Voice of Wisdom

The Significance of One’s Duty

There is a story in the Mahabharata which illustrates how neglecting one’s duty can become himsa (injurious) to yourself and others. A young monk sitting under a tree was meditating when the droppings of a bird fell on him. The monk got very angry and looked up at the bird which resulted in the bird being burnt to death. The monk later went to a nearby village to beg for food. He stopped at one house and asked for food. The lady of the house came out and asked him to wait while she went back inside. The impatient monk raised his voice in anger at which the lady came out and said, “I am not the little bird that you can burn with your anger.” The monk was taken aback and asked how she knew about the incident. The lady replied, “First come inside and have food. I was not sitting idle while you were waiting. I was doing my duty of attending to my sick husband, and now I am ready to serve you. I am an ordinary housewife, discharging my duties with love for God. If you want to know more go to the butcher in the next village and he will teach you.”

This puzzled the monk even more. He could not understand how a butcher who lived by killing animals and selling their flesh could be his teacher. But he decided to see for himself and approached the butcher. The butcher looked at him and said, “I know that the lady from the next village sent you. Please wait till I finish my work and we will go home and have a discussion.” When the butcher took him home, he first attended to his old parents by serving them food and making them comfortable. Then he served some food to the monk before he himself took his food. After eating he said, “I know you are curious about how the lady and I know about you. Each human life is full of duties and responsibilities. We are not great yogis or scholars. We try to do our duties in the best possible manner. You are a young man with few attachments, yet your father is old with nobody to take care of him. Have you thought about him? Being the only son you have neglected your duty towards him, which has caused him pain. Please go back home and serve your ailing father. Do your assigned duty well and everything else will come to you.”

Stitha Prajna - Apr 2005

Blinded by Passion

Because of the thoughts arising in the mind, passion and desire are born. The sense organs themselves are not dangerous.

I will tell you the story of a man from a rich family. He had all kinds of vices. Overindulgence in luxurious food and drink and women. He could not stay for a single night without going to a prostitute. This is a true story. One night, in a big storm, he set out to go to the house of the prostitute, who lived on the other side of the river, which was in floods, and he decided to swim across. When passion comes, one does not know what one is doing.

He caught hold of what appeared to be a log of wood and crossed over to the other side. Saving the log of wood for going back, he walked over to the woman's house, which was locked. Mistaking a dead snake, which was hanging, to be a rope, he used it to climb up to the top floor. A very offensive smell was coming from his body. After he cleaned himself the woman asked him how he came and upon verification it was found that what he thought was rope was actually a snake and what he thought was a log was actually a dead human body. The woman then asked him, “What is in this body of mine that you are so attached to, risking your life to come here?” These words caused an inner awakening in his mind and instead of returning home, he went into the forest to try and meditate.

But the mind could not be controlled easily. After sometime he saw a beautiful woman and his old thoughts again came back and he followed her. This made him realize his weakness and thinking that his eyes were the cause of his weakness he pricked his eyes with thorns and made himself blind. This is the story of Surdas who later became a highly elevated soul.

Stitha Prajna Jan 2005

Nachiketa

There is a Vedic text on spiritual wisdom known as the Kaóhopanißad. In this text, a young boy became unhappy with his father, as he knows what his father is doing is wrong. The boy is hardly ten years old, but is firmly convinced that his father is on the wrong path. In our daily life, if we know that someone is committing a mistake, be that person younger than us or older than us or of the same age, what is our duty? It is our duty to help him and stop him from doing the mistake. This boy in this Upanishad text very humbly points out to his father that he is on the wrong path. The human being has ego. When someone points out a mistake, our ego is hurt and instead of admitting the mistake, we try to cover it up or defend ourselves. A person who is rational accepts a remark and examines himself to see if he is making a mistake. By correcting our mistakes we evolve. There is a subtle difference between a mistake and a crime. A repeated mistake becomes a crime. A mistake can be excused the first time. But if repeated again, knowing it is a mistake; it is not a mistake anymore. You can commit a mistake but do not commit the same mistake again.

When the boy in the story points out the father's mistake, the father is upset and sends the son to the god of death, Yama. A beautiful dialogue takes place between the young boy named Nachiketa and Yama, the god of death. I will not go into the details of the text, but let us come to this word Yama, the god of death. One who loves Yama attains immortality and one who is afraid of Yama will die. Nachiketa becomes immortal, as he meets the god of death with love.

Hidden Treasures

There was a man who had four sons. By his hard work the father was wealthy. The sons were idle and were enjoying the wealth of the father without realizing the value of self-effort. As the father grew old he was concerned about the future of his idle sons. As he laid on his deathbed he told his sons that he had buried some treasure in his land and they could explore and use it. The father died. The sons started exploring for the treasure. At first they tried digging here and there and did not find any thing. Then they decided to dig though the whole land and still did not find any thing. The time of monsoon was approaching and one of them suggested since they cultivated the land why not sow the seeds. So they did that and in course of time it yielded a beautiful golden harvest. They realized that it must be the treasure the father was talking about, as there was no other treasure. Life is the land and when cultivated would yield the treasures lying dormant in us.

