Evolution as I understand

What is really Evolution? And what is human evolution in particular? Is Evolution same as Transformation or Change? Is Evolution automatic or is there any effort involved? Is it a Conscious process or an unconscious process or both? Can Evolution be accelerated? What are the tools of Evolution if it is a Conscious process? Does one need any help  from anybody to evolve? Does Evolution have any limit or Goal? Does Evolution end? Why should one evolve? Do we have any choice? What if one does not evolve? 

These are some of the many questions that have been bombarding me constantly for several years now  and I am still trying find convincing answers about Evolution in my own way. I shall attempt to share what I have understood so far thus:

Evolution is inner growth in several dimensions - physical, mental, emotional, moral, spiritual especially when referred to a human being.  Physical evolution consumes several million years takes very long. It is said in our scriptures, it takes the soul or Being  to go through 8.4 million yonis (bithplace of any living being, the vulva of the species) to evolve into a human being. That is it takes 84,00,000 species for a single-cell organism to evolve or become into a human being and that takes several millions of years. Thus every human being according to our scriptures has travelled quiet a distance so far. This agrees with Darwin's theory also. But Darwin's theory does not talk about Evolution after the stage of human being.  So the physical body that we have can only decay or disintegrate but cannot evolve. So this is about physical evolution.

I don't think evolution and change are same though evolution involves change. Even decaying or disintegrating involves change but that cannot be called as evolution. May be Evolution can be called as Change for the better or improved situation. Changes may refer to the external s while evolution pertains to something inside, let's call it Being. The Being in every species is the one which evolves. While Change is automatic but Evolution is automatic to a certain extent. For example: according to my Spiritual Master, evolution is automatic up to the level of human being. But after the level of human being there is much more evolution yet to happen, that is called spiritual evolution. But Nature wants now only willing participants for further evolution. The choice is given to opt for evolution or not at the level of human being fortunately or unfortunately by Nature. Perhaps that is the reason why there is apparent chaos around us. Or perhaps there is order in the chaos where we need a refined a sense of perception.

So it is clear that there are always some evolutionary forces that are trying to pulls us up and also there are always anti-evolutionary forces that are always trying to pull us down. And we are in between. The fact that who we are with - evolutionary forces or anti-evolutionary forces- determines our level of evolution. And this is exactly where the Effort plays the role to be always with the evolutionary forces. And that is where the role of all spiritual practices comes. Spiritual practices can be termed as tools of Conscious effort to align with the forces of evolution or Nature. Because Nature or Creation itself is still evolving. Creation is not done and it is still continuing. And the conscious effort is possible only at the human level and NOT in other sub-human levels where the evolution is automatic. No effort is involved at sub-human levels. No effort at the human level can pull human being being to devolve into sub-human levels or continue at the human level till he naturally evolves. The conscious efforts or spiritual practices only hasten the process of evolution as they are aligned with Nature or Creation. Unconscious evolution applies to all human beings and is always there. But the conscious effort or process speeds up the process of evolution that is aligned with Nature. Thus evolution of human being can be accelerated only if one is willing. Why should man be interested to evolve? Because it is the very nature of Nature to evolve. And no living being can afford to go against the Nature as we pay the price for it, again naturally. 

Assuming that Conscious process or Effort hastens the evolution, what are the tools that we can use? All normal human beings have gross body (physical body), subtle body (that consists mainly of  mind, intellect ego and consciousness) and the causal body (the soul). Now among these bodies, the subtle body is something that evolves and that determines the overall evolution or the inner growth of the being. For most of us human beings, if not all these subtle bodies viz., mind, intellect, ego and consciousness are in a corrupt state/impure state. Unless these faculties are refined or purified there is no desired evolution. They are called subtle because they do exist but cannot be seen with the physical eye. Here there are various tools such as Meditation, Yoga and other spiritual practices suited to each one's mind-set that can contribute to refining/purifying these subtle bodies to restore to their original state when they were created. This is evolution. 

