New Year Message from Swami Mukundananda.

Divine Souls, 

It was at the same time last year that we looked upon the 365 days of 2015 in front of us with aspiration and resolve. The year 2015 has now moved down memory lane, and a new set of twelve months is at our doorstep, with fresh promise of opportunity and possibilities. 

Although there is no particular reason to differentiate between days—they are all alike—yet the new year day offers a natural cutoff for releasing the past and re-envisioning the future. From the past, we take invaluable lessons learnt. For the future, we hope and aspire. Then, equipped with wisdom and inspiration, we enrich the quality of life we lead in the present. That is the journey of life— from moment to moment, continuously learning, improving, and growing. As tiny parts of God, we naturally seek to be pure and perfect like him, and we can only rest contented when we reach the goal that God indelibly inked in the blueprint of our personality when he created us at the beginning of eternity. 

So let us utilize the opportunity afforded by the first day of the new year to once again rededicate ourselves at the lotus feet of God and Guru. Let us resolve to realize even more deeply the immense blessings we have received. Filled with gratitude to the Lord, may we soak our hearts in the sweet nectar of his devotion. Let us leave behind the darkness of ignorance as we walk towards the light of truth, divine love, and inner beauty. May we embrace sacrifice, austerity, service, prayer, and, surrender as the bedrocks of our life. May we have faith in the torrents of grace that await us when we learn the secret of selfless love. Let us hope, aspire, resolve, and strive for the highest goal, for that is our soul-nature. And may we “stop not till the goal is reached.”

Let us show our love for Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj by sincerely implementing his every instruction and walking the path he compassionately revealed to us. 

Best wishes for the New Year 2016!!! 

Your ever well-wisher, 

Swami Mukundananda 

Winning the battle against the Mind!

At times when we sit to work on an important piece of our assignment, we realize that just when we are trying to focus our mind on a particular subject; it throws up all kinds of thoughts. Retaining our focus on an important subject turns into a battle with the mind. The untamed mind can cost us dearly in terms of lack of creativity, increased stress, loss of memory and a feeling of discontentment.  To win our battle against the restless mind requires us to firstly understand our mind. The mind is a subtle machine that constantly generates thoughts. These thoughts shape our personality and our physical appearance. We look at someone and say, "He seems to be very aggressive", or "She appears to be tensed" etc. The nature of thoughts in a person's mind reflects in the personality and physical appearance. No wonder, when we look at a Saint, we see a very calm and composed personality. At present our mind is scattered. Just as, if the channel button of television set is spoilt, the channels keep changing sporadically. Similarly our mind keeps flipping from topic to topic and hence we are unable to derive the maximum benefit out of its potential. If only we could channelize the thoughts in our mind and learn to concentrate it, we could increase the extent to which we are able to utilize its potential. This is where meditation has given us the power to harness the latent potential of our mind.  Meditation techniques have been described in the ancient scriptures and passed down numerous generations. Simply put, "Meditation is the practice to persistently direct our thoughts to one focal point". Some practitioners focus on the breath, others on the eyebrow centre, others on the psychic centres in the spinal cord, etc. In order to tame the mind through meditation, it requires repeated practice, akin to physical practice. Initially a person may find it difficult to focus the mind for even two minutes, but with repeated practice a person can go on to practice meditation for hours at a stretch. All that one needs to do is make a firm resolve to discipline the mind. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj says,               "man ko māno śhatru usaki, sunahu jani kachhu pyāre" "Declare war on your mind. Do the opposite of what it says, and soon it will stop bothering you." Instructions of doing Meditation:- Select a quiet and clean place to meditate, which is free from distractions. Sit in a comfortable meditative posture.  Ensure that your back is upright. Close your eyes and relax your body. Have a slight smile on your face. Keep your eyes closed till the end of this meditation exercise. As you listen to the meditation, create the same type of feeling in your mind. Slowly and steadily breadth in and breathe out. Concentrate on your breathing rhythm.

20 steps to Knowledge.

Humbleness.

When we become proud of the attributes of our individual field, such as beauty, intellect, talent, strength, etc. we forget that God has given all these attributes to us. Pride thus results in distancing our consciousness from God. It is a big obstacle on the path of self-realization since it contaminates the entire field by affecting the qualities of the mind and intellect.

Freedom from hypocrisy.

The hypocrite develops an artificial external personality. A person is defective from inside, but creates a facade of virtuosity on the outside. Unfortunately, the external display of virtues is skin-deep and hollow.

Non-violence.

