First Edition: 2018 · to achieve total internal absorption. With the demise of Babuji Maharaj in 1983, his spiritual successor Chariji guided Appaji further in His quest. His soul

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Spiritual Quest

Samartha Guru Pujya Shri

Dr. S. Somasekhar (Appaji)

Founder President

Spiritual Quest

Samartha Guru Pujya Shri

Dr. S. Somasekhar (Appaji)

First Edition: 2018

Copies: 500

© Parabrahm Mission

Published by :®Parabrahm Mission

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7th Block, Jayanagar,

Bengaluru - 560070

www.parabrahmmission.org

No Part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by

any means without permission in writing from the President

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3

यदा यदा �ह धम�� य �ला�नभव� �त भारत ।

अ�य�थानमधम�� य तदा�मान ं सजा�यहम ्॥ु ृ

प�र�ाणाय साधना ं �वनाशाय च द�कताम ्।ू ु ृ

धमा�सं�थापनाथा�य संभवाि◌म यगे यगे ॥ु ु

Yada yada hi dharmasya glanirbhavati bharataAbhyuthanamadharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham

Paritranaya sadhunang vinashay cha dushkritamDharmasangsthapanarthay sambhabami yuge yuge

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Verse: 7-8

Translation by Swami Vivekananda:

"Though I am unborn, of changeless nature, and Lord of beings, yet subjugating My Prakriti, I come into being by My own Mâyâ. Whenever virtue subsides and immorality prevails, then I body Myself forth. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma, I come into being, in every age.”

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, by Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, Bhakti-Yoga,

Chapter VI Incarnate Teachers and Incarnation

4

"Whenever virtue subsides and vice prevails, I come down to help mankind," declares Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gitâ. Whenever this world of ours, on account of growth, on account of added circumstances, requires a new adjustment, a wave of power comes; and as a man is acting on two planes, the spiritual and the material, waves of adjustment come on both planes.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, by Swami Vivekananda, Volume 4, Lectures And Discourses, My Master

These are the great souls; they are already free. And though free, they refuse to accept their liberation while the whole world is suffering. They come again and again, take a human embodiment and help mankind. They know from their childhood what they are and what they come for.... They do not come through bondage like we do.... They come out of their own free will, and cannot help having tremendous spiritual power. We cannot resist it. The vast mass of mankind is dragged into the whirlpool of spirituality, and the vibration goes on and on because one of these [great souls] gives a push. So it continues until all mankind is liberated and the play of this planet is finished.

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, by Swami Vivekananda, Volume 1,

Lectures And Discourses, Krishna (Delivered in California, on April 1, 1900)

5

The purpose of bringing Spiritual Quest is to clarify the doubts of seekers about spirituality, sadhana, and the spiritual life. This book will help the aspirants and seekers of truth, that are striving to find the reality, to understand the difference between religion and spirituality, and how to practically lead a life to realise the purpose of their life in a simple yet profound way. They may take it to their heart and start adopting the spiritual method of knowing the reality, and begin transforming themselves. For an individual that has just started the practice or for one who is aspiring to meditate, this book clarifies the basic aspects of the practice in a simple way. One aspect of the book is the section of questions and answers that would satiate the basic doubts of the sadhaka. With the practice, sometimes there are various doubts that arise, and sometimes it is not possible to get it clarified by contacting the Guru directly. Preceptors may not be in the correct position to give proper clarification for the specific doubts. When the book is brought out under the guidance of the Samartha Guru, in a comprehensive way, it helps the sadhakas, to correctly understand and practice the sadhana regularly in a short span of time. Some sadhakas may just read the question and answers, and may not want to go further. We await their further seeking into the spiritual life. For sadhakas who get involved in sadhana, and want to know more about certain aspects of spiritual life, the later section of the book - Spiritual Articles, will give elaborative answers for their inquiries, and guide them towards moulding their lives with the right attitude and approach. It may strike their hearts and inspire them to dive deeper within themselves. So this way, the first book - 'Divine Gems', gives seekers an insight on how to imbibe spirituality in

Preface

6

our lives, and the present book - spiritual quest, helps them to dive deeper in the ocean of their inner selves to realise the purpose of their existence. I hope the book inspires the sadhakas, they take it to their heart, imbibe it in their lives, and reach their goal at the earliest.

Dr. S. Somasekhar (Appaji) Founder President, Parabrahm Mission

Preface

7

The book spiritual quest is the compilation of talks and discourses given by Appaji on various occasions to guide the sadhakas on spirituality, spiritual life, worldly life, and the sadhana. The basic questions that a seeker or a sadhaka would have on the spiritual path were listed, and answered by Appaji personally to be printed here. The section of spiritual articles has been written under the direct guidance and supervision of Appaji to bring out the pearls of His wisdom acquired from decades of spiritual sadhana, for the benefit of mankind. The introduction to the practice has been re-printed from the book 'Divine Gems' for easy reference. We hope the book quenches the thirst of the aspiring seekers, enlighten them to their real purpose of existence, and persuade them to exert themselves with the right attitude and spirit and in the right direction to progress on their spiritual journey.

Literary Committee,Parabrahm Mission

Publisher's Note

8

Pujjya Shri Dr. S. Somasekhar (fondly addressed as Appaji), founded Parabrahm Mission, in the year 2014 with the objective of extending His spiritual guidance to the human society and its populace at large to realise the purpose of human life, to understand the ways of achieving such purpose through simple yet profound methods and processes and thereby enrich one's life with inner contentment, now and ever after. The mission is involved in educating the aspiring individuals, about the real cause of individual distress and sufferings and guides them to counter such afflictions through Self-realisation. The participants are guided to understand the purpose of life and realise it internally by connecting to the inner self. By following the practice of Divine Meditation, Cleansing of mind, and developing internal absorption as per the teachings of the mission, one is trained to regulate the mind, maintain inner purity and develop the divine attitude and approach in life to become one with God. Parabrahm Mission is the platform for seekers to become divinised beings through total transformation of self under the loving guidance and care of Appaji and grow into becoming the embodiment of love and eventually become universal lovers.

Parabrahm Mission

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Supremely divine and serene being, Dr. S. Somasekhar, affectionately known as Appaji, was born on 12th June 1944 in Malagalali Village, Mandya District, Karnataka, India. Right from an early age, he had an insatiable thirst to know God. This inspired Him to refer to numerous religious books and scriptures including the Bhagvad Gita, which convinced Him that His earnest search to seek God can be fulfilled only through 'Meditation'. After years of search for a capable Guru who could guide him on the right path of meditation, He came in connect with Shri Ram Chandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur, lovingly addressed as Babuji Maharaj, in 1974. In Babuji, He found His Master, who could give Him direct experience of God that He was seeking so earnestly for many years. His spiritual journey began, having learnt the path, He started intense sadhana, with constant self-purification and aspiration to achieve total internal absorption. With the demise of Babuji Maharaj in 1983, his spiritual successor Chariji guided Appaji further in His quest. His soul journey progressed in leaps and bounds bringing him closer and closer to the door of Almighty. He reached Sayujya (a level where soul begins to unite with God) in 2011. This was an unconquerable spiritual achievement by Appaji which nobody had reached. At the same time, divine plan was unfolding with far-reaching consequences. He was being prepared for the magnanimous task that lay ahead for transformation of mankind and making this world spiritualised. Guided by the inner command of God, he founded Parabrahm Mission in 2014. Through this Mission, Appaji intends to enlighten the hearts and minds of the people and practically guide them to identify & achieve the purpose of life.

Samartha Guru PujyaShri. Dr. S. Somasekhar - Appaji

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Appaji has always been a silent revolutionary. His teachings are not about just learning meditation, healing and cleaning techniques but a true meeting with one's own Self. He is a retired General Surgeon, of the cadre of District Surgeon, Government of Karnataka; and has served thousands of patients during his service. Having Mastered His own self, He has now dedicated His life serving mankind. Since 45 years, He has been causing radical changes in the society. His discourses penetrate hearts of the seekers, making one rethink and re-evaluate life. Samartha Guru Appaji awakens the soul of a seeker in his first meeting itself and initiates the journey of the soul towards its original abode. He triggers an inner connection that becomes the foundation for inner transformation that eventually conquers the lower self and furthers its dissolution in the higher Self which is the ultimate goal of human life. A Self-absorbed being, Appaji, although surrounded by material affluences, one finds Him seldom attached to it. Never before had the secret been made available to all, of the infinite journey to become one with the Source. In this modern world, wherein people are whirling around materiality, enshrouded in ignorance, Appaji, with absolute purity and childlike innocence having become one with the Source by losing the soul identity and dissolving the consciousness of His existence into the ultimate, is the torch bearer carrying the light of divinity that would illuminate the whole world.

Literary Committee,Parabrahm Mission

Appaji

11

ContentsTitle Page No.

Preface ................................................................ 5

Publisher’s Note ................................................ 7

Parabrahm Mission .......................................... 8

Samartha Guru Pujya

Shri. Dr. S. Somasekhar - Appaji ................... 9

1. SADHANA ................................................. 14

1.1 Daily Practice ........................................ 15

1.2 Prayer ..................................................... 16

1.3 Meditation ............................................. 17

1.4 Work like God ...................................... 18

1.5 Cleaning ................................................. 19

2. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ............ 20

2.1 Spirituality .............................................. 21

2.2 Samskaras .............................................. 25

2.3 Samartha Guru ..................................... 26

2.4 Sadhaka .................................................. 28

2.5 Sadhana .................................................. 29

2.6 Sadhana – Meditation .......................... 31

2.7 Sadhana - Cleaning ............................... 34

2.8 Sadhana - Prayer ................................... 36

2.9 Satsangh and Individual Sittings ........ 37

2.10 Sadhaka and Family ............................. 39

2.11 Spiritual Life .......................................... 40

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3. SPIRITUAL ARTICLES .......................... 43

3.1 Purpose of Human Life ........................ 44

3.2 Religion .................................................. 46

3.3 Spirituality .............................................. 48

3.4 Samskaras .............................................. 49

3.5 Journey of the Soul .............................. 51

3.6 Deeksha ................................................. 54

3.7 Yogic Transmission .............................. 55

3.8 Sadhana .................................................. 56

3.9 Real Meditation ..................................... 58

3.10 Prayer ..................................................... 60

3.11 Cleaning ................................................. 62

3.12 Individual Sitting .................................... 63

3.13 Satsangh ................................................. 64

3.14 Constant Remembrance ...................... 65

3.15 Traditional Bondages ........................... 67

3.16 Blocks on the Spiritual Journey .......... 69

3.17 Obedience ............................................. 71

3.18 Discipline ............................................... 73

3.19 Faith ....................................................... 75

3.20 Devotion ................................................ 77

3.21 Surrender ............................................... 78

3.22 Service .................................................... 80

3.23 Gratitude ............................................... 82

3.24 Tolerance ............................................... 84

3.25 Divine Love ............................................ 86

3.26 Universal Love ....................................... 87

3.27 Character Transformation .................. 89

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3.28 Role of Guru in the Life of a Sadhaka 92

3.29 Role of Sadhaka in their Spiritual Life 94

3.30 Spiritual Way of Life ............................ 96

3.31 As You Think so You Become .......... 98

3.32 Death and Liberation .......................... 100

3.33 Grihastha Jeevan .................................. 102

3.34 Real Knowledge .................................... 104

3.35 Real Renunciation ................................ 105

3.36 Darshan ................................................. 107

3.37 Birth Anniversary of Samartha Guru 109

3.38 Birthday ................................................. 110

3.39 Yuga Parivartan .................................... 111

3.40 Tips for Fast Spiritual Progress ......... 113

Glossary ................................................................ 114

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ddddd 1Sadhana

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1.1 Daily Practice

When you get up in the morning think that 'I am saint'. Have this feeling whenever possible throughout the day.

[There is nature's law that 'as you think, so you become.' Thus when we give positive suggestion to mind that I am a saint, we shall start developing saintly qualities like love, empathy, patience, tolerance, discipline, etc. We grow to become devoid of negativity, and become true to conscience.]

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1.2 Prayer

O Parabrahm,

The real purpose of human life is,to get our soul dissolved

in your pure ocean of bliss.

But the samskaras are blockingthe journey of the soul to reach you.

You are the only almighty Godto remove the obstacles on

the path of spiritual progress.

We humbly pray you to carryour soul to your existence.

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1.3 Meditation

Start the day with heartfelt prayer connecting yourself to the Parabrahm followed by meditation. Sit in a comfortable posture and take the attention inwards to the heart. With an attitude of love and devotion, think and feel that there is divinity in the heart. If mind gets diverted in thoughts, gently bring it back to the heart without forcing the mind to concentrate. Try to be in the meditative state as long as possible, at least for half an hour in the beginning. Practice taking the attention inwards to the heart whenever possible during the day even if you get one minute of free time. This helps to regulate the mind and develop inner dependence leading to constant remembrance of divinity. It also helps in reducing negative thoughts and tendencies.

18

1.4 Work Like God

In meditative state, without being conscious of the work, think and feel that 'I am a Central Sun and love is flowing from my heart to the entire creation'. Have this feeling whenever possible.

[In the meditative state, when one transmits love to the entire creation, love fills the entire existence of the practicing sadhaka also, giving them the experience of the divine love, its subtle power and its profoundness, driving them to dive deeper and deeper into it. It helps the sadhaka to progress spiritually.]

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1.5 Cleaning

Visualise divine white light from the cosmos entering the body through Brahmarandra (point in the crown of the head). Feel that this light is pushing down the impressions created during the day as well as negativity and impurities of entire mind and body, below to the ground and earthen it 100 feet into the ground (visualise the white light passing through the body slowly from top to bottom, making its way by pushing the impressions, negativity and impurities downwards). Then, feel that the white light fills the entire mind and body making them lighter and divinised.

20

2Questions

and Answers

21

Q1 : What is spirituality?A : Spirituality is the science of God.

Q2 : What is the difference between religion and spirituality?

A : In religion, we worship God outside, while in spirituality we seek God within ourselves.

Q3 : What is the purpose of human life?A : Our soul was separated from the Creator at the time of

creation. Human body is the vehicle, wherein the soul can travel back and merge in the Creator. This is the purpose of human life – ‘to go back to the Source from where we have come.’

Q4 : Who is Parabrahm?A : Parabrahm is the absolute God that is the Source of all

c r ea t ion . Abso lu te God i s the Un ive r sa l Consciousness that is all pervasive and can be experienced only through heart. We can call Him Creator, Source, Parabrahm or Parmatma. He is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient.

Q5 : What is the relation of atma (soul) and Parmatma (God/Source/Creator)?

A : Soul is the spark of Creator. At the time of creation, soul has come from the Source, and again it has to go back to the Source. Soul longs to become one with Him. That is the bond of atma and Parmatma.

