DEEPENING PRACTICE OF MEDITATION—Swami Smarananandaji

Stillness is of most importance. In fact, if I am to give you only one or two keys to deepen your meditation, I would say, one is REGULARITY, two is practice of STILLNESS. These two are of most importance for success in our daily meditations…

[Stillness] is true communion where neither the devotee nor God needs to talk. In the ultimate sense, who is talking to whom? I am communing with my Higher Self…It’s deep communion with my Higher Self. That can happen only in stillness. That doesn’t happen when we are practicing hong sau, kriya or Aum…no, it happens only in stillness. That is why the meditation techniques hong sau, Aum, kriya, are to be treated as vehicles to take us to a point where we START MEDITATING, COMMUNING WITH GOD IN DEEP SILENCE…

Just put yourself in the presence of God. You assume that Guruji is in your heart, just feel. Or, you are in the heart of Guruji. And sometimes I visualize that little picture of Guruji with the puppy in his pocket. Like puppy I keep watching Guruji, I am the puppy, you know (audience laughter). It’s bringing in God, there’s no conversation. Just before Christmas, I bring in Christ, those few weeks. Before Janmashtami, Bhagava Krishna. Just be in the consciousness…be one with him. That is stillness, there’s no talking.

Then you feel what is this meditation all about, why saints say that meditation gives us JOY. That stillness always comes with a sense of joy, that feeling. Never miss that, never miss that. It’s very, very important…And toward the end, practice of devotion, talk to God and pray for others, pray for yourself…

LET ME SHARE WITH YOU A SHORT STORY. A devotee came out of his meditation, someone asked, “What did you do in your meditation?”

He said, “I was communing with God.”

The next question was, “What did you tell God?”

He said, “I did not tell anything to God, I was listening.”

That was followed by another question, “What did God tell you?”

“God did not tell anything either. He was also listening.” (laughter from the audience)

When you do this regularly, you come to a point where you will say—each one of you—it is not difficult for me to sit for meditation, but it is difficult for me to get up from meditation…you don’t feel like getting up from meditation…And that can happen every day, if you give time for STILLNESS.


excerpts from “Deepening Practice of Meditation” Swami Smaranananda CD

L to R, YSS Swamis Shraddhanandaji, Smarananandaji, Shantanandaji

What is the right cocktail for you, to do Yoga. Find out.

Questioner : Master, there are so many different kinds of yoga. How do I know which type of yoga is best for me?

Sadhguru : Right now, the only things which are in your experience are your body, your mind, and your emotions. You know them to some extent, and you can infer that if these three things have to happen the way they are happening, there must be an energy that makes them happen. Without energy, all this cannot be happening. Some of you might have experienced it. Others can easily infer that for these three things to function, there must be an energy behind them. For example, the microphone is amplifying the sound of my voice. Even if you don’t know anything about the microphone, you can infer that there is a source that powers it.

 

So these are the only four realities in your life: body, mind, emotion, and energy. Whatever you wish to do with yourself, it must be on these four levels. Whatever you wish to do, you can only do it with your body, your mind, your emotions or your energy. If you use your emotions and try to reach the ultimate, we call this bhakti yoga. That means the path of devotion. If you use your intelligence and try to reach the ultimate, we call this gnana yoga. That means the path of intelligence. If you use your body, or physical action to reach the ultimate, we call this karma yoga. That means the path of action. If you transform your energies and try to reach the ultimate, we call this kriya yoga. That means internal action.

These are the only four ways you can get somewhere: either through karma, gnana, bhakti or kriya – body, mind, emotion, or energy.

“No, no, I am on the path of faith. I don’t need to do anything else.”

Is there anybody here who is only head, no heart, hands and energy?
Is there anybody here who is only heart, not the other things?

You are a combination of these four things.

It is just that in one person the heart may be dominant,
in another person the head may be dominant,
in yet another person the hands may be dominant, but everybody is a combination of these four. So you need a combination of these four.

It is just that, only if it is mixed in the right way for you, it works best for you.

What we give for one person, if it is given to you, it may not work well for you because that person is so much heart and this much head.

That is why on the spiritual path there is so much stress on a live Guru. He mixes the cocktail right for you, otherwise there is no punch.

There's only your Self. If you think something is horrible, you're speaking about your Self. - Robert Adams.

Again, what I'm saying is this. Every position that you find yourself in every situation that you find yourself in, with whomever you find yourself, the positions that you have or don't have, whatever you may be in this world, is your right place at this moment. Bless this, love it. I know it sounds hard when you think of a horrible condition and you say, “I must
love it?"

Let me explain again. The reason you love it, is because
GOD is ALL THERE is.
Try to remember this.

THERE is NOTHING BUT GOD.

Therefore if you hate something, you're hating God which is your Self. It's all coming OUT Of YOU. YOU ARE THAT.
You must learn to trust and love your Self, your precious Self.

When you become despondent, depressed, hateful, feeling sorry for yourself, this is what blasphemy really means, for you're feeling this way about your Self. Can't you see? There's only your Self. If you think something is horrible, you're speaking about your Self. You look at a situation, you watch it you observe it you never react, you leave it alone.

And then you'll be given the power that you need to handle it, to go through it, without thinking, without any commotion, without any noise….

ROBERT IN 'SILENCE OF THE HEART'

The kind of man, we need in the political system.

"District collector, U. Sagayam of Madurai, Tamil Nadu - By refusing to take bribes, the Madurai collector has earned 18 transfers in 20 years, a modest house and bank balance and lots of respect"

Three years ago, as district collector of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, U. Sagayam voluntarily declared his assets: a bank balance of Rs 7,172 and a house in Madurai worth Rs 9 lakh. Once, when his baby daughter, Yalini, who had breathing problems, was suddenly taken ill, he did not have the Rs 5,000 needed for admitting her to a private hospital. At that time he was deputy commissioner (excise) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and there were 650 liquor licences to be given out. The going bribe for each was rumoured to be Rs 10,000.

(He needs a special mention here because the assets of an IAS officer-couple in Madhya Pradesh were valued at Rs 360 crore. They had 25 flats in three cities)

'Reject bribes, hold your head high', says a board hanging above Sagayam’s chair in his modest office. That’s the code he lives by, even if politicians are incensed they cannot bend him their way—he’s been transferred 18 times in the last 20 years—and has made enemies of both superiors and subordinates. “I know I sit under a dangerous slogan and probably alienate people,” he says. “But I have been the same Sagayam from Day 1. Standing up against corruption is not for a season. Nor is it a fad. It’s forever”, he says.

