IVY Swadhyay - June 2017

IVY Swadhyay - June 2017

“Knowledge is our destination and love is our path to it.”
To celebrate Father’s Day in June, Minalben asked the young mumukshus to remember to their father and the spiritual father.

As we are walking on the path of spirituality Bhagwan Mahavir is also our father, as he is the one who showed the moksh marg. Param Krupalu Dev translated the holy scriptures into Gujarati and made the Lord’s teachings understandable, thus even he is our father. Then Param Pujya Bhaishree, our sadguru, further simplified the teachings and guided us on the path making him our father too. So as we celebrate Fathers day, we thank not just our biological fathers but also Lord Mahavir, Param Krupalu Dev and Pujya Bhaishree.

Who is a Father?

When God was making fathers he added the following ingredients - the strength of a mountain, the majesty of the trees, the warmth of the summer sun, the calm of a quiet sea, the generosity of nature, the comfort of the night, the wisdom of the ages, the power of the eagle’s flight, the joy of a lovely spring morning and the patience of eternity. After all this, when there was nothing left to add God knew his masterpiece was complete.

Narrating a short story, Minalben said there was once a young boy who was keen to own a car.  His father said that if his son got 93% in his exams, he would gift the young man a car.  Motivated by this the boy poured his heart and soul into studying, waking up early in the mornings and staying awake late in the nights. However, on the day of his results, when the boy did not arrivehome; his concerned father looking for him, saw him sitting forlorn in the garden.  He was sad that he was able to get 90% in his exams, short of the target.  Hearing this his father immediately drew out of his pocket, the keys of a brand new car – his son’s gift.
 
He said, “Your teacher gave you 90% but I will give you the additional 3% for your hard work and diligence.” This is how fathers are, they may be tough from the outside but they are soft and warm on the inside.

Mother’s are said to be the bank where you deposit all your sorrows and worries; but the father is the credit card that keeps giving without any balance. Our fathers struggle and work hard throughout their lives so that we, his children, can get what they haven't got in their lives.

Minalben went on to narrate 2 stories.

The king of Bhuj, Bhimdev, had a secretary called Vimal who was a good archer. Vimal lived happily with his wife but they had no children. One day the couple was strolling in the garden when his wife said, “Please pray to Goddess Ambika to give us a child.”

The temple of Ambika was on Mount Abu. Vimal worshipped the Goddess.  Pleased with his sincerity, the Goddess offered Vimal two options: either he could have a son or he could build a temple on the mountain. He said he would decide after discussing his wife.

Goddess Ambika accompanied Vimal as he climbed down the mountain on his way home.  Midway he felt thirsty, and on seeing a lake they stopped for a drink. Here they met a young boy who asked for money before they could have any water. They asked him why was he collecting money? The boy replied that his father had spent all his wealth building the pond and now they had nothing left. So whoever comes to drink water at this lake must pay him first. Hearing this, Vimal decided to build a temple so that his child would  not end up like the boy they met. Thus, the Dilwara temples in Abu were made by a boon granted by Goddess Ambika.
The other story was of Seth Moti Shah who would travel by a horse-cart, driven by four horses. Once while going to Fort from Pydhoonie (in Mumbai), he happened to see a butcher going towards the slaughter house with a cow.

Moti Shah sent his assistant to have the cow released but the butcher refused. In the ensuing fight, the butcher was injured and died of his injuries. The case was taken to court and Moti Shah’s attendant was given the death penalty. Moti Shah told the judge that it was actually his fault, and the death penalty was given to Moti Shah and he was taken to mumbadevi for a public execution.

On being asked for his last wish, Moti Shah requested to go to Byculla derasar (temple) for pooja. When he was got back after doing pooja; the platform from where his public execution would have taken place broke in three places.  This matter was then taken to Queen Victoria, who ordered the judge to release him thinking that he could not have been an ordinary person. The Queen offered him one more wish. Moti Shah took this opportunity and said that since he was a Jain and believed in non-violence, he wished that whenever he was passing that road, anyone being given the death penalty be released. As per his request, once Moti Shah saved the life of a 24-year old boy and many times such a sentence was cancelled and as a result the place of strangulation had to be changed by the English.
 
