Reflections upon war and a poem

 Hari Aum.

I'd like to share a poem today that I first heard as a child. This poem describes a tragedy. The tragedy of soldiers being sent to the battlefield to die. It describes a 'blunder', a dreadful mistake that led to the loss of many lives. It is based on a true story of a battle that took place on Earth a few centuries ago. The poem, and the link to the historical event upon which it is based, are shared at the end of this post. 

I was reminded of this poem because of the war that is rapidly escalating on our planet today. Before I share this, I would like to reflect a little upon the current situation.

Since the recent pandemic, life has become increasingly difficult in many countries all over the world. There have been problems with accessing healthcare and cost of living is generally high. People are generally understandably frustrated and angry as a result of these events.

A number of politicians in power in various countries have also been tarnished by allegations of corruption, falsehood and scandals (this is nothing new but is even more jarring to people after the recent pandemic crisis). The public has therefore been asking questions as to why these individuals are in power at all. This has created a very uncomfortable situation for the people in power.

From the perspective of these politicians, a war is always a very good distraction. It helps focus people's attention away from their inadequacies and corruption. It is an excellent opportunity for them to present themselves as heroes, and portray other people as villains. 
They like to point fingers at each other and say "It is all their fault, we have done nothing wrong, we have had no part in creating this terrible situation, we are entirely innocent". This is obviously not true. 

Situations like this are rarely created by one side alone. It is usually the result of a series of unfortunate events and poor decision-making on both sides. It is due to a complete and utter failure of diplomacy on both sides.

Since the Second World War, several serious wars have been fought in the world and many innocent people have needlessly died. One example was the so-called search for 'weapons of mass destruction' in a country in the Middle East. This turned out to be a complete falsehood. There were no such weapons, but, by a happy coincidence, there was a lot of oil, to which the invading nations helped themselves. Many nations on Earth are tarnished by their previous conduct, including those participating in the present war.

The majority of politicians involved in the current war, on both sides, do not appear to be truly ethical despite their professing to be standing up for good against evil. They are clearly self-serving individuals, who wish to portray themselves as heroes to their people, while sending innocent people to die on the battlefield.

If these policitians were truly ethical, they would be talking about diplomacy not war. They would work hard, day and night, to find a diplomatic solution to this crisis. They would not be filled with this lust for blood.

They call for war, but they will never send their own sons and daughters to die; only those of others. They regard themselves as 'V.I.Ps', very important persons whose lives must be protected at all times by a large number of security personnel. 

They regard their own lives as very precious but do not appear to care about the number of lives, both civilian and military, that are needlessly lost on the battlefield. They will praise these unfortunate soldiers for bravery after they are dead and put up a memorial in their name.

This has happened in previous wars and is happening again. This war has already escalated significantly since it began last year, and is already a global war in the sense that many nations are actively involved.  

As citizens, we need to carefully examine the truth of what our politicians tell us about this war and avoid blindly believing everything they say. Let us remember that they often talk the talk but do not walk the walk. They talk about wanting our welfare, but they spend little time and energy upon the things that really make a difference to our quality of life, such as investing in healthcare, education, infrastructure and so on.

To cover up their many failures and corruption, politicians all over the world talk of war in glorious terms and demand that their people sacrifice their sons and daughters. They like to talk about tanks and missiles, about fighter jets and defence systems. But they do not want to talk about peace. They do not want to even attempt to understand the perspective of the other side, they do not wish to compromise on anything. 

Peace requires a willingness to listen to the other person's perspective, it requires respect for the opinion of others. A willingness to compromise, to give and take. There cannot be peace if one always wants to blame the other and have everything only one's own terms.  

Unfortunately, a number of these politicians are spiritually blind individuals. They are mostly disconnected from their higher Self, lacking any compassion, lacking any understanding. They will pay a karmic price for their actions. 

Every human life is precious say the yogis, regardless of country, race, religion, gender or anything else. 

Ukrainian lives are precious, Russian lives are precious. All life is precious. Human life is a gift given by Spirit. It is not to be frittered away in war.

We must support the small minority of politicians who are proving with their actions that they really want peace, who are striving to resume peace talks and willing to listen to the other side (instead of making inflammatory comments and dismissing the other). There is no glory at all in war. It is a crime against the Spirit.

