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SRI SARVESHWARI TIMES
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Aghoreshwar Baba Bhagwan Ramji
The Way to Live is a collection of 'nugget' teachings of Aghoreshwar Baba Bhagwan Ramji. The teachings were , of course, in Hindi to Indians primarily, over the course of Aghoreshwar Baba's earthly life from 1937 to 1992. It was Baba's invitation to keep abreast with the ever changing world; that no scripture or book could be a guide for ever. He said that this is why the instruction of the Guru is important, that the Guru knows the needs, the time and circumstances in which decisions must be made. It is with this direction and in this tradition that we attempt revision under the 'protective orbit' of Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ramji's devoted disciple, our Baba Harihar Ramji.
Human Life, This Human Form:
1. Human birth is the reward of countless acts of penance. He who shies away from good deeds is not worthy of salvation. He alone is truly human who is attuned to the Brahm, the Divine.
2. Human birth has great significance. Make careful note: You can take birth in various forms on this earth over and over again. You can be favored with friends, countless spouses and dwellings, but you cannot be endowed with human life time and time again. Having acquired human birth, do only good deeds which will purify your life.
3. There are four fundamental truths about life. It is not necessary that you remember all four. Remembering just two will lead you toward a blissful life: forget the good deeds that you have done for others, and forget the harm others have done you. The two other fundamental truths are to always remember God and death.
4. If you want to live a meaningful life, take to simplicity. Subdue dishonorable thoughts and acts. Adopt simplicity and plain living as your philosophy of life. Love and fellowship are at the root of life. They constantly keep growing up the ladder of plain living. One who relentlessly pursues spiritual growth receives rare inspiration and attains the true knowledge of a realized divine soul.
5. The tendency towards divisiveness and dissension grows more and more intense day by day due to unchecked speech, dishonorable behaviors, fault-finding and blame, and uninhibited proliferation of obscene and dishonorable literature.
6. Niyama, living with a disciplined mind and Sanyama, practice of restraint from over indulgence, is the means of success in life.
7. Pomp and show is of no value. Simple living is the best way. You must realize this. Truth lies in simplicity and divine energy lies in truth. Divine energy is the mother of creativity, and creativity is the ultimate goal of life. Hold no doubt that achievement of the ultimate objective is the attainment of final liberation from matter and reunion with the Supreme Spirit (Nirvana), or bliss.
8. Life's problems are not solved by violence and war. Truth and love are the greatest virtues of life.
9. If you wish to live a meaningful life, do not waste the opportunity of this human birth. Always bear in mind that the world is poised on a tottering brink of final oblivion. Leave everything aside. Concentrate all your power and intellect on learning to be human. This will make your heart pure. The sternest penance that you must pay, the most supreme sacrifice that you must make is to cultivate contentment.
10. Life is transient. Therefore, worship the Divine Mother, the giver of boons, so that you are blessed and are able to inspire others to do good deeds.
11. Those whose desire in life is to accumulate material wealth may find themselves scorched by that desire. If one does not develop a spirit of detachment , life is an exercise in futility.
12. A practice of harmony with the divine brings about welcome changes in life.
13. The dictates of the soul alone lead to the consummation of a fruitful life. Disobedience to these dictates brings about despair and failure.
14. A free and blissful life is divine. Demolish traditions that stand in the way.
15. Aimless existence shortens life.
16. Only a balanced mind can fathom life's mysteries.
17. Only life full of kindness and compassion constitutes a meaningful life.
18. Surrender of the Self to the Unknown is a significant achievement indeed.
19. In love lies life's greatest value.
20. Practical life alone is a happy life. The life of one who is impractical is like a drum which emanates sound only when beat.
21. Rather than communion with a cherished ideal, waiting for its consummation itself is life.
22. A life of discontent is destitute in all respects.
23. Every step of the sacrificial animal takes him closer to death. This is equally true of man. Life is short. Life is full of anxiety and misery. One realizes this through true knowledge.
24. Lack of practice dulls the intellect, generates indolence and leads to sloth which shortens life and leads one to death. Practice makes life meaningful.
25. A disciplined life brings about happiness and peace and leads one to salvation.
26. One whose life is full of confusion and tension is destitute. Such a life is unbearable.
27. Human life is but a shadow, a transitory thing. Tune every moment of this transient life with the constant melody of good deeds which in turn leads others to a harmonious life.
28. The significance of life lies in the vigilance of human action. An ideal man lives in a manner that does not cause pain to another. Merely paying lip-service to the principles of compassion and service to others is not the idea. You must put into practice these principles even at the cost of undergoing hardships in the process. Only then do you lead a significant life and become a true benefactor and servant.
