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.

How can we realize the grace of God during unfavourable situations in Life?

Well, that is Positive Thinking that you see a positive aspect in everything. We want situations to be favourable to us always! and when situations are not favourable then our natural reactions are like we start getting panic.

However, if we bring this piece of knowledge in mind at that time that an unfavourable situation is an opportunity to rise higher.

Swami Vivekananda said, "Life is a continuous unfoldment of a being under circumstances tending to press it downwards". So whenever there is an unfavourable situation if we look on it as an opportunity, as a stepping stone then we can see it as a grace of God and that is the secret of seeing situations as graces of God.

An Important advice to all Spiritual aspirants!

We, the Sadhaks (devotees) should always keep in mind that whatever good we are doing is all due to the grace of the Guru and God. Otherwise, we have been bound by Maya, awfully attached to the worldly possessions, absolutely worthless, having hideous ideas, full of dirt and filth from time immemorial.

If we are able to do something good; if a tear trickles from our eyes for God; if we have some good word and noble feeling for the Guru, we must conclude that it is all due to the Guru's grace.

If he had not given us the spiritual knowledge if he had not bestowed his love upon us, how could we be inclined to go good things in life? So, do not ever give credit to yourself. It will only give rise to egoism. Egoism takes away humility. Once humility is gone the castle of bhakti or devotion will come crashing down. Life will be filled with vices in no time. So, if you have done some noble deeds, YOU MUST BE THANKFUL TO THE GURU with whose grace alone you are able to do such things. This will save you from the vice of egoism.

We must always keep in mind that if we had not met the Guru, if he had not shown us the way, and had not given us his love and affection, we would not have inclined towards God.

On the other hand, if we have done something wrong, have been negligent in doing the right thing, or have committed some crime, we should hold ourselves responsible for that so that we could realize our mistakes and we would not repeat them.

We should attribute our good deeds to the God's grace and the grace of the Guru and for all the wrongs that we may have done, we should hold ourselves responsible.

How can we learn to desire the Right thing?

In this Bhakti, there are no desires from the beloved. See these desires that we make I want this! I want this! I want this! These desires will never have any end. We think O God! you know I don't have any other desire but this one desire if you can please fulfill these, after that I will never ask for anything. That fellow who is thinking in this manner is very simple, because the moment desire is fulfilled it will lead to greed. That desire will come back with redoubled intensity. This is the material world people always know I have this deficiency; I have this deficiency. I have got this problem; I am going to problem to problem. So if we ask God there will be no end we will keep on asking. So what happens in these asking? My desire is fulfilled Shree Krishna is very good, not fulfilled he is not good, he is alright. I have been harmed, Shree Krishna, there is no goodness in him. He is very hard-hearted.

Our love for him will oscillate like this. Like it does in the world. My husband is very good very bad. My wife is very good very bad. These drama goes on 10 times in a day. The same thing we will do towards God and Guru also. If our formula is that they should fulfill my desire. Now the thing is that these desires we are making are on the wrong platform. There are on this platform of ignorance that I am the body. So because we are thinking I am the body, for the happiness of the body we will going to make desires. Now we have to decide I am not the body, I am the soul. So if I am the soul then what should I desire you should still not desire because desire is against the nature of love. 

This love is that in which the only desire to give and give. In other words, it's not for our happiness, it is for the happiness of beloved. You desire to make Shree Krishna Happy. In other words, you desire to please him, to give him happiness and when you give him happiness he is not a miser, he will multiply it many folds and will give to back and that happiness that you get in giving to him that is the happiness of divine love which is the sweetest of all which is so sweet that Brahmaji to become a blade of Grass in the land Vrindavan to relish that and Udhavji become really a blade of grass. It means you learn to desire the right thing. 

• If God has given you a wonderful voice, desire to glorify him with your musical abilities. 
• If God has given you a good literary skill, then desire to write something in his glorification. 
• If God has given you a business acumen, then desire to earn and glorify the Lord with your wealth. 

In other words, whatever God has given you, you desire to glorify him with that. So when we desire to serve him with everything our desires become perfectly oriented and we experience the highest bliss which is the bliss of the soul. 

Hear this lecture on SoundCloud by Swami Mukundananda

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 Bhagavad 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 the 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.

Six aspects of Surrender to God

1. To desire only in accordance with the desire of God. By nature, we are his servants, and the duty of a servant is to fulfill the desire of the master. So as surrendered devotees of God, we must make our will conform to the will of God.

 A dry leaf is surrendered to the wind. It does not complain whether the wind lifts it up, takes it forward or backward, or drops it to the ground. Similarly, we too must learn to be happy in the happiness of God.

