30 September 2014

Death

Death will come unexpectedly without warning or at a pre-arranged time and will take you from your bed. The rest of your family will sleep while you are being separated from them. Therefore our saints say, "You may have unlimited wealth and your kingdom may cover the world, but what is the use of it when you have to die anyway?"
www.manavdharam.org

29 September 2014

Living Teacher

What is our true religion? How can we get peace? You should think about it. We need a living leader to govern us; we need a living doctor to cure our diseases; in studies we need a living teacher; so why do we want a dead saint or a dead spiritual master? He must also be alive. You can ask a living teacher questions. In the scriptures it says that three types of people must be alive at the time: doctors, the head of government, and the spiritual master.
www.manavdharam.org

28 September 2014

Realized Soul

You can turn the pages of history upside down, but that knowledge of the soul is not in them. Who has the spiritual knowledge? The realized souls have it. From turning the pages of history you will increase your reverence towards the great souls, you will desire to know, but you need a living realized soul to eliminate the restlessness of your mind. The subtle mind can only be controlled by a subtle instrument. People are becoming restless. Do you know how to combine all humanity into the form of one garland?  See how many types of flowers there are in this garland. On this thread the gardener has made a beautiful garland. He has offered this garland to please his Lord. This is the beauty of the gardener and the miracle of his talent. Diverse flowers can be threaded into the form of a beautiful garland, but the thread within them is one. The flowers on it are different but the thread is one. It runs through them in a subtle form. Similarly, saints impart the knowledge of spirituality that makes all into one.
www.manavdharam.org

27 September 2014

Religion

Religion never teaches conflict among yourselves. Religion never teaches you to feel animosity towards each other. Religion teaches you to love. When the Lord came to the ashram of Bhilni, he wept for her. The same Lord's arrows made a sieve out of the heart of the devil Ravana and destroyed him. The same Lord gave unfathomable love to his cherished devotees. That's the grace of great souls. Remember them.
www.manavdharam.org

26 September 2014

Meditate

Mankind is going to reach such an evil stage that rivers of blood will flow in this world. That day is not far off. Our minds have become so powerful that they don't like to bow to anyone. Ravana said, "Because of my egotistical personality I didn't meditate, therefore my mind was out of control." Only in the primordial essence is there peace. If you cry "Water, water," your thirst will not be quenched. You should go to the water, bend down and drink it, and then your thirst will be quenched.
www.manavdharam.org

25 September 2014

Story

Once a parrot requested a devotee, "Since you go to visit your Guru Maharaj Ji nearly every day, could you please do me a favor and ask him on my behalf to solve my problem? My existence is confined to this cage. I understand your Guru Maharaj Ji has the potential to help anyone break away from bondage, so can he help me get out of this cage?" Accordingly, as soon as the opportunity arose, the devotee put the parrot's plea before Guru Maharaj Ji. As soon as Maharaj Ji heard the question, he fainted on the floor.

On the way home, the devotee was regretting his foolishness in asking a question which resulted in Maharaj Ji's collapse. He then stopped at the cage and with great disappointment told the parrot, "Your question remains unanswered as Maharaj Ji fainted as soon as he heard it." However, the parrot was delighted to hear this, as it knew that mysterious are the words of a Perfect Master. It found its answer in Guru Maharaj Ji's behaviour. The parrot did exactly the same by lying on the floor the cage and pretending to be dead. Its owner returned a few minutes later, presumed the bird to be dead and threw it away. The parrot merrily flew away thanking Guru Maharaj Ji from the depths of its heart. That is why our scriptures are filled with praise for the Satguru who liberates us from the bonds of maya and the cycle of birth and death.
www.manavdharam.org

24 September 2014

Ramcharitamanas

Goswami Tulsidas wrote in the Ramcharitamanas, "I bow to the lotus feet of Satguru who is the ocean of grace and God in human form, whose words act like the sun in the heart of a devotee". We are talking about spiritual knowledge, the message of humanitarianism is being given. We must apply that message to our lives and follow it. The knowledge that we have received should be reflected in our lives.
www.manavdharam.org

