Revelation of the techniques of sublime transformation:

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 my life 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 t person concerned. Hypnotized 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 divinized human being, a Risi 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 mirror e.g. mechanical adoration (puja-path) has been wrongly considered to be (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 thinks that just as a ruler is puffed up on hearing bardic poetry in his praise from  a bard, God will fulfill their worldly ignorant about the true nature of Godhead and consider Him to be a stupid Super person who could be allured or befooled like a child. They think that God can be coaxed to fulfill their desires, proper or improper, just or unjust. Then 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 darsan of saints they can cajole them to fulfill their ambitions. Such naive beliefs are prevalent in the society. 

Real form of Upasana 1

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. He has to get himself elected as a member of the parliament. The meaning of upasana is to sit closeby. It is not like the railway passengers who jostle or push each other to get into the train somehow. It is like two boson 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 yours tune. You will have to become his devotee and act according to His will. If you will are able to do so, you will become identical with God. Fuel has no worth except when it embrances fire and becomes fire itself. Fire does not become fuel. It is gruel 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 inverse, 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 fulfill the wishes of the sadhak. A sadhak has to surrender himself to God and fulfill 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.

Real form of Upasana 2

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 AM 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 practiced 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-realization.

The power of Gayatri Mata started reflecting in the form of devotion (Sraddha) in casual body, illumination (pragya) in astral body and determination (nistha) in physical body. Strict self-introspection was done from time to time to ensure that this was no mere wishful thinking. I examined and analyzed 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 Risi-Kalpa Sadhak.

Gayatri Mata manifests as divine energy in feminine form. It took the form of Pragya and dominated the mental arena. I tested on several occasions to ascertain whether in te form of Pragya 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 thr form of Pragya 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 action (karma) attitudes (gunas), and nature (svabhav) is the real test of Upasana.

Real form of Upasana 3

The third aspect of Tripada Gayatri is Nistha. Nistha means firm determination, patience, courage, and 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 ad 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 Brahmavarcas. It is also called ojas, tejas, varcas. It is reflected directly in the form of piety, sharpness and brilliance. The inrush of Savita's light in physical, astral and casual sheaths fills the body with strength, the brain with knowledge and the heart with love and courage's. Later, I started experiencing that my entire self had become a field of 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, fulfillment and peace, ad if I were drinking Somras (nectar).

This, in brief, is my regular program 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 t 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 care-freeness and fearlessness spontaneously grows with the awareness of God's constant presence.

I have cherished firm faith (Srddha) 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)

You are Designed to Bounce Back

There is a lot in life that we are not meant to take seriously - your nasty boss, for instance, or an unkind colleague who put you down. Why remember those who never valued us in the first place? Why recall repeatedly, all those occasions when we were slighted or overlooked?

we were never meant to take these things to heart. And yet we keep running into folks who are discouraged by the slightest thing. There is something inbuilt into life itself that could help us overcome trials and difficulties - a kind of survival mechanism that supports us, teaching us to keep boosting ourselves and our self esteem, particularly when faced with flake.

People are often judging us from a perspective that is narrow. So what if the first draft did not make the mark? What if I failed in a task, or if I did not measure up to the expectations of my colleagues? What if I was not as successful as others would like me to be?

The calm, measured life that I have chosen to lead - no matter if it appears drab and dull to some - may have been rich in content in ways that is not comprehensible to them. May be my ambitions did not drive me to always be on the top. Perhaps I was like a neutral figure in an organization that made heroes of straw men. Perhaps, too, I am remembered for other, more enduring qualities like kindness and compassion?

As I look back, I wonder if it was that rebuff that made me work harder and with greater concentration. It was the downgrade I received that made me assess myself more realistically and helped me build on my real individual strengths and resources. It was the unkindness of others or the cutting remarks made, that made me value myself even more.

Life has so many facets and we do our best to simplify our responses and to unravel its complexities. The process is sometimes long and we are prone to discouragement on the way. But as we travel and journey along, we become more hopeful.

The discouraged person will always find a sympathetic ear, timely advice, and reaffirmation from significant others and unconditional acceptance by those who by their very existence encourage people along the way. So, when we are tired and have reached the end of our tether, we get a helping hand and are uplifted on the way.

Life calls all of us to be encouragers. We can do this well only when we ourselves have been through the pain of rejection and yet survive to emerge accomplished in other ways. We are after all co-travelers on the voyage of life.

Just think: What would have happened if life did not survive the thousands of trails and errors that have gone into the making of it? To succeed like Edison after the 1,000th trail in making the electric bulb is akin to all the other experiences of life - repeated failure, perseverance and success.

As it is so well said, we might only be a hit away from striking gold, so we need to keep at it, no matter how discouraged we are and feel.