2. Not to desire against the desire of God. Whatever we get in life is a result of our past and present karmas. However, the fruits of the karmas do not come by themselves. God notes them and gives the results at the appropriate time. Since the results are dispensed by God himself, we must learn to serenely accept them.

Usually, when people get wealth, fame, pleasure, and luxuries in the world, they forget to thank God. However, if they get suffering, they blame God for it, "Why did God do this to me?" The second aspect of surrender means to not complain about whatever God gives us.

3. To have firm faith that God is protecting us. God is the eternal father. He is taking care of all the living beings in creation. There are trillions of ants on the planet earth, and all of them need to eat regularly. Do you ever find that a few thousand ants in your garden have died of starvation? God ensures that they are all provided for. On the other hand, elephants eat mounds of food every day. God provides for them too. Even a worldly father cares and provides for his children. Why then should we doubt whether our eternal father, God, will take care of us or not? To have firm faith in his protection is the third aspect of surrender.

4. To keep an attitude of gratitude toward God. We have received so many priceless gifts from the Lord. The earth that we walk upon, the sunlight with which we see, the air that we breathe and the water that we drink, are all given to us by God. In fact, it is because of Him that we exist; He has brought us to life and imparted consciousness in our soul. We are not paying Him any tax in return, but we must at least feel deeply indebted for all that He has given to us. This is the sentiment of gratitude.

The reverse of this is the sentiment of ungratefulness. For example, a father does so much for his child. The child is told to be grateful to his father for this. But the child responds, "Why should I be grateful? His father took care of him and he is taking care of me." This is ingratitude toward the worldly father. To be grateful toward God, our eternal Father, for all that He has given to us, is the fourth aspect of surrender.

5. To see everything we possess as belonging to God. This entire world has been created by God. It existed even before we were born, and will continue to exist even after we die. Hence, the true owner of everything is God alone. When we think something belongs to us, we forget the proprietorship of God.

Let us say that someone comes into your house when you are not at home. He wears your clothes, eats out of your refrigerator, and sleeps on your bed. On returning, you ask indignantly, "What have you been doing in my house?"

 He says, "I have not damaged anything. I have merely used everything properly. Why are you getting annoyed?" 

 You reply, "You may not have destroyed anything, but it all belongs to me. If you use it without my permission, you are a thief." 

 Similarly, this world and everything in it belongs to God. To remember this, and give up our sense of proprietorship is the fifth aspect of Surrender.

6. To give up the pride of having surrendered. If we become proud of the good deeds that we have done, the pride dirties our heart and undoes the good. That is why it is important to keep an attitude of humbleness: "If I was able to do something nice, it was only because God inspired my intellect in the right direction. Left to myself, I would never have been able to do it." To keep such an attitude of humility is the sixth aspect of surrender.

If we can perfect these six points of surrender in ourselves, we will fulfill God's condition and he will bestow his grace upon us.

Spiritual Sadhana: Make it Your Top Priority

Practicing spiritual sadhana is just as important as exercising every day. But we all know how much people struggle to stick to their exercise regimens. A sudden bout of inspiration to become fit and healthy is followed by a few days of excited visits to the gym and then both the energy and inspiration plummet. People experience the same with spiritual sadhana, they practice it for a few days and then start finding excuses about how difficult it is for them to find the time. Lack of time is undoubtedly the biggest excuse quoted by everyone.

Office hours, household chores, social commitments, etc. are so high on priority on our daily to-do lists that it's almost impossible to squeeze in even a few minutes for sadhana. Most of us in such a scenario would simply leave the matter to God's grace, "We will do sadhana when God will grace us". But the fact of the matter is that we don't need God's grace here. He has already graced us with a human form and an opportunity to associate with a Guru and do satsang. All that is left to be done now is that we grace ourselves with some time to do sadhana.

God has given us 24 hours, now we need to utilize a portion of those 24 hours for the elevation of our own soul. For the sake of the body, we run around 24 hrs. a day. This body has no value when the soul departs, it is worthy of being devoured by jackals and vultures. 

                                                                                 

For the sake of that body we have 24 hours but for the elevation of our own soul, we find it difficult to take out time. So the truth is that any person who says that he/she doesn't have time to do sadhana is judging wrongly. It is not that we don't have time; we have simply not made spiritual sadhana a priority in our lives. When we will decide that spirituality is a top priority in life, we will automatically take out time.

Let us look at how we spend our time through a popular management tool called the Action Priority Matrix (or Time Management Matrix). This tool uses 4 quadrants to determine the tasks you need to do and then deciding what should be made a priority.

Time Management Matrix

According to the tool, there are some issues in our life that are both urgent and important like an unplanned business meeting (See quadrant 1). Then there are some things that need not be done urgently but they are important. Some common examples are exercising, reading books, and spiritual sadhana (See quadrant 2). Then there are activities that are urgent but not really important like a phone call or somebody dropping by, etc. (See quadrant 3). Finally, there are activities that are neither important nor urgent, they are simple time wasters and should be immediately eliminated. Examples are net surfing, watching T.V, gossiping, etc. (See quadrant 4).

