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. 

The Ego should facilitate the VoIS to rule and finally dissolve in it

Life of human being is nothing but the consequence of tug of war (Conflicts) between the ego and the VoIS in us. It is constantly happening every moment of our existence. The moments of peace the Being experiences, if at all are the moments when the VoIS prevailed. The Ego resists the VoIS when it should facilitate. The Ego has to be trained to facilitate the VoIS to rule us. This could be the best form of Ego that one can have. It is in Peace with itself and radiates Peace around it. This is a more rarefied, sublimated and refined Ego, that can be immensely productive. Ultimately it is said that even this dissolve in the VoIS or the real Self in us. The Ego is supposed to be the false self that creates all kinds of problems both for the self and also others.

This facilitation can happen if some time is exclusively spent on reflecting on itself and is directed on something higher than itself, everyday. However it does take time and does not happen overnight. But the possibility of happening overnight is also not ruled out in extremely rare cases. It is better we realize that one has to take refuge in this sooner or later. So why not here and now?

This is what spirituality or Meditation is all about. The self has to train itself in a certain way. Let us seek it and we shall find it. And thus make our lives sublime and fulfilled.

Let the VoIS rule our Being

To have access to the VoIS appears to be is easier said than done. Even if we have access, it appears difficult to abide by it. Even if we obey it, it is very difficult to have a sustained obedience to this voice in an uninterrupted fashion all the time 24 x 7. But the call of the VoIS is very demanding and will not allow us to rest till we allow it to prevail and rule every pore of our being. We only reap the benefits of listening to the brief spells of time that we listen to, if we listen at all. And those benefits can be immense. It is only left to imagination, what happens if we can allow it to prevail and rule us – bodily, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Humans can at least endeavor to offer minimum resistance to this VoIS to have a right kind of life, as one is ought to have. All efforts should be to ensure that there is ONLY one Voice inside each one of us, whether it is coming from the lips, or the throat or the mind or the heart, or the ego, or the brain, or from anywhere. And that should be ONLY - the VoIS. All our troubles and travails, joys and sorrows are there only to bring us back to this whether we know it or not. Our quality of our life is directly proportional to the degree of adhering to this VoIS. The sooner it is realized, the faster is the evolution of the individual.

Go On Digging deep into your self till you hear the VoIS

Everything that a human being undergoes is essentially prompting to do this digging deep into one’s own self, whether we like it or not. When we do not like, we are actually running away from that inner call from within. And one cannot afford to run away from it for long. The sooner we respond to this inner call, the better will our quality of life is. The quality of one’s life is directly proportional to the extent one responds to this inner call. As one begins to respond to it, it opens up more and more possibilities and lights up the path that one has to traverse in this life and perhaps in the hereafter also. All that one has to realize is to try to be aligned with this VoIS constantly.

This digging can happen naturally, if we are born with that state of consciousness or we have to go on practicing to dig deep into ourselves, utilizing all the circumstances, troubles and travails that we undergo that really contribute a LOT in this process of digging deep within. Comfort, luxury and the like rarely help one to go deep into ourselves. As we get in touch with deep VoIS, the wisdom dawns and progressively gets refined, and it is an infinite journey. This thing in a way rules one’s life, or rather should be allowed to rule one’s life. Because ONLY this knows the route-map of your existence.

Spirituality, as a science of going deep into one’s own self taught by an able Master can be a great catalyst in this process, if one gets access to such a One. The values that we practice or should be practiced, the character one should have, and the practices that we involve in to get to this, our food habits, discipline and all other things are nothing but attempts or preparations to align ourselves with this subtlest VoIS.

