulted in numerous court cases. Although court cases were part of my business, but this became a real headache for me. No bureaucrat, no politician, no local leader, no neighbor, no known, not even a stranger was with me. I was all alone fighting for truth. When loneliness pierced me heavily, I could feel the presence of my deity holding my hand who now and then whispered in my ears, ‘Truth Prevails!’  

Tears washed off all the negativity from my heart. Excessive spiritual crying made me calm and serene. It could be a sheer coincidence. There was one more woman in my life on seeing her, my heart always filled with hatred and anger. A few days back, I met her, I was normal though she said something out of jealousy, but I was as calm as a full moon. After all, Swamiji dwells in all. There was no surge of negative emotions in me for her. He had filled my heart with His love that there was no space left for hatred, envy or any other negative emotion.

I desperately needed a shot of His love so that my heart starts overflowing with love towards all beings especially for those whom I hated earlier.

Dear readers, I will love to gift ‘Japa Meditation- The Easiest Way to Calm the Mind’ authored by me to anybody who is interested in reading it. Please drop a mail to me at CHANDRIKASHUBHAMATGMAILDOTCOM.

Pic : Pixabay

I Made a Mistake and Om Swamiji corrected me

I made a mistake.

I realized it after reading these paragraphs from the book ‘The Rainmaker- Miracles and Healing Stories of Om Swami’ on p163.

Now, getting back to the Four Seasons story. A waiter attended to us, and Guru Maharaj gave the order explaining to him how he would like his breakfast to be served, placing emphasis on no eggs, etc. He gave very detailed, specific instructions. However, when the food came, he wasn’t happy with it, so he let the person know gently, yet firmly. I couldn’t help but notice the preciseness of his speech. But they still couldn’t get it right. Maharaj Sri remained firm and asked for the chef. He showed the chef what was lacking in the meal. The chef, in return, apologized profusely and offered a free meal. When the bill came, his item was not charged. Guru Maharaj sent the bill back and requested that his meal also be charged.

“It’s very simple, Swamiji,” he said to me. “I’m dining here as a customer. And therefore, I expect a certain quality of service. And therefore, I expect a certain quality of service. Anything to the contrary is just not acceptable.”

A couple of days back I bought a half kg packet of semolina of a reputed company. On opening it, I found it infested. I removed the infested portion and utilized in making halwa for stray dogs. When I told the shopkeeper that semolina was infested, he deducted Rs.30/- from my total bill. In other words, he gave that infested semolina packet free of cost to me.

The book was an eye opener for me. I realized my mistake that I did charity from that infested packet and did not paid the cost of that packet. Swamiji paid the bill of a free item. I should also pay the amount of that packet. Although Rs. 30/- did not mean much to the shopkeeper or to me but it was about following his teachings strictly. Next time, I visited the shop I paid the price of the semolina packet.

Dear readers, in the same book it was mentioned that Swamiji said, “We’ll all address her as Shamata. Though I’ve initiated her today, I gave her my darshan many years ago. This body was 24 years old then.” I had a keen desire to follow His teachings very seriously, because He also blessed me with a spiritual experience when he was 24 years old.

I will love to gift this book through Amazon (Indian addresses only) to whoever is interested in reading these stories in detail. Just drop a mail to me at CHANDRIKASHUBHAMATGMAILDOTCOM or fill up the contact form on the side bar.

From Fussy to Unfussy About Food

“Nani ji, I am feeling hungry.” I told my maternal grandmother when I was near about nine years old.

“You can eat hot chapattis with freshly prepared dal. See your younger brother is having his meal.” She suggested.

I peeped into his plate and noticed that the color of dal was not yellow but greenish brown. “Which dal have you prepared? I eat only yellow color dal.” I replied.

“You can eat matiri (watermelon) vegetable.”

“I love to eat water melons but I do not like the vegetable made out of it.”

“Bitter gourd vegetable, I can prepare for you as they are ready to be fry after salting.”

“I hate it, it is too bitter.” I squeezed my nose to show my disapproval for it.

“Ghiya (Bottle gaurd).”

“ I will eat ghiya vegetable when I will grow old. It is the best vegetable for elderly people.”

“If you eat ghiya now, you will never grow old.” My brother who was a man of few words spoke while filling his spoon with dal.

