(a special 'samashti bhiksha' was hosted for pujya guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, by chinmaya mission mumbai as part of the 50th year celebrations of pujya guruudev's first yagna in mumbai in 1957. the satsang was arranged at maheshwari udyan, andheri west, mumbai at 11 am on 16th december 2007. shri parindra kadakia gave a short welcome address and floral tributes were offered to guruji by the yajamans of the day. this was followed by a paduka puja of gurudev's padukas. guruji then addressed the gathering. the following is a synopsis of the talk.)
what was the purpose of this satsang? to meet everyone who were missed out at the three mega-yagnas organised in south mumbai, borivali and navi mumbai.
i hadn't thought of what i'll say when i meet you but something came to my mind a while ago. i assume everyone assembled here is associated with the chinmaya mission. associated in some way or the other. what does this association mean? what should we do?
i am reminded of a verse from the 12th chapter of the bhagwad geeta - shreyo hi gyanamabhyasaat, gyanaatdhyaanam vishishyate. dhyanaat karma phala tyaagaha, tyaggatchchantiranantaram. (verse 12, chapter 12).
study is good, but better is knowledge. meditation is superior to knowledge, and sacrifice of the fruits of action is superior to meditation. and this is because it gives peace of mind.
there is no peace of mind in acquiring or hoarding but in sacrifice. eg. if we take anger as an example; to get rid of anger we must sacrifice it. there are two ways of giving it up - one is to give vent to it and the second way is to overcome it through knowledge. similarly with any desire. and therefore there is peace of mind.
this was in a spiritual context. now let us apply this in the context of chinmaya mission.
in the mission there are many workers from all backgrounds, all doing some work eg. bala-vihar, chyk, committees, events, projects, etc. everybody is doing some work. but if we were to ask why they are working or what is the purpose, they do not know.
eg. why do you take a bal-vihar class? what is the benefit? it is not for 'baby sitting' the children! yes, the children are taught stories, shlokas, bhajans, etc. but do the sevaks know the relevance of bal-vihars? how do i benefit? what are the future benefits? how is it related to the chinmaya mission?
similarly with other activities. some people are office-bearers but still do not know the purpose!
whatever we are doing is service to the chinmaya mission or it is a personal sadhana. but if we know what is the purpose then it is even better.
the second aspect is to give it attention. to be focused or to be absorbed in it - dhyana. the more we get absorbed in it, the more we enjoy.
so we have to plunge whole-heartedly in it, which is the equivalent of getting absorbed in it. not attempt 'half-heartedly' or 'quarter-heartedly'! not 'heartlessly' either!
the next aspect is 'karma phala tyaaga'. karma phala is of two types -
1. gross benefits - rewards, wealth, etc.
2. subtler benefits - recognition, praise, etc.
i remember when i was posted in the us from 1989-1993, i used to always be with pujya gurudev whenever he had camps in the us. at one such camp in san diego, because of gurudev's heart condition, i was handling all the sessions except one session by gurudev. there used to be a banquet on the second-last day of the camp. the organisers thanked everyone for all the work and contribution. everyone was thanked except me. this is something you can't help but notice. i noticed it.
gurudev was then asked to give his blessings. he started off by saying, 'you thanked all, but not the one who covered me'! that’s when i felt that it was good that the person giving the vote of thanks forgot to thank me. because then he remembered!
adi shankaracharya says that we should not have desire even for moksha. only then will we have peace of mind.
giving up desires is possible when we have love, prem, bhakti. eg. parent's love for children.
now pujya gurudev started this mission. what was the purpose? he taught vedanta because this knowledge changes our lives. it converts us from ordinary lives to brahman - infinite! therefore he always used to say - 'you change'. the main objective was inner transformation! remove ignorance and darkness and convert it into creativity and inspiration.
in bal-vihar the main objective is to infuse 'sanskar (values)' in them. there are many people who have a car, but not many with 'sanskar'! and without these sanskars in our children we'll hear more news like the ones about kids with guns in school!
so bal-vihar is not only about time-pass/ games/ stories, but it is mainly about 'sanskar'. and for chyks it mainly about discussing/thinking about these sanskars. in study groups some people want a lecture or a video show. it is supposed be a session of discussion and mananam. (some people do not read and prepare for class. they leave their books behind in class itlsef. and then they complain that the class is not interesting).
in allahabad, once a mission secretary went to pujya gurudev and asked him how to make study groups interesting. gurudev asked him to fetch a notebook and take down notes. he then said 'fetch dancing girls from benares'! then he explained that study groups can't be made interesting by making external changes. if you study and understand then it automatically becomes interesting. so the focus is to study and focus on oneself.
similarly, the idea of a bhajan group is not only to sing and 'make noise', but to increase our devotion to the lord.
and the objective of the vanaprastha sansthan is not to sit and complain, or go on spritual picnics!
at a vanaprastha camp i was asked to speak. so i told them i would speak since they asked me to. but i also said that i know that they would not follow a single thing i say. they wouldn't believe me. so i asked them to stop drinking tea and eating fried foods. stop attending all social functions like marriages. and then one person said, 'but i am planning to get married myself since i want some company'! look for god's company. similarly nobody wants to take up sanyas. vanaprastha is when we are supposed to slowly give up things and focus on puja, japa, etc.
gyana yagnas are supposed to let maximum number of people know about this knowledge of vedanta. and to let people know about all the activities of the mission.
similarly in chinmaya vibhuti the objective is to light the lamp of spirituality within ourselves and then spread it among others. in sidhabari gurudev used to ask us symbolically light a lamp and place it on the map.
the project in kharghar, chinmaya prerna, is a project of all chinmaya mission members in mumbai. we must all help each other and thus grow. it is a project which will benefit lakhs of people.
and for chinmaya mission this is not a big project, nor is it too difficult. if everyone works together, it will happen.
so whatever we do, we do with understanding, with focus/dedication and with no expectations. then there will truly be peace.
we must move from being a 'bhakta' (admirer) to a shishya (to study/learn) and then finally to a 'sevak' (life-long service)!
we bow down to pujya gurudev who inspires all the chinmaya mission members.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Q&A with guruji - 3rd dec 07
(guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, was invited to deliver a talk titled 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?' by the EO/YPO chapter in mumbai on 3rd december 2007. the synopsis of the talk is available here. the talk was followed by a short Q&A session which is roughly reproduced here.)
Q : today is a materialistic world. there are two types of people. the first type who want to achieve at any cost and the second type who have nobler goals. the first person gets more and feels contented (maybe its ignorance). the second person loses out and becomes dissatisfied. what's your advice to the second person.
A : remember, the law is, 'you have to pay the price for anything in life'.
a person who bull-dozes his way through to apparent success ends up making more enemies. in such situations there will also be revolt.
and in the case of the second person if he cannot compete and feels doubtful then there is some problem with his belief. he would believe that in such a situation it is better to be dishonest!
sometimes we have this notion that if we share then we will get more and that we can 'encash' it immediately. but it is not instant.
in business 'wealth of credibility' is the true wealth.
immediate success can be gained by wrong means. but what we notice is that we may applaud what one 'has' but finally respect what one 'is'.
patience is the key requirement. if you feel sad and doubtful then there is something wrong.
its like saying that i have never taken a bribe in my whole life. but the truth is that you either didn't get an opportunity or were too scared to accept it. so its not really tested.
you have to remain steadfast. and therefore it means you have to pay the price.
even i today's world honesty and loyalty are still highly respected. we may be dishonest in our dealings to get ahead, but we expect honesty from others.
so the advice is - remain steadfast and don't get carried away by immediate results.
