Experiencing the Divine Presence

The word Divine according to the dictionary means "something pertaining to God, sacred", etc. Spiritually as I understand, Divinity means something that is beyond our comprehension, something beyond our senses, something beyond even mind and intellect, and something sooo.... extremely subtle. that it can ONLY be FELT in the deepest core of one's heart. But the experience is something that permeates one's whole Being. So the experience that we cannot comprehend, something that we can never know through our mind or intellect CAN BE EXPERIENCED. The experience can be so deep that one can FORGET everything else, even the conscious of self; or the consciousness of self is minimal. And that experience is what we call the experience of the PRESENCE within. 

It is such a state that one feels to continue to abide forever. When one is experiencing such a state, he feels that he is practically no more in this physical world, until he comes out. This experience is something that draws one more and more to dive deep into one's consciousness. This is possible only through Meditation or to one who is established permanently in this deepest consciousness possible. The deeper the meditation, the deeper and subtler the experience of the PRESENCE. And this is INFINITE journey, a never-ending journey. One has to keep continuing till one's consciousness permeates the whole Creation perhaps. Perhaps that is what is becoming ONE with the CREATOR. 

How does this experience happen?
This can be effected in a seeker who is restless to know the Reality in some way by a capable Guru or Master through His Divine impulse and then through Meditation ONLY, so far my understanding goes.

The Impact of this Experience on the self
To abide in this Experience or Taste in one's own self demands a particular Adjustment or Tuning of all our senses, mind, intellect, heart and body. This calls for discipline at all levels - physical, mental, intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual. As this can be experienced in the deepest core of one's heart till it becomes one's own nature, rest of the time one can involve himself IT's remembrance and utilse the time to discipline one's own self as mentioned above. And this is the transformation that one brings out in one's own self in order to merge in the Highest. 

Why should we experience this Presence?

Fortunately the Presence still continues to exist however feebly we may experience IT's Presence. The Rishis and Masters say that, That is our True Nature. This Presence being our True Self keeps pulling us till we respond the way we should. And Guru is somebody who can hasten up this process provided we cooperate. And Meditation the means. Sooner or later each soul has to yield to this Divine Pull. 

Impact of this pursuit on the external World
When every human being (as this pursuit can be possible ONLY for human beings) is engaged in this pursuit while discharging his/her own duties, there would be Peace, Love and Compassion everywhere. And this world or creation itself would become a Divine Abode in itself. Well that is the ideal which every seeker should consciously work for.
Let us all yield to this Divine Pull that is within at the earliest.

Let what I speak be the Voice of Inner Silence

To gain access to The Voice of Inner Silence (VoIS), the deepest thing within beyond which there is Nothing is not only difficult once we are willing to listen to, (following what it says comes later or it happens instantly) but ever elusive I feel. That is it appears we are able to listen to it and then unable to retain what it said. It demands great efforts and perseverance to just silence the other inner voices that are within to be able to clearly listen to this Voice of Purity.So what are these other voices inside? Apart from the audible gross sounds outside, the noise of the thoughts within, chaos of emotions within, erratic pulls of desires, burden of priorities, the very powerful retarding force of our tendencies all these form one great Force that does not allow one to listen to this VoIS. Human life is incomplete or NOT "paripoorna" unless we are alligned to this VoIS, so say the scriptures and all great Masters born on this planet Earth. So it is not only that we gain access to this Voice of Inner Silence, but we are to allign everything (that is becoming a hinderance to this pursuit) with the VoIS. It appears to be a Himalayan task or near-impossible task given our predicament. Nevertheless the VoIS does not leave us until we are in tune with It. Especially when one is awakened to this reality. It is as if one has no choice but to live by the dictates of this VoIS. But that is the only Voice that can bring Unity, harmony, peace, happiness into each individual self and consequently in the society. It is the departure from this reality that has created the state of affairs that we are currently in, both at micro level and also at a macro level. Come what may,somehow,  one has to make all-out efforts to let this VoIS be our speaking voice also eventually. Only our dedication this will decide the time that it takes for this to happen. 

No Guru No Spirituality

Spirituality is IMPOSSIBLE without a Guru. Guru the dispeller of darkness, the remover of ignorance and above all, is one who awakens. He is the one who is the path finder, one who illuminates the path for us and also offers supports the seeker along the path from start to finish with a commitment of a divine order. 

