Sprituality and Sadhna

[Guest guest]

Namaskar ,

 

Is it true, that People go towards spirituality, and or sadhna only

when they are facing problems in life, have pain of any nature, are

sad, depressed,feel helpless and want to escape from reality of

life ? Even if the reality is not totally real.

Would like to hear views of all sadhak's.

 

 

OM SHANTI

[Guest guest]

Interesting question jigyasa and obviously one that few are willing

to talk about. Reminds me of the incredible lack of interest among

sadhaks towards our satsangh. Let me see if I can put some thoughts

together. Please feel free to critique and debate what I say, because

I certainly have room to learn.

 

In the most simplest of terms, what is it that separates one from

their True Divine nature? EGO, which manifests through desires,

attitudes and beliefs, - temperaments. As long as there is even the

simplest semblence of desire, the EGO is reborn again and again to

fulfill that Desire no matter whether it is positive or a negative

one.

 

When life is going "well", this EGO is at its height of control. The

Ego feels satisfied, feels they know what they are doing and are in

control, and has no need to learn anything about sublimating itself.

Why should it sublimate what is bringing it "success"? All it wants

is more and more of the same, believing, however mistakenly, that they

are on the right path. This belief is ofen called the "the mistake of

the intellect", meaning the intellect takes apparent (visible)logic

into consideration to make its decisions.

 

When people are facing problems, specially those of any strong

intensity, what happens to that EGO? For the first time it realizes

it may not know it all, it may not have all the answers, and the road

it is taking may not be the best!! This creates a vacuum, however

temporary, a condition of silence when the presence of divinity that

exists within, finally gets a "word" in; when the Ego chatter gives

some elbow room, only then the mind allows itself to question the

validity of the path being presently followed. This questioning

sometimes leads to a search for answers which in turn may lead to

some type of Sadhna, depending on the readiness of the person.

 

This readiness of the individual, determines how far or what

direction the questioning can take them. Temperaments (which in turn

are determined by karma) determine what kinds of Path they are

attracted to.

 

Yes, some may think of this as a convenient escape, running away from

facing the issues that they need to face. They may seek out feel-

good "Gurus" to give some credence to their exsiting ways of doing

things. or do rigorous austerities to take their minds off the karmic

issues they need to address.

 

It is one reason why some of the more authentic Monastic Orders have

strict rules about letting anyone take sanyaas, and have them go

through rigorous practices or trials to prove their commitment to

themselves and the Order. In fact, True Gurus also require commitment

and sincerity even from the average householder sadhak, and aren't

afraid of telling the truth however harsh it may be. They are also

not in the business of "selling" their spiritual "wares".

 

Some on the other hand may do some surface reading or listen to

lectures/Gurus, learn some nice sounding quotes, and when the

problems are solved go back to their old ways of doing things, again

covering up the questioning voice, till the next round of pain and

anxiety. And the cycle goes on again.

 

Others may make the search itself into an Ego centered opportunistic

lifestyle, disguised in spiritual clothing. Still others may parrot

pages and pages of quotes with little application to their life

itself. And still others may find a Path and get carried away in the

glory of the path or the messenger of the path itself.

 

Some, however, may recognize the relative roles of Goal and Paths and

Messengers and accordingly pursue appropriate action. But it all

happens when the time is ripe for them and across liftimes.

 

Only when the tea cup is empty can we fill it with tea.

 

_/\_ Tat twam asi

 

Uma

 

 

post 4794, jigyasa02 <no_reply> wrote:

 

> Is it true, that People go towards spirituality, and or sadhna only

> when they are facing problems in life, have pain of any nature, are

> sad, depressed,feel helpless and want to escape from reality of

> life ? Even if the reality is not totally real.

> Would like to hear views of all sadhak's.

[Guest guest]

Jigyasa's question has been marvellously answered by Uma. I have to

refer Chandogya Upnishad (probably), where the story of Indra and

Virochan is esoterically narrated.Explore whether you are on Indra's

side or that of Virochan.

Love

Satish

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey!

 

advaitam acyutam anAdim ananta rUpam

AdyaM purANapuruSaM nava yauvanaM ca

vedeSu durlabham adurlabham Atma bhaktau

govindam AdipuruSaM tamahaM bhajAmi

 

(Sri Brahma Samahitam -33)

 

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord,

who is inaccessible through the Vedas,

but attainable by divine love

devotion of the individual soul.

My Beloved Lord Govinda

is without a second,

is inexhaustible,

is without a beginning,

possesses unlimited forms,

is the beginning, and

the eternal ancient Personality;

yet He is a person possessing

the beauty of blooming youth."

 

Srimad Bhagavatham describes that the Veda Mantras themselves have

personified and prayed to Lord expressing their inadequacy in fully

knowing Him.

The sacred Vedas and Upanishads have to take the forms of Vraja

Gopikas just to associate and adore the Lord through 'Madhurya Prema

BHAKTI' as they themselves are unable to comprehend the blissful Lord

fully well, even through their Divine knowledge.