Q6 : What is the journey of the soul?

2.1 Spirituality

22

A : Journey of the soul is its travel from the place where it is, to the Source from where it has come at the time of creation. As the soul progresses towards the Source, it is also known as progress of the soul.

Q7 : What is the spiritual progress?A : Spiritual progress is the progress in the journey of the

soul towards the Source. In order to perceive the spiritual progress, mind should also parallelly align to the soul by becoming calm and regulated. With spiritual progress, sadhaka develops more inclination towards meditation, negative tendencies of the mind come down, and the quality of sadhana improves progressively.

Q8 : Who is a Samartha Guru?A : One, who is always connected to the Ultimate, works

as per the divine orders and who has the command of the divine energies to transmit to the sadhaka for their spiritual progress is the Samartha Guru.

Q9 : What are the blocks on the way to spiritual progress?A : Greed, anger, attachment, laziness, pride, arrogance,

self-centeredness, jealousy, lust and fear are the negative tendencies that blocks spiritual progress.

Q10 : Should a sadhaka forego worldly desires to progress spiritually?

A : Sadhaka should adopt a lifestyle that suits spiritual life if they wish to progress spiritually, without being attached to worldly desires.

Spirituality

23

Q11 : What is liberation?A : Liberation is a spiritual level where soul need not take

birth again. Soul becomes free from the cycle of birth and death. It is gained when soul crosses the heart region, and enters the cosmic region (Brahmanda Mandal).

Q12 : What is Atmasakshatkaar?A : It is a state of Self-realisation, wherein it starts

understanding the essence of God. It is the beginning of reality. It is a higher level of liberation.

Q13 : Is it possible to attain liberation in this life itself ?A : With a strong desire and aspiration for liberation,

under the guidance of Samartha Guru and by practicing sadhana as prescribed with inner discipline and dedication, it is possible to get liberated in this life itself and also attain spiritual elevation to the highest possible extent.

Q14 : Is it possible to reach God by following religion or dharma?

A : The way to reach God is through meditation i.e. to connect to the divinity and think about Him. If whole heartedly we think of God or worship Him unconditionally (means can be any), then it is possible to reach Him.

Q15 : What is renunciation?A : It is the condition of mind wherein mind understands

that material things are perishable and stops anchoring after them.

Spirituality

24

Q16 : What is real knowledge?A : Real knowledge comes with experience. It is the

spiritual experience obtained by meditation and sadhana.

Spirituality

25

Q1 : What are Samskaras?A : Our every thought and action leaves an impression on

the mind. These impressions become stronger when we brood over them, and become samskaras. These are stored in the subconscious mind, and come to effect at the appropriate time.

Q2 : Are there good and bad samskaras?A : The intention and integrity with which the thought or

the action manifests governs the nature of the samskaras. However, whether the samskara is good or bad, we have to take birth to undergo the consequences of it.

Q3 : How to become free from the influence of samskaras?A : It is not possible to become free from our prarabdha

(the package of samskaras that we have to undergo in this life). However, with the attitude of acceptance, surrender, and by leading a spiritual life, and doing nishkam karma (a deed without any expectation of its result), their influence on the mind reduces significantly.

Q4 : How to stop the formation of new samskaras?A : One should stop brooding over the past and future

and live in the present; being in meditative state and in constant remembrance of divinity, to stop the formation of samskaras.

2.2 Samskaras

26

Q1 : What is the role of a Guru in the spiritual life of a disciple?

A : The Guru nurtures the soul of the sadhaka, and guides them to lead a balanced existence.

Q2 : Can I contribute to Guru's work?A : When there is love, surrender, devotion and

dedication in the heart with an attitude of service mindedness, then definitely we can participate in Guru's work.

Q3 : What should we offer to the Guru?A : Anything offered to the Guru with love is acceptable

to Him. The highest offering would be the surrender of our self to Him, so that he can transform us, and take us to the highest level of spiritual evolution.

Q4 : How can we invoke Guru's blessings? How can we become deserving disciples?

A : By meditating regularly and doing the sadhana as prescribed, developing love and devotion for the Guru and by whole heartedly serving the Creator and His creation, we can become deserving disciples and invoke His blessings.

Q5 : Can we leave the Guru, if we are not satisfied?A : Yes, one can leave Guru as per their wish. There are no

bondages.

Q6 : Who is a preceptor?A : Preceptor is a spiritual trainer, who is connected to the

2.3 Samartha Guru

27

Guru, and works under the guidance of Samartha Guru, serving His mission, guiding sadhakas and giving individual sittings.

Q7 : What are the qualities to become a preceptor?A : To become a preceptor, sadhaka should be willing to

serve the Guru and as per His guidance, guide the sadhakas of the mission with love and dedication.

Samartha Guru

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Q1 : What is the role of a sadhaka in their spiritual life?A : Sadhaka should do the sadhana as prescribed with

love, faith, devotion and surrender.

Q2 : Who is a real disciple?A : One who is obedient and disciplined in sadhana is the

real disciple.

Q3 : What are the qualifications to become a disciple?A : A desire to reach Him, interest in meditation, and

willingness to practice the sadhana with dedication are the qualifications to become a disciple.

Q4 : What should be the right attitude of a sadhaka to lead a spiritual life?

A : Sadhaka should be obedient to the Guru, and be willing to accept and correct his shortcomings to lead a spiritual life.

2.4 Sadhaka

29

Q1 : What is sadhana/spiritual practice?A : Practice of meditation, prayer, cleaning and constant

remembrance undertaken to reach the goal of human life is sadhana.

Q2 : What is the connection between food and spiritual sadhana?

A : The energy of food we consume gets absorbed in the body and reflects on mind. Satvik food has positive effects, while Tamsik foods like Non-veg, alcohol, etc., negatively influences the mind and body coming in the way of spiritual progress.

Q3 : Can anybody do the spiritual sadhana?A : Spiritual sadhana prescribed by the Parabrahm

Mission can be done by anybody after taking deeksha from the Guru.

Q4 : What is deeksha?A : An aspiring sadhaka is introduced to spiritual practice

by deeksha from a Samartha Guru. It is the sacred act of awakening, activating and starting the journey of the soul of the sadhaka by the Guru using His divine will power. Guru blesses the sadhaka to progress spiritually. The inner connection establishes between Guru and the sadhaka. Thus whenever the sadhaka meditates, he will receive yogic transmission from the Guru and it helps in their spiritual progress.

Q5 : What is yogic transmission?A : Yogic transmission is a divine energy coming from the

2.5 Sadhana

30

God. It is food of the soul. It is utilised by Samartha Guru for the spiritual progress of the Sadhaka. When it enters the soul, it leads to the journey of the soul.

Q6 : After taking deeksha and practicing the sadhana, can we continue religious worship?

A : The subtlest and highest form of worship is the Mano-pooja - inner worship. Religious way of worship is grosser. We start with the grosser form of worship and move towards subtlety. If the grosser forms are continued for long, then the expansion of mind and soul is hampered.

Sadhana

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Q1 : What is meditation?A : Meditation is thinking continuously about something.

In spirituality we meditate upon the divinity in the heart. Heart is the seat of the soul, and soul is the spark of Creator. Thus, meditation is beholding the divinity within our heart.

Q2 : Why should we meditate?A : The wandering mind is the cause of much sickness.

Meditation leads to regulation of mind, and so mind becomes still, and stops wandering or brooding over negative thoughts. Also, in meditation, when mind goes near the soul, yogic transmission follows and it leads to the journey of the soul. Thus meditation leads to good physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Q3 : How to do the meditation?A : Meditation should begin with heartfelt prayer

connecting oneself to the Parabrahm. Sit in a comfortable posture and take the attention inwards to the heart. With an attitude of love and devotion, think that there is divinity in the heart. If mind gets diverted in thoughts, gently bring it back to the heart without forcing the mind to concentrate.

Q4 : When to do the meditation and for how long?A : Start the day with the meditation, and meditate for at

least half an hour in the beginning. Also, practice taking the attention inwards to the heart whenever possible during the day even if you get one minute of free time. This helps to regulate the mind and develop

2.6 Sadhana - Meditation

32

inner dependence leading to constant remembrance of divinity. It also helps in reducing negative thoughts and tendencies.

Q5 : Is there any specific posture for doing the meditation?A : Sit in the comfortable posture, so that the posture

doesn't divert or distract the attention during the meditation.

Q6 : Why should we meditate on the heart?A : Heart is the seat of the soul, and soul is the spark of

Creator. When we take our mind towards the soul, yogic transmission follows and reaches the soul. Consciousness expands and soul starts journeying towards the Source. Thus we meditate on the heart.

Q7 : Is only the practice of meditation sufficient for spiritual progress?

A : The practice of real meditation under the guidance of a Samartha Guru along with the prescribed sadhana is necessary for spiritual progress.

Q8 : While meditating mind wanders and is lost in thoughts. What to do?

A : If mind wanders during meditation then gently bring the attention back to the divinity in the heart. Do not pay the attention to the thoughts, practice to ignore them.

Q9 : If mind is disturbed and it's not possible to meditate then what to do?

Sadhana - Meditation

33

A : Cleaning should be done to bring down the disturbance and negative thoughts. If the disturbance persists, take individual sitting from preceptor. Preceptor cleanses the mind of negativity and transmits divine energy to the heart.

Q10 : Why should we do cleaning before meditation?A : Five minutes cleaning before meditation helps in

reducing the negative thoughts and disturbances, and calms the mind.

Sadhana - Meditation

34

Q1 : What is cleaning?A : Cleaning is the method of grounding the impressions,

negativity, impurities from the mind and body. In this technique, there is a constant activity of mind, where will power is used to cleanse the mind and body by constant flow of thought.

Q2 : Why should we do the cleaning?A : As we take bath daily to cleanse the body, similarly to

cleanse the mind, we need to do the cleaning daily, since every thought and action during the course of the day, leaves an impression on the mind. We cleanse it using our will power and maintain the purity of the mind.

Q3 : How to do the cleaning?A : Visualise divine white light from the cosmos entering

the body through Brahmarandra (point in the crown of the head). Feel that this light is pushing down the impressions created during the day as well as negativity and impurities of entire mind and body, below to the ground and earthen it 100 feet into the ground. Then, feel that the white light fills the entire mind and body making them lighter and divine.

Q4 : When should we do the cleaning, and for how long?A : Cleaning is done at the end of the day, at night for 20

min, and can be done for 5 min before meditating. It can also be done for 5-10 minutes whenever mind is disturbed.

Q5 : What is will power? How does it work?

2.7 Sadhana - Cleaning

35

A : Will power is the determining and executing power of mind. It is utilized to perform all our actions. It gets positively influenced by positive thoughts, while negatively influenced by negative thoughts.

Q6 : How to increase will power?A : Will power increases with frequent usage, positive

determination and faith. Negative thoughts weaken the will power.

Sadhana - Cleaning

36

Q1 : What is a prayer?A : Prayer is a connection/communication with God. It is

a feeling of heart that is expressed by mind to offer gratitude or pray something to God.

Q2 : When should one pray?A : Prayer should be done before meditation, at bedtime

and whenever there is a desire to express any feeling internally to the God.

Q3 : Why should we pray before meditation?A : Prayer helps us to connect to the God, and thus when

we pray before meditation, mind tunes with the heart and goes into the state of meditation easily.

Q4 : What is the significance of praying before going to bed?

A : Prayer before going to bed helps us to sleep with inner harmony and communion, in the meditative state which continues throughout the night. It helps the mind to remain calm and stable throughout the day.

Q5 : Why is it necessary to understand the meaning of the prayer and meditate on it?

A : Real prayer is done in a prayerful state with feeling of the heart. It is possible to attain that state only when we understand the essence of its meaning. If we meditate on its meaning, then we can easily connect with the heart to the essence of the prayer.

2.8 Sadhana - Prayer

37

Q1 : What is a Satsangh?A : Sat means Truth and Sangh means to be together.

Satsangh is the togetherness of the soul with the Creator.

Q2 : When is Satsangh conducted in Parabrahm Mission?A : Satsangh is conducted between 10 am -1 pm every

Sunday mornings at Mission headquarters - Amrutsadma, 32nd A cross, Jayanagar 7th block, Bengaluru - 560070.

Q3 : What is the importance of Satsangh on Sundays?A : In Satsangh, Guru keenly works on the sadhakas,

clearing blocks in them, making way for divinity, and thereby nurtures their souls. Also, He invokes divine grace that pours on the sadhaka and makes them progress faster.

Q4 : What is individual sitting and when should it be taken?A : Individual sitting is a one to one meditation session,

where preceptors cleanse the mind of the sadhaka and pour yogic transmission to their heart helping in their spiritual progress. It is generally taken once a week.

Q5 : Why should sadhaka take individual sittings weekly?A : Certain incidents leave deep impressions on the mind

which is difficult to be cleaned by our individual will power and we need external help to clean it. During individual sitting, preceptors cleanse the deep impressions from the mind of sadhaka and fill it with divinity.

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Q6 : What should a sadhaka do during the satsangh and individual sittings?

A : Sadhaka should tune the mind inwards, connect to the heart, offer a prayer and meditate during satsangh and individual sittings.

Q7 : How should be the attitude of the sadhaka during the satsangh?

A : Sadhaka should cooperate during satsangh by being present there whole heartedly and opening up their hearts totally to receive the divine energy from the Guru; and meditate mindfully, with the feeling of love and devotion.

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Q1 : How to gain the faith of family members if they resist my sadhana?

A : Fami ly members shou ld be g iven a c l ea r understanding of the goal of sadhana, and its importance in one's life. Regular practice of sadhana brings about positive changes in the sadhaka, which will reduce the resistance of the family members.

Q2 : If I meditate, will it be beneficial for my family members?

A : If sadhaka meditates, then their positive vibration pervades the surroundings and influences the members of family creating a positive attitude in them. But for spiritual progress, every member has to meditate individually.

Q3 : Can we teach meditation to members of the family?A : Yes, every member of the family when meditates,

creates harmony, positive atmosphere, peace and coordination among members. To get connected internally with the Guru, every member should take Deeksha individually.

Q4 : Can we teach children to meditate? A : We can teach prayer to kids younger than 10 years. And

elder children can be taught to meditate for short time.

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Q1 : What is a spiritual life?A : Leading and living the life to achieve the real purpose

of life is the spiritual life.

Q2 : What is a material life?A : Leading a life to fulfil the requirements of the mind

and the body is a material life.

Q3 : How to lead spiritual life and material life together?A : By leading the spiritual life in the right way, it takes care

of the needs of the material existence also, as one learns to do all the worldly duties with love, dedication and perfection.

