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40 Daily Messages
Spiritual Festival and Guru Purnima, June 21 – July 30, 2007
Pandit Vishnu Panigrahi
Day 1:
Greetings from the Himalayas and Mother Ganga. Both have the opposite quality. The Himalaya are ever still and hard, but the Ganga is ever flowing and soft. The Ganga flows from the Himalaya. The fluency comes from the stillness, and the softness comes from the hardness. Our life is like the Ganga, and our being, consciousness, is like the Himalaya. What is the difference between consciousness and life? Consciousness is vast without any shore, but life has a start and an end, having shores. The force of life is consciousness, and that consciousness flows in life like ice water flows in the Ganga. Without the Himalayas, the Ganga would have been a dream. Without consciousness, the whole world is a dream.
The source of life is consciousness. That consciousness is our real form, which is ever pure, ever enlightened, and ever blissful. We are being blinded by attachment to worldly affairs and false identification. The cause of all sorrows and miseries is only this false identification. We have to know our own conscious, being, the atman, the purest one, to remove all negativity.
To reach that pinpoint, that pure point, we have to release our impurities, we have to purify our emotions; otherwise, “Atmasakshatkara” (self-realization) would only be a dream. The Gayatri mantra is so powerful that it is capable of purifying emotions. The mantra fire is able to burn all the garbage of our mind field.
The Gayatri japa is not only performed to purify the emotions, but also leads to enlightenment, which is our aim. It removes all the obstacles in the way of meditation. Do japa with sentiment, love, and devotion. Another meaning of all mantras is love.
Obeying the advice of Gurudeva, practice the given sadhana intensively. Go to your interior endless space of being and lose all your other identification. Dwell in the playground of Almighty God. I wish you intensive sadhana in each day of this festival.
In the service of Gurudeva,
Brahmachari Vishnu
S.R.S.G Rishikesh
Day 2:
We all are fortunate that the lineage is supporting us to develop ourselves spiritually. Spiritual development depends on sadhana (practice) and blessings. Blessing means grace. When effort ends, grace begins. Self-surrender is the key point to receive grace. Swami Rama says, “Self-surrender is the highest of all yoga.” What does self-surrender mean? Not to use one’s own mind, just to follow the master faithfully. Although it is very difficult, it can lead one faster to Divinity. It is even very difficult to understand for a modern person. Also it is difficult to perceive such a Master
In this period of time, we’ll try to cultivate self-surrender. If we are very attached to worldly affairs, surrendering becomes difficult. All the time we should think about which is mine and which is not mine. Even this body is not mine; it does not obey me. If I try to save my youth, it is not possible. Humanity often moves in a herd, going towards darkness. If I follow them, one day I too will be in the dark, where there will be no way out, no escape. Self-analysis is a good way to start a new groove. Swami Rama frequently mentioned “inner dialogue.” If we listen inside, and surrender all our doubts to the Divinity, confusion reduces in our life. Life without confusion is itself a blessing.
This is a time to recharge our energy and regain discipline. Forty days of japa will change our whole being. Blessed are they who seek self-transformation. Brave is he/she who wishes to change him/herself into the Divine. In this time, Guru-shakti (power of the Guru principle) works in the disciple, so for him/her everything becomes easier to gain.
Day 3:
Life is a love song to which each heart should sing.
Life is the love of the ocean in which we have to bathe.
Life is a fragrant flower which you must smell.
Life is such an ever flowing Ganga into which you have to drown yourself.
Life is like the milky galaxies in which even the angels drink the milk of eternity.
Life is the love of silence; once you drink the silence, you have no words, because you are the dearest silence.
Life is itself a mystery. Before you leave your apron (body), leave your history, so others can read you and follow you.
To make your life a history, you need to see your life deeply.
Now it is the time to understand, to comprehend, life, which is the ongoing celebration remaining always with us.
Japa and meditation will color your life, and your life will become successful, awakened, blissful, and compassionate. Each moment will be a universal festival of color, dance, music, yoga, art, and the Divine.
Day 4:
Pain and pleasure are opposite sides of the same coin. Pleasure is always accompanied by pain. When we feel pleasure, pain is simultaneously present. As a rich man is always fearful of thieves, there is a fear of pain at the moment of pleasure. During pain, it’s natural that one wishes for pleasure. This duality cannot be ignored. This exists as long as we are in the body. But a yogi through his sadhana (spiritual practice) goes beyond the conditions of the body. Like him, we, the practitioners of yoga, have to raise ourselves from this duality and stay still in the Divine Consciousness.
Mantra is the key to the spiritual realm, the key to get that total stillness. This festival is giving us an opportunity to be still.
Day 5:
Dear friends,
We all experience a divine ecstasy in meditation. We are saving the experience of that meditation in our hearts. What is the advantage of saving that experience? If we recall that experience in moments of sorrow, the sorrow ceases. If you don’t have money in your pocket but do have a credit card which has millions of money, would you feel yourself a poor man? No, never. Wherever you will go, you will feel rich. Why don’t we take that peace of meditation with us in every circumstance? You have become rich saving that experience of meditation. What is the advantage of that richness of ecstasy if you won’t spend! When we spend money, we get worldly pleasure. In the same way, spend the peace and experience of that meditation. If you spend more, you’ll gain more. Always remember that bliss; dissolve those sorrows forever.
