What now… after Deepawali? 5 Steps to keep the lights on

What a great festival Deepawali is – festival of lights, celebration, and much more. Hopefully everyone had a chance to celebrate in the traditional ways.

WHAT NOW?  – What  happens now, with our lives … does the celebration stop, do the lights go out?  In the material sense we may not celebrate as much now, we may not light many lamps but….

do we need to stop celebrating who we truly are,  our chaitnnaya swarup, our connection to Satchidananda Parmatma?

We light up lamps and turn all the lights in our homes on Deepawali day.  The darkness of night is hardly noticed with these lights.

How about the darkness our mind – does that go away with exterior lighting?  Not a chance, only “Parmaatma Sri Ram, Param-Satya Prakaash Roop ..” [The Supreme Soul,  Sri Ram, is the matchless radiant and non-dual apotheosis (divine elevation) of Absolute Truth], as stated in Amritvani, can do that.

Can we know Him easily?  According to Saint-souls (Sant Mahatmas), for a vast majority of people it is not easy, rather it is extremely difficult.

5 STEPS TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON AND GROWING SPIRITUALLY:

The following steps we need to take for our spiritual growth and to continue celebrating our connection to Sri Ram.   (The following 5 steps are based on/adapted from Maharajji’s pravachan: Deepawali Ke Shubh Awsar Par):

1. Pray to Sri Ram that with the glory and power of His Name, may our inner darkness may be removed.
2. May our material possessions not prevent us from our spiritual progress.
3. Take a pledge that one day at a time, we will not not speak ill of anyone, not think negative about anyone, and do no physical harm to anyone.
4. To do the step #3 above we will need the blessings of our Gurujans.
5. Lead a simple and pure life.

Let us all continue to celebrate the essence of Deepawali every day.   May Lord Ram and our Gurujans lead our path.

How to surrender to God

According to Pujya Maharajji:

(The following is only an understanding of this sadhak, who needs more and more of this practice.  Corrections and comments are welcome.)

According to Pujya Maharajji, everyone says to surrender to God, but they do not tell us how to do it.  He shows us the way:   Paramatma (Supreme Soul) Sri Ram … This  body, wealth, intellect, and mind .. they are all yours,  all the actions done with mind, body, speech, and sense organs (due to lust, greed, anger, jealousy, etc.) , teri vastu hai  – yours (English?)… Ram, Ram, Ram, Ram.

Shree Swamiji Maharaj clarifies about God and how to surrender to God in Amritvani:

SARVA SHAKTIMATE PARMAATMANE SRI RAMAAYA NAMAHA (Amritvani can be downloaded from http://www.shreeramsharnam.org/) –

I bow before Sri Ram, who is vested with all powers!

I bow before the source and reservoir of all powers!

I bow and seek shelter with the Supreme Soul, Sri Ram!

I dedicate and surrender myself unto Him!

‘Parmaatmaa’: The Supreme soul.

Kartavya Buddhi – Right actions using our intellect

Shree Swamiji Maharaj and our Gurujans remind us that we (Sadhaks) are to take actions with Kartavya Buddhi or using our intellect and doing our duties. Sometimes we do not feel like taking care of our health, do exercise, do spiritual practice of reciting amritvani, jap, or dhyan, etc.

While we may not feel like it or feel lazy we must take care of our physical, mental, and spiritual health. That is our duty. It seems as if our loving Gurujans, saint-souls have come here on earth again and again us and shown us the way. Our Gurujans have done “Marg Darshan” in every Sadhana Satsang.

Now it is up to us to seek Shree Rams’ blessings and the blessings of Swamiji Maharaj to do our duty while immersed in Ram Naam.

There is a beautiful dhun sung by Pujya Dr. Vishwa Mitter Ji Maharaj in the open Sadhana Satsang in USA in May, 2009 which goes as follows:

Baba meri raksha karna .. Baba meri raksha karna.

Baba meri banh pakarna … Baba meri banh pakarna.

Baba mujhe bhakti dena … Baba mujhe bhakti dena.

Baba mujhe darshan dena … Baba mujhe darshan dena.

