The Sun and the Sunflower

The Sun and the Sunflower

by Victor Kannan

Trainer, Sahaj Marg Meditation

The other day Daaji made a significant statement. It was about the general care for the welfare of humanity vs catering to individual needs.  As individual needs are specifically based on one’s skills, desires and past circumstances, the solutions are quite complex to be offered from an external source, though that source is one’s teacher, guide or mentor.  Also, while wanting to cater to the personal situation of a student, the teacher’s first and foremost duty is to the serve the entire student body as a single unit.

Though I had understood this a long time ago, it got me thinking. There is a simple principle at work here, which is the impartiality of nature, whether it is the operation of mechanical laws, physical laws, or the law of nature itself operating inexorably. Any exceptions are still within the realm of the possibilities, and any aberration that is caused by these exceptions are still within nature’s law of adjustment and the re-establishment of equilibrium.

We can say God is a principle. It helps those who can help themselves. Like any other principle, if we learn how it operates, we will know how to harness it. This idea of harnessing includes awareness, acceptance, aspiring, adjusting and ascending, on a constant basis. This is the foundation of real knowledge. This knowledge includes how to behave; hence, the finer aspect of compassion and the set of emotional intelligences are part of this knowledgeable living. 

So, if everything in life operates per the natural law, what are the dynamics of existence? This question is answered by Babuji when he says, “Be simple and in tune with Nature.”  Being simple seems to be a requirement to be in tune with Nature. So, the real dynamics of human life are the same as for the rest of the life forms. When we humans live a natural, plain and simple life, we begin to automatically orient ourselves towards the purpose which we are born to achieve, whatever it may be. 

In this connection I am reminded of sunflowers. The sunflower is said to track the movement of the sun. It is always supposed to be facing the sun. As the individual sunflowers orient themselves towards the sun, the sun, in a general way, sends out energy uniformly to all. Then each individual sunflower is responsible for taking what it needs.

In this sense, a Guide or teacher of global capacity acts like a sun, and an ideal student acts like a sunflower. 

This does not mean to track the Master daily and to know his whereabouts. It means to meditate, read, introspect and let the knowledge reveal itself as the states of knowledge become synonymous with our states of being!  Students are helped individually to the extent that they are tuned in and focused on the Real.

Reality of Sahaj Marg

The Sahaj Marg way neither promises marvels nor suggests images that can stir the seeker’s dreams. On the contrary, Sahaj Marg places the seeker face-to-face with a reality: the need to advance with the help of a simple but decisively effective practice. Why would a human being not move towards the discovery of his or her own being? This subtlety of the being is ignored by science, as it is still so far from the material realm; they stand a world apart. 

- Babuji Maharaj

Babuji Maharaj talks about the “Obstacles” of a Negative Material Plane. A seeker on the path of reality has to overcome these and many more obstacles, each step leading to the goal. What has Sahaj Marg, Shri Ram Chandra Mission (www.srcm.org) to offer in this journey of the seeker. Sahaj Marg Raja Yoga meditation practice, the Heartfulness approach, offers the human beings of the 21st century, a simple system of routine and practice that regulates the mind and moderates the tendencies of the human being.

There are no apparent miracles in Sahaj Marg. The Masters of Sahaj Marg, Chariji Maharaj and Shri Kamlesh D. Patel have always emphasised on the simplicity of the approach towards self perfection. How a simple practice of meditation like Sahaj Marg, when coupled with the power of Transmission from the Master, helps in real transformation. This transformation, when it happens, is the real miracle of Sahaj Marg. Such a human transformation has to be worked for, cannot be just dreamt about. It is hard reality and hard work, not just some magic wave of the hand and lo and behold, something new has come out. It is long and drawn out persistent effort, with sincerity and joy driving the efforts and love at the base of everything. That is the reality of Sahaj Marg.

Sahaj Marg Meditation: What to do?

Sahaj Marg Meditation: What to do?
By Sanskrit Kannan - SRCM Preceptor

In the previous article (Sahaj Marg Meditation - Condition: Some tips), we heard from Chariji Maharaj and Shri. Kamlesh D Patel on what we should not do after meditation.

Let us see what Chariji Maharaj tells us what should we do before Sahaj Marg meditation. I asked Him once about this, especially before morning meditation . He told me that we should first do meditation in the morning.  Some people go for walking and then do meditation in the morning which is not right.