The man who points a gun at another, does so when he cannot see the Spirit within himself and the other. He refuses to hear the voice of the Spirit within that says "Can you not see that I exist both in you and him?". Rather, he gives in to negative inner forces of the lower mind, the forces that instigate him to commit acts of violence and cruelty.

There is a verse in the Ishavasya Upanishad that goes as follows:

"Yastu sarvani bhutan-yatman-yevanu-pashyati,

Sarva bhuteshu chatmanam tato na viju-gupsate"

This means:

"One who sees all beings in Spirit (Atman), and the Spirit in all beings, feels no hatred by that (realisation)."

In other words, the Upanishad declares that the development of the spiritual eye, training the mind to recognise the higher Self in oneself and all beings, is essential for the eradication of hatred and the cultivation of higher values of empathy, kindness and compassion. It is essential for peace within and without. The purpose of human life, according to the yogis, is to develop this spiritual vision and realise our true nature as Spirit.

Let me now share the poem that I mentioned earlier. 

It is by Alfred Tennyson, the famous English poet of the Victorian era. It describes a situation where around six hundred soldiers on horseback armed with swords were sent to face several thousand men armed with cannons. This occurred as the result of a terrible error and many lives were sadly lost. 

I feel that, amongst other things, the poem highlights the tragic waste of human life in war, which itself is the greatest blunder. It highlights the plight of the soldier who is "not to reason why" but only to "do and die". 

"The Charge of the Light Brigade"

I

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

   Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!” he said.

Into the valley of Death

   Rode the six hundred.

II

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Was there a man dismayed?

Not though the soldier knew

   Someone had blundered.

   Theirs not to make reply,

   Theirs not to reason why,

   Theirs but to do and die.

   Into the valley of Death

   Rode the six hundred.

III

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

   Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell

   Rode the six hundred.

IV

Flashed all their sabres bare,

Flashed as they turned in air

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

   All the world wondered.

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right through the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reeled from the sabre stroke

   Shattered and sundered.

Then they rode back, but not

   Not the six hundred.

V

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them

   Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell.

They that had fought so well

Came through the jaws of Death,

Back from the mouth of hell,

All that was left of them,

   Left of six hundred.

VI

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

   All the world wondered.

Honour the charge they made!

Honour the Light Brigade,

   Noble six hundred! 

An analysis of the meaning of the poem:

https://interestingliterature.com/2016/01/a-short-analysis-of-the-charge-of-the-light-brigade/

This is a link describing in more detail the historical event upon which this poem is based:

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Charge-Of-The-Light-Brigade/

Let us hope and pray that a diplomatic solution will be found to this war. May politicians stop sending innocent men and women into war, may they stop glamourising war and instead work hard to find a peaceful solution.

Let us continue to pray for peace.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

The spiritual eye-- an essential aid to mantra japa

 Hari Aum.

I would like to discuss a topic that the yogis say can be very useful for spiritual progress and increasing the effectiveness of mantra recitation. This topic is the development of the spiritual eye, i.e. learning to 'see God in all'.

The Gita says there are two aspects of the Self, of God, namely Matter and Spirit (in Sanskrit these are respectively referred to as 'Prakriti' and 'Purusha'). Matter and Spirit are intertwined in the world we live in, in our very own existence. We are Spirit encased in matter and all of our being is rooted in, and emanates from God. This is the teaching of the rishis, the sages and the Gurus since time immemorial.

However, the yogis and Gurus lament that we are short-sighted, myopic in our vision. We see only matter, Prakriti, when we look with our physical eyes. We do not easily see the Spirit within. We often do not even see the deeper layers of matter (mind) in ourselves and others; all too often, we only reach the superficial/external and this creates all sorts of misunderstandings, problems and conflict.

Sivananda and other Gurus emphasised again and again the absolutely vital necessity of training the mind to see Spirit everywhere in everything, instead of seeing only matter. They tell us that the practice of mantra japa tremendously helps this process. And conversely, the practice of seeing Spirit, enhances the potency of our japa. These practices complement and enhance each other. They are like the two wings of a bird-- both are needed to enable our spiritual life keep moving onwards and upwards.

Theory is good, but like with all things spiritual, we need to implement this, to actually practice to see real benefits. So, what does 'develop spiritual sight', 'see the Spirit', 'see God in all' actually mean? How are we to practically implement this in our lives, what does it involve doing? 