I never argued with my brother because I knew I would never beat a genius.

My maternal grandmother offered me twelve more options, which I refused with one or the other excuse. When my mother came back after doing shopping from the market, my naniji complained her, “The nature of your two children is totally different. One has finished his meal without making any excuse and the other one is too fussy about food. I have asked her to eat so many things but she did not like to have anything.”

“She does this before having her every meal. She will not say that I want to eat this. But I have to keep jumping from one option to another till I reach what is in her mind.” My mother replied while putting down huge shopping bags from her shoulder. She took out two packets for each one of us. She gave first one to my brother who was an adventurous eater, “I brought a new dish, stuffed tomato pakoda for you. You will love it.” Even after finishing his meal he could eat a snack, after all he was a foodie.

And I brought fresh jamuns (Indian berries) for you.” She handed it to me. On opening it, I exclaimed, “Oh! I love that!”

While progressing on my spiritual journey, I found that my food habits were a big hindrance. It was hard to cope with them. I was too fussy what to eat and what not to eat. A thought that always worried me was that saints have control over their tongues and I should have control over my taste buds if I wish to be like them. Swami Sivananda says, “Control of tongue means control of all Indriyas.”

In early Sept, 2021 my mother asked me, “Should I prepare rajma chawal for you?”

I shook my head.

“Should I prepare dal roti for you?”

Again, I shook my head.

“Would you like to have idli sambhar?”

Once again, I shook my head.

“Anything else?”

At that time I was strictly on diet that includes fruits, salad, nuts, curd, milk, soup, sometimes roasted papad and rarely saute vegetables.

When it comes to food, I was a difficult daughter for my mother and I am still a difficult daughter for her.

Pic : Pixabay

My Invisible Ochre Robe

Om Swamiji blessed me with an ochre robe. My eyes became moist and a tear or two flowed out of my eyes. I experienced this while watching a movie.

Unbelievable but true, this incident took place somewhere between my first personal audience with Him in Nov, 2018 and my second personal meeting in June, 2019. I could not remember the exact date but most probably, it was winter. As a movie lover, I had watched a lot of romantic, action, thriller, family drama and art movies. Surprisingly, I could watch anything, just anything. For a change, I decided to have a look at some spiritual movies. I asked Google Baba. From the results that it showed, I picked up the movie named ‘Adi Shankaracharya’, the first Indian movie in Sanskrit language. As the name suggested, it was about the great Hindu philosopher of 8th century who advocated Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism). The reviews said that it was a very dry movie but still I decided to watch it. I not only watched it completely but also had a spiritual experience to remember whole of my life.

In a scene, a disciple did the dandvat pranam to Adi Shankaracharya who blessed him with an ochre robe. I visualized Adi Shakaracharya as Om Swamiji and myself as that disciple. My eyes welled with tears, and I was sure He blessed me.

From that day, I felt that invisible ochre robe was always there with me, shielding and protecting me from thinking, speaking or acting iniquitously. After all, true renunciation lies in the abnegation of the mind. ‘Ochre’ is the color of fire. A fire is burning inside me that is eating up all my negativities and evil desires. To honor that ochre robe, I made a constant effort to shed negative tendencies of my mind and impure thoughts. Swami Sivananda says in ‘Bliss Divine’ that Sannyasa is Gerua (orange color) or coloring of the heart, and not of cloth alone. Sannyasa is a mental state only. He is a veritable Sannyasin who is free from passions and egoism and who possesses all the Sattvic qualities, even though he lives with the family, in the world.

The invisible ochre robe had completely transformed me in mere few years. His love, care, support and blessings had always covered me like a blanket from all sides and were forever there to guide me and to show me the right path to divinity. I tried my best to cultivate some good virtues and positive thoughts. Now, I am kinder, calmer, helpful and trying my best to be more compassionate. I totally renounce all the external beauties to embrace beauty of Self.

A few months later after watching this movie, while I was meditating wearing my invisible ochre robe, He gave darshan to me. I was blessed to have a vision of any saint for the first time in my life in meditation. And a couple of months back; He blessed me with an astral body experience. :)

Pic : Pixabay

A swing between life and death

 

As you all know that my last post was ‘I am crying profusely’ as I was experiencing spiritual crying. In the beginning, I was crying while chanting a particular Devi Mantra that I was repeating mentally most of the time, a few days later I was crying while chanting Guru Mantra as well as Lineage Mantra. Some more days passed and I found myself crying while doing almost every prayer, meditation and chanting.