Q : no matter what we do in life it doesn't matter. we ultimately die and are forgotten. should we have any ambition?
A : the question doesn't arise.
- if you have ambitions, then even if you say you don't have you will still be driven by your ambition
- and if a person don't have any, then saying 'you should' will still not shake him!
you will always have desire. it only natural. it will always be there.
if you ask me, then i would say one should have ambition. when you have ambition, you grow. if we use our faculties they grow. swami chinmayananda used to say, 'if you rest you rust'. our BMI (body-mind-equipment) equipment also needs to be used so that it grows. so even materialistic ambitions are useful to help this growth.
but we also have to grow out of it. similarly we have to grow from 'materialistic' goals to 'non-materialisic' ones.
so remember -
1. you will always have desires and ambition
2. if you have them, you can't say don't have them
3. use them to grown and fulfil oneself and serve others also.
Q : how does one achieve bliss and realisation?
A :
1. by self-knowledge (the highest level)
2. make someone else happy (most practical). help any person. do whatever you can do.
3. do not become a slave of your senses and negativities like anger. be the master.
a related question is 'how to have lot of fun in life'?
by being serious. by thinking deeply and living a life of depth and meaning. not being shallow. be like the deep sea and not a shallow pnd which dries up!
-----------------------------
Q : today is a materialistic world. there are two types of people. the first type who want to achieve at any cost and the second type who have nobler goals. the first person gets more and feels contented (maybe its ignorance). the second person loses out and becomes dissatisfied. what's your advice to the second person.
A : remember, the law is, 'you have to pay the price for anything in life'.
a person who bull-dozes his way through to apparent success ends up making more enemies. in such situations there will also be revolt.
and in the case of the second person if he cannot compete and feels doubtful then there is some problem with his belief. he would believe that in such a situation it is better to be dishonest!
sometimes we have this notion that if we share then we will get more and that we can 'encash' it immediately. but it is not instant.
in business 'wealth of credibility' is the true wealth.
immediate success can be gained by wrong means. but what we notice is that we may applaud what one 'has' but finally respect what one 'is'.
patience is the key requirement. if you feel sad and doubtful then there is something wrong.
its like saying that i have never taken a bribe in my whole life. but the truth is that you either didn't get an opportunity or were too scared to accept it. so its not really tested.
you have to remain steadfast. and therefore it means you have to pay the price.
even i today's world honesty and loyalty are still highly respected. we may be dishonest in our dealings to get ahead, but we expect honesty from others.
so the advice is - remain steadfast and don't get carried away by immediate results.
Q : no matter what we do in life it doesn't matter. we ultimately die and are forgotten. should we have any ambition?
A : the question doesn't arise.
- if you have ambitions, then even if you say you don't have you will still be driven by your ambition
- and if a person don't have any, then saying 'you should' will still not shake him!
you will always have desire. it only natural. it will always be there.
if you ask me, then i would say one should have ambition. when you have ambition, you grow. if we use our faculties they grow. swami chinmayananda used to say, 'if you rest you rust'. our BMI (body-mind-equipment) equipment also needs to be used so that it grows. so even materialistic ambitions are useful to help this growth.
but we also have to grow out of it. similarly we have to grow from 'materialistic' goals to 'non-materialisic' ones.
so remember -
1. you will always have desires and ambition
2. if you have them, you can't say don't have them
3. use them to grown and fulfil oneself and serve others also.
Q : how does one achieve bliss and realisation?
A :
1. by self-knowledge (the highest level)
2. make someone else happy (most practical). help any person. do whatever you can do.
3. do not become a slave of your senses and negativities like anger. be the master.
a related question is 'how to have lot of fun in life'?
by being serious. by thinking deeply and living a life of depth and meaning. not being shallow. be like the deep sea and not a shallow pnd which dries up!
-----------------------------
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
satsang with guruji
(guruji, swami tejomayanandaji, was invited to deliver a talk titled 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?' by the EO/YPO chapter in mumbai on 3rd december 2007. the following post is a synopsis of the talk. the venue was the lawns of a house adjacent to the sea in worli and guruji spoke with the sea as the backdrop.)
it'a a pleasant evening and i'm glad to be with you.
a few days back niraj ambani invited me for this talk and we were discussing what should be the topic. after some deliberaion we came to this topic - 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?'.
this question arises because of a couple of reasons. when we look at the definition then there appears to be a contradiction.
'ambition' means a strong desire for something. it could be wealth or power or anything. and 'contentment' means being satisfied with what we have. so ambition presupposes dissatisfaction and therefore discontentment.
now different people might say different things. one may say,
'let there be a contradiction'.
'i've got ambition and no contentment, so what?'.
'i've got contentment and no ambition, so what?'.
if a person has only one then he has no conradiction.
so the two words appear contradictory.
if a person says 'i'm contented with my ambition', then there's no problem. but some people have a spiritual bent of mind and want to achieve something. but they tend to have a feeling of guilt.
because spirituality says that you should be contented. therefore there is conflict!
the question is - can the two co-exist so that there is no guilt? can i be ambitious about contentment or contented with ambitions?
(anecdote) once a very ambitious person went to the sea-side and saw a young man sitting under a tree and resting. the ambitious person felt agitated that this youngster is wasting his life and asked to do something, maybe buy and sell vegetables. the youngster had this nagging habit of saying 'and then?' to everything the ambitious person said.
young person (yp) : and then?
ambitious person (ap) : then you can get more money and open a bigger shop.
yp : and then?
ap : then you can become a merchant and open a chain of shops.
yp : and then?
ap : you can then start exporting also and your business will grow.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can appoint managers, build a palace for yourself, etc.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can sit back and relax.
yp : but that's what i am doing right now without having to go through this entire exercise!
we have to ask ourselves why this questions arises? and in whose mind? a person who feels that there is contradiction and wonders whether they can co-exist?
now lets look at it from a scriptural perspective. in most of the scriptures like gita we see that desire is not considered wrong. it takes strong desire to achieve something. anything we do is an expression of desire. therefore desire or ambition itself is not a problem.
there are various categories of desire :
1. spiritual desire
2. materialistic desire
3. base/vulgar/criminal desire
some people tend to love only base desires and is destructive to oneself and others. such a desire is universally condemned. it is below any human dignity. any human being wants to live and live happily. therefore one doesn't have the right to harm anyone or destroy their happiness.
therefore such desires are called base and undesirable.
when a person has a desire to help his or her own lot - i want to prosper; then it is not wrong in itself. such a person will be usually dissatisfied. which is not a problem as it motivates.
problem arises when this desire grows to such an extent that he becomes inconsiderate about other people's happiness and this then becomes uncontrollable greed.
there a few things we should always remember when it comes to materialistic desires.
desires are many and the desired objects are limited. therefore there is bound to jealousy and frustrations and disappointment, etc.
uncontrollable greed then prompts a person to 'kill and get killed' instead of 'live and let live'!
