Risultati ricerca: what is sadhana

The Real Sadhana

It was during the eighties, Baba was in His Jodhpur Park, Calcutta office. One day, He said to me, "I need one thousand varieties of rose plants for My garden." He then gave me detailed directions to the nursery where I could buy the plants. Baba continued, "We already have more than 170 varieties of roses in our garden. You can get a list of what we already have from Didi Karuna. You should bring the additional one thousand varieties with you." He instructed me to leave the same day by overnight train so as to reach my destination early next morning. In this way, I would be able to collect the plants in the daytime and again return at night by train. After giving me these instructions, Baba verified three times whether or not I had understood everything. Satisfied with my affirmative replies, Baba left for His Lake Gardens residence. I sat for my noontime meditation. However, I could not concentrate at all. I wondered why Baba verified three times with me whether...

Sadhana in the Sundarbans

In 1977, after the State of Emergency was over, I initiated a man called Dr Aniruddha Bera in Calcutta, who was from the Sundarbans swamp forest region in the southern part of West Bengal. He invited me to go with him to his village to initiate his relatives and friends. We went there on the day before amavasya, so I prepared myself for kapalik meditation, a higher form of meditation done by avadhutas in a cemetery or lonely place. At the vicinity of his village we crossed a river where we saw a cremation ground. The next evening, I asked him to take me there for my kapalik meditation. He took a bamboo stick with him for protection. When we reached our destination, I asked him to wait for me at the edge of the cremation ground. I drew a circle around him in the ground and instructed him to sit and meditate inside the circle. I assured him that as long as he remained in the circle he would be safe. Then, I walked to the center of that, dark and desolate place and sat by a river to...

In Israel

When I was with Baba in Israel, He reminded me of two things:
What Sadhana is? "To satisfy Him is the sadhana."
What Guru puja is? "To carry out His order is Guru puja."

A Garland and a Blessing

Sadhana, which is our intense, conscious effort to unite with the Supreme Consciousness, is not easy to sustain. There are many obstacles strewn along the thorny path - some big, others bigger. Many try to do sadhana, few can sustain it, and even fewer succeed at it. While sadhana is both an individual and collective effort, the grace of the Guru is paramount in succeeding at sadhana. His grace is dispensed freely through His blessings. The Guru's blessings take many forms - some are general in nature targeted at our success at sadhana, and some are specific, catering to special needs and circumstances. Sometime in 1989, I received news of my new posting in South America. I was then a Central worker. I was thrilled at the opportunity of working in a new environment, but somewhat saddened that I would have to be physically away from Baba. I really could not imagine being separated from Him, as my whole life revolves around Him. How painful a separation it would be! It was...

Baba once clarified to me the inner meaning of sadhana and spiritual life. He said that there is no difference between Ista, Adarsha and Mission. The path of spirituality is very difficult, but it is also very, very simple if one has strong faith, belief, love and surrender to Him and His Mission. These qualities are unilateral, not bilateral. If one wants to realize Him, he has to undergo many tests, tortures, sufferings and humiliation. Realizing Him means uniting with Him. This is the purpose of spirituality. It is the path of synthesis, not analysis.

Baba’s Birthday

Baba is really a master of moods. Like a kaleidoscope, He has a variety of moods, each used with precision in different circumstances to affect a particular result, to teach a particular lesson. From the harshest to the softest mood, He plays each one with the dexterity of a maestro, who strikes a certain chord to produce a particular note. The overall effect is music, played with divine love for the benefit of His disciples and devotees. His moods are like a string of separate notes, which collectively make music. Over the years, I had the occasion to see His many moods and to understand a little why He used certain moods in particular occasions. Still, He is a mystery! One day, we planned to celebrate Baba's birthday at Tiljala, in Calcutta. The Central EI-1 organized a very nice birthday program. He called all the small children - the boys and girls from our Ananda Marga children's homes - to come and perform for Baba. Many exciting performances were planned. Usually,...

Devotion

Many people claim to be spiritual aspirants and devotees. But who are the real devotees and spiritual aspirants? Baba completed two important books entitled Namah Shivaya Shantaya and Namami Krsna Sundaram at our rented office in Jodhpur Park. The first book revealed the unique contributions of Lord Shiva to humanity. It also revealed the multiple roles that Shiva played during His lifetime - as a great spiritualist, a humanitarian, and the pioneer of the arts and science. The second book clarified Lord Krsna's divine role in restoring dharma in human society and His matchless philosophy of divine love and devotion. One day, He told me to contact all the other religious and spiritual organizations and present them with a set of His books, and especially these two books. I went to different religious organizations daily, after which I reported back to Baba on the reception I received, and on their comments regarding His books. I first contacted the spiritual organizations which...

Morality

In Ranchi, a family acarya named Harishankarji once told Baba, "Baba, I met one man, and he is very good; he is a strong moralist. But he is not interested in sadhana. That man said to me, I always speak the truth, I never tell a lie, I never harm anybody, I never steal anything from anybody, I never lose my character, and never take any bribe. Therefore, I feel I am a strong, spiritual man. I don't feel that I need to do any type of sadhana.'' Hearing this, Baba laughed. He retorted, "That man obviously has no understanding of morality. He has not encountered any difficult circumstances in life, where his sense of morality had been tested. Just put him in such a circumstance, where he will have to tell a lie. Give him the duty of a customs officer. Then you will see whether he takes bribes. He has married at a very early age, so his physical desires are satisfied. But still, just post him in such a place where he will have many young girls around him. Then...

Oath and Promise

Sunil Chakravarty was an eighteen-year-old boy who lived in the town of Lumding in the eastern part of India. He was a very good boy who was initiated into spiritual practice at a very early age. Both his parents had died. His mother died only recently. The only member of his immediate family left was his elder brother, who took care of all his needs. His brother was married and held a responsible government job. At that time, a DMC function was arranged in that town. Several acaryas, including Sunil's acarya, came several days earlier to that town to organize the function. They informed him that many volunteers were needed to ensure that the program went smoothly. Sunil's acarya was responsible for the security arrangements for the DMC. He organized several groups of people for security duty. Sunil was put in charge of one such group. The DMC was to last for three days. When Baba arrived, Sunil was put on duty outside His room. While on duty, he suddenly collapsed on the...

Psychology of Human Beings

Time and again, Baba had emphasized the importance of applying psychology in our daily activities and dealings with other people. The understanding and application of psychology in our lives greatly enhances the quality of the results of our actions and solves many difficult problems easily. A new didi was posted in Shivapuri, Madhya Pradesh in 1983. She is the daughter of a ghrii acarya, who was close to Baba. Being new, this didi tried very hard to adjust to the difficult life of a renunciate. This is not always easy, as a renunciate has to renounce all worldly possessions and attachments. He or she lives only to serve humanity through sadhana, service and sacrifice. Just like a jeweler takes a lot of effort and time to turn a diamond nugget into a polished jewel, the yogi also takes many, many hard years to refine his character and slowly transform his personality from animality to divinity. One day, we were informed that the didi had a serious personal problem that had to be...