SADHANA AND ITS OBJECTIVE

Irrespective of whatever name a man gives to the purpose behind his action, the only real motive behind it is removal of misery and attainment of happiness.

Some people think, ‘On having amassed such and such amount of gold, silver, diamond and pearls; our miseries will be removed and we will be happy. But if you rack your brains, you will realize that even those who are already in possession of all these things have yet not attained freedom from miseries. Even the so-called rich people, business tycoons, property magnates and money lenders of society admit that they are not happy. ‘I will be happy if I get this much’ – this is but an absolutely false notion and has its roots in ignorance.

‘I will be happy if I pass my exams…’ what great will you achieve by passing the exams? ‘I will be happy if I get a job…’ Are they happy who have a job? ‘I will be happy if I get married….’ Are they happy, who are married? ‘I will be happy if I begot a son… If my son gets married, how happy I would be! I wish my son is separated from me, I would then be happy…’ You can be happy only if you know your Real Self, or else there will be misery, and nothing else but misery for you!

Some say,’ We will be happy if we get these objects of enjoyment.’ I know people who over indulged in sense pleasures and died suffering from tuberculosis, asthma, blood-pressure and insomnia; but failed to attain happiness.

By indulging in sensual pleasures, people have become afflicted with diseases and died a miserable death but never attained happiness.

Somebody said, “We will be happy if so and so much of our business assignments is completed.” But these business assignments have never been completed in anybody’s life. One assignment gives rise to another and so on.

Just as a child is born out of a (grown up) child and a tree out of a tree, so also does one assignment give rise to another and that goes on till the very end of life.

A mantra in the Rigveda says,

Balam dhadhan Aatmani

“Invoke power in yourself.” (9.113.1)
Attain the strength to protect yourself from carnal pleasures and passions,
Attain the strength to obtain real happiness.
Another said, “I will be happy sitting quiet.” If it were so, stones would have been the happiest! Go and become a rock then if you want to sit quietly!
Man should have a shelter (of Knowledge) that would keep him bliss personified, both in Samadhi and distraction, richness and poverty, action and inaction, enjoyment and renunciation, quiet and disquiet, sleep and waking state. May the bliss of the Atman be constantly available to you while waking or sleeping, while in Samadhi or engaged in activity. May the benign grace of the Lord Absolute enlighten your being. That alone will see the accomplishment of your purpose, i.e. complete eradication of misery and attainment of bliss. If you assign the accomplishment of your purpose to the attainment of a particular object, viz, ‘I will be happy if the circumstances are such and such… or if I become so and so… or if it doesn’t happen that way…’, you are absolutely wrong. Actually, you have no relationship whatsoever with the objects and circumstances of the world; and you are never distant from the Bliss-personified Self.

The happiness derived from the finite makes you finite, dependent and inert, for one cannot experience pleasure without identifying oneself with the inert. The pleasures experienced through sensual gratification will make you debilitated. The trivial external objects that project happiness will entangle you and make you miserable in the end.

When you wake up in the morning, convince yourself, ‘None of my relationships in the world is real; while the Truth Personified Self, the Supreme Soul, is not apart from me’, and thus repose in your Supreme Self.

It doesn’t matter how small a particular sadhana is, provided it is aimed at the goal. No matter how big a sadhana is, it is not preferable if it deviates one from the goal.

Even the best kind of sadhana will lead one to downfall if the goal is anything other than Divine Bliss; and even a simple looking sadhana will lead one to liberation if his goal is the Bliss Divine.

Shandili served her husband beholding him as God and she became great. Her husband was a drunkard and meat-eater; and would order her to take him to a particular prostitute. He was lame and Shandili would carry him to the prostitute. She served her husband as god. By virtue of the power of this penance, Shandili had stopped the movement of the Sun. Even the Trinity – Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva manifested themselves before her.

The goal of dharma, devotion or yoga is not to increase attraction for the world or sense pleasures, rather its goal is to decrease all these and find repose in the Lord. All means of sadhana are verily meant for restraining and interiorizing the mind in this manner. Dharma sets a limit to your actions, while upasana checks the escalation of your desires.

Thus, observance of dharma will limit your actions, while upasana will check your desires. Then knowledge will eradicate ignorance, thereby ushering you into the realm of Absolute Bliss!

Everything is verily a manifestation of God; where then do differences, delusion, misfortune and misery exist? They exist in the ‘seeing’ without right knowledge. For as you see, so is the world. It is the same creation, the same Atman and the same five elements of nature as well. The difference is in the perception of the enlightened sage and that of the ignorant jiva. It’s verily for this reason that saints have extolled ‘recollection of the Supreme Soul’ as the highest among all means (of sadhana). The Truth-Consciousness and Bliss Absolute Being permeates every place, every moment and every jiva in the same measure and content, but those who stick to the master means of recollecting God with constant awareness are alone able to revel in the joy and ecstasy of that Bliss personified Consciousness. Japa of the Lord’s name too reaches the highest level only when it is done with due remembrance of god. All the scriptures, dealing mainly with the subject of salvation, have generously eulogized this beautiful means.
Krite yad vatsarathsadhayam punyam madhavtoshnam
Tretaya masaat sadhyam dvapare pakashato nripa
Tashmadashgunam punye kalo vishnusmriterbharvet