Minimize your -“self” to make the VoIS more audible

Now, we know that the VoIS is almost inaudible, it only speaks when one is in utter silence inside and outside. We can create conditions for creating silence external by shutting ourselves or going into a cave. But to achieve the silence inside that is full of noise, tremendously unregulated thought-traffic, intense emotions, pains pertaining to the external body-parts and internal body-parts, the intelligence, the past experiences, present experiences, thoughts of future, worries, even good thoughts etc., is an unimaginable task that can be undertaken by one’s own self. All these things make up the content of the superficial layer of our consciousness. This is just tip of the iceberg that we have inside. Added to this, we have as psychiatrists/psychologists say, the unconscious part of our being affecting our consciousness in it’s own way. And that is for most of us out of reach. Beyond this, they also say that there is something like "collective unconscious" that also affects our existence. This is the state of our "inside", collectively/crudely called as the – “self”. Beyond this lies this VoIS very deep in the core of our being. And that is the one which has everything about us to solve the problem of this life and the possible lives hereafter or the possible lives that we have already completed. It is said that if this “self” can be minimized, (if not eliminated/annihilated which is not possible) somehow then the VoIS can be audible and then the process of listening to it, understanding it and then practicing it should commence. The more the awareness of the VoIS, the more minimizing of the “self” happens mysteriously. Ultimately for this to happen, every human being is endowed with the necessary initial impetus that is needed to be with the VoIS. It rests upon us to continue with our efforts from the initial impetus that is bestowed. Let us realise the immensity of the task ahead and the urgency of taking it up with earnestness and work towards achieving the necessary balance that one should have in order to have a fulfilled existence on earth.

What prevents us from being what we MUST be from what we ARE

The question implies very directly that we are NOT what we must be; and there is something in us that is preventing us from being THAT we must be. Now, what is THAT, that we must be? It is perhaps only that which our VoIS wants us to be. And what is that prevents us from being THAT? Surely the not-VoIS part in us or the lower self. Life is a continuous tug-of-war between these two forces; one that takes us up and one that takes us down. In between, is this “I” that has to decide which side it has to take. And "I" is the deciding factor as to what we are. If “I” takes the side of the VoIS, it is moving towards the direction of what we must be. If it takes the other side, it is happy with what it is and perhaps going further down and pushing us to be not what we must be. The inexorability of the VoIS is that IT shall finally prevail, come what may. Because fortunately  it cannot be killed absolutely. Apparently that is what we find around us - that this VoIS is almost dead.

Therefore if the “I” decides consciously to be always on the side of the VoIS, “I” SHALL be what “I” MUST be. Now it is both simple and difficult. It is simple in the sense that all that we have to do is to just go by the VoIS. It is difficult, because first of all, we have almost lost the contact with this VoIS; and then we have to obey this; and because we also have to navigate through this world, it appears to be tough. However it should be heard, at least during critical and crucial matters.

As posted earlier, this becoming what we must be is a journey that must be consciously pursued; sustained by adhering to the VoIS; and involves traversing of various infinite layers of individual consciousness; that perhaps ultimately merges into the Universal Consciousness. May be that can be termed as that what we must be finally. Adhering to the VoIS should be an uninterrupted process that leads to the continuous progressive refinement of the individual. For those adhering to the VoIS, there is only the Present; no past and therefore there is ONLY the right future.

Know Thyself through the VoIS

There are two selves in us – called the lower “self” and the higher “Self”. The lower “self” is something that pulls against our evolution; always running after comfort, luxury and desires (the so called "success" in modern parlance) and the higher “Self” is something constantly tries to pull us higher, to engage us in higher thoughts, ideals and always behind the evolutionary forces. Life is an intense struggle between the two as one cannot avoid any of the two selves. It doesn’t take much effort to be with the lower “self” as we see majority of the people around us madly running after this so called “success”. But it takes considerable effort to be with this higher “Self” and pull on with life notwithstanding the apparently opposed kind of life around us. One who is somehow drawn into more towards this higher “Self” is the one who struggles most in the world. In a sense it is easy to be with It and in another sense it becomes very tough vis-à-vis the world around us. But these beings continue to incline towards this as they realize that though apparently it is a struggle, there is a profound strength gathering deep within and things that appeared too big to handle apparently start appearing small, insignificant and clear. It is this strength within, that keeps them going. Following this higher “Self” progressively reveals EVERYTHING about Thyself. And assiduously listening to the VoIS is something that facilitates Knowing the Self. Progressively dissolving of the lower “self” into the higher “Self” is the purpose of the presence of the VoIS. In fact the higher “Self” is the VoIS.