On a hot summer afternoon, on Madurai’s busy main road, the district collector, U. Sagayam, saw a young man talking on a cellphone while riding a motorbike. He asked his driver to wave the man down, got down from his car and meted out instant punishment: plant 10 saplings within 24 hours. Somewhat unconventional justice, some might say. But that’s how Sagayam works.

He also took on a mighty soft-drink mnc when a consumer showed him a bottle with dirt floating in it. He sealed the bottling unit and banned the sale of the soft drink in the city. In Chennai, he locked horns with a restaurant chain and recovered four acres valued at some Rs 200 crore.

Sagayam’s masters degrees in social work and law come in useful in his role as an administrator. He knows the rulebooks in detail and is not afraid of using them, however powerful the opponent. No wonder then that Sagayam’s career is marked with the scars of countless battles.

Sagayam’s wife Vimala has stood by him all these years but she was rattled by some of the threats during the elections. “He always says if you are right, nobody can hurt you,” she says. “But sometimes it becomes difficult.”

Sagayam says he learnt honesty on his mother’s knees.

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?277990
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/article2768382.ece

The more you are attached to the pain, the more intense it is. - J.Krishnamurthi

Questioner: I am thinking of people who are suffering physical illness. Can meditation bring about a process of healing?

Krishnamurti: Most of us have had pain of some kind - intense, superficial, or pain that cannot be cured. What effect has pain on the psyche, the brain or the mind? Can the mind meditate, disassociating itself from pain? Can the mind look at the physical pain and observe it without identifying itself with that pain? If it can observe without identifying itself then there is quite a different quality to that pain. I do not know if you have observed that if one has a toothache or stomach ache, one can somewhat disassociate oneself. One does not have to rush to the doctor or take some pill; one observes it with detachment, with a feeling of looking at it as though one was outside it. Surely that helps the pain, doesn't it? The more you are attached to the pain, the more intense it is. So that may help to bring about this healing, which is an important question and which can only take place when there is no `me', no ego or self-centred activity. Some people have a gift for it. Others come upon it because there is no ego functioning.

When flooded with thoughts, while meditating

SADHANA AND SAHAJA

Meditation is your true nature now. You call it meditation, because there are other thoughts distracting you. When these thoughts are dispelled, you remain alone, i.e., in the state of meditation free from thoughts; and that is your real nature which you are now attempting to gain by keeping away other thoughts. Such keeping away of other thoughts is now called meditation. When the practice becomes firm, the real nature shows itself as the true meditation.
Other thoughts arise more forcibly when you attempt meditation.

There was immediately a chorus of questions by a few others.

Sri Maharshi continued: Yes, all kinds of thoughts arise in meditation. It is but right. What lies hidden in you is brought out. Unless they rise up how can they be destroyed? They therefore rise up spontaneously in order to be extinguished in due course, thus to strengthen the mind.
- Talks 310

No matter what happens to your body...................................................................... Paramhansa Yogananda

No matter what happens to your body, meditate. Never go to sleep at night until you have communed with God. Your body will remind you that you have worked hard and need rest, but the more you ignore its demands and concentrate on the Lord, the more you will BURN WITH JOYOUS LIFE, LIKE A GLOBE AFIRE. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT THE BODY.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Papaji's letter, blessing his disciple

2nd October , 1973 - Papaji's letters
Written in Londa

My Beloved Darling of Panduranga,

I am most happy and most fortunate to have you within my Heart. You have taken a step, that only a rare ONE could take in a thousand years. It is sure GRACE of the Lord and the Grace of all the sages and saints of the past and present.

You need not have too much contact now with persons who have differing views from yours, nor need you have any correspondence with them. Keep the name on the tongue, in the mind and in silence while looking for the Lords arrival.....

What is You, is spread out all over the place. That is why, there is conflict. - Sadhguru.

Whoever stops something in this nation should never, ever be our leader. Whoever makes things happen in this country must be the leader. - Sadhguru.

Actor Siddharth: There’s a complaint about India’s youth in general and certain activists in particular, that they are constantly pointing out problems, but when asked for solutions, they just say, “Yeah, but there are more problems.” Where does India stand in terms of the systemic problem of “As long as I do it, it’s okay. When somebody else does it, it’s a crime”?

Sadhguru: About people making a profession out of pointing out problems – this is becoming a serious issue. If you try to do anything in this country, they want to stop it. You want to build a dam, there’s protest; you want a nuclear project, there’s protest; thermal project – protest; windmill – protest. But in their homes, they want 24-hour power supply; they want all the gadgets. This is because we are only looking at the problems.

This is a pre-independence hangover. Mahatma Gandhi brilliantly designed a revolt against the British, not by killing them, not by shooting at them, not by bomb installations, but simply by stopping activity – bandh, hartal, satyagraha came from there. It was a brilliant device for those days. But even today, if you want to become a political leader, don’t try to build a road, a dam, or anything – gather 100 of your fans and block a highway or stop a train; make our lives miserable, and you will become a leader.

Making the nation go ahead and making the nation stop are two different kinds of technologies. Mahatma Gandhi mastered the art of making the nation stop, and it was contextually the right thing for those times because we were under colonial rule. But today, we are still doing the same thing. Even state governments are demanding the right to call for a bandh; bandh means closure. I cannot understand how an administration can call for a bandh. Close down something and you will rise in your prominence – this must change. Whoever stops something in this nation should never, ever be our leader. Whoever makes things happen in this country must be the leader.

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We cannot live the life of unawareness

Shubhaarambh - Kai Po Che - What a Song

What is it, that you are seeking? Living well or Enlightenment? Isha Yoga is a platform to explore. You decide.

Sadhguru:

In India, enlightened beings have been referred to as Dwijas. Dwija means twice-born. Once, you were born out of your mother’s womb; it happened unconsciously. You did not make it happen – nature did it for you. When you were born, you came with a certain innocence and blissfulness. A child is innocent and blissful by himself. But since this blissfulness did not happen consciously, anybody can corrupt it in no time. In no time, they will take it away… For some of you, it was taken away by the time you were 12 or 13 years of age; for many it was already taken away when they were 5 to 6. Children are becoming tense at 5 to 6 years of age today because their innocence gets corrupted in no time, depending upon the volume of influence that people around have on them.

 Now, if you have to be born once again, you must die first. If you are not willing to die, the question of being reborn doesn’t arise. This does not mean dying physically. If you leave this body, some other nonsense will be waiting for you. But if you die the way you are, if you destroy everything that you called “myself,” then you are born once again. This kind of birth happens 100% consciously. Once again you become blissful and innocent, but fully aware. Now, this blissfulness cannot be taken away by anybody. So, what you call “enlightenment” means a conscious self-annihilation.