In the course of his discourse, Brahmnisht Vikrambhai sang the below poem and explained its meaning.
 
વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ, વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ
એક હી સાથ જીયેંગે હમ,
વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ, વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ
પ્યારા પ્યાર કા માર્ગ હમારા, જ્ઞાન હમારા લક્ષ્ય હૈ,
ચાલો એક સાથ ચલેંગે હમ,
વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ, વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ
ઇસ દુનિયા મેં પાર જતાયેંગે, ખુશીયો કે ઉત્સવ મનાયેંગે
એક હી ઈશ્વર, એક હી જ્ઞાન,
વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ, વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ
ઇસ પલ મેં હમેં જીના હૈ, હસ્ના ઔર મુસ્કુરાના હૈ,
સબકો ગાલે લાગના હૈ,
વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ, વસુધૈવ કુટુંભકામ.

Vasudhaiva refers to this entire universe. Vasudhaiva kutumbhakam means that every living being, whether humans, animals, birds, insects - everyone is part of my family. Our destination should be knowledge and love is the path to it. We must all embark on this journey together with Pujya Bhaishree with immense joy in our hearts. When we are with our family or friends, we must always spread happiness. There is one Earth and similarly there is one Truth and only one God. It is the human mind that has created divides. Every religion professes love. We must live in this moment of now.

Concluding, he shared three basic principles that have exemplary spiritual values. If we imbibe them into our daily lives, it will change us drastically. They are:
    •    I have come into the world empty handed and that is how I will leave
    •    Glad acceptance of everything: whatever happens, happens for the best
    •    When there is no way out, enhance your tolerance

IVY Swadhyay - Mothers Day Special

If the only Prayer you said in your life was “Thank you” that would suffice!

The one person in everybody’s life, who deserves a special ‘Thank You’, more than anybody else, is our mother. Mother is special and precious, not just because she goes through pain and gives us life, but also because she knows how to give selflessly and ask for nothing in return.  She practices and teaches compassion and kindness; she is the first one to rejoice in our happiness and feel our pain, and she comforts us when we are scared or fearful.  She spreads sweet fragrance in our lives.

For a spiritually inclined person, there is twice the cause of celebration on Mother’s Day – since he celebrates the presence of his mother and the Guru in his life.

A guru like Pujya Bhaishree plays a dual role – that of a caring mother and a motivating father. He is a friend as well, who lends his ear without judging, happy in our happiness and supportive during the lean phases of our life.

Brahmnisht Minalben shared a beautiful poem describing the sacrifices made by a mother and the efforts taken by her to mould her children.

માં  કેવી  તું
કયા  શબ્દો  માં   કહું  કે  માં , કેવી  તું
પીડા  ની  પુકાર  માં , મારી  પેહલી  છીઝ  તું
મારો  પેહલો  પ્રગાઢ  વિશ્વાસ  તું
મારા  હૃદય  ના  દરેક  ધબકાર  માં  તું
કયા  શબ્દો  માં  કહું , માં  કેવી  તું
મારા  જીવન  ના  સુખનો  બાગ  તું
ક્યારેક  ગુસ્સા  માં  સૂર્ય  ની  આગ  તું

માં , કયા  શબ્દો  માં  કહું  કે  કેવી  તું
અંધકાર  ને  દૂર   કરનારો  પ્રકાશ  તું
મારી    અપેક્ષાઓ  ની  ધરતી  તું
મારી  આકાંશા  નું  આકાશ  તું
માં , કાયા  શબ્દો  માં  કહું  કે  કેવી  તું
ધાકધકતા  જીવન  પ્રવાસ  માં  શીતળતા  તું
જીવન  ને  છેલ્લી   શ્વાસ  નો  વિસામો  તું …

Br. Minalben also shared another beautiful poem by Kathleen J. Shields:

‘There are Angels God puts on this Earth
Who care for us and guide us.
You can feel their love and gentleness
as they walk through life beside us.