23 September 2014

Remember the Holy Name

A farmer gave a bag of seeds to each of his sons and said, "Keep these safe." One son kept the bag in a locker. The second son thought that if the bag was kept in the locker, the seeds would rot, or be eaten by insects. So he ploughed an entire field and sowed all the seeds. After some time, the farmer called both his sons and asked them to give the seeds back. The first son went inside the house, opened the locker, took out the seeds and put them in front of his father. The farmer opened the bag and saw that all the seeds had turned to dust. The farmer asked his second son to bring his seeds. He said, "Father, I need a bullock-cart to bring those seeds, because I sowed them in the field. Then I harvested a crop and sowed more seeds. In this way they kept on multiplying." Similarly, if we sow spiritual knowledge in our lives it will multiply over time, it will keep on increasing. If we keep it in a locker, it will not grow, it will not make our lives meaningful. That is why devotees who have acquired the knowledge should sow it in their lives. Remember the Holy Name, because, as Guru Nanak said, "Kaliyuga has come, Kaliyuga has come, remember the Name, remember the Name."
www.manavdharam.org

22 September 2014

Kaliyuga

We have to remember the True Name of God to be protected from the ill-effects of Kaliyuga. Only remembering the Holy Name can do this. A boat on the water protects us from drowning. Similarly, the Holy Name is also a boat, which keeps us from being caught up in the whirlpool of the mundane world. The effect of materialism doesn't trouble a devotee.
www.manavdharam.org

21 September 2014

Shanidev

There is a story that once Shanidev (Saturn) said, "During the 7½ and 2½ year periods when I am in control, my glance ruins everyone on whom it befalls." Hanuman replied defiantly, "Brother! You cannot disturb the devotees of my Lord even the slightest." Then and there Shanidev and Hanuman had a fight to decide who is more powerful i.e. the god or the devotee. At the end of the brawl, Shanidev lost the bout. He said, "Hanumanji, I accept defeat, I cannot affect those who are devoted to God." Then he begged Hanuman to spare him and also asked for some oil to massage his bruised body. That is how the custom of offering oil to Shanidev began.
www.manavdharam.org

20 September 2014

Holy Name

Even death cannot harm those who meditate and remember the Lord. Hanumanji constantly meditated on the Holy Name of God. The Ramcharitmanas says, "By constant meditation Hanumanji was able to understand the Power of the Holy Name and also Lord Rama, by which he gained control over the Supreme Lord." Remembrance of Lord has immense strength. If we remember the Almighty in our lives then our progress is definite. Regarding meditation, our saints said, "Engage consciousness in remembrance, do not speak. Close the outer doors and open the doors leading inside." Only when we become introverted will our lives become meaningful. That is why it is said, "It is not a matter of discussion but of actual experience: the wedding guests are forgotten as soon as the groom and the bride meet." It is said that this is not a matter of discussion or of reading and writing. This is matter of realizing God by seeing Him face to face. Saint Kabir Das said, "How can your and my mind become one? What I say is what I experience and see whilst what you say is based on hearsay and on what you read. I recommend you wake up and let us see how your and my mind can achieve the same wavelength."
www.manavdharam.org

19 September 2014

Satsang

Saints tell us to directly see the Lord. Seeing the River Ganges and Haridwar on a map is not the same as taking a dip in the Ganges or going to Haridwar. We read the description of the name of Almighty God in scriptures and read prayers to the Lord. But with this we cannot realize God. That is why I tell you all that to make our lives meaningful we must receive the Knowledge.This human form is not available again and again. It is said in Ramcharitmanas, "Today I am grateful and really grateful in spite of being lowly in every respect _ regarding me as His own, Rama has blessed me with the company of saints. It is only by the blessings of Almighty God that one gets the company of saints who initiate the aspirant on the path of meeting the Lord. The company of saints is available only if one is very fortunate.
www.manavdharam.org

18 September 2014

Opportunity

"The source of goodness neutralizes evil. Lord Shiva together with Uma remembers the Name which is the source of all well-being and the antidote to evil." That is why we should be devoted to Almighty Lord. Such a golden opportunity is not available again and again. We should actively avail ourselves of this opportunity.
www.manavdharam.org

17 September 2014

Six Things

Lord Rama was about to be crowned but instead he was exiled. Bharat asked Guru Vashishta Maharaj, "What kind of auspicious time has been chosen? Lord Rama has been exiled instead of being crowned!" Vashishta Maharaj replied, "Bharat, nobody can escape what is destined to happen. Loss & gain, life & death and fame & disrepute are in the hands of God exclusively." These six things are beyond man's control.
www.manavdharam.org