Let us delve into this subject a little because it is so important. 

I will answer this question by telling you a bit about my own practice and experience related to this subject in case you find this useful. My practice is based upon the teachings of my Guru Swami Sivananda and his disciple, Swami Chidananda.

Ages ago, I read in their writings that one should 'see God in all' (I have mentioned some of these writings in other entries on this blog). Obviously this is not easy. However, as they emphasised that it was absolutely essential, I decided to try it. And, I am still trying to practice this (with a mixture of failure and success) and I will continue to practice this along with japa until I attain the spiritual goal. 

There are two benefits that I feel this practice has given me:

i) I feel my mantra japa itself is more effective because of this practice

ii) I feel this approach helps me to 'practice the presence of God'. This in itself, is regarded by spiritual practitioners of all religions as a vitally important technique for spiritual growth. 

So, how to actually practice 'seeing God in all' (one form of practicing the presence of God)? My Guru says mentally visualise your favourite form of God in the heart space (centre of the chest or anahata chakra) of the person in front of you, or mentally recognise that God exists within the heart of the person in front of you. 

Whether it is a relative, a friend, a stranger, even an unfriendly person, mentally recognise that God is present in them and also in you. Repeat Om or another mantra or name of God that you like as you do this. 

As you speak, keep this thought of God or mantra in the back of your mind, in your consciousness. This thought of the Spirit/God will influence how you approach people whom you encounter in daily life, it will influence how you speak and act. 

It is of course not always easy to have this recognition of God in others, to see Spirit in matter. But like with anything, we can get better with practice.

This practice teaches us to really 'see' people, to look deeper than the surface. It actually teaches us many things. Let me explain what I mean.

When we look around us, what do we see? There are people, things, nature, other living creatures, all sorts of colours, shapes, sizes and things. Some we like, some we don't like, and others we are neutral towards.

When we look at people, we often make assumptions and judgements, most of the time without even realising that we are doing this. This is not entirely our fault, we are affected by our upbringing and social conditioning. But, as spiritual seekers, we need to be aware of this and modify our thinking where required.

We judge people easily (I am also guilty of this, but over the years have at least developed some awareness that this is happening so am slightly better at preventing it; this is still a work in progress). When we look at people, the first thing we note is of course their physical appearance-- things such as height, weight, size, shape, colour, all sorts of things are noted in a fraction of a second without us even realising. Then comes an opinion about it all-- do we like or not like what we see/hear or are we maybe neutral? 

When we interact with people, we hear them speak and observe their behaviour -- this gives us some idea about their minds and personalities. Again, our brains processes this information. We think 'This person is nice, not nice, sensible, not sensible, clever, not clever, proud, not proud, friendly, not friendly, etc etc'. It goes on. Then we consider, do we like the mind/personality of this person, or do we not, or maybe we are neutral?

In essence, during the course of each day, we meet various people, and with our physical eyes we see their external appearances and their behaviour, and with our physical ears, we hear their words that reveal to some extent, their minds and personalities. And our minds also respond to what we see and hear-- we speak kindly or not kindly or behave in a friendly or not friendly manner depending upon how our minds feel and respond to this external information.

If we examine this process a little, we will see that the entire interaction with others here is on the basis of matter. It is all Prakriti. Our minds and bodies, interacting with other people's minds and bodies. 

Where is the Spirit in all of this?

Where is the recognition of Its presence in our lives and that of others? 

The answer, sadly, is mostly nowhere. 

And that is probably why there is so much conflict and trouble upon this planet. Because there is an endless round of minds and bodies interacting without much engagement with or awareness of the Spirit within ourselves and others.

This is what the yogis say, needs to change to have peace within and peace outside in the world. 

When we repeat our mantra mentally as we engage with the world via our minds and bodies, we are bringing the presence of Spirit into our lives. We are engaging with Spirit and this influences our physical/mental being and our interactions with the world.

The engagement with Spirit has a positive effect on the restless mind. It strengthens the higher mind, it helps the lower mind transform for the better.

As a result, when we look outwards at the world, we look a bit deeper than the surface. We become more conscious of the many layers of people's beings, why people are the way they are, we become less judgemental. We also become stronger mentally and more discerning, we become more aware about whom we would like to interact with (about those who have a beneficial and less beneficial effect on our lives).

