PUJYA SHREE MOTA

Thursday, December 27, 2012

PRAKRUTI (પ્રકૃતિ) AND EFFORT -- PART 2

I wrote you yesterday about prakruti. We are all slaves of prakruti and yet not ready to accept it. Not only that there is no daunting awareness that our actions are guided by prakruti. We will stop being the slaves of prakruti ( if not today but tomorrow) if we continuously practice naam-smaran and make an effort with knowledge to develop harmony and goodness towards the souls that come in our contact. We will definitely meet souls with different nature and tendencies in our world, society and life. There will be loss of peace in our minds if we start seeing defects of these souls. For the sake of our own peace we should not pay any attention to the nature of other people. With complete understanding we should take our mind off of other's nature in case it is attracted towards it. You must do this with determination in your mind. You should definitely believe that this is a significant  progress if this can be achieved. Be constantly aware that you must find a way to maintain peace and happiness at any cost. Continue to do naam-smaran.

Pujya Shree Mota
Samay sathe samadhan (સમય સાથે સમાધાન)
Edition 2; pages 53 - 54.


This is a follow up letter written to Late Shree Babubhai Tamakuwala on 5th December, 1958.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

PRAKRUTI ( પ્રકૃતિ ) AND EFFORT -- PART 1

You have written in your letter " who am I to confront and stay tall against the forces of prakruti? ". In the end Prakruti has to bow down if we have determination and infallible firmness. We have to get an upper hand over prakruti. We can not go much further if prakruti is kept as it is. There is no alternative but to keep naam-smaran alive with determination and a firm resolve.

Even though our daily activities is needed, importance needs to be given to naam-smaran. We have to live with harmony in society. We will never make it if we constantly think of bad qualities of other people and make an excuse of it. Bad qualities can be present in others as well as in us also. We need to develop an eye to ignore the bad aspects of other people even if others may not do so. This is true penance (તપ). I have confidence that you will adopt this path (as told by me) with love and devotion. Soul that gives more importance to bad qualities of others and ignores his own can never produce harmony and we want to have harmony. It will never work in this world, society or life if the path of confrontation is adopted. We want to perfect the way of harmony. This is a message to you from my heart and follow it lovingly even if you are alone. I know that you may have to bear a lot to follow this message. I have nothing else to give it to you. So love me regardless.

Pujya Shree Mota
Samay sathe samadhan (સમય સાથે સમાધાન)
Edition 2; pages 52 - 53.

This letter was addressed to late Shree Babubhai Tamakuwala on 4th Dec 1958.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

LIMITED UNDERSTANDING OF EVENTS

 Various things and events have several aspects not just the one. Humans see and judge things according to their own understanding of the events and can see from only one aspect. This way of evaluating fails to produce true understanding of the events. We start deciding right and wrong from this incomplete and limited vision of events. We are so insignificant and incomplete yet have this tremendous arrogance.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pravesh
Edition 2; page 10.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

FROM PREFACE OF JIVAN POKAR

All the letters in this book are addressed to one individual and yet it is not the only person that they are written to and meant for. These letters are also addressed to the souls that are connected with life of the writer for the express purpose of self development. Sometimes the words written for someone else but meant for us are more effective. Whenever these kind of souls read the writings and feel that some or most of the writings is addressed to and meant for them, they will be joyful and get the boost in their life's development.

Pujya Shree Mota
From the preface of Jivan pokar
Edition 1.




Thursday, November 29, 2012

AWARENESS IN INTELLIGENCE (બુિધ્ધ, BUDDHI)

When there is knowledgeable awareness in buddhi, solution of the variety of problems of life is found instantly. This working of buddhi with awareness is on as solid a foundation as feeling of heat with fire. It is possible to use buddhi in this manner. When you feel awareness in buddhi pertaining to the progress and development of life as solidly as feeling of heat with fire, accept that as the beginning of cleansing of buddhi

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pokar
Edition 4; page 167.






Thursday, November 22, 2012

KEEP ONENESS (તાદાત્મ્યભાવ) WITH SAT-GURU

Our remembrance of each other from previous pleasant incidents and memories produce a happy emotion. We should use this emotion in naam-smaran. Everything is to be used with knowledge. Nothing needs to be wasted. From this mutual remembrance develops a chain of loving consciousness between us. When we express heartfelt oneness with equanimity in sat-guru with this loving chain of consciousness, then we experience the help of sat-guru's consciousness.        

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; page 137.                            


My two cents --

Oneness with sat-guru can also be established by following his teachings, being grateful to him, remembering and loving him.
Sat-guru's help is immeasurable and very comforting.

Ashwin

Thursday, November 15, 2012

ENCOURAGE AND DEVELOP GOOD QUALITIES

 Spirit of competition gets to lose its worth when the bhavna of friendship flourishes. As the compassion is developed with knowledge, the spirit of compassion expands and one experiences reduction in the forces of ego as a result. When one starts to experiences joy and happiness, there is no place for jealousy. With spirit of detachment comes lessening of affliction, attachment and infatuation. One should not pay lots of attention and importance to remove the natural forces of prakruti. Instead one should make constant effort with knowledge and awareness to develop good qualities like bhavna of friendship, compassion, joy and detachment.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; page 182.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

CLEANSING OF PRANA WITH GOOD USE OF NATURAL FORCES

We need to use natural forces and passion that arise out of prana in the form of anticipated grief, infatuation, attachments, regrets and strong desires. These natural forces and passion is a form of energy  that can be used to produce focused concentration in naam-smaran. This is possible only if we have the awareness to act accordingly at that time. By doing this we use this energy of prana for our own benefit in sadhana. In this way the passion and energy is prevented from acting on its own way and are directed towards the good use in our sadhana. When that happens cleansing of prana becomes automatic and natural.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; page 136.


My two cents  ---

There seems to be two aspects to the method.  1) use the energy of prana 2) cleansing of prana in a natural and harmless way using its own energy. One needs to practice separating the energy of prana ( there is only one form ) from its root ( anger, infatuation, jealousy etc ).

Naam-smaran is an excellent and natural tool to achieve this. At the same time naam-smaran can be made more focussed too. Prana need not be controlled. It needs to be cleansed and sublimated in this fashion.

If we observe ourselves it becomes evident that we use variety of methods in our daily lives to deal with prana.

Ashwin

Thursday, November 1, 2012

WAYS TO BE FREE FROM PERSISTENT AND RECURRENT THOUGHTS

For the sadhak it is best practice to find a way when the thoughts are persistent and recurrent. If we have the awareness while thoughts keep coming in succession, it is a good practice to start naam-smaran loudly or pray to God and ask for His help and grace. If we experience the recurrent thoughts in spite of naam-smaran then we can recite our favorite devotional song and get absorbed in it or think and contemplate about it. If this does not succeed, then we can remember and think about the saint that we believe in. Somehow we must find a way to free our selves from this persistent and recurrent thoughts. If we fail to do so, then these kind of thoughts will do its work ( hindrance in our life and sadhana) and we will live in fool's paradise.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; page 8.

My two cents --

One of my friends mentioned that writing down your recurrent thoughts on a piece of paper repeatedly works as well in this situation. She could find the root cause of these thoughts and deal with it.

Ashwin

Thursday, October 25, 2012

DO NOT FORM THE CHAIN OF THOUGHTS

Lots of thoughts come and go in our mind. We should not form the chain of thoughts by joining the thoughts with our own passion and attachment ( રાગ ) for the preceding thought. Virtue of equanimity naturally develops in one who lets the thought go by without intervening. Without doing any other kind of sadhana soul can experience true self by refraining from forming this chain of successive thoughts.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; page 15.

