One Year Anniversary of this Blog

One year ago, on April 12, 2015, I created this blog and wrote a short post about joining the ashram Divine Art of Yoga Center which is run by Mahatma Rammurti Baiji and Mahatma Gautum Baiji.

270 satsangs, stories, and memes later, here we are: wiser, more spiritual, and on the path.

This blog started as a place to explore and share my spiritual experience; I later realized it was much more interesting and beneficial to share the baijis' satsangs, for the world to experience (as well as other gurus' wisdom).

I'd like to thank the baijis for being my gurus, blessing me with their saintly company and their spiritual teachings.

I am also very grateful to the devotees here and around the world - they are a wonderful and giving community of people that I consider family.

I look forward to more contributions to the blog from devotees and to make it a repository of shared wisdom from everyone involved with the ashram to help us achieve lasting peace and move towards Samadhi and ultimately Moksha.

Jai Sat Chit Anand

(Some of the devotees)

God Decides How it Goes - Satsang by Rakeshbai Pandya, Part 2

Saint Rammurti Baiji asked Rakeshbhai Pandya to give satsang about his experience with spirituality, part 2: 

"When I do meditation, I get so many things. God gives me different messages. 

In 1990 I took photography classes as part of my GE requirements. I went to Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles on Mount Washington. 

It's such a peaceful place there. Parmahansa Yogananda used to sit there in meditation under the pepper tree, which is still preserved there. I saw some devotees working there, and I said, "What if I get a chance to work in this kind of place for seva, for service." 

Within a year or two we got connected with the baijis, the saints,and their elder sister. Their satsang was going on at the Norwalk temple where we went every Sunday. We got more into it and we received the knowledge.

During the Northridge earthquake we lived in Sun Valley. Just three weeks before that, we received the knowledge. You won't believe, the earthquake epicenter was 14 miles from where we lived. I felt like the townhome was lifted and just... pounding. 

Me and my wife sat under the door and we started doing meditation. All the books and bookshelves were (shaking and falling), and after that, whatever was the lesson or message from God, we don't know. 

Then this ashram property was purchased, and they needed someone to take care of it. So we decided to rent our other property and we will move here and do seva and whatever we can. 

The reason I'm saying this is I started from Babaji, who was in my mind as I wanted to do seva. 

So God arranged this. We both moved here. We did seva here for four or five years. We had a daughter here and stayed nearby after that. And we still did satsang and meditation. 

So what I'm saying is that middle part of that breach... I started with Babaji and came back full circle to Babaji. 

I'm not just believing that. How it starts, how it ends, God decides that."

Seeker, Saint, Seva, Salvation - Satsang by Rakeshbai Pandya, Part 1

Saint Rammurti Baiji asked Rakeshbhai Pandya to give satsang about his experience with spirituality, part 1: 

Shiva and Shakti, what we believe:

One is the supplier, the wealth, who gives you energy, and the Shiv is the protector.

When you see Lord Shiva always meditating, day and night, remember that before the Universe was created, if he says, "Okay, I'm on vacation," think about it: the sun will stop, the moon will stop, all jivas (living beings) will cease to exist, the whole planet will be frozen. Think about Lord Shiva doing all the hard work running the Universe, at Kailash doing meditation - he never complains about the cold weather, as he wears a mrig charma (deerskin) and a bhasma.

When we sing Om Namah Shivaya, Om is the eternal energy. It is in every one of us. When you practice here at the ashram and speak Om, it starts from the belly button, and it goes "A" "U" "M." Only the human being can experience that. Animals cannot. So we are so fortunate. And if you want to get into that energy, you have to learn the technique from the baijis.

If we sing this, we should acknowledge that Lord Shiva is doing everything, and why don't we tap into that energy? Request to the gods and goddesses, "Please accept me, forgive me..."

Spirituality is not for everyone, it's for serious seekers. Everything is s s s... you go to a saint. Then you go to salvation. But you have to work for it (seva), it cannot be purchased. For salvation, you have to work hard on it.

If you want to elevate, and go above, there are two things you can do: if you have money you can hold it, or you can give donation. If you keep holding the maya (material things), you cannot practice spirituality.

You give this way: out of the 24 hours in a day, you sleep 6-9 hours, you commute to work for a couple hours perhaps. How much time do you give your soul? After all, it's energy gives you all this!

To experience this eternal energy is the main thing.

That's what Lord Shiva is meditating on all the time. And we are blessed to have an ashram here with saints to teach us how.

Shiva/Shakti, positive and negative energy, runs the whole Universe. But if Lord Shiva stopped, the whole cosmos would be in chaos. The planets and galaxy runs with that energy and vibration, and that vibration is within us, and all you have to do is focus and tap into it. The baijis can teach you.

