My Favourite Bhajan - Dinan Dukh haran ... written by Surdas that invokes Bhakti/Devotion to the Lord

Dinan Dukh haran ... written by Surdasin Brij bhasha in 15th century and sung greatly by Jagjit Singh. Also it was sung by the great saint from Shahjahanpur (UP, India) Shri Ram Chandra ji Maharaj, affectionately called Babuji,  the ONLY song that was recorded lovingly by his disciple Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachariji Maharaj. The pangs of separation of the Seeker from his beloved expressed so beautifully! The lyrics and meanings are as follows:                                               

                                  Deenan dukh haran dev santan hitkari

ajamil geedh byadh inme kah kaun saadh

panchhi ko pad padhaat ganika si taari

deenan dukh haran dev ...

dhruva ke sar chhatra det

prahalad ko ubari det

bhakta hetu bandhyo setu

lankpuri jaayi

deenan dukh haran dev .....

gaj ko jab grah grasyo

duhshashan cheer khasyo

sabha beech krishna krishna draupati pukari

deenan dukh haran dev .....

itne hari aaye gaye

basnan aaroorh bhaye

surdas dware khado aanadhro bhikhari

deenan dukh haran dev santan hitkari

deenan dukh haran dev .....

Meaning :

 

The Lord who removes the pain of the sufferers and the humble;  well wisher of all the saints

Azamil , the vulture , the hunter , tell me who was perfect among them?

Who taught great words  to a bird and made it Ganika (a man who lives with a 

went to a prostitute -here Azamil ) who moved him  across this bhavasagar the ocean of this world ...

Who protected Dhruva's by giving him  shelter, and saved Prahalad

Who constructed the bridge to go to the city of Lanka,  for the sake of a devotee?

When the Crocodile grabbed the Gajraj (the elephant) in his jaws ...who came to save him ?

When Duhshashan unrobed Draupadi,

 "Krishna Krishna "  called Draupadi  from the midst of  the Hall ..

Who saved her with robes? 

So many times God has (descended here) come and gone...

but Surdas, a blind beggar  is still standing at Your doorsteps -

When You have showered  so much  grace upon so many,

Why don't you also be kind towards me.

Knowledge, Action, Money, Service

Knowledge, Action, Money, Service - These are the four basic energy-orientations found all across human beings everywhere. Although all orientations are found in everyone in some measure, one of these four is predominant in a very human being, in the sense that, however he/she may try to be away from one of these predominant orientations, he/she CANNOT budge from it. If one has Knowledge as his energy-orientation, the second one has Action-oriented, the third one is more oriented towards Money and the Fourth one is oriented towards Service. 

Interestingly, the fundamental and common orientation that is found in all of these is the orientation towards Love/Happiness/Fulfillment. 

It can be perhaps said that there are four categories of human beings - Knowledge-oriented, Action-oriented, Money-oriented and Service-oriented human beings. And every category of this human being has his own place and importance. This can be recognized once the human being realises the underlying common orientation that is Love/Happiness/Fulfillment orientation. 

And this Love/Happiness/Fulfillment orientation is something that has the potential of integrating all the human beings with all the differences in their approaches towards life. And that is what Yoga or Meditation offers that can develop an attitude of Tolerance, Unity, Respect, Trust, Love etc .

More so it applies to Heartfulness Way of Meditation that helps one to integrate a Yogic orientation to our material-orientation that is more Fulfilling, that gie more Happiness and makes our hearts FILLED with that Unconditional Love.

One just needs to COMMIT about an hour every day for himself or herself out of 24 hours that he has at his/her disposal. Ultimately it is the Heart that integrates all human beings. And Heartfulness teaches us how to meditate on the heart, how to clean or purify our hearts,  how to listen and follow our hearts, how to live a heart-centered life that gives utmost Fulfillment and unmatched Happiness/Bliss.

I heartily invite you to attempt this for  few days and experience yourself. Please click the Heartfulness link that is available on the blog.

Lord Ganesha - A Symbol of Human Perfection

Lord Ganesha is a great symbol of what really a man should strive to be like. He very much represents, what a perfect human being should be. In Sanskrit, the word "Ganapathi" means someone who is the chief of a group of people. In that sense, all Presidents are Ganapathis, all kings are Ganapathis and one who is the pathi of all of us, the God is also Ganapathi. This meaning changes the whole perspective of viewing Ganesha from what we have been seeing since childhood. Going by various people talking about this unique form that he has, apart from the puranic stories, the following description of His form helped me to view the same icon with a different and very inspiring, and helps us to see this rather peculiar image with a profound perspective:

Starting with vast foregead of Ganesha, it represents enormous intellect and nowledge; His big ears represent that one must give more importance to Listeniing, the highest communication skill for a human being; Small mouth represents that one should talk very less; huge stomach indiactes that He stomochs any number of inssults and moves on;his lon trunk represents that he is highly sensitive that he can pick up even a needle fallen on the ground; the mouse on which he travels represents the desires that is controlled by apparently heavy body of Ganesha; His body is so light that he can travel on a mouse; that is a man can become weightless and light when he commands the desires. His small eyes denote theat he is visionary and can see distant future very distinctly; in essence, the peculiar body structure of Ganesha represents how a Perfect human bing should aspire to be.