My two cents --

To be successful one needs to reduce passion and attachments to one's own thoughts and emotions. Then only this is possible. Nam-smaran is a very useful tool.

Ashwin

Thursday, October 18, 2012

BEGINNING OF AWARENESS

We need to be careful about any kind of impression that is left behind by an encounter with anybody. Our mind should not form any kind of opinion and we should strive to develop this awareness. Examine inner thoughts and tendencies with complete equanimity and impartiality. Let it flow by. Do not get entangled with subsequent thoughts. If you experience these encounters in an appropriate manner, then only accept the premise that beginning of awareness is established.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pokar
Edition 4; page 79.

My two cents --

This awareness or mindfulness allows us to watch, observe, interrupt and modify our thoughts and emotions. In this particular paragraph he describes the beginning of awareness when you can watch and observe these thoughts.
Naam-smaran is a useful tool to increase awareness.

Ashwin







Thursday, October 11, 2012

IDENTIFY AND EXPERIENCE HIDDEN HAND OF SAT-GURU

Kumbhkonam,    
29-4-52.

I received your letter written on 26/4. After reading your letter tears swelled up in my eyes and heart got filled up with emotions. I have not written to anybody in this heartfelt way but to you, so that you have the understanding of the subject. By the grace of God my soul has attachment to persons like you. The soul that identifies and experiences the hidden hand of sat-guru working in the form of subtle bhavna and yet acting in the physical world is very pleasing to sat-guru. Because of these experiences the soul gets heartfelt encouragement and knowledge that he is protected by his sat-guru. The soul that knows and understands his sat-guru's help gets to experience this hidden hand.                                                                  


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; pages 286 - 287.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

PLACE OF INTELLIGENCE (બુિધ્ઘ, BUDDHI) IN SADHANA

A blessed soul may be able to understand and control the mind to some extent with the help of intelligence. But intelligence is different. It is in the form of light and it illuminates. It is subtlest of the subtle. It has the natural force of understanding. We understand everything with this intelligence. Level of understanding depends upon level of intelligence. Because of this reason cleansing of the intelligence is very necessary. Intelligence continues to work according to its own understanding, habit and past experiences. It will deduce the inferences accordingly. One needs to be mindful and aware before believing these inferences. Before accepting these inferences one needs to evaluate these with carefulness and equanimity. One must analyze these inferences in detail with detachment and with one's own level of development and understanding of one's inner being. We will keep busy with ourselves if we try to develop this kind of looking at our own inner being. Attraction to other souls becomes minimal then. One can be safe and sound if ones mind is that way. So always be mindful and aware.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; page 135 - 136.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

EQUANIMITY WITH WILL POWER

The real key to achieve equanimity is the will power and determination. In one sense the strength of will power is supreme. Will power rules all of our activities while remaining hidden in our being. Will power is the real force behind all the activities. It is imperative for us to create that kind of will power to help us develop new kind of life. Our lives will run smoothly if we develop appropriate kind of will power and determination.

If we have learned the art of applying this will power towards understanding the real importance of the life then we will continue to do our work, while staying in the society amongst all kinds of people. This is possible due to determination. Will power lives within determination and it decides all the activities. Sadhak who determines to go this particular way can not help, but proceed along his path. You should increase the strength of this will power. This force of will power is the reflection or the expression of divine energy. When we express and use this energy in our activities with knowledge and understanding it will increase in strength. You will experience this in real life.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; Pages 134 - 135.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

NEED FOR EQUANIMITY

 Mind, prana and intelligence are three important aspect of sadhana. They all are connected to each other. Thoughts, natural tendencies, emotions and feelings that arise in mind are also linked to prana. So purifying prana is essential. Mind is definitely affected when prana is purified. Desires rule over intelligence and this rule also extends to mind and other senses. Mind takes keen interest in the happenings of senses and so does intelligence. Our intelligence clings to its own opinion, understanding and other entanglements. The soul that wants to do sadhana needs to be free from all these. How is this possible?

All this is not possible without achieving equanimity or at least making a living and genuine attempt to practice it. Establishing peace in mind is not possible without equanimity. There also needs to be establishment of silence (નીરવતા) in mind so it can reject the touch and interests of the senses. For all these reasons it is very important for sadhak to establish peace and equanimity in his mind.

The real key to achieve all this is in our determination and will power.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sopan
Edition 3; page 134.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

OPEN MINDEDNESS

We become less obstinate and open minded by following and acting according to other persons opinion and wishes, when done with clear sense of purpose and understanding. This forces us to act against our own understanding. This in turn leads to lessening of our own ego. We do not become slave of other person if this is done with joy and clear sense of purpose. In fact we carry ourselves in much higher plane than the other person.

It is possible to develop our lives spectacularly if we surrender completely and seek refuge in a highly developed soul with self inspiration, enthusiasm and with the clear sense of purpose. Surrender is not slavery. Significance of surrender is priceless.

Pujya Shree Mota
Life and works
Edition 1; page 525 - 526.


Thursday, September 6, 2012

ACTION AND REACTION

It is very desirable if there is no reaction to any kind of circumstances and spoken words in us. In case if these reactions develop, we should not get one with it. We should constantly strive to develop enough  equanimity and stability in us so that there is understanding of the root cause of these reactions. Moreover we must have instant comprehension to turn these reactions to constructive help without being guided by our natural tendencies, thoughts or mind.

We have to use our will power over our natural tendencies, thoughts and desires. When used with determination and firmness our will power gets sharpened. With experience we will know that its strength is lot more than our natural tendencies, thoughts and desires. These experiences will inspire us to use this will power in our daily life.

We should not try to stop strong thoughts with equal or more force. These strong thoughts may stop for a while but that will not help us in our real work. We should try to understand its root cause. This can be done by going deep into the reasons and observing it. We need to do all these and also make sure that naam-smaran is carried out at the same time. This requires great patience, force, strength and sense of purpose.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; page 5.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF SADHANA

The results of sadhana should be evident on its own and naturally in sadhak. Sadhak should take a pause if this is not the case. Otherwise he will fall in a ditch. It is sadhana only if he experiences sublimation (transformation) of his natural tendencies by his heart. If that is not the case, he should consider the sadhana as a some kind of false belief and should be prepared to abandon it. Before doing that he should examine himself with complete impartiality. Moreover he must examine himself and decide if he has expressed the spirit (bhavna) of sadhana with complete awareness, deep knowledge and devotion in his daily life, at every instant. If sadhak can do all these then only he should consider himself fit to think like that (abandon the sadhana), not otherwise.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; page 339.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

WHAT IS SADHANA?

Sadhana does not mean strangulating life. There should be flourishing of life with natural ease. It means  harmony of natural tendencies and as a result experiencing development of good qualities like peace, equanimity, patience, forbearance and happy mental feeling. When the energy from these good qualities is used in various life experiences with deep knowledge and have a feeling of fulfillment of life and living a blessed life, it is sadhana.

Pujya Shree Mota
Life and works,
Edition 1; page 223.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

LOVE ( 2 )

True love does not ask for any rights. For love, sacrifice is success. The heart is the field of action for love. Love has nothing to do with superficial bhava or emotion. Love means forgetting one's self and becoming one with the loved one. When in love, there is no place for demands, expectations, desires and reciprocation. Love believes in sacrifice. The expressed characteristics of love are attraction. Love means being owned by swajan ( person near and dear to you ). Love encompasses letting go, sacrifice and offering of everything. It also includes forsaking even one's own existence. In love there is no misunderstanding, feeling of being unappreciated and pride. When and where true love is expressed, it creates eternal joy and happiness and not the fire that destroys everything. In love there is penance, suffering and obstacles yet there is no affliction, quarrels and sadness in bearing all these. There is nothing to lose in true love.

