On a warm morning of 12th May, 43 enthusiastic volunteers gathered in Sajja labour camp in Sharjah to distribute to 450 + 50 (total beneficiaries 500) labourers - rice, sugar, dal, dry fruits, dates, biscuits, t-shirts and caps. This was part of the seva activity undertaken bymumukshus on a regular basis. Surging ahead the labourers gratefully received their share, smiling widely on receiving the precious gifts.
A total of 1500 kilos of foodgrains, 225 kilos of dates, 50 kilos of nuts and dried fruits were repackaged into individual bags and distributed. The task of repackaging took 3 days, and volunteers participated in the entire process wholeheartedly and selflessly, fully aware that the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone
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.
Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Celebration in the UK
We greeted the Mahavir Bhagwan’s Janma Kalyanak on a glorious spring day on 9 th April. Mumuxus, full of enthusiasm and anticipation, gathered at Niranjan, Bentley Priory to celebrate this auspicious day.
Palak began our morning with her melodious voice, reciting the stuti of panch parmeshti and our gurus followed by one for Vir Prabhu.
Br Minalben, with her enchanting voice, recited Navkar Mantra, followed by a stuti for all our gurus before her swadhyay. She started by highlighting the paramount importance of Bhagwan Mahavir’s teachings. She cited the example of how a small spark can set fire to a whole house with its contents. Similarly, a small spark, kindled by Bhagwan’s teaching, can bring about true realisation.
She asked everyone whether they were ready to kindle that fire in their hearts, then they should join her in the journey.
She read letter 105 from Vachnamrutji which, she said, needed no explanation as both Bapuji and Bhaishree had explained it many times in the past.
She explained took five points from the letter for discussion:
1. Who is eligible for being Bhagwan Mahavir’s disciple? One who is desirous to serve at the true guru’s feet.
2. We are the inheritors’ of Bhagwan’s legacy and for that we should be courageous and fearless. We should not show cowardice in face of obstacles but be brave and have the fortitude to overcome the obstacles progress.
3. Bhagwan described the virtue of forgiveness as an ornament for the brave and that it was the magnificent gateway to Moksha. Greatness lies not only in forgiving but also in forgetting the whole episode.
4. The fundamentals of Jain dharma are based on Syadvad (multifaceted view). It is only the Omniscient who can see the whole truth, a true seeker is never insistent on a particular view point.
5. After observing the above four points – one must try to recognise their own true nature. They must realise the soul merely resides in the body and should not remain deluded it is the body.
Br Minalben told us that we all have the shelter of a true guru, we have been shown the path and have been given the means to progress on the path. She encouraged us to strive vigourously on the path and wished everyone success in their perseverance assuring us, realisation is possible in this lifetime.
Br Vikrambhai accompanied by Hiren sang the last composition by Param Krupaludev – ‘Iche che Jogijan’ in his typical style, setting the scene for Bhaishree’s swadhyay.
Bhaishree had undertaken considerable preliminary studies of the subject he wanted to cover in his swadhyay. He started by citing the 150 th birth anniversary of Param Krupaludev and 2615 th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Mahavir. He mentioned that Krupaludev’s spiritual development had been evolving since the time of Bhagwan Mahavir which has benefitted us tremendously. He cited various quotations of Krupaludev regarding Bhagwan Mahavir, and then referred to Letter 254, highlighting the qualities of one eligible to be addressed as a mumuxu.
He then embarked on his main subject for the swadhyay, Letter 680, which Krupaludev had written on Bhagwan’s birth anniversary (Chaitra Sud Teras). This letter was not addressed to anyone but was a personal note. Each word from it oozes with compassion, the reason for which, is explained half way through the note. Krupaludev starts by referring to his own inner state where there is no desire left. By dwelling ceaselessly within his own true nature, even his desire for moksha has subsided. It is only someone like him can ask the God that ‘even though you are pleased with my inner state what else is there for you to offer me?
‘By residing within my nature all my materialistic activities have come to an end and that is my supreme bliss’.
Krupaludev wrote this note on witnessing a procession of people, celebrating Bhagwan Mahavir’s birth anniversary dancing and merry making, as it passed by his shop. He noted in his observation that people who lacked the true wisdom, did not understand the true path. They imagined the path in their own minds and acted in a variety of ways to seek liberation and all they had achieved was extending the cycle of their rebirths – my selfless compassionate heart is crying out in pain.