“The merit of propitiating Lord Vishnu which could be accomplished in the course of one year in Satayuga, could be accomplished in a month in Tretayuga O King, and the same in a fortnight in Dvaparayuga. Whereas ten times that merit can be achieved through mere remembarance of Lord Vishnu in Kaliyuga.”
(The Skanda Purana, Vaishnava
Khanda Vaishaka Masa
Mahatmya: 22.20-21)
Smarantah smrayantascha mithoghogharam harim

“May all remember and remind each other of Hari, Who annihilates the mass of sins instantly.”
(The Srimad Bhagawata:11.3.31)
Devarshi Naradaji considers extreme – agitation in moments of forgetfulness of the Lord – as verily a sign of steadfast devotion.
Tadwismarane parmavyakulta
(The Narada Bhakti Darshana: 19)

While emphasizing on the importance of taking recourse to this means for the attainment of divine bliss. Guru Arjundevaji says in the ‘Sukhmani Sahib’:

“I may remember God, and by so remembering, obtain true happiness.”

Start with recollecting the name through whispering and then proceed by recollecting it in the throat and finally remember the name in the heart. This is a very easy means to reveal the Self Bliss_in the heart.

Repeatedly read the books ‘Sri Narayan Stuti’ and Bhagwannam Jap Mahima’ (both presently not available in English), which deal with recollection of the Lord’s name as a means. Swami Ramasukhadasaji, who was well aware of the significance of recalling the Lord, would repeatedly make the audience pray in the course of his satsanga, “O Lord! My Lord! May I never forget You.’

This means becomes easy when one learns the various techniques to avail himself of its benefits. If you cast a retrospective look at your daily activities, you will find that you do happen to slander someone or the other, you might also have praised somebody, at times succumbed to anger, reviled somebody, done some work for somebody, loved or hated somebody and then went to sleep or rest without fail after getting tired. This means doesn’t prohibit you from doing any of these activities such as slandering, praising, loving, fuming, hating, reposing, eating, drinking etc. It just asks you to do a very easy and simple thing; and you all are absolutely free to do it.

Whenever a fit of anger, slander or hatred arises in your mind, divert it towards the Lord and say, ’O Lord! What are you doing? Don’t You do anything for the suffering masses oppressed by the hefty price rise? Will you keep sitting like this as a dispassionate witness to the increasing violence, poverty and antipathy? Has Your heart become devoid of sympathy and compassion?”

On one occasion, Oriya Babaji vented his anger on the people doing kirtana: “Why are you people calling out to God in vain? Where is your God? You have defaced your cymbals by using them just too much, and gone deaf playing the mridangam, singing praises of the Lord and dancing day and night in His name.”

Revered saint Kokil Sai was present at that time in the ashram. He asked, “Have you had a quarrel with God today?”

The Baba then revealed that he had visited a hospital. There, he was no overcome with compassion and sympathy at the sight of groaning patients lying in rows of cots that he became very angry with God. In this way anger, etc. should be vented on God alone.

Now, didn’t the Self-realized saint, Oriya Babaji, know that the patients at the hospital were only reaping the fruits of their own past actions? He did. But such divine sports of liberated saints do play a great role in revealing the mysteries of the scriptures to the devotees.

Kamakrodhaabhimanadikam tasamannave karanium

‘One should turn all his desire, anger, pride, etc. towards God alone.’
(The Narada Bhakti Darshana: 65)

Oriya Babaji says: “God never anybody of his misery. Had He been doing so, nobody should remain unhappy in the world. He alone, who on becoming miserable remembers God, is relived of his misery. Hence recollection of God is the only panacea for all miseries.”

Whenever you feel like reproaching someone, remind yourself that the person whom you want to revile is just a puppet in the hands of that divine Consciousness alone. It is the Consciousness Absolute, the Supreme Self, Who is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Hence I will rather reproach Him alone. When even a great saint like Tulsidasaji doesn’t see anything wrong in reproaching the Lord by saying:

‘My heart is Thy abode my Lord,
Many thieves have broken into it,
They are just too strong and obstinate
To yield to my humble requests,
Says Tulsidasa, listen O Rama,
The robbers are ransacking Thy house.
I am just too worried,
Lest this should give a bad name to Thee.’

Why then should we see anything wrong in doing so? When we taunt our mother or God, it churns out their special love, compassion and grace for us, thereby inundating us with bliss and joy.

When you are overcome with fear in the face of some adversity, call out to God alone, just as Gajendra, the king of elephants, had called out fervently to God when he was caught by a crocodile. If you want to call out to God and praise Him, then learn this art of eulogizing Him by reading the ‘Srimad Bhagawata Mahapurana’ and the book ‘Sri Narayana Stuti.’

If you have a feeling of love, divert it towards the Lord, because He alone is truly worthy of being loved. He nurtures, sustains and gives consciousness to all.

In this way, we should constantly keep recollecting God by just any means so that ‘Nasto Mohah smritirlabdha….’ ‘My delusion having been destroyed, I have now regained my memory…’ these words of Arjuna may become our own experience, whereupon we shall gain memory of our true Being and say good-bye forever to our forgetfulness of the Supreme Being.
‘Recollection of the Lord does bring happiness,
Recollection of the Lord does remove misery.

Says Kabir, by recollecting the Lord, one becomes one with the Master,’