Query:
What is
Spirituality: How to maintain a balance between day to day personal life and spiritual
life.
Vijay Kumar:
Before I am able
to answer your questions you need to take a vital decision in life ... the goal
of your life. While traveling the spiritual path it is possible that you may not
be able to take care of your parents. The goal of your life is in your own hands
alone. You can receive guidance from many yet; you cannot do away with the final
choices you alone can make.
Establishing
a goal life can vary ... one
can desire becoming Ramakrishna Paramhansa ... a god realized soul
... one who gained enlightenment within this life. Another was Swami Vivekananda
who failed to Realize God within his lifetime. He never wanted to Realize God
... he only wanted a darshan of the God. He truly desired from his heart the welfare
of the common man ... one can within this life either become a Swami Vivekananda
or Mother Teresa ... both wanted to devote their entire life for the cause of
society.
Now ... the cause of society is not the least concern of the true seeker of Spirituality
... a true seeker of Spirituality initially is after Self Realization. Once that
is achieved and having attained the status of a man God like Buddha, Mahavira,
Jesus Christ
and Prophet
Mohammed ... there is no end to providing succor to the ailing society.
Unless one has Realized God ... how can we preach ... and what shall he preach!
All would become a farce unless we practice ourselves what we intend to teach.
The goals and the
paths are absolutely clear. But we need to decide before we embark on the mission
of our life. Many people desire immortality ... type the word immortality in Google
search engine and you shall know how many people really want to gain immortality.
If you ask these people that apart from immortality what else they desire ...
they would be prepared to give you a list of the most wanton desires these people
desire to fulfill in this life before achieving immortality.
The
poor souls are never able to realize the real truth that immortality means Liberation
from the cycle
of birth and death forever ... and a human body has got nothing to
do with it. It is only our atman the soul within, which has embarked on its mission
of gaining absolute purity. The moment the soul leaves the mortal fame having
achieved the state of enlightenment ... is what we call as having gained immortality.
Ask these people
if they are willing to surrender before death ... for if they truly desire immortality
abandoning the garb of a human being is a must. You would get your answers. Most
aspirants of Spirituality want the best of both the worlds ... they want to gain
unlimited materialistic reaches to satisfy their inner urge for sensuous pleasures
and simultaneously they also desire immortality, Self Realization, enlightenment
by whatever means ... only if it was possible.
While proceeding on the path of spirituality ... we need to practice absolute
Celibacy ... practicing Celibacy means no sex ... then how does one expect of
achieving materialistic gains simultaneously. But, in the Spiritual domain one
thing is permitted by God ... the basic needs of the family are taken care of
by God ... provided one proceeds on the path of spirituality with full faith in
the system of God. This happened in the case of Swami Vivekananda ... and it shall
be made possible by God for every true seeker of Spirituality.
It
also happened in my case. Until, August 1993 I was the managing director of a
about $1 million concern and the moment I Realized God ... I was not permitted
by God even to go to my office ... going to an office for the sake of earning
money was too small a goal for a God realized person. I understood the abstract
God desired of me ... it is almost 11 years now but I am never short of my basic
needs ... somehow, God is taking care of myself and the family without fail. I
am an extremely satisfied person yet; the members of my family crave for materialistic
riches beyond the basic needs and in a short while that shall also be achieved
by the grace of God.
The
moment I Realized God ... and without a job ... a source of livelihood ... I was
scared ... In present times one does not seek Bhiksha (alms) as used to happen
during the times of Buddha. My wife is just contrary to me ... if I am the North
Pole ... she is the South Pole. It is very difficult to manage ... but having
come face-to-face with God ... I am in total communion with him every moment of
my life now ... fear is something which now makes me laugh! What more could I
aspire for than the direct grace of God. I have everything what a worldly man
could aspire for.
I took a world trip in 1987 just to know the depth of the people in the west ...
I am not like Swami Vivekananda who went to the west in search for charity ...
and came back empty-handed for none was willing to part with the material riches
in exchange for the Spiritual wealth Swami Vivekananda carried with him ... he
was a living monumental example of what India was in his times. A
person so revered by people world-wide that in his speech in 1893 ... during the
Parliament of World Religions ... he shook the foundations of what we call as
Religion
and Spirituality.