(anecdote) there were two neighbours. one was greedy while the other was jealous. the greedy person used to think that i should have more than my neighbour. and his neighbour would think, 'why should he have more?'
one day the greedy man found the jealous man in a temple doing tapas. so he also started doing tapas. lord shiva appeared before them and granted them a boon. but he said that only one person should ask and the other person would get twice what the first person asked. both didn't ask and waited for the other to ask. lord shiva got impatient and told them that have only two minutes left to ask their boon. so the jealous man promptly said. 'please make me blind in one eye!'.
this is why it is said that greed makes man blind. therefore all through history we see how greed destroys people, kingdoms and society. whenever you become over-ambitious then it becomes destructive greed. you may succeed for some time but finally people will revolt.
a slightly higher form of greed is where we think about what we can give to others. even here sometimes we see competition.
once a prosperous man wanted to be the top donor to a temple. so he gave a large amount, but later found out that he was only the second biggest donor. so he decided to increase his contribution. the two donors started competing till this man reached his limit. he felt sad that he could not giev more. so he asked himself what it is that he could give to feel satisfied? and then he remembered that he was a chain smoker. so he decided that from that moment he would give up smoking.
thats when he decided that he would not compete in giving more and more, but he would rather focus on growing up. then the joy and satisfaction he felt was unique.
one form of greed is 'acquiring' and the other is 'giving'. when there is a sense of competition then there is a problem.
but when the goal is non-material or spiritual (eg. to grow out of my weaknesses) then it is far greater.
eg. 10 people wanting something versus 10 people wanting peace of mind.
as the latter ambition grows we will feel more and more contented.
eg. when a function is arranged at your house everyone comes and enjoys. you feel full and you don't feel hungry
when your heart is full your need/greed/craving disappears.
such ambition and contentment can co-exist.
now contentment is of two types -
1. fullness of heart
2. contentment at physical level of fulfilling one's needs.
eg. a millionaire can wear only so many clothes or can eat only so much.
the ideal situation is when a person understands that his needs are minimum and is satisfied; but has an ambition that the world should be more and more contented.
in 'rudra sukata' in one section the rishis salute all gods, beings, etc. in the second section the rishis then ask for innumerable things. so we might wonder whether the rishis are driven by greed!
but the actual essence is that the rishi feels oneness with all and is therefore wishing for all beings to be more and more prosperous.
eg. parents feel that kids should get what they had not got and therefore desire more for their kids.
the satisfaction derived from such ambition is a different nature.
so one kind of contentment it is based on fullness of heart and spiritual goals. the other kind is content with minimum needs and wants.
the difference between an ignorant and a wise man is that :
a sense of incompleteness in the ignorant person prompts action to gain happiness. while a wise man's action arises from 'happiness'.
so a person who manages both, fullness in oneself, as he also thinks of how the world can be happier, is called a 'santusht' (happy or satisfied) person. such a person has found happiness within himself. such a person has minimum needs and thinks of the welfare of all.
this is seen in the examples of most great people - leaders, saints and politicians. eg. when lokamanya tilak was asked what post he would like to take up after freedomw. pat cam his response - a teacher.
similarly gandhiji's vision was to have contentment as well as the ambition and inspiration to lead such a life.
there are similar examples of great masters building organisations.
in such examples it was a case of rising from fullness rather than rising from incompleteness.
and fullness can come only from spiritual bliss. materialistic ambition cannot generate this.
so if we look at the question - can ambition and contentment co-exist? - then from a material perspective the direct answer is 'no'.
spiritual contentment is not passive or dull contentment. on the spiritual path one must work hard and then be satisfied with the result.
when ambition becomes spiritual then there is inspiration and also contentment.
it'a a pleasant evening and i'm glad to be with you.
a few days back niraj ambani invited me for this talk and we were discussing what should be the topic. after some deliberaion we came to this topic - 'can ambition and contentment co-exist?'.
this question arises because of a couple of reasons. when we look at the definition then there appears to be a contradiction.
'ambition' means a strong desire for something. it could be wealth or power or anything. and 'contentment' means being satisfied with what we have. so ambition presupposes dissatisfaction and therefore discontentment.
now different people might say different things. one may say,
'let there be a contradiction'.
'i've got ambition and no contentment, so what?'.
'i've got contentment and no ambition, so what?'.
if a person has only one then he has no conradiction.
so the two words appear contradictory.
if a person says 'i'm contented with my ambition', then there's no problem. but some people have a spiritual bent of mind and want to achieve something. but they tend to have a feeling of guilt.
because spirituality says that you should be contented. therefore there is conflict!
the question is - can the two co-exist so that there is no guilt? can i be ambitious about contentment or contented with ambitions?
(anecdote) once a very ambitious person went to the sea-side and saw a young man sitting under a tree and resting. the ambitious person felt agitated that this youngster is wasting his life and asked to do something, maybe buy and sell vegetables. the youngster had this nagging habit of saying 'and then?' to everything the ambitious person said.
young person (yp) : and then?
ambitious person (ap) : then you can get more money and open a bigger shop.
yp : and then?
ap : then you can become a merchant and open a chain of shops.
yp : and then?
ap : you can then start exporting also and your business will grow.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can appoint managers, build a palace for yourself, etc.
yp : and then?
ap : and then you can sit back and relax.
yp : but that's what i am doing right now without having to go through this entire exercise!
we have to ask ourselves why this questions arises? and in whose mind? a person who feels that there is contradiction and wonders whether they can co-exist?
now lets look at it from a scriptural perspective. in most of the scriptures like gita we see that desire is not considered wrong. it takes strong desire to achieve something. anything we do is an expression of desire. therefore desire or ambition itself is not a problem.
there are various categories of desire :
1. spiritual desire
2. materialistic desire
3. base/vulgar/criminal desire
some people tend to love only base desires and is destructive to oneself and others. such a desire is universally condemned. it is below any human dignity. any human being wants to live and live happily. therefore one doesn't have the right to harm anyone or destroy their happiness.
therefore such desires are called base and undesirable.
when a person has a desire to help his or her own lot - i want to prosper; then it is not wrong in itself. such a person will be usually dissatisfied. which is not a problem as it motivates.
problem arises when this desire grows to such an extent that he becomes inconsiderate about other people's happiness and this then becomes uncontrollable greed.
there a few things we should always remember when it comes to materialistic desires.
desires are many and the desired objects are limited. therefore there is bound to jealousy and frustrations and disappointment, etc.
uncontrollable greed then prompts a person to 'kill and get killed' instead of 'live and let live'!