Pujya Shree Mota
Life and works,
Edition 1; page 287.





Thursday, August 9, 2012

LOVE ( 1 )

Love's dominion extends over the entire universe. It is in everything and everywhere. Everyone is connected with love. It is known as attraction in inanimate objects. In living beings it permeates as a desire for worldly pleasures and also exists as a higher form of love. Humans have remnants of animal characteristics and the seeds of divine consciousness.

 Love stays quiet and humble. Ego and arrogance can never coexist with love. Infatuation and love are like darkness and light. Infatuation is blind while love has the vision of innumerable eyes. Love has breath and depth. Comparing love with the vastness of the sky is more appropriate than comparing it with the depth of the ocean.

Pujya Shree Mota
Life and works,
Edition 1; page 286.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

ONLY EXPERIENCE CAN DIGEST THE TRUTH AND ESTABLISHES THE FAITH

We should not consider the truth as established until it transforms from being in the mind to being in reality (a matter of fact). Till then the truth is not digested. Even if it sounds true in our thoughts and has a kind of faith about it, we will not understand the true nature of the thing, until we experience it as a matter of fact. Faith eventually transforms it into reality and it is useful from that point on.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pagaran,
Edition 3; page 114.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

HUMILITY VERSUS INFERIORITY COMPLEX

We should develop respect, dignity, trust, love, faith, humility and good behavior towards our elderly. It is very desirable. We may develop respect not only for elderly but towards people that we consider as respectable and act accordingly to develop the bhava of respect. At the same time we need to careful about inferiority complex lodging in our being under the disguise of respect. Humility is one thing and inferiority complex is another. There is a big difference between the two. One is a virtue while the other is a hindrance in getting clear perspective and vision.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pagaran
Edition 3; page 115.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

BHAVNA ( ભાવના )

 God has blessed us with memory and its energy. Humans have misused other kinds of divine energy including the memory, by creating and fostering animosity among people. At the same time with the help of this energy, humans have tasted the divine nectar also.

This energy can be divided into two parts : We can express both the past and the future into present. Memory has played a part in the evolution of physical and spiritual life of humans. This memory can also excite the imagination of future and can transform the future into present. We get absorbed into the pleasant dreams and alluring experiences. From other view point it can also create the enthusiasm to get near our goal also. Sadhak needs to master the art of using this energy for his own development. When the memory creates lively remembrance of the past, we should not get mixed up with that but instead learn from it and give constructive direction to our natural tendencies. We can definitely get entangled in the recollections that are backed by emotions and to some extent by bhavna. But we should not pay any attention to that. Even if we are indifferent to that by no means it should be ignored. These recollections will be useful to us, if we do not have any desire or attachment to these recollections. Memory is such a tremendous form of energy that can reproduce and present even minor past associations in front of our eyes, as if it is real and lively. Memory has such tremendous energy and yet emotions and bhavna are more subtle and its energy is far more than memory. Nothing is impossible for us if we constantly try to develop this energy of emotions and bhavna. It is a tool that helps us to enter incomprehensible and unimaginable heart center ( love and devotion ). It has various forms from physical to subtle and subtlest. We may not get ourselves involved into detail analysis but we must have the understanding of its effect on us. We will notice that our understanding and vision of our experiences get subtle as emotions and bhavna get subtler. It also reveals deeper meaning and purpose of the experiences.

We may not think about the results of our efforts and continue to offer our works to God. But at the same time we cannot be oblivious to its effects on us. We must have a clear vision as to our chitta's ( psyche ) attention to God. Even when our unstable natural tendencies rebel we should notice its effects on our faith, surrender, enthusiasm and curiosity. Only way to tell if we are truly engrossed in this path is to see increase in these characteristics. As we get deeper in sadhana the fight between good and evil gets subtler in us and we should understand ourselves very clearly at that time.

In general emotions and bhavna are the steps for developing our lives. At the same time it can be a hindrance in this development too. This is because the site of action of emotions and bhavna being in the mind. As we progress in our sadhana, mind fears loosing its empire and rule over us. Mind uses emotions and bhavna to maintain its rule over us. Mind and impressions in chitta ( ચિત્ત ) likes to continue functioning in the same old ways and this becomes more powerful when emotions and bhavna is added into the equation. We must pray for the descent of the grace of God to fight this difficult battle of getting rid of these old impressions. This support of the grace is most important in one sense and yet it is not in other sense. We must aim for the development of bhavna and use the support of grace for that purpose only  and should not consider this support as the main goal. Otherwise there is a real danger of falling into this craze of support. This craze is a form of dullness and it is not easy to come out of the situation. We will progress if we use this support in our being in right way with purity.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan and karya
Edition 1; pages 204 - 207.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

ARGUMENTS -- A FORM OF MENTAL DISTRACTION

I develop more bhava towards the one who carries out given advice with faith and love, without unnecessary on going arguments,  interferences, with quarrelsome attitude and use of intelligence ( બુધ્ધિ ). Series of arguments is like addiction. It is one thing to satisfy the sincere urge to know when one is in doubt, and other to argue for the sake of argument. One is necessary while the other is not helpful. In fact it is harmful. It is considered an art amongst the intellectuals and has been the source of continued disagreements and oral fights. Just as there is itching in the body, this is a form of mental itching ( distraction ).

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pagathi
Edition 6; page 50.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

BHAVA ( ભાવ )

Bhava means unexpressed foundation ( base, like the root of the tree ) of thought. Thought is an expressed form of the bhava. So we must give utmost importance to this bhava. At present we do not have much understanding of this. Till we have the understanding of bhava, we should give importance to its outer expression in language, thought, actions, karmas and with effort ( sadhana ) try to infuse this bhava in outer expression, with deep knowledge and devotion. With living practice of inspiring this inner bhava of heart into the physical world, it will definitely have outer expression. This living touch of the inner bhava will have the effect on the outer physical and there will be a transformation of the outer physical. We have to give importance to karmas but more than that, we need to maintain continuity of this inner bhava at beginning, middle and end of the work. Our whole attention and aim is to  be focused on this expression of bhava. For the one who expresses this bhava in one's karmas, there is nothing like being cheated in the world. Bhava is one's protector. In some obscure way this goodwill expressed from one's heart will keep one in appropriate work with lively spirit. When this goodwill enters other person and becomes concentrated, focused and purposeful, other person becomes the tool for this expression. This leads to oneness with the other person. This means that goodwill from our heart will make the other person behave in a similar fashion. Because of this living bhavna in one's heart, no body can do substantial harm to one who gets absorbed in developing ones goodwill fearlessly and depends upon it.

Human beings tend to mix their past thoughts, beliefs, understanding, habits and insistences into goodwill ( bhava from the heart ) and then try to measure, understand and act accordingly. Here they make mistake, deceive themselves and fail to get trained and comprehend the issue. How can they ever achieve the pure form of bhava? The importance and effect of this goodwill gets diluted because of this admixture with one's nature. One needs to be free from this nature and thus cultivate heartfelt goodwill. A scientist who gets deeply involved in his research is always thinking and contemplating about it all the time. He does this automatically according to his own standard and everything else in his life is of no importance to him. Sadhak's vision, natural tendencies and thrust towards his life should be similar  and only important thing in his life should be to express the bhava. There is one difference between a scientist and a sadhak. A scientist can let go his relatives and his surrounding. But for the sadhak that is not possible. All this is given to him for the purpose of expressing his bhava. He should accept and use all these as a step towards his progress. He needs to consider everything as himself and their sole purpose is for expression of God's bhava. It has no value without this purpose.