29. One who grapples with situations as they emerge is best among men. Just as exercise tones the body and solving complicated problems sharpens the intellect, so does encounter with difficult circumstances yield spiritual stamina.
30. Hatred and jealousy are the cause of discontentment in life.
Human Existence in this World
31. The Divine Mother has given birth to you in this world with the opportunity to come to know Her. If you fail to do so, if you do not recognize and strengthen your soul consciousness, if you do not gain knowledge through the life experience and act through your higher self, then you remain like the frog in the well. This failure grieves the Divine Mother. None can gain immortality by causing unhappiness to the Mother.
32. Do not become lost in a labyrinth of confusion by forgetting promises and commitments made to your true Self.
33. Your days in this world are numbered. Everybody is destined to depart after the last night of life.
34. The world is an old, worn out tree whose tender leaves are social distinctions, religions and hypocrisies. Because the tree is worn out, its fruits are bitter. Its flowerings generate foul air, making men extremely unhappy. Discard the foul leaves and the poisonous fruits.
Navaratri:
The observance of Navaratri will be held at the ashram
from March 28th through April 5th.
Navaratri is the time to engage ourselves in the upasana of Shakti. Upasana literally means to obtain a seat next to, to get close to, enrich oneself with, worship etc. Shakti is the all pervading energy that is the source of the existence of the world. All the living creatures become lifeless for lack of Shakti. It manifests itself in numerous ways. Seers of the ancient time have tried to describe Shakti in various ways. Shakti is the power, strength or capability of "God"
In order to speak about Shakti, seers have called the Shakti "Mother". Shakti manifests itself as creation; it is the mother who gives birth to and nurtures the newborn. Although Shakti is beyond the boundaries of gender, form or color, we call It Mother because of its qualities as a mother. Out of this idea different names and forms came into existence. It is the formless that takes form depending on the intensity of the seeker's longing and devotion. Navaratri is the time to acknowledge and revere that formless by giving it a form.
Nava means nine and ratri means nights. At Navaratri (nine nights) the Divine Mother is worshipped in Her various forms as Kali, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Though She is one, She is represented and worshipped in three different aspects.
To gain noble virtues, all evil tendencies in the mind must be destroyed. This destruction is represented by Kali. Kali is the destroyer of the qualities of laziness, darkness, ignorance, and inertia. During the first three days we evoke the divine power within us to destroy our tendencies of lower nature.
Next three days are devoted to Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. For knowledge to dawn within us, we have to prepare our minds. The mind must be pure concentrated, and single pointed: this purification of the mind is obtained through worship of Lakshmi. Our wealth of virtues is our true Lakshmi. In Vivekachudamani, the six forms of wealth are described as: calmness of mind, self-control, self-withdrawal, forbearance, faith and single-pointedness. These qualities have to be cultivated to attain wisdom. These virtues are important because our goal is victory over the mind - a victory such that we do not get disturbed by every change that takes place in our lives. The victory comes only when the mind is prepared, and this mental preparation is the symbolism of the Lakshmi puja.
The remaining days of Navaratri are devoted to the worship of Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom. The highest wisdom is the knowledge of the Self.
Thus, at Navaratri, Kali is invoked first to remove impurities from the mind. Then Goddess Lakshmi is invoked to cultivate the noble values and qualities. Finally, Saraswati is invoked for gaining the highest knowledge of the Self. This is the significance of the three sets of nights, and when all these three are gained subjectively, then there will be Vijayadasami, the day of true victory.
Although there are morning puja and evening puja done with much rituals during the Navaratri but the night time when we are alone is the most important and beneficial time. Nighttime is generally the time when we go to sleep, so the spiritual message of night time observance is : "You have lived long enough in the sleepy ignorance. It is time to get up now and contemplate. Please wake up!"
These nine days of elaborate puja helps transcend the mind beyond its usual norm, and determination filled with single pointed devotion to our Mantra and different aspects of the Divine Mother brings us in touch with our Shakti which is always within us but forgotten.
On a day to day practical level, this observance gives a boost and momentum to our daily practice which is a must for our personal and spiritual growth.
Daily schedule during Navaratri observance
Observance begins on March 28th in the morning
and ends on April 5th :
Morning puja: 6:30 AM to 7:30 AM
Evening puja: 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM
The Mahanisha pujan (Havan) will be performed on the night of April 3rd.
Note: During this observance all other regular scheduled activities such
as yoga classes etc.will be cancelled.
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