Dialog with loved ones – July 2019
शुभाशीर्वाद,
भक्ति तो प्रेम की पराकाष्ठा है। धारणा, ध्यान और पूजन तो आरम्भिक अवस्था है। वास्तव में साधक बनना सरल है, किन्तु भक्त बनना बहुत ही उच्च स्तर की स्थिति है।
भक्ति पदारथ तब मिलै, तब गुरु होय सहाय ।
प्रेम प्रीति की भक्ति जो, पूरण भाग मिलाय ॥
हर व्यक्ति में एक कर्त्ता का भाव होता है। वह जगत के कार्य करता है तो सोचता है कि यह कार्य मैं कर रहा हूं। वह कहीं-कहीं अपने ‘मैं’ को बढ़ाता रहता है, लेकिन जो भक्त होता है वह यह सोचता है कि मेरे सारे कार्य गुरु कृपा से, ईश्वर के द्वारा सम्पन्न हो रहे हैं। मैं तो निमित्त मात्र हूं। तब जीवन में किसी भी प्रकार का बोझ भारी नहीं लगता।
कार्य कर रहे हैं, कार्य चल रहा है, परिणाम अच्छा ही होगा। यही भाव भक्त के मन में सदैव रहता है। उसे जीवन में कोई भी स्थिति कष्टप्रद नहीं लगती है क्योंकि वह जानता है कि मेरे गुरु, मेरे साथ है। उनका ही तेज मेरे जीवन में प्रकाशित हो रहा है। सब उनका ही दिया है, और मुझे अपने जीवन में वे निरन्तर और निरन्तर प्रदान करते रहेंगे।
तुम खुद को भीड़ का हिस्सा मत समझना
तुम्हारे अंदर एक जमाना है
सदैव खुश रहो….
नन्द किशोर श्रीमाली
Dear loved one,
May you stay happy!
Today, I am going to have an important discussion with you. It is on subjects like Sadhana, Shakti or power, Kundalini energy and devotion. I am sure you have read a lot about <em>Tantra </em>and have inculcated <em>Sadhanas</em> (spiritual practices) into your lifestyle.
My heart swells with pride when I see this pleasant development in my disciples. The way my disciples have immersed themselves in the Guru Sadhana and Shakti Sadhana is unprecedented and it has led to the dispelling of the wrong notions attached to the divine knowledge practice of Tantra.
So far, Tantra was perceived as a complex and complicated system. With your devotion and the practice of Tantra philosophies, you have destroyed these myths totally.
I congratulate you on this achievement!
My next question to you, if somebody asks you who you are?
How would you introduce yourself? Are you a devotee or a sadhak?
The reason I am asking this question to you is that you feel that there is a difference between performing sadhanas, acquiring energy and devotion. Few scholars have even termed devotion as an outcome of dejection. Nothing could be further from the truth because devotion is for the brave.
I perceive devotion is the culmination of love. The initials steps towards becoming a sadhak start with a belief. In the next step, you meditate on that belief and finally, you raise that belief to the pedestal of worship. However, reaching the stage of devotion is entirely different. It is an exalted stage.
Devotion is not the stage of powerlessness. Apparently, it seems like an exercise in humility but it is certainly for the empowered souls. A devotee is a soul that has been separated from his deity, his God, his Guru and is eager to unite with Him to experience the oneness of the soul.
There is hardly a difference between the devotee and the divine. The more important fact to remember is that you cannot walk on the path of devotion on your own. Rather, you need the divine inspiration of the Guru to reach the stage of the devotee.
If devotion is the ultimate stage in disciple hood, you would be curious to know, where does Sadhana rank? It is a form of spiritual practice.
You can start practicing on your own, but to become a devotee you need the divine grace of the Guru. Only when the master chooses to bestow his grace on the disciple, the disciple can move to the next stage of becoming a devotee. Remember, only Guru can transform you into a devotee.
When the Sadhak completely immerses himself within an ocean of love, then he starts to see his God, his Guru in everything. Just the way Hanuman loses himself in the word Rama, for a devoted disciple, his world revolves around his Guru. When devotion takes over a disciple, he undergoes a transformation.
In this world, where materialism is at the crux of every relationship devotion is the most innocent form of love. For a devotee, waiting at the doorstep of the Guru is an opportunity to serve and reflect. He doesn’t get annoyed on being asked to wait. On the contrary, he feels blessed because the Guru has chosen him to wait.
With absolute devotion comes absolute power. A devotee is not detached from this world. Like all of us, he lives in it and enjoys every bit of it. The differentiating factor is his infinite love for the deity, and the Guru, to whom he is devoted.
He is filled with divine love in all his actions. Therefore, he doesn’t pay heed to what others are thinking about him. The guiding light in his life is his love towards his Guru and the divine. You may misunderstand his devotion, but a devotee will continue with his pursuits nonetheless.
In this world, all of us are seeking acknowledgement for our actions. With this desire for acknowledgement comes attachment. However, a devoted disciple functions on a different platform. He is content being a medium. For him, Guru is the driving force behind every action. As soon as the devotee sinks in the comfort of the detached action nothing becomes impossible or difficult for him because he is just a medium and not the doer. This is a liberating feeling and fills his mind with noble thoughts.
When we drop the burden of expectations at our Guru’s feet and work with devotion, our efforts are touched by the grace of the Guru. The success belongs to the devotee because he has merged himself with the Guru. He feels that the Guru’s brilliance is illuminating his life and when he is around, there is no way success can elude him.
Always remember, the love of the devotee is not devoid of reason. In fact, fueled by the confluence of the purity of the mind, love and emotions the devotee performs his rituals and practices sadhanas. The gods and the Guru are eager to bless the spiritual and material endeavors of a devoted disciple and fulfill his desires.
Far from the give and take in the materialistic world, devotion is the beacon of light. It is the purest form of love. Transpired by the energy of the love the devotee merges himself with the deity.
For a devotee performing the rituals, chanting the mantra, practicing the sadhanas is not a mechanical exercise, rather an instrument to integrate with his Guru, his deity. Driven by the energy of love, for such a disciple every act of worship is to soothe his soul. Therefore, there is no hurry for such a disciple. He is at peace and begins to experience the activation of the energy lying dormant in his basal chakra, known as kundalini.
In the simplest terms, Kundalini activation is to attain the status of bliss. It is becoming happy and peaceful. It is not that you will retire from the hustle of life, but you will definitely stop worrying about the outcome. Your peaceful self will take over you and you will be in the realm of joy. Eternally.
You must have noted that your joyful self-disturbs people around you. Therefore, you wear a pretense of anxiety and stress all the time.
I am asking all my sadhaks, devotees and disciples, where is the need to worry? You have reposed your trust, love and faith in me. I am there to take care of you. Quit the pretense and let joy unravel in your heart.
God has been so kind to you. You have a beautiful body, a charming smile. Use your gifts. There is no need to whine and worry all the time. I have bestowed you with the energy of the mantras. Chant them, but it should be an exercise imbued with love and devotion. Without them, the mantras will not reverberate to life. Pursue happiness. Do what makes you happier!
Your inner love is eager to manifest itself. Let its energy touch you and transform you.
Whoever you believe in – Rama, Krishna, or the Guru, believe in Him, meditate on Him and surrender to the energy of the devotion. It will liberate you and fill you with everlasting joy and happiness.
May you progress on the path of devotion!
Nand Kishore Shrimali