Why should we be willing to evolve? To be with the Nature or in tune with Nature. For we cannot go against Nature. What happens if we do not evolve? We either stay there where we are now or we devolve into sub-human levels as it amounts to falling down. And falling down in any context does not involve any effort at all. What happens if we evolve? Especially the human being is always enjoy peace, tranquility, stillness, Love, Bliss in spite of the challenges that the being faces. The very act of participating in the Nature's evolutionary process gives all these privileges and helps us to face the challenges boldly and effectively which in turn again contribute in our evolution/growth further. 

Is there any limit to evolution? It appears there is absolutely no limit to evolve. And it is spiritual evolution that is the fastest than other levels. And hence the need to lay the emphasis upon. In fact we do not have choice to evolve though apparently it appears that we have an option. It is only that we go down for a while only to realize that it is essential to evolve and we come back. No being can go against Nature or Creation as it is the integral part of it. And the faster the human being realizes that he does not have choice, faster is his evolution, for he would involve in the process consciously making necessary efforts. Evolution is innate in every being.

Can anybody help in the process of evolution? Yes. Like we seek an adept in any field to excel, we do have fortunately the adepts apart from the scriptures that can guide us to evolve in this process. One cannot select the adept with his limited faculties and abilities, so one should wait in a particular way for the adept to pick us up. And when he/she appears, the being will intuitively know and recognize. And that is the moment we start a new journey in this evolutionary process. Finding an adept is as if the problem is mostly solved. Most of the time gets invested in preparation only. May the Adepts find all the seekers at the earliest! And pray that All Beings evolve to the highest possible limit in this very incarnation.

How to recognize the REAL Voice inside us that Guides us

When we peep into ourselves especially when we are in a dilemma, when we need to make a decision in life, when we need to make some choice, we find several voices popping up - of your personal knowledge and experience, of your prejudices, of your complexities, of your impurities, of your negativity, of your fears, of your worries, of your emotions, of your feelings and also of your wisdom or heart,

Unfortunately the voice of your heart or wisdom lies buried deep within the layers of all other voices because we have allowed this to happen over the years of our existence. Therefore the probability of taking a wrong decision is more than the one that is right for us at that moment.

In a normal human being it is very difficult to arrive at a correct decision and that is why we err and of course we learn from errors (if at all), if one wants to progress or evolve. This is where exactly the role of Meditation comes into play. Meditation trains our inner system and allows us to wait till all this unreal voices to subside (if any) and wait for the Wisdom to surface. In that state of wisdom any decision taken would be right for the person.

There is one more way of recognizing the voice when there is a cacophony of voices inside. When we hear this voice, there would be no doubt at all, it would be unambiguous, no second thought, it comes with a great gut feeling. It may not be palatable to mind but one should have the courage to follow it. Again that is where Meditation can also help to have courage. Courage happens when complexities and impurities deep within are erased or cleaned out of the system.

But it is a great characteristic of the wisdom of the heart's voice that it pops up immediately when one is about to indulge or during the indulgence of the act that one is involved into. Again we need the courage to follow the heart in the highest interest of ourselves.

In essence, Meditation is a NEED for every human being on earth as long as he is involved taking right decisions in life to evolve which is the purpose of human life.

There is a very simple and beautiful system of Meditation that fits in our busy mechanical life available and cab practised by anybody who is 16 and above, called Heartfulness Sahaj Marg Meditation. This system facilitates in purging out all the complexities, impurities, fears, worries, negativity, stress and all other unwanted stuff present in our Consciousness that are becoming impediments for our evolution. And making our life simple and pure. This system is worth trying and requires no  belief or faith to attempt. You can even start meditating on-line.

Please visit www.heartfulness.org for further details without delay and sowly adopt the Heartfulness way of life. Also visit www.theheartfulnessway.com and read the book The Heartfulness Way by my Spiritual Guide Shri Kamlesh D Patel and Joshua Pollock.