The cultivation of knowledge requires respect for all living beings. This requires the practice of non-violence. Hence the scriptures state: ātmanaḥ pratikūlāni pareśhāṁ na samācharet “If you dislike a certain behavior from others, do not behave with them in that manner yourself.”

 

Forgiveness.

It is freedom from ill will even toward those who have harmed one. Actually, harboring ill will harms oneself more than the other. By practicing forgiveness. person of discrimination releases the negativities in the mind and purifies it.

 

Simplicity.

It is straightforwardness in thought, speech, and action. Straightforwardness in thought includes absence of deceit, envy, crookedness, etc. Straightforwardness in speech includes absence of taunt, censure, gossip, ornamentation, etc. Straightforwardness in action includes plainness in living, forthrightness in behavior, etc.

 

Service of the Guru.

Spiritual knowledge is received from the Guru. This imparting of divine knowledge requires the disciple to have an attitude of dedication and devotion toward the Guru. By serving the Guru, the disciple develops humbleness and commitment that enables the Guru to impart knowledge. Thus, Shree Krishna explained to Arjun in verse 4.34: “Learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him with reverence and render service unto him. Such an enlightened saint can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.”

 

Cleanliness of body and mind.

Purity should be both internal and external. The Śhāṇdilya Upaniṣhad states: śhauchaṁ nāma dwividhaṁ-bāhyamāntaraṁ cheti (1.1) “There are two types of cleanliness—internal and external.” External cleanliness is “The material mind is dirty since endless lifetimes. Purify it in the fire of longing for God, while practicing utmost humility.”

 

Steadfastness.

Self-knowledge and God-realization are not goals that are attainable in a day. Steadfastness is the persistence to remain on the path until the goal is reached. The scriptures state: charaivaite charaivate, charan vai madhu vindati “Keep moving forward. Keep moving forward. Those who do not give up will get the honey at the end.”

 

Self-control.

It is the restraint of the mind and the senses from running after mundane pleasures that dirty the mind and intellect. Self-control prevents the dissipation of the personality through indulgence.

 

Dispassion toward the objects of the senses.

It is a stage higher than the self-control mentioned above, in which we restrain ourselves by force. Dispassion means a lack of taste for sense pleasures that are obstacles on the path of God-realization.

 

Absence of egotism.

Egotism is the conscious awareness of “I,” “me,” and “mine.” This is classified as nescience because it is at the bodily level, arising out of the identification of the self with the body. It is also called the aham chetanā (pride arising out of the sense of self ). All mystics emphatically declare that to invite God into our hearts, we must get rid of the pride of the self.

jaba maiṅ thā taba hari nathīṅ, ab hari hai, maiṅ nāhīṅ
prem galī ati sankarī, yā meṅ dwe na samāhīṅ (Saint Kabir)

“When ‘I’ existed, God was not there; now God exists and ‘I’ do not. The path of divine love is very narrow; it cannot accommodate both ‘I’ and God.”
In the path of jñāna yog and aṣhṭāṅg yog, there are elaborate sādhanās for getting rid of the aham chetanā. But in the path of bhakti yog, it gets eliminated very simply. We add dās (servant) in front of aham (the sense of self ), making it dāsoham (I am the servant of God). Now the “I” no longer remains harmful and self-consciousness is replaced by God-consciousness.

 

Keeping in mind the evils of birth, disease, old-age and death.

If the intellect is undecided about what is more important—material enhancement or spiritual wealth—then it becomes difficult to develop the strong will required for acquiring knowledge of the self. But when the intellect is convinced about the unattractiveness of the world, it becomes firm in its resolve. To get this firmness, we should constantly contemplate about the miseries that are an inseparable part of life in the material world. This is what set the Buddha on the spiritual path. He saw a sick person, and thought, “O there is sickness in the world. I will also have to fall sick one day.” Then he saw an old person, and thought, “There is also old age. This means that I will also become old one day.” After that, he saw a dead person, and realized, “This is also a part of existence. It means that I too will have to die one day.” The Buddha’s intellect was so perceptive that one exposure to these facts of life made him renounce worldly existence. Since we do not have such decisive intellects, we must repeatedly contemplate on these facts to allow the unattractiveness of the world to sink in.

 

Non-attachment.

It means dispassion toward the world. We have only one mind and if we wish to engage it in pursuing spiritual goals, we have to detach it from material objects and persons. The sādhak replaces worldly attachment with love and attachment toward God.

 

Absence of clinging to spouse, children, home, and so on.