They do great things for us every day
they whisper in our ears,
they even hold us in their hearts
when we are filled with all our fears.

They are always there to give a hug
and try to make us smile.
They treat us with respect and love;
they treat us like their child.

God blessed me with an Angel,
I’m proud to call my own.
She’s been with me throughout my
life, been with me as I’ve grown.

She guided me the best she can,
she taught me like no other,
and I’m thankful I’m the lucky one
who gets to call her... MOTHER’

To show our appreciation and gratitude to our Mother, we must help them as much as possible and support them when they feel low.  Likewise, we must also be grateful to our Guru for leading us to eternal happiness.  There is no way we can repay our Guru for lifting us from the cycle of births and deaths.  The Guru’s efforts as well as virtues should be applauded wholeheartedly.

Voltaire said, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well’.

Minalben also shared a powerful analogy of a monkey, who mistakenly thinks the rosemary seeds to be the fire-stone, and tries to ignite a fire but naturally fails in his endeavours.  Likewise, an ignorant person seeks happiness in places where there is none.

As much as appreciation is important, being ethical is equally important and it’s the very first goal of inner transformation. Stressing on some really important questions, Brahmnisht Vikrambhai asked the young mumukshus to reflect on:

• How ethical am I?
• How long does it take me to admit to something unethical that I have done?
• How do I feel when I compromise on my values? Justified? Guilty? or Sad?
• What are the things for which I compromise my values? Does my want for something cloud my understanding of the ethics of that situation or can I remain clear minded and objective?
   

Without being ethical, there is no uplifting.

It is the power of discrimination (vivek-vichar) that guides our actions. The pure mind will filter and safeguard our soul from many negative influences. Along with the pure mind, it's our inner conscience, the voice of the soul that will lead us to act appropriately.

When a person is able to applaud goodness, be kind and humble, honest and uncompromising where integrity is concerned, only then can the Guru’s teaching bear fruit.

We must take example from the life of Pujya Bhaishree.  His every action is the epitome of virtue, patience and mindfulness.  Let us cultivate these qualities and walk on the path shown by the Master.

75th Ladies Swadhyay

The 75th ladies swadhyay was held on 30th April, at Brahmnisht Minalben’s residence in Mumbai.

Pujya Bhaishree graced the occasion and gave a discourse on a poem written by Ganga Sati.  He likened Minalben to Ganga Sati and the lady mumukshus to Paanbai.

Briefing the mumukshus about the life of Ganga Sati, Pujya Bhaishree said that she was an elevated, enlightened Vedanti Saint, who composed many divine, meaningful bhajans.   Her life reflected her writing and many bhajans were composed to guide Paanbai on the spiritual path.  (There are 2 version of Ganga Sati’s relationship with Paanbai – one version says that Paanbai was her daughter-in-law and another version says that Paanbai was her maid who was part of her dowry) Ganga Sati’s husband Kahalchand, was also deeply spiritual. 

According to traditional account, he utilized his spiritual powers to prove himself in the presence of the villagers.  Later, regretting this misuse of powers (since people would now be attracted to him due to these powers rather than his spirituality), Kahalchand decided to take samadhi and end his life. Gangasati urged him to let her take samadhi too but he refused and instructed her to wait until she had perfected Paanbai, her daughter-in-law/maid on path of devotion.  Obeying the instructions of her husband, Ganga Sati through her bhajans and devotional songs, laid out the path for Paanbai and then accepted Samadhi. 

પરિપૂર્ણ સતસંગ હવે તમને કરાવું,
ને આપું જોને નિર્મળ જ્ઞાન રે,
જનમવા મરવાનું તમારું મટાડીને
ધરાવું અવિનાશીનું ધ્યાન રે ... પરિપૂર્ણ.