Swami
Vivekananda:
I shall narrate here two incidents in the life of Vivekananda he experienced while
in the west- Swami Vivekananda was so engrossed in Spirituality that he never
read anything from a book ... his every discourse was extempore ... he never quoted
from the books ... he was a living example of what Bhagavad Gita and Spirituality
is all about ... words of Spirituality flowed from his mouth as if he was the
originator of all source of wisdom. His grip on the matters Spiritual was unparalleled.
He was always willing to impart Spiritual wisdom for hours and days together ...
without an iota of doubt ever.
It
so happened that people who were jealous of him and his knowledge ... one day
invited him for a lecture. As destined ... he was to speak extempore. The subject
of the lecture was to be given to Swami Vivekananda at the venue of the meeting.
Swami Vivekananda reached the place at the appointed time. As he approached the
venue ... he could see that a white cloth was tied between the two trees. It seemed
to him that may be it was the background for him from where he was to lecture.
As he came nearer ... he was introduced to the white cloth ... it was supposed
to be the subject of his lecture. He carefully observed the cloth ... it had a
small black spot in the center ... he could not help laughing.
The people in the gathering expected that today Swami Vivekananda is going to
miserably fail in all his endeavors. There was no subject but a white cloth with
a black spot in the center. For a common man the joke was absolutely clear ...
but for Swami Vivekananda ... in a long period of time it was one of the best
subjects one could have put through to him for lecture.
Swami
Vivekananda started that it is a pity that in such a big white cloth you are able
to visualize the central black spot. He emphasized on the fact that the black
spot did not constitute even one per cent of the white cloth ... yet, so much
attendance was being given to it that it was chosen as subject for him to lecture
upon.
Swami Vivekananda
stated that his Guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa had taught him that whatever is available
of the other person ... there is always something in every person in which he
is the best ... take that trait of character from him and forget about everything
else. A thief may be 99% impure in his thoughts and working yet there is always
one per cent which makes him stand out of the rest ... why not we inculcate that
1% in our character and go ahead.
He then came to the vital point ... he stated that you have given the subject
for today as zero. Not realizing what zero signifies ... he started from the origin
of the cosmos ... the Big Bang
occurs from a zero. Every sun, star in the cosmos is in the shape of
a zero ... everything which moves perfectly is round ... the shape of an atom
is round (a zero) ... all pArticles of energy can be broadly classified into spherical
blasts of energy ... the planet mother earth on which we live is round ... his
lecture continued on the topic of zero ... without a break ... those who had gathered
there for the sake of fun regretted ... they were standing in the presence of
one of the Spiritual masters the west had never seen or heard before.
Having put to shame ...
they acknowledged the guilt and left ... they had learnt their lessons ... Swami
Vivekananda pointed out that the subject for today is without a boundary ... he
can continue forever and ever. It was only on the request of the people gathered
there that he put a break to his speech. He never felt bad about anything ...
he could make out that the materialistic tendencies in the west are more dominating
... Spirituality is only limited to the textbooks. He advised practicing Spirituality
in physical life ... in daily life ... as a part and parcel of life.
In
the second instance- Swami Vivekananda was passing through an area where lived
more of Englishmen who particularly prided on being more of a gentleman than a
dhoti wearing hermit from India, a poor country. One young couple passed by and
commented that Swami Vivekananda should have dressed up as a gentleman ... how
uncultured he seems to be!
Swami Vivekananda replied it seems "in your country a tailor makes a gentleman
... in my country where I belong to my culture, our feeling of brotherhood, our
love for motherland, unity in diversity makes a gentleman". He further elaborated
about the various cultures being followed in India and yet, all live in harmony.
The couple was totally taken aback, they profusely apologized for their mistake
and left. This incidence was covered in the newspapers the next day ... there
was nothing but applause everywhere.
In
spite of such instances, Swami Vivekananda continued for a long time touring the
west ... his only desire being to get a portion of the materialistic wealth of
the west for his poor country and in exchange he was willing to give the Spiritual
meaning to the Western society. He miserably failed ... when a returned more than
a year later he was a completely broken man. He never could believe that people
in the west had so much love for money.
In
your case Sindhu, you need to decide the goal of your life ... once that is decided
... it should no longer be a problem for you to live life of your choice. Life
is never binding upon us ... there are thousands and thousands of seekers of Spirituality
you would find in Haridwar, Rishikesh and other centers of Spiritual learning
... most of them ran away from their homes without completing their responsibilities.
We can never gain anything in the Spiritual world unless we put to rest our Karma.