These are areas where the mind easily becomes attached. In bodily thinking, one spontaneously identifies with the family and home as “mine.” Thus, they linger upon the mind more often and attachment to them shackles the mind to material consciousness. Attachment causes expectations of the kind of behavior we want from family members, and when these expectations are not met, it leads to mental anguish. Also inevitably, there is separation from the family, either temporarily, if they go to another place, or permanently, if they die. All these experiences and their apprehensions begin to weigh heavily upon the mind and drag it away from God. Hence, if we seek immortal bliss, we must practice prudence while interacting with the spouse, child, and home, to prevent the mind from become entangled. We must do our duty toward them, without attachment, as a nurse does her duty in the hospital, or as a teacher does her duty toward her students in the school.

 

Even-mindedness amidst desired and undesired events in life.

Pleasurable and painful events come without invitation, just as the night and the day. That is life. To rise above these dualities, we must learn to enhance our spiritual strength through detachment toward the world. We must develop the ability to remain unperturbed by life’s reversals and also not get carried away with the euphoria of success.

 

Constant and exclusive devotion toward me.

Mere detachment means that the mind is not going in the negative direction. But life is more than merely preventing the undesirable. Life is about engaging in the desirable. The desirable goal of life is to consecrate it at the lotus feet of God. Therefore, Shree Krishna has highlighted it here.

 

Inclination for solitary places.

Unlike worldly people, devotees are not driven by the need for company to overcome feelings of loneliness. They naturally prefer solitude that enables them to engage their mind in communion with God. Hence, they are naturally inclined to choosing solitary places, where they are able to more deeply absorb themselves in devotional thoughts.

 

Aversion for mundane society.

The sign of a materialistic mind is that it finds pleasure in talks about worldly people and worldly affairs. One who is cultivating divine consciousness develops a natural distaste for these activities, and thus avoids mundane society. At the same time, if it is necessary to participate in it for the sake of service to God, the devotee accepts it and develops the strength to remain mentally unaffected by it.

 

Constancy in spiritual knowledge.

To theoretically know something is not enough. One may know that anger is a bad thing but may still give vent to it repeatedly. We have to learn to practically implement spiritual knowledge in our lives. This does not happen by hearing profound truths just once. After hearing them, we must repeatedly contemplate upon them. Such mulling over the divine truths is the constancy in spiritual knowledge that Shree Krishna is talking about.

 

Philosophical pursuit of the Absolute Truth.

Even animals engage in the bodily activities of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. However, God has especially blessed the human form with the faculty of knowledge. This is not to enable us to engage in bodily activities in a deluxe way, but for us to contemplate upon the questions:
“Who am I? Why am I here? What is my goal in life? How was this world created? What is my connection with the Creator? How will I fulfill my purpose in life?” This philosophic pursuit of the truth sublimates our thinking above the animalistic level and brings us to hear and read about the divine science of God-realization.
All the virtues, habits, behaviors, and attitudes described above lead to the growth of wisdom and knowledge. The opposite of these are vanity, hypocrisy, violence, vengeance, duplicity, disrespect for the Guru, uncleanliness of body and mind, unsteadiness, lack of self-control, longing for sense objects, conceit, entanglement in spouse, children, home, etc. Such dispositions cripple the development self-knowledge. Thus, Shree Krishna calls them ignorance and darkness.

Source: Bhagavad Gita – The Song of God by Swami Mukundananda

Is Worldly Prosperity a Sign of God's Grace?

If you believe this, that when you experience a material loss, you may also feel you have lost God's grace and He has become unfavorable towards you. This inconsistent attitude causes you to fluctuate between being faithful and faithless.Every soul is bound by his karmic destiny or prarabdh, which is the outcome of his past lives' good and bad actions. 

Whatever material prosperity we are destined to receive is pre-determined by the immutable law of karma.A lack of worldly possessions is truly a sign of God's grace. When someone has less, he has less pride, and it is easier for him to turn towards God.

There is an age old saying: "When you are ready the teacher will appear.” What is that "readiness" required for the Guru to appear?

The Vedic scriptures have repeatedly instructed the need to surrender to a Guru, for attaining God.  However, the question that stumps a seeker is how to find a true Guru. 

   Fortunately, God helps the sincere seeker in this task.  He is seated in everyone’s heart, and so when He sees that we are ready, He not only brings us in contact with a genuine Guru, but also creates our faith towards the Guru by inspiring us with the feeling, “Yes!  This is the personality whom I was searching for.”  Without this inspiration that comes so strongly from within, we may stand before the Guru, and yet not recognize him as a true Saint.  Or we may recognize his Divinity, but feel no motivation to surrender to him.  But when God bestows His Grace, He inspires us and creates strong faith in the Guru.  Hence, it is said that when God sees we are ready, we find our Spiritual Master.