Most of our energy lies untapped, because rather than looking in to the source, we spend our precious time searching for answers outside of ourselves. Meditation is the key with which we can unlock the treasures buried deep within us, which can transform our lives from ordinary to extraordinary. We can be successful in every arena of our lives, living rich, full and powerful lives filled with love and happiness.

By spending a few minutes each day, stilling our active minds, shutting down our overactive senses and listening quietly to the voice within, we can tap the source within us and emerge with the unending bliss we have been searching for all our lives.

Being Still

During the time of Buddha there was a criminal who lived in a forest. He was fierce and was a terror to the people of the nearby villages, as he vowed to kill 1000 people and make a rosary with their thumbs. Buddha was warned not go into that forest. Buddha who was fearless in his love for God went that way. The criminal was sitting under a tree and when he saw Buddha walk by, drew his sword and asked him to stay still. Buddha smiled and said, "I am still .You are the one who is restless." The man was surprised that some one dared to talk to him thus. He said, "How can you say that. You are walking and I am sitting down". Buddha smiled and said, "I am moving but my mind is still. You are sitting but very restless". This criminal had never heard a voice so peaceful and full of love. The power of that love transformed him completely and approaching Buddha with great remorse for all the sins he committed, he begged him to accept him as a disciple follower. Buddha accepted him as a follower. The next day Buddha said, "If you want to follow me, you have to live in a certain way. You have to beg for food each day, as we live by begging. Be prepared to accept all situations without reacting". When the criminal went begging he had to face many insults as he was begging at the doors of families who lost their dear ones because of his crimes. He bore them all without reacting and was truly repentant. As he was coming back with the empty bowl, Buddha met him on the way and said, "You have learnt how to be still. Come, we will share the food that I brought". We should know how to be still.

Radio Interview with Pmhs. Prajnananandajee

Detroit, Michigan August 11, 2001

Interviewer - Swamiji, Could you please explain to us what is Yoga and in particular about Kriya Yoga.

Swamiji - Yoga is a philosophy that should be practiced in every breath, in every step of our life. Yoga means union- the union of two. We have a body and the body is active because of the presence of soul in the body. If the soul leaves the body, the body is dead and useless and one who experiences the presence of soul through every breath and who realizes "Who am I?" can always be in the state of peace and joy.

Coming to Kriya Yoga in particular, Kriya Yoga is the most ancient style of yoga as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Any work we do is not by body alone, but because of the soul and through every work to experience the presence of the soul actually will lead us to divinity. This is the message of Kriya Yoga.

Interviewer - In order to excel in Kriya Yoga or any other yoga does one need a guru? If so, how can you go about finding a guru and one more question - can one have more than one guru?

Swamiji - Thank you. If I want to drive a motorcar, I cannot drive unless I learn to drive. I need a teacher who can show me how to drive. Similarly yoga is a scientific method. If you only read the book and try to practice, it may not be so easy. It is good to have a guide who has been practicing yoga and has enough experience and can guide us on how to practice.

Interviewer - So guru plays a very vital role in your life and it is good to learn from the guru's experience.

Swamiji - Yes. That is necessary, but most people think guru means one to whom you surrender completely without asking any questions. It is not like that. Just as we go to school and learn from a teacher we go to a teacher to practice yoga.

Interviewer - Swamiji, different gurus have different views towards a particular learning experience, and would the disciple be not confused by having more than one guru.

Swamiji - Thank you. It is a beautiful question. If a bee goes from flower to flower for honey, how long does the bee stay with the flower? Only so long as there is honey in the flower. Similarly in spiritual life one goes to a teacher and practices and one should see if one progresses or not and if he is experiencing what the teacher promised. If the student is progressing he can learn something more from the teacher. Sometimes the teacher may send the student to some other teacher to practice. Sometimes the student may feel I have something more to learn and at that time the student can go, but without any confusion or doubt.

Interviewer - Swamiji. How long does it take out of the day to practice yoga and then when you have a family there may be a conflict with the family issues and the time you need to spend with the spouse and children. How can you resolve it?

Swamiji - Don't think that to practice yoga you need to devote many hours. Especially the Kriya Yoga meditation that we teach and practice takes 20 -30 minutes a day. But remember that if we give twenty to thirty minutes a day, the mind becomes so peaceful that we can work more efficiently and save much more time that we lose because of fear, anxiety and tension. Especially in family life, when one has a peaceful and loving mind through practicing meditation and yoga, one can have a better family life.