16 September 2014

Hidden Meaning

Nobody wants loss but it still occurs; nobody wants death, but it is inevitable and beyond man's choice. Same is the case with achieving fame or recognition. If we study this verse carefully, then the hidden meaning of Ramcharitmanas is understood. To whom did the loss occur? To the people of Ayodhya from where Lord Rama was exiled. And who gained? Those saints and sages who were meditating in the woods, those who were meditating in the caves and waiting for the darshan of the Lord. Also Bhilni, who used to sweep the path daily waiting for the Lord. When and how did the Lord oblige her? As a rule, devotees eat the `prasad' given by God but in case of Bhilni, Lord Rama ate fruit which she had already tasted.
www.manavdharam.org

15 September 2014

Think

What you think about expands into action. The more conscious you become of the ways you use your mind, the more you will be able to leave behind toxic ways of thinking. When you know that your thoughts expand into action, you become very careful about what you think because you know that your thoughts literally poison your life.
www.manavdharam.org

14 September 2014

Keys to Higher Awareness

Purifying your thoughts is a variation on the theme of higher awareness. So you might want to start with a review of the keys to higher awareness. The first three— banishing doubt, cultivating the witness and shutting down inner dialogue— are essential to taming the ego and beginning to recognize and change toxicity to purity.
www.manavdharam.org

13 September 2014

Free Life

Toxic thinking is a habit of using your mind as an interpreter. Let go of that habit of constant interpretation and begin to live your life free of ego’s comments. Your willingness to confront the ways that you have been thinking is your opening to the purification process. The ability to suspend judgment will allow you to reach the higher ground and experience the richer awareness that goes with the triumph of the higher self over the ego.
www.manavdharam.org

12 September 2014

Toxic Thoughts

Just knowing that you can choose less toxic thoughts is an important insight. Many people have never had this insight. Consequently, they spend their entire lives defending the position that their thoughts are unchangeable. You, on your sacred path, know better. You know that who you are is something grander than the thoughts you think and more divine than the body where the thoughts occur. Your thoughts and behaviors are habits. The ways that you have allowed your inner world to work are habits resulting from your experience of your life, including the beliefs that you’ve received from all the well meaning people who taught you about life. To purify your thinking and make your mind work exactly as you want it to be willing to examine these habits of thought. Then you will begin the purifying process and see the opening to your sacred self.
www.manavdharam.org

11 September 2014

Apara & Para Vidya

Man is essentially spirit, or in other words, consciousness. To know consciousness, to experience it and to realize it is the path of spiritual knowledge. Knowledge has two aspects- material and spiritual. In the material domain it is called 'Apara Vidya' and pertains to all physical and social sciences. In the spiritual domain it is called 'Para Vidya' and pertains to self-realization, the experience of the soul. Science of soul itself implies the science of universal life. The science of the spirit is a sovereign science, a sovereign secret, imperishable, supremely holy, most excellent, directly enjoyable, full of virtues and very easy to practice. It is itself both the means and the end - the immediate and the ultimate. It is all comprehensive and all-inclusive, and knowing it means nothing remains to be known. It is the saturation of the self, the merging of the individual self with the Cosmic Self. It cannot be achieved through senses, mind or intellect. It is experienced by the self through the self by the grace of the realized Master. Knowledge is the means, and Knowledge also is the destination. In Divine Knowledge there must be no duality. It is just one point.
www.manavdharam.org

10 September 2014

Knowledge

"The knowledge of God is the purest thing on earth. By receiving that Knowledge, by coming in contact with the Knowledge we can also become pure. 'People say, 'Meditate on God.' How can you meditate on God without knowing God? First have Knowledge of God.
www.manavdharam.org

09 September 2014

Holy Knowledge

'By this Holy Knowledge a Buddhist can know what the Buddha taught, a Christian can know what Christ taught, a Moslem can know what Mohammed taught, a Hindu can know what Krishna and Rama taught, because this is the empirical, this is the essence. An iron piece becomes a magnet by contact with a magnet, and similarly, when a person's consciousness comes in contact with this Knowledge, the person becomes divine. The difference between a magnet and a simple piece of iron is the arrangements and settings of the molecules. In a magnet, all the molecules are aligned in one direction while in the piece of iron they have haphazard patterns. Similarly, the difference between a person who meditates on Knowledge and a man who doesn't is that the consciousness of the former is single-pointed while in the latter it is diffused and scattered.
www.manavdharam.org