   Here, readiness means a sincere aspiration to attain God.  We must firmly decide that our goal is God-realization, and we must desire it intensely.  When God sees this readiness in any soul, He creates our connection with the Guru. 

   Often people search for spiritual teachers, but their desire for God is mixed with material aspirations.  In accordance with their motive, their faith is created in unauthentic spiritual teachers who pander to their material desires.  After many years, such seekers realize that their guru was not perfect, and they feel they have been cheated.  But it was their own insincere aspiration that was to blame for their developing faith in a wrong personality.

   Hence, the best way to find a genuine Spiritual Master is to develop and intense yearning for God.  When He sees this “readiness” in our heart, He will arrange for us to meet our teacher.

What is the special power in the Guru mantra that is given in the ear of the disciple at the time of deeksha (initiation)? Is it compulsory to receive a mantra for our devotion? Why are we told to keep it a secret and what will happen if we tell our Guru mantra to friends?

True deeksha is not merely the giving of a mantra in the ear of the disciple.  True deeksha means to give the Divine power of God to the disciple.  It should result in liberation from Maya, attainment of Divine Knowledge, Love and Bliss, and initiation into the eternal pastimes of God.  Such deeksha is given by the Guru only when the disciple has totally cleansed his or her mind through the practice of Sadhan Bhakti, or preparatory devotion. 

  The problem arises when people do not want to purify their hearts.  They look for shortcuts whereby they can retain all their worldly desires, and yet attain God.  Therefore, claims of magic mantras, tantras and yantras are very appealing to them.  And Gurus who offer such allurements become very popular.  But we must remember that until the heart is totally cleansed, we will not receive the divine grace which is necessary for God-realization.  And to cleanse the heart, we can chant any name of God; there is no need of a special mantra.

   Guru mantras are Sanskrit words that usually mean things like: “O Shree Krishna, I surrender to you,”  “O Shree Ram, I offer my obeisance to you,” However, if we were to say the same thing in another language, would God not listen? God is the knower of the hearts.  If we do not utter even a single word, but simply think of Him, God will understand and reciprocate our sentiments.

   So there is no need of receiving a mantra in the ear.  God has unlimited Divine Names, and the He is seated in all of them.  So we can chant any of His Names, such as:  Krishna, Govind, Damodar, Gopal, Ram, Shiv, Narayan, etc.

   Even if the Guru gives the disciple a mantra in the ear, keeping it secret serves no purpose.  Jagadguru Ramanujacharya’s guru, gave him a guru mantra, and asked him not to reveal it to anyone. But Ramanujacharya went to the crossroads, and shouted out the mantra before the crowd.    He said, “If it is beneficial, then why keep it secret.  Let others also know it and benefit from it.” 

What should we do to get a human birth again in our next life?

There are 8.4 million species of life in existence. In the species below human beings-animals, birds, fishes, insects, birds, etc-there is no free will. Hence, upon death the soul is naturally and sequentially promoted to the next species. But human beings possess the free will to act according to their volition, and hence, they are responsible for their actions. Their next birth is decided by their karmas in the present life.

The facility to do karmas is given to the human species, not for animal-like activities, but for God-realization.

The scriptures state:

                           आहार निद्रा भय मैथुनंम च सामान्यमेतत् पशुभिर्नराणाम . 

"Eating, sleeping, defending and mating are activities that animals can do as well as humans." The human form is special because in it we can attain God. If however, some human being focuses his or her consciousness merely on eating, then the body of a pig becomes more suitable for such a person, and the soul is allotted that body in its next life. If someone makes sleeping the goal of life, God says that the body of a polar bear is more suitable for such a consciousness and allots it in the next life. In this manner, one of the factors determining our next birth is our consciousness at the time of death. It is said in Bhagvat Gita that "Whatever one remembers at the time of leaving the body, one attains the same in the next life". Death is such a painful experience that it is difficult to focus one's thoughts at that time, and the mind naturally gravitates to whatever one has practiced thinking of throughout one's life. Hence, what we think of at death, reflects the consciousness we cultivate during life. This verse of bhagvat gita implies that it is the cultivation of our consciousness during our life, which determines the next birth. But we don't know that at which moment we are going to leave this world. So Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj advices that always keep diverting your mind in God throughout whole life. So whenever your time will come to go from this world and if your mind will be in god at that time then god will give one another chance of giving us Human Birth again to complete the remaining part of bhakti(Devotion) which have remained unfulfilled in this birth.