Always be cheerful. This is the key to happiness. Laugh and make others laugh. Live life from your heart. Share all of your happiness with others. Make a habit to be like that. Whatever we do many, many times becomes a part of our life. Even in negative situations, happiness and cheerfulness will guide you and make you happy. The biggest sorrow is wishes for pleasure. We have to rise above pleasure and pain. Whatever good or bad comes your way, feel them to be divine gifts; learn more and more from them, and then let them go their way. Drink and digest all situations like Lord Shiva did (He drank poison happily to save the universe).
Once again, carry happiness wherever you go. Let happiness become your friend. Eat with him, read with him, meditate with him, walk with him, talk with him, think with him, do everything with him. Worldly friends may cheat you, but this friend is very honest and humble. Let him stay with you forever.
May Gurudeva and God help you to make your friendship firm and strong.
(When I use the word “you,” I am including the personal you with all of humanity. )
Day 6:
HARI OM
I hope you are enjoying the colorful meditative festival.
I want to share with you some aspects of meditation.
We, all meditators, know the beautiful experience of meditation. Whoever has not tested the taste of dhyana (meditation) has lost value of something very important in his life. For him who has not lived in meditation, his life is worthless. Meditation is an absolute beauty; if one who has not known that, his life is meaningless. That divine beauty is not outside; outside beauty is only a reflection of inner beauty. Let’s go inside. Let’s start the journey towards the inner world. The inner traveling is called meditation. To travel inside we have to reduce/minimize our luggage; otherwise we’ll not have a safe journey. There are possibilities to fall down. If you are climbing Mt. Everest, you have to throw away all your belongings. Meditation is also a journey to the summit of divine consciousness. Sadhana is nothing but freedom from belongings. In other words, we may call it “detachment.” It is easy to throw away all of the worldly material. It may be easy to leave home, but it is very difficult to leave the mind. It is not very harmful if belongings are physically with us, but it will be a great obstacle in meditation if we are fully attached to them in our mind.
To do our meditation well, we have to do tapasya (austerities). We have to burn the old latent samskaras (subtle impressions of past actions). We have to make our actions into puja (ritual). The word “Puja” has two letters. “Pu” means “Purnata” (fullness), and “Ja” means “Janna” (to know). The action which leads to fullness is called puja (ritual, divine or spiritual action). Physical, emotional, and spiritual purification is the foundation of meditation. At first, for a beginner, meditation requires effort, but actually meditation happens when the effort ends. When a seeker goes to the deeper silence of meditation without any effort then samadhi (the highest spiritual experience) happens spontaneously.
Day 7:
Sadhana is the tool which makes it possible for us to gain the utility of samadhi. Meditation will show us in which state we sadhakas are. When we have black marks on the body, we can look at the mirror and question, but if we have marks in our mind, which mirror can show us these black marks? Our physical eyes can only see the physical marks. What is that which sees the black marks in our inner self? Open the inner eyes and clear your path. To remove those marks or impurities in the chitta (the pool of sub-conscious mind-stuff), we have to follow the Royal Path, which consists of iccha shakti (will power), kriya shakti (power of action), and jnana shakti (power of knowledge).
That supreme, blissful, beautiful and full of internal music samadhi can’t be achieved by any effort or means. You cannot snatch samadhi. All the spiritual practices are there to purify our emotions and our mind field. We have to purify our mind (chitta), because it is covered with dust just like the dust on the mirror in which we can’t see our reflection. Chitta is crystal clear. We color our minds with our samskaras. To purify those samskaras, we need to purify our mind. Sadhana can be of many kinds. Swami Veda Bharatiji mentions 5 pillars of sadhana: 1) Stillness, 2) Silence, 3) Fasting, 4) Celibacy (Brahmacharya), 5) Conquest of sleep.
A practitioner bears a lot of trouble in the beginning of sadhana. Some practitioners give up their practices. Their samskaras prevent them from making any progress in those practices. But when one keeps practicing with great courage and consistency, practice becomes easier. The main foundation for sadhana is devotion and dedication. One should practice for a long time without a pause and with respect.
Why does one bear so much trouble during the practice? Because the first hammering of sadhana hits on ego. Ego is like a huge demon, and your sadhana is like an arrow. When the sadhaka releases this arrow and it hits that huge demon, the demon gets angry and begins to attack extremely aggressively. A beginner sadhaka can become afraid and quit his sadhana. That happens in meditation. That’s why people can’t sit for a long time. But with prayer to God and samyama (control of senses), that sadhaka becomes stronger, and then he struggles and wins. So this is the medium stage of being a sadhaka who can sit for a longer period of time. For the purification of the mind, we need to do this kind of struggle.
With an example I will try to make you understand what sadhana is all about. After summer, the rainy season comes. Summer is a symbol of tapas (practices), and rain is a symbol of samadhi, the highest pleasure. Rain falls on its own accord and does not come on our order. In the rainy season, it rains. To make effort is nonsense. It doesn’t rain in another season. It comes after summer. For rain, summer is needed. It just comes when the weather is ready. Guru and samadhi both come when the aspirant is ready. First clouds pull all the water from all around and make the earth dry. At first the loving God takes the devotee’s health, wealth, and all his belongings. For rain there is nothing to do; the only effort is to look upwards. For samadhi there is also nothing to do but look for the grace of Guru and God. When the whole world, living and non-living beings, cry for water and when devotees have the burning desire for salvation, then it rains and then samadhi descends.
