All World
Gayatri Pariwar

My Life: Its Legacy and Message – 12


REVELATION OF THE TECHNIQUE OF SUBLIME TRANSFORMATION:
HOW I IMPLEMENTED IT IN MY LIFE?

(Autobiography of Poojya Gurudev Pt. Sriram Sharma Acharya - Continued)

Before I proceed further, it will be appropriate to describe three important phases of my life sadhana, which are linked with my spiritual progress. This has been the central point of my successful life journey. If readers of this book are inspired to proceed on this path they should assimilate the philosophy behind the sadhana, which I have adopted in my life. Mysterious occult events, no doubt, sound interesting but they are confined only to the person concerned. Hypnotised by such events, if a person performs the same rituals and pays a visit to the Himalayas, he will get nothing. The most important lesson which my soul has learnt living in this body is true upasana (worship), correct life sadhana and aradhana, which means service of humanity. This is the path, which can transform a person into a divinised human being, a RiÌi or a messenger of God.

A man needs food, clothes and shelter for sustenance. Pen, ink and paper are needed for writing a book. Seed, manure and water are needed for growing a crop. Not one, but all these three are important and none of them can be ignored. For spiritual progress also, coordination of upasana, sadhana and aradhana is needed. All these three are equally important.
Real form of upasana

The aspect which is secondary and minor e.g. mechanical adoration (puja-path) has been wrongly considered to be upasana (worship). Offerings of some stray materials to the deity and doing certain rituals or overt acts of worship are considered as puja. To eulogize, extol and chant praises of gods is known as path. Sweets, cocoanut, cardamom etc. are presented and offered to God or the deity as if He lacked such articles and by offering them, He will be overwhelmed with joy. People think that just as a ruler is puffed up on hearing bardic poetry in his praise from a bard, God will fulfil their worldly desires by such adoration (puja-path). Such persons are totally ignorant about the true nature of Godhead and consider Him to be a stupid Superperson who could be allured or befooled like a child. They think that God can be coaxed to fulfil their desires, proper or improper, just or unjust. The common man is a victim of this illusion. The so-called bhaktas (devotees) beg wealth, success, heaven, liberation, siddhis (divine powers) from God. Some people are crazy after seeing God with physical eyes. Amongst persons who are engaged in counting beads or burning incense- sticks, a majority belongs to this category. Some are after a still cheaper formula. They think that simply by seeing idols in the temple or having a darÌan of saints they can cajole them to fulfil their ambitions. Such naive beliefs are prevalent in the society.

It should be clearly understood that a really worthwhile thing is bound to cost more. If a person wants to be included in the Central Cabinet, he has to get himself elected as a member of the Parliament. The meaning of upasana is to sit close by. It is not like the railway passengers who jostle or push each other to get into the train somehow. It is like two bosom friends who have two bodies with one mind and one soul sitting together. In such intimacy one has to surrender to the other. A devotee (bhakta) has to mould his life and surrender himself to the will of God. Explaining the importance and philosophy of upasana, which is the first essential pre-requisite for spiritual upliftment, Gurudev said, "God cannot dance to your tune. You will have to become his devotee and act according to His will. If you are able to do so, you will become identical with God. Fuel has no worth except when it embraces fire and becomes fire itself. Fire does not become fuel. It is fuel, which has to be transformed into fire. A drain meets a river and becomes as purifying and great as the river itself. But it never happens that a river flows in reverse, meets the drain and becomes dirty like it. Iron comes in contact with paras (the mystical stone which is said to convert iron into gold by mere touch), and turns into gold. It does not become paras. It is the sadhak who has to dance to the tune of God like a puppet. God does not fulfil the wishes of the sadhak. A sadhak has to surrender himself to God and fulfil His will. A drop of water merges into and becomes one with the ocean. The ocean does not become a drop. This is the philosophy of upasana. If a person wants to do upasana, he has to sit near God, do His will and become His follower."
I had to do the same. I worshipped God, performed jap of Gayatri as Divine Mother and meditated upon Savita as Divine Father. Throughout, I had only one feeling. Like Shravankumar, I would demand nothing from my Parents but carry them on pilgrimage. I would mould my character in such a way that I may be called a worthy son of worthy parents.

I did, no doubt, regard Gayatri as Mother and Savita as Father for the sake of convenience of meditation but knew throughout that they are formless, astral and all-pervading. On account of this conviction I could feel that they pervaded my whole being and there was complete identity of Spirit. If I had regarded God or Gayatri Mata as specific persons, a distance between us would have been maintained and I had been deprived of that feeling of complete identification.