Right now, most people are not thinking of enlightenment. They are just trying to live a little better. They want to live a little more peacefully, joyfully, more efficiently, more effectively. We can use yoga for that also. It is a poor way of making use of yoga because yoga is capable of delivering you to another dimension of life; but it’s okay. If people are not satisfied with what they are seeking in their lives, they will never seek anything higher. If you talk about enlightenment to somebody who is hungry right now, he only thinks of food. Whatever people feel is missing right now in their life needs to be taken care of to some extent. Otherwise they will not seek anything higher.


Isha Yoga is offered in such a way that all dimensions are included but nothing is compulsive. When we initiate people into the kriya, it is taught in such a way that everything is available. We don’t want to deny anyone enlightenment just because they don’t know it. We want to create a taste of another dimension so that they will seek it. At the same time, nothing is forcing itself upon you; you can use it any way you wish to. If someone were an ascetic and a “fulltime” yogi, I would initiate them in a completely different manner where the way they should go is compulsive. But generally, I will not initiate someone in a compulsive way. I initiate them in such a way that they can make use of it in many different ways and it still stays alive.



Seeking physical wellbeing is one thing. Seeking enlightenment is something else. To enhance physical wellbeing, you need to learn different techniques of self-preservation. Enlightenment means a conscious annihilation of yourself. For most people, it will take a certain amount of time and maturing to understand that whatever you make yourself to be, in the end, it is frustrating and not enough. However wonderful you make yourself, still it is not enough. Only when you disappear, everything becomes wonderful.


So, if right now all someone wants is to be peaceful and happy, and do better in the activities they are doing – let’s have that, it’s okay. That doesn’t mean enlightenment is ruled out, but such a longing has not come yet. Still, the basic longing is to live better. You are not yet finished with life – you want to live well. When you have lived enough and you know that living better is not going to get you anywhere, then you want to go beyond life.

Source Link :  http://blog.ishafoundation.org/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/what-is-enlightenment-can-spiritual-practices-enlighten-me/

Tears that heal. Yogananda's love for his loved ones and Divine.

Yogananda : In my new dignity, I was now openly planning to leave home. Together with a young friend, Jitendra Mazumdar, I decided to join a Mahamandal hermitage in Benares, and receive its spiritual
discipline.


A desolation fell over me one morning at thought of separation from my family. Since Mother's death, my affection had grown especially tender for my two younger brothers, Sananda and Bishnu. I rushed to my retreat, the little attic which had witnessed so many scenes in my turbulent SADHANA.  After a two−hour flood of tears, I felt singularly transformed, as by some alchemical cleanser. All attachment disappeared; my resolution to seek God as the Friend of friends set like granite within me. I quickly completed my travel preparations.


“I make one last plea.” Father was distressed as I stood before him for final blessing. “Do not forsake me and your grieving brothers and sisters.”


“Revered Father, how can I tell my love for you! But even greater is my love for the Heavenly Father, who has given me the gift of a perfect father on earth. Let me go, that I someday return with a more divine understanding.”

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If one can enjoy this very moment, this moment becomes eternity.

Osho : Yoga says – and let it penetrate you very deeply because it will be very meaningful – yoga says that the more you are impatient, the more time will be needed for your transformation. The more in hurry, the more you will be delayed. Hurry itself creates such a confusion that delay will result.

The less in a hurry, earlier will be the results. If you are infinitely patient, this very moment transformation can happen. If you are ready to wait forever, you may not wait even for the next
moment. This very moment the thing can happen, because it is not a question of time, it is a question of your quality of the mind.

Infinite patience. Simply not hankering for results gives you much depth. Hurry makes you shallow. You are in such a hurry that you cannot be deep. This moment you are not interested here in this moment, but what is going to happen in the next. In result you are interested. You are moving ahead of you; your movement is mad. So you may run too much, you may travel too much, you will not reach anywhere because the goal to be reached is just here. You have to drop into it, not to reach anywhere. And the dropping is possible only if you are totally patient.

I will tell you one Zen anecdote. One Zen monk is passing through a forest. Suddenly he becomes aware one tiger is following him, so he starts running. But his running is also of a Zen type; he is not in a hurry. He is not mad. His running also is smooth, harmonious. He is enjoying it. And it is said that the monk thinks in the mind, ”If the tiger is enjoying it, then why not I?”

And the tiger is following him. Then he comes near a precipice. Just to escape from the tiger he hangs with the branch of a tree. And then he looks downwards. One lion is standing there in the
valley, waiting for him. Then the tiger has reached, he is standing just near the tree on the hilltop. He is hanging in between, just with a branch, and another lion is waiting for him, deep down.

He laughs. Then he looks. Two mice are just cutting that branch... one white, one black. Then he laughs very loudly. He says, ”This is life. Day and night, white and black mice cutting. And wherever I go, death is waiting. This is life!” And it is said that he achieves a satori – the first glimpse of enlightenment. This is life! Nothing to worry about; this is how things go. Wherever you go death is waiting, and even if you don’t go anywhere day and night are cutting your life. So he laughs loudly.

Then he looks around, because now it is fixed. Now there is no worry. When death is certain, what is the worry? Only in uncertainty there is worry. When everything is certain, there is no worry; now it has become a destiny. So he looks for these few moments how to enjoy. He becomes aware just by the side of the branch some strawberries, so he picks a few strawberries, eats them. They are the best of his life. He enjoys them, and it is said he becomes enlightened in that moment.

He has become a Buddha because death is so near even then he is not in any hurry. He can enjoy a strawberry. It is sweet! The taste of it is sweet! He thanks God. It is said in that moment everything disappears – the tiger, the lion, the branch, he himself. He has become the cosmos.

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YOU WILL BE ENLIGHTENED IN NO TIME....! - Robert Adams

All you've got to do is let go of the personal 'I' by not reacting to the condition, and automatically the real 'I' comes along, for you are really the real 'I'. This is your real nature. This is God, Brahman, Consciousness.

Can you imagine what would happen if you thought about this all day long, without forgetting? You'd be enlightened in no time.

~ Robert Adams

If you do things when it's convenient is that Volunteering? Sadhguru

WHO WILL TEACH HIM?

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.

When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

The precious word of Brahmachari : "Forgive me for having expressed my treasured secret love for you.