Bhaishree concluded the swadhyay by citing more quotations of Krupaludev of how Bhagwan Mahavir’s true message is misinterpreted and the misinterpretation being propagated leading to thousands of people continue sinking in to the quagmire of the materialistic word.
There were a few more stavans on Bhagwan Mahavir to end the swadhyay session for the day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Flower of Love - Valentines Day Celebration 2017
“If you have a rose, will it ever smell like a jasmine?
Can the flower of a pandanus plant smell like a plumeria?”
Param Pujya Bhaishree starts Valentine's Special swadhyay, in the open terrace of Bhalani Residence, by asking us this question. Each flower has its unique smell and thus no two flowers can smell the same. This shows us that every flower has an integral connection with its smell. A rose will always smell like a rose. Similarly, every flower will spread its unique scent. Our thoughts are just like these flowers and since every flower emits a smell, so do our thoughts. Our behaviour and mood is the direct result of our thoughts. The rule of a flower and its smell is universal. Whatever our thoughts will be so will our actions. If our thoughts are weak, they will make us weak. However if we keep our thoughts strong, we will become strong. The smell of our thought like flower is inescapable. The fruit of our thoughts will be borne by us, no matter what.
If you start your day with an affirmation and telling yourself how it is a wonderful day, you will end it on a positive note too. On the contrary, if you wake up feeling lazy and complaining you will spend the rest of your day complaining about small things and go to bed unhappy. Our thoughts are like pearls that we bead into a thread, every thought we have in the day is added to the thread and at the end of the day we have to wear that necklace around our neck. Thus, every thought will affect us. If we have negative thoughts towards someone else, we will feel the results on ourself too. Bad thoughts not only hurt you but also those around you. The rule of thoughts works both ways, good and bad. If you think good, you will feel good but if you think bad you will feel that too. You reap what you sow.
There was once a saint, every morning he would wake up and tell himself, “God has made today a beautiful day. I must enjoy it.” This simple affirmation makes sets his mind for the day and makes sure he is happy. When we get up feeling lazy and wanting to not get out of bed we place a rock on the road to happiness for the day and walking on rocky roads is never easy. We ourselves hold the power to define our day and make it happy.
Think about how this man started his day that at the end of it he can say, “Dear god, today went by very well. I had a filling meal, good clothing and even finished all my work. But I’m most grateful for the opportunities I got to help others and the peace and contentment that I experienced today. You answered my prayers and guided me throughout the day. Thank you.” To reach this state of satisfaction he might have worked very hard. There are a lot of rich and successful people in this world but they don’t have even half the contentment, happiness, gratitude and peace they should. These feelings are what make a man successful in the true sense.
We do need money for our basic necessities like food, shelter and clothing, we can not survive a day without money so we don’t have to leave it completely. At the same time, we don’t have to concentrate so much on making money that we forget everything else and are blinded. Even money is a flower that has its own scent but in the bouquet of life it is only one flower and not the whole necklace. If you keep smelling only this flower it is possible that our sense of smell and then the smell of money will entice us and we won’t be able to recognise sweeter smelling flowers.
In the south there is man named Datpal. He is educated and from a good family. He had a religious inclination since he was a child. He denied marriage and spent his time contemplating about the Soul and giving lectures. He had become quite famous as he did not believe in giving himself any importance. His outlook on life was very inspiring. He said that money is neither a friend nor a foe but simply a medium to live life. If we accept this concept we can easily let go of our greed for money. Money on its own isn’t the source of any happiness or sadness. It is our desire for money that makes us happy and sad. If we have the same desire for other things, money won’t be as important to us as it is. Running after money and wanting more of it all the time will only leave us poorer. We should think of life a big chest of drawers and reserve only one of them for money, the rest of the drawers are for other things in life.