Rain fills the whole world with coolness and joyfulness. Even the mountain sings from his heart, the river flows with joy, all nature becomes blissful. Even the birds and animals dance. Everybody is filled with gratitude and thanks almighty God. God himself is an abode of beauty. Similarly samadhi makes a disciple see the unseen. There is a fragrance which is so full that it is like all the flowers of valley blossoming at one time. There is music like birds singing. There is dance like drops of water flowing in various directions. Such is the state of the disciple that he dances and sings with nature, and this process is going on for ever and ever. The singing and dancing is such that to the disciple, wherever he goes, even the ugliest thing becomes the most beautiful and the paras stone on touch becomes real gold. Such is the relation between a Guru and disciple that whatever work the Guru gives to the disciple becomes words written in golden letters that no dollars can buy.
Now it is the time of rain, and in the Himalayas you can see freshness everywhere. It seems that the dry barren land and the mountains were waiting for this precious rain to drop and fill them with plenitude, beauty, love, and blessing. The small tributaries of the Ganga become joy when it reaches the Bay of Bengal. Similar is the case of a sishya (disciple), who feels that his life is worthless and who sees dryness everywhere, when the Guru comes as the shower of joyful rain, which quenches his thirst and which gives the feeling of how the two rivers Ida and Pingala joined together to become the all pervading Sushumna. Now the disciple is drenching himself in the ambrosial rain of compassion. (Note: The Ida, the Pingala, and the Sushumna are channels of subtle energy that flow approximately along the spinal column.)
My dear Sadhakas, how can I explain to you the inner journey of beatitude and the Guru’s blessing which each and every moment fills me with kindness? I say, “He lives who really loves.” Now I am not worried about impressions, because it is the Guru’s grace which purifies us and always takes us with love and care. Even when we make mistakes, like a loving mother the Guru holds us in the bosom of such great love that words can’t explain it.
Day 8:
If a fighter goes to a battlefield and forgets about his weapons, what a bad situation it would be for him. In meditation there is a Mahabharata war going on inside. We all have the weapons in the battlefield of meditation, but we don’t know how to use them. Among them, three are the most powerful weapons and are like “Brahmastra” (the weapon of Brahma, the creator of the universe). These three are: iccha shakti (will power), kriya shakti (power of action), and jnana shakti (power of knowledge). We go to school for learning; in a similar way, we have to go to an institute where warrior training is going on. A Master is most essential. If you have nice books but you don’t know the language, then what? You have a mind but you do not know how to use your mind, you have a beautiful body but you do not know how to use your body, you have knowledge but you do not know how to use your knowledge. You can get many, many teachers who can teach you many things about what exists in the outer world. But there are far fewer teachers who can lead you to the depth of the superconscious mind, where there is nothing except pure bliss. We call that teacher “Guru.”
That Guru teaches his disciple how to use the three weapons of iccha shakti, kriya shakti, and jnana shakti to more easily win the war.
Day 9:
Dear friends,
Three things are very difficult to obtain:
1. a human body,
2. a burning desire for salvation, and
3. a sat-guru (spiritual guide who can lead his student to salvation).
Sadhana (spiritual practice) happens only in the human body. The purpose of this body is not for worldly enjoyment. This body is only for “mukti” (liberation). We see that most of people are hurting themselves. They are leading their lives towards hell, but they feel they are going in the right path. Who will explain this to them? How many of them are going to listen? They may say that the senses are for “bhoga” (enjoyment), but the senses are for “yoga”. Using the “indriyas” (senses), one may attain yoga. Know how the indriyas are used.
Misuse of the indriyas leads to “roga” (disease). Roga is the first and the greatest “antaraya” (hindrance) to yoga, because yoga starts its journey from this body. Taking care of this body is essential. Because of this necessity, we have to provide things like food, shelter, and clothing. But we see people use perfume all day to make themselves fragrant. They use costly dresses to show off. They have forgotten the real fragrance of character and the real dress of humbleness. So much indulgence in bhoga leads towards pain. Actually, uncomfortable comes from comfortable. Once we gurukulam students went to Prabhat Gurukul Ashram. Someone asked His Holiness Swami Vivekananda Saraswartiji, “Why aren’t there many facilities in the ashram? Even electricity is not available much of the time.” Swamiji said, “We can provide a luxury life for each student. No doubt the ashram could be prosperous, but if they become habituated to the luxury life, after leaving the ashram if they do not get that much luxury, then they will be thieves or they will have sorrowful lives.” It was really touching. For some people it is difficult to understand. They have nice logic to fight. Even at a luxurious ashram like Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, some people do not feel comfortable. How much comfort do we need? Really this type of life is not a yogic life. To reach yoga, one has to rise above all the comfort. In the summer a few spiritual groups were supposed to come. But they didn’t, because there is no air-conditioning in the cottages. Now we are putting air-conditioning in cottages and taking out the coolers.
