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.

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"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!



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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:

• 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

basking in the light - VI

chyk (chinmaya yuva kendra) mumbai had called for a youth meet at sandeepany sadhanalaya on 15th july 2007. guruji (swami tejomayanadaji) addressed the youngsters. this is a brief synopsis of that talk :

guruji started off with a joke about a speaker who was asked to address a group of students. the speaker said he was from yale and started off by saying that the letter y from yale stood for 'youth'. he then spoke to them for about 20 mins on this topic. he then said the 'a' stood for ambition and then spoke about this for 30 mins. he explained that the 'l' stood for love and waxed eloquent about love for 15 mins and then finally said that 'e' stood for enthusiasm which he continued to speak about for a final 20 mins.

when he asked the audience for feedback about his talk one youngster piped up and said that the talk was good but that they were very glad that he was not from massachusetts!

guruji said he would keep his talk brief, and as is his style he managed to convey everything so wonderfully within the truncated time available to him.

he said that the older generation usually perceived the youth as 'people who know nothing but think they know everything'. at the same time the youth believe that the elders do not understand anything.

he then shared something he had read which was very apt - 'by the time you realise your father was right, you already have a son who thinks you are wrong!'

another common perception about the youth is that they are 'rash'. and this is best exemplified by their driving antics on the roads. a father tells his son who is a rash driver that 'it is better to be late here by a few hours, than to be early 'up there' by a few years!'

guruji said that youth is a phase when you find a contradiction - there is maximum energy levels among the youth, and you also find maximum levels of frustration!

most youngsters want to express themselves freely, revolt against convention and they consider themselves independent thinkers. but you also find that they are also blind followers of things that are considered 'cool' and 'different'.

the youth tend to have many questions. but its also important to ask the questions, ask the questions of the right person who can guide you with the answers, and have the courage to accept the answers. a fundamental quality required is 'humility' which is essential to be able to learn anything.

here guruji shared a beautiful story from the ramayana where hanumanji who has just been made aware of his powers by jambavan was very eager to cross the ocean, destroy lanka, kill ravana and get back seetaji. but then he suddenly realises that he might be getting carried away and so he decides to ask jambavan for guidance.

the point is that one should have the humility to say 'i don't know'!

here guruji mentioned a well-known saying among the armed forces - 'the more and more you sweat in peace; the less and less you will bleed in war'. similarly we should use our youth to work hard and prepare for life.

this is the aim of chyk - to harness youth potential to give them the right vision so that they can aim high in life.

he then referred to our shanti-path (peace invocation) where it is pointed out that success depends on mutual effort so that there is fruitful discussion and success and true transformation!

- saraswati nilayam, sandeepany sadhanalaya, july 15, 2007

for those who missed these sessions

in the last two Q&A sessions, br. sattvikaji spoke about the 'laws of action' and about the 'art of time management'.

the presentations are available for you to download and view at the following links :

http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/laws+of+action.ppt

http://groups.google.com/group/whats-on-your-mind---kalina-talks/web/Time+Management+-+final.ppt

as part of the 'what's on your mind?' series, we have now embarked on a systematic study of the bhagwad geeta with sattvikaji as our guide. the first session was completed on 5th july where we are getting introduced to the great scripture through the 'dhyana shlokas'. sattvikaji will be completing the dhyana shlokas in his next talk on 2nd august. and then we will have the exposition of each chapter of the bhagwad geeta on the first thursday of each month.

you can derive maximum benefit from this series of talks by attending these sessions. we will also try our best to keep you updated by posting the summary of each talk on this blog.

basking in the light - V

we were assembled in guruji's kutiya discussing the plans for the ceos' seminar that was being planned in mumbai. anil sachdevji was visiting from delhi and he was to be one of the speakers along with guruji for this program.

towards the end of the discussion a gentleman entered the kutiya. he was wearing a tie and looked like a senior person from some corporate. anilji then introduced him to guruji as one of the directors in one of the large indian corporate giants. after exchanging pleasantries, anilji mentioned an interesting anecdote which was the reason the gentleman had arrived there that morning.

on one of his previous visits to the ashram, after anilji had met guruji and was on his way back to his hotel after taking prasad from guruji, he noticed that this above-mentioned gentleman's cell-phone number had inexplicably appeared on his (anilji's) cell-phone. he took this as a sign that there must be some reason for this and decided to drop into this gentleman's office which was just a stone's throw away.

when he reached his office, the gentleman informed him that he had dropped into office only for a couple of hours and was now about to leave to accompany his wife to the hospital for her chemo-therapy since she was afflicted with cancer. anilji immediately gave him the prasad which he had received and asked the gentleman to give it to his wife and that it would give her some solace & strength.

the gentleman did give the prasad to his wife and this act had a great impact on this lady.

many months later, when anilji informed this gentleman that he was going to be in mumbai and that he could drop into the ashram in case he wanted to meet guruji. the gentleman's wife wanted him to go and meet guruji.

the gentleman, being a very senior official, had a very important meeting that same morning and he had forgotten this directive once he got into the meeting. he then received an sms from his wife reminding him to go and meet guruji. he then decided that he had to meet guruji and decided to come to the ashram.

guruji heard this narrative patiently and then enquired about her health and progress of the treatment. he then asked him to visit the ashram and meet at leisure and to bring his wife along too.

this simple act of love and caring by guruji won the gentleman's heart and he left shortly. it was obvious that he would soon return!

- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 12th june 2007

basking in the light - IV

many of us know that guruji is a great lover of music. when he is listening to music you can see that he is in a completely different plane. he is able to deeply experience the music.

this is one of the reasons that some of the greatest musicians in the country are able to instantly connect with him. the common thread is the divinity that music invokes in them - the musician, the aficionado and the music. in its purest form.

one evening we were assembled in guruji's kutiya after dinner. guruji suddenly popped a question at us - what is the definition of music? he wanted each one of us to share our understanding and definition of music.

each one of us tried to outdo the other in trying to define music. some called it a pleasant rhythmic arrangement of sounds; some a garland of notes; while some other called it the voice of the soul. but everybody knew that none of these definitions were able to completely define music.

finally guruji defined music as 'the adornment of silence'!

he likened it to the adornment on a bride at her wedding. he said that the bride may be beautiful, but the adornments enhance and emphasise the beauty of the bride. similarly music helps us to appreciate the beauty of the silence. and the entire attempt of music is to help us focus on that silence and the divinity that lies therein!

this was the most profound and apt definition of music that i have ever come across.

- sandeepany sadhanalaya, 2006

cell-phone vedanta

Cell-Phone Vedanta

The cell-phone has almost become a necessity today. This modern instrument is not only very helpful in communication between people but it can also communicate the deepest spiritual truths to us which can help us to face the challenges of life more courageously.

Given below are some parallels we can draw between the cell phone and spirituality :

1. The cellphone instrument is the body. Now-a-days we have phones with which we can take a photograph, see movies, download emails, etc. These are somewhat similar to sensory perceptions of eyes & ears.

2. The cell-phone memory is the mind on which all the impressions of the pictures, phone numbers, etc. are stored.

3. The antenna of the cell phone is the intellect.

4. The battery is the prana.

5. Spirit or Soul is the Electricity.

6. Cell phone number is the name of the individuality.

7. The charging of the cellphone-battery (Prana) is the regular intake of `food' that we take.

8. The charger (food) charges all parts of the phone. Similarly our food must be also holistic and include physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual food.

9. When the battery is low, the transmission and receiving is disturbed. When we do not have enough energy, then the functioning of BMI (Body/Mind/Intellect) is not very efficient.

10. All Incoming calls are free. Gurudev Swami Chinmayanandaji said –" Problems and challenges supplied to us – Free. We don't have to ask. They are given freely"

11. You can choose to attend a call, divert it, keep it on hold or ignore it.

12. Any challenge can be

1. Faced objectively (attending a call)
2. avoided or one runs away from it (not taking a call and pretending as if the call did not come. This avoidance is only temporary. The problem will `ring' back)
3. kept on hold (ruminate over the problem and get tensed. The call which has been kept on hold keeps beeping and one is disturbed in one's present conversation. A problem kept on hold disturbs one's actions sub-consciously)
4. Opportunity knocks on everyone's doors. But most of the times we are either `out' or `sleeping in'. This is the missed call.
5. When we are in the `home' location, incoming is free and outgoing is charged minimum. When we are in `OM' – our True Home, we are at peace and harmony.
6. When we are in the `roaming' area we pay extra charges for incoming and outgoing both. When we are`roaming' in the area of OET (Objects/Emotions/Thoughts) we pay `extra' charges.
7. Each cellphone though looking alike, is unique. Each one of us, though made up of BMI (made up of same 5 elements), is yet unique.
8. The SIM Card can be called as the Senses, Intellect & Mind. These can be removed from one cell and put into another. At death something similar happens. SIM from one body (Cell-phone instrument) is removed and put into another. The balance on the SIM Card is maintained on it even if it is transferred to another phone. The balance remains unaltered. Similarly, the account of our Karma is maintained in our SIM (Self Intellect Mind) and comes with us life after life.
9. The Cell-phone-Company is the Ishwara.
10. Just as all the cellphone users are linked to each other through the cell-phone-company, similarly all individuals are linked to each other through the Ishwara.
11. The electricity empowering (`illumining' is the Vedantic equivalent) the individual cell phone is the atman. Electricity empowering the cell-phone-company and the other cell-phones is Brahman. Atman and Brahman are one and the same.Tat Tvam Asi !
12. The usage of the cell-phone is the karma of the user (Ego). The karma-phala is the monthly bill. Whenever the karma-phala is not yet ready, it gets accumulated in the cell-phone-company (Ishwara) which sends the bill as and when the time is ripe.
13. Many cellphone users are too attached to the cellphone. They just can't switch it off. They are afraid and insecure - What will happen if I switch off? What if someone wants to contact me…..? Most of the individuals cannot switch off from BMI and its pleasures. One feels insecure – What will happen if I switch off? What if the family needs my help? How can I `realise' leaving them? etc.
14. A Sthitaprajna is one who can use the phone when required and switch off when required. He is not affected by either the usage or switching off. He is equanimous in both the cases. He uses it as a means for communication. Unlike others, his psychological security and peace do not depend on it.
15. Not everyone can afford a cellphone. Similarly, Human birth is rare and precious. Let us use the phone and not abuse it. Let us use the human birth and not abuse it.
    

- Br. Sattvika Chaitanya