To sum it up, the form of Lord Ganesha should remind us always, what a human being should aspire to and let us all rest not till we achieve that. human Perfection.

Jai Ganesha!

Logic/Reasoning, Intuition, Transcendence and Reality

Logic is an intrinsic quality of human mind/intellect. Human being by default thinks logically, arrives at things rationally, what they call man is a rational being. Man studies everything in and around him with logic/reasoning and only then he accepts it as real. Logic is an instrument of perception. As we transcend logic perhaps intuition takes over to perceive the next dimension of Reality.

Intuition is an intrinsic quality of the Heart or Conscience. It is a source of direct knowledge that needs no proof or reasoning. It does not depend on the accumulated knowledge or experience unlike Logic. Being intuitive is the quality of heart. The intuition in animals is called instinct. They are not logical, but are instinctive in their behaviour. So in this material world human being utilizes both the instruments of perception to navigate through life with more and more refined understanding. But what is perceived through intuition can be  expressed with the help of logic.

Reality is what it is. Reality is beyond logic, beyond even intuition, beyond understanding. It can only be experienced or felt only through transcending everything.

Human being needs logic and intuition, both for a comprehensive experience of Reality. But they are to be transcended. Logic cannot take us to Reality. But mysteriously Reality stands to logic. Logic helps us to realize that it cannot take us beyond a point. From there one needs to take-off and transcend into a different dimension. It is with intuition that we perceive this higher dimension of Reality. And as one progresses into higher and higher dimensions of existence, the intuition appears to be getting more and more refined till it achieves the intuition of the highest order.

In the pursuit of Ultimate Truth, as Swami Vivekananda said, “we do not move from error to truth, but we move from a lower truth to a higher truth.” That is why it is called as the Ultimate Truth or Ultimate Reality. The Ultimate Reality is First and all other things (mind, heart etc) came later. Hence the need for transcending and human being has that capacity of transcending innate in him.

This is expressed as longing or restlessness inn every heart/soul to get back to the Source. One needs to yeld to this restlessness sooner or later. And Spiritual Science says, it can be hastened consciously through Meditational practices (such as Heartfulness) by which these tools of perception get progressively refined and are finally transcended to experience the Transcendental Realities. This continues till the Longing is absolutely satisfied perhaps, and that would perhaps happen only when the soul merges into the Ultimate Reality finally.

Buddhi (Intellect) follows Karma while the Heart follows the Divine

How to follow the Right path in life? Who decides it for us? How to discriminate between good and bad? Who decides it? How do we know we are in the right direction from moment to moment? Single answer to all these questions is the Heart that is within us. It is the Heart that is within us that guides our real aspects of life. Heart never misguides.

It is mentioned in our scriptures that Buddhi or Mind is something that is also in us but follows one's Karma. That explains the varieties prevailing in the human species. They say - buddhi karmaanusaarini - buddhi follows karma. But there is also something in us which follows the Divine and that is why never ever misguides us - the Heart.

So we have within us Buddhi that follows Karma and the heart that follows Divine, and are in between, to follow either Buddhi or Heart. The quality of one's life depends on where he/she pays attention. We do NOT actually have really this choice. But most of us pay attention to Buddhi than the Heart. That is how Karma becomes apparently powerful. All that we need to make Karma weak is to pay attention on the Heart consciously and we can gradually perceive the loosening of the Karma's hold on us, though the Laws of Karma cannot be escaped . That is what is spirituality is all about, especially the Heartfulness Sahaj Marg Meditation, a very simple and Natural practice. (Please visit www.heartfulness.org)

Therefore it is OUR ATTENTION that makes the Karma or the Divine in us powerful. Conscious and sustained practice or sadhana would help us to lead a life of Heartfulness. Living life according to Heart becomes natural.

How does one know whether it is the Mind or the Heart that is really guiding?