SHANKARACHARYA SWAMI BRAHMANANDA
Biographical episodes, part V

Next day, Guruji called his young disciple to his side and said, "You have acquired sufficient theoretical knowledge of the scriptures. The intellectual understanding so gained must now give way to actual experience which will come through the performance of certain yogic practices based on a special technique. This special technique, which I shall reveal to you, would, however, require that you stay all by yourself at another place away from the Ashram. Should you stay and practice here, my other disciples feeling jealous of you might hinder your progress.
Some of them have been here for twenty-five years but lacking zealousness, they are not yet worthy claimants to the
knowledge of this special technique. There is a place three miles away from here. You will go and stay there and
practice this technique. Once every week you will come
in the evening, spend the night in the Ashram and return early next day. Tomorrow, I will command you to leave
for that place, but in order to keep your mission a secret,
I will give you a big scolding in front of the others and tell
you to pack up and leave the Ashram and go to that particular place. Don't be afraid of my scolding. Quietly collect your things and leave.
Others will think that you have committed some blunder and incurred my displeasure.
They will think I have banished you from the Ashram."

The young disciple expressed his total willingness to carry out his Guru's instructions. The special technique was clarified to him. Next day, as per script, Guruji created a dramatic scene in the Ashram. He appeared to be in a
tempestuous mood, upbraiding all and sundry. When our
hero appeared on the stage, "others felt sheltered" as "he
faced the torrent of words that were reserved for him:
"Get out of here. This is no place for children. You have no business to be here. ... Keeper, throw this little fellow out, get the hut vacated. And do it fast. . .. Get out."
"Where shall I go, Maharaj?"
"Go wherever you like. . .. Keeper, tell him about
that place three miles away from here. If he wants he can
go and stay there or he can go wherever he likes."
"As you please, Maharaj." The child ascetic bowed to
Guruji, collected his belongings and seven days' food supply and made off to his new abode.

A week passed. Another week. Many weeks. Many, many weeks. Every Thursday, he visited the Ashram,
laid himself at the Guru's feet, related his experiences and returned next morning with fresh instructions for the ensuing week. A new light dawned that grew brighter day
by day, week by week, month by month, prodding him,
guiding him, speeding him along the inward journey.

Guruji once sent a messenger to him to ask,
"Is there any vacant place with you for me to come and stay?"
"No place at all," was the reply.

The devoted messenger taken aback pleaded,
"One should be very careful about what to say to one's Guru.
If I convey your reply to Guruji he will be even more displeased with you than he has been so far and he'd probably shift some of his displeasure on to us. I will tell him that there are a lot of rooms in the caves over there and that he's welcome to come and stay."
“Look here. I respect your age, your learning and your devotion to Guruji. Being elder to me, I honour you.
But right now, you have come as a messenger. You have conveyed Guruji's question to me. Go and convey my answer to him: 'Not a single room over here is vacant.'
After that whatever you like to say on your own, you may
please do so. But my reply should reach him in my words:
'Not a single room over here is vacant.'
If Guruji is displeased that will be my headache. You don't have to worry as you are just a messenger at present."
The messenger conveyed the reply. Guruji remained silent but the Ashramites were astounded at the insulting attitude of the young Brahmachari. He ought to be taught a lesson when he comes this Thursday, they thought.
Came Thursday evening. Came the Brahmachari to
pay obeisance to his Guru. All the Ashramites looked askance at him and waited eagerly to see what chastisement was in store for him at the hands of Guruji. When
Guruji remained calm and quiet, one of the disciples, who thought himself to be extra close to the Master, said, "Maharaj, what penance, what atonement is prescribed for a person who disrespects his Guru. Disrespect amounts to contempt, does it not? How should such a man be treated who disrespects his Guru, shows contempt for him?
Guruji, well aware of the Ashramites' mood, posed
innocence, and said: "Your question is not yet very clear.
Why don’t you illustrate it with an example?“
The questioner hesitated but, seeing no way out, went on: "That day, Maharaj, you had expressed a desire to
go and stay in one of the rooms in the caves where the
young Brahmachari is staying. You sent a messenger
to enquire whether there was room over there and the messenger returned with the curt reply that there was no room available there, whereas the fact is that many rooms were and still are lying vacant over there. This insulting attitude has hurt all of us very much and we would like
you to tell us how we should behave towards this impertinent young fellow."
Guruji turned his face towards the young Brahmachari and queried, "Well, what have you to say in this connection?" 'Shricharan, you alone are fit to guide my fellow disciples as regards how they should behave towards me.
As for what I said that day, it was absolutely true and it
is still true that there is no vacant place with me
whatsoever."
Voices intervened, "What about two rooms in the corner ... ?" "What about the rooms facing your room?"
"Do I not know the correct position?" murmured the Brahmachari.
Guruji intervened, "Why don't you make everything clear to them?"
"Maharaj, it's a matter between you and me. They are
in no way concerned and. ... "
"All right. All right. You explain yourself to me. If they want to listen, let them do so."

The young Brahmachari clarified himself thus:
"As far as I've been able to understand, Guruji, you do not
live in houses made of stone and clay. You live subtly
in the hearts of your devotees. Shricharan, all the space
in my heart is already occupied by you. The day I surrendered
myself to you. I emptied every nook and corner of my
heart and filled it up with love of you. No room lies vacant
in here. As for the rooms in the caves where I live, Maharaj,
you already know that they are lying vacant and had you
desired to stay in one of them, you would have done so without, your asking me. Who am I to ask, anyway? I
took it, Maharaj, that you wanted to know about the rooms
in my heart and it is in that context that I gave the reply
that all the rooms were full and not a single one is vacant."
After saying this, the Brahmachari took a deep breath and lapsed into silence. His face reddened. He looked
awkward and embarrassed as if he had been made to strip. The great grand secret which he had treasured all this
time now lay bare before banal eyes. He wished he had not
been called upon to express the mystery of his unquestioning faith, his unalloyed devotion, his unadulterated love,
his impassionate self-surrender to his Guru.
It came as a revelation to his other disciples. They
looked at each other and buried their eyes in shame What they had mistaken for a small piece of coal was really a big sparkling diamond with just a thin veil of coal-dust on it. Whom they had thought to be an arrogant fool
turned out to be a humble sage. They regretted their shortsightedness and their eyes were fiilled with moist repentance.
Guruji's eyes were also liquid with love. The secret of
the great romance between the Master and the disciple was out at last. It was a profound moment of truth that stretched itself into an hour having the appearance of
Eternity. The deep silence was broken at last by Guruji, "All of you please leave." One by one the disciples retired
to their huts except the Brahmachari. "Forgive me for having expressed my treasured secret love for you," he said. "It's true that this is a very personal matter," said
Guruji. "But what has happened has happened well.
Think no more about it. What you have done was at my
behest. Love, faith, surrender form the basis of all inner
development. But can they be taken away from you and shared or even emulated? Hardly. That is the law of nature!"