Speaking of judgements, people often judge others who smoke, drink alcohol excessively and use recreational drugs. There is a view among many in society that such persons are deliberately ruining their own lives and health for no reason, and as a result, many of us are often critical and unsympathetic towards them. 

This view unfortunately can also exist among doctors. We are also a part of society and conditioned by it. However, my own work as a doctor with an interest in mental health has shown me that the majority of people who engage in these habits do so due to mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. 

Many of them have had very difficult life experiences (including often in childhood) where they may have faced neglect or abuse of various forms. It is well-recognised in the world of medicine and psychology, that people turn to substance misuse when they wish to numb the pain of their past experiences. We too may have ended up in the same place had we had some of their experiences. 

Of course each one of us must take personal responsibility for our own lives and actions. There are children of alcoholic parents who avoid alochol because they have seen the damage it can do to one's health, relationships and life as a whole. There are other such children who sadly become alcoholic because of the influence of their parents. 

We do have a choice and are responsible for our choices. But having said that, sometimes people's circumstances can be extremely difficult and it is best not to judge too much as we have no real idea as to what they may have gone through and whether we would have managed to do any better.

The point I am trying to make by mentioning the above is that practicing the presence of God, means being more empathetic towards other people. It means recognising that one Spirit exists in all beings, regardless of whether we like or don't like or are neutral towards them. 

And when we recognise the presence of Spirit in others, that naturally comes with a feeling of respect. We respect others more, regardless of their physical appearance, social status, health, lifestyle or any other material thing. The respect we extend is to the Spirit within them (and this is always worthy of respect regardless of the material aspect) and this influences how we think, how we speak and how we behave with them.

(Note- the yogis say that, although God exists in all, we should be careful about the company we keep. Common sense is needed says Sivananda. If you are a spiritual aspirant, do not mix with people who create a lot of doubt and confusion in your mind regarding your spiritual practice as this is unhelpful-- this is what he and other Gurus say. Respect all, but do not necessarily mix freely with all, that is what the yogis say. In some cases, particularly with regard to toxic/abusive individuals, a healthy, respectful distance may be needed).

Naturally all of this is hard work. It is not easy to practice the presence of Spirit or God in all people all the time. Our own lower mind is the main obstacle. We can sometimes be bored, lazy, greedy, angry, craving, proud, gloomy or whatever. These lower emotions can get in the way. 

But I have learned over the years, that we also need to be less judgemental towards ourselves. We have got Spirit within ourselves too, and therefore also deserve our own respect. That respect means taking care of ourselves, looking after our health and general wellbeing, looking after our spiritual self, a holistic approach. 

We earn our own respect in a way when we act in accordance with the principles of dharma (ahimsa/non-violence, satya/truthfulness and brahmacharya/control of the senses), i.e. when we are true to ourselves, to the Divine element within us.  

If we are unrighteous, false and excessively sensual and materialistic, it becomes very difficult for us to truly respect ourselves (this is because we know, on some level, that we have moved away from our true nature).

The practice of the presence of God or seeing God in others can sometimes produce unexpected results. It can occasionally go suprisingly well (almost 'too well') and then pose a different sort of problem that we need to figure out a way to deal with. I'd like to give you an example to illustrate this point.

In previous posts on this blog over the years, I have made no secret of the fact that I am still very much in the midst of my spiritual journey. In accordance with the advice of my Guru and other Gurus, I am of course trying to develop the higher mind, however the lower mind unfortunately is still very much alive and kicking (and this is normal and natural until one attains Self-realisation; the lower mind can get thinned out but it continues to exist until we reach the spiritual goal). There are plenty of occasions when this lower mind gets in the way of my practice of the presence of God, in my attempts to see Spirit in others instead of only matter. 

However, relatively recently, I have found that the opposite can also happen (the lower mind can briefly vanish if only for a very short period of time which can also be quite alarming in a way because it creates an unfamiliar situation!). The occasion that I have in mind occurred during one of my recent dance classes (this is a one-to-one class not a group one). I was listening to my teacher explain a sequence of dance steps while standing a short distance away from her. She was seated, close to the feet of a large brass statue of Lord Shiva in His Nataraja aspect (Lord of dance). Some incense had been burned on a table behind her and the room therefore generally had a sort of holy atmosphere (somewhat like that of a temple). 

