Thus spoke Aghoreshwar on conscious way of being

There is no fire stronger than desire. There is nothing worse than hatred. There is no pain greater than inner turmoil and mutually destructive conflict. And there is no joy greater than pure nirvana (liberation). Health is the greatest wealth. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Self-confidence is the best friend and pure nirvana is the pure joy.

We are so steeped in ignorance that we deceive ourselves. There are many beings who, without a doubt, torture themselves.

The day you make an effort to look at yourself, all thoughts bound by your past deeds and all thoughts bound by your desires will disappear. Until the time you stop trying to look at the other, you will find yourself shelter-less and very far away from yourself.

One who is free from transient happiness is free from fear and pain. It is happiness that generates sorrow. One who is free from desires of the senses is free from fear and pain too.

Neither the sky, nor the earth is heaven. Neither are the directions heaven. There is no reason or purpose for a heaven.

The nation, the country, the society that treats all equally and is without excess, creates people with stable minds, hearts, desires, knowledge and science.

We are afflicted by many thoughts of sin and virtue, heaven and hell, actor and non-actor, receiver and non-receiver. As long as these dualities find a place in our minds, our minds will be contaminated. Remaining contami nated, faults will rise in our minds.

The word “puja” (worship) means fullness, whole ness. One who is never full remains empty and spurned by desire, keeps running after things. He has never worshipped, for he has never been full. In the background of not being full, fulfilled, is the absence of forbearance and the keeping of undesired company.

Meditation is Renunciation by Baba Harihar Ramji

Baba Harihar Ramji addressed a group of disciples and friends at the Sonoma Ashram on Sunday, April 30, 2006, with the following words:

I would like to welcome you on this beautiful morning. Sitting in meditation this morning, a thought came. Actually it was just a word that dropped into my mind. Renunciation. Whatever we are doing at this given moment in meditation, we are actually practicing renunciation.

I know, when the word renunciation is mentioned, people say, “Oh, that is not for me. I haven’t renounced the world.” We think we have to give up everything, our house, our spouse, our children, our car, our job, and go to a new place.

This word renunciation, we all practice it. Without renunciation, there is no happiness in life. In simple, modern language, renun ciation has been translated as the act of letting go. The very moment we let go of something there is freedom. Anything we are attached to has a hold on us. We become bound and we lose our freedom.

We are householders. We have our responsibilities. It’s good to take care of those things. That’s life. But to be totally consumed by it keeps us in bondage. Whatever thoughts, ideas, concepts and feelings we have consume us. We have to learn a way to free ourselves from it all, even for a few moments. Renun ciation is what helps detach us from this predicament. In those moments of freedom we experience clarity and are able to remember our true nature. I am free, I am boundless. Absolutely free and pure. This is my Divine Self, my True Self. My identification, my habits, my memories, my concepts, these are all just attachments that keep me limited. Many entangled knots of life are untangled when we remember our Divine self.

When we sit and medi tate, what we are really doing is letting go of all these different attach ments so that we can experi ence our Free Self which is totally free, unattached to any name, form, iden tification or gender. This is what we try to touch during meditation. So meditation is really nothing but renunciation.

Whenever you hear the word renunciation, please don’t ever think you have to leave your job and your car, or your home, and go somewhere. No matter where you go, there you are with your baggage.

The very moment we renounce something, there is freedom. Taste that freedom. All the energy that that has been caught up, we liberate when we become free. We can use that energy for higher good. This is our foremost duty, to welcome that freedom into our life that gives it meaning. We have come alone, and we leave alone. This is the one truth we all have to face.

On this stage of life, we have our obligations, the whole drama. It’s needed, it’s necessary to keep social harmony and harmony in our family, but there is another aspect of our life that needs to be touched daily. We renounce everything, even for ten minutes, and become free with ourselves, that we are.

