Daaji says he likes to use the word integrate than balance.
ENDURANCE TRAINING
During early years of my practice, I understood spirituality as reading, writing, meditating. With passage of time this journey towards Reality looks like an endurance training to develop qualities and attitude which help in the spiritual journey. Babuji says, " I need lions not sheep's". This heart of a lion develops little by little by handling the situations which comes our way with right attitude. Our learnings come through our situations. Rumi says, "We have to keep breaking our hearts until it opens". Only by repeatedly handling certain things we develop the endurance to handle it effortlessly. Every step paves way for the next step.
Importance of reading the mission literature
It's important for us to know what our Master's say. Knowing is the first step in the journey. Knowing, feeling, understanding, becoming, being. We need to learn the alphabets, words, sentences, paragraph and then only write an essay.
When we read the mission literature, it gets registered in our heart and mind. It echoes within us. It comes handy during moments of choices.
Babuji says, "Live each day as a blessing without giving thought to the following day".
When i was going through lot of uncertainties this statement was my guiding factor. It helped to navigate through uncertainties by living the day. That helped me to keep calm irrespective of whatever i was going through.
Babuji says, "Everything happens at the right moment often unexpectedly". This gave me hope to move on with life irrespective of whatever i was facing.
By applying these two statements Babuji has taught me not to hurry and not to worry.
More the uncertainties, more i applied Babuji's words slowly it became effortless effort to live in the Now ->accept, embrace and surrender to natures timeline.
Power of Introspection
Along with our practice introspection plays a major role in our journey. We should always be in a self-introspective mode only then we will become aware of our weakness and only then we can correct ourselves.
When a bucket is filled with water, when there are holes in the bucket the water leaks. Same way Master fills our heart with grace unless we fix our leakage points, we will not be able to retain the spiritual condition. Only when we introspect, understand ourselves and correct our attitude we can retain what is bestowed.
How much ever we correct ourselves and change there is always more to correct and refine. This process of self-refinement looks like a "Towards Infinity" project. At times it could be very difficult to overcome certain tendencies. Babuji tells "Think of your weakness as mine". Surrendering of weakness to Babuji with faith really works like a magic. Introspection leads to understanding.
Role of understanding
Understanding leads to acceptance. Ego refines with understanding.
If we understand Why a person behaves the way they behave, we will be less affected by things.
Understand and accept the different personality types, it leads to psychological liberation. Psychologist Carl Jung says that human beings can be broadly classified into 16 basic personality types which comes primarily from 4 basic types
How we get Energy -> Introvert / Extrovert
Where do we take Information -> Intuitive / Sensing (data and facts)
How we make decisions -> Thinker / Feeler
Preferences -> Prospective / Judging
Understand and accept the different attachment styles it leads to an emotional liberation. Securely attached, anxiously attached, avoidant attachment types.
Daaji has mentioned in one of His talks " Why do people like to retire early, what are we going to do after early retirement. He says it's in our work environment we apply our spiritual assets ". In solitude it's easy to retain our condition but the real test lies in our ability to retain our condition in all environments.
Work Environment
What are some of the things which an abhyasi has to take care while at office.
One is work and the other is people handling.
1. Actual Work:
With work we have to do our work with utmost sincerity. We should have an enthusiastic attitude towards our work, irrespective of external validation or monetary rewards. There is a beautiful speech given by Chariji on "Work and its rewards". He says reward of work is more work.
We should not let ourselves get demotivated because we are disappointed with something. Demotivating will affect our quality of work, and we won't be able to give our 100 %. Not giving our 100% is an inaction. Daaji says "Inaction is a very heavy samskara". We should work with enthusiasm. At the same time, we should not be excessively associating our identity with our job. It's a tool to earn money in honest way, to navigate this world.
2.People handling:
People handling is an art. ITs always easy to maintain our condition in solitude when we are with multivarious people its easy to let go of the condition. Somehow, we should learn to maintain our spiritual condition wherever we are and with whoever we are. We can't be like a fragile plant in a balcony garden demanding care and protection constantly. Slowly we need to develop the endurance like the forest trees with the ability to handle the heat and the rain.
