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.

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.

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.

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.

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.