Chariji Maharaj also added that we should not do meditation in empty stomach. " Take milk,  or at least water before meditation. But don't waste time in making coffee etc. Water will do.  He told me a story in this regard. 

Once a person went to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and told him, " Master,  I am interested in spiritual progress. What should I do? " The Master repled, " please read some verses of Bhagavad Gita daily and also take grape juice. " The seeker asked, " Master how much grape juice should I drink daily? "The Master laughing replied, " you are not yet ready for spirituality. Had you asked me how much verses of Bhagavad Gita should I read daily, I would have advised you. Instead you are more interested in grape juice. Please go now and come back after some days. "

Rev. Chariji Maharaj said,  " So, if I say you may take coffee or milk in the morning before meditation, your time will be spent /wasted on this. So water will do".

What about yawning during or after Sahaj Marg meditation?  We will address this question in another article. 

Dil ki Awaaz – Shri Kamlesh Patel on Radio City Smaran

Kamlesh Patel, spiritual Master of the Sahaj Marg system of meditation and the current President of SRCM (Shri Ram Chandra Mission), shares his insights to help you lead life in a natural, simple and heartful way, balancing the material and spiritual aspects of existence.

Starting from 18th January 2016, this programme will be broadcast every Monday and Thursday at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. (IST) for eight weeks on Planet Radio City. Please visit http://www.planetradiocity.com/devotional/radiocity-smaran at this broadcast time to listen to Kamlesh D Patel talk. 

Is SRCM Sahaj Marg a Sect?

Sahaj Marg is not a path that is restrictive, closed or sectarian. Some principles are adhered to, which is normal, but it is accessible to all. It will always keep growing over time, supported in this by new methods that permit an easy elevation that generates the best. Spirituality is slowly winning over hearts in a manner that is natural and feasible for all. We wish for the spiritual development of our brothers and sisters, without any sectarian constraints. A genuine commitment of the heart is much more productive for everyone than overly strict rules that do not really promote the progress of the seeker. Only the call of the heart is decisive. - Babuji Maharaj

My observations: It is very clear from this above statements, that Babuji makes about Sahaj Marg. There is nothing sectarian about it. There are obviously some principles of Sahaj Marg, which mainly deal with practical aspects and value based system, which are essential for the spiritual growth of the seeker, but it is open to all and purely a heart based system. Kamlesh D. Patel, the current Master is taking this system of Sahaj Marg offered by Shri Ram Chandra Mission, to greater heights by making things more accessible. As referred to it above, "new methods" will help in expansion. 

Cleaning of the Mind in the Light of Sahaj Marg

Cleaning of the Mind in the Light of Sahaj Marg

Author: Kamala Ayengar
(Published in The New Times, a Seattle monthly, September 1994, Page 23)

Sahaj Marg (The Natural Path) is a simple, scientific system of meditation. It is modified Raja yoga. "Yoga" means "union with the Ultimate". "Raja" means "king," and the kingly thing in human beings is the mind. Therefore, the mind can be used as a tool to achieve this union once it is properly molded. My master, Shri P. Rajagopalachari of Madras, India, has revealed several truths about life, love, death, etc. In this article, I would like to try and outline some of his teachings so that it may help others to incorporate these teachings in their lives and enable them to change themselves and realize the true nature of the inner being.

According to my master, thought originates from the cosmic region. It is really difficult to pinpoint where exactly the mind resides in the body, even though the organ is closely associated with our understanding of the mind is the brain. Anyway, mind is the in-between process of information inside-out and outside-in. The mind functions at several different levels: the conscious mind, the subconscious mind, the unconscious mind, and the finest/subtlest conscious entity which may be termed the soul. It is this soul which is the root cause of our existence.

According to the philosophy of Sahaj Marg, one of the essential features of the soul at the beginning of creation was its purity and nearness to God. Therefore, it can be said that the characteristic of the soul is to be free and remain unwrapped. However, over eons of time, we have accumulated layers and coverings around the soul in various forms such as the psyche, consciousness, intellect and the ego. Later on, these coverings started becoming cruder and grosser. Spiritual evolution is nothing but a process of "unbecoming" what we are and "becoming" that which we ought to become, i.e., bring about a purity within our existence and achieve inner perfection.

One of the many characteristics of today's existence for most of us is that we identify ourselves mainly with the body and senses. We have either forgotten or do not want to think about the purpose of our existence and are too entangled with "I" and "my". We have become attached to everything around us that is non-essential and does not contribute to our inner growth.