નામરૂપને મિથ્યા જાણો ને
મેલી દેજો મનની તાણાવાણ રે,
આવો બેસો એકાંતમાં ને તમને,
પદ આપું નિર્વાણ રે ... પરિપૂર્ણ.

સદા રહો સતસંગમાં ને
કરો અગમની ઓળખાણ રે,
નુરત સુરતથી નિજ નામ પકડીને
જેથી થાય હરિની જાણ રે ... પરિપૂર્ણ.

મેલ ટળે ને વાસના ગળે,
ન કરો પુરણનો અભિયાસ રે,
ગંગા રે સતી એમ બોલિયાં,
થાય મૂળ પ્રકૃતિનો નાશ રે ... પરિપૂર્ણ.

Ganga Sati says: “I will bequeath to you true knowledge herewith.  Let go of our beliefs in births and deaths, and strive to attain the Absolute Truth – that which is beyond life and death.  Do not associate yourself with this body, your name and the thought processes of the mind. Seek solitude and immerse yourself in satsang.  Strive to know your Atma – which is the absolute truth.  Know your Atma –which is timeless.  This striving will help you rid yourself of negative qualities."

Pujya Bhaishree elaborated further.  He highlighted the immense benefits that will accrue from consistent satsang. This was a fail proof way overcoming one’s attachment to this transient, material world and walk on the path of spirituality. 

• Until he reaches his goal (the Atma), the mumukshu should seek refuge of an enlightened Master and immerse himself in satsang.
• This satsang will help him overcome his bad qualities and inculcate purity
• Every mumukshu should aim to be consistent and single-minded in his pursuit of purity.
• Sansaar-bhaav has ensured that we are constantly taking new births and dying new deaths.
• Pujya Bhaishree added that only the followers of a true Guru can understand the underlying, deep meaning of the last part of the above composition.  

Swadhyay was followed by skits and dance performances, by the mumukshus, highlighting all that they hadlearned; a cake-cutting ceremony and dinner.

IVY Swadhyay - Ayambil Oli

The auspicious ‘Ayambil Oli’ also called ‘Navpad oli’ had just ended on 11th April; so, in this IVY swadhaya, Pujya Minalben shed light on the history and importance of this festival and its value in a true seeker’s life.

Observed twice a year, Aymbil Oli involves special fasting in which a person eats one meal a day consisting of boiled grains with no spices, seasoning, oil or greens.  Eating fruits, vegetables, milk or yogurt is also forbidden for 9 days.  Special prayers are offered to the 9 auspicious pillars of Jainism - Arihant, Siddh, Acharya, Upadhya and Sadhu along with Gnaan, Darshan, Charitra, Tap.

Minalben highlighted the importance of Ayambil Oli through the inspiring story of King Shripal and his wife Mayna Sundri.

During the time of 20th Tirthankara Munisuvarat Swami, who lived approximately 1.1 million years ago, King Singhrath ruled over Champa-nagar.  A son was borne to him by queen, Kamalprabha.  The young prince was named Shripal.

King Singhrath’s brother Ajitsen was an ambitious man who was waiting for an opportunity to usurp the throne. On the death of King Singhrath,  Ajitsen conspired to get rid of the 5-year old crown prince, Shripal.  Anticipating his evil intent, Queen Kamalprabha fled into the jungle with her infant son.  Fearing for their lives, the queen hid her son among a group of 700 lepers and escaped from that place to save her life.

Unaware about his true identity and growing up with the lepers, the young prince (now named Umar Rana) contracted leprosy, but since he grew up to be an intelligent young man with exceptional leadership qualities, he was named leader of this group.  Under his leadership the troupe travelled place to place and one day arrived in Ujjayini city, which was the capital of Malwa region.

The king of Ujjayini was Prajapal and his queen Roopsundri. They had two beautiful, intelligent and skillful daughters – Sur Sundri and Mayna Sundri, whom they loved equally.

Deciding to test his daughters, the King asked them: “By whose favor, do you enjoy all these amenities, skills and luxuries?”