When I came to Rishikesh for the first time, I met a young yogi, who introduced me to the path of yoga. Once he took me to a cave and asked so many questions. He told me to bring all my stuff, whatever I had. The next day I went there and brought my stuff. At 2 o’clock he said, “Tomorrow, early morning at 4 o’clock, you are going to offer all of your belongings, except your langoti (loin cloth), to Mother Ganga” though it was cool weather. He taught me the first lesson of yoga: how to rise above comforts and attachment. I met Swamiji (Swami Veda Bharati) for the first time in Sadhana Mandir Ashram in 2003. After His satsang (company of the sages), He asked my name. We didn’t talk much at that time. He said, “Come tomorrow without having saved the beard and mustache.” It was not a comfortable sentence for me, because I was a sadhu (monk). I thought for a monk a beard and mustache are needed, and I had that for a long period. I had an attachment with that. I thought if I want spiritual progress I have to dedicate myself at His feet. I have to obey His order. That was the first lesson of Swamiji for me to rise above attachment. Comfort and attachment have a similar sense in their meaning.
We have to understand human life. Without that understanding, life will be sorrowful and stressful one day. Know that one can control and balance the four primitive fountains that Swami Rama describes.
They are: 1. Food,
2. Sex,
3. Sleep, and
4. Self-preservation.
May God and Guru make our lives meaningful and successful so we can lead yogic lives to attain the final goal,
FULL MOON MESSAGE FOR JUNE 30, 2007
Namaste, everybody,
Here is the full moon message for June. I am surrendering this message at His feet. I have not written. Whatever He spoke to me, that I tried to write down.
Salutations again and again at the holy feet of the great sage Swami Rama of the Himalayas, who is inspiring us in all full moon days’ meditations. Obeying the Guru’s instruction, our spiritual master Swami Veda Bharati also connects us into one thread like a garland. All we meditators are the most beautiful, fragrant, and fresh flowers of that garland. At this auspicious day, let’s come together to make a nice garland to offer our gratitude at the Divine Feet of our Gurudeva Swami Rama.
How are we beautiful, fragrant, and fresh? Our hearts are beautiful (seeing the heart of a meditator people follow him; that’s the beauty of the heart), our senses are fragrant (our senses do not indulge in worldly pleasure), and we are fresh (mentally a meditator lives in the present moment). If the heart, mind, and senses are pure, then meditation is behind them. Meditation makes a friendship with a sadhaka. Meditation also has a life. Without a meditator how can meditation be alive!!! Day by day through meditation we have to make ourselves fresh and loving to enjoy the highest freshness and love that is Samadhi.
In the full moon day, we receive the cool moonlight from the moon fully. In the day, we receive hot sunlight from the sun. We can say the moon activates the universal parasympathetic nervous system, and the sun activates the universal sympathetic nervous system. Both sun and moon make balance in the world. Only in one day each month, in the full moon day, the earth is balanced totally. Other days, when there is no full moon, a little unbalancing happens. For that reason, ancient rishis and texts advise us what to do in what day to balance ourselves. Ayurveda totally rests on it.
Like the universal, in our body we have a moon and a sun. The left nostril is the moon, and the right is the sun. The left nostril activates the parasympathetic, and the right nostril activates the sympathetic nervous system to balance the body. Total balance happens when both nostrils flow equally. That’s the auspicious time for meditation and other spiritual practices. At that moment, not much effort is needed; just sit and go deeper and deeper. This is the real full moon time for a meditator. The full moon does not come monthly for an intense sadhaka. All moments can be auspicious. Through nadi-shodhanam (alternate nostril breathing), a sadhaka reaches that balance point. Do you understand what I am talking about? It is about awakening sushumna. After balancing, when sushumna awakens, the shakti (energy) goes upward to sahasrara (seventh chakra). In the tantra shastra (the text of tantra), the dormant energy is called shakti or kundalini. Before awakened, kundalini lies in the muladhara (first chakra) like a coiled serpent. You might have seen the murti (picture) of ardhanariswara. (in the right part is Shiva, and in the left part his wife Shakti). It shows the total science of kundalini yoga. When Shakti meets with Shiva means when the energy reaches sahasrara, which is the moment of moksha (liberation) or self realization.
We have already understood how in all 24 hours the full moon day vibrates the whole world. On that day, nature itself is awakened. Our body is also a part of nature, so it affects our body and mind. It is a most important day for a sadhaka (seeker). In this day, the Guru himself diverts his spiritual energy with mantra shakti into a shisya (disciple). In other days, except the full moon day, preparation is needed; the Guru prepares the disciple, or the disciple prepares himself.
Sunday is a holiday. Only on that day you are free to take your family to the market. You fulfill the wishes. But the other 6 days, if something is needed for your family, then you take a leave. For that you need permission; you have to please the boss. Like that, the Full Moon Day is the holiday of God. He is free for us (smile). The Full Moon Day is the gateway of the palace of almighty Lord. Only once in a month, the door is opened. There is freedom to go in and out. Other days permission is needed.
The most essential part of the full moon meditation is the Guru. When a yogi-guru sits with his disciples, no matter where he is, at that time meditation gets a new color which is indescribable. His presence itself is an achievement which brings divine glory.
Let’s meditate together in the full moon day tomorrow to attend that glory and grace which is colored by the eternal colors of our Great Grand Master Swami Rama. For a true devotee, that’s the only truth and solace in which he grows his humbleness and surrenders his entire ego.
May Guru and God bless you and lead your life.
