Yatra to Tiruvannamalai - Discourse in the bus Nimisha Vahini Maha Kali on the way to Arunachala
"All our lives, we keep doing two things – praising or criticising. We react instantaneously to every situation and express our feelings either through appreciation or censure. In spiritual language, this is called ‘vandana’ and ‘nindana’. The Upanishads tell us that everything that we do in the outer world depends on the kind of spiritual culture and tradition we have imbibed. However, in the midst of all our external activities, if we want to remain connected to our inner Self, there are two things we must all do – aradhana and sadhana. Praising or describing the glories of Divinity is called aradhana. Refining and defining Divinity within ourselves is called sadhana. The description and definition of Divinity opens our hearts to receive the Grace which is always flowing to us.”
“Physically, if we want to describe ourselves, we have to stand in front of the mirror. In the olden days, they did not have mirrors. People used the surface of a highly polished stone or a still lake to view their reflection. Since they rarely looked at their own reflection, they were not obsessed with their physical appearance as we are today. Children would also be brought up in this way. Parents would send their son at a very young age to the Gurukula or Ashram of a Guru. The small boy would carry ‘samit’ or a bundle of very dry twigs and offer it at the sacred feet of his Guru. After describing his spiritual lineage, the boy would pray – “Gurudeva, please burn my ignorance in the flame of Your divine knowledge and transform it into ashes.” The Guru would bless him and enquire – “My child, what exactly do you want from me?” Having imbibed the spiritual culture of his parents and brimming with reverence, the boy would reply – “Gurudeva, please carve my personality and lead me to Divinity.” Today, we have forgotten this spiritual culture. We do not do this. We just select a school, pay the fees and get knowledge. The spiritual component of education is completely missing. Earlier, the Guru would say – “Tell me what you want and I will inscribe it in your heart.” In this way, description, definition and inscription were a part of the spiritual education that all children received in the Gurukula.”
“Having discarded all this, we have ignored our spiritual identity. We describe and define ourselves through our education, profession and family. We also inscribe this transactional identity on our business cards and say this is who we are. If we ask an elderly person – “Who are you? What are you doing?” he says – “I have now retired. I do nothing.” This is how we define ourselves based only on our profession. Without this qualification, we feel that we have no identity. We become a non-entity.”
“Whether we are still active in our profession or have retired, we are still alive! Our hearts are beating, our lungs are breathing and our blood is circulating. Our Soul is still charging us with energy every moment. So, everything is working…age may slow us down, but everything is still working. So, how can anybody say that they are doing nothing? This is just a mindset through which we view ourselves. When somebody asks us what we do, even though we have retired, we should say – “My body is working, my mind is working and my Soul is responding and corresponding to everything around me…” Unfortunately, if we answer in this way people will call us lunatic or at least eccentric. The only one who will understand what we mean is God.”
“God is always telling us – “You are your Soul. Never ever forget this. Your body is entangled in this world, but your Soul is your true identity. Define yourself only through this.” This is also what the Guru would tell every student who left the Gurukula after completing his education. If we too follow this scrupulously, we will transcend our transactional identity and begin to describe and define ourselves through the Soul. God says – “You may worship me in various ways externally. However, until you refine and define yourself as the Soul and realise that I am always inside you working to accomplish everything, I cannot hold your hand and guide you. Until I guide you, you will continue to be subject to the vagaries of the outer world and depend upon others for your peace and joy.” Just as our inner organs are nurturing and protecting the body, our Soul is also constantly nurturing and protecting us, but we never realise it. This is because we have stopped at aradhana without progressing to sadhana. So, what should we do? We should simply think – “I must make this divine shakti or power in me expand and grow. I must make it blossom.” Automatically, our sadhana will begin. This very thought will make us grow.”