In the beginning, for the sake of practice, one should regard himself as a creeper and God as a tree. The creeper embraces the tree and reaches the top. It is also convenient to regard one's self as a flute and God as the Flute Player to enable him to make his life disciplined and inspired. The meditation about a kite flying high up in the air with its controlling thread in the hands of a child is also helpful. I have followed these three types of meditation from time to time and had rich, enthusing and happy experiences. The sacrifice of the moth on the burning lamp; physical, mental and material surrender of the wife to her husband are instances of experiencing complete identification, unity or oneness with God.

In my upasana, actions, rituals were not of primary significance. It was suffused with emotional zeal, devotion and faith. I strictly followed the discipline of doing prescribed jap. Except for some emergency, rarely was there any omission in getting up in the morning at 1 A.M. and performing the set routine. Deficiency, if any, was made up on the next day and nothing was left in arrears. Even then, I had practised throughout to maintain an attitude full of emotional zeal during my upasana. In the beginning the practice of arousing feelings of sacrifice, unity, identity and negation of duality was done in the form of imagination. Later it became a part of nature and ultimately culminated in self -realisation.

The power of Gayatri Mata started reflecting in the form of devotion (ïraddha) in causal body, illumination (prajóa) in astral body and determination (niÌÚha) in physical body. Strict self-introspection was done from time to time to ensure that this was no mere wishful thinking. I examined and analysed myself in the light of actual daily events whether or not devotion for leading an idealistic life, for the service of mankind as a whole, had increased and allurement of temptation has been overcome; and found that my feelings had fully matured like those of a RiÌi-kalpa sadhak.

Gayatri Mata manifests as divine energy in feminine form. It took the form of prajóa and dominated the mental arena. I tested on several occasions to ascertain whether in the form of prajóa there was integration of wisdom, responsibility and fearlessness down to the deepest depths of consciousness. I have been experiencing that Gayatri Mata has incarnated in the form of prajóa in my inner consciousness and my upasana, meditation and contemplation have all become fruitful. Whether or not our convictions, our ideologies are reflected in our actions (karma), attitudes (guñas), and nature (svabhav) is the real test of upasana.

The third aspect of Tripada Gayatri is niÌÚha. NiÌÚha means firm determination, patience, courage, bravery, devout austerity (tap) and endurance. Just as a pot taken out from potter's kiln is thoroughly examined by thrashing and beating it with fingers to find out whether it is half-baked, broken or fully baked and intact, in the same way, I kept on introspecting and observing myself whether there had been any wavering in my firmness in the face of temptations and fear. I found that every step was an advance forward and there was no stagnation in the progress.

The brilliance of Savita is known as Brahmavarchas. It is also called ojas, tejas, varchas. It is reflected directly in the form of piety, sharpness and brilliance. The inrush of Savita's light in physical, astral and causal sheaths fills the body with strength, the brain with knowledge and the heart with love and courage. Later, I started experiencing that my entire self had become a field of light; a column of fire; and divine nectar was flowing through each and every cell of my body, my entire being. I felt, I was getting the joy of contentment, fulfilment and peace, as if I were drinking somras (nectar).

This, in brief, is my regular programme of doing upasana for four hours daily. This period effortlessly flies without boredom, tiredness, yawning, as if only half an hour has passed. Every moment I feel heavenly joy and closeness to God. This has become a routine. I have no inclination to count, boast or think of rewards or results. Like all other tasks of daily routine, sitting near God (upasana) is also a natural living routine for me without which I cannot live for a single day. For me doing upasana for a fixed period daily is a process of recharging myself with spiritual energies, which keep me full of divine bliss throughout the day. I spend every moment blissfully experiencing myself in God and God in me.
In such a state of inner consciousness, one takes the ups and downs of life in one's stride. There is neither joy nor sorrow. An undulating ocean of bliss appears all around.
Wherever I look, I see God. He walks beside me wherever I go. I feel His Presence every moment like a guardian angel, like a pilot. An ocean cannot become a drop but there is no doubt about a drop becoming an ocean by merging its identity in the ocean. An attitude of carefreeness and fearlessness spontaneously grows with the awareness of God's constant presence.

I have cherished firm faith (Ìraddha) in the Divine throughout my life, which has helped my soul in getting united with God. It is revealing and manifesting itself in the form of actual Bhagvati (Mother aspect of Divinity).