Watch Sadhguru speak some amazing hindi :D :D :D

TRUST IN THE POWER THAT KNOWS THE WAY. ALL OF YOUR NEEDS ARE MET FROM WITHIN. - Robert Adams.

You see, you live in a universe which is self-existent, self-abiding, self-sufficient. This means that all of your needs are met from within. ALL OF YOUR NEEDS ARE MET FROM WITHIN. But this will only happen when you accept it this way. If you think that your needs have to come from a person, place or thing, you've always get a fight on your hands because you're hoping to get a better job or get some money in the bank or that someone will come along and help you with some problem. These are all erroneous thoughts. If you could only learn to rely on the Self, miracles would take place in your life! 

If you can only learn to rely on the Self. How do you learn to rely on the Self? By trusting life. Trusting life just the way it is. I'm not saying to trust certain people, or to trust certain conditions, certain situations. I'm saying just to trust life. To trust life you go beyond people, places and things. You trust the substratum of all existence. You trust Consciousness. In other words, you feel and believe in your heart that there is a power that knows the way. You came out of it. So you're That also. For you are It. You are that power yourself. And you feel good about it. This is what I mean when I say, trust the power that knows the way.


There's nothing to fix in your life. Nothing to change. Nothing to accomplish. Nothing to do. Except to abide in the power that knows the way. Ifs so simple yet it's so hard for some of us. And it's hard because we allow the thoughts to come to us and spoil everything. You have to control your thoughts, control your thinking. When you are free from thinking, you will always abide in Consciousness, which is the power that knows the way.

And soon you'll find yourself becoming happier and happier every day.
Peaceful. Harmonious.

What can really disturb you and make you sad, make you afraid? Only something that you think may happen to you. But if you're living in the eternal now, if you exist this moment, and you do, in this moment is there a problem? There's no problem in this moment. It's only when you begin to think of tomorrow or the next week or the next week that you think of problems. But if you learn to stay centered in the moment where nothing is happening, this moment will become the next moment. And the next will become the next hour, the next day, the next week, and the next year.

Robert Adams in 'Silence of the Heart'

Enjooooooooy. An ebook released on Food and Body by Isha Foundation. Click the link below

Click Here

Who else could have described beautifully about the Presence in the form of Sadhguru, than Shekhar Kapur himself.

No Isha without Sadhguru

21 September, 2010

Shekhar Kapoor Shares His Impressions

"Sadhguru! Sadhguru!"…The cries (screams actually) of little children running as fast as they could straight into Sadhguru's waiting arms. I thought they would drop him (as in a rugby tackle) – but he held up as they clambered all over him, showering their incredible love and affection on him. Purity of expression, emotion and complete unabashed abandon as only children are capable of.

I looked into Sadhguru’s eyes at that moment and once again I saw that moment of absolute compassion that I had witnessed before. A childlike purity, a complete union with that moment, a radiating energy that enveloped everyone who was there – including himself, for he was not separate from that energy. He was the energy, tears flowing down his eyes as he returned the love that he himself had provoked, creating a cycle between everyone, a bond that was now unbreakable.

And yet this was the same man I have known over the years as Jaggi. A man not beyond being completely human in sense of wonder and childlike curiosity at all that surrounded him. Fascinated by all things mechanical, especially if they happen to be on wheels! A man equally comfortable walking the streets of Venice (as he and I did recently) as trekking up to Mansarovar and Kailash. A man not beyond laughing as if the Universe has just one purpose – to laugh.

It’s not possible to describe any experience of Isha without Sadhguru. His presence so pervades the whole sprawling ‘Mini City’ – I don’t know what else to call it for it is certainly more than an Ashram. For it has residential accommodation and schools, a rejuvenation center, cottages, houses, playgrounds, a café and restaurant, a conference center, and the incredible Temple of Energy called Dhyanalinga. A Theerthakund where thousands of people of all faiths come to dip in waters energized by a solidified mercury linga. A huge Nandi Bull, as imposing and audacious as anything I have seen. Yet when you ask Sadhguru, you completely understand the purpose and meaning behind each. Not some religious meaning that would be relevant just to one faith, but to the art and meaning of life’s ultimate goals; to the ideas of sublimating oneself to the experience of the Absolute that every faith aspires to; to the ideas of making life so much more meaningful and energetic.

And there is more coming. Led by the ceaseless energy of Sadhguru (who I believe was an architect in a previous incarnation), the tireless volunteers driven only by their desire to serve and the brahmacharis exuding the fullness of life (despite that they never seem to sleep!), Isha continues to grow. In Sadhguru’s tireless efforts to bring to every human being, and to all of nature, the potential of life in all its limitless dimensions, I guess Isha will never stop growing.

If words could describe experience, then life would have been easier. But in my few trips to the Isha Yoga Center, I have experienced compassion and caring beyond anything anywhere else. Of course, each time I have gone with a specific purpose – a defined, extremely disciplined and structured activity leading to specific goals. But definition is finally a prison created by our own minds.

A word of advice. Do not play any ball games or anything else with the brahmacharis. Do not be misled by their gentle nature. For while they will continue to laugh and smile, they will beat you at it with a single-mindedness that will take you by surprise... A single-mindedness and focus with which they pursue life's ultimate goals.

Going to Isha is a journey. A journey dedicated to experiencing the ultimate union with all that the Universe is. In all its nothingness and timelessness. And surely that journey has no definitions. It is infinite and without destination..

Shekhar Kapoor
Film Maker and Isha Meditator

A mind shattering but soul evolving incident from Babaji's life

"On another occasion Babaji's sacred circle was disturbed by the arrival of a stranger. He had climbed with astonishing skill to the nearly inaccessible ledge near the camp of the master.

"'Sir, you must be the great Babaji.' The man's face was lit with inexpressible reverence. 'For months I have pursued a ceaseless search for you among these forbidding crags. I implore you to accept me as a disciple.'

"When the great guru made no response, the man pointed to the rock-lined chasm below the ledge.

"'If you refuse me, I will jump from this mountain. Life has no further value if I cannot win your guidance to the Divine.'

"'Jump then,' Babaji said unemotionally. 'I cannot accept you in your present state of development.'

"The man immediately hurled himself over the cliff. Babaji instructed the shocked disciples to fetch the stranger's body. When they returned with the mangled form, the master placed his divine hand on the dead man. Lo! he opened his eyes and prostrated himself humbly before the omnipotent one.

