Yearning Hearts, Expanding Vision - Daaji's Tamil Nadu Travel Diaries
2024.56 - Friday, 1 November 2024
October 16, 2024: From Karnataka to Hosur
It was with hearts full of anticipation and love that the abhyasis of Tamil Nadu awaited beloved Daaji’s arrival. His last visit had been in 2019, so the air was filled with excitement.
On the afternoon of October 16, Daaji was set to arrive in Hosur by road from CREST Bengaluru, but the heavens seemed determined to present obstacles. Chennai was experiencing heavy downpours, leading to the cancellation of trains and flooding on the roads. But the weather calmed, and the hearts of the abhyasis of Tamil Nadu were ready to be replenished by Daaji’s presence.
The joy was palpable as Daaji was greeted by a sea of loving hearts at the Heartfulness community at Hosur. He spent time meeting the abhyasis and volunteers who waited patiently to welcome him.. Daaji, with his usual grace, spent time meeting everyone, engaging with them, and then taking rest before preparing for the evening satsangh.
The Hosur community has been designed with a central meditation hall surrounded by residents’ homes and gardens. The feeling of community and belonging associated with the Heartfulness Movement was palpable at this beautiful site. An outdoor dining hall was set up for the event, which felt like a grand celebration. Faces shone with smiles and sparkling eyes during dinner, and joy radiated everywhere.
October 17, 2024: Stages of Remembrance
On Thursday, October 17, the atmosphere was charged with love and devotion, and the day began with satsangh, followed by an inspiring talk from Daaji.
He said, “During this meditation, some new guidelines were pouring into my heart from above, and I’m simply awestruck witnessing those dictations, which were not in words but in gestures. One gesture was about the time in our country, in our culture, when we were encouraged to touch our parents’ feet. We did Sashtang Namaskaram1 to our parents, our elder sisters and brothers, our uncles and aunts, and guests who visited our homes. Babuji says that it is time to revive that tradition, at least within our Heartfulness community. This will trigger mutual love and respect within the family.
"Imagine that you get up early in the morning and touch your parents feet very respectfully, with a lot of love and reverence. Even if you fought the day before, this very act will dissolve your pain, your guilt, and all the sadness that you may have carried in your heart. Try it, and see what happens.
"Second, it is wonderful when both husband and wife are meditating, but it is even better when they practice meditation together every morning. In Indian society, we are used to women waking up early, performing household chores, and being very busy in the kitchen. Husbands should also get up early and meditate together with their wives beforehand. It will change the vibrations in the house.
"Third, Babuji wants us to exercise.
"Contemplate on the stages of thinking to remembrance to frequent remembrance to constant remembrance to remaining absorbed in the remembrance of the Lord in all our day-to-day activities; and if you can go beyond just thinking, remembering, remaining absorbed, drowned in His remembrance, the next stage will automatically open up—being lost in the remembrance of the Lord.
"Think over these steps, and how we can dive into that state of being lost in the remembrance of the Lord."
En Route to Krishnagiri
When Daaji left Hosur, he was invited to visit a large Chennai Silks shop on the main road of Hosur, where he introduced himself to many guests and hundreds of employees. It was a beautiful sight as Daaji went through the various sections of the shop, every move followed closely by the abhyasis and staff.
There were dignitaries present from the World Peace Trust, including Mr. Viswanathan and Mr. Murthy, two of the trustees. To them, Daaji spoke about the intricate relationship between belief, experience, and the cultivation of inner peace. He suggested that while belief in God can be a starting point, true and lasting peace is attained through direct experience of the Divine. This experiential connection deepens our sense of peace and solidifies faith by replacing doubt with certainty.
He spoke about the importance of meditation and the shedding of old habits in the journey toward inner peace. He emphasized specific practices, such as the Heartfulness Cleaning practice, which is helpful to shed our weaknesses and negative tendencies, and the 9 p.m. Universal Prayer for peace that aids in collective well-being and harmony.
Daaji also spoke about renunciation, suggesting that true peace may require letting go even of the desire for spiritual experiences. Clinging to these experiences, however blissful, can be a subtle obstacle to ultimate peace.
It was a very interesting conversation that showed Daaji's multifaceted approach to peace, combining the Heartfulness practices with the inner work of self-reflection and the release of unwanted habits.
He then conducted satsangh to the Chennai Silks staff members before the journey led us to the ashram and community at Krishnagiri, which is part of the Hosur zone.