Guru is somebody who happens to the seeker and not a result of browsing across the pantheon of the so called Gurus, with one's limited capabilities. Guru can happen to fools, to intelligent or anybody who seeks to find. All that the seeker has to do is to earnestly yearn from the heart and wait. He can by no means judged by one's intellect, as spirituality is something beyond intellect and understanding. But yet the soul in everyone can recognise its Master or Guru once the opportunity presents itself.

The seeker normally does not really know what he/she is seeking. It is the Guru who even teaches what one should seek or what the goal of life is. Even in material life, one can hardly do without a teacher. Even to learn alphabets we need a teacher; what to speak of spirituality. 

The Guru is somebody grooms every aspect of our being, with infinite patience and infinite love to enable the seeker find what he has to find. It is as if somebody who has reached the destination comes down to where the seeker is and takes him up where he himself has reached. He keeps ferrying from the destination down to where the seeker is. Guru's job is the most painful commitment to himself as the seeker seldom cooperates. 

Guru is somebody who comes to rescue when one's self-effort does not help. He is a fellow super human being who has achieved this goal of divinisation. It is simply impossible to trek the spiritual path that is so slippery and complex without the support of an able Guru or Master.

To find a Guru all that has to be done on the part of the seeker is to pray intensely to the Ultimate Lord whoever He is and wait till He sends a Guide or a Guru to show the path; and recognise once he comes through one's heart and bind him forever.

May every soul seek such a Guru.

Fearlessness and Spirituality

"Fearlessness" - is the ideal state that every one aspires to. 

Fear is something that is opposed to growth. Fear of anything hiders the growth. Even the fear of Unknown restricts growth or evolution. Fear prevents movement. Fear corrupts thinking. And of course fear creates all inhibitions. And every fear is essentially a fear of death. If we can somehow overcome this fear of death, all other fears fade away automatically, it is said. 

The only way to get rid of this Fear is through discovering the True Love that is in each one of us. Fear is something that is obstructing its manifestation. This Love is not to be confused with what we think by love. True Love is something in the innermost core of every soul/heart waiting to be manifested. True Love is unconditional. In True Love there is no 'because'. There is no - 'I love because...'. My Gurudev says, there is no opposite for the word "Love". It is not hate. If one removes hatred what remains is Love. And hatred is again a by-product of fear.

The only way of discovering this Love in us is through spirituality. Spirituality is the only pursuit by which Fear can be removed and Fearlessness achieved progressively till we achieve absolutely Fearless. As the fear is removed, evolution happens simultaneously. Love gets unfolded at the same time. Spirituality is nothing but just digging deep into one's own self till we become Fearless.

EGO

It is said that EGO means 'Edging God Out.' However life in human body cannot exist without Ego. That which makes us say that 'I CAN...' is Ego. Without Ego we cannot resort to even to do smallest of works. An average human being, lives pampering his Ego. A spiritual seeker struggles/attempts constantly to keep the Ego in a subdued state. There is Ego and there is the Divine in each one of us. It is an undisputed fact. Ego constantly tries to exist independently. But it knows it has to yield to the Divine ultimately. Therefore if Ego has to be handled properly, or has to be shown a proper place, it can be only when it is centered on the Divine. Ego when pampered can lead to destruction of the individual. There is an apparent happiness when the Ego is gratified. Nobody wants to be hurt. To be hurt actually means the Ego getting hurt. So most of our lives if not all are ego-centric. Spiritual seekers are souls who are attempting to change this and make the life God-centric or the Divine-centric. The FULL potential of the soul can be unfolded only when their life becomes God-centric. Like money that can make us or mar us, is safe only in a Bank, the EGO (that also can makes us if it is subdued, or mar us if it is pampered) can be safely handled only when it is handed over to the Divine. Meditation is in a sense a conscious spiritual process by which one allows the Divine to prevail in one's life than going by the dictates of the Ego. Therefore spirituality is the only process by which the Ego is tamed and the Divinity within is manifested, that being the goal of every seeker. 

Only the Effort matters

Irrespective of what we achieve here on this earth or what we don’t achieve, it appears that the ONLY thing that matters ultimately by the end of human life is the amount of conscious EFFORT that we put in the direction of realizing the Ultimate Reality.

No effort put in any direction goes waste. It is in making the effort only, the human being fails. Only he fails who does not make any effort. There is nothing like failure for one constantly makes efforts. As Thomas Alva Edison said when he failed in his experiments – “I have found 10000 ways that don’t work.” He refused to think he has failed.