"'You are now ready for discipleship.' Babaji beamed lovingly on his resurrected chela. 'You have courageously passed a difficult test.* Death shall not touch you again; now you are one of our immortal flock.' Then he spoke his usual words of departure, 'Dera danda uthao'; the whole group vanished from the mountain."

*The test concerned obedience. When the illumined master said: “Jump,” the man obeyed. Had he hesitated he would have disproved his assertion that he considered his life worthless without Babaji’s guidance. Therefore, though drastic and unusual, the test was a perfect on in the circumstances.


CHAPTER: 33 “Babaji, The Yogi-Christ Of Modern India”

All the miserable people in this planet, think that Creator has made a mistake - Sadhguru

Everytime the world shakes you up..........................Remember - Robert Adams.

Every time the world shakes you up, you feel something has happened not to your liking, you're accruing karma.
You have to be aware of these points all of the time.
Point number one:
This world is a dream, just like the dream I dream at night.
Everything in this world is karmic.
Nothing is real.
So I will never again allow this world to dictate to me what is right, what is wrong, what is good, what is bad.
Point number two:
My nature is divine.
I am not the body nor this world nor have I got anything to do with this world or this body.
The body goes through its own karma, it takes care of itself, does whatever it's supposed to do.
It has absolutely nothing to do with me.
Point number three:
Everything I observe in this world is myself, nothing else.
I only see myself wherever I look.
Whatever I'm involved in.
I see myself and nothing else.
Point number four:
In order to transcend this world and become totally free, I have to somehow awaken from this mortal dream.
And I can only do this by becoming non-judgmental, peaceful within myself, looking at this world like a moving picture, in all kinds of scenes in a movie.
I know I'm not affected by these things, by the things of this world or any other world.
Point number five:
I-am the substratum of all existence.
"I-am the screen in which the movie is being shown.
"I-am the director and producer of the movie.
"I-am also the actor.
I play all of the parts.
Therefore I will never again become confused in the picture or the screen.
You should ponder these things every morning when you get out of bed, when you first wake up.
Become aware of this.

226 Whatever You See Is The Self - February 25, 1993

I call him the real man of power, compassion and integrity.

This is Satoshi Komiyama, a caring Japanese man who entered the waters of Taiji Cove this week. He is pleading for the lives of wild dolphins who have been captured in underwater nets. Some will be sold to marine parks around the world, where they will live out their lives in captivity. Later, this idyllic Cove will become the site of one of the world’s most brutal slaughters — where thousands of dolphins will be mercilessly killed for their flesh.

Surrounded by police who were there to defend the notorious annual hunt, Satoshi did the only thing he could do — he held up his sign, and pleaded. But it was only after he submerged his head under water that he could hear it — families of panicked dolphins crying out in distress. After returning to the surface, Satoshi tried to describe what he heard, and he broke down.

please share this !!

Chinese Visit Isha Yoga Center

Concentrate on the original purpose of coming here. - Bhagavan Ramana advice to people, who get entangled in work.

‘ATTEND TO WHAT YOU CAME FOR – VANTHA VELAI PAAR’

Through the light of a lamp, even darkness that exists a long distance away departs, but the darkness that is present at the foot of the lamp-post is not removed by the lamp. In the same way, those disciples who stay a long way away from the Guru get redeemed by worshipping in their hearts the jnana-Guru who cannot be limited by time or space. Even so, some of those who get the good fortune of staying physically close to the Guru, like his shadow, do not become ripe in jnana, losing their ego-darkness, but die ripe only in physical age. This is due to their immaturity.
Guru Vachaka Kovai v 152

MURUGANAR: The Guru is the shining sun of the Self who removes inner darkness through his true nature. In truth, he is the space of consciousness that has neither rising nor setting. It has therefore been said, ‘the jnana-Guru who cannot be limited by time or space’. The point of the verse if this: those who, through rare good fortune, have reached a jnana-Guru should not forget the purpose for which they came to him. By focusing their entire attention on it day and night, and by taking his grace as the primary support, they should definitely obtain the good fortune of the Self.
Naladiyar says: ‘If he who has obtained the good fortune of associating closely with sages, which cannot be bought by any amount of wealth, spends his time wastefully, he is a person of immature mind.’

Naladiyar is a 400-verse Tamil work, thought to have been composed more than a thousand years ago, that mostly contains teachings on morality and the spiritual life. It was composed by Jain monks.

Once for example, some awkward problems concerning the ashram management cropped up. Without being directly concerned, I [Kunju Swami] was worried about them, as I felt that failure to solve them satisfactorily would impair the good name of the ashram. One day two or three devotees went to Sri Bhagavan and put some of these problems before him. I happened to enter the hall while they were talking about them, and he immediately turned to me and asked me why I had come in at this time and why I was interesting myself in such matters. I did not grasp the meaning of the question, so Sri Bhagavan explained that a person should occupy himself only with that purpose with which he had originally come to the ashram. He asked me what my original purpose had been.

‘To receive Sri Bhagavan’s grace,’ I replied.
‘Then occupy yourself with that alone,’ he said.
After a pause he continued by asking me whether I had any interest in matters concerning the ashram management when I first arrived. I told him that I had not.
‘Then,’ he said, ‘concentrate on the original purpose of your coming here.’

In Tamil this is: 'Vantha Velai Par:'

[The Power of the Presence, part two, p. 58]

BHAGAVAN: Forgetting the lofty purpose of coming [to the Sadguru] and developing an obsession for the non-Self is a deception brought about by immaturity in those who are dull-minded.
[Padamalai, p. 255, v 19]

The Silent Revolution in Uganda. Isha practices changing the face of Uganda. A sharing by Isha Meditator, Lulu Sturdy.

10 Sep 2013

Amid the volcanic crater lakes near the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda, a new kind of wave is spreading out – a wave of meditation and bliss. Quite a few members of the community in around this breathtakingly beautiful region have been practicing Shambhavi Mahamudra and Isha Kriya for the past several months, and gradually, many more are now joining in. The epicenter of this wave is the Ndali farm owned by Lulu Sturdy, who inherited it 14 years ago and moved to Uganda from the UK. Here’s the story of the blossoming of this silent revolution of self-realization, in her own words.

Lulu Sturdy. The roof of her vanilla factory can be seen on the left.

 

All of life is here in our village in the microcosm, rubbing up against us in a way that I’d only have distant contact with through the media in the UK. The murderer, the thief, the possessed, the “sorcerer,” the child abuser, jealous lover, alcoholic, crooked politician… all I’ve come across just going about my daily (farming) business for the past 14 years.

