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Prayer.
11thFeb.2008
Pujya Sri K. C. Narayana
1.
My salutations to
all my brethren on this most auspicious 135th
Jayanthi of our Grand Master Rev. Lalaji Maharaj. It
has become a custom for us to disturb ourselves
after the deep silence we imperience. Of the several
bondages we have this is one such that grants us an
opportunity to liberate ourselves from our petty
limitations and grow into universal beings. What I
state has to be viewed from the spirit with which
Master said that ‘Realization itself is an
amusement.’ A few days back the message of the
Master in our diary was “The divine experiences are
the perceptions of the conditions relating to
Divinity.” (SDG-27) Leaving aside one of the
perennial questions, whether Divinity can have any
conditions, it is the common experience of all
devout persons to qualify Divinity with Silence,
Peace, Calmness, Blessing, Compassion, Confidence,
Love and such other similar attributes. It is our
experience that we are not able to dwell in such
conditions always though it is our aspiration to be
in such conditions. Our inability to be so is what
makes us pray to Master who is established in
Divinity and seek his help to be in such a
condition. Prayer precedes and follows meditation is
a fact of our imperience. When Master asked us to
continue to dwell in the state of consciousness in
which we were during meditation among other things,
he was asking us to be in the mood of prayer. It is
easy now after deep meditation than at other times
because the manas has been dwelling on divine for
some time. Divine company is something that is found
among the devout and rarely without them. Master
said that when abhyasis join in a place and meditate
that place becomes his temple. Therefore It would be
better that all of us abide in an attitude of prayer
in which many of us fortunately live most of the
time.
2.
Our beloved Grand
Master has written about various aspects of
spirituality. We are now blessed with access to many
articles he has written. The Sri Ramchandra
Publishers will be releasing a book which includes
to the extent available the literature extant today.
The material now made available and the ones which
were published earlier are very original and by a
careful study one can easily understand the
seriousness with which one has to tread the path of
spirituality. We will hear more about the book when
it will be released later today.
3.
An article of our
beloved Master titled “Determination” has come to
our notice and we have published the same in this
Basanth Issue of Satya Padamu quarterly journal. It
will be clear to any discerning aspirant that
determination to reach the goal is primary and that
cannot be got by requesting or praying to the
Master. Prayer is something that we should resort to
after we have done our best to solve the problem in
any field. Philosophy of prayer and efficacy of
prayer has been one of the popular subjects of any
system of religion and spirituality. The word
‘prayer’ is one of the most used, abused and misused
words and it has a wide range of connotation from
the most profane to the most profound. However the
place and importance of Prayer in Raja Yoga or the
method of meditation has to be primarily understood
in the context of varied ways of working of Buddhi
(intellect) and Manas (feelings).
4.
It is very clear
that in the Prayer that Master has given us, what is
to be specifically noted and presented before the
Master is that we are slaves of our wishes or
desires or cravings or urges or aspirations. By
saying so we clearly understand and state that we
are all the time under the influence of feeling or
Manas. When we apply these terms in the context of
our life we realize that we have not found meaning
in our lives and we are running all the time looking
for some meaning to our lives. We think that the
next car, the next house or the next job may be the
answer. On analysis we find that we are governed by
the ‘pleasure principle’ which works in the domain
of manas exquisitely and do not yield to the more
rational domain of intellect. To be intellectual by
itself is no virtue as it has its own limitation in
the realm of spirituality but it is to be kept in
mind that it is the root of Viveka. We find in
course of time these wishes etc., and their
satisfaction are also empty and we keep on chasing
something or the other. We seem to walk around with
a meaningless life.
5.
Gaining meaning to
our life and being happy are synonymous. No one can
be entirely happy unless all beings are happy.
Happiness and love are like ‘air’ and ‘ether’-
indivisible. Universal Love or no love is the logic
of happiness. The way we get meaning into our life
is to develop divine attributes and endeavour to
create something that gives us purpose and meaning
and this we know is best done by “loving him who
loves all.” Sage Patanjali said “The mind becomes
clear and serene when the qualities of the heart are
cultivated: friendliness toward the joyful,
compassion toward the suffering, happiness toward
the pure, and impartiality toward the impure.”-The
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 1:33. This means that we
have to overcome the impulsive tendencies in us
which are guided and governed by the ‘pleasure
principle’.