Day 10:
Situations make a man happy or unhappy. Sometimes we create a situation, and sometimes it just happens. Blessed are those who keep themselves peaceful in all situations. Situations are the fruits of our deeds and thoughts. Sometimes good people also struggle. Often they say, “Oh, I have not done any wrong. Why is God giving me suffering and struggles?” We should know this life is the fruition of the last birth. We have not started our life from this life. According to previous deeds and wishes, the next birth is decided to fulfill those deeds and wishes. You sleep at night. When you wake up the next day, you start your work again from where you had stopped.
Only in the human body do we get a chance to fight, to struggle. More struggle leads to more strength. More strength gives us more fearlessness. Fearlessness is the root of peace and tranquility. Unbroken peace leads to moksha, the ultimate peace, which is our final goal.
Be friendly with all situations. Let the situation make you strong. A bad situation has not come to hurt you, but it has come to strengthen you, to develop you emotionally and spiritually. If you will fall and are harassed, then you will fail in your life. Do not make your life an abode of failure. Make your mind strong like a warrior. Kill all negative thoughts with the sword of discrimination. Burn the enemies of desires in the funeral ground of your mind field, so they will not fight with you again.
Remember the struggles of inside and outside are very different. Learn how to struggle. The army officer is unable to help you. Your degrees are of no use here. Go to a teacher, who is fully merged himself in superconsciousness. Surrender yourself totally at his feet, serve him whatever way you can, and then ask the way to go ahead.
Blessed are those who are already showered with His love and knowledge.
Make your field ready first to sow the crops.
Day 11:
“A sweet or cute word may make one happy. A harsh word is like poison; nobody likes it. Check all of your words whenever you talk.”
“Performing the duty is not important. How well you perform it, that is important.”
“Love is part of the innate nature of human beings. The lack of love even destroys society.”
“A rose is a flower which stands for an hour, but friendship is a flower which stays forever.”
“Millions of miles apart we still feel love and care for each other.”
Day 12:
Good people always do good deeds. Those good deeds affect their mind, and their mind becomes purified because the good deeds create tranquility and compassion. Bad deeds would not have these positive effects on the mind. Only the purified mind leads to happiness, peace, and bliss. A peaceful person can accelerate the society, and in the same manner such a society can adorn the whole nation with good conduct, knowledge, and service. Such a nation animates the lifeless, sorrowful, and anxious world. These purified actions or deeds can be called “samskriti.” “Kriti” means the action; “akriti” means shape. The moral shape of the society is called as samskriti. In English it is called “culture.”
Many cultures of the world were meditative cultures. Slowly as we are imposed upon by worldly pleasures, we go far from the meditation culture. We should know whatever pleasure we get is only through meditation. But our meditation is fake, lifeless, and weak. When someone practices meditation in a proper way, he can enjoy the world to a greater extent. Swami Rama says, “A yogi can be a good ‘bhogi’ (one who experiences pleasure), but a bhogi cannot be a yogi (who experiences bliss).
In India parents feel themselves fortunate if one of their sons becomes a monk, or “sadhu” (spiritual seeker who left all luxury, even having left home). In the Oriya Bhagavatam, it says, “Jaahaara purva bhagya thiva
taa putra vairaagya hoiva.” The meaning is: “If the parents have good fortune, then their son will be a renounced one.”
We as practitioners of yoga are really fortunate in trying to make ourselves pure and loving. One day we may be able to bring heaven here to this world. We may bring a new culture of yoga, where love and peace will be in all hearts.
I wish you a deep meditation.
Day 13:
“To minimize desires one must follow the path of non-attachment.”
“The main motto of yoga is to develop the latent power, which stays in us. Do yoga, and be powerful.”
“All the creatures of the world are our kiths and kin. So it is our duty to make them live without fear. This is the first lesson of yoga.”
“Love is the only way to firm our kinship in the society. Selfishness is the opposite of it.”
“To develop one’s duty one should be serious about one’s own labor and willpower.”
“From the bubbling thoughts try to catch good thoughts and mark them or write them down. Try to ignore all the negative thoughts. This helps to develop the positive attitude.”
“Be silent to be an emperor”
“Philosophy can open your inner eye. If you have not learned any philosophy, don’t worry, you have your own philosophy of life. Try to read it. It will change your whole personal world.”
“Nobody can fight with time. Time is great. Make the best use of your time. It will lead you to a disciplined and balanced life. It will show you the value of your life.”
“The real perfume of a person comes out from his character, and the character is the ornament which makes a person beautiful.”
Day 14:
“Food without taste, books without clear description, clouds without water, and life without happiness are meaningless.”
“To make life meaningful, be happy and make others happy.”
Day 15:
Have you ever noticed how a little bird flies in the sky and how it uses its wings? Have you ever tried to notice how your mind flies? If you haven’t, try now, sitting a while.
Day 16:
Without the quest for the truth, it is difficult to reach the paramount level of consciousness, because the truth of the truths is the centre of consciousness.
Day 17:
CHILD AND MIND
Jesus says, “Be like a child.”
What does “a child” mean? Child means purity, child means innocence, child means silence. Child is very much related to the mind. The new born baby is called a child. When it grows, it reaches the youth age, the middle age, and the old age. The child is free from worldly impressions. Often people say, “The child is like a God”. Mind is the first child of Purusha (consciousness) and Prakriti (primordial nature). We can say mind is the child of both of them, so the mind is pure and innocent. The mind is like a crystal. We make it colored with worldly impressions. We have to withdraw from impressions so we can make the mind pure by meditation and other spiritual practices.