Q4 : What is a spiritual experience?A : The experiences of mind during meditation and

during the state of inner absorption are spiritual experiences. One should be observant of the condition of mind to perceive the experiences.

Q5 : How to know that I am spiritually progressing?A : If mind is inclined for meditation, stays absorbed

internally and anchors for spirituality, then it is the sign of spiritual progress.

Q6 : How do thoughts influence our spiritual life?A : There is a law in nature that 'as we think, so we

become'. Negative thoughts will develop negative tendencies, and positive thoughts will invite divine qualities. So to become divine, we should always have positive thoughts.

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Q7 : What are negative thoughts or tendencies?A : Thoughts or feelings of greed, anger, attachment,

laziness, pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, jealousy, lust, superiority, inferiority are the negative tendencies. They block the spiritual progress of the sadhaka.

Q8 : What is ahamkar?A : Ahamkar is the state of the mind that makes a person

self-centred, prideful, and narrow-minded.

Q9 : How to reduce the predominance of ahamkar?A : One can get relief from ahamkar by meditating

regularly with faith, humility, and surrendering to the Guru. By being aware and alert of our egoistic tendencies, their influence on us can be checked.

Q10 : How to overcome negative thoughts and tendencies?A : One should stop brooding over negative thoughts,

practice meditation, and cleaning regularly, then the negativity or negative tendencies will slowly transform to positivity.

Q11 : What are the divine qualities? How to imbibe them in our lives?

A : Love, compassion, empathy, reverence, wisdom, divine discretion, detachment are the divine qualities. We have to cultivate them by letting all our actions be guided by the heart, and try to inculcate their practice in our daily dealings. Give a suggestion every day to the self that “I am a saint”.

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Q12 : What is constant remembrance?A : When mind is connected to the soul and experiences

the condition of the soul, then it is in the state of inner remembrance. When this remembrance becomes continuous, it is constant remembrance.

Q13 : How does constant remembrance help in one's spiritual progress?

A : By being in constant remembrance, the sadhakas mind gets regulated and their negative tendencies that block spiritual progress diminish. Since the sadhaka is always in the state of inner connection, they draw yogic transmission all the time, which leads to the progress of the soul.

Q14 : What is divine love, and what is God’s grace? A : Divine love is the vibration coming from the Source.

God’s love pours as His grace and that is His blessings.

Q15 : How to become universal lover?A : A universal lover loves everybody un-conditionally,

and deals with everybody and every situation from their heart. One should learn to regulate the mind, and let the heart govern all the actions. With practice of meditation, constant remembrance, and by beholding the spark of divinity in all, one can become universal lover.

Spiritual Life

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3Spiritual Articles

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Human beings are at the peak of evolution on the material plane of existence. It is said that the human body is the most advanced structure known in the universe. The powers and the superpowers of human brain are not even completely understood till date. As per the Vedantis, the manifest mind which is an inner instrument, has four faculties - manas, chit, buddhi and ahamkar, through which we think, sense, perceive, and reason. The inner faculties govern our existence in the outer world. Also the mind has special powers, to name few are the will power, executing power, the power of knowledge, power of perception, memory power, power of judgment, imagination, power to hold, and many more. With this physical existence that is at the pinnacle of its perfection, have we ever wondered why do we exist? What is the purpose of this human life? Is this life only lived to acquire wealth, fame, power, pleasure, and material success, have a family, children, get old and die one day? Or is there any higher purpose to it? Why are we born? What do we live for? Why are all lives different? Am I really satisfied with the life that I am living? I may live happily, but will I die with content of having achieved the purpose of my existence? What happens then? These are the basic questions that draw us to the purpose of our life. At the time of creation, soul was born from the Source; Atma was born from the Parmatma (Source, God, Creator). The soul having separated from the Source, started its return journey, and took birth after birth to progress and return back to the Source. With every life, soul accumulated samskaras that formed the basis of next life, and it is caught up in the swirl of its own samskaras, in the vicious cycle of birth and death. Every life is a potential opportunity to go back, since the

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Purpose of Human Life

journey of the soul is possible only in the human existence. Human life is a blessing, when it has the aspiration for liberation, and further, a real boon if there is a capable guide or a Samartha Guru, who can guide the soul to transcend its own limitations, and undertake the journey to reach the Source, stage by stage, becoming subtler and subtler, ultimately to reach Him, and dissolve its own existence in Him from where it has come. Being in this existence, we ought to cater to our needs of body, mind, family, society, etc., but most important is the need of the soul to which we should give priority. Thus human life is a vehicle for the soul to travel back, and that is the only purpose of the human existence - to dissolve in the Creator, the way a drop of water dissolves in the ocean and loses its existence.

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Religion familiarises us with the idea of God. It instills in us a feeling and faith that God is the controlling power of the world, and we learn to worship Him. Also, by following religious practices, we can lead a good life by following some rules and regulations. Religion came into existence centuries ago, owing to the need to introduce the idea of God in the masses. Spirituality was thought to be for the few who renounced worldly pleasures, detach from the worldly life and live in seclusion dedicating their life to sadhana and penance. Moreover, it was very difficult to teach meditation on formless and omnipresent God, to connect to the presence of “nothing” but all pervasive and eternal entity. Thus the spiritually elevated saints and sages in ancient times, discovered simple methods, to make people familiar with the idea of God, the way students in kindergarten are shown objects like one mango, two mangoes, to calculate and understand the concept of addition or subtraction. To this end, a form, a name and the idea of worship was created, and people were asked to offer their prayers and worship to the God created, with the assurance that, by this they can get good fortune, peace and satisfaction in life. Also introduced along with, was the fear that if it is not followed righteously, it may displease the God. Having thus introduced the concept of God to the masses by introducing the form as the elementary step towards spirituality, when the understanding and faith developed after the practice; the people were guided to meditate and given the knowledge of why they should meditate. But as time passed, people got satisfied by doing idol worship, customs and traditions only, and did not think about why to meditate and how to meditate and remained at the lower level only. By giving a form to a formless and Omni-present Parabrahm and doing

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Religion

the ritualistic worship, our mind is set to limitations and develops grossness. This becomes a barrier to our mind expansion. We have to understand that idol worship, traditions, religion, customs are not wrong, but they only help us to establish the idea of God in us and should become the foundation for spirituality. Later on, on that foundation, building should be constructed stage by stage, wherein comes the need to meditate and experience the divinity within us in its true essence. The external worship gives temporary peace and satisfaction to the individual, but for the soul to progress, a capable guide is needed who can enlighten us to our real purpose, and help us to realise it in this life itself. Religion by itself cannot take us higher, but by instilling the devotion and faith for God in us; it becomes stepping stone to spirituality. To reach God, we have to rise beyond religion, and traverse the inward journey by the spiritual practice.

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Spirituality is the science of God, a process of realising oneness of the Creator and His creation. It helps us experience and feel omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God as a living presence in our own heart, realising God as the inner Self and perceiving the entire creation as one. Thus it paves the way to develop the broad mindedness to recognise divinity in all, to love and accept the creation in its totality, thereby uniting the mankind. The Real purpose of human life is to reach God and become one with Him. Meditation is the only way to find God and connect ourselves with Him through personal experience of the Self. A spiritual practitioner thus projects positive feelings like love, faith, compassion, empathy, tolerance and perseverance; establishing inner harmony with God's creation. Impressions of our thoughts and actions over the course of various lives have gotten accumulated in the form of samskaras, forming a covering around the soul. These samskaras govern the course of our existence and are the reason for what we are. With this karmic bondage, only a sincere soul craving for divinity can reach the goal. The path to God realisation becomes simple and easy with the help of a Samartha Guru, who can lift the immortal soul caught in this mortal world, relieving it out of the cycles of birth and death. Thus, enlightening the inner self of the reality of its existence, that is oneness with higher Self – the Creator. Spirituality is the need of the time. Having lost ourselves in the swirl of materiality, only the inward journey under the guidance of Samartha Guru can help us transcend the bondage of our existence, and experience the eternal bliss in the core of our heart.

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Samskara is the impression created on the mind, by a conscious action. The action can be intellectual, emotional or physical. The activity on the conscious mind, settles down into the subconscious mind as an impression which we call as samskara. Positive thoughts and action, results in positive samskara, while negative thoughts and actions would form negative samskaras. But irrespective of the nature of samskara, we have to undergo the consequence of it to neutralise their effect. This is the law of karma – 'as you sow, so you reap.’

Samskaras are of three types

1. Sanchit Samskara: This is the storehouse of samskaras of all the lives of the soul. These are stored in the deeper conscious mind, and are the foundation of prarabdha karmas. As the soul elevates on its spiritual journey, it clears off the load of sanchit samskaras stage by stage and becomes lighter and lighter as it tends to reach the Source.

2. Prarabdha Samskaras: The prarabdha samskara is the inherent samskara for the present life. This is known as 'fate'. The samskaras and experiences of the past lives form the basis of a person's mental and moral tendencies and nature in the present life. Our character, behaviour, life span, hereditary, is all influenced by these samskaras which are imprinted on our DNA. These samskaras cannot be done away with, but has to be experienced and undergone. However, by the grace of the Samartha Guru, or Parabrahm, the intensity of the effect of these samskaras can be reduced.

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Samskaras

3. Kriyaman Samskaras: The thoughts and actions of the earthly life of the soul form the kriyaman samskaras that add on to the original store and get stored in the conscious mind to become future sanchit samskaras. The seed like samskaras, surface on the mind, expands and gives rise to further activity and forms further samskaras. With inner awakening, realisation, and surrender, their formation can be avoided by doing our daily activities in meditative state with nishkama bhava (without desire or expectations). Before they form deep impressions, and dive into subconscious mind, these can be removed by daily cleaning and regular individual sittings.

With each life, with the karmic exchange, the mind evolves, learns the shortcomings, passes on the judgement and memory to the next birth, and tends to correct its tendencies by undergoing the consequence of its actions, and evolves further. It generally takes many lifetimes to gather the complete experience of the world. The journey becomes faster and easier under the guidance of a Samantha Guru. The cycle of actions and samskaras ends only when the soul gets liberated. In that state of jivanmukta, when soul leaves the body, it leaves the samskaras behind in the Prakriti and enters the brighter world without the mind, and need not take birth again.

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The way or the journey of the soul towards total mergence in its Source is 'the real spiritual journey'. Initially soul is in a sleeping state. With the first ray of yogic transmission, it awakens. With further efforts, it is activated and then begins the journey towards infinity. On this journey soul has to cross many centers or points, the reference of which can be found in the book named “Towards Infinity”, written by Shri Babuji Maharaj of Sahajanpur. Briefly, first five points of the journey form the part of the heart region otherwise known as Pinda Pradesh. Crossing the five points stage by stage, soul enters the cosmic region also called as Brahmanda mandal. At this stage, the soul need not take birth again, gets liberated, and becomes a Jivan-mukta. Brahmanda mandal is the region of mind, wherein ego starts getting refined as the soul progresses. Further journey takes the soul to Supra-cosmic region or Parabrahmanda mandal. Even further lies the Central region where starts a subtler journey of rings of splendour, Turiya state is experienced here. On crossing this state, soul then enters the infinite ocean, and swimming across this infinite ocean, soul reaches the state of Self realisation, also called as Atmasakshatkar. Highly elevated spiritual personalities are to be found at this region. But few know that there lies infinity beyond still. Beyond, lies a highly restricted region called Kingdom of God, wherein only if God Himself wishes, is the soul permitted to enter. It is possible when the individual has totally realised the Self, and wants nothing but God, free from the influence of mind, its desires and the material world. Kingdom of God briefly spans four regions known as Salokya, Sameepya, Saroopya and Sayujya. Sayujya is the ultimate chamber of God, crossing which soul reaches a level that is

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Journey of the Soul

beyond existence. On the further travel towards total mergence; soul loses its identity to dissolve in Him and furthermore, dissolves even its consciousness, which then becomes the universal consciousness with absolute dissolution in the Source. This state cannot be described in words. It has no beginning and no end, just absolute infinity and nothingness. Journey across each of these states is infinitely long and cannot be traversed without the help of God Himself or one who has totally merged in Him. A journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. The seemingly infinite spiritual journey of the dormant soul, from its awakening, activation and starting the journey to the ultimate dissolution in its Creator becomes possible for a true seeker who is willing to give the total control of his life boat in the hands of a boatman who has total knowledge and command of the journey, to take the soul across the ocean of its own existence to the shore of total nothingness. Only with personal experience can faith and total conviction develop, but first step in this direction would be to follow the heart, an inner voice that can never delude. There is always a path that leads to God, all that is required is an earnest effort to search for the right means, and once found, perseverance to go on till the end holding the hand of a Messiah.

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BEGINNING OF THE SOUL JOURNEY

Journey of the Soul

SAYUJYA

An aspiring sadhaka is introduced to spiritual practice by deeksha from a Samartha Guru. It is the sacred act of awakening, activating and starting the journey of the soul of the sadhaka by the Guru using His divine will power. Guru blesses the sadhaka to progress spiritually. The inner connection establishes between Guru and the sadhaka. This assists the sadhaka in his spiritual sadhana, as whenever the sadhaka meditates, the connection will be awakened and the yogic transmission (divine energy) will flow to the heart of the sadhaka. The connection can be understood by the analogy of an electrical connection in our house. Once the house is connected to the main supply of electricity, whenever we switch on the light, it will draw the power and glow. Similarly, after taking deeksha, wherever or whenever a sadhaka sits to meditate, they can receive yogic transmission from the Guru. Yogic transmission is the food for the soul, and by receiving it, the soul progresses on its spiritual journey. Taking deeksha is an individual choice of the sadhaka, having blessed with the inner connection; sadhaka is expected to be disciplined in the sadhana and spiritual practice to experience the infinite splendour of the inner realms.

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Yogic Transmission is the divine energy utilised for the spiritual ascension and evolution of the soul. This energy is transmitted by Samartha Guru using His divine will, to the spiritual heart (soul) of the human being. Yogic transmission is food for the soul. When it enters the soul for the first time, the soul awakens and then starts progressing on its journey towards the Source. During olden days, a spiritual aspirant had to do lot of penance, follow strict rules, ardent discipline and devote lot of time to progress spiritually. But with yogic transmission, spiritual progress becomes faster. Effects of transmission cannot be explained in words, but can be experienced practically only in meditation. An only criterion for receiving the transmission is to meditate by connecting to the Parabrahm or a Samartha Guru who has the absolute command over the divine energy. Sadhaka has to cooperate, by opening their heart to receive the transmission and maintain purity of mind, since negativity in the mind blocks the transmission from entering the soul. In this way by the regular practice of sadhana, sadhaka progresses spiritually, and experiences a blissful state leading to sat, chit, ananda and starts getting the glimpses of reality in the meditative state.