 

The foremost Advaita Acarya Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada has also

declared in the first verse of his 'Viveka Chudamani'-

 

"I prostrate myself before Govinda, the true Guru and ultimate Bliss,

who is the 'unattainable resort of all scriptures and Vedanta.'" - 1

 

So the Upanishads are not the highest source of Divine Bliss.

 

.........

 

Their 'essence' is given by the same author, Sri Veda Vyasa in

Bhagavatham.

 

sarva vedAnta sAraM hi zrI bhAgavatam iSyate

tad rasAmRta tRptasya nAnyatrasvAd ratiH kvacit

 

(Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.15)

 

The Glorious Bhagavatam is the QUINTESSENCE of ALL Scriptures and

philosophies.... (Advaita, Visishata advaita, Dvaitaadvaita, Dvaita,

etc.,).

The essence of ALL these philosophies is to ENGROSS the MIND in the

Names, Forms, Pastimes, Qualities and Abodes of Lord Krishna.

This will RESULT in the ATTAINMENT of Divine Love Bliss through God's

Grace.

The ECSTASY of Divine Love, eternally INCREASES through constant

ASSOCIATION with the Names, Attributes, and Pastimes of the Lord.

 

Who ever has been satisfied with relishing the Immortalizing Nectar

of Bhagagavata, will NOT ENJOY any other Scripture nor look for any

other SOURCE of pleasure at any time!

 

- Excerpt from 'Prema Rasa Siddhant', by Sri Kripaluji Maharaj,

available on the net at:

http://jkp.org/literature/index.html

 

The compiler of Vedas, Sri Veda Vyasa has declared again in Srimad

Bhagavatam -

 

zrutamapya upaniSadaM dUre hari kathAmRtAt

yanna saMti dravacitta kaMpAzru pulakAdayaH

 

It is in the best interest of the devotees who are eager to attain

the 'Prema Bhakti', Selfless Divine Love, that they should REMAIN at

a DISTANCE to the DRY INTELLECTUALISM given in the UPANISHADS,

even though it is pertaining to God.

 

The reason being, that THOSE Scriptural statements are INCAPABLE of

melting the heart of the seeker by producing the 'Ashta Sattvica

Bhava Vikara'- blissful Divine Love ecstasy such as TEARS, TREMORS,

HORRIPILATION, SWEATING, TRANCE etc.,

 

as they DO NOT consist the 'Nectar of Hari Katha', the Sweet Pastimes

of Lord Hari.

 

Jagadguru Sri Kripaluji Maharaj has proclaimed in 'Bhakti Shatak'

which is also available on net at:

 

http://jkp.org/literature/index.html

 

'vandanIya hai upaniSat, yAme jnAn mahAn,

zyAma prema binu jnAn so, prANa hIna tanu jAn'

 

(Bhakti Shataka- verse 88)

 

"Upanishads are esteemed because they

contain immense Divine knowledge.

 

But this knowledge DOESNOT produce nor

increase ONE'S LOVE for Sri Krishna.

 

Hence such knowledge is compared to an

unconscious body without life and motion!

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey!

 

Message From Jagat-Guru Sri Kripalu Ji Maharaj:

 

While remembering Radha Krishn and meditating on Their Divine form,

you have to chant Their name, virtues and leelas with tears of love

and longing, and with a deep desire to receive Their Divine vision

and Divine love. During devotion, loving meditation on Their form is

most important. You may form Their image in your own mind. According

to your liking, you may take the help of a Deity or a picture of

Radha Krishn. But, whatever form you create in your mind, you must

imbue Divine feelings in that because the body of Radha Krishn is

always Divine and Blissful.

 

You can choose any form of Krishn (or Radha) from a newly born baby

up to sixteen years of age and mentally decorate that form according

to your desire and choice.

 

Along with the meditation on His form you should also remember His

loving leelas and His virtues, just like: He is the true friend of

every humble soul (deena-bandhu) and a true companion to every fallen

soul (patita-paavan).

 

All the names, virtues, leelas, abodes and the rasik Saints of Radha

Krishn are totally synonymous.

 

You should not have any worldly desire or even the desire of

liberation. You must only desire for His Divine love and His Divine

service.

 

You should always think that your Divine Beloved (Radha Krishn) and

your beloved Master are always with you and are protecting you. Never

ever think that you are alone.

 

All the time in your heart you must remember the name `Radhey

Shyam' or `Radhey Radhey.'

 

You have to keep yourself away from damaging thoughts and bad

associations.

They are: looking to another person's fault;

criticizing other devotees;

desire for popularity;

disappointment in devotion;

laziness in doing devotions;

and friendliness with such worldly people

whose association may spoil your devotional feelings.

 

You have to keep yourself away from all spiritual transgressions

related to the name, form, leelas, virtues, abode, associates, and

the Divine love of Radha Krishna.

 

`Only They are my everything,' this feeling has to be

strengthened in the mind.

 

Yours, Kripalu

 

For more information consult: www.jkp.org

 

Source: Hindu Devotion at http://www.hindudevotion.com/

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

Jaya Sri Radhey!