It is my usual practice to mentally bow to God (as the Divine Mother, Father and Guru) at the start of the class and to regard the dancing as a form of worship (I do this before most major activities including my professional work). 

So I had done that and afterwards attempted the familiar practice of trying to 'see God' in the person in front of me, namely my dance teacher in this case (again something I've been doing for years as per the teaching of my Guru; obviously I do this entirely mentally without any external sign). As I've been worshipping the Divine Mother a bit more lately, and as Mother Saraswati is the patron of the arts, it felt natural to try to 'see' God in the form of the Divine Mother within my teacher. 

Anyway, what happened was that, after about twenty or thirty minutes of dancing before the statue of Lord Shiva and trying to cultivate the feeling that He was really present, and feeling the 'presence of the Mother' in the teacher in front of me, a slightly unusual feeling grew in my mind that there was no human teacher at all present. 

It felt like there was only the Divine Mother, specifically Durga (my favourite form of the Mother) and it felt as though it was She alone who was truly teaching me. As a result, I found myself beginning to feel a particular sense of awe, respect, affection and wonder that one might have when thinking of God. Along with the positive feelings, also appeared some anxiety at the strange feeling and some alarm as to how this might impact my class and interactions with the teacher.

It is one thing to see God in an inanimate statue-- one can feel free here. One can adorn it, talk to it, discuss things and it is all perfectly acceptable (at least in spiritual life). When seeing God in people, one has to obey the usual social norms (out of respect for their feelings at least). It would alarm most people if one suddenly started treating them as a manifestation of the Divine (a strange thing as this is our true nature according to the yogis).

I was therefore quite anxious about this development (I wanted to conceal this feeling and continue the class normally). I was also feeling strange about seemingly being in the presence of Mother Durga (it did not feel possible to have a regular conversation with the teacher or dance about casually in this situation).

In order to quickly snap out of this practice of the presence of Mother Durga, I mentally ordered myself to remember that the lady in front of me was a person, a regular human being and not a full manifestation of the Mother. 

However, this technique did not work because I knew deep inside that this was simply not true and in fact, directly contradicted the words of my Guru and other spirtual teachers that I have been studying as theory for so long. They all declare that God alone exists. 

I then found myself praying to God for help-- 'Please make things normal', I said, 'I cannot do the class like this (and I do not want my teacher to notice anything)'. I also told myself, as a sort of compromise, that yes, of course all is God as the yogis say, but we are all in a very material manifestation of that God, not just in the presence of Spirit. 'This is a material world, and that is ok', I told myself, while emphasising the word 'material' repeatedly. 

This combination of prayer and talking to myself mentally about the material aspect of God actually worked. I snapped out of the 'practicing the presence of Durga feeling'. I was relieved to feel that things were relatively familiar and 'material' again, and the class then carried on uneventfully. 

However, this development has left a mark on my mind-- I cannot forget what happened, and since then I have wondered why this occurred and what it means. 'What does She want me to do?', I ask myself (this is the second time I have asked myself this question within six months; the last time was in September last year after a dream of Mother Kali).  

At the very least, I see it as a sign from the Divine Mother that I should continue my daily worship of Her for the duration of the purascharana of the Narayana mantra (that I have just started which will last around three years). Although I have been invoking Her daily before my mantra japa sessions and have worshipped Her periodically over the years, I have never taken up an extended daily practice of any of Her mantras for years as I now plan to do. 

I also see this as a sign that dance is good for me spiritually (in addition to the beneficial effects on body and mind in terms of creating a feeling of general wellbeing; I do need to be a bit careful to avoid injuring my knees though as they can get a bit achy after an extended session of practice-- apparantly this is a common issue for people who dance, and physically, I am not exactly very young, having turned forty a couple of months ago!).

Finally I see this experience as an example of the grace of the Divine Mother. She knows very well that I have plenty of flaws and imperfections, and my spiritual practice is integrated into a very ordinary material life. I do not do anything fancy such as intense fasting for days on end, or several hours of mantra japa or meditation or anything like that. 

I do a very simple practice suitable for a person living a regular householder life. In general, I always start the day with mantra japa, and then like everyone, get immersed in various activities (home and work-related) and then remember God again briefly before going to sleep. 