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Sadhana means the disciplined and dedicated practice undertaken in the pursuit of a goal. Spiritual sadhana allows oneself to turn inwards and perceive the truth. After taking deeksha from the Samartha Guru, sadhaka is expected to do the sadhana with sincerity and dedication for their spiritual progress. The sadhana includes the practice of prayer, meditation, cleaning and constant remembrance, attending satsangh and taking individual sittings. We start the day with a prayer and meditation. Prayer helps us to connect to the Source within and tunes us into the meditation. Meditation builds the foundation for the entire day, and builds a subtle condition of mind. Throughout the day whenever one finds time, they can take the attention to the heart, and stay in tune within. This leads to frequent remembrance of divinity, and helps the sadhaka to establish a state of constant remembrance. Cleaning helps the sadhaka to remove the impressions and tendencies that block their journey and disturb the mind. It should be done at the end of the day to clear off the day's impressions, and negativity. It can also be done anytime during the day to clear off any disturbance in the mind. Prayer with the feeling of love, devotion and gratitude before going to bed helps to stay connected to divinity even during the sleep. Then the next day starts again with prayer and meditation. Another aspect of the sadhana is to regularly attend Sunday satsangh, and take weekly individual sittings. They help the sadhaka to develop confidence in sadhana, clarify their doubts and give an opportunity to interact with the Guru personally. All the aspects of sadhana are linked, and for the sadhana to blossom into spiritual progress, all the aspects of the sadhana should be practiced like an unbroken chord, with

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Sadhana

immense love, devotion, and dedication in the heart. The sadhana practiced thus, helps the sadhaka to establish and maintain an inner connection that deepens each day taking them closer and closer to the reality.

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'Mano pooja’ is the real meditation. When mind crosses all the koshas and goes near the soul, it experiences peace and stability. This is called 'Atmadarshan'. Soul is the spark of divinity/God. So when mind connects with the soul, it is same as connecting to the divinity/God. 'Real meditation is when mind stays near the soul'. Heart is the seat of soul, and soul is the spark of Creator. When we take our attention towards heart having the idea of divinity, we will be in the state of real meditation. Also, where the attention goes, energy follows and where the energy goes, manifestation starts. This is one of the laws of Nature. Thus during meditation, when the attention goes to the soul, yogic transmission (divine energy and food for the soul) will start flowing towards it. When soul receives yogic transmission, the consciousness starts expanding and the soul journey begins. There is a proverb, 'as you think, so you become'. Thus, when we think that there is divine light in our heart, and meditate upon it, we become lighter, and mind becomes regulated, experiences balanced state – sthithapragnya. Thus meditation is real when our mind, body, and soul co-ordinately become one with divinity. Meditation should be done for half an hour to start with, and slowly the time can be extended as per individual's capacity and convenience. Also, one should strive to connect to the heart as often as possible during the course of the day (without compromising on worldly duties), from few seconds, to few minutes, and go on extending the time to reach a state of constant remembrance of divinity. As the practice of real meditation progresses, mind becomes stable, free from anxiety even amidst pains. The sadhaka develops inner strength and peace that cannot be shaken by any external factors. He starts

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Real Meditation

performing all actions in the balanced state of mind, dwelling in divinity within. Viveka - discriminatory power, develops as one learns to tune the mind with the inner Self. The inner guidance which is the voice of the inner Master becomes clearer; it further drives the sadhaka on the spiritual path, and will not let them go astray.

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Prayer is the act of heartfelt connection and communication to the Samartha Guru or God within. Sadhaka has to realise the inner connection with the God or the Guru to feel the divine presence within, learn to connect to that divine presence in the core of their being, and stay tuned within. Then He takes over the command of the life of the sadhaka, and all they have to do is but obey. The way pilot during the flight is always connected to the ground, he gets all the commands, directions from the ground control. All he has to do is obey the orders. If the connection goes off under any circumstances, then the plane is in danger. Similarly, on the spiritual flight, all we have to do is learn to establish the connection, and keep it on always, and be obedient. Now the question is how to connect to God or the Creator? It's like wanting to talk to prime minister. But he is not accessible to all, because of his level. But, if we have access to somebody who is close to the prime minister, then it becomes easy to reach him. Similarly, it is very difficult to connect to the Creator Himself, but if we are connected to the Samartha Guru, who has dissolved in the Ultimate, and is always in communion with the Source, then it becomes possible to reach Him. After taking deeksha, sadhaka is connected to the Samartha Guru internally, and then it is very easy to connect to Him. With the still mind, in the meditative state, if we think of the essence of His being, preferably formless form (not limiting to His physical being), then the connection establishes. It is advisable to start the day with this connection, and end the day with this connection. Also, throughout the day, whenever possible, try to be in the state of inner connection. This is nothing but prayerful state. When a sadhaka is connected to the Creator, then they will have the same connection with the

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Prayer

creation also, paving the way for the sadhakas to become universal lovers. It's not necessary to always ask for something in the prayer, it can be just the inner state, where the sadhaka forgets themselves, they go beyond time and space, in the inner world, in tune with the Creator. This is the state of real prayer. In that state one should communicate within. The prayer of Parabrahm Mission is a simple communication that reminds the sadhaka of their purpose, and guides them towards achieving it. It is the call of the heart to the Creator saying, O Supreme Master, the real purpose of human life, is to see that our individual soul that has come from Him at the time of creation, goes back to Him, which is its real abode. But to reach Him, the hurdles are our samskaras covering the soul that we have accumulated by our thoughts and actions over various lives. These coverings have to be emptied and removed. It is only possible by the sadhana, and Will power of the Samartha Guru. Further, we are expressing our inability to progress on the spiritual journey because of the samskaras that are holding the soul back. Thus with the attitude of total surrender and dependence, accepting that the obstacles on our journey can be removed only with His grace, we humbly ask Him, to take us to His existence. When this prayer is addressed with total devotion and love, in the state of surrender it reaches Him, and His blessings will be on us, and His grace will reach us, carrying us on the journey to become one with Him.

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Cleaning is an important aspect of the sadhana. It relieves the mind of its impressions, negativity, and disturbances that block spiritual progress of the sadhaka. Cleaning is done at three levels, first is at the level of the sadhaka, wherein they do their own cleaning using individual will power. Second, is at the level of preceptors, wherein they clean the deeper impressions and tendencies of the sadhaka. The highest level of cleaning is done by the Guru, wherein His will power penetrates in-depth of the sadhaka, and cleanses them of all the negative and rigid tendencies, impressions, and negativity. When it is necessary, Guru also does past life regression to clear off the blocks from the past lives of the sadhaka that block their spiritual progress. Mind is the controlling center of the body. It is filled with both positive and negative thoughts. Negative thoughts and tendencies are the main cause of physical as well as psychological diseases and disorders. Negativity also blocks spiritual progress. Further the impressions created on the mind become the source of samskaras. When the impressions and negativity from the mind and body is cleansed, it leads to a healthy body as well as calm and a regulated mind. By clearing the blocks, it also increases the capacity of the sadhaka to receive divine energy form the Samartha Guru. Maintaining the purity of mind is very much essential to do real meditation. Brooding over the past or worrying about the future, causes heaviness in the mind, and it experiences turmoil, losing its tranquillity. So sadhaka should be immersed in divine remembrance while attending to the present, without letting the mind wander in the past or the future. This helps to keep the mind cleansed and pure, speeding up the spiritual progress.

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Certain incidents leave deep impressions on the mind which are difficult to be cleansed by our individual will power and so we need external help to clean it. For example, sometimes for cleaning of stubborn dirt, we give our clothes to the laundry and there the expert cleans them perfectly. Similarly, to clean the deeper impressions and tendencies of our mind, we take sittings from preceptors in a one to one meditation session. This is called an individual sitting, where preceptors clean the deep impressions and negativity from the mind of the sadhaka and pour divinity to their heart, assisting in their spiritual progress. It is generally taken once a week. Individual sitting also gives time and opportunity for the sadhaka to clear off their doubts about sadhana and spiritual life from the preceptors. When individual sitting is taken once a week, it helps the sadhaka in maintaining their spiritual condition, a balanced state of mind and to meditate in a right way.

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Sat means Truth and sangh means to be together. Satsangh is the togetherness of the soul with the Creator. The togetherness with the Samartha Guru helps the sadhaka to be established in the eternal truth in the core of their heart, and drives them to dive within and beyond. Herein lays the importance of satsangh with the Samartha Guru. It is the coming together of the sadhakas for spiritual session conducted by the Guru. The session comprises of devotional songs that help to develop bhakti and gyana, followed by group meditation and a talk or a discussion on important aspects of the spiritual life. In satsangh, Guru keenly works on the sadhakas, clearing their blocks, making way for divinity, and thereby He nurtures their souls. Also, He invokes divine grace that pours on the sadhaka and makes them to progress faster. Sadhaka should cooperate during satsangh by being present there whole heartedly and opening up their hearts totally to receive the divine energy from the Guru; and meditate mindfully, with the feeling of love and devotion. Satsangh is an opportunity for the sadhaka to interact with the Guru, be in the serene atmosphere, meditate, connect within, gain the real knowledge, offer their service as per the might and develop the feeling of love and brotherhood in their hearts.

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Constant remembrance is an inner state wherein mind is always drawn inwards and is in the permanent state of meditation, i.e. in constant remembrance of divinity. Constant remembrance is not about leaving the worldly duties and sitting in meditation all the time, but it's about establishing the biphasic activity of mind. In that state, a part of mind is always drawn within, while the other part participates in the worldly activities. It can be understood by the example of a mother. The way mother retains her attention on the baby while it is sleeping, even while being involved in other work, part of her attention will be on the baby, i.e. she mentally connects to the baby. The moment baby wakes up, she would attend immediately. That is the type of connection we should establish within. Here, the centre of our attention is the God, Parmatma, of which the soul is the spark. This state is explained in Bhagvad Geeta as ‘Samadhana’. Krishna advises Arjuna to perform all actions dwelling in union with the divine, renouncing attachments and stay balanced evenly in success and failure. This state also helps the sadhaka in performing their karma with nishkama bhava (devoid of expectation of results). Any action performed in the state of constant remembrance does not form samskaras. Also, in that state undergoing the prarabdha becomes easy since the external pain or pleasures does not influence the mind that is attached to divinity within. This state is practically achieved by the practice of internal and external moderation. Internally by meditation – letting the mind stay near the heart, and externally by cleaning of desires, not letting the mind externalize or get attached outwards by becoming alert and aware. One ought to use viveka – discriminatory power to regulate the mind and

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Constant Remembrance

maintain its stillness. Being in the state of constant remembrance, mind gets regulated and balanced, becoming free from anxiety or worries. The mind learns to hold on to the inner Self, instead of pain or pleasures. The mental tendencies transform towards mental equipoise and attachment to divinity, while getting detached from the external senses. This state maintains its profoundness irrespective of the external circumstances. It gives immense internal strength and peace. A person in the state of constant remembrance will not get distracted or lose their calm or balanced state of mind even in difficult situations. Thus when the attention of the sadhaka is centered on the soul or divinity therein, they will be in the state of remembrance of divinity. There is a law of nature, 'where the attention goes, energy follows. Where the energy goes, manifestation or growth takes place.' So when the attention goes within, it draws the yogic transmission and leads to the progress of the soul. Thus constant remembrance accelerates the journey of the soul, while the blissful state of inner connection makes the existence lovable.

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Traditional bondages are the ritualistic practices that bind the people into external worship or superstitions, blind faith, etc. The question arises why are people bound by the traditional bondages? Why do they spend so much time, energy and money on the rituals? Astrology? Idol worship? Teertha yatra? Probably it's because of the satisfaction they get by doing so. Or with the faith that the deity will bless them and all their miseries will disappear. Or they bargain with the deities, that if their wish or desire is fulfilled, they would sacrifice so and so. All this may work because their own thought power has gone into them that drive the desires towards manifestation. Moreover, if someone is really able to invoke the deities, then their astral bodies may work and their powers would give results. But all this only leads to material progress, or improves the quality of life. It is all there as long as the body is there. What about the poor soul that is sitting dormant within the heart, which wants to progress through the body to get liberation? If they give that attention towards inner worship, then at least they would progress spiritually and achieve real purpose of life. Spirituality is about seeking liberation. The spiritual path is guided by a Guru, who is a living Master, having mastered His own self; can guide the sadhakas towards the ultimate perfection. There is no place for ritualistic worship on the spiritual path, because through ritualistic worship, we externalise the God, giving a solid form to it and a place outside us. It draws mind outwards, to heavier forms and limits the boundaries of the mind. Mind covers the soul, and so when mind becomes limited and heavy, it pulls down the soul which is very subtle and cannot exist at higher spiritual levels with the heaviness of mind. Spirituality takes us within. The body itself is the temple, where God is seated in the heart of the being, in

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the soul, which has come from the Source. When the God within is worshipped through mano-pooja, the external rituals loses their significance. In fact, the external rituals would limit the mind expansion and soul progress, if continued for long after coming to spiritual path. Now some sadhakas may say that 'I am totally obedient to the Samartha Guru, and with His grace I have progressed spiritually. But my problems are still not solved. I will parallelly also do the ritualistic practices so that with the blessings of deities the problems will get solved, or Shani (planetary position of Saturn) will come on track or some dosha (defects) will be removed. Then I can do spiritual practice more seriously. It's not that I don't trust the Guru, but only if I am free from pain and worries, can I meditate.' All these lame excuses only show the person is fooling around. It is not possible to sail on two boats simultaneously. If anyone tries, they would certainly drown. No body forces the person to come to Spirituality or accept the Guru. Everybody is free to choose their way of life. But if they have come by their own choice, then why not have total faith in the Guru. It is told in Bhagvad Geeta, that “Whatever happened, happened for the good. Whatever is happening, is happening for the good. Whatever will happen, will also happen for the good.” Here one ought to understand that good may not be what pleases them, but what is good for their spiritual progress. Accept that, 'whatever happens to me is my own samskara, it's my prarabdha, and I have to undergo the consequence of it, only then I will learn the lesson and evolve higher.' Have faith that, 'Guru will not leave my hand, as long as I hold tightly, I will sail through the mighty ocean of life, and He will take me to the shore. Otherwise if I am still bound by the worldly bondages, then I will have to come again and again to get real liberation.’