This tool can be used to organize your priorities on an everyday basis. Make a list of all the things you do in a day and on the basis of priority put them in their respective quadrants. Now calculate the total time you are spending in each of the quadrants. You will realize that you may be spending maximum part of your day in quadrant 1, 3 or 4. This means you are foregoing things that will ultimately matter to you, things that are important but don't seem urgent. You are so busy dealing with urgent or unimportant issues that you have no time for spiritual sadhana.

Stephen Covey in his book 'First Things First' popularized this concept of 'Time Management Matrix' and emphasized that if people want to lead fulfilling lives in the long-term, they must invest more time in quadrant 2. People must look at ways to expand quadrant 2, so that they can achieve their long-term goals and do things that really matter. And what is our long-term goal?

Our goal is to purify our mind and attain the goal of God-realization. And we will attain that goal by making spiritual sadhana a top priority in our lives. We may feel spending some time exclusively with God is not urgent, but remember, it is certainly the most important. Irrespective of the other urgent issues in life which will come and go, take out at least 1 hour every day for spiritual sadhana. Without wasting any more time, firmly resolve that in the year 2018 you will make spiritual sadhana your top priority.

The Importance of Daily Spiritual Sadhana

Most people today realize the importance of taking out some time every day for physical workout. Even out of most hectic schedules, people manage to allocate some time every day for yoga, walks, or the gym. People today have become aware of the need for exercising the body. Given our sedentary lifestyles, if we don't set aside some time for physical workout, we will have to pay a heavy price in the form of diseases like obesity, diabetes, etc.

That is all about maintaining our physical health, but what about our mental and spiritual health? All day long, we spend time in the worldly environment where the world pulls us in love and hatred, hankering, lamentation, tension, anxiety, and stress. We seldom realize that the worldly environment gradually takes a toll on us and impacts our wellbeing. We must do something to keep our mind in good health. This is akin to the physical workout we do to maintain our body.

Therefore, you must do something on a daily basis to shut the world out, so that you have just one focus and that is to purify the mind. Now, how will the mind be purified? After all, to purify the mind, we must fix it on an object of meditation that is pure. But the material realm is dominated by the three modes of nature - sattva, rajas and tamas (goodness, passion and ignorance) and is hence impure. Therefore, if the object of meditation is from the material realm, it cannot purify the mind.

We will have to go beyond the material realm, in the divine realm of God - His Names, Forms, Virtues, Abodes, Pastimes, and Saints. If we fix our mind anywhere in this area, it will become pure. This is what Shree Krishna instructed Arjun in the Bhagavad Gita:

"I am divine. If you fix your mind on me, it will rise above the three modes of Maya."

If you take out time every day to fill your mind with thoughts of devotion, surrender, and love to God, it can be called your personal practice of spiritual sadhana. Just like by exercising for 1 hr in a day you reap the benefits of good health all through the day, similarly by practicing spiritual sadhana for some time in a day, you will reap the benefits of a spiritual consciousness throughout the day.

Shree Krishna also says in the Bhagavad Gita that we must do sadhana in isolation. Understand this through an example. If you take milk and put it in water, milk and water become one. But if you wish the milk to remain separate from water, you can convert it into yogurt and then churn it to extract butter. Once milk becomes butter it can challenge the water, "I will sit on your head and float, you cannot mix into me, as I am no longer milk." Similarly, separate from the world - away from television, people, etc., you can convert your mind into butter and then challenge the water, "you cannot do anything to me."

While doing spiritual sadhana, the position or asan does not really matter, however it is advised to keep your back erect so that you don't feel lazy. Sit in any comfortable position and take your mind away from the world and attach it to God. The focus will come with practice, but what is important is that we make this sadhana a part of our daily routine. We all appreciate the importance of doing daily spiritual sadhana, but the biggest challenge lies in putting it into practice.

Can we in the year 2018 resolve firmly to dedicate some time every day for spiritual sadhana?

God resides in all creatures

   We assume that we are all alone and that nobody knows what we are thinking. A man thinks against his wife while sitting next to her because he is confident that she cannot read his thoughts. However, we forget a very important point. Our thoughts are never completely private.

 Sitting in our heart, God takes note of each and every thought and gives us the fruit of that thought. In our false confidence of privacy, we commit many offenses and throw away the benefits of the devotional practice. On one hand we cry and on the other hand, we commit many wrongful actions.

 It will take some amount of practice to remember that God is living inside us. Make it a habit to realize Him in your heart 24x7.