What is the right choice in life?

Life, it is said provides continuous opportunities, options, choices for us. How to choose the right option, or how to know the opportunity is right for us, whether we are making a right choice? It becomes easy to choose if there are two options and one is bad and the other is good. But if both the options are good, which is the right choice? And if the good options are in multiplicity to choose from, which one to go for? In short what is right choice for me? There is a possibility of confusion or you gamble and see for yourself how it works. But you may do it at the expense of so many things. Then what is the solution? The amount of confusion is directly proportional to the number of choices. Too many choices can generally lead to making a wrong choice. As human being gravitates to the wrong so easily. Some options if adopted work immediately for the good of us and some may have long term benefit. Some may be for our ultimate good. So it becomes a very complex process of arriving at selecting a right option using our own resources. And life is a series of moments and each moment is an option and we have to go for a right option. It amounts to the way we lead our life and what we expect out of our life, if at all. So again, what is the solution?

The possible solutions

When one is confronted with too many options in life, the situation demands NOT the intellect but wisdom to discriminate sharply. Sharper discrimination leads to choosing a clear option. There can be two possible solutions –
1) Taking life as it comes without thinking too much of what is good for us or what is not.
2) Accessing your deep VoIS and going by what it suggests for you.
3) Praying to be always in a "choiceless-situation" so that we never make a mistake of making a wrong choice.

In short, as said earlier, as life is a series of moments, our way of life is to be molded in such a way that our life is constantly guided by this VoIS  and NOT by our other resources such as intellect, knowledge, experience that are so limited in our sense. When listening to the VoIS becomes way of life, whatever choice we make becomes the right choice, though apparently it may look otherwise.

The presence of VoIS - the HOPE for humanity

Life is all about adjusting ourselves in terms of body, mind, emotions and forces visible and invisible in tune with this VoIS. It does not leave us until this is done. This is what we perhaps call the fulfillment of our life at the end. This can take any length of time or go on infinitely, for there can be no absolute end to this process. Spirituality is about this conscious process that speeds up this process and a Guru or a Master, a catalyst. Everything that opposes this instruction of VoIS in us has its own apparent consequences but ultimately converges to getting tuned to this. In other words, following this is inexorable though visible it may not appear so. So long as there is this VoIS, there is always the HOPE for this redemption of humanity in particular and this world in general.

The sooner we consciously take up this process the better for us individually and also for the welfare at the cosmic level. Following these values of all kinds, Character development, undoing of the personality as against personality development are nothing but fine tuning ourselves in alignment with this VoIS. May all rise to the occasion for the speedy evolution of the globe.

Get Re-Connected to the VoIS somehow

As VoIS is THE Guiding force within each one of us, it becomes impossible to be away from IT in a sense. All other faculties that should have been in tune with this VoIS have become not only out of tune, but appear to be to have almost lost the connection with the VoIS. This connection has to be restored or re-established somehow, at any cost. Till then the life is otherwise, and NOT Truthwise. The first step to achieve this, is to turn inward  start digging within. This being an unending process, demands perseverance, patience, hope, faith and the like. All this is digging is nothing but the retracing of our steps to the point from where we got deviated from the VoIS. And therefore patience. As we move on and on, towards the VoIS, the vision becomes clearer and clearer and thus our life is now a rightly-guided one. In this process, if one can come across somebody who is thoroughly established in the VoIS, he can be a great catalyst, if we are fortunate enough. All that has to be done to find such a one is to deepen the longing for help. And He will appear on the scene at an appropriate hour. One need not go searching after him, for we do not know how to choose. And this marks only the beginning of the real journey.