Interviewer - It is really very interesting to have you on the air Swamiji. Can you somehow correlate or connect the art of yoga with modern science - the scientific approach in that people constantly ask questions about 'how' and 'why' and 'what can be done further'. Now the time has come in religion also people ask 'why'. Can you tie Yoga with some of the scientific applications?

Swamiji - Thank you. The Kriya yoga that we practice is based on breath. I will give you a few examples of the scientific proof of how mind and breath are correlated. Suppose one is angry. The breath is fast and the heart pumps quicker. The brain does not get more blood or oxygen, face becomes red and some parts of the hand muscles get more blood and the capability of decision is hampered when we are angry. So one takes wrong decisions. When a person is under tension and anxiety the breath is faster but in sleep the breath is slow and rhythmic. So we teach that if we decrease the rate of breath, - say a person breathes 15 - 20 times a minute (when angry one breathes 30 - 35 times a minute) and we can regulate the breath to 10 or 6 times a minute, the body gets enough oxygen, the body metabolism is decreased, the mind becomes peaceful and we get more energy and rejuvenation than even in sleep.

Interviewer - Does it have any correlation with the dietary habits or the food you take?

Swamiji - Thank You. It is a very common question. You cannot universalize food. The food is different from person to person, the quality as well as the quantity. The food should be wholesome and healthy. The food should not be too stimulating to the nerves and brain like drinks that some people take. The food should also be not tamasic which causes lethargy. It should be nourishing, simple and healthy and not that which causes disease.

Interviewer - So your food habits, yoga and your mental alertness and mental peace are all interrelated.

Swamiji - Yes, they are. When one drinks a few cups of coffee, one is more irritated and more nervous. But if one takes more fruit one is more peaceful. So food influences the mind.

Interviewer - One question I have is,people go to the temples and churches to many lectures whether on yoga or on scriptures very sincerely. But when it comes to practicing what they learnt, either yoga or ethics they are not as enthusiastic. How can you encourage people to implement rather than just listening?

Swamiji - Thank you. A child goes to school and learns something. But if the child does not do the homework, the child will not get success in school. Similarly we go to some teachers and monks and listen to them but if we don't practice we don't get perfection. It is good if the teacher spends some more time with the student and the student tries to find more time to spend with the teacher to practice under the direct guidance of the teacher. Then to follow at home one needs determination and willpower. Early in the morning I want to meditate. But the mind says sleep a little more. So there is a conflict between the lethargy and what I really need to do. So if one is a little determined that it is good and one will do it helps. When one practices a little more and gets the real benefit one would not want to miss it. So in the beginning you need a little more determination and willpower to follow and when you get the benefit the benefit gives the encouragement. To keep in touch with the teacher gives some more encouragement.

Interviewer - Swamiji, do you think we need to make revolutionary changes and improve our social and family structure in order to bring some priority to spiritual aspect of life, whether it is yoga or going to temples and following religious principles.

Swamiji - We are human beings. God has given us a body. The body should be healthy and strong. God has given a mind - the mind should be peaceful and loving. God has given a family where we should live with love and cooperation. God has also given the opportunity to grow. So how to grow simultaneously with sound health, good mind, peaceful, loving relationship and at the same time spiritually with joy, happiness, calmness and love? We have to change our lifestyle a little to accommodate everything. We are what we do. We are what we think, we have to change our activities, lifestyle and thinking patterns a little. Not change radically and become a swami, where we live we can live better. Every tomorrow can be a better tomorrow. We should try for that.

Interviewer - So the success of the whole thing depends on how you optimize the various aspects of life rather than following only one thing and neglecting the other things. Do you think we should bring balance in the value system?

Swamiji - Yoga is to live in a balanced and healthy life. In the Bhagavad Gita it is said, samatvam yoga ucyate-to bring balance in life. To bring balance in daily life and values in life, we should not make so much compromise to sacrifice our real purpose for some trivial benefit or little pleasure and waste our life in an unnecessary way. So we should try for our own transformation. If I change every thing changes.

Interviewer - Swamiji, I really thank you and it is an honor to have you with me on this program. People from all over the world must have listened to the good guidance you gave and in conclusion briefly would you like to give some message?

Swamiji - Thank you Narenderji. Life is a gift of God. God has given us many opportunities. If we do not use the this gift in a nice way to make our life beautiful and to present our life in this world at the altar of God in a better way then we are missing this opportunity. We should try to make our life better by changing our habits, our thinking pattern and our day-to-day life style so our life can be better. We should be happy and we should make others happy. We should be healthy and we should make others healthy. We should be peaceful and we should make others peaceful. We should be in love and joy and we should try to transmit love and joy to others and everywhere.

Interviewer - Thank you Swamiji.

Swamiji - Let the blessings of God and Gurus be upon you all.