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Following a spiritual path is not easy. It's like climbing the Mount Everest. One ought to be dedicated, vigilant and disciplined to reach the goal, and be totally obedient to the guide. As one advances climbing a mountain, the travel becomes tougher and tougher; there is need for perseverance, a strong drive from within to reach the peak. Similarly, the spiritual journey within, demands total dedication and steadfastness on the part of the sadhaka to reach the goal. The instrument that helps on this journey is the mind. It is the mind that drives the sadhaka to do the sadhana, to walk on the spiritual journey. However, on this journey, there are various blocks, and dangers that can come in the way or pull one downwards. Ironically, the blocks also arise through very instrument of mind. The major blocks on the spiritual journey are 1. Mala or impurities such as greed, anger, attachment, pride, arrogance, self-centeredness, jealousy, lust, material desires, etc. 2. Vikshepa i.e. the distractions of the mind, that cause it to waver or wander away from steadiness, and 3. Avarana or the veil of illusion or ignorance. Further the emotions of disgust, dissatisfaction, irritability, fear and temptation are the forces that deviates the mind from the spiritual path.As per Patanjali yoga sutra, nine kinds of distractions are the obstacles naturally encountered on the path. They are:

1. Physical illness 2. Tendency of the mind to not work efficiently 3. Doubt or indecision 4. Lack of attention to pursuing the means of Samadhi 5. Laziness in mind and body 6. Failure to regulate the desire for worldly objects

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7. Incorrect assumptions or thinking 8. Failing to attain stages of the practice and 9. Instability in maintaining a level of practice once attained.

The only way to overcome these obstacles is by the intense continuous sadhana, application of viveka and will power, with the strong determination to reach the goal. It is said that desire is the fuel and thought is the fire. The fuel of desire, keeps the fire of thoughts going. So if the desire is diverted from materiality to spirituality, mind will be fuelled with divine thoughts. Slowly it becomes free from all worldly attractions and desires and becomes indifferent to pains and pleasures. The exercise of patience, tolerance, compassion and love helps in this endeavour. Human mind can very easily create illusion about its existence or behaviour. It is sometimes very difficult to accept individual shortcomings. The person thinks, they are perfect, and blame everything else. So a spiritual aspirant will have to be open about themselves, about self-created illusions or interpretations. They should have the courage to accept the criticism, introspect within, face defamation or deception without holding grudge or harbouring ill feelings within. As the sadhaka progresses spiritually higher and higher, they ought to become purer and purer. Nature will test their deservingness and their longing to reach God in varied ways. Only if sadhaka is steadfast in the desire to reach Him, will they be able to pass the tests to progress to higher spiritual levels. Sadhaka ought to have the lion heart to boldly face all the hurdles and obstacles that come in the way to reach Him. Only then is it possible to rule the spiritual kingdom, by acting as per the dictates of their pure conscience.

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The most important parameter for spiritual affluence and success is obedience. With total obedience to the Samartha Guru, the other qualities of faith, devotion, and surrender develop naturally. Total obedience of a sadhaka signifies his steadfastness to achieve the purpose of life. Guru's guidance and course of work for a sadhaka depends on the inner need of the sadhaka. It is not possible to understand or judge His ways by intellect or mind. Thus, absolute obedience is total acceptance of the words of the Samartha Guru, without judging or analysing His direction, surrendering our mind and intellect to the Guru, and following whatever he says. It is very easy to be obedient when it is convenient, but the acid test of obedience is to be obedient in an inconvenient situation also. For example, Jamadagani had ordered his son Parshuram to cut his mother's head. Parshuram without thinking of any virtue, sin, right or wrong, cut off his mother's head. Here Parshuram was obedient in an unfeasible situation. Jamadagani, who was Parshuram's father and Guru, became very happy with Parshuram for being totally obedient, and asked Parshuram to ask for any boon. Parshuram asked for the life of his mother back, and Jamadagani fulfilled his wish and revived the life of his wife - Parshuram's mother. Here we have to understand that, only the person who can give back the life can test the disciple for taking it away. It implies that the highest level of obedience should only be for the Samartha Guru. Real obedience is executing Guru's order without any second thought. When Guru says, come at 9:30, and sadhaka comes at 9:45 (without any specific reason for the delay), he takes the leniency of not being particular to Guru's words, i.e. presuming that 15 minutes delay wouldn't harm. This reflects on the lack of total obedience, or taking His words casually.

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When Sadhaka uses their intelligence and analyses Guru's direction, it reflects on their ahamkar. If a sadhaka cannot comply in the small matters as these, then they cannot expect to progress spiritually to the higher levels, where even an iota of disobedience is not acceptable. Only those who are devoid of ahamkar can become totally obedient. So vice versa, every disciple should practice to become obedient to the Guru to become free from the influence of ahamkar. To love Guru, is not easy, but being obedient is very easy. The easiest way to become obedient is to act without doubting the feasibility of action, or judging the pros and cons while leaving the results to Him. Absence of total obedience also means the lack of absolute faith in the Guru, since if the sadhaka has faith in the Guru, then they will try to become totally obedient. Similarly, devotion and obedience go together. So if a sadhaka thinks there is devotion in them, then they should introspect whether they are obedient or not. Those who have real love inside, they will be obedient. With the increase in the love in the heart, obedience also increases. Thus, the extent of obedience of the sadhaka reflects the intensity of love in their heart for the Guru. The obedience becomes complete when it is blended with love, faith, devotion and surrender. It is willingly, wilfully, happily and lovingly being obedient to the Guru. When the sadhaka is obedient to the Guru, they do His work, and His attention will be on them. When He attends to the sadhaka, He takes the charge of their lives. Thus, sadhaka ought to be obedient for their own spiritual progress, for their own selves. This absolute obedience ultimately takes the sadhaka to the peak of the spiritual ladder.

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Discipline is the orderly way of living the life. It is performing an action or doing a work when it ought to be done. Spiritual discipline includes doing sadhana regularly. Sadhana without discipline and sincerity is not the real sadhana. To advance in sadhana, one should first and foremost strive to inculcate discipline of the mind and the body from within, since only when we have total command/mastery over our inner self, can we progress towards reaching God.

Discipline in life should encompass all the planes of action namely physical, mental and emotional.

1. Physical discipline/worldly discipline: It includes regularity in sadhana; attending satsangh and individual sittings, being disciplined at ashram, being on time for satsangh, switching off mobile phones, maintaining the sanctity and serenity of the atmosphere, and so on.

2. Mental discipline: It includes disciplining the mind by not brooding over the past or future, not entertaining unnecessary thoughts, and during meditation - not letting mind wander or flow with the thoughts. It encompasses maintaining regulated state of the mind, maintaining the sanctity and purity of mind and constant endeavour to be in constant remembrance of divinity.

3. Emotional discipline: It includes regulating intense emotions like extreme anger, fear, rage, grief, depression, jealousy and their outburst. One should not impose individual emotions on others, and develop the feeling of love for all.

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Discipline

Discipline comes naturally whenever the act is important to the mind. For example, one would be on time for boarding a flight or a train because it is important to them, similarly if the sadhaka gives importance to spiritual life, they will be on time for the satsangh. When a person gives importance to spirituality, then mind cooperates. When mind is regulated, the physical and emotional discipline is also put into force. Regulation of mind is possible only through meditation and sadhana. So those who know the importance of spiritual goal will become disciplined in sadhana. If one aspires to reach the highest, then it calls for the highest order of discipline too, since at higher spiritual levels even slightest indiscipline is devastating. Discipline should be cultivated from within. If discipline is not from within, then it lacks integrity. It's like when cat is not there, and then rats are at play. Such discipline is incomplete if it's only outwardly. It cannot be imposed by introducing fear and temptation. It should be lovingly inculcated in our spiritual and worldly lives by regulating our actions. Discipline should be the way of life. Love, discipline and obedience go together. When we love the Guru, we will be obedient and disciplined. This makes a real disciple, since a disciple is one who is disciplined.

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Faith is the complete trust or confidence in God or divinity. It is a strong belief based on inner conviction. In spirituality, there is no place for blind faith, it should be real. It starts with the faith in our own selves, which brings an inner acceptance of our selves, that “whatever I am is because of my past samskaras. But my reality is different. Deep inside me, there is divinity, positivity that is covered by layers of impressions on the mind.” When we start trusting our inner self, understand the limitations of our samskaras, it persuades us to seek liberation. The desire to seek God opens our heart to the divine help and guidance, which will be easily acceptable when it comes from the Samartha Guru. Then slowly with practice, with changes happening within us, starts the real faith from the heart, for the Guru or the spiritual system that helps us to connect within. The conscious knowledge of the divinity, its profoundness, the Guru and His capabilities, is only an initial step towards gaining wisdom and enlightenment. If someone sees betterment in some body after following a spiritual path or the Guru, then they are inclined to try and test it for themselves. It is good to be observant within of our inner condition, to be able to understand whether, 'the path and the guide that I have chosen are right for me?' By practicing in the right way as guided by the Guru, the sadhaka should experience the positive changes within. The inner connection develops with the Guru and faith is seeded. Intuition guides internally, making the sadhaka to reflect and contemplate, leading to strengthening of the faith that slowly matures into real faith becoming total and unshakable. Once the sadhaka develops faith in the Samartha Guru, it should be complete, and then sadhaka should not entertain any negative thoughts or judgement regarding the

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Faith

course of Guru's guidance on the spiritual path, which will always be for the betterment of the sadhaka. Such faith can move mountains. It can clear off any obstacles on the inner path and helps the sadhaka to progress spiritually, and lets them remain duty bound under all circumstances. Developing real faith is not easy. It comes with the samskaras or association of previous life with the divinity or the Guru. Or it may develop because of Nature's blessings, if sadhaka is destined to reach the goal. Sadhaka has to open their hearts to divinity, and cooperate with the Guru by becoming obedient and disciplined to invoke Guru's grace; otherwise sadhakas would have to struggle to develop the faith. Real faith is a spiritual bondage with totality of acceptance of the guide and His teachings. It is the essence of love personified. It is not temporary, but constant, not from the mind but from the heart. It attracts the Guru, and pulls the heart of the Guru towards the sadhaka to lift them higher and higher.

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Devotion is the feeling of love, faith and loyalty for God or the Guru. It is absolute and selfless. Devotion doesn't come in the beginning for most of the sadhakas, but develops with sadhana as they experience the real knowledge. The way after intense processing, sugar is derived from sugarcane; the essence of the extract of sadhana and inner knowledge is devotion. Devotion develops with real faith. It carries along love, faith and continuous dedication. Progress will be faster when devotion develops in the sadhaka. It becomes cent per cent when all the parameters of love, faith and obedience manifests and matures in the sadhaka. Devotion leads to total dependence on the Creator or the Guru, and that total dependence embraces the devotee and the God. The feeling that, 'I have come from you and I am yours' will permeate in the sadhaka. This is the peak of richness of heart. When this stage is reached, there is no falling back on the spiritual journey. The example of the highest level of devotee was Meerabai. She was embodiment of love and innocence, her love and devotion for lord Krishna was boundless. In the state of devotion, she never cared even about her life, and Krishna Himself had to come to her rescue. Such is the type of devotion one should aspire to develop in their hearts, where one forgets their own self, and the consciousness of the self is replaced by the Beloved. If one practices the meditation by invoking the feeling of love in their hearts, then devotion grows very fast. It is the feeling that would accelerate the spiritual growth and maturity of the sadhaka by many folds. On a spiritual path, real love is blended with devotion, and then it becomes pious. That is the feeling one should strive to nurture in the heart for the Guru, which will lead to total surrender.

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Surrender is the acceptance of every situation as the will of God. Surrender begins with love. If we develop pure and unconditional love for divinity in us, then we don't expect anything or question anything, but rather accept everything as the will of God. This is the real surrender, where having totally surrendered ourselves, nothing remains further to be given up. When the sadhaka is connected to the Samartha Guru, on a spiritual path, everything that happens in the life of the sadhaka would pave the way for their spiritual progress, since Guru silently works to remove all the blocks on the path. Thus with the total faith that all that happens is His grace for individual betterment, even if it may appear not appealing to the mind, one should surrender to the divinity. When a patient needs to get cured of his physical limitations, he decides to undergo the surgery from the surgeon. Having decided to go ahead, he puts faith in the doctor, and cooperates as guided by the doctor, without analysing the course of doctor's actions. Similarly, when sadhaka surrenders to the Guru for their own spiritual progress, they ought to cooperate in His work by total acceptance of everything. Real surrender is always total, it is not just the surrender of miseries and pain, but encompasses the entire existence. Samartha Guru is like a mirror, He reflects in entirety. If the sadhaka totally surrenders to Him, then He accepts them totally. He takes the responsibility of their entire existence. Then, all that the sadhaka ought to do is, depend upon the Guru like a new-born child in the hands of a mother, becoming free from fear, and also free from the burden of their own existence. The end result of every action done in the state of total surrender rests on the Guru, and so the formation of new samskaras stops. The surrender is actually the submission of

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the lower self to the Higher Self. Divinity does what the self cannot, and having surrendered totally, even the consciousness of having surrendered drops off. The way a dead person does not declare that he is dead, like that; we should not have the awareness of surrender, but just be in that state. It should be the state of the soul, devoid of influence of the mind. When we surrender to God, He plans our life. Whether we accept it or not, the plan will be successful, i.e. it leads to our spiritual evolution. Sometimes we experience failures in life because we ourselves are the planners, and when it is against His plan, we meet with failures. But if we cooperate in His plan, then it is not about success or failure, but about progressing towards Him. When there is a conviction and feeling in the heart that Guru is the real doer, then the end result also belongs to Him. Finally, the question is “How to surrender ourselves to Samartha Guru?” We have to understand that it doesn't come overnight. The first step towards surrender is to practice the sadhana. By regular practice of meditation, cleaning, the attention is drawn inwards. It leads to frequent remembrance of divinity, and with constant practice, progresses to constant remembrance. When we are in the state of constant remembrance of divinity, we forget ourselves. When we forget ourselves, we forget our sorrow, happiness and everything. The idea of “me” and “mine” will be deleted from us, and absolute surrender manifests in its totality. Then, spiritual progress will have no boundaries.

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Service or seva is a selfless and voluntary act of offering to assist. As the faith and devotion for the Guru develops in the sadhaka, their hearts fill with gratitude for all that they receive. Service is a way to offer the gratitude to the Guru or God, by devoting oneself to His work.

Sadhaka can serve God at three levels:

1. Physical level : The service should be done with an attitude that God is in the heart of entire creation. It includes activities like serving food, clothes, accommodation to needy, education to needy, doing voluntary work at ashram, etc.

2. Mental level : This includes rendering time and energy towards making the mankind understand the purpose of their life. It involves spreading spiritual thoughts through speeches, literature, books, etc; to make people understand about spirituality and awakening spirituality and spiritual thoughts in their heart ( gnanodaya).

3. Subtle level : This is a higher level of seva, where the sadhaka can work on the entire creation at subtle level by emitting love and divine energy, from their hearts to the entire creation, making it pure.

