Realize the Truth

This world is so large. It is impossible for us to imagine how vast the solar system is. There are stars whose light hasn't even reached us yet. We can't even imagine the limits of the galaxies. A person who thinks that he knows everything is so full of pride that he is not willing to bow his head to anyone. He refuses to realize the truth. There is a good example of this in the Ramayana. When Lord Rama succeeded in breaking the bow of Shiva, Parashurama arrived, extremely angry. He wanted to know who had broken the bow. He didn't stop to think that someone who could break that bow could not be an ordinary man, that he must have superior powers. He simply flew into a rage and swore revenge.
www.manavdharam.org

Guru

One saint said, "Prostrate yourself at the guru's feet countless times. Just as the bhringi wasp changes other insects into its own shape, so the guru makes you like himself."
www.manavdharam.org

Spirituality

The uniqueness of spirituality is that God is the shelter of the weak. Contrary to the materialistic outlook of most people, spiritual people say that human beings are the temple of the divine energy. After all, whatever we have achieved in this world has been due to our human energy.
www.manavdharam.org

Treasure of the Holy Name

Man in himself is not a problem. Realized souls say that the power to solve the world's problems lies with man himself. Saints have never considered mankind to be a burden on the earth. Saint Tulsidas described the human life form as being "just right for spiritual endeavours and the gateway to liberation." God has granted us the boon of the human body so that we can achieve the state of Nirvana. If we wish, we can use it for our own good. We can experience divine love ourselves and share it with others. We have been given all the resources. For example, we have here a microphone and loudspeakers. It is up to us whether good or bad thoughts are transmitted through them. It is upto you whether you strew thorns or flowers in your life. You can make your life hell or heaven. Man has this much free will. He can, if he wishes, use his life to dig deep within himself and find the treasure of the Holy Name.
www.manavdharam.org

Story

Once King Janak held a huge religious function. The horns of many cows were coated with gold, and he announced that only an enlightened sage could claim these cows. Maharishi Yagyavalkya told his disciples to collect the cows. Other learned sages who were present stood up and said. "Wait! First answer our questions. We want to be convinced that you are indeed enlightened." The Maharishi was answering all their questions. Finally, Gargi, one of the sages, approached him and said, "If you can answer my questions, there is no doubt that you are enlightened." Her last question was, "Space contains all the stars, solar systems and all, but in what is space held? What surrounds space?" So Maharishi Yagyavalkya answered, "Space is contained in the Word of God." This is a very profound idea. Earth is solid, and what surrounds the continents? They are surrounded by water, a liquid, which is of a finer substance than earth. And what surrounds both earth and water? The atmosphere surrounds them, and it extends to a distance of 220 miles high. Whatever we say travels through this atmosphere. If there were no air, you could not utter a single sound, and your words could not be heard. Sound travels through air. What is beyond the atmosphere? Space, or ether, Space is the absence of air. Space recedes into nothingness, it fades into formlessness, so it is extremely subtle. That means that we are held by something which is as subtle as can be. As Maharishi Yagyavalkya said to Gargi, the most subtle thing, which is even subtler than subtle, is the Holy Word. Even the most subtle things ultimately exist in it. The subtle atmosphere surrounds us. Water stays in places like rivers and lakes, but once it is converted into water vapour, it spreads everywhere. The more subtle something is, the further it permeates. That is why one saint said, "God pervades every particle, but only those who have eyes to see can see Him."
www.manavdharam.org

Experience the God

All the scriptures talk about an experience. For example, we say that it is cold today, but can you show me what cold is? You'll say you can't do that because feeling cold is a personal experience. When cold air comes in contact with our skin, and we shiver, we say that we are feeling cold. We can't see cold, but we can feel it, we can experience it. In the same way, God, the Supreme Power, is extremely subtle and inexpressible, but we can experience Him. He is not like a big rock or any other solid thing which can be put in front of us. If He was like that then He would not be omnipresent. Something which is all-pervading also has to be subtle.
www.manavdharam.org

Holy Name

If God were a matter of words, of language, if He could be written only in English, or French, or Hindi, or Sanskrit, He could not be omnipresent, because no single language is spoken everywhere. English is spoken in some countries, French in others. Spanish is spoken in Spain and Latin America, Hindi is spoken in India, and Nepali is spoken in Nepal. If God's Name could be expressed in a language, it would become restricted. It would become finite. So to stay infinite it must stay aloof from language. It is the power which enables us to speak. An unborn child doesn't speak any language. But the Holy Name, the power of God, which is indestructible, keeps that baby alive. When this omnipresent phenomenon manifests itself within us, we can experience it.
www.manavdharam.org