I do remember God frequently during the day but it is always in the midst of activities (not sitting still for formal meditation). I also have an altar with pictures or statues of God (as Mother, Father and Guru) in almost every room in my house (except the bathroom), and as I enter and leave, I quickly bow my head mentally and (if nobody is looking) also physically and repeat my mantra once. In this way, I try to keep in touch with God during my day and have been doing this for a while.

So my spiritual efforts are up and down and not perfect but I can say that I do try. Given my circumstances, I am broadly doing what I can (though there is always room for improvement no doubt). I therefore feel that any spiritual feelings, practices, dreams and encouragement given by the Divine is a response to a very basic effort from me. However, it does feel like God responds, He/She notices what we do, and responds to even a very simple effort as long as we are doing what we can.

This sort of experience feels like a sort of encouragement from the Divine, a form of confirmation that the words of the yogis are true-- mantra recitation and practicing the presence of God together are a potent spiritual formula to help gradually recognise that we are one with Spirit (not matter).

Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, the great yogi from a century or so ago, once said that everybody on Earth suffers from madness in one form or another. However, he said there are different types of madness. Some are mad for money, others for women/men, some for name and fame, and yet others for something else material. 

A small proportion, he said, manage to develop some level of madness for God. This type of madness, involving a strong desire for God, he said, is the only type of madness worth cultivating. This is because, this madness alone leads one to God. It motivates one to perform spiritual practices every day in all sorts of circumstances until one finally obtains the grace of God. 

And, like my Guru, he too advised mantra recitation and practicing the presence of God as an excellent remedy to cure oneself of the deadly malady of material madness, while simultaneously cultivating the refreshing and delightful experience of spiritual madness for God. 

So, my suggestion, if you are not trying this practice already, is to make a serious attempt to practice the presence of God, specifically by recalling His/Her presence in as many people as possible when you interact with them every single day. Even a little of this practice can produce results over time (as with every other spiritual practice). Also it is good to gradually become more aware of one's reactions to the people one meets, and to attempt to modify these in accordance with the recognition of the presence of Spirit within them (here also, small modifications will produce results over time).

As the yogis say, it is essential to 'see' people and things with the higher mind/the spiritual heart, the eye of the Self within us. This ability to see with the spiritual eye, this spiritual sight, develops via the practice of mantra recitation. And equally, this attempt to spiritually 'see' enhances the practice of mantra recitation. These two practices mutually strengthen each other.

May God bless us all with the ability to truly see from a spiritual perspective.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.

Om Sri Durgayai Namah.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.

P.S. I would like to share an extremely inspiring article by Swami Sivananda on this subject. This is called "Easy method of sadhana in a worldly environment". 

Please see below for the link (my spiritual practice of the presence of God in daily life is primarily based upon this article and similar writings by him and his disciples).

I would like to highlight the following paragraphs from this article:

Sivananda says:

"It is not necessary for him to renounce the world and hide himself in the Himalayan caves to regain his lost Divinity. Here I present a very easy method of Sadhana by which, he can attain God-consciousness even while he is living in the world amidst multifarious activities."

"You need not have a separate place or room and time for meditation. Close your eyes for a minute or two once in every two or three hours and think of God and His Divine Qualities such as Mercy, Love, Peace, Joy, Knowledge, Purity, Perfection and so forth during work and repeat mentally Hari Om or Sri Ram, or Rama Rama or Krishna Krishna or any Mantra according to your taste."

"See God in every face and in every object. Have a cool, balanced mind always. If you develop this changed angle of vision and Divine Bhava in daily life by protracted and constant practice all actions will become Yogic activities."

"All actions will become worship of the Lord. This is quite sufficient. You will get God-realisation quickly. This is dynamic Yoga. This is very a powerful Sadhana."

"I have given you a very easy Sadhana. Hereafter you should not bring your lame excuse and say, "Swamiji, I have no time to do spiritual practices." Even if you have a little practice of the above Sadhana for three months you will notice that you are a changed being altogether."

https://www.sivanandaonline.org/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=472

Om Shri Gurave Namah.

Start of purascharana six

 Hari Aum. 