It is not difficult to understand all these in life, if it is thought of as expression of God's bhava. Yet in real life it is difficult to act like that. The issue is inability to keep and maintain conscious and living awareness of this fact while performing the karmas. It is not difficult if one keeps the awareness. Why is then there is no awareness? First there is no deep interest and second there is not enough enthusiasm. Humans should not feel hopeless because of these defects. One needs to expresses this goodwill with God's smaran-bhavna and mental memory. One who continues to make an effort to practice the given tool incessantly, with the sole aim of developing heartfelt inner bhava and expressing it as a living ideal  into his daily activities and in all circumstances, will definitely meet his goal. One has to miss or loose everything ( all beliefs, thoughts , understanding, nature etc ) while cultivating the goodwill. As one practices to cultivate this goodwill, one feels as if one is loosing the burden, one item at a time. This loosing is the real earning in one's life. One feels stressed if money is lost in business. But it is not the same in our effort. If one feels any discomfort or stress, it is from lack of enough preparation of the soul. The soul that is prepared to loose everything with deep knowledge can get somewhere. In fact there is nothing to loose here. Human is unnecessarily afraid of this process and in fact he is undergoing the process of gaining something. Human mind tends to concentrate on the loosing process. Once one concentrates on gaining something at all the moments and gets engrossed in it, there is no awareness that one is loosing anything. A scientist will not care if he looses all his money and possessions for his research and steadfastly sticks to his plan till his death. He may not succeed yet the victory of his life lies in continuous, definite and doubtless contemplation of his research. We may be blind but if we walk with the support of Shree Bhagawan's bhava ( God's bhava ), we will definitely reach our goal.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan and karya
Edition 1; pages 201 - 204.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

ART OF LISTENING

It is a unique art to listen correctly and it is worth developing. We can learn this art of listening by not preparing mental response while listening, not letting opposing vibrations arise in our mind, not letting any other thoughts about that subject arise in the mind at the time and do this with complete calmness, quiet mind and focused chitta. This helps us to understand the view point of the other person and get the benefit of the discussion if any.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan and karya
Edition 1; page 533.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

SADHANA AND OPEN MINDEDNESS ( ઉદારતા )

Just as grace of God is a subtle thread binding humans with God, open mindedness is equally subtle thread binding us human beings.

Love is expressed in the form of open mindedness in our physical world. Person with open mind cannot be devoid of love. In this way love and open mindedness are inter dependent. If one wants to be one with love, it is essential to have heartfelt mental open mindedness and eagerness to bear everything from the loved ones. As his capacity to bear increases, sadhak gets more knowledgeable with clear vision and appreciates the need for the tolerance. This practice of open mindedness and tolerance creates new vigor and understanding in sadhak's subtle body. It also reduces stubbornness from sadhak at the same time. It drives out our narrow mindedness, selfishness and " I " ness from our mind, making our lives worth and joyous.

There needs to be cooperation and goodwill between people to have success in any field. This is not possible without heart felt open mindedness. There may be many difference of opinions, view points or personal nature between husband and wife. If one or both have this virtu of heartfelt open mindedness, they can have real harmony and can bring the heaven on this earth. We get unhappy because  of our desire that other people should follow us, accept our values, follow our thought process and respect our feelings. Eventually we get the bitter experience that we were running after a mirage. We should not expect this from the world and especially from our loved ones. We need to keep open mindedness for our own benefit.

 Generosity of the heart ( open heart ) means spirit of friendship towards all the souls. This is the way for sadhak to feel that the whole world is one big family. If sadhak has this mental openness and heartfelt generosity, he can turn all these streams of life forces and add it in his life, while continuing his journey towards God. This increase the speed of his spiritual development.

To honor others nature, speech, way of life, mental tendencies, feelings, physical tendencies, lives, works and their whole personality is in itself generosity of heart and mental open mindedness. This does not mean that you accept others imperfections while keeping an open mind. At the same time, submit to or defeated by the people who attack your field of action or come in the way of your spiritual progress is not the characteristic of open mindedness. You must resist and succeed, with self confidence, quietness and fight with enough firmness for that resistance. To ignore the evil is open mindedness towards it. At the same time hating the people that does or wishes evil thing for sadhak, clearly shows lack of the bhava of open mindedness. Bhava of open mindedness means letting go of the spirit of personal happiness. The bliss from open mindedness cannot be matched by attempts to accumulate things.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan and karya
Edition 1; pages 210 - 212.










Thursday, June 14, 2012

CONDUCT OF SADHAK

Sadhak will not get anywhere without first confronting the mind. Innate nature needs to be changed and without confronting the mind, it is not possible to reverse the flow of the river of nature. As we continue this battle while establishing peace, equanimity and impartiality in us, prakruti ( nature ) fights back with renewed vigor. Since we have developed this living peace and equanimity, we will be able to understand not only our nature but also the nature of others. After this we will understand the subtlest move of the nature and prevent ourselves from getting sidetracked. It will be easier to understand the root of our nature if we continue to observe and analyze all our external and internal natural tendencies, with peace and equanimity. After understanding this we should use our determination and power of concentration to catch on the roots of our nature and climb above the natural tendencies. This is done with knowledge and discretion. When used in this manner we will be able to maintain equanimity while going against our natural tendencies. We will not succumb or give in to our natural tendencies if we decide to do so. We must have the power of focused will and determination.   We need living and constant mental understanding of this firm and focused determination illuminating our lives like the rays of sun. This understanding  should be helpful in our daily lives. All our lives then becomes sadhana itself and then only divinity can express itself in our lives.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; pages 85 - 86.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

READING ---- WHY?

Reading without understanding is not the reading by any means. On the contrary it is like closing the door for understanding. We must understand what we read. We should appreciate inner significance, purpose, seriousness and responsibility of these readings. We would open the door of understanding only if we read with this intent and purpose. To understand the truth behind the readings, we have to be open ourselves. It does not help much, if reading is done without understanding the purpose behind it.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan,
Edition 3; page 186.



My two cents ---

                     Pujya Shree Mota has written each and every word with definite purpose and intent in his literature. The purpose and intent can only be understood if we are open to these writings. To be open we must read, understand , think, contemplate, soak the contents in our being like a sponge and put it in action in our daily lives. Only then it is worth and useful.

Ashwin.


Thursday, May 31, 2012

SELF CONTENTMENT AND QUIETUDE OF MIND

Self contentment can be developed when one maintains complete awareness and alertness, when one acts in all circumstances ( favorable and unfavorable ) and in everything without any infatuation or hate ( રાગ-દ્વેષ ), with complete understanding, inner love and contemplating about God. On your own never create a desire to get physical things or obtain certain incidents and circumstances. If you succeed at it, then there will not be any difficulty in achieving quietude of mind. Continue to live your life with contentment in whatever you have and make under all situations and circumstances. At the same time try to understand the purpose of God behind these situations. When you live your life in this context then only it is appropriate and worth.