Experiencing Oneness

After the thought of renunciation, my mind went back to my mantra, and then again after some time, as the nature of the mind is, something else was dropped in. The feeling arose that this whole room was filled as if nobody was here, yet there was a very strong presence. Although all these bodies were sitting here, there was only one presence, which dwells in all the bodies. I didn’t feel any separation from you. There was no me, there was no you. There just was. Out of renunciation came a feeling of Oneness.

Unless renunciation is experienced, it is very difficult to experience unity. In spiritual practices, when the yogis talk about renunciation, it is actually renunciation of the ego. Ego means my ideas, my concepts, my feelings, “me, me, me.” It is the ego self that sometimes drops during meditation. When ego drops, everything drops. When renunciation has happened, the pure Self arises and that pure Self sees only One, only One Presence. This is what has been talked about in the scriptures. The One, we are One. This oneness can not be experi enced without renunciation.

We are very fortunate when we can experience totally dropping everything. Twenty-three hours a day we are carrying me, my responsibilities, my ideas, my fears, my hurts. Let us give one hour, half-an-hour, to renounce it all and dwell in the company of our True Self which is ever pure, which existed before we even took this body, and which will remain after we shed this body.

This is what our practice is all about, learning the art of renunciation and bringing it into our daily life. No matter where you are, take a step back, take a nice deep breath and detach yourself from it all. Come back home to your Self, to that part which is totally free. Practice of renunciation will give us clarity and strength to live our remaining years of life in peace while engaging fully in the world.

No Rules

If we are not careful, this can be translated incorrectly. Yesterday somebody was here saying, “I like this Ashram because there are no rules.” So that means, “Ok, I can do whatever I want; I can be anyway I want.” But this teaching is not for that person. One of Baba’s teachings is, “realized beings, accomplished beings do not make rules.” Yes, this is true, but if we are undisciplined, if we don’t know how to live, if we don’t know how to be or how to interact with others, then we need to have rules. Once we are established in the Self, when we pay attention to things and are aware of the consequences of our actions, then we don’t need rules.

So the teachings are all there, but not all teachings are for everyone. Sometimes we hear that something is very simple, but be very careful because in that simplicity, there could be more required of us. In Aghor there are no rules, but Aghor requires lots of discipline, self-discipline, self-knowing. This is very beautiful, to experience that Oneness.

My Message to You

To honor yourself, to love yourself, to respect yourself, to acknowledge the Divine that you are, carve out a little time, and in that moment, totally renounce everything else. Carry this as a seed. Make a promise to yourself that for ten minutes, fifteen minutes, I’m going to renounce the world, I’m going to taste renunciation. If you are not ready to renounce for the whole life, taste it for ten minutes in your life, bring it into your life. Be who you truly are even for ten minutes. It’s very beautiful.

OM TAT SAT

“Your Ashram” by Baba Harihar Ramji

We are very blessed to have a place in our lives that we call “Our Ashram.” When you think of a place as your Ashram, it is your responsi bility to create it for your self. It is not somebody else who is going to create it for you.

How do you create that space for yourself? You carve it out as a special place from all other places in your life. Any act of carving out makes it sacred. So your carve out this space, these two and a half acres for example, out of the whole, out of everywhere you go on the earth. You call it “My Ashram” and you take responsibly for its environ ment and its well-being. It is a sacred space for you. When you think about this place or enter this space, you cleanse yourself and engage with the intention of practicing your highest ideal.

There is a saying in Hindi, “While going to a sacred place or person, renounce all attachments and ego. Then every step taken in that direction is like performing thou sands of sacred rituals.” Every step is as pious, as wish-fulfilling, as performing thousands of sacred rituals. By assigning it that sacred ness, we can make this place for ourselves in our lives. When we come here, when we think or talk about this place, we hold that sacredness in our heart and in this way, we receive nurturing from this place in return.

It doesn’t matter what others are doing, there will be always some thing that we could find fault in. If we are looking for things to talk about and be unhappy about, we’ll always find it. But we could also find things to appreciate and feel happy. This is the choice we make, we choose. “This is the place for me where I go for practicing my highest ideal.” Best is to come here void of ego and attachments. Then you will be filled with the guru’s light.