The child is playful in its nature. By seeing a child playing, one becomes happy. Each and every act of the child creates happiness. Why are we in stress seeing the playful mind? Let it go wherever it wants. Do not try to snatch away its innocence. Do your duty. But it is good to watch the mind and to know all its trickiness. Enjoy the game watching it.
Mother cares for the child. Even when she cooks, she is always watching her baby. The baby can go anywhere anytime. It can even go towards fire and water, which are not safe for it. The mother watches all the time until the baby grows up. At night, the mother sleeps with it. With care and full of love, she feeds the baby milk from her own breasts. Even if the child goes to the toilet on her lap, she is not angry, but she cleans it with love. You might have understood what I am going to say. Behave towards the mind as though it were your baby. Watch it all the time; save it from anger, greed and other negativity. If your mind goes there, then it will be pained and hurt; there will be no peace in this life, and stress will be the friend for the whole life. Watch the mind each and every moment as if it is with you. If it is not with you now, bring it to your own awareness.
Most of the time mother is busy with her work. She feels difficulties in watching all the time without rest. In India a mother ties a little bell on the child’s ankle, and she always tries to listen for the sound of the bell. If she does not hear the bell, then she knows that her child has gone away from the home. At the same time, she leaves all her work to find the child. She forgets her work. She feels the child is more important. If she does not locate her baby, she tries to search more and more.
Can you guess the symbolism? The bell of the mind is the mantra given by the Guru. A sadhaka always should remember this. If the mind remembers the mantra, then it is safe and watched over. Try to listen to the mantra sound which is automatically flowing as a wave of ocean.
Feel always happy. Let the child play freely, but have a watch. Have a good relationship with your mind. If there is imbalance, then you have a problem. God gave you the mind to enjoy life. Without a mind how can we enjoy? The senses are dead without it. A great powerful mind can show you reality. Knowing that reality, you may be totally free from bondage. If you will not manage the mind properly, then maybe your life will be a mess, you will be in hell.
Go back to that state of innocence! That’s our real home, the real abode. You prefer your home most. In the day you are outside, and you feel tired. In your home you take rest, and you are relaxed and comfortable. Outside there is tension. It is very sad that we have lost our home. We are searching for it in the darkness of ignorance. The sunlight cannot help you to search for this home. Only by the light of knowledge can one find the way. Leave your ignorance, and you are in your home. Guru is one who can guide you through ignorance. Follow Him with full devotion, surrendering your entire ego. Remember that self-surrender is the highest of all yoga. If you know how to offer yourself totally at His feet, then you’ll regain your innocence and your childhood. Then you are among the fortunate ones.
Hope that, in these 40 days of the Guru Purnima festival, we’ll attain innocence and purity. Guru is always with us, so do not worry. We have to remember Swami Rama’s one important mantra, “Practice, Practice, and Practice.”
Practice well.
Be very careful in your sadhana.
Remember the important mantra of Swami Veda Bharati: “Relax your forehead!”
As a kalyana mitra (friend in the noble path), I wish you a deep meditation.
May God and Guru lead our lives and bless us.
Day 18:
A JERKY MIND
In meditation we always avoid jerky breath. Why does the jerk happen? The jerks start from our mind. Have you ever noticed the jerk in the mind?
When we are in meditation, we go through various thoughts. The thoughts are like stones on the road. If we walk looking up, maybe our feet will be injured by the stones. If you see a cobra, you are so fearful that you run away faster then your capacity. Your heartbeat starts increasing; blood pressure increases. At night, looking at a trunk you feel is a demon, you start crying. Your whole being becomes jerky. We have made our life jerky, so we are in stress.
The jerky mind is the only cause of suffering. When we have some bad thoughts and we are aware of them, then suddenly we try to bring our mind to the mantra or to a good thought. We feel we were wrong because we had a bad thought. Jerks happen in the mind between the good and bad thoughts.
There is a feeling of good and bad in our mind. We hate the bad and love the good. This is good, but a yogi rises above this also. Everything has the same value for him. There is no difference between a nugget of gold and a lump of the earth for a yogi. He loves everything. Only love resides in his heart. To see differences makes our mind jerky.
Now we reach the conclusion that love itself is the only medicine to release jerks in the mind. If our minds will be filled with the fragrance of love, then we will not see the differences. “Difference” gives birth to the struggle. In the Bhagavad Gita, the first sloka describes about “Maamaka and Paandavaa,” mine and Pandava’s. This feeling of a difference made a big struggle described in the “Mahabharata.” Always think nothing is mine and nothing is yours. Everything is His (God’s). Love everything, whatever exists in the world. Maharshi Patanjali describes yamas (moral restraints) and niyamas (observances) in the very beginning.
When you sit for meditation, first evoke universal love in your heart. Resolve in your mind that you’ll pay respect to each and every thought, even if they are of no use to you. You do not wish anything from the guest; he does not give anything to you. But it is your duty to pay respect. Move your consciousness from bad thoughts to your mantra slowly and lovingly. It can control the jerks in the mind. It can also cultivate love in your heart.
There is no need to be fearful of the bad thoughts. Try to know why a thought is bad, why you don’t like it. Ask it and help it. In your whole life, you try to make the people good, make the friend spiritual. Always we have tried to change others. Let’s try to work with our mind. No need to change; it just needs transformation. Your mind will listen to you if you behave towards it like it is your friend. If we cannot love ourselves, how can we love others? Start love from your own heart.
