satsang with guruji - 16th dec 07

(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.