The elder daughter, Sur Sundari replied, “Father, it is because of your generosity and care, that I have acquired all these amenities, skills and luxuries.” Extremely pleased by her answer, King rewarded her appropriately.

Expecting a similar response from his younger daughter Mayna Sundari, King eagerly waited for her to answer. Mayna replied: “With all due respect and gratitude to you father, everything that I have acquired today, is the merit of my own past karma”.

While Sur Sundri’s reply was not a lie, but Mayna Sundri’s perspective was indeed the Truth; a truth that germinated from her spiritual inclinations and reflected her philosophical beliefs.

Exasperated by this unexpected reply, King decided to teach Mayna Sundri a lesson. He ordered his men to find the ugliest man in the city so he could get his daughter married to him. The soldiers spotted Umar Rana (infected by leprosy), who was in the city at that time and presented him to the king.

To spite the supposed insolence of his younger daughter, the King instantly got Mayna married to leper Umar Rana, and immediately sent them away. On the other hand, the king looked for a suitable match for Sur Sundari and got her married to Prince Aridaman of Shankhapuri.

Mayna was a deeply religious and elevated soul. She accepted her fate and the leper as her husband and took good care of him. Being a devout lady, she would visit temples and participate in sermons and discourses given by monks.

One day Mayna Sundari and her husband went to see Jain Acharya Munichandra who was a well-known scholar.  On learning about his leprosy, the monk advised both of them to do penance through fasting and worshipping of the sacred Siddhchakra for four and half years.

At the end of four and half years, Umar Rana (Shripal) was miraculously cured of his disease and now resembled his real, handsome self. Feeling happy and blessed both Mayna Sundari and Umar Rana continued fasting during Ayambil (twice every year).

Shripal now embarked on a mission to reclaim what rightfully belonged to him, which was the throne of Champa Nagar.  On achieving hisgoals, Shripal happily passed the rest of his life as King of Champa-nagar.

Siddhchakra, Navpad is a popular yantra or mandala (mystical diagram) used for worship in Jainism. Navapad, includes 5 supreme beings, having 108 virtues in all, and 4 right virtues/Gunas.

Panch Parmesthi:

Arihant: Ari means Enemy and Hant means destroyer. Thus, prayingto the Arihants means praying to the one who has conquered his inner enemies such as anger, greed, ego, and deceit and lives in perfect equilibrium. Out of 108 virtues, Arihant pad has 12 attributes.

Siddh, the liberated soul, without a physical form, also called the Vitraga, has 8 attributes.

Acharya, the spiritual master, first among all the saints, teaches the Holy Scripture through self-practice and has 36 attributes.

Upadhya, spiritual teacher, second among the Guru Tatva, is one with knowledge and teaches in absence of Acharya. Upadhya pad has 25 attributes.

Sadhu, the monk, is third among the Guru Tatva, who has left their worldly belongings and observes 5 Mahavrat and has 27 attributes.

Pillars of Jainism:

Gnaan – Darshan – Charitra – Tap: Right Knowledge – Right Faith - Right Conduct – Right Penance

Right Faith: It is to cultivate right and utmost faith in the Trinity -SatDev, SatDharma and SatGuru.  Our goal is to be happy in all given circumstances. The right approach is to have faith in the Trinity and adopt one of the following ways to be happy – Be content, Become a witness, Rise above the situation, Make amends in the thinking – Adjust oneself instead of trying to change the situation.
Right Knowledge: I am not the body; but the soul inside the body is my true self.
Right Conduct: Being truthful, adopting non-violence, no stealing and being content
Right Penance: There are different types of penance. One done for the right reason to gain right knowledge, get rid of Karmas is the right penance. Observing chauvihar, doing ekashna, upvaas etc are modes of penance. The ultimate penance is ‘iccha nirodh’ – getting rid of all desires.

Thus, we bow down to 5 supreme spiritual souls and resolve to win over our inner enemies and scale spiritual heights.