Heart immediately guides us when we are going wrong and keeps silent when we are right. And when one needs to take a decision between what is right or wrong, the answer that comes from heart will not have any choices but Mind's answer will give lot of options. Heart's decision may be challenging but that is the only right thing that should be done at the moment. When heart says something there will absolutely be no doubt. Generally we lack courage to follow the heart; to follow mind or buddhi is very easy, it needs no courage. This courage can be developed again through a sustained practice by purifying one's own heart. Because the Heart follows the Divine it is NEVER wrong. Because the heart knows the purpose of life it rightfully guides. It is onlt because of our lack of our ATTENTION that we are not able to listen to its voice. Thw whole idea of any spiritual practice is that this voice of the Heart should be audible more and more clearly so that one's life is clear and in the right direction in proportion to the clarity in the voice. There is no end for this clarity it goes on improving as we go deeper and deeper into the Heart through practice. One's evolution is proportionate to the degree of this discrimination he/she possesses. And this discrimination is proportionate to the depths that he/she has achieved in this pursuit. And so the life should go on in the only direction it should be going.

The collective evolution also depends on each heart's evolution. And so the need for every one to meditate on the heart.

May be we can say that Buddhi is karmaanusaarini and Hrudayam or Heart is Daivaanusaarini (follows the Divine Principle) and that is why it is never wrong and NEVER ever misguides and the only thing that is present in each one of us to guide from within. All that we need to do is to pay continuous ATTENTION.

Tools of Evolution - Prayer

Nobody is a stranger to the word Prayer. Nobody really need to teach anybody how to pray. Because when one is in deep distress or in a utterly helpless condition, when all the doors appear to be closed with absolutely no hope, whether one believes or has faith in the Almighty Lord or NOT, what emanates through him/her naturally is Prayer. It is an deep inner cry of the nature inside to the Nature outside. That is exactly the time that Prayer happens and not done. Prayer must happen and Not done. This is an unconscious prayer.

Prayer can also happen consciously. Prayer is more an inner Attitude than an activity. Prayer refers to a state inside the heart when one feels utterly helpless; when one feels that he /she is small and Lord is SO Great; when one's heart is completely filled with vacuum, with love, with devotion, with purity.

Thus Prayer becomes a tool of connectivity with the Unknown, Almighty, Power whoever He is or whatever It is. It is a tool with which one develops a relationship with the Creator or the Lord or the Almighty Unknown Power. And mysteriously the help comes; the answer comes.

Prayer is NOT asking.

Prayer is waiting; Prayer is placing oneself as he/she is before Him, in the most humblest attitude. And whatever has to happen will happen. And whatever is NOT to happen will NOT happen. This kind of heart is a prayerful heart that has a possibility of attracting Lord's Grace. And if the heart is always in a prayerful state one would constantly be attracting His Grace.

Prayer is done consciously on many a occasion:

when one is utterly helpless to help himself/herself;

when one expresses deep gratitude to the Lord (Thanksgiving prayer);

when one prays for others.

Prayer establishes a relationship of Love with our Creator. One should approach the Lord with Love and not with a transactional attitude for the simple reason that He knows Best what is good for us; when to give and when not to give anything. Asking amounts to reminding Him His duties towards us.

Spiritually it keeps the EGO always humble. This single attitude of Humility eliminates a sea of problems that we suffer because of our Ego. And also simultaneously open up the higher possibilities that are available for human being to evolve.

Single Sincere prayer can make a difference across not only to the self and others around him/her, not only this whole Universe but affects the higher realms of Consciousness that we are not yet aware of. Prayer has the potential of changing the course of Nature also.

As we regularly practice Prayer in the right earnest, our attitudes our way of Prayer keeps on refining that we will not know almost that we are in prayer even. Leaving absolutely everything to Him and be in His intense remembrance without being conscious of what is being asked for or being prayed for. In fact we do NOT pray 'for' something, we JUST pray.

This is so profound that can only be experienced and can never be described.

Prayer and Meditation (another tool for our Evolution)

"Prayer is talking to God and Meditation is listening to God."

Prayer Connects to God and Meditation continues the prayerful state.

Tools of Evolution - Longing

“No matter how great your longing is for God, IT WILL NEVER EVER compare to His Longing for You”

Longing, Craving, Restlessness, Yearning, spiritual hunger/thirst are all synonymous and are commonly used in spiritual life and spiritual literature. And they all point to our deep, innermost state that is hungry for something we know not what. This inner state is something every soul has as an inherent ingredient.

While some of us are conscious of it, some of us are apparently not. For those who are NOT apparently conscious, it manifests in various other ways such as drive for money, power, name, fame etc.

Those who are conscious realize it is longing for something more deep within, for something more profound, for something beyond and perhaps for something more fulfilling. It perhaps emanates from the SOUL.