We should continue to function with the spirit of maintaining mental peace, contentment, certain easiness and joy, by whatever means it is possible. Be content if someone takes something from you. Ask for forgiveness with heartfelt humility, if you commit injustice to anybody. If certain item is causing arguments then relinquish with love. If you experience attachment and jealousy in certain associations, then understand it and with this understanding try avoiding it to reduce such future problems. You should accept with heartfelt joy, all incidents as God given, understanding it as such and act without any expectations of the results. Think of it as an opportunity to build your life. All this is possible if higher aspiration dawns in your heart at difficult times.

One who lives in plenty or scarcity, yet gets satisfaction and happiness with only few things, is a true happy person. One who in spite of having plenty, continues to aspire for new and more, is unhappy and poor.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan,
Edition 3; pages 184 - 186.



Thursday, May 24, 2012

SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF SADHANA

We should make an attempt with constant awareness to maintain equanimity, without getting entangled into bhavna, emotions, thoughts, dealings, behavior, works, acquaintances, discussions, field of action, office work and business. I have written several words above as it conveys slightly different meaning.

We must cultivate humility to its extreme. It is important to maintain the bhavna that we are lower and lighter than dirt and a particle. We are nobody. Without keeping this bhavna, we can not make preparation to become His instrument. More over if you want to maintain the bhavna that we are nobody than we must soften our opinions, insistences, suppositions, thoughts, routines and principles. We should not give any importance to these and focus all our attention to sadhana. Sadhana is the only proposition. We have to use all our energy, force, enthusiasm and perseverance, only toward our chosen work.

In general there is nothing wrong in performing actions according to your beliefs. What happens next is that we tend to stress this kind of behavior a lot. This leads to lack of concentration and ultimately loss of  interest in our sadhana. If you think and believe that my assertion is correct then start acting on this with perseverance. If your focus and attention keep going places, let it go. It should not be mixed with any insistence of any kind. Do not give too much importance to it and try to maintain an easy attitude. Even if we act according to our thoughts, principles and our prior behavior, there should not be any forcefulness about it. There should not be any insistence. It is much better for us if these actions leaves least or no impression on us. This is important in building certain level for sadhana.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pagaran,
Edition 3; pages 187 - 189.



Thursday, May 17, 2012

JAPA YAGNA



Japa is considered to be a yagna. It is the greatest, easy and natural tool. In general it should be shortest possible. It should also be easy and not complicated to pronounce. Sound has three places 1) umbilicus, 2) throat and 3) crown of head. Japa should touch all these three places. It is best kind of sadhana if japa touches specific place with specific word, with awareness of the purpose and continuity in mental awareness of this kind of japa. It is called yagna for a reason. We should be willing, happy and eager to offer ourselves for the purpose of gaining strength in our bhavna to progress towards our goal. Everything needs to be offered in yagna. Whatever springs up in our mind, prana etc needs to be offered as a homage ( burned as in a yagna ) with knowledge and devotion. We also need to pray at the same time. Yagna means process of reaching or achieving our goal while continuing the offering. This is possible only when you can create appropriate circumstances and atmosphere. When devotional aspect of japa manifests in mental memory, then only continuity of this devotional bhava   is maintained in heart. This bhava leads to intense attraction and under its effect we get engrossed in dhyan ( meditation ). Eventually this leads to ultimate height of dhyan and we get glimpses of various aspects of truth.
If we want to tread the road towards God, all activities that is promoted by our ego and natural tendencies of mind and prana must be sacrificed with clear understanding. Obviously this can not be accomplished in short period of time. If we have sincerely decided to progress towards our life’s goal, then there will be inner understanding and comprehension of this progress. Whenever there is sincerity of heart, there will always be corresponding thoughts and solution of the problem. It also leads to clear understanding and intuitive sense of purpose. If we want to progress in this path, we must be ready and eager to sacrifice our worldly desires, expectations, covetousness, sexual desires, anger, greediness, infatuation, ego and jealousy in this yagna of developing our life. It is definite that you will not progress even an inch without this sacrifice. 


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan sanshodhan
Edition 1; pages 320 - 321.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ME BETTER BY STUDYING LITERATURE OF SHREE AUROBINDO

 It is your good fortune that you have a sincere desire to visit Shree Aurobindo. You should definitely get the permission for the visit. This soul ( Pujya Shree Mota ) has heartfelt  love, devotion and respect for him and has expressed it with deep knowledge. I would like it very much if you can visit him. In fact you will have correct and better understanding of me, if you visit him and read his literature. We get the experiences regarding His existence, confirming our belief that He is always right, He is everything and He is the controller of our lives. Experience is the true guru and true knowledge.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan
Edition 3; page 196.

My two cents ---
                          Pujya Nandukaka at one stage in his life was not sure regarding his spiritual path ( whether to follow Shree Aurobindo or stay with Pujya Shree Mota ) and asked permission from Pujya Shree Mota to visit Shree Aurobindo and his ashram. Above writing is in response to that request.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

SADHAK SHOULD HAVE INSTANT COMPREHENSION ( સૂઝ )

We should have instant comprehension of the various occasions that occur in our daily lives. It is one of the arts of life when we have instant and constructive comprehension of these occasions. We have this comprehension automatically if we have developed the qualities like peace, impartiality, equanimity, empathy and inner happiness. This ( comprehension ) in turn increases our inner happiness. A special kind of inner exhilaration is felt in our hearts. We have this great sense of gratitude towards God and have a feeling that He does take care of us in innumerable ways.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan mandaan
Edition 3; page 144.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

MEASURE INNER DEVELOPMENT WITH ITS OUTER EXPRESSION

During my sadhana period my guru maharaj ordered me to understand and experience my inner development with its outer expression. We do not have any illusion if we have developed this habit of measuring inner development with its outer expressions. Because of this study of self and others, our assessment is accurate and without minimization or exaggeration. We accept only the true worth of us or anybody as per this kind of evaluation. You should practice to understand and evaluate everything with its practical expression.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan mandaan
Edition 3; page 54.


My two cents --  Pujya Shree Mota has given great importance to this aspect of development. I am sure every one of us had the opportunity to evaluate ourselves. Take the case of an anger. Over the years we think we have tried pretty hard and mastered or at least reduced our anger. And one day we blow the top. This is the time to evaluate our selves as per this blog. What triggered it ( probably one or the other aspect of ego got hurt ), why we did not stop it ( may be we did not have enough awareness of it coming ), we tried to stop but could not ( should have tried harder), next time it will not happen ( mind finds the excuse ), why should I be the only one to suffer in silence ( rebellion ). Occasionally it can come out in hidden forms like sarcastic comments or avoid discussing the issue ( silent treatment ). All these will tell us where we stand on various aspects of our development and what needs to be done. We need to accurately assess ourselves and give credit where and when it is due.

Pujya Shree Mota has shown the way to do all these evaluations while doing naam-smaran loudly and continuously.


Ashwin.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

HARMONY

We start reacting ( agitating ) right away when our ego is wounded or even slightly bruised. If that happens, we should know that our mind, higher intelligence, prana and ego have not achieved impartiality, equanimity and peace. Sadhak who is struggling ( trying ) has developed in himself, a kind of forbearance with inner knowledge. This makes him keep peace and happiness and all the agitation evaporates in an instant.

Divine consciousness is present in prakruti ( nature ) and it takes many forms and expressions. There is apparent discord in this expression but we need to experience harmony in this discord. We need to behave by keeping this vision and feeling of harmony alive in our hearts. When sadhak gets a setback the reaction in his mind should be under his complete control. The kind of reaction that arise in his mind and natural tendencies, should be entirely up to him. He should always act with love and wish good of the person that caused the setback in the first place.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan (જીવન મંથન ),
Edition 3; Preface page 15.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

SADHANA -- EFFORTLESS ( સહજ ) PROCESS

                                                            Hari om

Karachi,
24th July, 1942.

