People normally find a hundred excuses for Not performing,
doing Spiritual practices like Pūjā, or
Visiting the Mandirā.
‘I am unwell’,
‘I cannot afford rituals’,
‘I have no time’,
‘I do not know the chants’,
there is no place at home where I can worship’
& So on.
Normally,
people feel Pūjā is a mechanical action,
Which has to be ‘got over & done with’ as part of one’s daily routine (Dinacaryā).
People say,
‘pūjā kar ḍālī’ (Hindi),
or
‘pūjā karī nākhī’ (Gujarati),
which indicates, that one has finished it with a sense of relief that it is over, rather than with a sense of fulfilment of having done it well.
Our attitude should be ‘Pūjā kar lī’ ~ completed (with good feelings derived from it).
When one Matures, One realizes that Pūjā
is a continuous process, which happens all through the day,
in & through every Action of Ours.
It does Not remain a particular act done for a particular period of time.
What is d Use of staying in close proximity with a great Master & not gaining any of his Virtues?
Pūjā is a form of Upāsanā – a Spiritual practice.
मम साधर्म्यमागताः।
(गीता-१४.२)
When we practise regularly, We imbibe the divine Virtues of Our altar of Worship,
&
Ultimately become One with the Worshipped.
This is the Highest Result of Pūjā.
To directly Worship Paramātmā,
when He appears in front of Us, is a Joy Unparalleled
& for most of Us, an Unimaginable Occurance.
Rare ones, like Śabarī, enjoyed such Bliss.
For Us,
However,
The ritualistic physical worship is done by invoking the Paramātmā in an Murti or a picture.
Since our Mind is gross, it is easier for us to appreciate the Paramātmā with a form.
We must, However,
Understand that what we worship is Not the Murti, but the ideal behind the Murti
Also, Paramātmā is Not ‘Only in the Murti’, But ‘Also in the Murti'.
He is all-pervading & His Glory is to be seen in all.
यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुिमच्छति। तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम्॥ (गीता-७.२१)
"Đ Paramātmā fortifies our Faith in whichever Form, We desire to worship Him".
Manki learns a Lesson:
In the Mokṣa-parva of the Mahābhārata, Bhishma pitamah narrates an insightful kathā of a person called Manki.
Manki was a merchant whose only wealth was a bullock cart and two bullocks.
Once, while traveling to the market with his cart heavily laden
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with grains, Manki started daydreaming. He dreamt that he had become vry wealthy with all the profit from selling the grains.
Then he dreamt that he had become a village chieftain; then he dreamt of owning an army; then of bcoming a vassal & so on.
Thus his imagination ran riot.
Ultimately, his dream took him up to emperorship even though his possessions were only the bullock cart and the two bulls. Preoccupied with his fantastic dream, Manki failed to notice a huge camel lying in the middle of the road. When the cart hit the camel, the camel stood up.
Leaving everything & going for the great forest from his father's home, Ṛṣi Shukadeva (son of Veda Vyasa) rightly said:
"He who achieves all that he wishes & he who just gives up all his wishes - who is better? Giving up is better than achieving all wishes."
🧵
Nobody has ever reached the end of all desires. A fool is he whose desire for his body and life always increases.
O my desirous mind!
Abstain from all desires. Obtain peace by becoming detached.
You have been cheated many times & still, you are not detached from desires.
O mind, greedy for wealth! If you do not want to destroy me & if you want to live happily with me, do not unnecessarily unite me with greed.
The wealth that you preserved, again & again, was lost again & again. O fool, lusting after wealth!
When will you give up the desire for
The mind has lost its power to discriminate; it has become a devout servant to the ego & the senses and is constantly running behind pursuits to satisfy its sensory cravings.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa bhagavān says,
मोघं पार्थ स जीवति।
such a life becomes meaningless, vain, empty, useless.
🧵
We are all searching for meaning & fulfillment in life.
Here bhagavān says that if we break this cycle, life becomes meaningless.
It is sheer selfishness born of ignorance to think one can lead an independent life.
No one can do that. The entire cosmos is interlinked.
Everyone must do their part of service; we must do whatever dharma is given to us.
Our body itself is made for this dharma.
When it takes part in this dharma, the entire system becomes harmonious.
Every cell vibrates in harmony, so much so that a divine orchestra
🧵Go to a village, observe the farmer working from the morning onwards till late in the evening.
He comes home, takes a bath, has his dinner,
& thereafter he takes his drum and the singing & dancing of the village folks goes on until midnight.
#आत्मचिंतनĀŚ
Smiling & laughing, he is hale and hearty, he is not at all tired.
Being scientifically minded, let us analyse how much energy that you and I in the secretariat spend as against the farmer in his field.
When analysed, we meet with an amazing contradiction!
Take an individual who is working in the secretariat.
Early in the morning he gets up at six o’clock, and then what happens?
He says “as soon as I get up, I am worried because my tea was not given in time.
After the tea, Swamiji, I went and took my bath and washed myself,
#ŚrīRamanaMahaṛṣi
The question as to whether we are mere puppets in the hands of destiny or whether we can conquer destiny by our self-effort, has been tormenting mankind since time immemorial.
Self-effort & destiny are factual when considered from the point of view of the 1/4
individual ego.
When the illusory nature of the ego is realized, the question regarding self-effort vs destiny will vanish & the pure, ever free existence will reveal itself.
Prārabdha is destiny.
Āgāmi & Sānchita are self-effort.
The body is in the realm of destiny; the mind is
is in the plane of self-effort.
Self-effort will change into destiny, and destiny will also affect self-effort.
This is perplexing, isn't it?
This is the problem if questions are asked within the realm of Māya, which is itself illogical.
We strive all our life to reform ourselves, to end all conflicting chapters & to begin a new chapter in life where one is free & peaceful.
This is the dream of all - 'When will that day come when my life is free of problems & my struggles are all over?' 1/6
We expect this to happen at some point in the future, but it must happen now, here, Iha.
The Upaniṣad urges us, "If you know it HERE, you have won over life. If you fail to recognise it NOW, eternity will be lost."
Thus, HERE & NOW are highly potent words.
End creation, end all movements, end all involvements, end the movement of 'I' within - HERE, you find peace.
Let the mind become quiet HERE.
Let the activities go on outside while you abide in the state of no-action - Naishkarmya sthiti.
The actions are not yours.