Gathering at Panvel Ashram, Mumbai
Friday, 13 March 2015
“Go and work like never before” was the ending note for a group of new preceptors prepared and permitted by Master on Thursday evening. On the same evening, a call from Chennai landed in Mumbai – twelve hours of advance notice about a journey. Well, Mumbai team still argues that it was much less than twelve hours!
Master reached Mumbai at around 9.00 a.m. and drove straight to the new ashram land at Badlapur. He conducted satsang at the new land and planted trees. Ashram team was advised to plant trees along the boundary.
Master reached Panvel ashram late afternoon. He conducted satsang and gave a talk in Hindi.
He said, we all know that one has to balance the material and spiritual aspects of life – they are the two wings of a bird. Wings are necessary to fly. We often forget about the role of the tail. Tail gives direction to flight. What is this tail? With expansion of consciousness, heart starts guiding on all aspects of life, material and spiritual. This guidance from heart is automatic. He later posed an interesting question: “Philosophically speaking, the idea of balancing material and spiritual aspects of life is okay. They belong to two different dimensions. How to balance things from different dimensions?”
This talk ended with an emphasis: “We are all here for brahma vidya. We all want to practise and achieve. Then, why not do it wholeheartedly? Why not do it with joy?”
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Morning started with thunder, lightning and rain. Master got up early and started working. He was giving final touches to the “Heartfulness” initiative, which will create a simple mechanism for seekers from all over the globe to connect with the Mission and learn to meditate.
He was going through Master’s messages and ruminating on the meaning. The morning session started with a question: what is the purpose of life?
“Purpose of life is to excel in every aspect of life. Yoga is a means, efficient self is the product.”
Master conducted satsang around 7.30 a.m. – thousands attended. The gathering kept growing. Abhyasis started coming to Panvel from many centres: Mumbai and its sub-centres, Solapur, Nasik, Ahmednagar, Chikli, Kolhapur, Pune, Surat, etc.
Master conducted the second satsang of the day at around 11.00 a.m., and gave a talk covering a wide spectrum of aspects related to spiritual life from his own experience.
“It is really difficult to speak after such a sitting and, also, I am dumbfounded as what to say. Nevertheless I will start with something and let’s see how it goes. All of us have started this practice of Sahaj Marg, voluntarily, with a lot of expectations, with a lot of hopes or whatever we were looking for in the beginning. What was our original ideal aspiration for which we all joined such a system? For me, personally, I stumbled upon this system because a friend of mine advised, ‘Kamlesh, why are you wasting your time like this? You come and meditate, the way we meditate.’ I was meditating no doubt before coming to Sahaj Marg. But this friend of mine challenged me, you know, kind of: what do you get out of what you have been doing? Come and see what we are doing, you see.”
Master talked about various difficulties in pursuit of spiritual life and quoted many personal instances of how he faced them: the distractions and pressures of student life; personal losses leading to loss of hope; guilt arising out of lack of commitment to practice.…
It was clear that he took his practice very seriously, with full of joy and passion, and had applied this principle that our beloved Master had mentioned several times: “Work like you play and play like you work.” Master touched upon so many aspects; it is difficult to comprehend them in words here.
The talk grew into an interaction. There was a good deal of laughter when one sister asked, “Master, I want to know who is an ideal woman?”
Master said, “Ideal woman? It is a tough one. [Laughter] Why are you asking? Let the men ask. Anyway, but I love this question so much because… I wish you would read a lecture by Swami Vivekananda, ‘The Women of India’. And he highly praises two women so much. He says, if the world has to learn from the past from a lady, there are two women that stand out in my vision, in my understanding, and I don’t hope that future will yield such women again. So now you read that lecture; I cannot repeat that as it is a very long talk.”
Master conducted the third satsang of the day and later had a meeting with a group of around hundred and twenty preceptors. This informal session kept moving from methods to attitude and service, to conduct of life, with examples from our beloved Master’s life. The environment became very soft and all were lost in the idea of divine service beyond words, leading to enthusiasm and commitment for excellence.
“To remain an effective preceptor, preceptor has to embrace intense sadhana.”
“We should not think we are better, because in His eyes all are equal. In His eyes nobody is greater or lesser.”
“The best way to work in Sahaj Marg: work quietly in anonymity.”
Master emphasised that functionaries and preceptors must observe etiquette, courtesy in all interactions. Suppose an abhyasi wants to offer some suggestions, then functionary must listen and make an effort to create an official report on the suggestions given. This is a simple way to acknowledge and involve all in the work.
He talked about the principle of acceptance. Accept everything and accept in a state of surrender. Surrendering to what? Surrendering to life itself. Accept cheerfully; whatever comes, accept. “Strive to become an insignificant servant for Divine cause.”
Master talked about the need for confidence, and said, “I wish you all develop tremendous confidence in the great Master we have. Be courageous with this approach. Their help is enormous”
The day ended with everybody sitting for meditation at 10.00 p.m. A long day where sense of time was almost lost!
Sunday, 15 March 2015
The day started with an early morning meeting with the chairman of a large educational institute. The institute is taking up an initiative to implement relaxation techniques for children. Master gave a practical session on this.
Around three thousand abhyasis had gathered for Sunday satsang at Panvel ashram. Master conducted satsang and shared his thoughts on the need for preparation to achieve compatibility with higher worlds.
“One thought was passing my mind during meditation. It came in the beginning and in end – and this thought was, “What will it be when I am in the company of Gods? When I am in the company of my beloved Masters? When I enter the Brighter World? If at all I make it there, how will it be like? How to prepare myself so that I can survive in that pure atmosphere? It is okay to be getting used to the polluted environment of larger cities and the lifestyle of larger cities. But to get adjusted to that purest spiritual environment, where the great saints mingle with each other, and how my little Self would converse with them, associate with them, you see. How to prepare ourselves for that moment?”
“Sahaj Marg teaches this very nicely – not just teaches but prepares us for that moment, for that spiritual life during this life itself. For example, if water has to mix with water, both have to be of similar nature. Water and oil – they cannot mix. Oil can mix with oil. Corrupt person cannot mingle with purer entity; I have to be pure to mingle with another pure person. We have seen marriages, for example. Why do we look forward to compatibility between two persons? At least there should be emotional compatibility. If it is not there, then there are challenges for entire lifetime; you are forced to terminate it at times. So this compatibility doesn’t really exist only or merely in the material world. This compatibility applies much more in spiritual world as well, you see.”
He was enthusing us to take up the practice with heart full of love and passion for the purpose: “Prepare and achieve compatibility with the higher.”
Around 9.00 a.m., another journey started.
