New year resolution: Practice more japa, Avoid preachers and preaching

Hari Aum.

My new year resolution is to practice more japa. And to reduce the amount of time spent listening to people preaching and to spend less time preaching myself. I am going to mind my own business as much as possible in terms of spiritual life. I think I have made it amply clear in this blog as to how valuable a practice japa is. Those who want to do some can, those who do not wish to need not. I am not going to recommend this anymore to anybody. This practice is known to be the easiest way to God in this Kali Yuga - this is well-known to all.

Yet I see more disciples of Swami Sivananda trying to master the headstand than doing any japa, for world peace or otherwise. Similarly a number of disciples of other saints such as Ramakrishna, Chidananda etc also appear to be very keen to only propagate their Masters' life and teachings but seem to have very little interest in practicing japa or encouraging others to do the same. I have met a number of disciples of saints whose lives was built on japa who revere their Masters but are uninterested in obeying their command to practice plenty of japa. I am tired of the company of such disciples. To each their own way I say.

I am also going to reduce the number of satsangs I attend. The reason is that, in the vast majority of cases, I do not find the speakers to be practicing even 50 % of what they preach. They also seem to lack basic kindness and compassion, and appear to be mostly stuffed with only intellectual understanding of life. I am tired of listening to dry intellectual philosophers with very little development of the heart and refuse to waste my time doing this anymore.

My best satsang is the books of my Gurus Sivananda and Chidananda. I will stick to this mainly for my spiritual inspiration. My Guru says if one cannot get any decent satsang with living persons, then satsang with books of saints is adequate.

It is a terrible waste of life to end up as a dry spiritual preacher who has never tasted the bliss of the spiritual goal, of parabhakti and jnana. I feel terrified of ending up like some of aged Swamis I have seen who have supposedly dedicated their whole lives to spiritual practice but come across as dry intellectual people lacking any compassion.
To protect myself from a similar terrible fate, I will preach less and practice more in future. My practice is not too bad, but it could be so much better. So much better. I will direct my energy henceforth in improving my own practice- in doing sadhana, in conquering my lower nature and developing virtues to the utmost extent. I feel the mantra of God is my best help in this task.

I will aim to do more japa. I want to increase my practice of this drastically in 2017. I will keep up the 11 malas a day as a minimum, but I will also select 2-4 days per month on weekends to do a more extended practice of 4-6 hours japa. I will do this on some special day in that month, for example I would like to do this extended practice on the upcoming Gita Jayanti day next Saturday.

I also want to do regular kirtan. In the midst of worldly activities in the last month or so, this has reduced. I would like to do this at least 3 times a week.

My motto for the new year is: To do japa in plenty, and keep up the medical work also as a sadhana.

I found the following article online and found this most inspiring- it is available also on the link below. This is regarding Swami Sivananda's meeting with a disciple where he exhorts him to do karma yoga along with japa.

http://sivanandadaily.blogspot.co.uk/2014_05_01_archive.html

4th November, 1949

HOW CAN I HAVE RAM’S DARSHAN? 

Sri. R.P., who has been placed in charge of the Publication League, felt a bit nervous and diffident about his capabilities. He felt that was too much of a responsible position for him to occupy with success.

As Siva entered the Office, Sri R.P. caught his eye. ‘Ohji, don’t be afraid of the work. I have written to Sri Mohindra and if he agrees we shall employ him as the Manager of the League. You can also assist him and get yourself thoroughly trained by him.

‘Don’t be afraid of work. Don’t try to run away from it. You have a sweet voice. You have nicely developed the poetic faculties. You have great devotion to the Lord also.

‘Know that the best way to attain the Lord is through work and work alone. Go and remain in a cave for twelve years without doing any work. Then come back and tell me whether you have improved or degenerated. Work here ceaselessly; and do one Mala of Japa. Find out for yourself which method helps you evolve more quickly in the spiritual path. Even if you remain in a cave for twelve years you cannot have Darshan of the Lord. But if you serve selflessly, work and work ceaselessly, and in the intervals do Japa of the Lord’s name for some time daily, the Lord will at once come to you. When selfless service has purified your heart, even before you finish the first Mala of Japa, the Lord will appear before you.

‘You do not have the vision to see what a great and soul-elevating power this service has. If only you are able to see the actual change in your heart that this service brings about, and if you are mentally able to compare this with the change that cave-dwelling will bring about, then you will at once agree with me. It is lack of this knowledge that makes you dread work. It is that which makes you feel that work is waste of time and that God can be attained only through parrot-like repetition of a Mantra.

‘Go and see the Sadhus who live an idle life. They have no care. They have no responsibility. They will pretend that they have attained a very high stage when they ought to give up work. All that they are concerned about is their daily Bhiksha. They can get up at 9 a.m. and prepared to go to the Kshetra. Come back, take the food and sleep. Wake up again for Bhiksha. That is their life. Man’s very nature is Tamasic. You have to conquer that through intense selfless service. Then Satva will supervene.

‘It is this Tamas that prompts you from within to shirk work. It is Tamas that prompts you to go away and lead an independent life. You are sure of free food from Kshetras. This free food system should be stopped altogether. It is this alone that encourages man to revel in his Tamasic indulgence.  

‘You should become a dynamic Yogi. Work alone will enable you to control your mind, to banish evil thoughts from the mind and to purify the heart. In a purified heart alone will the Lord reveal Himself. Look at me. There is 8 per cent sugar in my urine. I have so many other physical ailments. I cannot even stand for an hour at a stretch; I feel giddy. Yet, I have been working till now. You have all taken your food. But here, I am still at my work. It will take two hours for me before I can take my food.  

‘You are a good worker, no doubt. But, you feel diffident. That diffidence you can conquer only when you take intense joy in service. You should love to undertake responsible work. You wish to realise God: but can you for a moment think of God’s Great Responsibility? You are afraid of this petty work. And yet, you wish to realise Him Who bears the burden of protecting and maintaining the whole universe. You think that work will interfere with your meditation. Read the life of any saint. You will find that he has practised and preached selfless service. Everyone has worked till the very end of his life. Such should be your attitude. Then and then alone can you have Darshan of Lord Rama in a minute.’"

Hari Aum Tat Sat.