Tools to Consciously improve the quality of our inner life - Introspection

The meaning of the word “Introspection”, as an online dictionary suggests is soul-searching, looking within, contemplating on one’s own thoughts, emotions and feelings, self-analysis or heart-searching. Introspection especially is an un-ignorable tool to improve one’s inner spiritual life.

What Introspection is NOT

Introspection is NOT meditation; it is NOT concentration; is NOT sitting quietly.

What Introspection IS

Introspection is to look within; looking at one’s own self as a third person without being judgmental; watching one’s own self “as he/she is” and finding one’s own self as it is.

Introspections helps one to accept one’s own self as he is. Acceptance being the first step to Change one’s self. It helps us to identify our strengths and weaknesses/problems. Helps us to watch one’s own thoughts, emotions and feelings as they are. Helps one to identify the areas that can be worked upon; identify the areas that are difficult to work upon; and also helps us to identify the areas where there is no possibility to work upon and accept them.

That which can be worked upon should be worked upon consciously and got rid of immediately.

To deal with the areas that are difficult to work upon, we need to invoke the help of the Divine within or with the help of the Guru can be got rid of. The areas that appear to be impossible to work upon must be accepted heartily as they are by adjusting ourselves thinking it to be a part of the Divine Scheme and think that they have a significant role in our ultimate evolution. Thus ‘introspection’ as a tool can play a very vital role in accelerating our natural evolution.

Not to have Desires is also a Desire

It is said that Desires are what that make a man miserable. Some  other saint said, that it is NOT the desire but the slavery of the desire that does not allow us to advance. But even to "not to have desires" or trying to achieve "a desireless state"  is also a desire. How to solve this problem?  This question has been troubling me for several years now and constantly working at the back of my mind.  

I attempt to share the understanding that is revealed to me. One answer that occurred to me was  to desire a desireless state is really NOT a desire but an act of restoration to our original state from where we come. And it is NOT a selfish act but an act of dharma or duty that we go back to our original state. Another answer that occurred to me was perhaps that it is the only desire that removes all other desires to get back to our Origin or the Purest State. 

In tune with this, I found a Teaching that says, desires are of two types - Needs and Wants; that Needs are fundamental and basic to our existence and Wants are creations of human beings.

And so the FIRST STEP is to reduce Wants to Needs; and the SECOND STEP is to reduce NEEDs also to as minimum as possible all in a Conscious manner. This is Spirituality. This takes us to the State of Purity that we really belong.

The level acceptance determines one's position in the Evolutionary ladder. We can see such people around us very much and so it is very much a POSSIBILITY. This is the only way and an Universal way  when adopted can give human being  progressively a refined life. This is the way to Conscious Evolution.

My prayers that every human being is blessed with such a life  so that the World becomes a better place to live in.

Karmic Law and Human Being

It is a wonder to observe that a human being is subject to so many laws starting with Divine Laws, Karmic Laws, Universal Laws/Natural Laws,  Laws of the Land, Financial Laws, Medical Laws, this Law and that Law and it goes on. Yet he thinks he is supreme in some way. Whatever we are at present, we are the Resultant of so many  forces that are acting on us. Some are evolutionary, some are pulling against the evolution, perhaps they may may be called anti-evolutionary. All his life human being struggles with all these forces to get through or escape or transcend. Some succumb to these forces; some sail through reasonably; and some make it successfully. 

Of all these laws, as far as individual human being is concerned, it is a more a struggle between the Karmic Law and the Divine pull if any. Karmic Law seems to be inexorable. It appears it does not spare the greatest of beings; even those who teach us how to go Beyond. It does not spare a just-born child or to-be-born child for that matter; it does not spare the old or the young; it does not spare educated or uneducated; it does not spare the sinner or the saint.

In fact, this Karmic Law is something that defines our existence on earth.