Serving helps to mould the sadhaka on the spiritual path. The act of selfless service opens up the heart of the sadhaka paving way to spiritual progress. It refines the ego,

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Service

increases tolerance and reduces the negative tendencies. Thus, the act of service itself serves as the platform to become universal lovers. A sadhaka should be absolutely obedient to serve the Guru. Service shouldn't be offered as we please, but as He wishes, or accepts. Service to the Guru should be offered with an attitude of love. For example, when son loves the father, then he will be ready to sacrifice anything or do anything that is liked by the father. Similarly, to serve the Guru, the needs and likes of the beloved, should be more important than our choices and convenience. Samartha Guru cleanses the atmosphere and minds of people with His will power, infuses divine energy in their hearts that leads to their spiritual progress, this is the highest level of service. Sadhaka can also do the supreme level of service by meditating, doing sadhana, becoming embodiment of love like the Guru, by reaching His level spiritually and thereby serve the entire creation.

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Gratitude is the feeling of thankfulness from heart for the Guru or divinity for the golden opportunity and blessing to progress to highest spiritual level under the guidance of the Samartha Guru. A heart filled with gratitude is the humane heart, the heart that has no gratitude may be physically human, but in reality it is way below the level of being human, yet even further away from becoming divine. So gratitude starts from the zero level, where we just live self-centred existence, without bothering about anybody or anything in life. People take benefit from all, but never appreciate or acknowledge others' kindness or goodness; it is the lowest level of existence. When the sadhaka enters the field of spirituality, with practice, their heart becomes softer, real love develops in them, and with the grace of the Supreme Master, they progress towards becoming divinised. The load of individual samskaras become less and less as the soul goes higher and higher on the spiritual ladder, and all the spiritual parameters like love, faith, obedience, surrender will go on becoming absolute. For all that Guru gives, His love, for enlightening the mind with the knowledge of truth, for bringing real joy in the life, for showing the path of truth, for making life worthy and pious, sadhaka will be filled with the infinite love and gratitude for the Guru. Having received so much from the Guru, what can the sadhaka give Him in return? One cannot give back anything to the Guru; even if they have to give their life for Him; it would be but negligible in front of the infinite spiritual wealth that He showers on every sadhaka. Only thing that sadhaka can do is, offer the heartfelt love and gratitude for everything, be content in life, surrender totally to Him and never be negligent of remembering Him every moment. The gratitude or its expression has no end. But the sadhaka can contribute to His

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Gratitude

mission of spreading divinity to the entire creation by becoming that He wants them to be, and serve Him in His endeavour as per the individual capacity and let mankind benefit by His divine presence on the earth.

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Tolerance is an attitude of moderation, patience, self-restraint, kindness, compassion and endurance. It's a virtue that develops as the sadhaka progresses in their sadhana. In general people tend to be intolerant to anything that is apparently wrong, immoral, or something that is out of their conditioned mind. For example, suppose a person is used to living a disciplined life, then they cannot tolerate any indiscipline. We expect others to live conducive to our way of life, or at least expect them to cooperate in our endeavours and not block it if they cannot support. When this also doesn't happen, we lose the mental strength and tolerance, and cannot ignore further, that's when the consequences may not be pleasant, and sometimes it is devastating. It disturbs our peace of mind. It may or may not affect others, but certainly affects us, creating ripples in our mind. So spirituality says, 'see the heart of everyone, not their deeds. Do not judge anyone, or expect anything from them. Whatever anyone does, is their samskaras. I have no control over anyone; neither can I in my limited capacities change any one.' Then why not accept them, and in my own subtle ways try to mould them towards spirituality. If they are not on track, talk to them; try to make them understand the law of karma, purpose of life. If nothing works, heart-fully pray for them. A sincere prayer will definitely be answered; it's all the question of time. The clear indication of the spiritual progress is growing tolerance in the sadhaka. When the sadhaka starts developing tolerance, it indicates that the practice is on the right tract. Inner love and acceptance starts for all. There won't be any inclination to punish anyone, or thoughts of retaliating, either to take revenge or avenge their actions, or react impulsively, but

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Tolerance

we would let the law of karma deal with it. In any given situation or circumstance, never lose integrity or fall down to lower levels, and behave in any manner that would conflict with the spiritual path. After all, this life is for few years, then why to create unnecessary impressions, and let others disturb our minds, or slow down our progress. Let us be like the coconut which on ripening withdraws within from the outer layer, it is within the shell, but still separate. Similarly, even being the part of the world, participating in our worldly activities, our attention and focus of life should be inwards. Then it will help us very easily deal with the difficult world, not minding anybody, but still doing our duties, fulfilling our responsibilities with love, without any expectations, and pursuing the only desire to reach Him.

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Real love is always unconditional. It is a state of soul, without the consciousness even of its presence. It is pure and blissful. What we see and feel in worldly relations is only affection and is need based, unlike the real love that is divine. The divine love frees us from all the worldly bondages, and binds us to our Creator within. In that state, we radiate love from our heart all the time, since what is there within us only is reflected outside in all our endeavours and dealings. Now the question is how to nurture the divine love in the heart? It's easy to like and love all that gives happiness to senses, since mind is always inclined towards sensory pleasures. Spirituality says just turn the head from sensory pleasures to inner bliss, divert the attention towards gaining the pure bliss of divine love, and then we can achieve unimaginable heights in spirituality. When we love something passionately, then we strive to reach it with all our heart, we are obsessed with it, and desire proximity to the object of our love. Thus, if we want to develop such deep love in us, start thinking about God or meditate on Him, by constant thinking, it matures into the feeling of love. If we continue to do this, then the desire/aspiration to reach Him aggravates. Love is the secret of all success. Real love is fearless and always liberates. Whoever has real love in them is always free from fear, and would boldly face all the obstacles in the way of their love. Divine love is the feeling of highest vibration. It is the nature of the soul, devoid of all the influences of the mind. Thus when the sadhaka develops real love for God or the Samartha Guru, it compels the Guru to take them closer and closer to Him, to finally dissolve in His essence. Thus it is very much necessary for the sadhaka to understand real love, try to nurture it in their hearts by constant remembrance of divinity, and transform themselves to become the embodiment of love.

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It is easy to love God or Samartha Guru, because of their purity and perfection. But loving all is not easy, because mind always judges and analyses before conferring. But universal love is about loving the entire creation unconditionally. It should be spontaneous and emits naturally from the heart towards entire creation. Only one who has reached highest level of ‘Sthithapragnya’, and one who has pure mind, can become a universal lover. A universal lover is above all dualities and is in the state of real renunciation. Universal lover does not love everybody individually, but the person himself becomes love, and so love radiates from their heart irrespective of the recipient, without being conscious that they love. It's like the Sun that gives light to all. It is its nature to shine, without being conscious that it is giving the light to all. The consciousness itself can be detrimental, since it pulls down the individual to duality. The state is established permanently as the state of the soul, when one reaches the highest spiritual level, and loses the consciousness of their existence, and dissolves in the ultimate. When heart is filled with love, there won't be any expectations. Such a person never blames or judges. Love brings empathy, and when needed, puts other people's need before the individual needs. To reach such a state one should be free from negative tendencies and emotions like greed, lust, material desires, pride, arrogance, anger, attachment, jealousy, etc. If one aspires to become universal lover, they should be in the inner remembrance of divinity, connected to the Guru, and deal with their hearts and not the mind. When the sadhaka is totally connected to Guru, Guru's condition reflects in their hearts, and so they become like Him. But this is only as long as the sadhaka is totally connected to Him internally. The

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moment mind interferes, the individual nature manifests, and the inner connection weakens. Nevertheless, the connection can be re-established with awareness and intense desire to become like Him. Till the soul reaches the state of losing its consciousness, one can strive to be there with individual efforts by practicing “work like God”. In the meditative state, when one transmits love to the entire creation, love fills the entire existence of the practicing sadhaka also, giving them the experience of the divine love, its subtle power and its profoundness, driving them to dive deeper and deeper into it.

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When mind is engrossed in a thought, impressions are formed. With continuous brooding, impressions deepen into an attitude. Prolonged attitude develops into a habit. Habits form the basis of character. Character determines the final destiny. Thus the sadhaka should develop good character by having positive thoughts, positive attitude, and maintaining balanced and regulated state of mind. An ideal character signifies righteousness, peacefulness, joyfulness, service mindedness and lovingness. A person with an ideal character radiates divinity, love and positivity. The living example of the perfect character is the Guru, who has reached the highest level of spiritual evolution, and the changeless state of His soul reflects in His ideal character which has transformed into perfection. Ideal character does not come from parents, environment, or is not influenced by friends. It is a result of individual efforts, doing good deeds, penance and perseverance. Character is not visible outside in the attire or mannerisms, but it may reflect in words, work, talk or approach. Good character is like the light of candle. It's the nature of the candle to give light, without being conscious of it. Similarly, a person with a good character will not know or be conscious of his goodness. His character is expressed in his every deed and dealings. Such a person attracts everybody, the way light attracts moths. Character formation is the responsibility of every sadhaka. Guru gives spiritual progress, an inner spiritual condition, but reflecting the inner condition in outer attitude is an individual responsibility of the sadhaka. Love is the nature of the soul; it should be reflected by the attitude of love, compassion, humility, obedience and truthfulness in all

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dealings. There should be resonance between the external attitude and the inner spiritual condition. It is very much necessary to maintain spiritual progress given by Samartha Guru. A positive character is the nurturing force for spiritual progress; it prevents the sadhaka from losing their spiritual wealth. Every individual is born with prarabdha samskaras. These samskaras govern the nature of an individual, and determine their character. For flowering plants to grow, we need to remove weeds from the garden; similarly, character transformation involves enhancing the positivity and removing the negative tendencies that block the progress. The positivity is enhanced by meditating more and more, purifying the heart and letting it guide the dealings. Negativity stored in the mind and body, can be removed by the method of individual cleaning, taking help from preceptor as well as Guru. When mind is purified, the negative tendencies, samskaras, multiple personalities, will start dropping one by one. Negativity like anger, intolerance, and greed will slowly diminish. We call this as transformation. When all impurities, negativity, coverings are removed, then the real truth within reveals itself. There is a saying that “God helps those who help themselves”. If someone thinks, that 'he is right, or perfect'; then that prejudice itself blocks the transformation. Prejudice either about oneself or others is the biggest block in character transformation. Another block is the fear or resistance to change. Questions that arise in mind are, 'What will happen if I become soft and loving? I have to at-least outwardly be strict otherwise people may take me for granted!'. Such doubts and questions block the will to change. But one should always be willing to cater to all that they expect others to cater to them.

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Character Transformation

This is the first step towards building character. The sadhaka should love others the same way they love themselves or our dear ones. One should not hurt anybody's feelings. Every moment sadhaka should check their behaviour, outer and inner condition. Contemplate; be alert and aware about their attitude and approach. They should have the courage to face themselves, accept individual limitations and boldly work towards changing themselves with the help of the guide. Ideal character state embodies integrity and perfection. We should be true to ourselves, never compromise on our ethics and principles; and be willing to sacrifice anything to maintain that integrity at any cost. Righteousness is the nature of the soul. When we surrender to one who is above dualities, the governor of the universe within us, and let Him govern our lives, then we become free form the doer ship, our actions are guided by His commands and thus, we become spiritualised and saintly.

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The Charama Guru is one who is totally dissolved in the ultimate, and loses His consciousness into the Universal Consciousness. The proximity to the material form of Charama Guru can work wonders on the sadhaka. If the sadhaka cooperates by doing sadhana, becoming obedient, disciplined and surrendering themselves totally to the Guru, then they would swiftly progress spiritually. The non-material form of such a Guru exists in the entire creation, and anybody who really connects to the formless Parabrahm or the Source, and establishes inner proximity with Him, will get connection to the Guru and benefit as per their might. Only the Charama Guru is Samartha to cater to the needs of the entire creation. He works as per the divine orders and has the command of the divine energies to transmit to the sadhaka for their spiritual progress. For spiritual progress, we need a living Guru who is Samartha to use His will power to lift the soul, and clear the blocks that come in the way of the spiritual progress. It is not possible to lift the soul without the human mind. The human mind that has totally divinized itself will have the divine will power to lift the soul stage by stage. After deeksha, the sadhaka would have internal connection with the Guru, and if they develop total faith in the Guide, and learn to silent their tendencies, then they will be able to experience inner guidance of the Guru in each and every stage of their lives. The living Guru is the role model for the entire creation. The changeless state within takes Him to the highest level of perfection that extends from the human plane to the divine plane. This perfection reflects in all His actions, approach and way of life. He becomes the Master of His self, becoming the embodiment of love. A sadhaka can look forward to becoming

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like the Guru, can interact with the Guru and seek His help to overcome their imperfections. The Guru with His divine vision guides the sadhaka on their journey. His guidance and work for the sadhaka would be as per the individual needs to make them grow out of their limitations, and may not be the same for all. His ways are mysterious, and cannot be comprehended by the mind. The Samartha Guru works on the sadhaka on all the planes, physical, mental and spiritual. He accelerates their spiritual journey, holds the hand of the sadhaka and lifts them higher and higher. His existence on the human plane is a blessing for the entire creation, a golden opportunity for mankind to progress spiritually in the shortest time and go back to their homeland.

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Sages of the olden days have divided disciples in two types, Manmath and Gurumath. Manmath disciples come to Guru to get their desires and expectations fulfilled or for solution of their worldly problems. If their expectation is not fulfilled, then they leave the Guru. There is no question of obedience, surrender or discipline in them. Gurumath type of disciples come to Guru with the spiritual goal in their mind. They are very obedient to Samartha Guru, and they have surrendered themselves to the will of the Almighty. It is the Gurumath disciple that can progress in spiritual life by cooperating with the Samartha Guru. It is the Guru who lifts the soul of the sadhaka to higher levels, then what is the role of the sadhaka in their spiritual journey? Sadhaka has to cooperate with the Guru to let Him work on them. To progress spiritually to higher levels, there are three basic qualifications, first is the aspiration for complete mergence in God, second is the close association with the Guru, and third is the intense sadhana as guided by the Guru. Even when the first two are fulfilled, it is not possible to progress to higher levels unless the sadhaka does intense sadhana. As per Patanjali yoga sutra, Yoga is the process of gaining mastery over the mind. To gain mastery over the mind involves moderation of buddhi (intellect) and removal of Aham-bhav (doership) or the feeling of 'me' and 'mine'. The sadhaka should learn to do all duties with nishkama bhav, in the state of total surrender to God or Guru. Bhagvad Geeta says, “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work.” It is only through strong determination, discipline, devotion and dedication that this becomes possible. Thus mind should be maintained in stillness and purity for it to be filled with the grace of the Guru. With sadhana, develops the feeling of love,

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faith, obedience, devotion, surrender and gratitude for the Guru. The root cause of all the problems is the desires, and self-gratification. They externalize the mind. The only way to combat the desires is to regulate the mind and apply vivek (power of discrimination) to realise the futility of never ending desires, the fulfilment of which would give only temporary gratification and frequent dissatisfaction. It is only the internal bliss that gives real happiness and contentment. Once sadhaka learns to maintain the purity of mind, then even little impurity will make them alert, and they would strive to re-establish the inner silence. When one has got used to the taste of inner bliss, then they would develop immense internal strength, courage and will power to clear the negativity or seek help from the Guru to overcome the obstacles. Sadhaka should always have positive attitude and approach in life. Love can conquer all. Where there is positivity, negativity cannot exist. Intense love and devotion in the heart dissolves all the hurdles and invokes grace of the Guru and takes the sadhaka towards their goal. When there is richness of heart for the Guru, willingness to sacrifice anything for the sake of divinity, and service mindedness to serve His creation, to such a sadhaka, Guru Himself comes and takes them to His abode.