But the flip side is here too: people bursting into song, smiling faces greeting you a hundred times in a day, people with absolutely not a penny to their names rushing to help a neighbour worse off than themselves, and sage council through community meetings helping to dissipate unnecessary feuds – the type that can fester for years in the West.

Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda

 

And then Nature herself with a capital “N”; I’m constantly amazed by our corner of Africa sharing such similarities with Tamil Nadu: the vegetation, the weather, the trees, the insects – I’ve seen identical spiders, identical trees, identical flowers. We even have our own range of mysterious mountains overshadowing the farm and straddling the equator: the Rwenzori Mountains, meaning “Rainmaker,” perpetually shadowed in clouds and mist.

This morning, when I opened the glass double doors to our house which looks out across the round turquoise-green crater lake called Necklace, and on down to our vanilla curing “factory” wedged into the forested valley, I was enveloped in waves of Sadhguru’s chanting voice, wafting up like mist from our factory across the lake. It was exactly 7.55am, the sun just kissing the frangipani in our garden.

Inner Engineering at Kampala, 2011

 

Perhaps I should give a little background as to what’s been going on, on Ndali farm where I live. Three years ago 16 local people – a combination of people working on our farm with very sparse English and others living locally – did the first ever Inner Engineering program with 51 others in Kampala. The following year, 2011, the Inner Engineering program was offered to 52 participants, 14 of whom were locals from Ndali or nearby.

For two years Glenn (my partner) and I have been offering Isha Kriya to Ndali farm workers and to any of their interested friends and relatives. We’ve been taking it slowly and cautiously, not least, I am ashamed to say, because we have often got sidetracked by our own work and our own self-involved issues.

Ndali Estate

 

Luckily for me though, other people know better. In July this year, just two weeks before I learnt that an Isha teacher was coming to Ndali for the first time, I received a written request from Ivan, one of our vanilla workers who practices Shambhavi – who is coping with rheumatic heart disease but doing perfectly well – that a group of them would like to practice Isha Kriya every morning in the factory, so could they be given a key to let themselves in?

When Praveen Atmakur, an Isha Yoga teacher from the UK arrived at Ndali – principally to prepare two beautiful Sannidhis – I decided it was an unmissable opportunity to do an introductory talk to Inner Engineering in the factory, especially geared towards local people with little or zero English. We found a wonderful Ugandan translator, Pat, who had not done Inner Engineering, but had started following Sadhguru on YouTube six weeks ago, and on whom Midnights with the Mystic had made an impression.
We gave all our workers (about 80 of them) the day off and invited any of those who wished to, to attend the talk upstairs at the factory, together with any friends or relatives. We also invited the ladies herbal medicine group we work with.

Games on Ndali Estate before the Isha Kriya session

 

Over 60 people came, prompt at 8am, all dressed in their finest. The interaction and general “sparkiness” of the listeners was a joy to see. Even with my limited mastery of the local language I could see that Pat was giving a careful and well delivered translation. After the talk we all played games on the football pitch: frisbee, dodge ball and relay races – such immersion, determination and competition: I don’t think Praveen had ever seen bodies run so fast or shout so much. Puffing and in a good sweat, we all drank sodas and ate doughnuts made with amaranth flour, grown and pounded by the herbal ladies group. Then everyone returned to the vanilla factory to learn Isha Kriya.

Now every day, at exactly 7.45am, Magidu and Ivan, Shambhavi practitioners, lead the Isha Kriya at the factory for anyone who wants to attend, using Sadhguru’s voice support. There are 30 people in those sessions regularly, many unable to read or write, let alone speak English; some having to leave home at 6.30am and walk for one hour to reach the factory on time; all gradually becoming more meditative. It is the most precious thing in the world to be a part of.

Isha Kriya in the Vanilla factory, Ndali Estate

 

And now, as I’m just recovering from the beautiful shock of hearing Sadhguru’s voice every morning chanting out across the lake, Chris a 16-year-old schoolboy who attended Praveen’s Kriya training, has got together off his own bat, a group of 12 of his friends between 15 and 18 years old and taught them the Kriya himself. Everyday they are practicing as a group, at first on the grass under some trees at the edge of the lake, but now that the rain has set in, we’ve given them the dilapidated round hut at the end of the garden. We’ve also unearthed a mini ipod and small travelling speaker so that they too can practice with Sadhguru’s voice support, in a place with no power source.

Chris outside the hut he’s renovating for his 12 friends to do Isha Kriya 

 

Chris has thrown himself into renovating the hut: repairing the leaking thatch, levelling the floor, smearing cow dung on it, and white washing the walls. Now he tells me he wants to plant a hedge of evening rose because “the scent is good” he says. It is indeed: it is very heady, and very Isha, and Chris is headed in the right direction. “This seems to be important,” he said, the very first time after doing the Kriya, and made the unorthodox decision to miss school for one week to be able to attend the daily group sessions: that is, until he found his own, better, solution to be able to practice with the support of a group of his friends every evening, but still attend school one hour’s walk away.

Source Link :  http://blog.ishafoundation.org/inside-isha/happenings/uganda-yoga-meditation/

The man waited. It was a total trust. The Teacher said, ”Now you need not ask.”

In Egypt there was a mystic, Dhun-Nun. When he was with his Teacher, he came to ask a certain question. The Teacher said, ”Unless I say to you, ’Ask,’ don’t ask, and wait.” For twelve years Dhun-
Nun was waiting. He would come daily in the morning – the first man to enter the hut of the Teacher. He would sit there. Many, many others would come to ask and they would be answered. And the
Teacher didn’t say to anyone again, ”Wait!” It was too much. And that man Dhun-Nun was waiting –

for twelve years. He was not allowed to ask. So that was the first thing he uttered, ”I want to ask a certain question,” and the Teacher said, ”You wait – unless I tell you to ask, you cannot ask. Wait!”

For twelve years he waited. The Teacher wouldn’t even look at him; the Teacher wouldn’t even give any hint that he was going to let him ask. He completely forgot that Dhun-Nun exists. And Dhun-Nun
waited day and night for twelve years. Then one day the Teacher moved to him and said, ”Dhun-Nun – but now you need not ask. You had come to ask a certain question. Now I allow you, but I think
now you need not ask.”

Dhun-Nun bowed, touched the Teacher’s feet and said, ”You have given me answer enough.” What had happened to Dhun-Nun? You cannot wait twelve years unless you have surrendered totally. Then doubts are bound to arise – whether you have become a madman, whether he has forgotten you completely. And to no one else was the Teacher saying ”Wait!” For twelve years, thousands and thousands of people would come and ask and he would answer. And this would go on continuously, day after day, and the man waited. It was a total trust. The Teacher said, ”Now you need not ask.”