From the view point of elemental reality there is no difference between activity and completion of activity. God takes care of us once we completely surrender to Him. He gives us new insight and understanding of the experiences, good or bad meaning pleasant or unpleasant and in the process helps us take baby steps. There are always innumerable tests and critical evaluations to measure patience and faith in us during this process. We need to embrace Him with our heart constantly, while surrendering at the same time. In addition we should offer all these " struggle " at His feet. In fact it is not struggle at all. Just as needle is automatically pulled towards the magnet once it comes within the limit of the magnet, once we embrace and surrender to Him, there is effortless progress.

By offering and narrating all that spring up in us ( all difficulties, all thoughts and all emotions pertaining to our outer and inner being ) in this way, we continue to be empty. We get deeper in this offering and try to get near Him with increasing bhava in us. We let go off of any and all the ideas about Him and become like a blank paper and only be a witness to whatever is inscribed in this blank paper. In this way we erase all the old impressions from our mind. Only when we become naked ( pious and clean ) in front of Him, then only true divine consciousness will descend in us and penetrate with tremendous force.

We are insignificant and will never know how and when He develops us. So once we surrender, trust Him and perform any karma that comes in your way without any worry or concern. We need not worry about activity or completion of activity.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan Manthan ( જીવનમંથન )
Edition 3; pages 25 - 26.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

KARMA - SADHANA ( 4 )

( continued )

( 14 )  Sadhak will notice and become aware of  his own and other people's nature while performing works. He should not store or remember any of this in his mind. If someone has the nature of forgetfulness and then does not remember, the work is still done according to his nature. In case of sadhak, he does it with knowledge and it is possible only when sadhak is acting from the level above his nature. It is a kind of inertia if he keeps forgetting because of his nature and is not consciously aware of the purposeful action, that is required to keep his mind empty. Sadhak can take advantage if he has forgetful nature to keep his mind empty. At the same time he should not assume that he has this unique good virtue.

On the opposite side if someone has the nature of being accurate and precise, it is all right if he uses this to improve the quality and results of his work. At the same time he needs to have complete awareness, caution, sense of discretion, overall understanding and the knowledge of the divine purpose behind the work. What it means is that sadhaks with both kinds of nature needs the same characteristics in performance of their works. Sadhak needs to develop accuracy if he does not have it. There is no way out of it. It is to be understood that transformation of his nature is not possible without it.

( 15 )  It is one thing to be one with the work and other to sink in it. One sinks into the work when it is mostly done according to one's nature. One must have consciousness with mindfulness and knowledge to be one with the work and not sink in it.

One who thinks and then performs works has a better chance of developing one's life than the one who performs the works under the force of his own nature. If one has only the habit of thinking but does not have the knowledge, awareness, sense of discretion, equanimity and balance, then it is only the nature and habit of thinking. Even then it is better and much higher kind of nature. Nothing should be done as a habit and in the same old beaten track. If sadhak remembers all these, reflects and ponders upon it, then he can develop the finesse of performing karmas.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pathaya ( જીવન પાથેય )
Edition 3; pages 61-68.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

KARMA - SADHANA ( 3 )

 ( continued )

( 9 )  Sadhak must keep in mind that any karma that does not transform him to a higher level, is not of much importance to him. All the karmas must sublimate him. Sadhak experiences the incidents and various karmas to expose his own nature so that he can sublimate and transform it. He would never overcome the difficulties if he gets defeated during these incidents. He must light the energy of his inner self while performing these karmas and must acknowledge that he is capable of overcoming these difficulties. This will result in increase of his energy and determination.

( 10 )  Sadhak will never expect particular results or return on his karmas. He never has to think about it. It does not mean that there are no consequences or results.

( 11 )  Sadhak will never gets festered if he learns to perform his karmas as smoothly and efficiently as the cotton fiber coming off of a spindle. He needs to arrange works according to its priority. While performing this work he should not carry the burden of the next work in his mind. This is possible only if sadhak has developed or is making a living effort to develop, appropriate management style and order to perform his works. At the same time he must pay attention and not succumb to his own nature while performing the karmas in this fashion.

( 12 )  Sadhak should have overall idea about all the aspect of the work. Any other work that is associated with and is an integral part of it, needs to done at the same time. The work stays incomplete if this is not accomplished at the same time. Sadhak should repeatedly draw attention to this matter and continue to think and contemplate over this point every two or three days. This will increase his competency.

( 13 )  Sadhak will need to use his sense of discretion, intelligence, mental balance and comprehend the works. At the same time he needs to be careful and not get confused and agitated with this use. He must have complete understanding and control over the process.

                                                                                              ( continued )


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pathaya ( જીવન પાથેય )
Edition 3; pages 61-68.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

KARMA - SADHANA ( 2 )

      ( continued )

 Following points need to be remembered.

1)  Bhavna needs to be infused into our karmas so that bhavna can become bright, spirited and always longing for the divine consciousness and is also expressed in real life.

2)  Do not think of anyone ( who comes in your way to sadhana ) else while performing a karma. Anyone else is merely the excuse. Train yourself into believing that whatever happens, happens to reevaluate yourself. Karma is only for the development of life. There is no other purpose of karma.

3)  Sadhak must make a firm decision to correct any mistake that he realizes happened while performing a karma. It is of value only if he makes less and less mistakes over a period of time.

4)  Karma needs to be done with quietude, impartiality and without any haste or entanglement.

5 )  Must have developing faith from experiences that there is somebody standing with the sadhak while he performs the karma.

6 )  Sadhak should not have thoughts after the karma is done. If that happens then he should try to analyze
the mind and find out the reasons behind it. The main reason behind that, is mind's involvement in the karma.  Mind needs to be empty and sadhak has to develop a living awareness and practice to achieve it.

7)  There should be a living bhavna of surrender during beginning, middle and at the end of the karma.

8)  While performing the karma there must be a living awareness ( bhava ) that it is God's work, it is for the benefit of sadhak and it is meant for his transformation. This may be difficult but sadhak needs to keep this bhavna behind the karma.

                                                    ( continued )


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pathaya ( જીવન પાથેય )
Edition 3; pages 61- 68.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

KARMA - SADHANA ( 1 )

 Sadhak needs to have the alertness to realize that any given circumstances is for the development of his              sadhana. With that he will have deeper understanding of the circumstances. He will notice many defects in himself. He will not get any deeper in sadhana if he ignores these defects, does not give much importance to it or does not make any conscious and meaningful effort to correct it. He needs to learn from any and all incidents where he is involved. If he does not learn from it then there is no difference between him and ordinary person, who does the work with the same old routine. There are many mistakes and defects in sadhak that cannot be corrected by just pointing at it or by verbalizing it. In these situations God creates the circumstances where Sadhak can repeatedly see the stubbornness of his nature and his inability to act appropriately because of his defects and mistakes. If sadhak continues to act in the same old way then the whole purpose of these circumstances goes in vain. There is a big difference between bearing the situation and accepting it. There is no development when sadhak bears the situation as there is always an element of separation and this kills the whole purpose of God created circumstances. Sadhak get the full benefit of circumstances when he accepts the circumstances and becomes one with it wholeheartedly. Sadhak needs to face the karma or the circumstances with clear understanding of the purpose behind that karma or circumstances.