(Baba protect me ….. Baba hold my arm …. Baba give me devotion …. Baba give me darshan – vision and blessing)

Divine Mother

Recently Pujya Maharajji  mentioned (in USA Open Satsang) that we don’t get close to God or Divine Mother because .. “Shayad Hamne Dusri Ma Kar Lee Hai” (Maybe we have adapted another Mother).

A few days after I heard It seems as if Maharajji was saying that we  bow, and say namaskar to Maya … “Dusri Ma”  but not to Divine Mother , at least not with all of our being.  Our mind and intellect are still in the world and want the world, more than God.

Shree Swamiji Maharaj also says in Amritvani:

Sarva Shaktimate Parmaatmane Sri Ramaaya Namaha. (I bow before Sri Ram who is vested with all powers … source and reservoir of all powers… seek shelter with the Supreme Soul … dedicate and surreder myself unto Him!)

Also in the end of Amritvani we read and hear:

… Ramaaya Namaha, Sri Ramaaya Namaha.

So let us not do Maya Namaah, instead follow our Gurujans and do Sri Ramaaya Namah.

(Let us not get caught up in Maya but as our Gurujans teach us to bow and seek shelter in Lord Ma, Divine Mother, Supreme Soul Sri Ram only then with the Grace of our Gurujans and Sri Ram we can be liberated).

Power of Ram Naam and blessings of our Gurujans

Through the grace of our Pujya Gurudev we have been blessed with Ram Naam.  While we read in Amritvani that Parmaatma Sri Ram is all powerful .. omnipotent. We are connected to the source and reservoir of all powers through Ram Naam.

Then why do we have a weak mind?  Why are we not able to use our intellect to take care of our responsibilites and do benevolent actions?

Is it because we do not have total faith in God or do we not yet totally believe what our Gurujans have said? … or is it something else?

Regardless of whether we know the answers to these questions or not, we can at least pay close attention to what Maharajji says,”We have Ram in us but it is lying dormant”  – so  we must wake up this power in us by Jap, Simran, and Dhyan. And with the strength we gain from our practice we can follow the path shown to us with renewed determination and resolve.

Maharajji explains (in USA Open Satsang) that in Amritvani it is mentioned:

Ram-Ram Bhaj Kar Sri Ram

Kariye Nitya Hee Uttam Kaam

(and not …. Kariye Nitya Hee Uttam Kaam,  Ram-Ram Bhaj Kar Sri Ram)

So as he is guiding us, let us keep Ram Naam in the forefront and do the benevolent actions and take care of our duties and responsibilities and be ready to recieve maximum benefit of Ram Kripa.

Once again Maharajji says be patient and never lose hope.

Jai Jai Ram

Kis Ram ka hum jap aur dhyan karte hain

I remember one time reading in Pravachan Piyush that Shree Swamiji Maharaj ne haath upar kar ke ghuma kar kaha (something to the effect) “Ram-Naam teeno lok mein gunj raha hai, aur spashat dikhayi de raha hai ki kalyaan kar raha hai” .

Ham uss Ram ka jap aur dhyaan karte hain jisk gun Shree Swamiji Mharaj aur bahut Sant logo ne gaaye hain. Vakyaa hi Shree Swamiji Maharaj apne grantho mein rahate hain aur jaise ki Gurujan bataate hain weh hamare saath hamesha hain – hamari sahayata aur suraksha kar rahe hain.

Kayee logo ne jin-hone Ram Naam ki diksha abhi tak nahin lee, woh bhi bataate hain ki kaise unka jeevan sudhar raha hai Ram-Ram karne se. Ek ne kaha ki uski tension kam ho rahi hai aur thori thori shanti ka anubahav ho raha hai…. ek aur ne kaha ki usko Ram ki dhwani sunayi di aur woh apne aap hi Ram-Ram bolne lag gaya. Yeh hai Ram ki mahima !

Hum tau bahut bhagyashaali hain ki hamein Ram-Naam ka daan mila hai. Hum bhi isska adhik se adhik laabh le, apna jeevan sudharane mein aur Ram Kripa ka maange Ram-Naam ka maha daan.

The connection between the above messages are clear. Now each one of us has to have more faith and do our practice as shown by our Gurujans.