Train Your Mind For a Fulfilling Life

Karma – the sum of a person’s actions in his existence is viewed as his or her fate in the future

On Sunday November 15th, Gautum Baiji said:

"The Bhajan we sang about Lord Krishna reminds us that our ties to our spiritual source should never be broken. The love we bestow at the the feet of Lord Krishna is infinite.

We must train our minds so that the actions we take create a fulfilling life. During our life's journey, we face many difficulties.

Even the simplest act of having a glass of water requires us to get a glass, pour water, and then drink it. We have to do Karma (Karma – the sum of a person’s actions in his existence is viewed as his or her fate in future) no matter how small or big the task.

Saints have said Bhakti (dedication) is like walking on a sharp blade of a sword. It will test you immensely. One who wins a war on a battlefield is called a hero, but one who wins one’s mind is called a superhero.

A Pandit is a scholarly person who has knowledge, but Gyani is one who has a deep understanding of the wisdom and knowledge and lives accordingly. Gyani does not identify with the self or with the “I”. He is in union with the Supreme Being. When we identify ourselves with our ego – “I” - we cannot be free and cannot realize God – the truth.

One wonders why people who have obtained knowledge and listened to wisdom during Satsang (discourse) still have not seen any changes in their lives. For example, a child knows there is a shower with warm water available to clean his/her body and that this would be a good action. But when the child does not take a shower for several days despite knowing this, he/she will start to smell bad. Nobody will enjoy being around this smelly child, but if the child decides to take a shower, he/she will be clean. 

Likewise, one must obtain wisdom from Satsang and put it into practice. Without your determination and willingness to act on your knowledge, you will not benefit from Satsang.

The mind is very fickle and active. Negative thoughts are spoiling your joy and peace. This is where suffering comes from. So how do we calm the mind? No one is making us happy or unhappy. We are doing it to ourselves with our Karma and thoughts. This way, your mind can be your friend or your enemy. 

No matter what the situation, we should always stay positive. God has given us free will. The trick is to not recycle the thoughts over and over in your mind and allow them to stay active. 

Think of this another way. If someone gives you smelly garbage, would you take it home with you and keep poking at it with a stick, keeping the bad smell alive? In the same way, we should not let negative thoughts reside in our minds and keep thinking about them again and again. Meditation helps our minds remain calm and purified. Meditation also makes you mentally strong and increases your will power to act on wisdom. 

Pursue Satsang and Bhajans for a Life of Peace and Joy

Bhajan - a devotional song

Bhakti - devotion 
Satsang - a spiritual discourse or spiritual gathering
Atma Gyan - the ability to find our inner self

At Satsang, Rammurti Baiji said:

"Listening to Bhajans and understanding them can be challenging for beginners. Spiritually enlightened saints expressed their life experiences and embedded many deep meanings in the Bhajans that can be hard to grasp. Repeated listening in the company of spiritually enlightened people will slowly have an illuminating effect on you. Bhajan bhakti is that by nature.

We may wear various forms of jewelry, like gold. As beautiful and pure as it is, even gold has to be cleaned. At other times gold is melted, and it has to take heat to get the shine back and more heat will further enhance its shine, Through all this, it stays strong and can even get stronger.

Human beings similarly go through many negative and harsh experiences in life, which can actually strengthen our inner being. Saints who have obtained strong inner strength are not effected by outside events and environment. All humans have same opportunity to cultivate that.

A small child needs help to learn walking by holding our hand. But eventually he learns to walk on this own. As he grows he will learn to walk and maneuver obstacles. He does not need to hold our hand anymore. He will learn and mange his own struggles. He has obtained knowledge of walking!

In the same way, if we participate in Satsang we obtain true knowledge and enhance our inner strength so negative outside forces cannot come near us. We function without fear and are not affected. Our inner peace and purity cannot be disturbed.

At night we may see many stars in sky but when the sun appears, they all disappear. It's the same when we have the true knowledge: all small matters disappear and we are left with essential true knowledge.

After all what is life? See, the temptation of young adulthood robs our childhood. Then we spend our life accumulating wealth. Work and worry robs our youth. Then we worry about retirement and that robs our life. We typically spend our first twenty years with a big appetite and we eat large amount of "food" during these years. Then next ten years we spend enjoying and indulging in various useless activities. The next ten years we're in search of what to do to take responsibility of earning money - you may have wife and children to support. Then we start worrying and thinking about how to save money and invest so our family is taken care of. Later in life we start to struggle and life can become bothersome. Regrets, sadness and tears may become part of old age.

