Hari Aum.
2018 has arrived. It is quite surreal in some ways thinking that we are already 18 years into the 21st century. I remember the year 2000 so vividly, it feels like it was not that long ago. It is incredible that eighteen years have already flown by.
So another year has dawned. And it brings with it, new opportunities and new challenges in the field of sadhana (spiritual practice). We all face challenges on a daily basis. We meet with difficult people who are unjust to us, with unfavourable circumstances and so on. In the midst of this struggle for daily existence, we are to direct our minds to God to attain Him/Her/That. This is no easy task. Yet the yogis say there is no other way.
7.6 billion people live on the Earth today according to the latest statistics. Every day, 7.6 billion people wake up and go about their daily business, some mostly helping the world and some mostly harming. We encounter some number of these people every day. Some help us, some harm us. The mind feels pain on account of the harm done by others. But if one thinks too much about this, then one loses the God-thought which is the real harm done by the other. So, even when one faces challenges, particularly posed by difficult and negative people, one has to direct one's mental energy to thoughts of God and not to thoughts of those who harmed us. This is easy to say and phenomenally difficult to do, especially when we feel particularly aggrieved or wronged. This is where the mantra comes in very useful. Even as the mind repeatedly tries to run towards thoughts of the past and future, one needs to gently bring it back to the mantra.
At times we may be so irritated by events in our life that we lose the taste for japa. The mood to recite the name of God may not be there at the time (especially for us as beginners). Even then one should never leave the practice of the name of God- because the yogis say, this is the most auspicious of all auspicious things. This grants both material and spiritual peace and bliss. Challenges are sent to us by God to strengthen us, so say Sivananda and other Gurus. We can only face them with help from God, and that help comes when we take His/Her name. The famous lady saint, Anandamayi Ma, used to say that sometimes one has to feed oneself the name of God as a medicine (at other times, one may enjoys the recitation/japa like drinking nectar). The name is both a medicine and a nectar, so say the yogis.
Hence with or without love, with or without concentration, in whatever circumstances, and whatever our mood or state of mind may be, we need to cling to the name of God and recite it for some time daily. Challenges will pass eventually, the name of God will give us strength to bear them.
Glory to the name of God.
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. There are two eclipses next month in February. These are very auspicious times for sadhana and japa. The effect of any sadhana done during an eclipse is said to be severalfold that of other times. Hence one should take the opportunity to do sadhana at this time for one's own benefit and that of the whole world (peace in the world).
P.P.S. My fourth purascharana is carrying on, am nearly two months into it. Have a further 20 months to go. My writing sadhana is also continuing. The second book on part two of Krishna's life is nearing completion and will hopefully be published in the next 1-2 months.
2018 has arrived. It is quite surreal in some ways thinking that we are already 18 years into the 21st century. I remember the year 2000 so vividly, it feels like it was not that long ago. It is incredible that eighteen years have already flown by.
So another year has dawned. And it brings with it, new opportunities and new challenges in the field of sadhana (spiritual practice). We all face challenges on a daily basis. We meet with difficult people who are unjust to us, with unfavourable circumstances and so on. In the midst of this struggle for daily existence, we are to direct our minds to God to attain Him/Her/That. This is no easy task. Yet the yogis say there is no other way.
7.6 billion people live on the Earth today according to the latest statistics. Every day, 7.6 billion people wake up and go about their daily business, some mostly helping the world and some mostly harming. We encounter some number of these people every day. Some help us, some harm us. The mind feels pain on account of the harm done by others. But if one thinks too much about this, then one loses the God-thought which is the real harm done by the other. So, even when one faces challenges, particularly posed by difficult and negative people, one has to direct one's mental energy to thoughts of God and not to thoughts of those who harmed us. This is easy to say and phenomenally difficult to do, especially when we feel particularly aggrieved or wronged. This is where the mantra comes in very useful. Even as the mind repeatedly tries to run towards thoughts of the past and future, one needs to gently bring it back to the mantra.
At times we may be so irritated by events in our life that we lose the taste for japa. The mood to recite the name of God may not be there at the time (especially for us as beginners). Even then one should never leave the practice of the name of God- because the yogis say, this is the most auspicious of all auspicious things. This grants both material and spiritual peace and bliss. Challenges are sent to us by God to strengthen us, so say Sivananda and other Gurus. We can only face them with help from God, and that help comes when we take His/Her name. The famous lady saint, Anandamayi Ma, used to say that sometimes one has to feed oneself the name of God as a medicine (at other times, one may enjoys the recitation/japa like drinking nectar). The name is both a medicine and a nectar, so say the yogis.
Hence with or without love, with or without concentration, in whatever circumstances, and whatever our mood or state of mind may be, we need to cling to the name of God and recite it for some time daily. Challenges will pass eventually, the name of God will give us strength to bear them.
Glory to the name of God.
Om Namo Narayanaya
Hari Aum Tat Sat
P.S. There are two eclipses next month in February. These are very auspicious times for sadhana and japa. The effect of any sadhana done during an eclipse is said to be severalfold that of other times. Hence one should take the opportunity to do sadhana at this time for one's own benefit and that of the whole world (peace in the world).