6.
Before I proceed
further with this subject of overcoming the
impulsive tendencies to satisfy our cravings and
desires I must remind a saintly advice “Do not ask
the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not
willing to move your feet first.” That is
determination is most essential to reach the goal of
human life which by now we all know is happiness to
one and all. We should remember that determination
cannot be got by prayer in the sense of begging.
Cultivating determination is not a desire that can
be prayed for.
7.
Desire arises
because of attachment. Desire has two sides: (a)
craving or wanting to possess and (b) aversion or
wanting to avoid. These two sides of desire
exemplify the working of a universal law, the Law of
Attraction, along with its implication, the Law of
Repulsion. This law is reflected in physics in the
statement, "for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction." We in this land, thanks to the
ethics taught to us by the recluses parading as
jnanis, got accustomed to consider these two aspects
of desire as "poisons", and we add a third one too,
"delusion." Delusion is the perception that
something is what it is not. It is a bias of
perception and cognition caused by an "afflicted"
mind and emotion.
8.
These aspects of
desire are movements- towards something or away from
something. They cause pain because we give these
desires some of our own thought power though it
appears odd and difficult to accept this position.
During meditation also these cravings and aversions
are the forces that are active and this play of the
unregulated mind is generally called disturbance by
the aspirants. The solution to this problem is
detachment from these mental modifications. That is
why we are advised by the Master to brush off the
thoughts of all types as uninvited guests which is
the same as total detachment. While such total
detachment is possible during meditation sessions it
is advisable to have due attachment in affairs
relating to day to day life.
9.
Dreams and
nightmares are our own original version of Reality,
essentially a creation by our ingenious Mind. They
are part of our personality and we keep feeding them
to stay alive. It is usually our desires that feed
the dream and our aversions that feed the
nightmares. During meditation also this type of
dream like experience occurs even in advanced
aspirants in the path. Everyone has both negative
and positive aspects within, as does all manifest
reality. Perceived negativity within ourselves is a
problem only when it is an object of aversion,
because then it starts controlling us. That is the
reason why we are not able to accept negative states
of mind or negative emotions in us during
meditations. When we fail to convince ourselves
through our own resources we crave for the
indulgence of a superior person or Master. Through
such a craving we try to convince ourselves as
feeling dependence on Master and this attitude
itself becomes an addiction. This is most often
confused with a state of mind immersed in prayer.
That is the reason we find many aspirants repeating
the words “master, master, master… or Babuji, Babuji,
Babuji” or some such word or phrase instead of
continuing to meditate ignoring these thoughts of
negative import. Virtually all conditions that are
judged to be negative become objects of aversion.
That is the reason we are asked to accept certain
fundamental truths of spirituality which in our
system are covered under the Commandments 5 to 7.
The Commandments given to us by the Master are
mandatory for spiritual unwinding and upliftment.
10.
But similarly the
positive aspects eventually become a problem when
they remain the object of craving, for this type of
attachment negates wholeness. When we crave the
positive it is because we do not have due
recognition or appreciation of its presence within
us, and we feel the lack it. Therefore we feel the
need to get it or merge in it. Many advanced
aspirants in the path though are aware of the
immediate presence of the Master in the cave of
their heart; crave for his presence as if it is
something outside of them. It is curious how craving
for something positive, such as acceptance by the
Master, for example, brings an experience of the
negative, such as rejection of our own worthiness
due to subconscious awareness of our deficiencies.
We usually do not see this, and say that it is
because we experience rejection that we crave
acceptance. We see that the craving for something
external does not bring us what we crave for,
because it is always an inner reality that must be
embraced. In this example, we must accept ourselves
as deserving persons and have been embraced by the
Master.
11.
