Stray Thoughts – 3/2014

Stray Thoughts – 3/2014 

 Even if we wish to, there are a lot of impediments to our quest for the Almighty. Why? 

 Dear Friends A close friend and a good kriyayogi once asked me a question on the subject above, today. This makes me very happy indeed, as it shows in one go, the churning of the juices in the brain and the utility of the Stray Thoughts series. We have seen and some have felt rather acutely, others a little mildly that the greatest critics of all our actions are our spouses. It would be serious mistake to treat them as impediments or hindrances, for they are not that at all. A car needs both the accelerator and the brake as well; I often say. Just imagine the great potential for disaster that a car without brakes would have. Goswami Tulsidas has said “निंदक निअरे राखिये कुटी आँगन छवाय ". The Almighty has provided the nindak in the shape of our spouse and no need for the kutia in the aangan as well. I recall a true story related by my Param Gurudev Tiwari Baba to my Gurudev: Lahiri Baba’s disciple Krishnanand used to sit with his own set of disciples in the evenings and do Guru and Bhagwat charcha. One day his wife appeared and started abusing Krishnanandji in a loud voice. She accused him of being a no good lazy bum hiding behind his sham devotion to Guru and God, to avoid exerting for his livelihood. She also let go of a few choice expletives and left no one in doubt what she thought of all the ‘Bhagwat charcha’ that was going on. When she eventually got tired and saw absolutely no reaction from her husband despite her angry abusive goading; she left. On her departure Krishnanand merely said “ Please do not let this incident disturb you, it is my prarabdh and it is bound to happen every now and then It is also my Guru’s method of testing my resolve. Let us continue” and then they did Naam the prayer. A similar incident comes to mind about the Saint-Queen Meerabai. Her aide and constant companion, Lalita, pained at all the torture inflicted on her by Ranaji queried incredulously: “ Bai sa, aap par itna kuchch zulum dhahte hain Ranaji, aur aap ko jara sa gussa bhi nahi aata ? Kis mitti ki bani hain aap Bai sa?” An equally surprised Meerabai replied: “ Kab ? mujhe to kuchch yaad nahin hai!” The saint was totally unaware of the unnecessary events, and too busy in conversation with her beloved Lord. If we react to all the stimulii that we get during a day, good or bad, then we shall be very tired and drained out at the end of the day. But worse we shall be disturbed, depressed and morose. We must therefore very carefully pick and choose, when and where to react, and where not to. There is absolutely no point in reacting to everything that life throws our way.

A four liner from the “VAIRAGYA SHATAK” by Raja Bhartrihari the ancestor of Raja Vikramaditya almost a thousand years ago comes to mind. Raja Bhartrihari took sanyas in the prime of his life and at the peak of his reign. My childhood Aryasamaji Guruji, Sri Akhilanandji Bramhachari, who used to stay with us by the grace of my grand father, from the early thirties till the late sixties, and passed away in 1968, at the age of 84yrs, used to sing it in his sonorous voice, quite often, when I was a mere boy. But I never forgot it fully, and after some effort I could get a learned Sanskrit scholar Wageeshji, at Gurudham Mandar to fish it out for me. It is written in the melodious Shikharni chaand. It goes like this:

अहौ वा हारे वा ,  बलपति रिपौ वा, सुहृद वा !
मनौ वा लोश्टे वा, कुसुम शयने वा दृषिद वा!!
सूखे वा दुखे वा, मम सम  दृशौ यान्तु दिवसः !
क्वचिटपुण्यारण्ये, शिव शिव प्रलपते !!!
Whether it is a snake or a costly necklace decorating my neck, a powerful enemy or a friend, facing me! Whether it is a large mani (diamond) or a piece of earth, whether I get a bed of roses or a rock to sleep on! In joy or in misery, may I have the same outlook! In a pilgrimage or in the forest, O my Lord bless me so that, my days are spent chanting Shiv, Shiv!!!! 

When your eyes are fixed on your target (like Arjun's on the fish eye), all impediments will become meaningless. That kind of determination is a must if you are looking to be close to the Almighty. No halfhearted measures, like visiting a holy place or organising a pooja,  will do. You have to merely look at the lives of the great rishis, saints and the great devotees who have faced penury, hardship, scorn and even physical adversity on their way to achieve their cherished Lord. Sur Das, Sudama, Meera, Narsinh Mehta, these are not figments of imagination; they are true, shining and ideal characters who have presented an alternate style of living and all the facts related thereto for us , and shown us the path.

Do we want to follow this or just do drawing room talk about it? Your yearning and desperation for the Lord has to be as strong as a drowning man’s for a breath of air. In the Gita the Lord has said you must stay in this world much like lotus leaf in water. Neither the water soaks in from below nor the rain water. “Padmapatra miwambhasa” Your need to carry on with your daily grind, can not be ignored or put aside but at every step the thought of the Lord must guide you and your actions. You need not abandon your daily and family duties, please learn to abandon only the fruits of your action God is a serious and very demanding occupation. Do you really want to give up everything else and go for it? The decision is and HAS to be yours, and yours alone.

Even He has left it to you. Everyone comes to this bridge in ones life and must decide whether to cross it or not. THINK. Ask Him for His help if you can't.

Jai Guru!

GOD BLESS!!
Guru Kripa Yachak
Jitendra