Lord Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Rama, Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Ramtirth... if in their life they experienced God, why can't we?

You don't have to wear the saffron cloth...

We are so busy, but we have stop... and put our mind with this energy. Because when it's gone, we're not getting anything.

Get Involved and Get Fulfilled

There are many ways to be involved with the Divine Art of Yoga Center ashram, no matter where you live:

Satsang

• Spiritual discourses
• Bhajans (devotional songs)
• Community meal
• Food prep and other assistance

Yoga

• Senior and beginner
• Intermediate
• Private

Donations

• New Yoga Hall
• Ashram
• Kathmandu ashram (for the elderly and orphans)

Pranayam (yogic breathing, Om-chanting, meditation)

Group meditation sessions

Seva* opportunities

• Cleaning
• Gardening
• Repairs
• Various chores

Fundraising drive for the new Yoga Hall

JIVANTA – monthly women’s empowerment group meeting

Weekly Satsang audio recordings – get it free on WhatsApp

Ashram blog

• Enjoy & study satsangs and other posts
• Contribute your own spiritual post

Hindi language lessons (coming soon)

Bhajan (devotional song) lessons

Tabla & harmonium lessons

Children’s programs (plays & activities)

Illustrators (for Divine Stories book)

Translators (for satsangs)

Travel to Nepal ashrams for seva*

*Seva is a Sanskrit word meaning “selfless service” or work performed without any thought of reward or repayment to help one's spiritual growth and at the same time contribute to the improvement of a community

CD Shuffle - Satsang

Satsang from Baiji, including some content she added later:

"Once there was a CD with many songs on it.

That CD met another CD, who also had many songs.

They got married.

The next morning, one CD started playing a song.

The other CD played a different song.

Both CD's are coexisting, but it's very challenging when they're playing different songs at the same time.

After one year, there is another CD, a third one.

The first CD thought, “Now this is the time! This CD is blank, so I will fill it with whatever I like.”

The #2 CD thought, “This is the time. I married CD #1 and couldn’t do anything there... now I have the chance to fill the new one with whatever I want.”

But when they tried, they found the third CD was already recorded. There was no space available. The new CD was already full.

How did this happen? Nobody did anything.

We don’t know where it’s been before it came to us.

Just like our souls - the lives we lived before are unknown to us. They gave us our personality, our preferences, our karma. 

What is the age of our clothes? One month, or two years perhaps?

There is another “cloth” we wear; our body. How old is that?

30, 40, 50, 60, 70+ years?

This is the age of our “clothes.” The first layer, 1-2 years. The second layer, 40 or 80 years.

But what is our actual age?

WHO were we before this birth?

Whoever we were, perhaps those parents recorded onto our CD – they already filled it.

Before that birth, the other parents filled it.

All the time we spend trying to fill the "child" CD, wondering, why doesn’t it match us? 

As parents, we think our children should listen to us, to act according to what we say, but it's good to remember their CD has already been filled.

(One lady said she loved rice pudding, but only the last part at the bottom of the bowl, which she liked to lick. Because of that, she thinks she was a cat in her last life.)

There will be disturbance if all CD's are playing at the same time. We need to let everyone play their song, one at a time, to fully appreciate them. Every one has a different meaning that will benefit us all."

In Relationships, Where Does Happiness Come From?

From a satsang by Gautum Baiji about "finding happiness":

When two people get married, they both think, “Now I will be happy.”

He thinks, “I am marrying her and I will get happiness from her.”

She thinks, “I am marrying him and I will get happiness from him.”

So who is giving all this happiness?

Moral: Only look to yourself for happiness. And when in doubt, you can get happiness by giving it.

Let Ego GO, Let the Sun IN

Satsang from Gautum Baiji:

"The sun can give us light and heat.
But when the clouds come, the sun cannot reach us.
The clouds blocks the sun rays.

So even though the sun has all that power, because of the clouds, we cannot get much heat or light.

It's the same with our life:

When the cloud of egoism covers our soul
We cannot get the light of God
which is out there shining

If that cloud of egoism comes, we cannot get the light of God fully
Although we can remove it through meditation

And we all know when there is no sunshine, we feel cold
Sometimes there is a mental effect

But if the sun is there, even in the early morning, we feel good.
And warm

The same thing happens with spirituality

Through knowledge
We get the power of discernment
It's heightened, in fact

We can then decide better what's good for us

We can see more clearly

President Barack Obama and India - Photos

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have a colorful history with India.

Obama Carries Hanuman as his Lucky charm

President of the United States Barack Obama receives a red shawl from a Hindu priest from Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, Maryland (October 2009)

A little humor