But this longing is something that accelerates the evolutionary process or the growth process and helps us to grow in the real sense. Longing for anything for that matter brings the thing that one is longing for more close. It is the driving force to achieving something.

However the REAL Longing is when one does not know what he/she is longing for; it is an eternal thirst that drives us from within to traverse in unknown territories, exploring unknown inner worlds, gives the necessary push from inside to move forward; and it appears Nature also cooperates/facilitates this deep inner urge in some way and guides one where one is destined to go.

Longing I feel is associated more with the heart than anything else; and it gives a very beautiful pain worth having; it’s taste is indescribable but very fulfilling. More Longing results in more restlessness, more pain, more hunger, more thirst for something we know NOT what. This is a sure tool for our spiritual growth for highest point of consciousness that is open to human being. The deeper the longing the closer the Goal.

How to develop or deepen our longing?

If we are not having this longing, this can be triggered by exposure to great beings, great ideas, or taking to some spiritual practice such as Meditation.

If we already have this longing this can be deepened in a systematic way by practicing Meditation on a daily basis.

Some Quotes:

“Soul often speaks through longing” – Sue Monk Kidd

“No matter how great your longing is for God, IT WILL NEVER EVER compare to His Longing for You”

“The river of human life meanders along, through many a valley, leaps over many a cliff, loses itself in many a marsh, and seeks to empty itself in the Ocean of Divine Grace” – Atharva Veda

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don't belong. “ – Unknown

“God put a longing in our hearts for unfailing Love because He knew it would lead us back to Him.” – Renee Swope

Shravanam Mananam Nidhidhyaasanam Saakshatkaaram

Spiritual Education or Brahma Vidya is essentially an education that transports us from the present state (whatever it is) to the ONLY state that we need to be in (The Reality). And this process of Education involves basically three steps viz., Shravanam (Listening that is to hear with attention), Mananam (Continuous Reflection) and Nidhidhyasanam (Deeper Contemplation or Meditation)that should ultimately lead to Saakshatkaaram (Realising or Actualizing the Truth). These steps apply to any process of Education specifically to spiritual education without which Realization that every soul is craving/yearning for remains unachieved.

Shravanam means to listen with attention. Listen to whom? Listening what a Realized person has to say. Even reading or watching a video or listening to an audio of that person can also be called as Shravanam today. Their words are to be heard with absolute attention in absolute silence without missing a single pause, gesture, tone, feel or expression.

Mananam which means trying to reflect uninterruptedly on what has been heard; trying to understand not only the superficial meaning but deeper meaning and also trying to perceive what is is said without being said - reading in between the lines. As Great Beings do not say anything directly to any person that is to be corrected in him/her. It is left to us to understand and make the necessary amends. Mananam should go on for sufficient time till one is satisfied enough that he has not left off anything to understand. Mananam also involves thinking of pros and cons of what has been said, questioning in one's own self to understand all the possible aspects of what has been heard. This should result in comprehensive understanding of the subject that one has heard. Education is not yet complete. This step also involves referring to various literatures, discussions and debates if required.

Nidhidhyaasanam which means deeply meditating on the meaning of what we have heard and reflected. It does not involve thinking because all thinking is done in the previous step Mananam, now it is ONLY contemplating deeply on the essence so that it is digested thoroughly and becomes a part of our system. This in some way completes the learning but education is yet to be complete.

Saakshaatkaaram is the final phase of this spiritual education where the contemplated Truth becomes the Reality or is actualized in a very real sense and one is face to face with Reality so to say and there is no iota of doubt of what one is experiencing which amounts to acquisition of Real Knowledge - Brahma Vidya.

Real Knowledge is acquired ONLY by following these steps. This is a tested truth and it has been followed since aeons in India from Vedic times.

Following The Conscience

Every human being possesses Conscience. It is the Compass of of human life, always shows the right direction. This is the Guiding force embedded in each one of us. Human misery is directly proportional to the distance we are away from it. That is as the distance grows, our misery grows, as the distance decreases the misery reduces, happiness, Peace, Quiet, Serenity, Love, Patience, all these values increase, If the distance is zero, one is at Maximum Happiness, Bliss, the Most desirable state a human being; perhaps that is Perfection or Divine that all the saints talk about.

This Conscience is also known as Inner Voice or the Heart. It has no physical existence but it is there not leaving us for a moment. The whole drama in and around us is the manifestation of the distance that we are away from this. Though there are many voices from inside, they should be called noises to distinguish from the real inner voice which is always right. There are the voices of out thoughts, emotions, sentiments, impressions, prejudices that are often confused as the voice of Conscience. How to distinguish with clarity which one is the real inner voice? When the Voice is of the Conscience, there will be no element or trace of doubt in it; we will be damn sure with gut feeling. And when there is an option, then it is Noise and NOT Voice. One more test is generally the Voice of the Conscience is heard clearly when something is going wrong.