And Dhun-Nun said, ”There is no question left. These twelve years, what a miracle you did with me! You did not even look at me. What a miracle! You did not even give a hint!”

Seeker : Whoever surrenders to Him, takes refuge in Him, puts himself in His protection, can he be regarded as an orphan? I ask you, whoever has not established contact with the Father, is he not an orphan?

SHANKARACHAYA SWAMI BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI shares about a seeker

Escape to the Himalayas

With eight years, as it was customary in his Brahmin caste he was about to be married. This led to a quick decision: 
Being a young student in Kashi, the next moring he left for the Himalayas. Eight years but undaunted:

The path was chosen, the decision was made. The young ascetic in Kashi, renouncing all worldly desires, set out next morning on a lonely upstream journey along the banks of the river Bhagirathi (the Ganga). With his mind fixed on the inward Goal the child advanced in rapid steps alongside the Ganga. The sun rose, the sandy trail became hotter and hotter, but he kept walking, undeterred, calm, ready to face all challenges. The river goddess suggested that he should drink a few sips of the holy water with the cup of his hands and rest a while under a shady tree. But he replied, "Mother," it is with your grace alone that I can make this lone journey. Let me not get into the habit of stopping: Let me reach soon a cave in the Himalayas where I can sit and find my life's fulfillment." Saying this, he bowed to Goddess Bhagirathi and moved on.

Without rest, without sleep, unafraid of the desolate night, he moved on and on and on. On and on. On and on and on. Hungry or thirsty, or hungry and thirsty, he drank a few mouthfuls of the Ganga water with his hollowed palm, and moved on. On and on. One day passed. Two days. What a test for Destiny to give to someone so young in years! And also to give him the fortitude that enabled him to pass it!

It was nearing sunset on the third day. The young traveller was moving onwards, kicking up a lot of dust, leaping over shrubs, when a zamindar (village landlord) noticed him and wondered who he was and where he was going. He tried to send for him through his servant, but could he dare do that and insult the young traveller moving so freely and with such single-minded intent? When the servant failed to elicit response, the zamindar went himself.

"Who are you?" the zamindar asked, when he caught up to him at last. Came the reply,
"Why do you want to know? What is your intention?"
He entreated, "All I want to know is who are you and why are you going in such a great hurry on this rugged path at such an odd time."
The young ascetic said, "You are not in a position to know whether this is the right path or the wrong path, the right time or the wrong time. Sufficient for you to know, that l am travelling from Kashi to the Himalayas in order to meditate.
Go and mind your own business and don’t trouble me for nothing.'
The zamindar taken aback somewhat mustered courage
enough to say softly, “Maharaj,may I ask you when and where on the way you have begged tor food?”
He got the reply, "So far the Ganga water has been my food and my drink."
"Then come and have some food and rest before going further. That will give me satisfaction. Moreover, it’s getting to be dark."
"I'm not going to knock at anyone's door for food. As for satisfaction, I cannot believe that your giving me a meal would give you satisfaction. Satisfaction means that no desires remain and after that no desires arise. Your giving me alms is not going to give you that satisfaction. That can come only if you know the Supreme Essence, knowing which all else is known, and obtaining which nothing remains unobtainable. So make such efforts that bring you real satisfaction."

What a glorious philosophy from such an innocent mouth! The zamindar wondered about the extent of learning that must been the institution that produced mere youngster. Milk was arranged on the river bank itself. Our philosopher friend poured two-thirds of it into the river as an offering in repayment of the water he had drunk during the last three days. The river goddess was immensely pleased and gave him a boon: He would never again need to quench his hunger with water alone. And indeed it so happened that during the many years that he spent in lonely caves or thick jungles or barren plains, he never had to beg for food and yet it came aplenty in some form or the other. Many a time on dark dismal nights in the forest he would receive food from somewhere.

From his grandfather he had heard about the Triveni, or the sacred meeting-point of three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. With great devotion he took dips at the holy spot. Then he moved onwards. Feeling tired, he sat down on a wooden plank near the riverside at the Dashashwamedh Ghat. Some time later, he was sitting, meditating, when a stranger came and sat down nearby. Both remained motionless for quite a long time. The stranger saw how difTerent this child was from other children of his age. He looked tired and yet there was a glow on his face. The stranger took out a piece of paper from his pocket, read it, and looked again at the child's facial features. Then he came very close and sat down beside him. The child ascetic was shocked a little by this behaviour and looked curiously at him. The man once more took out the paper from his pocket and placed it before the child. Child ascetic: What is this?
Man: Your description.
Child ascetic: Who are you?
Man: I am a policeman.
Child ascetic: What do you want?
Policeman: This is your description. You have run away from home....
Child ascetic: There is no need to talk much. It's just a description, isn't it?
Policeman: Yes.
Child ascetic: Then whoever has given you this description, inform him that I am here. If someone loses an animal, he reports a description to the police. But I am someone's son. Go and inform him that I have come here. If he wants he should take me from here.
Policeman: Yes, of course, I will inform. But tell me why have you come away from home?
Child ascetic: It's a fine question, "Why have you come away from home?" I ask you, why do you never leave your home?

For a while the policeman forgot who he was. He was wonderstruck by the philosophic logic of the little boy's retort.

Policeman: Everybody stays at home because that is where the comfort is. Why have you left the comfort of your home? Why are you wandering restlessly on the riverside on such a hot afternoon?
Child ascetic: Go, Sir, mind your own business. Go and enjoy the pleasures of home. In the lap of Mother Ganga, or on the sands, or walking on a silent afternoon in the wilderness—do I wander about restlessly or do I have the very bliss of life? —you'll never understand.

The policeman felt cut down to size, and sensed a great deal of respect for the child ascetic. Policeman: You are young of age. But you seem to belong to a very high family. Roaming around like this—like an orphan—don't you feel.. -a-ashamed?

Child ascetic: It's true I'm small. But you consider yourself big, don't you? But being big you still don't understand who is an orphan and who is not an orphan. If you think about it a little, then you will see that the Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Supreme Soul is everyone's Guardian, is everyone's Master, is everyone's Father. Whoever surrenders to Him, takes refuge in Him, puts himself in His protection, can he be regarded as an orphan? I ask you, whoever has not established contact with the Father, is he not an orphan? Such sagacious words coming from the mouth of one so very young left the policeman speechless and he thought that this was no ordinary child but a Mahatma in the bud.


From: ‘The Whole Thing the Real Thing’