(anecdote) there were two neighbours. one was greedy while the other was jealous. the greedy person used to think that i should have more than my neighbour. and his neighbour would think, 'why should he have more?'
one day the greedy man found the jealous man in a temple doing tapas. so he also started doing tapas. lord shiva appeared before them and granted them a boon. but he said that only one person should ask and the other person would get twice what the first person asked. both didn't ask and waited for the other to ask. lord shiva got impatient and told them that have only two minutes left to ask their boon. so the jealous man promptly said. 'please make me blind in one eye!'.
this is why it is said that greed makes man blind. therefore all through history we see how greed destroys people, kingdoms and society. whenever you become over-ambitious then it becomes destructive greed. you may succeed for some time but finally people will revolt.
a slightly higher form of greed is where we think about what we can give to others. even here sometimes we see competition.
once a prosperous man wanted to be the top donor to a temple. so he gave a large amount, but later found out that he was only the second biggest donor. so he decided to increase his contribution. the two donors started competing till this man reached his limit. he felt sad that he could not giev more. so he asked himself what it is that he could give to feel satisfied? and then he remembered that he was a chain smoker. so he decided that from that moment he would give up smoking.
thats when he decided that he would not compete in giving more and more, but he would rather focus on growing up. then the joy and satisfaction he felt was unique.
one form of greed is 'acquiring' and the other is 'giving'. when there is a sense of competition then there is a problem.
but when the goal is non-material or spiritual (eg. to grow out of my weaknesses) then it is far greater.
eg. 10 people wanting something versus 10 people wanting peace of mind.
as the latter ambition grows we will feel more and more contented.
eg. when a function is arranged at your house everyone comes and enjoys. you feel full and you don't feel hungry
when your heart is full your need/greed/craving disappears.
such ambition and contentment can co-exist.
now contentment is of two types -
1. fullness of heart
2. contentment at physical level of fulfilling one's needs.
eg. a millionaire can wear only so many clothes or can eat only so much.
the ideal situation is when a person understands that his needs are minimum and is satisfied; but has an ambition that the world should be more and more contented.
in 'rudra sukata' in one section the rishis salute all gods, beings, etc. in the second section the rishis then ask for innumerable things. so we might wonder whether the rishis are driven by greed!
but the actual essence is that the rishi feels oneness with all and is therefore wishing for all beings to be more and more prosperous.
eg. parents feel that kids should get what they had not got and therefore desire more for their kids.
the satisfaction derived from such ambition is a different nature.
so one kind of contentment it is based on fullness of heart and spiritual goals. the other kind is content with minimum needs and wants.
the difference between an ignorant and a wise man is that :
a sense of incompleteness in the ignorant person prompts action to gain happiness. while a wise man's action arises from 'happiness'.
so a person who manages both, fullness in oneself, as he also thinks of how the world can be happier, is called a 'santusht' (happy or satisfied) person. such a person has found happiness within himself. such a person has minimum needs and thinks of the welfare of all.
this is seen in the examples of most great people - leaders, saints and politicians. eg. when lokamanya tilak was asked what post he would like to take up after freedomw. pat cam his response - a teacher.
similarly gandhiji's vision was to have contentment as well as the ambition and inspiration to lead such a life.
there are similar examples of great masters building organisations.
in such examples it was a case of rising from fullness rather than rising from incompleteness.
and fullness can come only from spiritual bliss. materialistic ambition cannot generate this.
so if we look at the question - can ambition and contentment co-exist? - then from a material perspective the direct answer is 'no'.
spiritual contentment is not passive or dull contentment. on the spiritual path one must work hard and then be satisfied with the result.
when ambition becomes spiritual then there is inspiration and also contentment.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Q&A with swami tejomayanandaji
guruji was invited for a satsang by shri ajay piramal on 2nd september 2007 at their nicholas piramal office complex to commemorate the completion of 5 years of their study class which is conducted by br. sattvikaji.
guruji addressed the audience of almost 250+ people (click here to read the synopsis) which was then followed by a very interesting question and answer session. here is a synopsis of the QnA session.
Q1. is 'samata' a zero-sum game? it almost sounds like we have to keep adjusting and accepting whatever happens with respect to people, objects and experiences. this could mean that we lose in many of the interactions. can it ever be a win-win deal?
guruji's answer - no. samata is not possible without fullness. when there is fullness then there is no sense of loss even when we are giving.
Q2. how do we translate this knowledge into practical application? why is there a gap between our understanding and our actions?
guruji - our knowledge is like the sugar that has been added to a cup of tea. the tea still tastes bitter because we have not stirred the sugar. similarly the knowledge that we acquire has to be assimilated within us and then it will automatically reflect in our actions. and the way to get the knowledge assimilated in us is through regular 'satsang'.
Q3. when should i strive to achieve and when should i accept things as they are? how do i know the difference and find the balance.
guruji - 'strive to accept'!
in everything we do there are two aspects :
1. we have to put in effort and do certain things
2. we have to just let it happen.
eg. eating food. we have to put in effort to eat the food. and then we just allow the digestion to happen. or when gardening or farming we put in effort with respect to preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, etc. but finally we have to just let the plants grow. there is nothing we can do at this stage.
we have to use our 'vivek' to know what i can and must do and when to step aside and let it happen. as gurudev used to say, 'do the best, and leave the rest'.
Q4. we expect and do things for others and then we get disappointed. how do we handle this?
guruji - don't expect. but then you might think this is very impractical.
1. our expectations have to be right. eg. we should not expect sweetness from salt. then there will be no disappointment.
2. we should expect according to the ability of the person. be reasonable in our expectations.
do not insist on fulfilment of our expectations. in fact we should always remember that we are not able to fulfil our expectations from ourselves. we have so many unfulfilled expectations from ourselves. so then how can we get disappointed when others cannot fulfil our expectations from them.
Q5. why can't other people accept me as i am?
guruji - if we truly accept others as they are, then there is a good chance that they will also accept us as we are!
Q6. what if others have unrealistic expectations from us? how do we cope?
guruji - we should make our limitations clear upfront. if we can satisfy the expectation, then do it immediately. and if we cannot, then make it clear. be truthful and honest. let people know, 'if you have expectations from me, then please tell me clearly'.
guruji addressed the audience of almost 250+ people (click here to read the synopsis) which was then followed by a very interesting question and answer session. here is a synopsis of the QnA session.
Q1. is 'samata' a zero-sum game? it almost sounds like we have to keep adjusting and accepting whatever happens with respect to people, objects and experiences. this could mean that we lose in many of the interactions. can it ever be a win-win deal?
guruji's answer - no. samata is not possible without fullness. when there is fullness then there is no sense of loss even when we are giving.
Q2. how do we translate this knowledge into practical application? why is there a gap between our understanding and our actions?
guruji - our knowledge is like the sugar that has been added to a cup of tea. the tea still tastes bitter because we have not stirred the sugar. similarly the knowledge that we acquire has to be assimilated within us and then it will automatically reflect in our actions. and the way to get the knowledge assimilated in us is through regular 'satsang'.
Q3. when should i strive to achieve and when should i accept things as they are? how do i know the difference and find the balance.
guruji - 'strive to accept'!
in everything we do there are two aspects :
1. we have to put in effort and do certain things
2. we have to just let it happen.
eg. eating food. we have to put in effort to eat the food. and then we just allow the digestion to happen. or when gardening or farming we put in effort with respect to preparing the soil, sowing the seeds, etc. but finally we have to just let the plants grow. there is nothing we can do at this stage.
we have to use our 'vivek' to know what i can and must do and when to step aside and let it happen. as gurudev used to say, 'do the best, and leave the rest'.
Q4. we expect and do things for others and then we get disappointed. how do we handle this?
guruji - don't expect. but then you might think this is very impractical.
1. our expectations have to be right. eg. we should not expect sweetness from salt. then there will be no disappointment.
2. we should expect according to the ability of the person. be reasonable in our expectations.
do not insist on fulfilment of our expectations. in fact we should always remember that we are not able to fulfil our expectations from ourselves. we have so many unfulfilled expectations from ourselves. so then how can we get disappointed when others cannot fulfil our expectations from them.
Q5. why can't other people accept me as i am?
guruji - if we truly accept others as they are, then there is a good chance that they will also accept us as we are!
Q6. what if others have unrealistic expectations from us? how do we cope?
guruji - we should make our limitations clear upfront. if we can satisfy the expectation, then do it immediately. and if we cannot, then make it clear. be truthful and honest. let people know, 'if you have expectations from me, then please tell me clearly'.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
basking in the light - IX
guruji was invited for a satsang by shri ajay piramal on 2nd september 2007 at their nicholas piramal office complex to commemorate the completion of 5 years of their study class which is conducted by br. sattvikaji.
the program started with bhajans by the chinmaya swaranjali and by one of the study class members.
shri ajay piramal then spoke about his association with the mission, the study class and how the study of the geeta had made a significant difference in his personal and professional life. he thanked guruji for sending sattvikaji to conduct the study class at their office.
guruji then addressed the audience of more than 200 people. the following is a brief synopsis of the same.
the title of the talk was 'practical application of the bhagwad geeta in daily life'. guruji started off by saying that the topic can be divided into 3 parts - 1. practical application, 2. the bhagwad geeta and 3. daily life.
starting with daily life, he said that our daily life is typically a routine of waking up, freshening up, going about our daily chores or work and then retiring at the end of the day to rest.
but if we were to analyse our daily life we then realise that we are essentially dealing with people, material things and situations or events. so life can be defined as perceptions from these 3 sources and our response to them. and everybody has to respond, there is not escaping that.
now our responses to these perceptions tend to be different at different points of time. and different people tend to respond differently to the same situation.
and most of the time we realise that there is a gap between our knowledge and our response. though we know what we should or should not do, we are not able to act upon this knowledge. and this is because the knowledge has not been assimilated into us.
imagine we were given a glass of milk and as we are about to drink it, if someone were to tell us that there is poison mixed in the milk we would immediately refrain from drinking the milk. here the knowledge is there, it has been assimilated and there is understanding and therefore immediate application of the knowledge.
but this is not the case with us in all other aspects. eg. when we learn that happiness is not in objects, we are not completely convinced. therefore there is no application in life.
ramtirthji used to narrate a story of a mad man who announced to all the children that the landlord is having some celebrations in his house with lights and crackers and he would be distributing sweets at a particular time. the children all rush to the landlord's house, only to find that there is nothing happening there. but they are surprised to find the mad man also waiting there. so they confront him and ask him whether he knew that there would be no celebration, the mad said he knew. so the children enquire why then was waiting at the landlord's house to which the mad man replies that he did not want to miss the celebration just in case there happened to be one!
we are like the mad man; though we have the knowledge it has not been assimilated within us. but once this assimilation takes place, then there would automatically be application of the knowledge. so the point is, once we understand what the scriptures say, we must bring it into our life and use it.
now the point is, 'why do we suffer?'. one obvious reason is 'thoughtless action'. this is also the reason why transformation does not take place in our lives. but another equally important problem is 'actionless thought'. and when we do not act for some time then even out thoughts will change. eg. we might resolve to wake up everyday at 5 am. but we keep making excuses till we are intellectually convinced that we do not need to wake up at 5 am. our karma should be according to our buddhi and not the other way around!
now one watchword in the gita is 'samata' or equanimity. now equanimity has different connotations with respect to objects, people and experiences.
1. with respect to objects - these are all material objects like house, car, jewellery, etc. now all these objects have a place in the scheme of things in our life and they have their value. we should give due value to them , but not undue value.
(here guruji quoted one of rahim's dohas which says that when there is a need for a needle there is no point in using a sword.)
we usually confuse the objects with its value and give it more importance than the person. here guruji narrated a story of a very rich man who had a poor sister. this man was not kind to his sister and was very rude to her and would never invite her to any of the functions or celebrations in his house. after some time the sister becomes very rich. the brother then invites her for a party. she arrives at his decked with a lot of jewellery. when the food is served she takes off her jewellery and starts feeding it separately. the brother is annoyed and irritated and asks her what she is doing. she explains that she realises that it is her jewellery which was invited for the party and not her, and that is why she is feeding the jewellery.
2. with respect to experiences - experiences are pairs of opposites - heat & cold at body level, joy and sorrow at mental level and honor and dishonor at intellectual level. these experiences affect everyone. equanimity in experiences would mean freedom from our personal likes and dislikes.
if we accept one experience then we should learn to accept the opposite also. or we should reject both. if something comes our way we should welcome it; and when it goes away we shouldn't stop it.
we can look at this in different ways - a devotee says it is god's will; another says it is the result of my karma; and another says that these are only appearances and not the truth. we can adopt whichever option we prefer, else we only keep swinging from one extreme to another.
3. with respect to people - people can be of any of the following categories - well-wisher, friend, enemy, neutral, mediator (well-wisher of both), someone we dislike for no reason, relation, one who helps everyone, unrighteous.
guruji said that when he read about jesus christ saying 'love thy neighbor' his first reaction was that this is a limited, narrow vision. he then later realised that this is very apt. we are able to love people all over, but it is living with our near and dear one which is difficult.
when someone far away criticises us it doesn't bother us. but when its someone near to us then we feel upset.
about equanimity in relation to people, shankaracharya says we should learn to accept them as they are. eg. we accept fruits and flowers as they are; we enjoy all animals in a safari and accept them as they are. similarly fire is hot and we accept it. we don't complain about it, instead we use it. in the same way we should accept people and adjust ourselves accordingly.
there is no point in constantly complaining. here guruji gave an example of socrates whose wife was a nag and who once berated him when he was with people and then poured a bucket of water over him in anger. his friends asked him how he could accept this. he responded by saying that there is usually a shower after a thunderstorm.
so we should first learn to accept people and then, only if authorised, can we advise them.
so 'samata' is the constant in all the 3 - objects, experiences and people.
we have to keep reflecting on this.