                                                                           (  continued )



Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan Pathaya ( જીવન પાથેય )
Edition 3; pages 61-68.
Compiled in Jivan Sadhana, pages 113 - 117


My two cents ---

Next three blogs also represents  Pujya Shree Mota's writings on karma. It is a practical guide for one to follow in day today life.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

SADHANA -- STRUGGLE

Struggle in sadhana is unavoidable and necessary. Sadhak needs to keep his mind, intelligence, prana etc in higher consciousness. One will always have the reason for variety of thoughts, feelings, irritations and natural tendencies. There will always be incidents with conflicts. Sadhak can learn to separate himself from his own nature and tendencies if he becomes aware ( mindful ) of these tendencies right at the instant that it originates and refuses to build accompanying and connected links in his mind. He needs to develop impartiality and equanimity at that time, while making this effort with knowledge, devotion, and awareness.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan manthan; ( જીવન મંથન ),
Edition 2, pages 124-125.


My two cents ---

The purpose here is to go beyond your nature and develop equanimity.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

NAAM-SMARAN AND NATURAL TENDENCIES

It should pain us tremendously  if we miss even an instant, without remembering Him. If you feel that way, then know for sure that one day you will experience Him. Also know and believe that you live in fools paradise if your expectations are of highest order, but your efforts and behavior are opposite. You in fact do not care for your ideal if you find yourself devoid of the efforts to express love and devotion for your ideal in your day today life. We are not ready to express this ideal ( remembering Him at all the times ) yet. The soul that wants to fulfill this ideal  has to decide very clearly and with great determination. It does not matter what kind of nature you have, but to talk about praising God while continuing to stay in the same old nature, is like cheating your self. So I am telling you with all the humility and prayerful heart to alert the swajans ( close friends ) regarding their inner tendencies. If you want to be awake then act accordingly in your daily works. Fight and oppose unwanted and conflicting natural tendencies with great awareness. At that time call on to God almighty and pray with all your heart for help. Do not get stuck in the muddy land of natural tendencies of the worldly life. God does make us aware off and on when we get stuck in this kind of mud. He makes us experience this in real life but we refuse to accept the purpose and meaning of the experience and that this experience is for our own benefit. It is all right if we do not accept it, but we get mad at Him and then reject Him. What can be the fate of this kind of soul? So if you can wake up and move somewhat in this direction then it is very good. Again it is meaningless if you are going back to the same slumber of natural tendencies after some movement in this direction.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan Pokar ; (જીવન પોકાર )
Edition 1, pages 428-429.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

USE OF EMOTIONS

We should not waste bhava that bubbles up after a prayer. It should not be allowed to flow through the channel of emotions but should be redirected towards the channel of bhava of that particular tool ( prayer). This is discretion. We should not get entangled into the cause of the emotion and start thinking of only the object that caused the emotion in the first place. Even if you get engrossed or get swept, you should wake up quickly and with awareness leave the object that caused the emotion in the first place and hold on to the emotion itself. Use this force of emotion in sadhana. Use it in naam-smaran. If used with clear understanding, it increases the bhavna or aspiration in naam-smaran.


Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan darshan ( જીવન દર્શન )
Edition 8, page 82.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

HOW DO WE KNOW THE LEVEL OF OUR DEVELOPMENT

You should know that without knowing our level of spiritual development, progress is not feasible. I am glad that you asked this basic and important question. At what level do we get peace? If we examine our thoughts and natural tendencies and come to a conclusion that all we think is about sex, infatuation, anger, greediness, jealousy and arrogance then we are not even in first level.

To start we must feel that there is no permanent joy and happiness in this kind of life and that there is a higher kind of life full of this joy and happiness. This permanent joy is possible in any kind of situation and circumstances. When we are certain of this contrasting lives and feel that there is no permanent joy in present life and that we must make a change for the better life. At this point we feel as if the soul is trying to go on this path of higher life. At this stage if we practice appropriate tool for the purpose and try to go ahead, then proper understanding of the process develops over a period of time. This requires constant effort.

If you want to understand this process faster, then learn to be a witness to all your thoughts and natural tendencies ( like sex, anger, jealousy, infatuation, greediness, arrogance and ego ). Just be a witness. If we can do this with sincerity then it is a kind of sadhana too. It is an excellent sadhana if you can be a witness while performing worldly actions. When this practice matures, one gets the freedom from all these natural tendencies. It is exceptional to achieve this, but it is not difficult. In one way it it the easiest path. We fail to maintain this witness consciousness because of the lack of volcanic aspiration. Only with this volcanic aspiration, it is possible to maintain the spirit of witness consciousness. It is not of much use if you have occasional witness consciousness. This true spirit behind witness consciousness is maintained without effort when one has volcanic aspiration.

Pujya Shree Mota
Pujya Shree Mota sathe satsang : janma-punarjanma ( પૂજ્ય શ્રી મોટા સાથે સત્સંગ ઃ જન્મ - પુનર્જન્મ )
Edition 1; pages 26-27.











Thursday, February 9, 2012

PRACTICE OF SILENCE ( મૌન )

Sabarmati
22/1/37
                                                                        Hari Om

When one lives life in solitude, silence is of utmost importance. It is especially needed to awaken the spirit of surrender in all aspects of our lives to God. Silence is always there to get the needed practical help, when conditions become intolerable for the lonely devotee. Silence is our active and living friend. The energy and force produced by silence is not comparable to anything else. Every soul feels lonely and helpless at times but no one tries to reject this loneliness. Life gets brighter by constant, deep, close and knowledgeable study of silence. Life also gets to be vast, peaceful and impartial. If silence is cultivated with clear purpose and living awareness then a mystic energy develops from this silence. Purity starts to manifest in all aspects of life. The knowledge of a knowledgeable person, the devotion of a devotee and the meditation of a yogi all spring from this silence. The essential element to experience the divine consciousness is this silence.

                                                           Silence of our senses

Silence is not only related to physical speech. That is only its physical meaning. True silence should be of all five senses. When it is possible to stop all five senses from taking interest in its own domain, then only it is called true silence. In other words, all senses should renounce its own interests. Fasting is the silence of sense of taste and staying speechless is the silence of speech. It is also a silence of eyes, ears and skin when they are absorbed in meditation. Being absorbed in One while living amongst many is also a kind of silence. When it is possible to live in any outer condition but completely absorbed in One on the inside, then all the senses gather a tremendous amount of energy and strength and that changes one's outlook of life and the surrounding world. With the development of the silence of all aspects of life, good qualities like humility, peace, seriousness of purpose and patience, expresses in life effortlessly. Mind becomes broad and generous, vision becomes full of love, and intelligence gets purified with the sense of discretion. Thus in this fashion the senses lose their natural characteristics automatically and then the resulting silence can be experienced.

                                                      Silence means ocean of peace

Inner aspect of silence is full of strength and energy. The ocean is stormy on the surface yet it is full of peace and calm in its depth. When one  develops silence with knowledge and devotion, there is great upheaval  in the heart yet there is an established peace and equanimity in the inner sanctum of the being. There develops peace in subtle activities of life. By the practice of silence a person becomes a sea of tranquility.