What is this Conscience? It is a Presence of Purity within. We can call it divine. It must be the combination of all the subtle bodies mainly comprising of Mind, Intellect, Ego and Consciousness in their purest form. Because these are the individual noises that we hear from inside that are a result of impure mind, intellect, ego and consciousness. Next comes the question how to purify these invisible entities called Mind, Intellect, Ego and Consciousness? This is where a System of Meditation can help us, that is directly involved in purification of our numerous subtle bodies. I recommend Heartfulness Sahaj Marg Meditation which I have been practicing for quiet sometime now. (Please visit www.heartfulness.org) This system will teach us ans give us the experience of purification of these subtle bodies and make us progressively experience more and more fulfilling life. Anybody who is seeking and above 16 years of age is welcome to try this and have first hand experience and explore further at his/her own pace.

We have no choice but to follow our Conscience whether we like it or not; whether we accept it or not; whether we believe it or not. This will not leave us until we are so much Centered and absolutely established in it. It will chase us several incarnations till we follow. The sooner we accept the faster our evolution. Because to evolve is to be absolutely in tune with this Conscience that guides to our destination here and also hereafter.

Thoughts on Positive Thinking I had in 1990

A few thoughts occured to me on Positive thinking during 1990

• Any thought which makes us strong physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually strong is a positive thought.
• That which contributes to our ultimate well-being is positive  irrespective of what it is to  others.
• That which emanates from heart is s positive.
• Positive thinking helps one to evolve infinitely and something which never stops.
• Thinking against one's own self is negative thinking that resists one's evolution.
• Man evolves only if he is willing to do so unlike other species where evolution is automatic.
• Positive thinking is being charitable to one's own self.
• Setting up of an ideal helps in one's self-development of positive thinking.
• One who always thinks positively has  no disappointments and no regrets.
• Positive thinking can also be termed as nothing but the commitment to the ideal that one has set for himself/herself and continuouslybeing conscious of It during all activities of daily life.
• Though thinking is of the mind, if it is guided by the light of the heart, it becomes positive.
• Positive thinking is devoid of the influence of the past, that may corrupt our present to destroy our future.
• Positive thinking should ultimately lead us to the Final Perfection or God or the Ultimate Truth.

Life Always Revolves Around The Invisible, The Intangible

The most mysterious thing about Life is Life itself. It is ONLY the Life that teaches what is Life and that too one-on-one. Even to learn from the experiences of others be it elders, Gurus, Nature or the Life around, even these things are part of Life; hence it is ONLY the Life that teaches itself how to live – in a harsh way if we do not heed; in a beautiful way if we are in tune. If one revolts to be in tune with, it adopts the harsh way. It is wisdom that we be in tune with Life (inside and outside), which is also called Nature (inside and outside). How to be in tune with Nature? It is only by tuning into one’s own heart. Heart is something that is always pulsating with Life giving us a hint that it is our own Centre/Source to be in tune with.

It is interesting to note that every life, (without exception, whether it is human life or plant life or animal life or mineral life); whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, revolves around things that are invisible and intangible.

Let’s take the example of human life that has physical aspects; mental aspects; emotional aspects and spiritual aspects.

At the physical level: Thirst, Hunger, sensuality rule our life – all invisible. Human being just responds to these instincts or signals.

At the Mental Level: Thought; Urge to know; Intellect - again all invisible, human being just acts according to thoughts and the urge to know more and more.

At the emotional level: Feelings; Emotions; Inspirations; ego – the invisible things that rule our life; we either succumb or yield to these prompts.

At the Spiritual Level: Craving/Longing; Purity; Simplicity; Profundity; Perfection – again most invisible things, the substratum of all the invisible things mentioned above. These innermost things govern human life.

Normally the first three levels are active in every human being and the fourth level is dormant; that is not awakened or mildly awakened. If this realm is awakened somehow, the human life falls into place in scheme of things of Nature/God/Unknown/Life/Ultimate Truth.

The point is our whole Life is driven constantly by so many invisible and intangible forces; We are only yielding to or trying to gain control over these things; We are incessantly dealing with The Invisible and yet apparently we are also denying this reality. This I feel is because the fourth dimension in us not awakened still. This is awakened by yet another Invisible and Intangible Subtle Force/Principle called Guru. May every one deepen their Longing for Guru or The Guiding Principle that makes one’s life be navigated in the ONLY direction that is right!