“Nature provides a beautiful example to help us understand this. As soon as dawn breaks, the sunflower blossoms and turns towards the Sun. As the Sun moves through the sky, the sunflower also turns with it so that it is always facing the Sun. The sunflower can do this only from sunrise to sunset whereas we can focus our gaze on our inner divine power all the time. Never ever forget that this power is everything and accomplishes everything. The Sages gave us the Vedas to emphasise this. All the Scriptures reveal this phenomenal Truth in diverse ways. Many Sages meditated upon this Truth and the essence of their experience has come down to us through the 108 Upanishads. As these Sages got many new insights into this Truth, each insight became an Upanishad. So, all our Upanishads are a collection of the sadhana performed by our Sages. Our Sages were spiritual scientists who experimented constantly in the realm of Consciousness till they got consistent results.”
“So, if we want to change our fate, we should have complete faith in the scriptures. Otherwise in this Kali Yuga or dark materialistic age, we will become mere puppets in the hands of destiny. Initially, according to the divine command of Lord Krishna, all the children who would be born in the Kali Yuga were supposed to be subject to their karma from the very moment of their birth. Due to the compassionate intercession of Vidura, [the erudite and wise uncle of the Pandavas] Lord Krishna modified this and said that children would begin experiencing their karma only from the age of 12. When Vidura asked Lord Krishna how human beings could escape from the tyranny of their karmic destiny after the age of 12, Lord Krishna replied – “Let them do Nishkama Karma.” Vidura asked – “Lord, how can we do Nishkama Karma?” and received the answer – “Offer everything you do at My Feet without any expectations. Then every act of yours will automatically become Nishkama Karma.”
“Lord Krishna offered the Earth on a lease to Kali for 1, 43,000 years. This period is called the Kali Yuga or Epoch of Kali. Now, only a little more than 5000 years of the Kali Yuga have elapsed. Lord Krishna has said that adharma or unrighteousness will increase a little bit every year. We are experiencing this happening at an alarming rate and it is a matter of great concern to us. This gradual deterioration of ethical standards makes us wonder about the fate of our children and grandchildren. In this Yuga, if we allow our karmic destiny to dictate our lives, bad things will happen very frequently, while good things will happen very seldom. That is why Vidura prayed on our behalf to Lord Krishna, saying – “O Krishna, You are all powerful. Even as a small child, You displayed Your power by slaying innumerable demons to protect us. So, now we pray to You to control Kali on our behalf. He is the one who fills our minds with doubts, suspicions, assumptions, presumptions and conflict. ‘Vikara’ or crooked thinking and ‘Vikalpa’ or wrong resolutions emerge in our minds due to the deviousness of Kali. Please protect us from his evil influence.” So, Lord Krishna is waiting within as our Soul to liberate us from the tyrannical clutches of Kali, but we have to empower Him by turning our gaze inwards. That is why the Sages repeatedly said – “Erase the inscription of destiny through the description and definition of your true identity. To accomplish this, integrate the Scriptures into your lives through aradhana and sadhana.”
“All the rituals that we perform when we worship Divinity externally are called aradhana and all the spiritual practices that activate and rejuvenate our inner power are called sadhana. Sadhana purifies, nurtures and protects us. That is why it should always be an integral part of our lives. A yatra is also a part of our sadhana. When we undertake such yatras with the sole purpose of refining and defining ourselves, Gurus and Sages like Vidura will intercede on our behalf with Divinity saying – “Though this being has been born in the Kali Yuga, he is engaged in rigourous sadhana. So, have mercy upon this Soul; guide him and liberate him from this endless spiral of rebirth.” In this way, they will add the tremendous power of their prayer to our sadhana to propel us towards Divinity.”
“In the Kali Yuga, Shiva and Shakti are the Adhipatis or presiding deities, Brahma is enthroned in our intellect and Vishnu oversees everything that is happening in the Cosmos. Their collective Grace is constantly flowing to all of us, but we must lock in this Grace by performing aradhana and sadhana. Otherwise, in this epoch, both money and God’s Grace flow to us easily, but they never stay with us for long. It is only our karma which manifests instantaneously and continues to dog our footsteps adamantly. May the Grace of Lord Arunachala ignite the awareness of your inner power. May the light of His knowledge reveal your true identity and reactivate your inner sanctity.”
Jai Matha. Hari Om Tat Sat.