                                                            Good results of silence

The heart begins to be purified with the constant, deep and close pursuit of silence. An appropriate sense of discretion develops in the intelligence. This combination of purity and sense of discretion leads to a tremendous and lively sense of purpose and faith. The strength to constantly surrender is born out of these. In this fashion, the root of the strength to surrender is silence. If silence is practiced with  appropriate behavior in all of the life's situations, then true peace and patience is cultivated and that in turn leads to the most appropriate and desired results.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pravesh ( જીવન પ્રવેશ )
Edition 2; pages 257-259.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

PRAYER

Harijan Ashram, Sabarmati
3/3/38
                                                                             Hari Om

Prayer is the best tool to keep the mind clean and pure. Just as water removes dirt from the body and clothes, heartfelt prayer to God removes the impurities of the mind. Intelligence and prana is purified. One whose intelligence, mind and prana is pure and clean, always does good deeds. Because of this praying is the best and necessary habit. Just as you should shower everyday to cleanse the body, prayer should be done daily to keep mind clean and pure. It should be done wholeheartedly, with happiness and self-motivation. Never have the feeling that it is imposed on you. It needs to be done with living awareness ( bhava ). Life becomes luminous for whoever prays with humility, love, awareness and faith. Prayer is not just a powerless expression of emotions, but it is the best tool to guide the emotions into appropriate channel. One experiences the least amount of obstacles in all works with constant practice of prayer. This happens as one is inspired to have only good thoughts.

Kinds of prayers

Service to the needy, act according to one's noble thoughts, perform good deeds, live life for the benefit of others and live life with harmony and love, are all a form of prayer. At the same time the prayer that has the deepest effect on us is meditating on God. One who gets into the habit of praying regularly at a definite place, always gets the strength to perform good and noble deeds. The practice of praying cleanses our mind and its related activities. The force and strength produced by prayer can not be compared with anything else. Great works are accomplished and experienced by prayer. The role of prayer is of prime importance in the development of life.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pravesh ( જીવન પ્રવેશ )
Edition 2; pages 271-272.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

HUMBLE SELF - NARRATION ( આત્મનિવેદન )

                                                Try humble narration and observe the results

It is a historical fact that some people have dedicated all their lives for the sake of God. Just as you take medicine for curing the disease, if you want mental peace you should sit in a room or a solitary place and remember God. Try it even if you do not have faith in it. Experiment with it and see if you get peace or not? Everyday sit down at one place and narrate everything that you want to say. Keep God as your comrade and friend and act as if He is present in front of you. He is present in the form of concept and faith. Thus among nine kinds of bhakti, humble narration is considered as one kind of bhakti (devotion ).

                                                                      The results

If you narrate everything, then your mind gets free of mental stress and feels much lighter. You will develop a kind of bond with God if you remember Him while performing various tasks. This will create a special relationship with Him that will infuse strength, determination, adventure, tolerance and goodwill towards others. This in turn will help in solving numerous problems.

From gross to subtle, divine consciousness is present in everything. It is present in trees, animals on land and water, and also in us human beings. It is present in all the aspects of us including our mind, intelligence, psyche, prana and ego. We must be ready to invoke this divine consciousness in us and ask for the help that we need. It will not serve our purpose, if we remain indifferent towards this divine consciousness. It will help only if we desire to ask for its help.


Pujya Shree Mota
Maun mandirama pranpratistha ( મૌનમંદિરમા પ્રાણપ્રતિષ્ઠા )
Edition 1; pages 31-32.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

MAUN MANDIR - ABODE FOR HIGHER UNDERSTANDING AND PROGRESS

My guru-maharaj used to say : "It is a higher kind of service to elevate the consciousness of the souls and improve their liking of spirituality. This kind of service also improves mind's capabilities for the better. Meaning of service is also to be happy and spreading this happiness around. This happiness is not possible without peace in the mind. One cannot be happy if the mind is uncertain and angry. Only mental peace and serenity can result in happiness. Any service that is expressed as mental peace and serenity or any method that takes you towards mental peace and serenity is a higher kind of service".                                                                                My guru-maharaj urged me to find a way where  people can do activities that uplift their mind, can do self analysis, pray, do inner search and start the process of initiation. He also ordered me to keep these souls in closed rooms. By the grace of my guru-maharaj this ( maun mandir ) was possible for the purpose of uplifting these souls.
Development of this technique ( as ordered by our guru-maharaj ) is also a kind of service. If the life of a person can be uplifted, even just a little, that is a great service. There are subtle impressions on the psyche from the development of bhava that is produced in this maun mandir. These impressions are deep and noble. It is not possible to produce this bhava outside. This bhava and its resulting effects can not be gained outside even after spending lots of money.

Pujya Shree Mota
Maun mandirma pran-pratistha ( મૌન મંદિરમાં પ્રાણપ્રતિષ્ઠા )
Edition 1; pages 40-41.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

METHODS TO DEVELOP AWARENESS ( MINDFULNESS )

(Continued from the previous post)

Now the question is how to develop living and conscious mindfulness. It is not possible just by thinking about it. We must have a firm, definite and certain attitude ( aspiration ) towards the importance, mystery and real purpose of this life. Occasionally one develops this kind of loving attitude because of past dormant impressions in one's being. But this is a different matter. It is difficult to keep this mindfulness till a firm and definite attitude is established in mind with eagerness and progressive force. We think with our superficial intelligence and believe that we understand the meaning and purpose of this life. At the same time our hearts are not convinced about it. It is one thing to like this attitude and another to start putting it in practice. One has to try very hard to put this aspiration into one's higher intelligence, and then into a definite and self-perpetuating attitude. This effort needs to be done with sincerity, deep thinking and with a loving heart. Unless this is done, mental understanding is never expressed in concrete action. This aspiration gets its boost whenever it is expressed as a creative, definite force in our daily actions, thoughts, natural tendencies and it is geared to fulfillment of one's aim in life. With the help of concentrated and focused intelligence, the soul has to make an effort to coordinate and maintain this vision, attitude, thoughts and tendencies aimed towards fulfillment of his aim. While doing this, one develops living need and hunger in the mind to fulfill one's aim in life. At this point living mindfulness springs up. When natural tendencies arise, it does not stay static but it moves forward. When one starts to live life in higher consciousness this tendency needs to be transformed into divine tendencies with knowledge, devotion, love and grace of God, and this requires great effort on the part of the soul. Being static will not do. It always helps to nudge the soul with repeated efforts. The soul is used to living in prakruti for eternity and obviously it always likes to stay that way.

Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pravesh ( જીવન પ્રવેશ )
Edition 2; 203-205.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

SADHANA DEPENDS UPON AWARENESS ( MINDFULNESS )

Sayla
26/4/46
                                                                        Hari Om

You wrote to me "it is not easy to direct our natural tendencies ( વૃત્તિ ) inwards". I am telling you that it is not only easy but is also natural and innate. All that is needed is constant, uniform inner awareness. Take the example of a businessman. He has a customer that can buy his products in substantial amount, but this customer is mannerless and wicked. The customer talks and acts in a way that provokes anger in the businessman. But there is only one thing in the mind of the businessman and that is to sell his products and make money. There are hundreds of reasons for this businessman to get angry. But he has this keen and conscious awareness that if he loses his temper, the deal may not materialize. Because of this mindfulness he can avoid being angry at the customer in spite of all these provocations. From this it is evident that one can control the anger with this particular kind of awareness. This particular kind of restraint was possible naturally, because of the businessman had an awareness of the purpose.  This is easy and natural for us. The only problem is the absence of living and conscious mindfulness or awareness.
                                                                     
                                                                          (  Continued in next blog )
Pujya Shree Mota
Jivan pravesh ( જીવન પ્રવેશ )
Edition 2: pages 202-203.

My two cents --

This letter is addressed in reference to obstructions caused by natural tendencies. It can be easily and naturally overcome, if awareness of our goal in life is maintained at all times.

Ashwin