There is pleasure and pain and all those dualities so often mentioned by all scriptures. Human being mistakenly goes in search of pleasure forgetting that pain comes along with it. In search of pleasure he undergoes all pains. It appears as if that the influence of Karmic Law is so much on the individual that he becomes utterly helpless though he pretends that everything is in his hands. It is only a pretension. We cannot explain otherwise why Stephen Hawking is like that or Helen Keller is blind; why a promising young man should die at such an early age falling from 2 feet? ; why a small child of 5 should suffer the death of its father and a mother suffering from brain-cancer who is almost ready-to-die?; somebody wants to become a an IAS, becomes a Clerk in the Government; somebody wants to become a doctor and he ends up as a software engineer; someone is ignorant dumb but he makes a fortune; etc etc. We see so many examples around us everyday. There seems to be absolutely no logic at all the way our life goes on. Human being is so helpless before the pull of the Karmic Law or Samskaras or in the modern parlance called the baggage that we brought with us. Inspite of all this human being ultimately evolves in some way at the end.

What is the solution? We need a solution that fixes this Karmic Law and takes us forward. All these forces mentioned above can be broadly categorized mainly into two major Forces viz., the Evolutionary and the Anti-evolutionary.  The human being is here ONLY to EVOLVE. So there are evolutionary forces that are trying to pull him up and there are forces that are against Evolution pulling him down. And the human being is in between. Towards what is the human being is orienting determines the level of his present evolution. The FIRST step is to be conscious of this reality. Once we recognize this reality the human being needs to be consciously make efforts to be ALWAYS oriented towards evolutionary forces through his thoughts, words, actions and most importantly with his heart. Because Heart is where the evolution happens. Take up any spiritual practise  that makes it happen. One should feel the experience on a daily basis to believe that this is happening. Please think contemplate and meditate till you get a solution for this.

However I found that Heartfulness Meditation is one such system I have been trying since several years. You can also try it if you so wish. Please visit www.heartfulness.org 

Thought Power and Meditation

Thought is the fastest means of communication available to human being. I don't think there is anything faster than 'Thought' in this Creation. The moment you think of something whether known or unknown, it instantly connects to that which you are thinking. It may be a person, place, thing or a concept; whether it is gross, subtle or subtlest or even subtler than subtlest. God is supposed to be subtler than subtlest. So thought is the ONLY means to connect with God or The Source from where everything emanates. In the human being also, before everything is actualized, it is in the form of thought inside us.

What is there before the thought? It is an idea. Idea is the potential form of thought. Idea when developed becomes thought. If we apply the same to this Creation, all this Creation must have been a thought before it is manifested. And before that thought there would have been an IDEA, the potential form of the Creation. And what is this IDEA? It must have been a little disturbance in SPACE or GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS. In the same way in HUMAN-CONSCIOUSNESS this small disturbance is called 'idea'.

So it can be inferred everything that happens within the human being is in some way a reflection of what happened before the Creation.

That is how the Creation has started and still EVOLVING of which the human being is an integral part and he is also evolving whether he knows it or not. Evolution is unconsciously happening in most of us like it is happening in minerals, plants, animals - the living and non-living. The ONLY and the great advantage that the human being is blessed with is, that he can participate in this EVOLUTION consciously using this Thought Power.

And if the Thought Power of the human being is consciously aligned with that ORIGINAL IDEA of Evolution that started at the SOURCE, the evolution of human being is faster, the ONLY purpose of the human being. The ONLY purpose of human being is to EVOLVE. That is the only most-fulfilling way of life.

Now, for whatever reasons, this alignment of human thought instead of being oriented or resonating with the ORIGINAL THOUGHT, lost it's way down the line and became dis-oriented. Meditation by regulating this thought power restores this orientation but makes possible the evolution that every soul is interested in. It is important to understand that Evolution never ends.

Especially the Heartfulness Meditation re-establishes this lost-connection with the SOURCE and facilitates the EVOLUTION that every souls is longing. Anybody can experience this system of Meditation for a brief period and can know in their own hearts where it could take.