We need to burn out our Karma in totality ... that is only possible if we carry
out our responsibilities in this life.
Like King Janaka who always worked with an unattached attitude towards the daily
routines as a King ... one can always follow the examples of King Janaka. In spite
of his Spiritual bent of mind he was a highly successful king of his times. He
was the father of Sita, the consort of maryada Purushottam Ram ... all
what Ramayana is all about.
You
also must complete your duties towards your parents ... but continue doing what
the sweet small inner voice from within every human being dictates ... you need
to develop yourself to hear that sweet small inner voice ... only then you would
be able to follow it! Practicing Yoga ... following the path of Neti ... the Shavasana
pose ... are all essential ingredients to live a spiritual life to the extreme.
Try to follow a profession of your liking ... initially, it may not be possible
... but when you make sincere efforts ... all is possible in the Spiritual domain
as God always helps true seekers of Spirituality.
If
you do not have a master to guide you on the Spiritual path ... do not despair.
Follow the example of Eklavya ... he became the best archer of his time ... much
ahead of Prince Arjuna ... a pupil of Guru Dronacharya ... who refused accepting
Eklavya as his pupil only because he belonged to a lower caste. Eklavya ... keen
to achieve the goal of his life within this life ... made a clay replica of Guru
Dronacharya ... and practiced before it. I in my own life did not have a Guru
... I requested God to become my Guru ... and he willingly accepted ... from that
day onwards I never looked back ... right from the stage of 13 years of age I
took exactly 25 years before I could Realize God within this life.
Choose for your own self ... how you want to go about in your life ... every individual
human being has different sets of living conditions, working conditions and what
not ... we are only supposed to synchronize all these and simultaneously achieve
the goal of life.
Do
you realize the gravity of the statement you have made, "if you do not let thoughts
come into your head" ... this means ... the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi ... A
stage... when one has already taken over absolute control over the senses and
the mind and put at rest all thoughts flowing into the mind from the reservoir
of Mind Plus and Mind Minus. The moment I reached the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi
it was only a period of about three years before I Realized God.
Gaining
control over the senses and the mind is the most difficult task a human being
encounters while proceeding on the path of spirituality ... the sensuous pleasures
... the materialistic brightness world-wide ... the wanton desires ... liking
for what not are all under the control of our senses ... really difficult to get
out ... but not impossible! Think over ... first choose your goal ... proceed
ahead with right earnestness ... you shall be successful one-day.
You also need to practice
patience, which is one of the most important ingredients on the path of spirituality.
Even Swami Vivekananda lacked in practicing absolute patience ... so was the case
with Acharya Rajneesh aka Osho. We need to practice patience to its extreme ...
In present times it was only Gandhiji who was able to practice patience even in
the most adverse circumstances while facing the British rule.
I
need time for my own chores ... from now onwards hopefully I shall be able to
reply early. Do not stop sending your queries ... unless the queries within dissolve
... you shall not be able to follow the Spiritual path in right earnestness.
God
be with you.
Always
there to clarify your queries (send
your query),
Vijay
Kumar "Atma
Jnani"
Vijay Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 on What is Spirituality.
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Full text of query:
I do not
really have any queries that I need to ask, but you can give me some guidance,
which is all that I am looking for. To describe my situation, I am at the moment
in between two worlds, the physical, or material or real or whatever you call
it and the Spiritual. As a result I spend almost every waking hour contemplating
or readiing about or pursuing spiriuality and have absolutely no interest in any
of the mundane activities of life like work or anything. I go to the office and
all that I do is look through Websites on Spirituality, and related subjects.
I am stuck in a place that I am finding very hard to get out of. I think I might
be imbalanced to a certain level and I need to know if everyone goes through this
in their quest for the devine or am I doing something wrong? I am lucky that by
gods grace I have not lost my job yet....and I cant afford to as I have my parents
to take care of. I am 24 and when everyone is out there with the objective of
making money I feel like a freak.
The
rest of my time I practice Yoga and I do a very simple form of Meditation which
is Sudarshan Kriya, which I know is not harmful. What do I do to strike a balance
between both Spiritual and personal life? Living in a city like Bangalore I do
not even have a guru that I can go to ir rather dont know of any. Oh and one more
question I have is, if you do not let thoughts come into your head, does it help
sharpen your intuition? I mean when you are NOT meditating......... YOu can help
me by atleast telling me of anyone I can go to to talk to or for guidance.