Param Pujya Bapuji's Birthday Celebrations 2017

Param Pujya Bapuji, Shree Ladakchand Vora was the founder of Shree Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal and a Guru in a spiritual lineage inspired by Param Krupaludev Shrimad Rajchandra and Shree Saubhagbhai of Sayla.

The thread of truth remains unbroken and the path to liberation very much alive in Sayla today. It is Bapuji's inspiration and profound bodh that we remember today in these 3 days of celebrations.

Quick Links

Day 1: Trip to Chorvira village

Day 2: Bapuji's Birthday Celebration sabha, puja chaityavandan, opening of kalyan hall front images, changing of Bapuji's garland, aarti, cultural show

Day 3: Deraser Dhaja ceremony, Changing of Krupaludev's garlands

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Day 1

In the ashram a special puja was held. In LMV Girls High School and College a celebration of Bapuji's birthday was held in conjunction with the graduation and leaving ceremony of the 10th and 12th standard girls as well as the 10th anniversary of the LMV Girls College.

As is customary every year Shree Raj Saubhag Mumukshus make a special visit to Chorvira village. This village was the birth place of Param Pujya Bapuji and has a special place in the hearts of mumukshus.

Param Pujya Bhaishree was welcomed to the village by the village elders and residents. He first visited the Mandir in the village centre which was sponsored by the Ashram in Bapuji's name. Following this mumukshus went to the small hall built in commemoration of Bapuji. It was here that the garland changing ceremony was held along with emotional heart felt bhakti, vandan and garba.

Finally Bhaishree visited the Shree Raj Saubhag Prathmik Shala - Primary School, built in Bapuji's memory. A large expansive campus with 8 school teaching rooms, living quarters and vegetable and fruit gardens and playing fields. Quite something for a small village like Chorvira, and an appropriate memory of Bapuji who was keen to promote education for both boys and girls in Sayla District. The students gave a spontaneous bhakti performance and their enthusiasm won over the hearts of mumukshus.

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Day 2

On this day of beej, Param Pujya Bapuji's birthday, the morning started with Agnabhakti and Vandan at Param Pujya Bapuji's samadhi along with vandan of Param Krupaludev's murti.

Param Pujya Bhaishree and mumukshus conducted puja and chaityavandan at the Jinalay.

In the front of Kalyan Hall, 3D pictures of Krupaludev and Saubhagbhai's life incidences were inaugurated. The first depicts the first meeting upon which the Saubhagbhai goes to meet Shrimadji to pass on the technique of meditation. The centre image is that of Shrimadji writing Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra which he sent to Saubhagbhai.

A sabha was held in celebration of Param Pujya Bapuji's Birthday. An emotional rememberance of his great qualities and inspiration. The sabha started with the children of Ashirvad Kendra with different abilities performing a dance of devotion. Br. Vikrambhai sang a soulful and emotional pad. Shree Mahasatihi spoke of her interactions with Bapuji and Br. Rasikbhai spoke of some of the key messages he learnt from Bapuji. Param Pujya Bhaishree's topic for the celebrations was the importance of a Sadguru - reading from both Vachanamrut and drawing inspiration from Guru Gita.

At the end of the Sabha the garland of Param Pujya Bapuji's chitra was changed with much dance and devotion. It was changed by the hands of the Sayla village elders who had come to grace the celebrations.

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Day 3

On the day of treej, the third day of the month we celebrate the anniversary of the inauguration of the deraser, the sthapna of Bhagwan Vasupujya and the sthapna of the Chitrapaths in Kalyan Hall, by ceremoniously opening the doors to the deraser, changing the deraser flag and changing the garlands on the chitrapaths in the hall.
 

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LMV Girls High College celebrates its 10th and 12th Standard Graduation and Leaving ceremony

27th February 2017

On this day Shree LMV Girls High School and College celebrated the 10th anniversary of the college, the graduation of 10th and 12th standard as well as Param Pujya Ladakchand Bapuji's Birthday.

Head teacher Shree Chandrakantbhai Vyas reaffirmed the school and college's aim to give all girls the opportunity of education, independence and freedom in life, whatever their background and ability. He gave his heart felt blessings and best wishes to the graduating girls and best wishes for those sitting exams.