Be a loving person, have a beautiful heart.
May the God and Guru help each of us more to be an egoless and loving one.
Always the lineage is with us.
Day 19:
ADJUSTMENT IN LIFE
Only ego made us exist on this earth. We can divide the ego into two kinds: selfish ego and selfless ego.
Both egos are necessary in life, but good people or yogis are more selfless.
Selfless means what?
Selfless means to take care of the comfort of others, to take care of others’ prestige. For others, he/she can do anything. In other words, we can say that he/she can adjust himself/herself in every situation of life. Adjustment is the only weapon to handle the ego.
We are in a problem in the opposite circumstances. It is good to get an air-conditioned room in the summer. But if it is not possible to have one, why are we crying? For him who seeks pleasure all the time, pain will not leave him, because the 2P’s, pleasure and pain, come together. They are both close friends. If you hate pain, then pleasure also hates you. Don’t make a partial friendship. If pleasure would know that you don’t like his friend, then he also leaves you. Then you will be searching for him your whole life, and he is not going to come. Having cars, bungalows, and so many other comforts, including money, people are not happy, because they have not learned how to make adjustments in life.
We have to learn the technique of adjustment.
May God and Guru help each of us to be an adjustable person.
Enjoy japa and meditation.
In service,
Brahmachari Vishnu
Day 20:
Life is a journey.
Where are you going? May I ask this question to you?
Are you going to your office, or your business center?
Wherever we go, we all reach one point. That is death. We don’t know beyond death, so it seems death is the last. Birth and death are going on non-stop. To stop the circle of them, we have to rise to a point. That point is enlightenment.
If you want to buy something, you go to the market. In the market if you see that you have forgotten the money, then you return back to get the money. The circle of birth and death happens in this way. Whenever we come to the market of earth, we forget the money (meditation and spiritual practices) to get enlightenment.
Why do we forget? Because we have not prepared ourselves. Before going to market you check your pocket, before riding the train you check your ticket, when you come to Sadhaka Grama you book the room a few months before. I want to ask what preparation you have done for the big journey of enlightenment. For a year you prepared yourself to come to India. This is a small journey of 30/40 hours. But you already have passed millions and trillions of years to reach the goal. Now also you are in the journey, but sometimes you go backwards, so you are unable to reach the goal.
We have to prepare ourselves from now. We don’t have to be attached to the charms and temptations of the world. If we stop enjoying them, then our journey will not progress.
So, how to progress? The Veda says, “charaiveti,” keep on going without stopping. Meditation and awareness are very much needed to make our journey fruitful and successful. Our Gurudeva Swami Rama always says, “Practice, Practice, and Practice.”
May our practice be very intense.
May God and Guru help us and lead our journey towards enlightenment.
May these 40 days of intense sadhana be a vehicle to helps us in our journey.
Best of luck.
Day 21:
Get up early in the morning.
We cannot find an animal or a bird asleep in the morning. They get up early and engage in their duties. We think they are ignorant and innocent. But sometimes, if we compare, they are more disciplined than human beings.
Do yoga regularly.
Animals do stretching after getting up. Have you seen? Birds also do flying. Have you seen dogs and cats running fast and making merry in the morning on the street?
Be honest and faithful.
Whenever we go to a cow for milking, she very lovingly stands before us. The horse is always ready for his rider to ride. The dog watches the master’s home all night long. What do we learn from them?
Be a loving one.
All day long, the birds fly in the sky. In the evening, they come to their nests and play with their young babies. Babies become so happy getting their mother and zealously make huge sounds. When the mother animal returns, her calf runs towards her for milk. Remembering her calf, the mother cow also runs to feed it. One can imagine, and see the pure love in animals and birds. Aren’t they teaching us love?
Save nature.
All creatures balance the earthly organism. Only human beings go against these norms. The tiger saves the jungle, so also do the other animals in their own ways. Fish eat unnecessary things in the water and make the water pure. Worms make the land fertile. Animals like dogs, pigs, and foxes also eat dirty things and help clean the earth.
Follow nonviolence.
Many people turn themselves into demons. They want to destroy the animal and bird kingdom. They want to kill animals and birds for the taste. We have lost so many spices forever. If we cannot give them life, we have no right to snatch their life. Be a vegetarian and love the animals and birds as our family members.
Spiritual relation
In the ancient time, the Rishis (seers) tried to make a spiritual relation between us and other creatures. All the Devatas and Devis have one bird or animal as their vehicle. Even a God needs a vehicle (animal or bird). This is a symbolic language to love the creatures. Even God incarnated himself in various forms of animals and birds. The tale of “Dashavatara” shows ten incarnations of God in the forms of lion, fish, turtle, etc. All the yoga postures are followed from them. Is it good to behave towards them as an enemy?
Love all, serve all.
We have to understand it properly. Other creatures are not our enemies, but our close friends. Our duty is to protect them and love them. They need nothing from us except love. The Gita commands us to see God in every creature. All are the forms of God. If they will be fearless, no doubt heaven will descend to earth. Know how to love and serve.
Day 22:
The physical body, as well as the world, is made of five basic elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space. Atman is the inner flow of love in every heart. So why then are there differences among the persons?
The innermost quality of a human being is love. Love makes a man/woman perfect. It joins hearts. It can transform the world into heaven.