Secret

Deep within us is the shrine of God, because it is there that the Holy Name reveals itself, and we can perceive it. The most mysterious, the most subtle element resides in your breath and manifests itself there. If you want to see it, you have to turn your attention to the place where it manifests itself, and from where it spreads throughout the body so that our faculties can function. Therefore, the Upanishads say, "It is the seeing power of the eye, yet the eye cannot see it. It is the hearing power of the ear, yet the ear cannot hear it. It is the activating power of the hands, yet the hands cannot grasp it. It is the vocal power by which the mouth and tongue speak, yet the tongue cannot express it." That is why Lord Rama described it as `secret'.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

People think that we are alive because we breathe, that air keeps us alive. However, when someone falls ill, and he cannot breathe, oxygen has to be forced into him with a mask and a machine. So if a machine can make a man breathe, why does he die? Can a machine make a corpse alive again? No, because the life-force is not active in that body any more; it is not manifesting itself. Air going in and out does not constitute a living power. There is a power beyond air, which actually controls the movement of air. Man does not live by air only. If air were all that were necessary, then doctors could easily reanimate a corpse. However, intake of air depends on a higher power, which keeps a person alive. This power is not dependent on doctors or scientists.
www.manavdharam.org

Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak said, "My satguru has applied the ointment of Knowledge to my eyes and dispelled my ignorance. By God's grace I met a saint and became enlightened." Only by God's grace can a person come into holy company. The spiritual master enlightens us. This is why we need great souls. We read the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bible, and other scriptures which all glorify this divine energy, this divine entity, but still we can't realize it. But a realized soul can show us what It is. Knowledge is transmitted from soul to soul. There is no other way. There are many cookery books available, but until you light the stove these books can't help you. In the same way, spiritual Knowledge is acquired from a living soul, from a living entity. The living torch of Knowledge is passed from soul to soul.
www.manavdharam.org

Vivekananda

Vivekananda, who was formerly known as Narendra, was a great intellectual. He had read all the scriptures, but he couldn't realize practically that thing which they all spoke about. Then he met Shri Ramakrishna, who though illiterate, taught him the Knowledge which can't be found in books and which changed him into the great saint Vivekananda. Lord Rama gave this same Knowledge to Hanuman. Lord Krishna gave it to Arjuna. Arjuna knew all the scriptures and even quoted them to Lord Krishna. However, Krishna revealed to him the Knowledge which resolved all his doubts and delusions and helped him to see things as they really are.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

Sometimes when we are travelling, our car breaks down. We don't waste time sending for a mechanic who lives far away; we ask passing motorists to help us. When someone stops and asks what happened, we tell them that the car has broken down, and they lift up the hood and use their common sense to fix it. If someone were to shoot you and the doctor said to operate, would you ask him to first tell you his religion and where he is from? You won't ask all that. You will simply say, "Okay, take out the bullet. I am in agony." That is why one saint said, "Don't ask a saint about his caste or creed. Anyone who meditates on God becomes His." It is all a matter of meditation. If God does not discriminate between souls, why should those people who call themselves His devotees?
www.manavdharam.org

Enlightened Master

In other words, spiritual knowledge is not a matter of words, it is not intellectual knowledge. It is something spiritual, and to get it we have to take refuge in an enlightened guru. All the scriptures inspire and encourage us to find the enlightened master if we want to realize the true knowledge. Once you meet a realized soul you have a golden opportunity to accumulate such spiritual capital, and if you misuse this chance, what will happen? It will slip from your grasp. If you reach the gateway to God and then turn back, how unfortunate you are! You have let a golden chance slip through your fingers. And who knows if you will get the same chance again? Trying to evolve yourself spiritually is no easy job. How can you be sure that you can escape having to suffer the consequences of your actions. According to the scriptures there are 8.4 million species of life, and who knows what will become of you? Then how will you practice devotion? How will you elevate yourself? If you can't make good use of this life, it's useless to talk about your next life. In other words, you have an opportunity now.
www.manavdharam.org

Satsang

Satsang is such a holy thing that if you immerse yourself in it, you will definitely be liberated. But only if you dive in. Before you dive in the water, you take off your clothes. In the same way, we have clothed ourselves in confusion and impurities and wrong thinking. Until we take off these `clothes' how can we dive into the river of satsang?
www.manavdharam.org