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Spiritual life is a path to Self-realisation and beyond. It encompasses all the planes of existence of the sadhaka. Yoga means the ultimate union; it is the ultimate culmination of spiritual endeavour. For a sadhaka to progress speedily on the journey, he has to practice the sadhana (Karma Yoga), have the basic knowledge of the path, and develop real knowledge from spiritual experiences (Gyana Yoga), develop love and devotion in his heart (Bhakti Yoga), and maintain regulation and purity of mind (Raja Yoga). All this becomes worthwhile under the guidance of a capable Guru who can lift the soul with His will power, and make it transcend to higher spiritual levels (Guru Yoga).

Karma yoga : Path of reaching Him through the practice of meditation, cleansing of mind and inner discipline and thereby maintaining divine purity of mind. Practice of karma yoga involves doing nishkama karma (wholehearted performance of duty without expecting the fruit of the action).

Gyana yoga : Path of knowledge, wherein the knowledge of the destination and the journey helps in understanding the goal and also motivates the sadhaka to reach the goal at the earliest, however real knowledge comes from the individual spiritual experiences. It is gained from within as the soul progresses in spiritual sadhana.

Bhakti yoga : Path of intense devotion for God, wherein His presence fills the entire existence of the devotee. The love for God

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Spiritual Way of Life

becomes subtler and subtler and radiates from the heart of the devotee all the time, and the devotee slowly starts loving the entire creation, the way he loves God.

Raja yoga : Mind is the king and the path to regulation of mind is Rajayoga. Only regulated mind can help on the journey of the soul to reach Him. It is by the inner discipline and dedicated sadhana that one can master the mind. Having mastered the mind, it cooperates in the endeavour; inner voice takes the command and guides the existence on the karma yoga, gyana yoga and bhakti yoga.

Guru yoga : All the paths to reach Him are illuminated and made to traverse by the Guru, a spiritual guide. Guru yoga is the supreme yoga, wherein the path itself becomes the destination. The Guru takes the sadhaka along the journey, holding the hand of the disciple, to His own level and spiritual abode where lies the supreme bliss, without any consciousness, even of one's own existence. By leading the spiritual way of life thus, ascension on spiritual ladder will have no boundaries. One leads the divine existence, on the divine plane which is beyond time and space, yet very much being part of the material world which gets filled with inner contentment and love.

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There is a Sanskrit proverb “yad bhavam tad bhavati,” which means “you are what you believe,” or “you become what you believe.” Thus, thoughts define the person. When a person thinks something, he will act upon it to bring that thought into action. When mind is engrossed in a thought, impressions are formed. With continuous brooding, impressions deepen into attitude. Prolonged attitude develops into a habit. Habit forms the basis of the character. Our character determines the final destiny. Thought is the backbone of all discoveries, religion, philosophies. The immense power of mind is the hallmark of human life. It is bestowed to us so that we can achieve our purpose of existence, to go back to the Source. But the same thoughts become the dragging force for the soul if they are not divinised or positive. This understanding is of paramount importance in the life of the sadhaka. As per the law of nature, where the attention goes, energy follows, where the energy follows, manifestation happens. Further, when the person keeps thinking about something, the thought power accumulates, and the person will start subconsciously acting to bring that thought into the reality. So constant or intense thoughts work in two ways, it draws the necessary energy for its manifestation, and induces our cooperation and action to bring the thought into effect. The act of meditation is also a process of thinking. When the sadhaka mediates or constantly thinks about divinity in the heart, they will start becoming divine. Thus, it is the divine and positive thoughts that make a person saintly. There is a law of attraction, which states that 'like attracts like'. The atmosphere is a loaded with all kinds of thoughts. Suppose a person has desire for meditation, when he thinks about meditation, he attracts similar thoughts from atmosphere, making his thoughts become predominant, taking

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him in the direction of meditation. From him, the thoughts flow into the atmosphere, and if another person has similar thoughts, they further attract it from the atmosphere, and add their thoughts to the library. Likewise, the thoughts go round and round, intensify many folds and come back. Now, if a person has negative thoughts, he will attract similar thoughts from atmosphere, and radiate the same, adding negativity to the atmosphere. Whatever we give, it multiplies and comes back. Thus, one ought to be very cautious of their thoughts and what they harbour in the mind. The practical way to utilise this power of thought for spiritual progress is to adopt the practice of thinking “I am a saint” every day in the morning, and repeat it in the mind few times. Slowly the sadhaka will observe saintly qualities being established in them. Another powerful aspect of mind power is visualization. It is said that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Visualization is actually picturing the thought as already executed in the mind. So if a sadhaka wishes to progress spiritually faster, they should visualize reaching the spiritual goal, i.e. they have dissolved in the Source. A drop of water drops into ocean and dissolves in it to lose its existence and becomes the ocean itself. Using this analogy, identify the soul with the drop of water, and the ocean as Parmatma. Practice the visualization during meditation “visualize that our soul (individual drop), is merging in the ocean of Parmatman, and becoming one with it and is losing its existence”. This practice of visualization with the feeling of its execution, during meditation, will help the sadhaka to progress faster. Thus, the cardinal principle of life, 'as you think, so you become', itself can pave the way for becoming divinized when applied in the spiritual life with the right feeling and intention.

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'Atma is a traveller, travelling towards its Source using the vehicle of human body' says Bhagvad Geeta. When body becomes useless due to old age and diseases, it disposes the body, this is known as death. The soul then takes up another body and continues the journey. Thus death is only a temporary stop between the journeys, not the end of the life. This circle of repeated births and deaths, continues till the end of the journey, where soul travels back to the Source and dissolves its consciousness into the universal consciousness. Every life is an opportunity for the soul to evolve. If this life is wasted in worldly desires and attachment, and not used towards realising its purpose, then we will have to be born again. Like, if a student fails in one class, then he has to repeat the same class, since he has not learnt the lessons of that class. When we realise the purpose of life and achieve it, then this death becomes the door for kingdom of God. Such kind of death will then take us to highest spiritual level. So here, we have to learn to die properly. This is possible only through meditation. Mediation is nothing but training to die. In every meditation, we learn to die, and it prepares us for death. When in meditation, we reach in the Samadhi state, in complete absorption; we forget ourselves, and lose consciousness of our existence. That is the state similar to death. This is how meditation makes one learn dying. But we come out of meditation, and are still not free from the fear of death. This fear is because of the unknown. Also there is a fear of losing the dear ones, pain of death, the worldly pleasures, wealth, etc., not knowing what will happen to us after death. But if our soul has progressed to liberation or Self-realisation, that is the state of Jivan-mukta, alive but free from the worldly bondages,

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having detached attachment, living with love, affection, and contentment; but not attached to anybody or anyone, realising that every soul has got their own journey and their individual samskaras. Then there is no fear of unknown, since we know that after leaving the body, soul is going to go to its abode, and death becomes very natural. Time and again, whenever there is a need to guide the souls that have gone astray, God Himself comes down as an avatar or in the form of Samartha Guru, and enlightens the path by becoming the role model Himself leading the life to reach Him and with His divine will power liberates the aspiring souls to the state of Jivan Mukta. Unless one reaches the state of Jivan Mukata, they have to die again and again and keep taking rebirth till they reach that sate. So the important thing we need to understand here is only through spiritual way of life, it is possible to live in the state of inner union, and leave with it.

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Grihastha Jeevan is leading the life of a householder and catering to the responsibilities of family and the house. It is sometimes considered an impediment in the spiritual life, since it comes in the way of penance or pulls down a person into attachments and worldly bonding. But in reality, a family life helps to develop the feelings of love, sacrifice, tolerance, patience, service mindedness that are the foundation for the spiritual life. In family, an individual would give preference to the needs of our dear ones than their own self. Also, they will never mind sacrificing individual comforts to fulfil needs for family members. Real grihastha is the one who gives unconditionally. In a family, we have to fulfil all our duties, and cannot work with self-centeredness compromising our duties. While, at the same time it becomes a training ground to be free from the attachments and bondages, while developing real love within us. Another aspect of being part of material life is to learn to be free from the material desires. Raja Janaka was an ideal example of karma sanyasa, i.e. He was dutiful to the kingly duties, but also detached from the kingly pleasures even while participating in it. Similarly, if the sadhaka learns to detach from the fruits of their actions while performing their duties, then the grihastha jeevan will not become a burden, rather, it will aid in their spiritual life. If we consider the family as children of God, and ourselves as their caretakers with the duty to nurture them, instead of considering them as spouse, children, etc.; fulfilling responsibilities in this attitude, then life becomes natural and worthwhile. Appaji is Himself an ideal grihastha. Being in a family, having catered to the duties of the family and household, He

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Grihastha Jeevan

has served mankind as a surgeon for 31 years. He balanced the family life as well as the duties of the surgeon, undergoing all the struggle, difficulties, miseries, and fulfilled His responsibilities doing total justice to them. Above all, amidst the intricacies of material life, He has also catered to the needs of His inner self, and practiced spiritual sadhana for 40 years, and reached the highest level of spiritual evolution and become a Samartha Guru. Now, the circumference of His work encompasses the entire universe, while still catering to His duties as a householder. The example of a living Guru illustrates the need for the detached attachment and empathy in our worldly dealings. Duty should be fulfilled with love, participating in the joys and sorrows of dear ones, without being attached to them. While doing duty thus, if the sadhaka is immersed in divine remembrance, then the grihastha jeevan paves the way for spiritual progress.

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There are two types of knowledge (gyana). The first one is the real knowledge or the natural knowledge that is obtained by the individual experience of the spiritual practice. The second one is the acquired knowledge that is obtained by reading literature or by gathering from others. Real knowledge is a state of mind that comes from the inner insights. It is acquired by the experiences gained through meditation and spiritual sadhana. When mind crosses the thought layer (Manomaya kosha), and enters the wisdom sheath (Vignanamaya kosha) going near the soul, it experiences the condition of the soul. This experience becomes the knowledge. Soul crosses many knots and spiritual levels while performing the journey. The real knowledge is the sum of all the experiences gained through these spiritual levels. Every sadhaka gains the knowledge depending upon their spiritual level and sensitivity to understand the subtle vibrations, so unless and until one experiences higher spiritual levels, one cannot call him gyani – knowledgeable. Real knowledge comes when mind experiences the state of Self-realization, and that experience totally absorbs and merges in the sadhaka, then sadhaka is called gyani - enlightened. Real gyani is an advanced yogi or bhakta who is centred in his own Self, oblivious of the limitations of any sort and absorbed in the constant remembrance of divinity or the Samartha Guru. Such a gyani never loses his steadfastness on the spiritual journey, has command over the mind, the senses, and the emotions. He attains the state of jivan mukta, having realised the immortality of the soul and eternal God, and realises the futility of worldly existence, its negatives and does not fall for them. This knowledge further helps the sadhaka to progress towards mergence in the Ultimate.

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Real renunciation (Vairagya) is the state of mind free from all worldly desires. Such a person is free from the control of worldly desires and illusions. It's not about renouncing the world duties and becoming a sanyasi, neither is it about the state of temporary renunciation that engulfs the mind due to severe pain, either of the death of dear one, or because of the miseries in life. That is temporary renunciation also known as deceptive detachment. Real renunciation is the state that comes from real knowledge, where we understand the mortality of the temporary nature of worldly things, worldly affairs and mind gets detached from them. Such a person always envisions the immortal and eternal truth that is unchangeable. But, it is the same worldly desires and illusions that come in the way to attain the state of real renunciation. The root cause of all difficulties, struggle, hurdles, happiness, and sorrows is the worldly desires and ahamkar. If we gain the detached state of mind, then we will be free from desires and become real vairagi. When our attention turns to divinity, we start experiencing inner bliss, and realise that the worldly pleasures are temporary and it is the inner bliss that gives real joy and peace in life. This makes us to surrender more and more to God or Guru, and while becoming closer and closer to our inner Self, we start detaching from the worldly attachments, and the state of real renunciation gets established. The glimpse of the state of real renunciation can be experienced during deep meditation state, when mind crosses all the koshas and goes near the soul; it becomes free from the five senses, giving us the experience of real vairagya. But even after renouncing the desires, there may be deep seated hidden desires that exist in subtle form in the mind, or some samskaras on coming to surface would trigger the desires. These are very

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Real Renunciation

dangerous, and can bring about the downfall of the sadhaka if they are not alert to their spiritual condition. The vigilance comes only by strong determination to reach the goal, and being in constant inner connection. If the sadhakas are alert and aware, then they will not fall at any stage of the spiritual journey. When one is not attached to worldly bondages, then they will be free in real sense to go inwards. In such state of jivan mukta, they will be able to live in righteousness, without any fear of losing anything, or even death. Such a sadhaka dedicates the life towards progressing spiritually and simultaneously caters to their worldly duties with love and affection.