P.P.S. My fourth purascharana is carrying on, am nearly two months into it. Have a further 20 months to go. My writing sadhana is also continuing. The second book on part two of Krishna's life is nearing completion and will hopefully be published in the next 1-2 months.
Hi again Vishnupriya
ReplyDeleteI trust the new year is good to you. I also wish it helps us progress our mantra japa continuously.
Speaking of challenges during japa you make a valid point that God sends them to make us stronger. I have especially noticed this as midway into my first purascharana a lot of anger surfaced which im trying to calm down,note that im usually a very calm person.
The second thing is physical health issues seem to crop up constantly and im now starting to feel its a battle of willpower to ensure the purascharana continues without a break.
Has this been your experience as well? Im interested as im sure many if not all practitioners face this twin challenge of overflowing emotions and physical illness cropping up during japa / sadhana.
What has your experience been and how long did it last? Do you still face emotional or physical challenges and if yes has the intensity changed in any way ?
Warmly
Suchi
Hello Suchi,
DeleteHappy new year. Interesting to hear about your experiences during purascharana. I would say I can relate to this. I do still experience negative emotions, but when they occur, alarm bells go off in my mind that something negative is happening within me and I need to stop it. There is a bit more self-awareness than before. However I too find it difficult to control my anger at times and, finding no other alternative, offer this to God.
As Ramakrishna says, one should offer all the good and bad in one to God to be able to break free and transcend both. I am slightly better at letting things go and at stopping myself from responding to other people's negativity- but am by no means satisfied with my control of negative emotions. It is an ongoing painful battle with myself and the reason for my ongoing sadhana. I constantly pray to God to become free of all negative emotions and to be blessed with the opposite virtues- but as they say, God helps those who help themselves. Thus, I help myself by taking the name of God daily, my spiritual sword and shield.
In terms of sickness, I would say the main ongoing health issue is my migraine headaches. These are slightly better of late, but I still get at least one every month. On a bad day when my head is particularly painful, I simply lie in bed and do the day's japa as I feel unable to sit up. While I don't enjoy the headaches at all, I accept that I am paying off some negative karma which will hopefully hasten my progress towards God. There have been some health scares too that have come and gone.
I think people who do purascharanas/any type of sadhana get tested by forces within and without. We just have to hang in there and keep going - and remind ourselves that it will all be worth it in the end.
May God bless you with success in your purascharana.
Warm regards,
Vishnupriya
Sorry for the delay in replying Vishnupriya, unexpected health issues again! This is quite challenging i must say ! Constant challenges are leading to a crisis in faith in my case but as they say "the darkest hour is just before dawn" and we will do well to hold onto that thought and get on with the daily prayer as you are doing.
ReplyDeleteI have read that during sadhana, your inner self is polished ( for lack of a better word) especially your top two chakras and all negativity comes to the fore so if you have had negative experiences then this cleansing effect is amplified. So in addition to health , external issues also happen and people around will try their best to throw you off ( unknowingly of course) .
The amount of fights and arguments that have happened this past year have been phenomenal in my case so i guess that bit is true.
Anyway we need to hang in there as you rightly said and help each other to go the distance especially as in today's world especially in the west no one has a guru readily available do they? 😀.
Take care, until next time.
Warmly
Suchi
Hi Suchi,
DeleteEntirely agree with you....darkest hour is indeed just before the dawn. Also very true that both internal and external obstacles manifest during sadhna- can relate to what you've mentioned very well!
The company of fellow sadhakas who inspire one to keep going on the path is indeed a blessing. Thank you for sharing your experiences and wish you a blessed 2018.
Warm regards,
Vishnupriya
Hello I see that recently you are sometimes a bit confused as to why you are not getting darshan of the Lord yet, Iam still a beginner so forgive me if iam wrong,iam nowhere close to you in qualification , but in the book japa yoga which u have suggested it is written that you must chant the mantra 14 crore times to see him face to face and in another source i read that in kaliyuga you have to do the normal number 4 times more to get results .....for instance if the purascharana range is 8 lakh you have to do it 32 lakh times to actually get siddhi.Is the inforamtion which i have wrong ...please let me know Doctor u have been an inspiration to me..thank you
ReplyDeleteNamaste,
DeleteIt is true that Sivananda has said that 14 crore of japa can lead to darshan face to face with physical eyes. I have even sat down and calculated how long it would take me to do this. It could be possible perhaps if I was a full-time japa yogi. However Sivananda also advises the path of 'integral yoga' - i.e. combining jnana yoga, bhakti yoga and karma yoga to develop the head, heart and hand of the human being. He says one-sided development is not good.
I feel the path of integral yoga is suitable for me at present. Therefore I am continuing on this for now.
Sivananda says a purascharana is recitation of a mantra as many lakhs as there are syllables. He also says that many purascharanas may be required to purify the mind in order to attain the darshan of God. Hence I am continuing the purascharana practice. Thank you for your queries and hope this was helpful.