== SOME HINTS FROM SENIOR ACARYA DIARY ==
Namaskar,
I raised the point with my family acarya in this crucial time when such a
negative environment has been created both inside AMPS and around the globe
in general society as well. If I look at the matter deeply and seriously
then I feel disturbed. Sometimes I could not sleep in the nightime thinking
about what is going to happen. And then surrendering to Baba I thought that
Baba will manage. That way I got some relief.
So when I think about the problems of the organisation and the problems of
the general society then I feel disturbance. I think how many are
suffering. But those who are selfish, they are indulged in their own petty,
personal matters only; their worries are limited up to themselves. But
those who have a broader mind, they think about the well-being of all.
With this aspiration, I asked, 'What is the way I can help to resolve all
this?'
My senior family acarya told that, 'In order to be able to help others it
needs that one should be properly educated. If you yourself are illiterate
then how you can teach others. And to help patients one should know the
medical science. Similarly to solve the problems of others a strong
personality is needed. And Baba has given a very good guideline-- that is
why He is emphasizing about the importance of spiritual practice'.
'So if one does sadhana then their personality gets uplifted and stronger.
In that situation such elevated people are capable to help others.
Otherwise those whose one's own backbone is weak they cannot lift others.
And to build up a strong mental and spiritual force and make the mind
capable to serve others, then in one's own individual life sadhana is
needed. That is why Baba says materialistic minded persons cannot solve any
problem.
So sadhana has utmost importance in each and everyone's life.
Then I raised the point that theoretically I understand this, but most of
the time it is difficult to manage proper sadhana. So please guide me how I
can do better.
And then my family acarya asked: "Usually how many minutes sadhana do you do,
and what is the ratio ofshuddhis?"
I told, "When I have time, then I do one and a half hours sadhana in the
morning. And shuddhis I do for a few minutes."
Then he said "How many minutes of shuddhis do you do in one and a half
hours sadhana?"
I told "Sometimes maybe two minutes, sometimes three. Approximately."
Then my family acarya further explained,
"This is not good. You may not be able to manage sadhana properly by this
way. According to Baba's teachings in Senior Acarya Diary: suppose you are
doing sadhana for one hour. Then in that one hour, the duration of shuddhis
must be around 3/4 of the time - means around 45 minutes. And if you will
do 45 minutes shuddhis properly, then mind will be fully concentrated in
better way. And then the last 15 minutes quality of sadhana will be far
greater."
"And if you do in different way. Suppose you do shuddhis for one minute,
and 59 minutes you just go on chanting your mantra on ista cakra. In other
words I can say, if shuddhis are done in one minute, and 59 minutes
sadhana, then you will not have good result. Because mind will not be fully
focused in this way of doing. And ideation also will be poor. And that,
because of lack of proper shuddhis."
He continued,
"To do shuddhis in a better way, whether you are individually doing sadhana
or collectively, first you should recite some prabhat samgiita loudly. At
least that much loud that you can hear by your own ears. Singing mentally
will not suffice. Your mouth and vocal chord must be engaged. By this way,
engaging some organs in good pursuits, brings the mind in a positive
direction. So first, prabhat samgiita should be done in an audible way. And
after that, one should sing kiirtan as far as possible in proper lalita
marmika dance. At least minimum 5-6 minutes, if you cannot do longer. In
this way, this will be the first 10 minutes practice. And then you can
start your first lesson. Means, then you start shuddhis. And following
that, proceed furthermore."
"Now, remember that in shuddhis, quickly reaching to ista cakra is not the
proper way. On the way, all the important places you must stay with proper
ideation for some time. And then in the last, when ultimately you reach
your ista cakra, then mantra should be repeated with proper ideation.
Without proper ideation and bhava, it will not bring proper vibration."
Because of my unawareness, I was not practicing this process in the past.
So when I practiced, I felt it was better. And then I thought that this is
a very good thing. And if this will help others, those who are not aware,
then by this way Baba will be pleased. Keeping this feeling in my heart,
this above I wrote.
I am finishing my letter with these following guidelines of our Revered
Guru, Baba Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiiji.
Here Baba guides us that death can approach any time to anyone so sadhana
should not be avoided at any cost-- rather it must be given an important
place in our life.
BABA says, "You have been wandering through the labyrinth of a myriad of
lives. You have been ever advancing toward this stage. Knowingly or
unknowing you are being drawn unto Him. This is the summum bonum of life.
As long as you have not realised Him there is no siddhi in your life." (SS,
part 10)
BABA says,
"Whoever is born is bound to die and one is constantly approaching death,
not knowing when it will come. It is never certain if one will live to grow
old. Yet people reserve the most important work of practising sa'dhana' for
the time when the body has become completely enfeebled and the fatuous mind
of old age has become entangled in the reactions of this life to such an
extent that it is afraid of starting anything new. Ordinarily it is fear of
one's approaching death that makes one think of God in old age. One's evil
deeds begin to haunt one, and one starts praying and imploring God to save
him or her from the consequences of one's deeds. There is no value in
remembering God in old age, when it is not possible to concentrate the mind
due to the weakness and disease of the body and its preoccupation with the
reactions (sam'ska'ras) of the deeds of this life. The mind then is caught
up in the infirmities of the body, in the diseases of old age, impending
death, and most of all, in memories of past incidents, and it is impossible
to concentrate it. For these reasons one is incapable of intuitional
practice. There is an Indian saying that only a young bamboo can be bent,
and if you attempt to bend a mature one you will only break it. That is,
anything new should be started early in life, and so should intuitional
practice." (AMEP)
Namaskar,
Ramashankar
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Here BABA is indirectly talking about Mohammed and Jesus Christ.
"'I am the messenger of God, and what I say is the way. Those who follow me
are the blessed people, and others are the cursed people.' Those who think
thus are not guided by the spirit of universalism, and it should be
understood that they can never attain the supreme Goal in life. They are
neither apostles nor prophets, nor are they realized souls. They themselves
are following a defective path - not a Neo-Humanistic path - and they also
explain things wrongly to others. People thus far have obeyed them out of
fear, but in fact they have merely confused others." (NHNS-1, p. 54)
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