Please visit www.heartfulness.org

Being Disciplined

                Discipline means ‘order’. It is about bringing ‘order’ in everything about us and in us. Order in our thoughts; order in our words; and order in our actions. Especially for a seeker of spirituality, the need for ‘being disciplined’ keeps growing as he/she advances in his/her spiritual pursuit. What we are seeking being extremely subtle, the need for us also is to become the same – extremely subtle. Because according to Babuji God is subtler than the subtlest. To become one with Him, we need to become subtle like Him. There is no other way.

How to become like that? To become subtle, is to cut down our desires to needs first and then bring down the needs also to a minimum; which is nothing but making ourselves simple. This may not be easy but also not difficult as Master says. But this demands enormous discipline in us.

                In order to be disciplined like this, at least in the spiritual context, one needs uninterrupted inspiration, craving to achieve the goal that is set – complete oneness with God or Master (whatever that means). This craving or restlessness is the key to achieve this discipline in us. This can be developed as we see in the lives of great Masters, through work, study, devotion or a combination of all these.

                The biggest challenge that we face to be disciplined in the daily routine is our laziness/lethargy that results in procrastination. Laziness is nothing but to be unwilling to use the will power in us. There is apparent happiness in being lazy. How to get rid of it? Unless the desire for our Goal becomes so overpowering, it cannot be got rid of. It is not so in most cases. Therefore most of the time is consumed only in overcoming laziness. Babuji used to say that “Laziness is a cancer”.  I believe if this is overcome everything else falls into place.

                In Sahaj Marg, with our little willingness if we act, Master helps us adding His will to ours and makes things easy for us, provided we co-operate. This saves a lot of time and energy and the goal appears to be closer and closer, what seemed impossible when we began. Above all, even this can happen only by His Grace. I pray for that His grace be with all of us ALWAYS.

Beware of information!

There is so much proliferation of information in this age, that it is information galore in every sphere of life. Does it help us to achieve the truth really, even if it is mundane? People say information is power, and like every power this can also corrupt us, if it is not handled properly. Do we have the necessary wisdom to handle this information that we are exposed to? Information may have given lot of comforts, but it is also producing many evils. Most of us are lost, if not all,  in the jungles of information.

You have disease, you have information! You just have to google it out. You want recipe? you have it. you want watch movie? They are aaialable very much. You name it, you have it. It is so accessible to every one like never before, even how to make a bomb. You need a Guru, there is information. 

But does it really help in the spiritual sphere ? is my query. Because as they say TRUTH or GOD is beyond intellect and understanding. And all information however profound it may be is still within the limits of mind, intellect and understanding. Fortunately TRUTH or GOD is NOT information, otherwise we would have googled GOD out of the internet.

So we need to develop certain tools to handle these huge chunks of information that we are exposed to whether we need it or not. Once this information eneters our system, there is NO known way of getting rid of it. There inside us it reamins in us undigested, because it is something that we do NOT need. But unlike excreta, there is no outlet for this. So like any undigested food that we take in creates havoc with us, this undigested information also plays havoc with us. Because it occupies space in us and interferes with everything that we do. You go to a doctor, you start supecting his treat ment, because you are now well-informed. 

It is said that to handle tonnes of knowledge one needs a grain of wisdom. It is the wisdom that one should aspire for, more than seeking information. Like we should take food according to NEED, money according to NEED, we should also have information just according to NEED, even knowledge according to NEED. What will we do with the knowledge that we do NOT put into use?  Anything More than NEED if it is consumed goes undigested in our human system and perhaps is the additional cause for our misery that we already are in. One needs to develop this wisdom to define this NEED for one's own self and in his own interest. One can develop wisdom and create more space in one's own self, only through spiritual methods. There must be certain methods by which we can erase everything that is almost wired into our biological hard disk. Let us seek them, explore them, and get rid of the junk that is occupying our sacred space inside us.

So, beware of information! 

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.