---------------------
there was also a wonderful question & answer session after this. that would be put up in a separate post.
the program started with bhajans by the chinmaya swaranjali and by one of the study class members.
shri ajay piramal then spoke about his association with the mission, the study class and how the study of the geeta had made a significant difference in his personal and professional life. he thanked guruji for sending sattvikaji to conduct the study class at their office.
guruji then addressed the audience of more than 200 people. the following is a brief synopsis of the same.
the title of the talk was 'practical application of the bhagwad geeta in daily life'. guruji started off by saying that the topic can be divided into 3 parts - 1. practical application, 2. the bhagwad geeta and 3. daily life.
starting with daily life, he said that our daily life is typically a routine of waking up, freshening up, going about our daily chores or work and then retiring at the end of the day to rest.
but if we were to analyse our daily life we then realise that we are essentially dealing with people, material things and situations or events. so life can be defined as perceptions from these 3 sources and our response to them. and everybody has to respond, there is not escaping that.
now our responses to these perceptions tend to be different at different points of time. and different people tend to respond differently to the same situation.
and most of the time we realise that there is a gap between our knowledge and our response. though we know what we should or should not do, we are not able to act upon this knowledge. and this is because the knowledge has not been assimilated into us.
imagine we were given a glass of milk and as we are about to drink it, if someone were to tell us that there is poison mixed in the milk we would immediately refrain from drinking the milk. here the knowledge is there, it has been assimilated and there is understanding and therefore immediate application of the knowledge.
but this is not the case with us in all other aspects. eg. when we learn that happiness is not in objects, we are not completely convinced. therefore there is no application in life.
ramtirthji used to narrate a story of a mad man who announced to all the children that the landlord is having some celebrations in his house with lights and crackers and he would be distributing sweets at a particular time. the children all rush to the landlord's house, only to find that there is nothing happening there. but they are surprised to find the mad man also waiting there. so they confront him and ask him whether he knew that there would be no celebration, the mad said he knew. so the children enquire why then was waiting at the landlord's house to which the mad man replies that he did not want to miss the celebration just in case there happened to be one!
we are like the mad man; though we have the knowledge it has not been assimilated within us. but once this assimilation takes place, then there would automatically be application of the knowledge. so the point is, once we understand what the scriptures say, we must bring it into our life and use it.
now the point is, 'why do we suffer?'. one obvious reason is 'thoughtless action'. this is also the reason why transformation does not take place in our lives. but another equally important problem is 'actionless thought'. and when we do not act for some time then even out thoughts will change. eg. we might resolve to wake up everyday at 5 am. but we keep making excuses till we are intellectually convinced that we do not need to wake up at 5 am. our karma should be according to our buddhi and not the other way around!
now one watchword in the gita is 'samata' or equanimity. now equanimity has different connotations with respect to objects, people and experiences.
1. with respect to objects - these are all material objects like house, car, jewellery, etc. now all these objects have a place in the scheme of things in our life and they have their value. we should give due value to them , but not undue value.
(here guruji quoted one of rahim's dohas which says that when there is a need for a needle there is no point in using a sword.)
we usually confuse the objects with its value and give it more importance than the person. here guruji narrated a story of a very rich man who had a poor sister. this man was not kind to his sister and was very rude to her and would never invite her to any of the functions or celebrations in his house. after some time the sister becomes very rich. the brother then invites her for a party. she arrives at his decked with a lot of jewellery. when the food is served she takes off her jewellery and starts feeding it separately. the brother is annoyed and irritated and asks her what she is doing. she explains that she realises that it is her jewellery which was invited for the party and not her, and that is why she is feeding the jewellery.
2. with respect to experiences - experiences are pairs of opposites - heat & cold at body level, joy and sorrow at mental level and honor and dishonor at intellectual level. these experiences affect everyone. equanimity in experiences would mean freedom from our personal likes and dislikes.
if we accept one experience then we should learn to accept the opposite also. or we should reject both. if something comes our way we should welcome it; and when it goes away we shouldn't stop it.
we can look at this in different ways - a devotee says it is god's will; another says it is the result of my karma; and another says that these are only appearances and not the truth. we can adopt whichever option we prefer, else we only keep swinging from one extreme to another.
3. with respect to people - people can be of any of the following categories - well-wisher, friend, enemy, neutral, mediator (well-wisher of both), someone we dislike for no reason, relation, one who helps everyone, unrighteous.
guruji said that when he read about jesus christ saying 'love thy neighbor' his first reaction was that this is a limited, narrow vision. he then later realised that this is very apt. we are able to love people all over, but it is living with our near and dear one which is difficult.
when someone far away criticises us it doesn't bother us. but when its someone near to us then we feel upset.
about equanimity in relation to people, shankaracharya says we should learn to accept them as they are. eg. we accept fruits and flowers as they are; we enjoy all animals in a safari and accept them as they are. similarly fire is hot and we accept it. we don't complain about it, instead we use it. in the same way we should accept people and adjust ourselves accordingly.
there is no point in constantly complaining. here guruji gave an example of socrates whose wife was a nag and who once berated him when he was with people and then poured a bucket of water over him in anger. his friends asked him how he could accept this. he responded by saying that there is usually a shower after a thunderstorm.
so we should first learn to accept people and then, only if authorised, can we advise them.
so 'samata' is the constant in all the 3 - objects, experiences and people.
we have to keep reflecting on this.
---------------------
there was also a wonderful question & answer session after this. that would be put up in a separate post.
Friday, August 24, 2007
basking in the light - VIII
this is a transcript of a talk given by swami tejomayanandaji during the valedictory address of the corporate workshop titled 'transforming work-places through self-awareness' at sandeepany sadhanalaya on 24th july 2007.
you can hear the actual talk at the following link - address by guruji
it is a must-read & must-hear for everybody, but more so for working professionals.
------------
"when i was being introduced, i remembered a joke.
there was a public function and the secretary introduced the chief guest. and he heaped a lot of praise with many adjectives and words used. after listening to this the chief guest said something which i also would like to say today - before i begin my speech i would like to apologise for two things. one is that the secretary said so many things about me which were an exaggeration, for which i apologise. and the second apology is because i enjoyed it!
for a minute i was wondering who she was talking about. that may be because of her love and devotion. anyway, that apart...
i am glad you were here the whole day, and from the few impressions that i heard it seems that you also enjoyed it and liked the sessions. and you found the sessions useful and purposeful which is a very good thing to hear. because, without keeping come purpose in our mind we don't do anything. and the purpose for which we do something, if that is achieved, then naturally we feel happy!
so, our purpose was to introduce spirituality at the work-place. and this was only an introduction as you yourself have seen. so our purpose is achieved. and the first step is that we enjoy what we hear. and if we enjoy then there is a possibility that we will do it more.
one thing is, when you listen to swamis and sanyasis one thought may be crossing your mind - these swamis can sit and preach and say many things, but if we put them in the work-place will they be able to put all this into practice themselves? some people might have a thought that maybe because this person could not do much at the work-place he took up sanyas!
as the popular saying goes - those who can, do. and those who can't, teach!
and there was a teacher who did not like this quotation. and so decided to add to it - and those who cannot do either, write about it!
so people always feel it is very easy for these swamis to sit and say all this. i also hear one of you mention that when you hear all this it appears easy, but it is easier said than done. and you think, 'i hope it is as easy to implement'.
in this regard i would like to say only thing, and that is, 'just do it!'.
if you yourself say it is difficult or i don't know whether it is possible then it will become difficult. i had read the definition of 'short-cut' - a shortcut is the longest distance between two points! think about it. every time we think it is better to take the shortcut we realise that it would have been better to take the highway itself!
and i have noticed that a person who wants a shortcut will find even the shortest route to be very long. but on the other hand, if a person is ready to walk a long way then the long way will itself seem like a short distance, because somebody will give him a ride. and he will go very fast. therefore don't look for shortcuts. and don't look for easy way of doing things. then you will feel that the so-called difficult things have become easy! and the long distances become short. this is possible.
also, in this full day's session, you must have heard that ultimately you have to change yourself. even though i have not attended the sessions i know this is what would have been said from a spiritual perspective. because the complete bottom-line is this statement.