This is what Master
means when he says we should have faith in
ourselves. But the recluse ethics has indoctrinated
us to think that we are unworthy and sinners. It is
obvious we should consciously embrace both the
positive and negative within ourselves. The prayer
at 9 P.M. which commands us to accept all the people
as our brethren is in fact asking us to accept
ourselves and others as worthy human beings. Further
by exhorting us to think that every one is
developing true love and devotion to the Master we
are asked to accept all and love all. Such is the
road to Universal Love and Universal Consciousness.
12.
It is customary to
hear in spiritual circles that material possessions
do not give us happiness and in fact hinder us on
the spiritual path. But our Master asserts that
desires and material possessions do not hinder the
spiritual life as long as we are not attached to
them or controlled by them. In other words, as long
as we are free to be our self and are free to choose
our responses to ever changing situations, then
desires and material possessions are not hindrances
at all. Then they, too, can be enjoyed and
appreciated in moderation. But taking shelter under
this praying to Master for material progress is a
total misunderstanding of the fundamentals of
spiritual path. Master has clarified this position
very clearly in the commandment two.
13.
When we do not
experience what we need to during meditations that
is the Master or Oneness which is our essence, we
feel a lack. This lack is felt as a dissatisfaction
which results in craving of some kind. When we are
afraid or insecure about who we are and what our
value is we tend to become defensive, which often
results in aversion, trying to push away and reject
what threatens us. This is what actually happens
when we feel disinclined to continue meditation. It
may be noted that perseverance is an important
aspect of determination. With determination we begin
to get centred in our meditation. When we are
Master-centered we do not experience aversion
because we value who and what we are and imperience
Oneness.
14.
Oneness is not any
magical process as a way of being, that is quite
possible for those who imperience the same. In the
absence of help through Pranahuti it is regrettably
foreign to most people. Many persons do not realize
that they can change their actions, feelings,
thoughts, beliefs, and identity the moment they
imperience their Oneness. Instead most people
perceive their actions, feelings and thoughts as a
result of influences upon them, and feel they are
manipulated and molded against their own choices. We
who are blessed by the Master through several
influxes of Pranahuti imperience Oneness which is
the only Truth of existence. We have many case
studies proving that transformation is possible and
real through the influx of Pranahuti. Therefore
compared to the ordinary person we feel we are
responsible for the quality of our life and this is
an important revelation. It is because of this we
have the courage to think of changing things around
us and make this world a Paradise even as our Master
wished.
15.
It is such a
responsible approach that the Natural Path seeks in
its followers. Current events have demonstrated a
tremendous desire of perhaps the majority of people
in the world for peace in their lives. They are no
longer satisfied with the mentality of political
conflict, which endangers economic progress and
human rights and freedoms. But most importantly, we
feel that many people are now aware that if we want
peace in the world, first we need to make peace with
our own lives. This message of the Master has
percolated for sure. It is human nature that needs
to change, and we are capable of making such a
transformation. As earnest followers of the system
of Natural Path, we as a group mirror our
consciousness in world events. It is our personal
responsibility to be aware of our contribution to
the collective human consciousness of Oneness, of
harmony, of Love. We need to work hard towards this
end.
16.
What is it that
prevents us to feel this urge or impetus always? We
find that the purposes and goals that we hold dearly
are often compromised in the face of problems that
we discover in trying to achieve them. We seem to
forget about them or actually suppress them and opt
for safer solutions. Playing the safe game is a sad
conflict with the game we really want to play. We
find that we have already become someone else, a
substitute for our true self. Reinforcing this
position are the attachments we have come to cling
on to, the fears we may have of losing comfort,
prestige and honor and the resistance we feel
against elements of change. This formidable
challenge can be met by us when we are firm in our
faith and confidence and determined to be glued to
the Sri Ramchandra consciousness. It is possible
when take a positive approach to life empowered by
the unbridled universal love, that is the nature of
our true being which is powerful and effective in
creating universal peace, harmony and happiness.
17.
Our prayer then is
not any desire or craving in any ordinary sense of
those terms but a prayer for maintaining our
inseparable harmonious relationship with our Master
and a commitment for universal good. Our prayer does
not seek any fear to be got rid off nor any favour
sought for but a total unconditional dedication to
serve the cause of the Master. I understand that to
be the goal of human life and our destiny. In that
state of prayer we shall dwell for ever.
Pranam.
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