Surprisingly, my crying had increased manifold from the past five days as I am crying even in public places on bus station, on railway station, on road, in market etc. I could not hold back my tears and I am crying more than 100 times in a day. Due to excessive crying, sometimes my eyes hurt. Because of constant and repeated crying for more than two and a half months had made my eyesight weak and I found it difficult to read without proper light.

Too much of crying from the past two and a half months had forced me to put my major business decisions on hold. I was just doing the routine work, that too giving needful instruction to my employees and a bit of financial work. I was not attending any calls or messages from my relatives and friends. I immersed myself in reading as well as listening to more and more books, watching more and more videos to have a better understanding of my spiritual path. I was following a disciplined life with full control over my diet, did regular pranayams and physical exercise—walking or yoga or sometimes both.

I did 40 days of Devi Sadhana, and I had a glimpse of Devi two-three times during Sadhana. A few days back while meditating on Guru Mantra, I saw myself adorned with ornaments just like a Goddess. Appearance of Devi means success on spiritual path but unfortunately, everything turned upside down.

During these days, my inner voice became strong, it kept guiding me, and answering my questions related to my spiritual journey. A few days back, I realized that it was misguiding me, and I felt cheated by my own inner self. Strange but true!

My turmoil did not end here, I found myself struggling hard to shed my negative thoughts towards my Guru. I felt that it was better to drop this body instead of having negative feelings for Him.

I was badly trapped by an emotional turmoil created by my own mind. Emotions are like waves of the ocean and my emotions had acquired the form of tsunami, rising high creating turbulence, hitting me hard and killing me mercilessly.

Some days back, while meditating all of a sudden I started breathing from my mouth; I could not breathe from my nose. I felt breathless and my whole body became numb. I found myself swinging between life and death. This experience lasted for 7 minutes. Next day, it lasted for near about 3 hours.

The problem becomes even more serious as I have not eaten anything from past 108 hours. And my water intake has drastically reduced from 15 litres per day to 1-2 litres per day. Besides that, I also have some other health issues related to that turmoil.

Among this chaos, I forget how to laugh!

P.S. – I am feeling like what Pandit Gopi Krishna had written in his autobiography

‘Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man’, ‘For a long time I had to live suspended by a thread, swinging between life on the one hand and death on the other, between sanity and insanity, between light and darkness, between heaven and earth.’

Pic - Unsplash

Sparkling smile more valuable than golden bangles

“Not a single bus has arrived till now. It seems that it will not come for another two hours or so. Will you arrange a taxi up to the railway station so that I can catch my train on time?” Early morning, I inquired of my travel agent.

He replied, “Today is Vishvakarma Day, everyone worships their vehicles, some return on work but most of the people take a half-day or full-day rest. Let me talk to a young guy, maybe he will be interested.”

He called back to inform us that a taxi had been arranged which would take about one and a half hour to reach the railway station and would charge Rs. 2000/-. He also shared the phone number of that person so that I could contact him.

When the taxi arrived, I asked the taxi driver to arrange my baggage at the back so that I could sit in the front seat because I had severe travel sickness that aggravates in a hilly area. He drove smoothly and I did not feel uneasy throughout the route. Moreover, we reached the railway station quite early. I gave him the fare, which he readily accepted, and a dazzling golden bangle, which he hesitated to accept. I said, “Yesterday was Diwali, the festival of lights. This bangle is made up of gold and it costs approximately one lakh. Please take it.” He gently took it and put it in the car's cup holder.

After handing over the bags and baggage to me, he came forward, his eyes dripping with gratitude and with folded hands, he said with a sparkling smile, “May God bless you with more!”

I replied, “It will be auspicious for you.”

I turned around and started moving towards the station thinking that I had never met this person before nor would I ever meet him again, still, I gave him valuable piece of jewellery, thinking that it would not only design but also sparkle his future. My day became more beautiful after donating beautiful jewellery!

Crazy me, visualized myself as Goddess of Wealth, donated another dazzling bangle to some other needy person! ;)

Pic : Pixabay