Despite the intense heat, Daaji gave a satsangh upon arrival at 12 p.m. and another at 4:30 p.m. He also noticed around 100 Anganwadi workers, who were wearing the same pink saree uniform, and inquired about their attire. They were very happy to interact with Daaji up close, and he then invited them to have a group photo with him. It was truly a very heartfelt outpouring of affection from both Daaji and the sisters. The simple gesture of a group photograph touched their hearts in a very profound manner.
Later, Daaji was back on the road, and after a two-hour drive he arrived in Vellore, where he was received with police honors and escorted to the venue, a large marriage hall. The hearts of the Vellore abhyasis, full of yearning, moved Daaji and he said, “I want to conduct satsangh right away.” Tears filled many eyes as he settled to fulfill their wish.
After satsangh, Daaji retired to his hotel and shared a simple dinner with a few abhyasis.
October 18, 2024: Love Irons Out All the Wrinkles
The following morning saw Daaji rising early to meet with abhyasis who had gathered at the hotel. Then he moved to the marriage hall to conduct satsangh and give a talk. He said, “Some deep contemplative thoughts provoke me to talk. We all work. No one can escape the burden, the responsibility, the duty, the compulsion of work. Even Lord Krishna says that he cannot remain idle even for a fraction of a moment, otherwise the universe will collapse.
"He also gives great importance to witnessing, and the Vedas and Upanishads also talk highly of witnessing, sakshi bhav. Sahaj Marg also boldly talks about sakshi bhav, but with the added element of bhakti, of love. Love irons out all the wrinkles, all the insufficiencies, the dryness of work. Work will no longer be a burden from our side—something that has been thrust upon us. This element of love propels karma to vikarma and finally to akarma.
"We remain awestruck—how could Babuji conceive such an idea that summarizes everything that India has to offer in the realms of spirituality? It’s a magical thing. The whole cycle of birth and death, the cycle of the evolution of consciousness, the entire affair of human existence, angelic existence, depends upon this principle.
"Some of us act without thinking. It has become our second nature to work, and to behave in certain ways, without much thinking. The inertia of habit takes over. Whenever this inertia takes over, we stop thinking. We become slaves of our habits. So Babuji says, ‘We are yet but slaves of wishes…’ You can also say, we are yet but slaves of our habits. We have to get out of this vicious cycle of repeated desires and habits, so some thinking is needed—what is good for me, what is bad for me? Discernment is required.
"You work, you think, and the next level is to see how you feel about the whole thing. Women are very good at it; they feel things. Most men override the feelings of the heart. They put stones on the heart even when the heart says don’t do it! Men often succumb to impulsive behaviors, impulsive habits. Further to that, Babuji says, do things with love. So there is work, there is thinking, there is feeling, and when you add this spice of love in your action, it becomes akarma. This is how you can fulfill the conditions Lord Krishna proclaims in the Bhagavad Gita, where you will surely not form samskaras.
"Whenever we are working in totality, in sync with our heart, with love, we cannot form samskaras. And when we don’t form samskaras, where is the need to clean? But we still continue cleaning—if not for ourselves, hopefully so that other things around us will also be cleaned.
"Imagine you are just about to start your work and you feel, ‘This is wrong,’ and you withhold yourself. Congratulate yourself, as you have avoided forming something that is not good for your spiritual upliftment. You did not complete that task. Now, when you are about to do something really good and you don’t complete it, then it forms very deep samskaras—not just samskaras but also guilt. Guilt is heavier than samskaras. For example, you may have started your duty of serving your parents, but you did not complete it and they’ve passed on. You will remember all the things you have left incomplete.
"Babuji Maharaj says very plainly and simply, guilt is not samskara. Guilt is something very deep; not even Master can clean it, not even God can clean it. You have done it deliberately with your own choice, your own freedom. And this principle applies to everything. When you are about to do something noble, things left half done will always form samskaras and guilt.
"So whenever you start something good, complete it. For example, it’s good to start meditation, but many of us have started and are not able to meditate regularly. Don’t we all have some level of guilt? Think over it. If the very process of evolution we have undertaken is not completed, then the process becomes toxic for us.
"With such a system, with Pranahuti and the guidance of the great Masters, if we still remain the way we are, whom can we blame? If this life cannot uplift us, despite such help, which later life will uplift us? So, it’s time to wake up! Think very sincerely and deeply over it, implement whatever you can, and adjust your lifestyle. Let’s all flourish and make our Masters proud."
In the next bulletin we will follow Daaji to Thiruvallur, Chennai, and Tiruppur before his return to Kanha Shanti Vanam.