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Darshan is to have the vision of the divine. It helps us to connect to the reality, since it's easy to connect to what we have seen and experienced. Basically there are three types of darshan. First type of divine darshan is the physical darshan, where sadhaka goes to temple or teertha places, worships the gods and goddesses through their idols, participates in the rituals, gets satisfaction and come back. This is the elementary type of darshan where one feels that they have gotten darshan of God by looking at the idols of gods and goddesses. This is like giving toys to kids. They feel happy at looking models of elephant, vehicles, etc. But when the kids grow, and see the real elephant or vehicles, then they understand the reality. Thus one should not get satisfied with the elementary stage, but progress spiritually and strive to get the real darshan of God through personal experience. Likewise, the sadhaka goes to the Guru, they see Him and get darshan. But Samartha Guru is not just His physical body. Having dissolved in the Ultimate, He is God personified, pervading everywhere in subtle form. One should be able to see His real essence in that form. Sadhaka will not be able to experience the real essence of Guru, if they limit the feeling of darshan to only the physical form of the Guru. The only means to experience His real essence is through meditation. Second type of Darshan is to feel and experience the formless, attribute-less God and His omnipresence within ourselves. He is present in each and every atom of the creation. When we progress in sadhana, we will progress to second type of darshan, i.e. we will be able to experience presence of God within ourselves. When mind crosses all the sheaths of physical body, energy body, mental body, knowledge body and goes

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Darshan

near the soul, it experiences the state of Atmadarshan, and experiences the inner bliss in the proximity of the soul. Atman (soul) is spark of the Creator, it is formless and attribute-less, cannot be seen but only experienced. It is only possible with a pure and still mind which is necessary to have the second type of darshan. The same subtle form of God within is then experienced even outside and that is the culmination of this level of darshan, where one experiences God in His omnipresent state. Sadhaka will also be able to feel the presence of Samartha Guru in subtle form at this stage, and will experience His essence everywhere. The physical form of the Guru thus is replaced with His essence. The third stage of Darshan is experiencing the essence of God in His essence. This is the highest level of darshan, and is possible only when the soul has totally merged in God. This is the culmination of sadhana, where there is no difference in Him and us, and we experience the essence of His essence.

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Time and again, whenever there is a need, great soul comes down on the earth to liberate and relieve people from their bondages and help them in spiritual progress. The auspicious day of arrival of such a special personality on the earth is glorified by Nature. It's a day when divine grace pours boundlessly in nature, to celebrate the birth of the saint of the highest order. The day is an assurance to mankind, that they will always have a messiah when they have lost their ways into the material existence, to show them the way to the divine abode and take them back to their homeland. Birth anniversary of Appaji is such an auspicious day, which is celebrated on 12th June every year. On this auspicious occasion, when the sadhakas gather and celebrate the day, in the atmosphere of divine grace pouring abundantly, in the proximity of the Guru, then it becomes a golden opportunity for the sadhaka to dive in that ocean of bliss and get purified, to progress spiritually in leaps and bounds. On the day with infinite love and reverence, when sadhakas offer heartfelt gratitude to the Guru, as well as to the nature for sending Him to us, it dissolves all the obstacles on the path to reach him, and intensifies their aspiration to become like Him. The day when even nature outpours its joy and fills the atmosphere with divine grace, let the sadhakas connect and intensify the internal connection with the Guru, pray for His 'good health and long life'. Let the mankind benefit ceaselessly spiritually by the presence of the personality on the earth.

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The human birth is very sacred and sanctified. It's a blessing, a gift from God, and an opportunity for the soul to go back to the Source. Birthday is the day when the soul takes a leap towards its abode. The day when the soul takes the human birth is the first birthday. Human life, with an aspiration to reach the goal under the guidance of a Samartha Guru is a boon. With the enlightenment of realising the purpose of life, by pursuing the path through the intense sadhana under the guidance of the Guru, and with His grace, when the soul enters the cosmic region or the brahmanda mandal is its second birthday. The soul enters the state of liberation (Jivan-mukta) at this stage. Further journey with the help of a Samartha Guru takes the soul of the sadhaka higher and higher to the state of self-realization, which is the third birthday of the sadhaka. Further, an aspiring soul, whom God wants for nature's work, is taken to His kingdom which has four levels, Salokya, Sameepya, Saroopya and Sayujya. With unfailing and intense aspiration of the sadhaka to reach Him in that life, with the grace of the Samartha Guru, when the sadhaka enters Sayujya, which is the chamber of God; that day becomes His fourth birthday. In the Sayujya, soul travels with infinite speed to cross infinite regions, merges into Parabrahm; goes inside the Hiranyagarbha, and finally dissolves its identity and merges into the universal consciousness, it becomes the fifth birthday of the soul, wherein it dissolves its existence and achieves the purpose the life. The infinite journey of the soul to go back to the Creator is possible only in the human body. The sadhaka should realise its importance, get the enlightenment and with intense sadhana, with the grace of the Samartha Guru, reach back the Source at the earliest in the very lifetime.

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Constant change is the law of nature. There is nothing permanent in this universe. Ages have gone, and many more will come. Yugas - Satyuga, Tretayuga, Dwaparyuga, and Kaliyuga go on succeeding each other endlessly. At this stage, we have come towards the end of Kaliyuga, the age of darkness and ignorance. The new world is awaited, and the special personality is working to that end with the coordination of high order saints. The universal change from ignorance to real knowledge, from fearful darkness to the righteousness, from hatredness and jealousy to love and acceptance, from passions to devotion is already seeded in the heart of all the beings of the creation, and would spring forth when the time ripens for it. The universal change begins with the change within every individual. When an individual changes from within, then his perception of the universe changes, and so the universe changes for him. The collective change of individuals, their perception, and approach will bring the new world. It is on the foundation of spirituality that the new world will blossom. The divine virtues of love, compassion, service mindedness, universal love, and desire for realising the Creator will permeate the heart of the all beings leaving no room for darkness or ignorance. Mankind has to cooperate in this transformation, by becoming spiritualised, or else it will be imposed upon by nature to bring about necessary changes. The transition is not going to be very pleasant, unless every individual undertakes the pain of going through the inner transformation. Spiritual urge in mankind will get conducive atmosphere to realise its aspiration. Demonic beings will be punished and done away with. Negative thinkers will not have any room, they will have to either get transformed or face elimination. The new world

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Yuga Parivartan

will ensure peace, inner prosperity and emancipation for the creation that has been created with a purpose - the purpose to evolve higher, to grow from individuality and dissolve into infinity. There is a need to project the thought of good for all and flood the atmosphere with love and divinity. Let it penetrate the minds and hearts of all living beings, and eradicate negativity. Let mankind spend their valuable life in the pursuit of God and righteous living, and not waste it after material wealth and pleasures, and sense gratification. To this end, a simple spiritual exercise, 'Work like God' will accelerate the transformation of hearts. The potentiality of the new world makes it worthwhile to be invoked and effectuated, even if there is a heavy price to pay for it in terms of the loss that will be incurred. It is better to live in spiritual glory than be slaves of materiality. Let the day dawn when the entire society becomes divinised and everyone strives to become universal lovers ultimately to dissolve their identities in that ocean of love.

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3.40 Tips for Fast Spiritual Progress

e Aspire for complete mergence in God

e Meditation is the only means to reach God – Practice it, Practice it, Practice it. Go on practicing…

e Do intense sadhana with discipline, dedication and determination to realise the purpose of life

e Develop close association with the Guru internally

e Spend time in inner connection and try to be in constant remembrance of divinity

e Eradicate all negative thoughts from the mind, and replace it with positive thoughts

e Develop inner vigilance to eliminate egoistic behaviour and tendencies

e Utilise mental energy for divine contemplation and higher spiritual purposesa

e Do not waste even a single moment of time or energy in useless thinking, or brooding over past or the future

e Take satvik food, and practice moderation in diet

e Be obedient to the Guru

e Have faith, develop real love and devotion for God

e Develop inner dependence on Samartha Guru for swift spiritual progress

e Do selfless service to mankind

e Aspire to become Universal Lover

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Glossary

Ahamkar - Egoism, attachment to one's lower self.

Anandamaya Kosha - The bliss body, it is also called causal body.

Annamaya kosha – The sheath of physical body.

Atma - Soul, the spark of the Creator, one's true Self.

Atmasakshaatkar - Level of God -realisation

Avarana - layers of coverings

Avatar - Special souls descend on earth for a cause, fulfil their purpose of nature, and leave as per the divine plan. Such an incarnation is called as Avatar.

Bhagvad Geeta - It means 'song of God' in Sanskrit, a sacred Hindu scripture in Sanskrit, that is part of an epic Mahabharata. It's a dialogue between prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna.

Bhakta - Devotee

Bhakti - Devotion or worship

Brahma - God

Brahmanda Mandala - It is the cosmic region, the mental sphere beyond the material world. Subtlety starts here.

Brahmarandra - It means 'the hole of Brahman' in Sanskrit. It is a crevice in the crown of the head, the center in fontanel bone of brain. It is the passage through which life force or prana enters the body and finally leaves.

Buddhi - Intellect

Charam Guru - The Guru of highest calibre and a Samartha Guru.

Chitta - Consciousness

Darshan - Seeing or having the vision of God. Real darshan is to have the vision of inner reality

Dosha - Imperfection, blocks, defects

Dwapara Yuga - Third of the four yugas, Dwapara in Sanskrit means, 'two ahead', meaning there are two yuga ahead of it.

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Gnanodaya - Enlightenment

Grihastha - One who leads a worldly life; it literally means 'a householder’.

Gyana - Knowledge

Gyani - A learned or a wise person

Jiva-atma - incarnated soul, word is derived from combination of java (Life) + Atma (soul), it's the individual soul present in everyone's heart.

Jivan-mukta - Liberated jivatma, the soul that is liberated while incarnated in the human body.

Kaliyuga - The last of the four yuga, the age of vice.

Karma Bhog - The process of undergoing the effects of Karma (deep impressions on mind).

Karma Sanyasa - Inaction in action, the principal philosophy of Bhagvad Gita; It is a cardinal spirit of action that devoid of attachment, being in the communion with inner Reality.

Koshas - It means sheath or layers, it is the covering of Atman or the Self. There are five koshas - layers surrounding the Soul. Annamaya kosha is the physical self or body; Pranamaya kosha is composed of prana- the vital life force that holds together body and the mind, its physical manifestation is the breadth; Manomaya kosha - It is composed of manas or mind with the sensory organs; Vijnanamaya kosha – the sheath of divine wisdom; Anandamaya kosha – bliss body or the causal body.

Mala - Impurities

Manas – Psyche

Mano-pooja – It is the act of taking the mind to the soul. Also termed as the state of manosakshaatkar; enlightenment of mind wherein it has realized its purpose, and is fulfilling it.

Manomaya Kosha – Mind body; the sheath of mind.

Maya-Illusion

Mind- It is the inner invisible organ with different levels of consciousness. The conscious mind is the link between body and soul. It

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has four faculties, manas-psyche; chitta- consciousness; buddhi – intellect and ahamkar-egoism. The subconscious mind is the store house of samskaras. The deeper conscious mind stores the Sanchit samskaras.

Nishkama Karma - It is desireless action, doing work without attachment to the fruits of action.

Nirvikalpa Samadhi - The state of total internal absorption coupled with total awareness.

Para-Brahmanda Mandal - Supra-cosmic region of the mind.

Parabrahm - Absolute God or the Creator

Parmatma - Supreme soul or Ultimate that is the source of all creation, also known as Parabrahm.

Prakriti - Mother Nature, all matter in the universe arises from the fundamental energy called Prakriti. The individual nature refers to the three different innate qualities - Gunas (Virtue) - Sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious); Rajas (Passion, action, confused) and Tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic), whose equilibrium is the basis of all observed empirical reality. Its a feminine creative energy. Its counterpart is Purusha, the masculine energy which is pure energy, awareness and metaphysical consciousness.

Pranahuti - Yogic transmission, it is offering life force (energy that is food of the soul), by Guru to the disciple's heart for spiritual progress.

Pranamaya Kosha - The energy body, sheath of the prana.

Rajasik Food - Food of a king, or of a energetic disposition, it can create restlessness.

Sadhaka - Spiritual aspirant who practices yoga to reach God.

Sadhana - Spiritual practice

Salokya – Further journey after Atmasakshaatkar, soul enters the higher world. Salokya is the beginning of the kingdom of God. The soul starts dwelling in the same world as of God.

Samadhana - State of self-settledness to the will of God or Guru, It is one of the six sampatti, Shat Sampatti - spiritual attainments, as per the

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Vedanta philosophy.

Samadhi - A balanced state of mind in which we stay attached to Reality, a state of meditative absorption.

Samartha Guru - A capable Guru, who has attained the Ultimate perfection, and who has command over divine energies to lift the soul of the sadhaka for their spiritual elevation.

Sameepya – It is the level of soul after Salokya; where it starts dwelling in the nearness of God.

Samskaras – Impressions

Sanyasa - The path of renunciation, it implies one's total identification with the unchangeable entity which is the ultimate reality.

Sanyasi - One who has renounced the world

Saroopya – It is the level of soul after Sameepya; It is the God-like state, wherein soul starts experiencing the condition of God. It is also known as ‘Swaroopa’.

Satvik Food - Food of a Yogi, simple, natural, fresh, with minimal of spices and seasoning.

Satyuga - The first of the four Yuga, it is the age of Truth.

Sayujya – It is the chamber of God. Soul enters Sayujya post journeying across Saroopya. It is the level of ultimate union.

Seva – Selfless service

Shani - Refers to planet Saturn, a male Deity that gives rewards of karma. It is thought to bring difficulties and struggles in life.

Shat Sampatti - The six fold virtues in Vedantic practice that includes 1. Shama - tranquility of mind; 2. Dama - control of senses; 3. Uparati - satiety, self-withdrawal from sensory pleasures; 4. Titiksha - power of endurance and fortitude; 5. Shraddha - intense unshakable faith based on reasoning, evidence and experience; 6. Samadhana - mental balance by attention.

Sthithapragnya - Serene, calm, still and undisturbed state of mind.

Tamasik Food - Food causing lethargic disposition.

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Treta Yuga - It is the second of the four yugas, It literally means 'three collections', Three incarnations of lord Vishnu were said to appear in this yuga.

Turiya state – It is the fourth state of the mind. The state of restful alertness, also known as ‘Nirvikalpa Samadhi’. The other three states are waking consciousness, dream state and dreamless sleep.

Vairagya - Detachment; renunciation

Vedanta - One of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy, it means 'end of the Vedas' or the last portion of Veda - revealing inner knowledge.

Vedas - Books of knowledge, ancient Indian scriptures in which higher knowledge is revealed.

Vikshep - Distraction or mental wandering that causes inability to remain one pointed in any endeavour.

Vignanamaya Kosha - The knowledge body, sheath of the wisdom and intellect.

Viveka - Discriminatory power; discernment

Yatra –It is a journey or pilgrimage; Spiritual yatra is the inner spiritual journey.

Yoga - Literally means 'to unite', it's a state of soul in union with the ultimate. Any practice or sadhana that leads to the state of yoga is also termed as yoga.

Yogi - One who practices yoga to achieve union with the absolute is a yogi.

Yuga - Yuga in Hinduism is an era within a four-age cycle, Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dvapara yuga, Kali yuga. It is the cycle of eternal cosmic seasonal changes.

Yuga Parivartan - Transformation to the new era (next yuga).

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Documents

First Edition: 2018 · to achieve total internal absorption. With the demise of Babuji Maharaj in 1983, his spiritual successor Chariji guided Appaji further in His quest. His soul