 

In another episode Brahma the creator gets deluded and wishes to test

whether such an ordinary-looking boy like Krishna playing with the

dust-laden cowherd boys of Brindavan could in fact be the Lord

himself. When the Lord teaches him an unforgettable lesson, Brahma

expresses regret and sings some hymns in His praise. One of them

contains the three valuable Sadhanas that could take one to God-

realization by themselves. Brahma sings (as in the verse below) ---

 

tatte 'nukampAM susamIkSamANo

bhuJjAna evAtmakRtaM vipAkam

hRdvAg vapurbhir vidadhan namaste

jIveta yo mukti pade sa dayAbhAk

 

(Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.8)

 

 

"Lord, one who spends his life praying and looking forward to Your

Grace, quietly experiencing the joys and sorrows that are visited on

him as a result of past actions (Prarabdha), and prostrating to you

with heart, speech and body, becomes ultimately entitled to

liberation (Mukti)."

 

So this actually is a three-in-one Sadhana viz:

(a) incessant prayer for the Lord's Grace;

(b) quietly experiencing Prarabdha-caused joys and sorrows; and

© prostrating to the Lord with heart, speech and body.

 

One should always weep and pray for the Lord's Grace. Why not

take the help of the Lord Himself for attaining Him? One should not

rebel against the sorrows and miseries of life, which are only a

result of one's own earlier actions. These are meant to purify

our

minds.

 

Full acceptance of the Lord's will and bearing all calamities

cheerfully is in itself a Sadhana.

 

Remembering the Lord continuously; surrendering the mind, speech and

body to Him; performing only selfless acts beneficial to mankind;

contemplating on the Lord continuously and either resorting to

silence or surrendering one's speech to the Lord or if need be, using

speech only to chant the names and glories of the Lord, are sure

means for realizing the spiritual goal.

 

Source: Srimad Bhagavatam - by

Swami Shantananda Puri

http://www.geocities.com/radhakutir/homepage.html

 

Jaya Sri Radhey!

[Guest guest]

, jigyasa02 <no_reply> wrote:

> Namaskar ,

>

> Is it true, that People go towards spirituality, and or sadhna only

> when they are facing problems in life,

 

Namaste jigyasa02,

 

Thank you for your question. I am not really sure if it is

depression / problems in life that drive one towards spirituality. I

think there is another reason for it. Before going in to see the

reason, let us see, how people could react when they face problems in

life depending on their respective temperaments. Let us consider the

following story :

 

There was once a family, a mother, father and 6 sons who lived

happily in a village. The family was a pious family, and they all

prayed to God everyday. Daily after their baths, they prayed to God,

and in the evening too, they offered evening prayers.

Everybody in the house loved the youngest son a lot, and petted him

more than necessary. With time unfortunately, the extra petting, only

spoilt him. He resorted to theiving , pickpocketting and to other

petty crimes. One day, he was involved in some murder case and was

arrested and sentenced for 10 years.

 

The mother and the father reacted differently to the same situation.

On hearing the sentence to her son, the mother wept wildly, and

started throwing insults at God. She cried, "I pray to you everyday,

and is this how you repay me? I gave you love, and is this sentence

what you wish to give me in return ? " She felt betrayed , little

realising her own mistake that lead to this sentence. She remained

totally oblivious to the way she spoilt him by petting him more than

necessary. She didn't realise, how she sowed the seed of evil in his

heart and encouraged it to grow by petting him endlessly.

 

Contrarily, the father took to more seriously and cried to

God for help. He realised that only one's karma will come back to him

and that God has no kind of conspiracy against any individual. He

understood man's limitations and prayed to Him for help.

 

Just like in the story, all people do not react to sorrow or problems

in the same way. Some people may get angry at the Lord, and may say

He doesn't exist, little realising their own folly. Most of us don't

realise that the problems we face are of our own making. We always

try to blame someone else for what we make to ourselves, and if we

find none to blame, then we blame God or destiny. (I'll write more

on this in my next post)

 

Thus I wish to say that it is not depression or problems that lead us

to sadhna. What then is it that leads us to sadhna?

I request the members to pour in your thoughts before I offer my 2

cents.

 

Hari Aum !!!

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

I am following this subject thread. Probably this question is not a

discussion point at all. For, as per my understanding..."living a

natural, honest and simple life, loving all, wearing a happy posture"

is the defenition of spirituality. living such life is, of course, is

a Sadhna (Tapa or penance). If everyone can assimilate this, there is

no point of controvercy. After all, experiances of one person hardly

matches that of the other.We are objectively differrent, but

subjectively ONE.

Love is my keyword for Sadhna, and I dont expect everyone to agree

with me...yet I off unconditional love to all of you here'

A droplet of oceanic consciousness of love

Satish

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

Continuing the last message on this subjust, I like to add

something more. That we should do every tusk of our life as His tusk,

not mine. That is called in Gita "Niskarma Karma". This is the actual

Sadhana of our life.

 

with love and light