There are so many Gurus from different religious sects that it becomes confusing to choose one Guru. What is the process of finding a Guru?

 There is a saying in Hindi:

                      "Pani piyo chhanake, guru banao janake"

“Drink water only after filtering it; make a Guru only after carefully knowing him.”  We must not accept anyone as our Guru, merely because of a friend’s suggestion; we must ourselves recognize someone as a true Guru, and only then should we surrender to him. 

However, just as it is not possible for a Grade One student to evaluate the capability of a college teacher, similarly, it is not easy to recognize a Guru, who is a Divine personality, while we are only beginning the path of spirituality.  Yet, there are certain characteristics that provide helpful indications:  

1. The true Guru’s words are very impacting.  Although we may have heard and read the same knowledge many times without being moved, when we hear it from the mouth of a God-realized Saint, the words change us from within.  The reason for this is that the Sadguru does not merely elucidate what he has read in books; he explains from the depths of personal realization.  

2. Whatever doubts we have on the spiritual path, if we place them before the Guru, he or she can easily dispel our confusions.  A mere theoretical scholar of the scriptures cannot do this.  However, the Sadguru possesses realized knowledge, for he or she has seen the Truth, and is able to reveal it with the benefit of experience to sincere seekers. 

3. A true Guru does not give his or her disciple material allurements.  Rather, he teaches his followers that the world is not the goal. Nowadays, many so-called saints claim to have a magic formula for removing all the material miseries and bestowing money, wealth, prestige, etc.  Allured by such false statements, people flock to them in thousands.  We must beware of such imposters who have not yet even understood that detachment from the world, and not material attainments, is the goal of spiritual life. 

 4. If we associate with a true Guru, we will naturally find ourselves getting attached to God and detached from the world. 

5. The above points are all helpful in recognizing a Saint, but the strongest indication will come from God Himself.  The Lord is seated in our hearts, and when He sees that we have a sincere desire to meet Him, He will guide us to a true Guru and create faith in Him.  And when the inspiration comes from God, we will know it by its intensity; our heart will urge us that we have found the Guru we were looking for.   

In the Indian culture, we all have heard hundreds of times since childhood that we need a Guru. But is there any definition of who a true Guru is?

The word “Guru” has now been adopted by the English language as well, and so we hear terms such as Marketing guru, Economics guru, Finance guru, etc.  However, when you refer to the true Guru, you are enquiring about the spiritual connotation of the word as described in the scriptures.  The meaning of the word “Guru” is:

Gu shabdastvandhakarasyat ru… ( Advaya Tarakopanishad 16)

   “The syllable “gu” means “darkness,” and “ru” means “to destroy.”  Hence, one who dispels the darkness of our nescience, and brings us to the light of true wisdom, is the Guru.

   The true Guru must have two qualifications.  Firstly, he or she should possess theoretical knowledge of the scriptures – this is called shrotriya.  Secondly, he or she should have realized that knowledge and be seated in the Truth – this is called brahm nishth.  Hence, a true Guru is one who is both Shrotriya and Brahm Nishth. 

   In these, the second criterion is most important, i.e. the Guru must be God-realized.  Only one who has attained God can help others attain Him.  If one is a beggar himself, how can he give money to others; if one has no knowledge himself, how can he teach others.  If one has not attained the Bliss of Divine love, he cannot give it to others.  

What is The Right 'age' to start your devotional practice?

"Having attained the human form, we do not realize how precious it is. We indulge ourselves in material pleasures for sensual gratification. We devote our full attention to our family and their needs. When somebody asks a little boy/girl to do devotion, he/she replies – this is not the age to start devotion. There is still time and we can do that when we are old. When you ask a young person to do devotion, he/she flatly refuses and says that it is for old people and life is for enjoying.

When you ask a middle age person to do devotion, he/she replies that there is still time for it after retirement. Now is the time to earn money, enjoy life and look after the welfare of the family. By the time retirement comes, many ailments plague the body and there is very little strength left in the body, thereby making it difficult to perform devotion.

We forget the fact that death can come to anybody at any age at any time.

It is ironical that a father, who is taking son's body for burial, does not think about his own death, though the reality may be that he dies of a heart attack on his way to the cremation ground.

Life is very uncertain. Do not think that you will live in this human form forever.