One needs to make an effort, in the right direction to save time. Because effort in the wrong direction also works but consumes time to realize and proceed in the right direction.

In the spiritual context, efforts should be made in the only direction that one’s innermost voice directs him. So the immediate effort should be to gain access to this Inner Voice that is there within, but buried deep by our misguided head. The head should work in the light of the heart and not vice versa. The only recourse is to give the heart the rightful place where the Inner Voice resides. We are to listen to it and follow it meticulously to achieve the purpose of each one’s life that is unique and yet contributes to the Cosmic Goal.

God is Love & We Too Can Become Love

LOVE, is the most sought after word in the world. Lack of it, creates havoc in human lives. The world revolves round Love. It is said that it is not the gravitational force that keeps the Universe together, but it is Love that keeps all celestial objects together. Love rules the Universe, Humans, Animals, and even the inanimate. 

LOVE is also the most misunderstood word specially in the context of Spirituality. Affection, mutual dependence, dependence, lust are mistaken as Love. While they all have a place in scheme of things of human life, LOVE is something beyond, that is essentially Selfless, unconditional and universal in nature. That is why it is said that God IS Love and not that God is to be loved. 

Love is the only word that has no opposite. It is not hatred. But when the hatred is removed from one's heart, what remains is Love. Love is the highest value that a human being can pursue that is inclusive of all other values such as Patience, Faith, Surrender, Tolerance etc. This is the only value today that is worth pursuing; the only thing that would unite not only the human beings but also unite with the rest of the creation. 

Love is not a verb. Love is transcendental quality. One can become like God, that is one can become Love. That is the ultimate possibility for every human being to become. Practicing Selflessness is the first step. This can be the test of any practice whether it is worth practicing. If the practice can develop progressively that Love in our hearts, quickly embrace it. Do anything and achieve this Love. But there is no Love without Pain. Pain is the basis of Love. Spirituality in that sense teaches us how to accept pain and make it part of us. 

May each one of us progress in the path of Love, the only goal of human life worth pursuing.

Who is this within?

When we attempt to study our own human system, we find there is a complex system that appears to be working perfectly right from birth to death, nay even before birth into this world. There are several systems that are working simultaneously - 


Physical Level
Breathing system, where oxygen is inhaled and Carbon dioxide is exhaled - we have no role here; heart-beat, where the blood is circulated to all nooks and corners of the body - we have no role here; digestive system, where the food is converted into blood and the waste is thrown out - we have no role here; various other organs doing their respective functions 24 x 7 x60 x 60 x...... every moment. It is not fair even to say that we provide the food, because we respond only to the signals such as hunger, thirst and other need. We have no role for the happening of these instincts.

Mental Level
We cannot say that we are thinking. It is not an active process. Thoughts occur to us. We can only allow thoughts to come. Here again we have no role. Emotions, Feelings, do we have a role?

Soul Level
Deepest instincts coem from here. These are the things that drive us into the acts of finding Reality/God etc. Even here, there is hardly any role for us to play except responding.

All these processes at various levels are happening every moment, simultaneously well-orchestrated, well-coordinated by whom? And for what? Who is this within? Can I call him "I"? I don't think so. Because "I" has no role to play anywhere. Then who is this within?

Just Go On Doing - that is G-O-D

All that one has to do in life after we are born till death is to Go On Doing. It is impossible to be alive on planet earth without doing, even for the laziest ones. Just going on doing "what we must do" has the potential to take us to Reality/God. To work out your past impressions or vasanas, you need to work; in health, work, in sickness, work; when you are happy work, when you are sad, work; when you are wealthy work, when you are a pauper, work; if you are a male work, if you are a female, work; if you are wise, work, if you are a fool, work; if you are weak, work, if you are strong, work. There is no situation to anybody that he has no work, if one is willing to. 

All the Avatars have worked; all the Masters have worked and are still working; all the saints have worked and are working; all the Gurus have worked and still working. It is said that working continues even when one is liberated, or achieved the fulfillment of life. It now becomes a responsibility of highest order. And these people cannot rest till the LAST soul achieves its goal of life.

So, Life is just work, work, work. Just do, do, do. Just Go On Doing "what you must do"; and that is G-O-D. 