'you' have to have self-awareness, 'you' have to have self-improvement, 'you' have to..., 'you' have to... it all finally comes back to 'you' alone.
there was this lady who had heard too much about self-improvement. she went to a book-store and there too she saw an entire section of books on self-improvement. she got fed up and asked the salesman, 'don't you have any books on improving others?'.
but such a thought sometimes does come to our mind. how long can i improve myself? but the truth is ultimately this alone. therefore we have to go to these basics.
since i have not worked directly in a corporate environment, i was asking someone - what is the meaning of transforming the work-place? i was told - you see, there is lot of tension. especially during the appraisal time. there is a lot of tension. and then when somebody else gets the promotion, you think that that person is far inferior in terms of performance and you wonder how that person got a promotion while you didn't get one. so you see there is a lot of tension. and of course, there is also jealousy. and anger and frustration. so all these things happen.
so now, what does one do about this? this keeps happening. and we cannot change suddenly. we can only change the curtains and maybe change the flowers everyday. and hope that the atmosphere will change. but does work? only outer cosmetic changes? no, it does not change.
in our traditional language there is only one answer on how to change. and it is called 'satsang'. now when we hear it, it sounds very orthodox. but 'sat' means reality or truth. and 'sang' means association. the when you live in association with the truth - the truth of life, the truth of every experience, the truth of everything - you will change.
generally what is understood as satsang is that 'you live in the company of wise people'. and only then you will you get the right understanding - binu satsang koi vivek na hoi! this is a famous line from the ramacharitmanas. without this association with the wise people we do not get the right understanding. and this is required continuously. it is not a one-day workshop or a seminar. your whole life has to be geared towards that. then it will happen.
and to release this tension i will tell you two things. one is from the standpoint of knowledge. and that is 'you look upon everyone, with all those you are working with, as your own self'! this may sound very difficult at this moment. but you look upon them. and then you see what happens.
once i had gone to a meeting of all medical doctors. this was a few years ago. and it was in bihar. and at that time in bihar rabri devi was made the chief minister. and there was a very highly-qualified lady doctor at that meeting and she was looking very agitated. and she said to me, 'swamiji, what has happened to our country? look at this, who has become the chief minister!'
so i told her, 'why are you so agitated? suppose she was your sister?' the lady suddenly laughed. and then she paused. suddenly she realised that her thoughts would have been very different.
i once read something very nice on a truck. our trucks are very enlightening. they write such wonderful wisdom. one such statement i liked very much - jalo mat, bhgwan tumko bhi dega! (don't be jealous, god will also give you!)
so you look upon another as your own self, your own family member. so when your son does better than you, you feel proud about it. similarly if someone else has got a promotion you should feel that that person must have done better, very good! even in cricket when a batsman hits a very good shot but some player manages a very difficult catch. the batsman is declared out. but he goes to the player and congratulates him on a beautiful piece of fielding. we should have that kind of magnanimity. when you appreciate the others who have done better you will suddenly find that your whole outlook changes. and when you are relaxed, people around you are also relaxed! to a great extent.
this is one way of looking at this.
and the second way is - devotion.
now this may appeal to some people. but if there are atheists, then they will say that i don't believe in any god. so it may not appeal to them.
devotion to god. now we are always worried whether other people know what we are doing or not, whether we will be appreciated or not. but if you have the thought in your mind that ultimately god knows. then that is what counts.
once somebody told me that the chinmaya mission is doing a lot of work and a lot of social work, so we should do a lot of publicity. i asked him - why? the person for whom we are doing this work knows. and god also knows. and there ends the matter.
so you do relax. please relax. so whichever way you would like to look at the situation, this way or that way, suddenly you will find that you are relaxed.
and when you are relaxed it is more infectious than your common cold. other people will also start feeling relaxed.
i think this is the way. but like i said, continuous satsang is required. it doesn't come in just one day or two days. but when you do it again and again, it will, there is no doubt about it.
with this i conclude my remarks and i invoke god's grace and pujya gurudev's blessings on one and all for a very happy, peaceful, purposeful, and successful life.
thank you very much!
--------------------------------------
you can hear the actual talk at the following link - address by guruji
it is a must-read & must-hear for everybody, but more so for working professionals.
------------
"when i was being introduced, i remembered a joke.
there was a public function and the secretary introduced the chief guest. and he heaped a lot of praise with many adjectives and words used. after listening to this the chief guest said something which i also would like to say today - before i begin my speech i would like to apologise for two things. one is that the secretary said so many things about me which were an exaggeration, for which i apologise. and the second apology is because i enjoyed it!
for a minute i was wondering who she was talking about. that may be because of her love and devotion. anyway, that apart...
i am glad you were here the whole day, and from the few impressions that i heard it seems that you also enjoyed it and liked the sessions. and you found the sessions useful and purposeful which is a very good thing to hear. because, without keeping come purpose in our mind we don't do anything. and the purpose for which we do something, if that is achieved, then naturally we feel happy!
so, our purpose was to introduce spirituality at the work-place. and this was only an introduction as you yourself have seen. so our purpose is achieved. and the first step is that we enjoy what we hear. and if we enjoy then there is a possibility that we will do it more.
one thing is, when you listen to swamis and sanyasis one thought may be crossing your mind - these swamis can sit and preach and say many things, but if we put them in the work-place will they be able to put all this into practice themselves? some people might have a thought that maybe because this person could not do much at the work-place he took up sanyas!
as the popular saying goes - those who can, do. and those who can't, teach!
and there was a teacher who did not like this quotation. and so decided to add to it - and those who cannot do either, write about it!
so people always feel it is very easy for these swamis to sit and say all this. i also hear one of you mention that when you hear all this it appears easy, but it is easier said than done. and you think, 'i hope it is as easy to implement'.
in this regard i would like to say only thing, and that is, 'just do it!'.
if you yourself say it is difficult or i don't know whether it is possible then it will become difficult. i had read the definition of 'short-cut' - a shortcut is the longest distance between two points! think about it. every time we think it is better to take the shortcut we realise that it would have been better to take the highway itself!
and i have noticed that a person who wants a shortcut will find even the shortest route to be very long. but on the other hand, if a person is ready to walk a long way then the long way will itself seem like a short distance, because somebody will give him a ride. and he will go very fast. therefore don't look for shortcuts. and don't look for easy way of doing things. then you will feel that the so-called difficult things have become easy! and the long distances become short. this is possible.
also, in this full day's session, you must have heard that ultimately you have to change yourself. even though i have not attended the sessions i know this is what would have been said from a spiritual perspective. because the complete bottom-line is this statement.