1. Daaji says " Leave a margin of error in all human interactions".
2. Courage to follow the heart:
Swami Vivekananda says, "Darma depends on our level of consciousness". Heartfulness puts the same thing as "Follow your heart". There are no hard and fast rules in Heartfulness. The ability to follow the heart takes courage and this is the heart of the lion which Babuji wants from his abhyasis.
We should not do something or avoid doing something just because everybody else is doing it. One should transcend the (FOMO) fear of missing out just to be in the group. We should stop getting influenced by external opinions and strongly follow the voice within. Initially this process will be difficult but the more we listen to the heart and follow its instructions, the more it will speak louder and louder.
3.Filtration:
See if any strong opinions which comes from outside is aligned with our values, our masters' teachings and then reject it or take it. If we blindly absorb everything without filtering, we will be spoiling our condition. Filtering of thoughts and opinions is very important when mingling with people in the society.
Rumi says, " The art of knowing is knowing what to ignore".
4. Equality of treatment:
When Daaji says love is not a verb, love is a state of being. what state of being he is referring to? I think it's a state of MODERATION. We have to keep our check if we are treating people equally. Moderate mind will treat people equally.
The more we overcome both attachment and resistance the more we move towards moderation.
How to move towards moderation? We need to carry only the essentials. Unknowingly we carry too many things in our mental baggage. We should be aware of our own baggage and drop the things which are not essential in our journey.
A teacher once conducted a small demonstration in his class. He asks his students if it will pain and if they carry a glass of water in their hand. The students say no. Then he asks the students if you stretch your hand and carry a glass of water and remain that way for one hour how will it be. Then students say, " yes there will a strain in our muscles". If we carry the same glass of water for the entire day by stretching our hand, will it pain, the students said "yes". The small things which we unknowingly carry in our mind becomes a burden as we move towards our spiritual goal. We should learn to carry only the essentials.
"Eliminate everything that does not help you evolve" - Rumi
In the Yatra Garden at Kanha Shanthi Vanam, we see a statue of Lord Yama in the 12th point. Is He not an example for Equality of treatment.
Babuji's words from His autobiography "I have the same respect for my revered father and a beggar, same love for my children and my Neighbour's children and same regards for my being and that of a dog". When we have such a master, it's our responsibility to take baby steps in practicing equality of treatment in our day-to-day interactions.
Family: Daaji says "Flexibility is humility". Daaji gives the crux of spirituality in three golden words "Acceptance, Cheerful acceptance and acceptance without the idea of acceptance" This is the only way to integrate our family life and spiritual life. We begin with our family then move on to the entire human family.
One thing I have learnt in 14 years of my marriage is the need to get rid of emotional heaviness and practice space. Khalil Gibran says "The Oak and cypress does not grow in each other's shadow".
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6067404488921917514/7762965116434761447
Read a small poem which I wrote about togetherness and space.
Perseverance
When we look back how far we have come from our stone like consciousness towards the lightness of the heart and lightness of the mind we know we owe it all to Heartfulness practice.
This self-transformation is not an overnight change. It takes practice, patience and perseverance to keep going. In this journey we have to be self-motivated. We are humans we make mistakes; we fall. What Babuji says, " It's OK to fall but get up stronger the following day". Babuji is teaching us perseverance.
Willingness
Willingness comes before perseverance. With willingness we begin the journey, with willingness we continue our way and reach up to wherever we are willing to reach. We have to be willing to explore what Babuji calls as wasteland in a desert land.
We should be willing to taste the salt without saltiness.
We should be willing to have a dose of non-Peace, peace.
We should be willing to reach that region about which Daaji says even peace is heavy here.
For many years i used to write in my journal Master please be with me and guide me always. Then at one point it changed to master thanks for being with me and guiding me always.
Master's grace is always there. From our side it is Willingness, perseverance and the right attitude which will take us to the real goal of human life. Let's get rid of what Daaji calls as lukewarm commitment and take spirituality seriously with total commitment.
Thank you.
