THE SUCCESS OF HUMAN LIFE

Meaning: All the knowledge and wisdom teach us by our Vedas. Among them the technique of success life teaches us by the stanza of the Sam-Veda 1302 that -"The success of human -life lies only in removing the spirit's (soul's) and mind's faults and wicked tendencies and becoming cleansed and pure. Thousands of solutions have been described in the Vedas for freeing the soul from blemish and for freeing it from the shell of selfishness. Therefore, the Vedas are worth reading and worth pondering".

Message: This life as a human being has been achieved by us as a result of innumerable virtuous deeds. Man can get eternal joy only by using it for good deeds. There are innumerable types of moral injunctions in the Vedas and their essence is that man should always progress in life and should never have a downfall. It is the duty of every man to give up all types of vices and wicked tendencies. To achieve freedom from the demons of selfishness, greed, attachment, arrogance etcetera which grip the soul, strong will-power is required. The soul and mind can become cleansed and pure only by freedom from them.

The maximum emphasis has been laid on the strength of will-power in the Veda-mantras. Man can fulfill all his desires only by performing austerity, spiritual-endeavor, and hard labor and with mental firmness. Ambition gives an idea about a man's power or ability, but along with that the spirit of selflessness and sacrifice is necessary. Only after these types of wishes are fulfilled by austerities and spiritual-endeavor, can a man make his life successful by helping others. The measure of success of a man's life can be determined only on the basis of how far his will-power has developed. Even the greatest powers of Nature can be defeated by man's will-power. The impression of man's will-power can be seen in the development of culture, in all human activities and all material success.

Man's will-power is produced from his character which is produced as a result of his deeds. That will-power is of the type of his deeds. All of us know that it is very beneficial to lead a moral life. Even then we somehow commit a sin and then we have to bear its painful result. There is no way of getting rid of the results of one's deeds. The difficulties seen in our daily life are not only because of some basic vice or wickedness, but the hardship caused by them is troubling us because we are neglecting the good resolve to free ourselves from them. A man, who can conquer his wrong type of thinking, will without doubt become the master of tremendous will-power.

A misguided man can become strong only when he thoroughly understands that he is the soul and not the body. One who understands that God resides in his soul, then through that understanding it, tremendous energy is produce d within him. Through this power only, he develops the capacity to reject and throw out the mental faults and vices. Satvik thought (qualities of a sattogun or satvik qualities) and divine thinking is produced only after freeing oneself from vices and immoral activities. And with that, enthusiasm is produced within man for resisting vices and immoralities.

One must remember the Vedic admonitions which are summed up as, "Uproot the vices and throw them out, increases and nature good qualities".

SELF AWARENESS

"Manasi vicharya barambaram" - this aphorism of Acharya Shankara tells us that as we egin to ponder over the important questions of life, and as we grow more and more inquisitive about it, we get more and more deeply acquainted with the verities of our life. It is through the genuineness and intensity of seeking that we become able to know ourselves, and then we are surprised at our folly: "Oh! How in the world were we continuing with such a senseless existence"! Enquiry explains to us the meaning and purpose of life; it reveals the raison d'etre of things and empowers us to discriminate between the right and the wrong, the virtuous and the vicious, the purposeful and the purposeless. In short, it makes us conscious and wakeful. This is the natural result of enquiry and may be considered as the second stage in the process of awakening.

In the state of wakefulness, we are able to cognize our strengths and potentials. Correct understanding of the state of mind and meaningful use of the available circumstances are possible in this very condition. Side by side, we can also identity and overcome the psychological and material obstacles which had hitherto prevented us from actualizing our potentials, from giving proper expression to our talents, and from experiencing the pleasure of a meaningful existence.

It is this very depth and intensity of awakening that becomes jivana bodha. Every facet of life its every nook and corner is illumined with the light of awareness; nothing remains hidden, nothing remains unseen, nothing remains unfamiliar. Every event in life, big or small, becomes a lesson. The whole life becomes a school, a continuing education, instead of being a burden. He, who lives in true awareness, utilizes the moments of happiness in the best possible manner. At the same time he also knows how to derive benefit from the times of trails and tribulations. Moments of joy are yoga for him, while moments of pain turn into tapa (disciplinary austerities). In every situation, he has full comprehension of the meaning of existence.

It is in this state that the interior begins to grow with the light of the truth that only those who are wakeful, alert and conscious can walk the path of jivana sadhana. This path is so perilous and demanding that even the slightest sluggishness and carelessness in effort will result in fall and failure; the personality will remain dull, confused and underdeveloped. To understand the different dimensions of the personality and to illuminate them is the first step on the path of jivana sadhana.

THE QUEST FOR THE PEARL

Hatimtai told Hasn Bano, "Now please tell me the sixth puzzle that I have to solve. My friend must be waiting for me."