08 September 2014

Practice

'This Knowledge is to be practiced. This is the means to attain God, and this is God. This is the seed that we have to grow, this is the seed that we have to sow, and this is the crop that we have to harvest.
www.manavdharam.org

07 September 2014

No Darkness

'Ignorance is merely the absence of knowledge. There is no such thing as darkness; the absence of light is darkness. Then there is the multiplicity of shapes and forms which is nothing but the vicious circle of illusion. Duality of perception ends only after one receives Knowledge.
www.manavdharam.org

06 September 2014

'Knowledge is the beginning of a new life. Like a snake shedding its skin, you will shed the old miseries and get a fresh outlook." www.manavdharam.org

05 September 2014

Dark Age

The main thing we teach in satsang is to meditate on the Holy Name of God. The way of the saints begins from here. There is no doubt about what they have said. No saint has ever said to follow any path, then leave it to follow another. They taught, "The One Way will give you everything." Trying to water the leaves of a tree is useless, but if you water its roots the water, as you know, will reach every part of the tree. This is why Guru Nanak said, "It's the Dark Age, so remember the Name!" Tulsidas said quite confidently, "In this present Age the only support is the Holy Name, and by remembering it you can be liberated." People follow one sect after another and that is why they don't get anywhere. It is written in the scriptures that whatever a person thinks about with his dying breath determines what happens to him thereafter. That is why we tell you to meditate, to remember the Name, because whatever you think about all your life is what you'll think about as you die. A lot of people think that they will meditate at the end of their life and be liberated. But will that be possible?
www.manavdharam.org

04 September 2014

Realize

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna discusses the various ways in which people worship. He divides them into categories. He says that those who worship spirits and elementals will go to the spirits and elements. Those who worship ancestors will go to the ancestors. Those who worship deities go to deities. Then he says, "Those who have Knowledge realize that I am the Giver of all.
www.manavdharam.org

03 September 2014

Meditate

The student who has studied all year is able to apply what he has learnt at examination time, whereas the student who hasn't studied cannot answer the questions. Nowadays students are allowed to take their books into the examination room, but that doesn't help the one who hasn't studied but hopes to scrape through by copying. The questions are framed in such a way that he won't know which part of the book to copy from. In other words, only students who have studied will pass. In the same way, the devotee who meditates all his life will be able to meditate when he dies, because meditation and devotion will have become his very nature. Remembering the Holy Name will have become second nature to him. That is why Kabir was able to say, "God remembers me while I relax."
www.manavdharam.org

02 September 2014

Tulsidas

Tulsidas used to water a certain tree and this pleased the spirit which lived in that tree. One day the spirit appeared to him and offered to give him anything he wanted. Tulsidas wasn't interested in anything else except Lord Rama, so he asked the spirit to show him Rama. The spirit replied, "I can't do that. If I could, I'd see Him myself and be freed from this spirit-form." That is why it is said in the Ramayana, "The soul which receives a human body is extremely fortunate."
www.manavdharam.org

01 September 2014

Human Life

We think that animals must be happy. We see a dog riding along in a car and we think that it is being very well looked-after. But you haven't seen a dog cooking its own food, have you? Cows give milk but you won't see a cow cooking milk-pudding. They have to eat whatever they are given. Theirs is a passive existence. A human life, on the other hand, is an active existence. People can create karmas. We can see how much humanity has achieved. We read in the Ramayana that Ravana made all the deities serve him, and this surprises us. But today, due to science, we can push a button and turn on a fan - we have conjured up the `wind-god'! We push a button and on goes the heater - we have invoked the `fire-god'! We push a button to turn on the light — we have invoked the `sun-god'! So we can see how much mankind has accomplished. You don't have to be a bird to fly - now we have aeroplanes! You don't have to become an elephant to do heavy work - we have bulldozers which can do the work of an elephant. In other words, people can do actions and suffer or enjoy the consequences of action, too. Really, human beings have so much potential. We are a bundle of energies, we have so much power. But we have turned our attention outwards and are just racing. We have done so much, but we haven't been able to go within ourselves, and this is why we lack peace.
www.manavdharam.org