One man starts emptying his pockets as soon as he gets back home. Even before stepping inside his home his hands are in his pockets. He puts everything on the table outside his door and carries no papers related to work inside. He does this because he doesn’t like to carry the burden of office related work back to his home. He left all his office related thoughts outside his room with those papers and then did his sadhna. He found this difficult in the starting but with practice it got easier. He was suffering from insomnia so he had to make this change. Even at night thoughts of his business and maximising his profits kept him awake. These profits cost him his sleep and health and he decided that it was not worth it. This made him adopt the tiny practice of leaving worldly thoughts outside his room and concentrating on achieving peace at home. Very few people understand the importance of health without one or two such experiences.
“Is the body a beautiful flower or a walking pillar?” Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu would ask his students. One would answer, “Calling the body a tower doesn’t take away its flower-like characteristics. The imminent connection between the soul and God is our body. The body even connects the outside world to our mind.”
Helen Keller was born deafblind. On her visit to India she met Rabindranath Tagore. She asked him if she could touch his eyes. Tagore gently took her hands and placed them on his eyes. She said, “Great are these eyes that saw the beauty in the world and great are your hands that put that beauty into words for blind people to see.” Tagore said that, that day he understood the true importance of his body. What will it take for us to value our body and stop us from taking it for granted?
A plastic surgeon turned psychiatrist stated that humans need to cater more to the mind than to the body. We can easily tell with a stomach ache that our body isn’t fine but it is very difficult to know whether our mind is fine. We do feel stress, restlessness, sleeplessness or depression but we never take it seriously. We don’t actively look for peace, even if we find it we can’t recognise and even if we do recognise it we fail to understand its true power. This is equivalent to not noticing the ganga when it is flowing in our own backyard.
Shraddha [faith] is another immortal flower. When difficulties arise in life it is our shraddha that always comes to our rescue. Faith is the base and foundation of our road to salvation.
God has created thousands of flowers but one man can’t possibly smell all. If we even recognise the important flowers and take in their sweet smell our human birth will be successful.
“गुरु प्यार है, गुरु प्यार है,
तु ही प्रीत है, तु दुलार है,
तु ज्ञान है, तु ही ध्यान है,
गुरु प्यार है, गुरु प्यार है "
One saint was very famous for his amazing oratory skills. While handing over control of the ashram to his disciple he asked, “You have my blessings for everything, but ask for whatever you want and I shall give it to you.” His disciple asked for his oratory skills. The saint replied, “After 25 years you still did not understand that speech is a worldly virtue. Out of everything you wanted this? The greatest thing in the world is love. You should ask for love, kindness, humanity and compassion. A man isn’t great if he can get the stars to the earth with his words, he is great if he can grow flowers of love within the hearts of the people he meets.”
A man who was always happy was asked what was the cause of his never ending happiness. He said, “I realised that I can control all my thoughts. I started concentration on happy thoughts and that has resulted in this. Worldly situations cannot control my line of thought anymore.” If we can learn to do this our hearts too will become gardens full of flowers of love. We all have to spread love in this manner. Spread the love to one and all. God has given us all equal amounts of love but it is our lack of understanding that stops us from spreading it.
The power of love will pass from one person to their family, their neighbours and so on. Everyone in contact with the person will experience happiness and peace. Understanding of true knowledge and the awakening of our soul nurtures this flower of love. Our soul is a desert without this understanding but with it our soul can become a garden. Once this flower of love starts blooming within us, its scent will slowly spread to whoever you meet and eventually in the world. We must all light the candles of love within our hearts to break away from this world of attachments.
An expression of Selfless Love
A Poem by Brahmnisht Minalben
A day to shower supreme love on our special one
A time to openly express our feelings and enjoy the eternal fun.
Our divine master who is the ruler of our heart
We seek your blessings as you are the cherry on our tart.
We offer you red balloons representing our naughty mind
We place at your feet our attachments from the entire mankind.
We surrender the riches of our ego and our pride
We have given up all and kept only you by our side.
What a feeling of pure, sacred sense of fulfilment
We can see the pinnacle of peace as we have begun our ascent
Steady and firm is our gaze on your serene eyes
We hold on to you tight, leaving behind all worldly ties.
We can momentarily experience the bliss in which you dwell
Our mind, body and soul is in unison is all we can tell.
We bow with deep veneration and selfless love today
To convey our heartfelt devotion on this Valentine's Day.
We not only just love you, we worship you and adore you
Oh our dear Bhaishri there is none other than you, you and only you.