But we can obtain a higher power and salvage the normally painful life cycle. This is illustrated by how flour is made out of grain. They use two grinding stone wheels held by a post in the center. Grain is put in the center in an opening near the post. The grinding action of the wheels pulls the grains away from the post and gets crushed and turned into powder.

But the grain that stays close to the post and takes refuge, is saved. We also need to stay close to our “post”- our inner knowledge and truth that gives us strength so we do not get swept away like the grain that turns into powder.

We are fortunate to have an opportunity for Atma Gyan. We can change our life to peace and joy. We do not need to roam the world looking for peace and true happiness. No matter how much we try, ocean water will always taste salty. The world is full of sea water of misery and pain. If we want pure water we can take it from a river: the river of true life knowledge. This knowledge is within us. Align with God and do not deviate from it. That is our true journey.

Satsang - The Key to Happiness

Today, Gautum Baiji said:

"People say, I Want Happiness. How can they get it?

Start by removing the I. What is I? Ego. If ego is there, no matter how close you are, you can't see God.

Because I is the curtain. I is the biggest enemy. As long as the I is there, you cannot achieve your spiritual goals.

After you remove the I (the ego), you need to remove the Want, which is desire (whose non-fulfillment causes suffering).

Remove the I and the Want, and what you have left is Happiness.

Everyone says they want Happiness. But Happiness does not dwell at any permanent address.

It dwells in those who help others. Because if you help others, you do not need to ask for Happiness, Happiness automatically comes to you. You don't need to run after it.

Baiji's Satsang: Diwali

This is a special post: it's the first one featuring a Satsang from Rammurti Baiji. It was graciously translated by Manu Patel.

"During the Bhajans (spiritual songs), I was watching everyone, to see how attentively everyone was listening. Some were clapping in rhythm, and some were calmly sitting with their eyes closed. It is important that Bhajans be absorbed completely so they will touch your soul and your awareness.

Next week (Nov. 8-12) we will be celebrating Diwali. In celebration of Diwali people will do puja (worship), they will decorate their homes, clean their homes, prepare food and celebrate with family and friends.

Just as we clean our homes, we can take the opportunity to also clean our minds and hearts. We have anger, ego, bad and harmful thoughts that need to be cleaned. The way to clean our mind and heart is to listen to Bhajans and Satsang with our full attention and feeling deep within us. Diwali celebration symbolizes the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, hope over despair.

Something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite and eternal is our Atman (soul). The celebration of Diwali as the "victory over good and evil" refers to the light of higher knowledge dispelling all ignorance, the ignorance that masks one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging infinite. Diwali is the celebration of this inner light over darkness.

Anything done sincerely and with devotion and love brings good results. God looks after and thinks highly of devoted people. 

Diwali is celebrated in honor of the return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana from exile of 14 years, signifying the victory of good and the defeat of ego, hate, anger, temptations, and evil thoughts.

Once Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were walking on a path in the jungle when Rama stepped on a thorn. It caused him great pain, and Lakshmana pulled it out. Then Rama immediately urged Mother Earth to remove every single thorn from this same path and replace them with flowers because his Bharat would surely be walking the same path soon, and he did not want his beloved brother to be hurt. 

Then Mother Earth asks Lord Rama why he is so worried about Bharat. "Does he have more delicate feet than yours?" 

Lord Rama replied the thorns will not only hurt his feet, but also his heart! Why? Bharat will be heartbroken with thought that Rama and Lakshmana had just walked the path before him and would have suffered from the thorns. 

See how Bharat was a true devotee of his brothers Rama and Lakshmana? This great devotion is reflected in prayers and Bhajans for the return of Rama. 

While we're singing Bhajans, notice how we sometimes close our eyes automatically. We do that as God is within and not outside. Going within is where we have the power, awareness, love and devotion. The joy of Bhajan is pure and unmatched. Even Raja (royalty) and wealthy people always went to a remote place to experience knowledge of the Self and get blessings that wealth and power could not fulfill for them. 

Diwali is therefore a pointer for us to find real joy and peace within us by being devoted to Bhajan.