Chance

Now you have the same chance as Arjuna had, as Hanuman had, as Dharmdas had, as Tulsidas had. We have the same chance now to enter the gates of spirituality, yet we let this golden opportunity slip through our fingers. So awaken the humanity within yourself and let its light illumine the whole world. It is easy to get trapped in social prejudice. It is very easy to fragment society and it is done very quickly, but will this bring peace to the world? No, It will only cause fighting and more fighting. 
www.manavdharam.org

Angulimal

When Angulimal the bandit saw Lord Buddha coming along the road, he was very happy. He said, "Now I have a victim. I'll kill you and cut off your fingers to add to my collection." Buddha replied, "Brother, you may kill me. I won't stop you, but first break off one leaf from the tree and give it to me." Angulimal reached up and broke off the whole branch, and gave it to Buddha saying, "Here, take it. I have fulfilled your last request." Buddha took one leaf and said, "Listen, I asked for only one leaf, and I've taken it, so put this branch back on the tree." Angulimal replied, "I can hardly stick the branch back on the tree." So Buddha explained, "If you can't put it back, then what right did you have to break it in the first place? I only asked for a single leaf." Angulimal was disturbed by this. He had never heard anything like it. All he had ever heard was "might is right." So when Buddha said to him, "If you can't give anything to anyone, what right do you have to take from them," his ideas completely changed and he surrendered to Buddha asking him for shelter. And that murderer became a monk. So we should think about this. We can easily hurt someone, but then so can a lion or a bull, so if we act like this we are no better than animals. In other words, if we can't give love, what right do we have to torment others? The enlightened souls gave this advice: once you have received love, spread it around; if you are honoured, then honour others. If you have received Knowledge, spread it to others.
www.manavdharam.org

24 Guru of Shree Dattatrey Bhagvan

Living knowledge

So why is a Spiritual Teacher necessary? When something is written down, many people study it. When you study something, you understand it according to your own IQ, according to your mental capacity. Words can be twisted and changed. If spiritual knowledge could be transcribed on paper it could get twisted and perverted. That is why Knowledge has to be given by a living soul to another living soul. Only a living Master can convey that Knowledge to another living soul, and that makes it a living Knowledge. It makes the Knowledge alive. If you transcribe anything into books, you make it dead.
www.manavdharam.org

Need of Spiritual Master

Vedas, Upanishads, Bible, Gita and Koran have been available to us for a long time now, so why does mankind still need saints and spiritual Masters? It seems to indicate that unless and until man can experience spiritual Knowledge for himself, there will always be a need for realized Teachers in this world. In other words, we need the help of enlightened Masters because we don't understand the deeper meaning of the scriptures. When you read scriptures, you shouldn't just read the words, but also go into their meaning. But you can understand the scriptures only when you have spiritual insight. That is why Christ said, "I have not come to destroy the scriptures, but to fulfil them."
www.manavdharam.org

Key of Secret Knowledge

Why is the Knowledge secret? Because cheap things are rarely pure. Goods sold in the market can be adulterated. Similarly, this Knowledge is kept secret so that it won't get contaminated or diluted, so that only a true seeker, a sincere aspirant, will find it. And the spiritual Master holds the key.
www.manavdharam.org

Ask Yourself

A saint can bring the devotee close to God. But people go on pilgrimages to shrines and then go home. Why do they put God so far away from themselves? If He is omnipresent, why go only to a certain place to see Him? If the Lord is omnipresent, if He is the indwelling Reality, why have we enshrined Him so far away? Why isn't He close to us? So saints give the spiritual knowledge which brings the devotee into the presence of God.
www.manavdharam.org

Practice

Why do we need a Guru? Just think about this - whatever learning or skills we have now, we learned through some kind of teacher. You need someone's help to learn how to read. Children are sent to school to learn something. Even when we started walking, we needed someone to hold our hand and guide us. When a child learns to ride a bicycle, someone has to hold it for him and show him how to keep his balance. He falls over several times, but through practice learns how to balance and then has no difficulty at all in riding. And when it comes to spirituality, to getting the Knowledge which leads to salvation, a Teacher is essential, too. The scriptures are quite firm on this point.
www.manavdharam.org

The Master

We can travel all over the country finding out by trial and error which road goes where, but why go to all this trouble? Simply ask someone the way! After all, life is not very long. It is not long enough to investigate all the possibilities. That is why the scriptures say, "Meditation starts from contemplating the Guru, worship starts at his feet. His word is the basis for controlling the mind and liberation comes through his grace." If you have the address of this house, you can reach here by asking along the way, but if you don't know the address, how can you ask for directions? People wonder, "Where should we fix our mind? On what should we meditate?" That is why you need the Master.
www.manavdharam.org