Forget Thyself

To realize self or Self-realization, somebody said,"Know Thyself" Someone else said try to find the answer for the question "Who am I?" Our scriptures speak of four Mahavakyas (Ultimate Statements) - 1) prajnaanam brahma (know that you are Brahm) 2) Tat tvam asi (You are That) 3) ayam atma brahma (This atma is Brahma) 4) Aham Brahma asmi (I am Brahma). All the statements are true in their own sense and perspective. But "Forget Thyself" is another Maha Vakya I came across for Self-realization or God-realization. And this appears to be a safe instrument to navigate throgh this world and also to effectively deal with ego-related issues and perhaps the most effective instrument for Self-realization. 

When we think of something higher than "I" which is God, for instance, it is easy to remember Him and work. In the process we forget our self or we lose our self. Any work done in His remembrance, not having the least consciousness of self turns out to be the best and perfect. This is what helps us to navigate through this life. As I am always conscious of something higher than me, there are no ego-related issues or minimized. Like this if one can continue, perhaps a day shall dawn that Self is realized in the absolute sense.

So "Forget Thyself" and "Remember Him".

Meditation and Evolution

The only purpose of every human being on earth is to EVOLVE. Evolve from what he is to what He IS. That which does not evolve stinks. Evolution is the prime mover of life and more so to human being. Till the level of human being among the various species of Creation/Nature the evolution is automatic and instinctive. As the other beings have no will. Only human being has Will. All other beings have istinct. It is the human will that fails unfortunately to evolve. Or it is the human being who fails the will. Nevertheless Evolution IS the prime motive force in human beings. It is up to the human being to apply or not his will in this direction. Evolutionary forces are always in action, every moment. Man is in between the evolutionary forces and the forces that pull him down. And it is his will that determines to which direction he is oriented. If man does not apply the will in the direction of Evolution, he naturally falls, as it needs no effort. To evolve it needs application of the will.

A person who meditates is a person who is trying to apply in the only direction of evolution. And Meditation is the only tool that hastens this process of evoltion. It is also the tool that strengthens the will. Meditation takes you deep into the Self that deepens the need for evolution. The only way to evolve is to go deep into one's self and establish himself/herself there in the deepest level of consciousness.

Meditation and Balance

Life is all about restoring the lost Balance in each one of us. Each and every being is attempting to restore that balance at an individual level consciously or unconsciously. The Cosmos as a whole is also in the process of getting back to that Ultimate Balance. This is an inexorable process. 

Human being if consciously participates in this process contributes both to to the individual purpose and cosmic purpose at large. This conscious participation is what is called Spirituality that hastens this process at both individual level and at cosmic level. Human being is the only species that can consciously participate. 

As we progress towards this balance we experience more and more serenity, tranquility, so called peace of mind encouraging us to move ahead. These are the great and profound indicators and milestones that we come across at each and every level of this eternal journey.

Meditation can be the ONLY tool for this conscious participation to begin and continue till the destination is reached. Meditation teaches one to go more and more deep into one's self and explore for oneself the route to GOD/BALANCE.

None can talk or write about the Ultimate state of Balance as ego ceases to exist. All the BEST writings can be close pointers to this state and NOT this state. Meditation is thus a great adventure open to everybody, only courageous can venture into it. Meditation is a tool that can take one into this Vast and Deep Inner Universe. Let us all benefit from it. 

As each journey is unique and is towards the Infinite, the experiences can be infinite and unique. 

Bon Voyage to one and all.

VoIS as opposed to other so called inner voices from within

VoIS is NOT the voice as such. It is the Silence that speaks as it were, it is the voice of silence as it were. But it is actually the stillness very deep within, the UTTER Silence within that is actually referred to. However there are other numerous voices inside us that are generally mistaken to be the so called inner voice. The physical body speaks to us from inside, each organ in it speaks to us from inside, various signals come from within such as thirst, hunger etc., that can be taken as voices. The mental system within speaks to us in the form of thoughts. The emotional framework speaks to us from inside in the form of various emotions that we undergo. Beyond all this noise is this VoIS residing deep within, absolutely far beyond the reach of all these voices. Meditation can be the ONLY tool that can reach out to this.

To get access to this deep still VoIS within is not easy and once we have this access to it, to hold on to it is not easy, and once we hold on to it, to deepen it is not easy as it is likely that we may stay only on the surface. As it is a some sort of bottomless pit within, the journey never ends. But it is this that guides us precisely in our endeavors. This is the thing that ultimately prevails whether we like it or not. It defines our living on earth and elsewhere. Thus the need to comply with it cannot be overemphasized.