The atmosphere created in the school is that of a family. Love, support, education, life lessons, and friendship. The teachers see their students as their children, and now that they are leaving they were overcome with emotion. The students in reciprocation were grateful for everything they had received, they expressed their love for the school, the protective nurturing environment, the advice from the teachers and the friendships they had made. In their dances, their plays and their orations they marked their gratitude. The leaving students make a collection every year to donate equipment to the school as their leaving legacy. Microphone and speaker systems, carpets for the assembly hall, whatever the need they fulfill to their ability. Such a harmonious friendship is rare to witness between the students, their school and teachers. A privilege to witness. The students welcomed all the visitors with hand drawn individual cards made by the students themselves. over 50 cards were given, each with a beautiful message or quote from a Mahatma.

Param Pujya Bhaishree, Br. Minalben and Br. Vikrambhai gave their blessings to departing students: "live you life immersed always in good thought (suvicharna), be noble and truthful in all you, realise your weaknesses and cultivate yourself to become all you can be, expand your potential and there is nothing you cannot achieve in life. Above all imbibe spirituality into your lives."

Gift of Buddha Bhagwan picture to Chandrakantbhai Vyas for the school's principal office.

IVY Swadhyay - Feb 2017

19 February, 2017

During the second IVY swadhay of the year 2017, Pujya Minalben emphasized on our goals of inner transformation, and how the real change has to take place inside and not merely outside.

She explained the importance of practically implementing the goals of ethics and discipline in our life.  We must make a daily schedule and meticulously follow it, starting with eating lunch and dinner at a particular time and move to doing agnabhakti and atmasiddhi at specific hours. This will help discipline the body and keep it healthy and help ensure that we do our bhakti everyday.

The third goal has the 12 bhavanas and for the month of February, Asharan Bhavana has been adopted by Raj Saubhag Ashram mumukshus. When we get fever or fall ill, our mother takes care of us, takes us to the doctor but neither she nor anyone can take our pain away. We have to bear it ourselves. There is no true refuge in this world except the holy trinity - Satdev, Satguru and Satdharma. Whenever we are in trouble or need any help, we have to take shelter of these three. They will always be with us to guide us through life.

The final goal of 'maitri moves' teaches us that loneliness is poverty. We must go around helping everyone we can. At the end of the day sitting with your grandparents even for 5 minutes and talking to them can make their day. Small deeds like this help us make other people feel loved.

Narrating an inspiring story, Minalben said:  “A small boy decides he wants to meet God. He packs a small bag with breakfast, lunch and water and sets out. After a while, he sits in a garden to have a drink. As he opens the bottle to drink water, he notices an old lady staring at him. He offers her the water. She gladly accepts and drinks it. He then sees a dog running around and starts playing with him. Later as he opens his breakfast to eat, the dog starts wagging his tail and looking at the food. The boy gives his meal to the dog. After playing for some more time, when he finally decides to eat lunch, the old lady comes and sits next to him. He kindly shares his food with her and returns home happily. When he comes home, he tells his mother that he had spent his day with God.

Even the old lady returns home and tells her family that she had met God. These two souls found God in each other. This is maitri moves.

These random acts of kindness, gives one a sense of satisfaction and brings gladness to your heart.  

There are ten amazing things that require no talent and can be done everyday.

They are:
1. Punctuality
2. Following work ethics
3. Concentrate
4. Efforts
5. Energy
6. Attitude
7. Passion
8. Being accomodative
9. Doing extra
10. Being prepared

Asharan bhavana tells us that whenever we are in trouble we must take refuge of our Sadguru and pray. What is a prayer? It is an amazing exchange between God and us. When we pray, we hand over our worries to God and God hands over His blessings to us in return. Prayer is when God listens to us and meditation is when we listen to God. Many times in our lives, we feel broken. But we must remember that God uses broken things beautifully. Broken clouds pour rain, broken soil sets as fields, broken crops give seeds and broken seeds give life to new plants. When you feel you are broken, rest assured that God is planning to utilize you for a special cause, for something great.