Key of Spiritual Knowledge

God is infinite and our senses are finite. How can something infinite be grasped by the finite? How can the ocean be poured into a jug? That is why Krishna told Arjuna, "I will give you the Knowledge which is itself infinite, in which the whole universe is contained." So Knowledge is something very great. You cannot enter the door to God without the key of Spiritual Knowledge.
www.manavdharam.org

Realized Soul

Not everyone who calls himself a guru can give you this. The true Master is not a dead weight; he is a living reality who can show you the Truth. He can pull you out of the swamp and put you on the right path. And not only you, but thousands. A magnet has the ability to attract not one, but countless iron filings. Its magnetic field draws all kinds of metallic things and they attach themselves to it. A spiritual man, a realized soul, is like a magnet. He attracts one and all - he doesn't discriminate against anyone. The magnet transfers its magnetism to the pieces of iron. St. Kabir attributes the same quality to the Guru: "Prostrate yourself to your Guru countless times, because he can make you like himself, just as the bhringi wasp turns other insects into its own shape." This wasp is supposed to carry off the larvae of other insects, enclose them in a cocoon and, by emitting a certain humming sound, transforms them into its own shape. The Guru is like this. Through the Knowledge he gives, he can make a disciple as enlightened as he is.
www.manavdharam.org

Dharamdas

Suppose you want to purchase an acre of sky. Can a real estate agent sell it to you? No, because the sky is not for sale. It has no boundaries. However, if you purchase an acre of land, the air above it is automatically yours, too. The Master is like that acre of land. When you find him, the infinite Knowledge, like the sky, becomes yours. The Master is the medium which makes the Unmanifest manifest. He turns an ordinary person into a spiritual being. He makes us realize what we really are and helps us let go of what we are not. There was a saint named Dharamdas who said, "I bow to the holy feet of my Guru, who revealed God's Name to me. Its sound awakened my mind which had been slumbering in ignorance for lives together. Darkness prevailed and nothing was visible until my Guru lit the lamp of Knowledge in me. His Nectar stilled all desires, which used to arise like poisonous waves in my heart. Deep and unfathomable is the river of life. Master, please sail my boat across it."
www.manavdharam.org

Ego

What is ego? Ego is that which separates me from the total. The feeling that I am a separate person with free will and responsible for my actions creates the sense of ego. The ego is the false (ME) created by the identification of consciousness with mind and body. The ego is therefore, the cause of bondage.
www.manavdharam.org

Ganga Dashehra Mahotsav

Ganga Dashehra Mahotsav ( 7 - 08 Jun 2014 ) 

 
  Timings : Evening 6-9 PM

 
  Programme Venue :-
   Subham Nursery, Opp. Oriental College,
   Raisen Road, Patel Nagar,
   Bhopal ( Madhya Pradesh )

  Contact :-
   Manav Utthan Sewa Samiti, Plot No.E 5-6,
   Opp. Oriental College, Raisen Road, Patel Nagar,
   Bhopal ( Madhya Pradesh )
   Tel. :- 09926966891, 09826246106

www.manavdharam.org 

Get rid of Ego

Every religion tells you to get rid of your ego, but the “one” to whom the religions tell to get rid of the ego— is the ego! The ego is told to get rid of the ego! But the ego is not going to commit suicide. Therefore the question really is, Who created the ego? That the ego has to be got rid of— agreed. But who created the ego? You didn’t create the ego. Where could the ego have come from? Where could it have come from except from the Source! Whether you call that Source Consciousness or Primal Energy or God or Awareness makes no difference, so long as you understand that it is the Source— One without a second.
www.manavdharam.org

I

So the ego has also come from the Source. That is why I call the ego Divine hypnosis. The hypnosis is— “I” consider myself a separate being with a sense of doership. Why has the Source created the hypnosis of separation, because without separation interhuman relationships won’t happen. It is only because of this separation that we have friendship and enmity, love and hate. All that arises only because each individual considers himself or herself a separate being. And without interhuman relationships life as we know it would not happen.
www.manavdharam.org

Sages

Remember, the Source having created this ego, or Divine hypnosis, is in the process of removing the hypnosis in a few cases, not in all cases. So the ego— the sense of separation, the Divine hypnosis, the sense of personal doership— basically has been destroyed by the Source in the case of a few body-mind organisms called sages.
www.manavdharam.org