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.

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.

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.

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.