To ensure that we have a great day every morning, we must wish ourselves good morning.
Get up
Open your heart
Open your mind
Dedicate your day to God

Meditate
Optimize your resources
Remove all negativity
Never underestimate your potential
Inspire someone
Never lose faith
Go out with joy and confidence

Next Minalben narrated the life of Shrimadji -

Shrimadji was born in Vavania, Gujarat on 9th November, 1867 at 2 am. His parents were Devba and Ravjibhai. At this time the freedom struggle in India was progressing. Rituals like sati were being banned. Times were changing. In times when religious rituals were just carried out due to social pressures, Shrimadji was born and showed the world the true path to moksha. He explained the fundamental path of Jainism in simple everyday language

Gandhiji, the father of our nation, was a follower of Shrimadji. He once asked Shrimadji many questions, among them should I kill a snake if it tries to bite me? Shrimadji replied that every living thing values his life dearly, the snake has no mind and cannot think, but we as humans are blessed with knowledge and therefore we must not kill the snake, as killing a 5-sensed being would bring in an enormous amount of bad karmas.

When people asked Krupalu Dev whether he was sthanakvasi or deravasi, he would say that ‘I am an aatmavasi’. He only knew one truth that the soul was different from the body and it was eternal and the aatma is my true nature. We are all aatmavasis.

Krupalu Dev brought light to the world in times of darkness and uplifted humanity. Compassion is inherent in every gyani. Along with upliftment of our souls, humanitarian projects should also be given utmost importance.

A day spent in love and joy - ladies day out

A day spent in love and joy

“Be happy and spread happiness” - Br Minalben

To comprehend the veracious ethos of the above statement, 49 ladies of Mumbai under the pious and loving presence of Br Minalben organised a day long outing at a beautiful place called Lonavala in Maharashtra on 18th February 2017.

The outing commenced by Param Pujya Bhaishree’s ashirvachan (blessings). This was followed by Br Minalben’s swadhyay in which she elaborated the importance of absolute faith and surrender to the five most important entities of our life; Bhagwan Mahavir, Param Krupaludev, Pujya Bapuji, Pujya Gurumaa and Pujya Bhaishree. Complete faith and reverence to them would ensure the birth of righteousness in one’s own self; unconditional surrender and the goal of practicing Guru aagna in a dogged manner.

These virtues will further help in eradicating one’s sorrows, imbibing the art of total acceptance of circumstances in an equanimous way and last but not the least, developing the ability to live in the present. She also elucidated that to know is the foremost purpose of the soul, this  happens constantly, all day and every day. It's only due to the divine presence of soul that the physical body can perform. Without the dweller which is the soul, the physical body is nothing but a corpse waiting to be burnt or buried. To reside in the knowledge of this consciousness is the utmost fruition of one's spiritual quest.

After this heart-warming swadhyay, a small yet a brilliant act was presented by the ladies which detailed the importance of satsang, and the way satsang moulds and lends a direction to our life.

Post a short break for lunch, the seekers were enthralled by another swadhyay by Br Minalben.

The second swadhyay was based on Vachnamrutji, which is an abridged form of our scriptures. The swadhyay highlighted the significance of a Sadgurudev as; God is invisible, but He becomes visible through the intelligence and spiritual perception of one who is in constant communion with Him. Guru is the only one who can not only point our shortcomings but also help us in destroying them. A Sadguru directs us to the path of self-realisation through guru aagna and helps us to remain steadfast in it. Sadguru makes sure that all our desires die, so we can achieve the end goal of our lifetime; the state of self realisation/self liberation.

This soul stirring swadhyay was closed with various mumukshus reminiscing their experiences and life changing moments after the advent of Param Pujya Bapuji in their lives. The beautiful day ended with raas garba played by everybody whilst soaking in the euphoria of the interminable presence of their beloved Sadguru in their hearts and minds.