I have made a start on my sixth purascharana today. This is an auspicious siddha yoga day (based on jyotisha or Vedic astrology). I aim to recite a modest seven malas of the ashtakshara mantra of Narayana daily for the next three years (which is the approximate time it will take to complete this sadhana). 

I feel this is a realistic amount based on my current circumstances (work and home situation). The purpose of this purascharana, as with the previous ones, will be spiritual progress (particularly learning to accept the will of God), and for dharma to prevail upon this planet. 

In addition, I will also perform one mala a day of a mantra of Mother Lakshmi for the duration of this purascharana. I have been reciting Her mantra (Om Shri MahaLakshmyai Namah) daily for the past six weeks or so (since completion of the last purascharana) and I have found this incredibly calming and good for my health (both physically and mentally). 

I feel more peaceful and have more energy in recent weeks and feel this is very likely due to the grace of Mother Lakshmi (there may also be an astrological element to this as I have finally completed the 'sade sati' phase). I have therefore decided to do this mini-worship of Her every day during this purascharana. 

The purpose of this sadhana for Her is the same as for the Narayana mantra except there is a greater emphasis on requesting good health (as recent years have shown me that I cannot take this for granted anymore and this is of course vital to achieve anything in life including spiritual practice. Lakshmi rules Venus, the planet representing the ascendant ruler in my Vedic astrology chart so Her worship would traditionally be recommended for general wellbeing and this fits with my recent experience). 

As recitation of Goddess mantras is usually advised to be done with clear quartz crystal or 'sphatika' mala, I have recently purchased one for this sadhana and absolutely love it. The crystal beads are cool and soothing (especially now during winter) and I love twirling them as I recite the Goddess mantra. (I will of course continue to use my usual Tulasi mala while reciting the ashtakshara mantra of Narayana).

Along with this japa of the mantras of Lakshmi-Narayana, I will continue the practice of kirtan which has become a more regular spiritual practice in recent years (since I started learning Carnatic music again and took up the devotional singing classes). I will also persevere with learning Bharatanatyam dance as I very much see this as a form of spiritual practice (it feels like a sort of dynamic meditation) and it is good for my physical health.

I have been travelling on this path of purascharana for eleven years since January 2012 and it has become more interesting and also more challenging with time (as mentioned in previous posts). I have no idea what this purascharana will bring but I very much hope and pray that I will be able to complete it (God-willing and health-permitting). 

As I conclude I want to just say share a few thoughts on the subject of mantra japa and world peace. Krishna says in the Gita that we have a right to act, but we have no right demand a certain result as a consequence of our actions ("karmanyevadhikaras te, ma phaleshu kadachana"). 

We therefore have a right (and a duty) to pray and recite mantras for world peace, but we have no right to insist upon a specific result. We need to trust God to do what is required (even if it feels disturbing at times). 

We cannot say for sure what will happen with our planet this year in terms of peace. All we can say, is that the situation is not looking particularly good at present. The conflict in Europe shows no sign of abating; it only seems to be intensifying (and other parts of the world also seem to be experiencing increasing conflict). Very little if anything seems to be happening by way of diplomacy to resolve the situation. 

I very much hope and pray that we are not heading towards another World War. But if we do find ourselves in one at some stage (this year or in the coming years), we must of course continue to pray no matter what. 

In intensely difficult moments, in the midst of great suffering, the feeling can grow in us that we have been abandoned by God Himself (Jesus himself is said to have felt this way when he was on the cross; He famously said "My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?").  Despite the doubts that may grow from within us (and the often mocking/pitying words of atheists who like to tell us that there is nobody to listen to our prayers and that we are wasting our time), we must hold on to our faith and continue our spiritual practices. We must trust ourselves, trust our Gurus and trust God.

Human history is filled with times of great challenge. The scriptures of all religions describe great wars (for example the Mahabharata) and natural disasters (great floods are mentioned in many religions). However, in the end, the triumph was always of the side of the good. In the end, after all the challenges, there was peace, there was joy, there was happiness.

We need to remember this as we enter 2023 and as we dedicate our spiritual practice for the sake of dharma and world peace. No matter what this year brings, we need to remember that God is with us (He has not abandoned any of us, no matter what we are going through and even if we feel this way at times). We must repeat His names and mantras and thus stay close to Him and draw His grace upon ourselves and others regardless of the chaos of the outside world.

Om Sri MahaLakshmyai Namah.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat