Yatra to Tiruvannamalai - Satsang at Navashakthi Navalinga Temple on 1st Dec 2009 in the morning
“All of us know a lot of things about the external world. We know how to live, how to earn a living, how to carry on our profession or business and how to support our family. We know all our relatives, colleagues, friends, neighbours and acquaintances, but we do not know who we are. This is the paradox in which we live. If we contemplate deeply upon this we will wonder – “Outside I have an identity through my name, family and profession. But without all this who am I?” That is why all of us have come here. We have come here to find out who we are.”
“Anything can be taught to us, but the knowledge of the Self is most difficult to teach. We have to understand it only through direct experience. As we discussed yesterday, many Siddhas or Enlightened Beings have made Tiruvannamalai their abode in order to channelise the Grace and Knowledge of Arunachala towards us to help us in our inner quest. Normally most of us go to temples or on pilgrimages seeking solutions to our troubles and problems. Such prayers are granted by all forms of Divinity, but the uniqueness of Arunachala is that He shows us how to organize and manage our thoughts. Though we can gather a lot of knowledge from books, magazines, newspapers and TV, the knowledge of how to manage our minds through right thinking can be given only by Arunachala.”
“However being ignorant of this, we pray for health, wealth, name and fame as we circumambulate Arunachala. We must first realise the value of this human body which we have obtained only after being born thousands of times as worms, insects and animals. Though this world contains 840,000 species, none of them can think or speak like us. Our power of thinking and speech are truly unique, but we do not know how to use them correctly. Most of the time we use the mind to think what we should not think and tongue to speak what we should not speak. Anger makes the tongue run away with it. That is why we say many things in anger and regret them later. When we use the tongue to gossip, we talk nonsense about others. How often do we use the tongue to chant the name of God? That is why the Sages and Saints often remind us – “O man, why are you wading in the quicksand of karma? Always be aware that you are a pure, divine being. You have not come here to generate and experience karma. You have come here to attain liberation from the loop of karma.”
“The Rig Veda tells us that when we have an overall karmic balance of 49% bad karma and 51% good karma, we obtain a human body. Our bad karma brings us ill health, financial problems, ill fame, unpleasant environment and poor relationships. Our good karma brings us robust health, wealth, fame, congenial environment and cordial relationships. So our external circumstances keep fluctuating according to the karma we are experiencing at that moment, but if we allow our minds to be affected by this we will be unhappy most of the time. Today we are so dependent on the external world for peace and happiness. Even when we go to bed we want to watch TV till we fall asleep. Otherwise, when we lie down all our worries and problems crowd into the mind and we begin to think – “I wanted to begin building my house, but I am unable to organize the finances…My daughter has to be married, but we have been unable to find the right groom for her…My boss has been very harsh with me lately. He may remove me from my job any time…My health is going downhill everyday. Who will take care of me if my body gives way?...” Our worries are endless and they completely shatter our peace of mind. This is happening only because we are unable to organize and manage our thoughts. Instead of allowing our minds to zoom on this spiral of worry each night or suppressing worry by watching TV, we should think of Arunachala before sleeping and pray – “O Arunachala, you have been with me all day, nurturing and protecting me. I offer my gratitude at Your Lotus Feet. I ask for nothing other than Your Grace. Enfold me in Your Grace all the time.” When we pray to Lord Arunachala with this attitude of gratitude everyday, we shed all our worries without our knowledge. Our minds become very light and we sleep soundly every night.”
“If we look around us we see that so many Westerners also come to Arunachala. Their culture and upbringing is so different from ours. They do not know how to perform rituals or chant mantras like us. Yet they leave their country and fly across the ocean to live in this alien culture. Why do they come so far? What do they get here? They come because Arunachala calls them. He calls all the Souls who are ready to receive His Grace. He has no barriers of caste, creed, gender, religion or country. He is waiting to unveil the light of the Soul in all of us. The Westerners who come here know how to pray to Arunachala. They say – “Arunachala, please show me how to think. Show me when to use my mind and intellect and when to keep them at rest. Show me how to still my mind.” Millions of other devotees who come here also experience this inner serenity and tranquility. Though they have visited many other places of pilgrimage, they say – “Nowhere else do we get the kind of peace we get here. Arunachala removes all our thoughts and stills the mind. We come here again and again to experience this inner peace and silence.”
“Shri Ramana Maharshi who was the second avatar or incarnation of Shri Dakshinamurthi said – “Set aside all your external relationships and ask yourself – Who am I?” When we are awake, we identify ourselves with our name, fame, family and profession. However, when a king and a beggar are sleeping next to each other, both of them are equal in the state of sleep. During sleep, all distinctions pertaining to the physical body drop away. So we should ask ourselves – “Who am I when I sleep?” Deep within all of us are only Souls or Atmas. As we circumambulate Arunachala today, innumerable devotees will walk with us. Externally they may all be strangers, but internally they are also Atma Jyotis who have come here seeking the Grace of Arunachala. When we maintain the constant awareness that basically we are all divine Souls, nobody in the world is a stranger to us. This awareness should continue to throb within us whether we are working, walking, talking or resting. Then the Grace of Lord Arunachala will flow to us in all its abundance. Though God’s Grace is always flowing to us, we are able to receive it only when our minds are focused on Divinity. We may go to Tirupati, Tiruvannamalai, Badri, Kedar or Kashi. No matter where we go or how many times we go, we will receive divine Grace only as long as we keep our minds completely focused on Divinity. Otherwise, though we are always surrounded by the infinite ocean of Grace, not single drop can percolate into us.”
“Why do we find it so difficult to keep our minds focused on Divinity? Why is the mind pulled hither and thither so easily? All the mental preoccupations which disrupt our inner awareness and focus are generated by the ego. It is the ego that is responsible for shattering our mental peace. So, as we go around Arunachala today we should pray – “Arunachala, please remove my ahankara or ego. It is because of my ego that I am being born again and again. All my bad thoughts and feelings are generated by the ego. This is preventing me from experiencing constant peace and happiness. You are the only one who can dissolve my ego and liberate me from its shackles.” Our receptivity to Grace also depends on our level of ego. The greater the ego, the less the Grace. That is why some devotees experience profound peace on their very first pilgrimage while others take years to change. If our troubles and problems have still not been resolved after many prayers and pilgrimages, it means that our level of ego is very high. Today all of us are truly blessed to be sitting here at the Lotus Feet of Arunachala. If we feel that we chose to come here, it is egoistic thinking. If we are aware that we are here because Arunachala called us, it is true humility. We should always remember that very little is really in our control. That is why we often say – “Man proposes, God disposes.” The feeling that we are controlling our life is only an illusion created by our ego. So let us close our eyes and pray – “Arunachala, You called me here because the level of my ego is very high. I bow down before You. Please remove my ego.” When we approach Him with humility and surrender, Arunachala will dissolve us into Himself. He will remove our thoughts and eradicate our ego. We will just melt into Him and His Grace will surround us. Then as we go on the Giri Pradakshina or circumambulation, we will feel that every particle of sand is a Shiva Linga and every morsel of food we eat is His Prasada.”
“All the Sages have told us to discard the ego. What happens when we remove the ego? The mind becomes like a beautiful, sparkling mirror. Then as we look at its still surface we realise – “I am not the body, mind or intellect. I am the Soul. I have so many divine powers and qualities. There is no limit to what I can accomplish if I bring them out.” However, we will be able to bring out all these divine powers only when we activate the Soul. How do we activate the Soul? We only have to pray to Arunachala to remove our ego. Then He will dissolve the ego, activate the Soul and automatically all our divine powers will blossom.”
“Arunachala will also teach us how to think in every situation and how to stop thinking when it is not necessary. At present all of us think too much. Even a small problem generates a multitude of unnecessary thoughts in our minds. We begin to think – “I am never free from problems…why am I the one who is always targeted by such problems?...I will always be beset by problems…These problems will simply eat me alive…” etc. Such unnecessary, unwholesome thoughts attack us frequently because we react to each and every circumstance. When people talk harshly to us, we also talk back in anger. Our mind continues to seethe with furious thoughts for a long time after the interaction is over. Such negative thoughts have converted our minds into gigantic dust bins. We need great awareness to purify the mind. By giving us the awareness that we think too much, Arunachala changes our attitude and perception. When our perception changes, our thinking changes. When our thinking changes, our speech and actions change. When our speech and actions change, the quality of our life changes. Then we are always overflowing with immense peace and contentment. When we have peace of mind and purity of thought, our speech acquires great power. People will listen to us with rapt attention and implement whatever we say. So their lives are also transformed. Through Lord Arunachala’s Grace may all of you become channels to transform millions of beings. May your lives always overflow with peace, bliss and humility. May all beings be happy.”
Jai Matha. Hari Om Tat Sat.