Fortunate are they who love to share their time, love, and knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
The unceasing flow of Mother Ganga teaches us how to make our life flow, peacefully and coolly, with no ripples or tensions.
Day 23:
When the mind fluctuates, one becomes blind. He cannot decide right and wrong. His own life seems like a curse. All will power and intelligence leave him and go up in smoke.
Generally we collect unnecessary information in our mind. It is good to ignore this and cultivate good thoughts. Thereafter, one can be a maestro of his own music of life. One who knows how to play this music realizes all moments are boons for him.
Day 24:
All of the Mother’s love springs forth to her child. She feeds her child first before she eats. Is it not a difficult task to write about the love and care given by a mother? The same child when he grows leaves his mother. Even seeing the suffering of old age, he does not care. He forgets all the events of a childhood full of caring. Are you doing this type of behavior with your mother and father? If yes, then there is no way that yoga can help you. First serve your parents and make them happy.
To have obeisance and serve the elders is our important obligation. This is one of the foremost cultural features of India.
Day 25:
In our whole lifetime, we are busy with accumulating worldly things like wealth, name, and fame to make our lives happy and luxurious, but we do not get peace. Peace does not come from accumulating things, but it does come through non-attachment.
Day 26:
Tenderness opens the passages of peace and tranquility. That peace leads to Divinity, and that Divinity cuts all the bondage of karma and leads to salvation.
Day 27:
A dull or lazy person is basically accustomed to addiction. He/she accomplishes nothing other than failure and death. He is really violent towards his own self.
Day 28:
To versify life, one has to have a mission. Happiness is the clue for it, but happiness does not come if we have not achieved the goal. To achieve it, one needs effort. Effort is the backbone of success. There should not be laziness in the effort. Cultivating will power, we can give motion to effort.
Day 29:
The undercurrent stream of love is merging in the hearts of all living beings. Love makes everybody live and enjoy. The Almighty keeps it inside us, and human beings dig it out to get it.
Day 30:
Love is subtler than the subtlest and bigger than the biggest. A microscope is useless to see it. One cannot give a figure for its greatness, because God is love and love is God. That pervades all hearts.
Day 31:
Difficulties make one strong and pure. Without difficulties and problems, life is meaningless. The dark night only carries the sunlight in the morning. But we have to pass through the night. Pain and sorrow come to a spiritual seeker to make him strong and experienced, so that in the future he can handle his and others’ lives in a real manner. Feel all moments as God’s grace.
Day 32:
Once Lord Krishna went to the house of poor Vidura. At that time, the wife of Vidura brought bananas. She made Krishna sit, peeled the bananas, fed him the skins, and threw away the flesh. Krishna was eating the skin with full love. After some time, Vidura entered the room, saw what was happening, and said to his wife, “Oh, what are you doing?” Then his wife became sorry. Krishna told her, “Dear, I don't see the things that you give. I see only your devotion and love.”
So, brothers and sisters, do whatever you are doing, but do it full of faith and devotion. Keep doing. Do not care about the things that are happening to you. Let them happen.
Message 33:
Love is the only way to firm our kinship in society.
First try to cultivate love in your own life. Then try to enlarge or develop it.
Day 34:
Let your heart be colorful, colored with love, so that all colors may follow you to make your spiritual world most beautiful.
Day35:
Love is the essence of life. God himself is love. In love everything dissolves, and nothing else exists.
Day 36:
We are just objects in the hand of God. Without his power, even a dry leaf cannot move. We just have to wait and make merry.
Day 37:
The Guru’s love is always watering the garden of thoughts. He is really a fortunate one who has a nice gardener who is always planting good, valuable plants and uprooting the weeds in the garden of the mind field.
I get love and service from my guru family which gives me delight.
Day 38:
Life is a challenge. Those people who have difficulties in facing and meeting those challenges lose. Blessed are they who can listen to the inner voice and be ready to meet challenges. All the time fighting or struggling is going on unconsciously in our minds. Now we need to make conscious effort so we can win the battle.
Conscious and regular effort is essential for spiritual practice. I hope you are making this effort.
Day 39:
Always feel and think that you are doing nothing, everything is happening automatically. We are all mere instruments of Brahman (Absolute Reality). Remembering this is the good way to relax your whole being. The motto is not only “relax your body and mind,” but is also “relax your life.” Relaxation of life means self realization. One cannot always do relaxation in savasana, but one can do relaxation in contemplation all the time. Practice this, and you will feel different.
Day 40:
Really, life is a mystery. Life itself is a teacher which always guides us. Fortunate are they who have obtained the power to listen to the voice of life. Try to listen to the inner dialogue all the time; it is the closest friend. We should always listen honestly and practice listening. The shape of what we think and hope becomes different when it comes before us practically.
Love, In service, Vishnu
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Pandit Vishnu Panigrahi has been steeped in spiritual endeavors since his childhood and even before his birth—his great grandfather told his grand daughter (Visnu’s mother-to-be) that there is a necessity of a boy from your home to be a spiritual devotee. The grand daughter prayed deeply over many months for a baby boy to come as her son and fulfill her great grandfather’s wish. After his birth mother would sing to the children every night songs and stories from the Ramayana (the famous epic on Rama Incarnation) and Puranas (the Indian versified Sanskrit encyclopedias of stories and narratives of divinities).