Hasn Bano said, "This time you have to get the pearl which is of the same size as a duck's egg. I have one like that with me."

Hasn Bano showed the pearl to Hatim. He said, "Please make a copy of this in silver, so that I bring the right sized pearl."

Hasn Bano gave a silver replica of the pearl to Hatim, and he began his journey to solve the sixth puzzle.

He could not think of any place to start looking for the pearl. So he sat down and wondered what to do. He thought of the magical things he had.

Then an idea struck him. He thought he would put the magic piece of wood between his teeth and see if it helped him.

He put the magic piece of wood between his teeth and suddenly he started hearing many voices around him.

He could hear many things at a time. Trees were talking to each other, and animals were calling each other.

Then he heard a voice above him. He saw two birds, with white and red feathers, sitting on the branch of the tree above him.

He heard a sweet bird asking, "Who is this man?"

The male bird told the female bird, "This man is Hatimtai. He is the brave and strong King of Yemen. He has left his kingdom and is solving the seven puzzles set by Hasn Bano for his friend, Muneer Shah. He has already solved five puzzles."

"Which puzzles is he to solve this time?" asked the female bird.

The male bird told her, "Husn Bano had asked him to get a pearl of the size of a duck's egg. But those peals are not found now."

"If those pearls are not found now, how will this poor man find it?" asked the female bird.

"There are only two such pearls to be found now. One is with Husn Bano. She found it when her servants were digging the earth to build her city, "told the male bird.

"If one of the two pearls is with Husn Bano, where is the other pearl?" asked the female bird.

The male bird said, "There was a queen who found his white she was sitting near a river. That queen had lost her husband in a war and was going to have baby soon. A merchant took her home and took care of the queen like his own daughter. She gave birth to a son who later became a king. Now his family has the pearl. The king has decided that he would give the pearl and marry his daughter to the man who would tell him, where the huge pearl came from."

"But how will this man reach that kingdom? I have heard that there are many demons and giants over there," said the female bird.

The male bird said, "If he takes our red feathers, dips them in water and sprays the water on himself, he can change his form."

"But how will he remain safe?" asked the female bird.

My request and assurance to my own people 2

My Gurudev lives in his astral body in the Himalayas. I have experienced his constant proximity for the last sixty-three years, although during this time there were hardly a few occasions of three days each when I saw him fact to face. But so far as faith and devotion are concerned, they were as intense as of Eklavya, Meera and Kali respectively. Those who will sublimate their feelings and devotion will find it comparatively easier to experience proximity to me.

Children do want something from the elders but the latter also expect something from them. They want to children to answer the call of nature at the appropriate place, follow etiquette, go to school for studies and observe similar other disciplines. I have also similar expectations. Shri Krishna had lifted Govardhan with th help of unpolished Gval-bals. Hanuman had gathered bears, monkeys for his help. I cannot, by myself alone, accomplish t task of new creation. This is a task which needs cooperation of others. When so-called wise persons did not come forward, I gathered a family of childlike persons and started doing whatever could be possible.

I have always been conscious of my duties and responsibilities towards my children. But there is only one thing to which I would like to draw the attention of the Parijans. I want each one of them to contribute their time and resources to the maximum extent to the mission, because for accomplishing great works great persons and resources are needed. Every individual belonging to Gayatri Parivar is potentially a great person. He has ignorantly worn a thin mask of smallness. His real face will be visible as soon as this mask is removes. The parable of a lion cub that was brought up in a herd of sheep applies to each one of the Pragya Parijans.

My guide tore away in no time my grab of smallness and dressed me up with resplendent garments of greatness. For this rejuvenation, I had simply to get liberated from the flush of greed and illusion.  I had to overlook the advice of others and summon up courage to accept the joint decision of my soul and God. Self- confidence to walk alone was aroused and I marched ahead, regarding high and noble ideals as symbols of God. After that, I never felt alone nor did I ever feel I was being neglected or was without any resources. No sooner did I turn my face towards the truth, the fog of untruth disappeared.

My request to all Parijans is that they should not read this work as a mere narration of a life story. They should deeply ponder over it and take it as a saga of Siddhi (self-realization) achieved through sadhana (self- discipline) and Divine Grace. They should also understand that my steps have advanced in the pursuit of Risi traditions by presenting the path of spiritual awakening worthy of being followed by others. One should understand what the real nature of true spirituality is. A person will be benefited by spiritual realization to the extent to which he will able to intergradations idealistically his inner illumination with outer brilliance. My legacy and message to all my close and intimate Pragya-Parijans is that they should learn something from my life and find out the reality behind the process of my sadhana. They should themselves examine how far I have succeeded and try to follow me intelligently and resolutely according to their capabilities. This is a bargain of profit, not of loss.