Whatever your age is, start doing devotion!!!"

Importance of Human Life!

This human form is like a full moon night which will soon be over, and again the dark night will come. You are sleeping in ignorance, unaware of the fact that the passage of time is continuously shortening your life…You are not willing to leave your sleep, even though you are perpetually being beaten by the objects of your desires.
  
Once the opportunity to redeem yourself in this human form is missed, you will have to rotate in the cycle of life and death in 8.4 million forms of life. Then you will rub your hands helplessly and regret…..Kripaluji Maharaj says, ”Listen to the words of rasik saints and surrender to the lotus feet of the merciful divine couple, ’Radha Krishna’.”

The way to peace of Mind!!

In today’s world with our fast paced lives amidst stress and anxiety, if there is one thing we all long for, it is peace of mind. For most of us peace of mind has become a cherished ideal that seems far-fetched. We dissipate a large part of our time and energy in seeking favorable circumstances that will lead to peace and tranquility of the mind. But our own experience tells us that circumstances conducive to our mental peace rarely become a reality. So what is the way to peace?

 Firstly understand that internal peace is never a product of external circumstances. It is a product of purified senses, mind and intellect. For most of us, our mind is afflicted by mental diseases of desires, greed, lust, envy and ego. As long as the mind is tormented by these diseases, we can hardly hope to achieve peace even in the best of situations. Therefore we can begin our journey towards perfect peace by giving up 3 things:

 1. Give up endless desires: Remember, peace of mind comes not by enhancing our material possessions but by eliminating our desires

 2. Give up sense of proprietorship: Remember everything in the world belongs to God. We came empty handed and will go away empty handed.

3. Give up ego: The biggest reason for strife between people is their egos. The way to peace is not to nurture it but to get rid of it. Self-realized Saints experience everlasting peace and bliss because they have given up all these mental defects by purifying their minds through bhakti. In fact for anyone, everlasting peace can become a practical reality when he or she engages in devotion to God. By attaching the mind to all –pure God, the mind gradually becomes purified and experiences its much cherished ideal of peace and bliss.

IS WORLDLY PROSPERITY A SIGN OF GOD'S GRACE ????

If you believe this, then when you experience a material loss, you may also feel you have lost God's grace and He has become unfavorable towards you. This inconsistent attitude causes you to fluctuate between being faithful and faithless.Every soul is bound by his karmic destiny or prarabdh, which is the outcome of his past lives' good and bad actions. Whatever material prosperity we are destined to receive is pre-determined by the immutable law of karma.A lack of worldly possessions is truly a sign of God's grace. When someone has less, he has less pride, and it is easier for him to turn towards God.

What stops one from complete surrender? Do one’s past negative sanskars and vasanas play a part in determining the level and speed of surrender? How can one overcome one’s inherent negativities and make progress towards self-surrender faster?

Surrender is not a one-time procedure. It is not that we surrender once, and we are done with it forever. We have to keep surrendering at every moment. In this process, there are innumerable obstacles. Our mind is made of Maya and it naturally runs towards the world. We need to beat this mind with the intellect. We also have saṁskārs of past lifetimes that must be countered. And then, we have the ignorance or agyān within us, which is the source of all the problems.

However, we must not feel disillusioned. Innumerable souls in the past have overcome these obstacles to perfect their surrender to God, and have attained Him; if we endeavor sincerely, we too will be successful.

First, we must illumine our intellect with the spiritual knowledge given to us by our Guru. Then, with this purified intellect we must work on the mind, to detach it from the world and attach it to Names, Forms, Pastimes, Virtues, Abodes and Saints of God. Along with our sincere efforts, we must pray to God and Guru for help, firmly believing that Their Grace can make us perfect our surrender.

To speed up the process of surrender, we should strengthen the sentiment, “God and Guru alone are mine.” When we develop love for God and Guru, surrender becomes natural and automatic. When we reach the state of complete surrender, the feeling “He alone is mine” will always remain in our mind, and all our thoughts and actions will be in consonance with it.

If we can keep increasing our desire to serve, that is also a very potent tool for progress.

Right and Wrong Knowledge!!

-The knowledge which inspires you toward Divine realization is the right knowledge; it can be obtained by the association of a Divine personality. The knowledge that makes you materialistic is wrong knowledge; you receive such knowledge from your association with the worldly people and their texts.

-For this reason, you should know that the right understanding inclines you to do right actions and the wrong understanding leads you into wrong actions.Hence, your every action depends on the  knowledge which we acquire from various sources(that we come across in our day to day life).