How can we go beyond the dualities of existence and the so-called problems and difficulties of everyday existence? If we can somehow remind ourselves that the soul is beyond the normal senses of perception, it was pure at the time of creation and is thus an integral part of God, we would recognize that attaining the original purity within our self would lead to the realization of the god within. This would lead us to the understanding that essentially there can be no difference between "me" and "the divinity within me".

Therefore, we should adopt simple, easy means to look for the divinity which resides inside ourselves instead of wasting our time by looking for God on mountaintops and searching for him in temples and churches. All that we need to do is to turn our search inside and seek the help of a spiritual guide who, having traversed the spiritual path, can help us find the "self" within each one of us.

How do we find such a person-one who can lead us to God, towards spiritual evolution and realization? It has been said that a sincere cry from a craving heart can bring the master knocking at the aspirant's door. I can tell you from my personal experience that my master, Shri P. Rajagopalachari, is one such person. He once said, "The only difference between 'God within me' and 'me (us)', is the difference between the 'Self' and 'self'-the former is subtle while the latter is gross. Remove the grossness and the whole mystery is solved."

How do we remove this grossness? By using the cleaning technique of Sahaj Marg. The first step is to understand how grossness is being created so that it may be easily removed and then one must try and see that new impressions are not created because the deeper the impressions, the harder it is to remove them.

I was once at my dentist's office and during a conversation with his wife we spoke about the plastic that they were using to handle the instruments. I was concerned about it and asked her if they changed the covers with each new patient. "Yes," she said, "it is the law." She added, "Can you imagine how much garbage we accumulating? It will take five hundred years or more for the total degradation of today's disposal." That is a very long time to wait! Later, I was thinking about my master's statement that all the impressions and samskaras of which we have accumulated around the soul from all our past lives and this life may take many lives to get rid of.

It may be possible for a person who lives a very long life and is in very good physical condition and makes a continuous effort by putting one hundred percent attention on living a saintly life with truthful practice and honest cleaning, to reach the condition where the total uncovering of the soul has taken place. But, as my master says, "We don't have much time, We don't know how long we are going to live; perhaps we may not get up the next day." Therefore, it is logical and better to somehow know one's "Self" in this life so that one can live his/her life purposefully. This reinforces the need for seeking guidance and help of a spiritual teacher.

Coming back to the topic of impressions and how they are created, my master said, "It is our mind blended with our ego which is the main cause generating these layers around the soul." Therefore, spirituality says that every thought or action performed with the feeling of I-consciousness leaves a trail of subtle impressions in the heart. These impressions become the seed for further thoughts and actions, which again lead to the formation of further impressions. Repeated impressions of the same kind thus solidify into tendencies. These solidified tendencies are called samskaras. Therefore, our real aim should be to exhaust the old samskaras and see that we do not make any more new ones.

It can be said that in one way or another, whatever we are today is due to our past samskaras, and one has to go through the bhoga of these samskaras. When we have bluster with pus we have to undergo the throbbing pain, therefore, we can say that we are undergoing the bhoga of the pus. In the same way in our life, we undergo pain, suffering, pleasure, joy, and happiness due to a combination of our mental predispositions and the situations we are putting ourselves into or are creating for ourselves. This real life training can simply be seen as going through bhoga. This way we learn what to do and what not to do.

Coming again to the mind, the thought is the main instrument. By thinking we become what we are, so Raja Yoga is yoga of the mind, and the mind is the kingly thing in us. To keep the mind pure and balanced is one of the purposes and practices of Raja Yoga.

My master says that the first step in yoga is to purify the mind and remove those impressions of the past. That is the work of the master. The second step in yoga is what we have to do ourselves: meditation. The right type of meditation helps us in the unraveling of the impressions and allows us to make a conscious effort so that we do not form new ones.

Impressions may become the cause of suffering in the future, so the cleaning technique in Sahaj Marg is a very important one. By his help, the master cleans our past impressions. Meanwhile the aspirant has to put in his/her own effort by daily meditation, strongly reminding themselves that whatever they are doing, it is not he/she is who is doing but God within.

By thinking in such a manner, one can remain unattached from all types of action and thought. Thus in the Sahaj Marg system of spiritual training, by continuous practice and with the master's help, one can attain the balanced state of mind and maintain a pure heart and mind.