'you' have to have self-awareness, 'you' have to have self-improvement, 'you' have to..., 'you' have to... it all finally comes back to 'you' alone.
there was this lady who had heard too much about self-improvement. she went to a book-store and there too she saw an entire section of books on self-improvement. she got fed up and asked the salesman, 'don't you have any books on improving others?'.
but such a thought sometimes does come to our mind. how long can i improve myself? but the truth is ultimately this alone. therefore we have to go to these basics.
since i have not worked directly in a corporate environment, i was asking someone - what is the meaning of transforming the work-place? i was told - you see, there is lot of tension. especially during the appraisal time. there is a lot of tension. and then when somebody else gets the promotion, you think that that person is far inferior in terms of performance and you wonder how that person got a promotion while you didn't get one. so you see there is a lot of tension. and of course, there is also jealousy. and anger and frustration. so all these things happen.
so now, what does one do about this? this keeps happening. and we cannot change suddenly. we can only change the curtains and maybe change the flowers everyday. and hope that the atmosphere will change. but does work? only outer cosmetic changes? no, it does not change.
in our traditional language there is only one answer on how to change. and it is called 'satsang'. now when we hear it, it sounds very orthodox. but 'sat' means reality or truth. and 'sang' means association. the when you live in association with the truth - the truth of life, the truth of every experience, the truth of everything - you will change.
generally what is understood as satsang is that 'you live in the company of wise people'. and only then you will you get the right understanding - binu satsang koi vivek na hoi! this is a famous line from the ramacharitmanas. without this association with the wise people we do not get the right understanding. and this is required continuously. it is not a one-day workshop or a seminar. your whole life has to be geared towards that. then it will happen.
and to release this tension i will tell you two things. one is from the standpoint of knowledge. and that is 'you look upon everyone, with all those you are working with, as your own self'! this may sound very difficult at this moment. but you look upon them. and then you see what happens.
once i had gone to a meeting of all medical doctors. this was a few years ago. and it was in bihar. and at that time in bihar rabri devi was made the chief minister. and there was a very highly-qualified lady doctor at that meeting and she was looking very agitated. and she said to me, 'swamiji, what has happened to our country? look at this, who has become the chief minister!'
so i told her, 'why are you so agitated? suppose she was your sister?' the lady suddenly laughed. and then she paused. suddenly she realised that her thoughts would have been very different.
i once read something very nice on a truck. our trucks are very enlightening. they write such wonderful wisdom. one such statement i liked very much - jalo mat, bhgwan tumko bhi dega! (don't be jealous, god will also give you!)
so you look upon another as your own self, your own family member. so when your son does better than you, you feel proud about it. similarly if someone else has got a promotion you should feel that that person must have done better, very good! even in cricket when a batsman hits a very good shot but some player manages a very difficult catch. the batsman is declared out. but he goes to the player and congratulates him on a beautiful piece of fielding. we should have that kind of magnanimity. when you appreciate the others who have done better you will suddenly find that your whole outlook changes. and when you are relaxed, people around you are also relaxed! to a great extent.
this is one way of looking at this.
and the second way is - devotion.
now this may appeal to some people. but if there are atheists, then they will say that i don't believe in any god. so it may not appeal to them.
devotion to god. now we are always worried whether other people know what we are doing or not, whether we will be appreciated or not. but if you have the thought in your mind that ultimately god knows. then that is what counts.
once somebody told me that the chinmaya mission is doing a lot of work and a lot of social work, so we should do a lot of publicity. i asked him - why? the person for whom we are doing this work knows. and god also knows. and there ends the matter.
so you do relax. please relax. so whichever way you would like to look at the situation, this way or that way, suddenly you will find that you are relaxed.
and when you are relaxed it is more infectious than your common cold. other people will also start feeling relaxed.
i think this is the way. but like i said, continuous satsang is required. it doesn't come in just one day or two days. but when you do it again and again, it will, there is no doubt about it.
with this i conclude my remarks and i invoke god's grace and pujya gurudev's blessings on one and all for a very happy, peaceful, purposeful, and successful life.
thank you very much!
--------------------------------------
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
basking in the light - VII
a devotee was discussing with guruji about a new job offer that she was considering. the job that she currently had was a comfortable, flexible one, which helped her spend adequate time at home also… guruji asked her the reason that she was planning to explore the new opportunity. she responded that one of the key factors was for better remuneration. then he went on to explain to her all about money, wealth and richness in his inimitable and precise style.
to summarise:
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, june 2007
to summarise:
- we need to get our priorities in life right… understand what your priorities are at this moment and take a decision accordingly – any job that pays you more will demand more of you.
- find out what your duty / passion is and do the same diligently. that is most important.
- however much you run after money, however much you earn, what will remain is the “bottom-line”. the amount that will remain with you for your use will only be as much as you are entitled to. so there is no point in hankering after lots of money – it may transit your way but not remain with you…
- who is a rich person? if you need Rs. 10 today and you have Rs 10 with you – you are a rich person. that is all there is to it… if at any point in time you have what you need you can consider yourself rich. think about it – all the surplus is just lying in some bank or investments and not with ‘you’ to meet your needs…
- what is important and needs to be preserved in one’s life is one’s integrity, which is mostly irretrievable once it is lost – wealth once lost can be regained but this is not so with one’s character /integrity.
he explained the same with an anecdote from the story of akbar and birbal. when akbar went to attend an important function, he was welcomed with the traditional “attar”. when it was being put on him, a drop fell to the floor, which he instinctively bent down to pick up and apply on himself. then he felt ashamed that he a 'jahanpannah' (master of the universe) had stooped to pick up a drop of scent fallen on the floor and quickly looked around to see if anyone saw him doing the same. his eyes caught birbal’s who smiled a small smile to indicate that he had noticed.. akbar was irritated and when he went back, he ordered that a tank full of attar be offered to birbal to have a bath in… birbal responded by telling the emperor that he would not be able to regain what he had lost by a drop with a barrelful – the dignity that he lost by stooping to pick up a drop could not be regained later by offering a barrelful of the same in charity… same is the case with integrity – once lost is gone forever… - the next important thing in life is faith – the same power that has sustained us till today will also take care of us going forward – the unshakable faith that “ab tak tho nibhaayaa hai, aage bhi nibhaayenge…” (lord has been with us till now, and he will also be with us in the future!).
here he mentioned that one of the best quotes he has seen painted on the back of a truck “Jalo math – tumko bhi milega” (don't burn with jealousy, you too will get your share). have that faith and that will take us through… - the third aspect is the constant remembrance of the lord – guruji said that these are the things that he prays for – all else will follow…
in an earlier discussion with the same devotee, guruji had emphasized the importance of maintaining good health and not running after wealth at the cost of one’s health. if one’s health is a problem, no amount of wealth will be able to make up for the misery one feels.
so in summary, while explaining the philosophy of wealth, guruji taught us what we should ask for / aspire for –
- doing one’s duty with integrity
- faith in the power that has sustained us this far and
- constant remembrance of the lord
…everything else is secondary!
- sandeepany sadhanalaya, june 2007
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