Come empty so you can be filled. This way you can create this place for yourself.

I keep reminding you of this because it is important in this day and age to have a place that you hold clear in your heart that you can come to and just be and not get engaged or involved in politics and gossips … this and that … he said and she said and he did and she did … because if that’s all you want to talk about, then why not go to a coffee place or a movie or a park. This space is not for that.

I would even recommend that if you have some issues with some body, go outside of this space and talk over there. Save this place for yourself as very sacred and allow others to have this in the same way. If you have a charge with some body, maybe invite him or her for a cup of coffee or go for a walk, so the vibrations that we put in this space are very pure.

I would like to invite you and encourage you and inspire you to really make this a very sacred space. It will require work, but we can do it. We can create it for our selves, for our friends, for our children and for our family. We can even talk about it, and say to our friends, “Do you want to go to a very special place and find peace and clarity? Let’s step in those gates!” If we keep the vibration high in our hearts and minds, it will be a very precious thing in our life. I would like to invite you to join me in creating a very special place for ourselves and for others who could benefit from its existence.

An Oasis for Children
Bal Ashram
Varanasi, India

Joined by many friends from the States and Italy, Babaji spent a meaningful and productive two months in India at Bal Ashram. Through letters and emails, those who had the opportunity to visit Bal Ashram for themselves have expressed profound gratitude for this life changing experience. We now share with you a glimpse of this important trip.

LOVING MOTHER FIGURE
Heart-warming it is knowing the children are now in the hands of a caring and nurturing mother, Gaytri, lovingly called “Mataji.” Gaytri comes early each morning, helps the children get ready for the day, and spends the day at the Ashram giving them the attention and nurturing any young child would need. Welcoming Gaytri to the staff at Bal Ashram and seeing the children jump into her lap, wide open to receiving her love, was by far the highlight of the trip. We Thank Mrs. Deborah Flavin, Mr. Rohit Singh and Gail Malizia for sponsoring Mataji’s salary

VISION FOR SOLAR ENERGY
Peter Humes, local friend, chef and entrepreneur, spent time at Bal Ashram researching the possibility of opening a solar bakery at the Ashram where children can have a first-hand experience starting and running a business. This year we are looking to make the whole campus self sustaining with solar energy.

LIBRARY AND COMPUTER LAB
Thanks to Dr. Greg Carroll, a broadband cable was installed which provides wireless internet connection throughout the Ashram campus. Eager to excel in their studies, the children will soon have a well-equipped computer lab and a library which are currently being constructed on the second floor of one of the buildings. The collection of books and educational materials is increasing; this new learning center will provide an appropriate space for the children’s ever-growing interest in learning new things. Thanks to Terri Akin for her initial help with the library.

SUMMER SOLAR LABS
Luke Burrows, grandson of Dr. Lewis Burrows, the chief surgeon & physician of Aghoreshwar Baba at Mt. Sinai Hospital, NY, has sponsored the Solar Lab at the Ashram as his Bar Mitzvah gift project. Luke visited Bal Ashram last year with his parents and has been inspired to do some good for the children.

CHANGING LIVES
Lena Sclove, age 14, along with her parents Richard & Marcie, traveled from Amherst, Ma., for a three week stay at Bal Ashram in March. Inspired by the people, culture and endless opportunities for seva and sadhana, they are planning to spend a full year there starting this September. Lena is looking forward to joining a local, English-medium school, the same school that the Bal Ashram children will be attending which is walking distance from the Ashram. Needless to say, we are thrilled and inspired by the Sclove’s plans and can only dream of how happy the children will be to have their beloved sister “Lena Didi” back with them for an extended stay.

SPONSOR PROGRAM & SCHOLORSHIP FUND
Many from the Ashram community through their commitment to sponsor a child at Bal Ashram are already finding meaning in their new relationship. We have also started a continuing education fund for college tuition and vocational training. Five children are still in need of sponsors, including Kashi, age 3, who just arrived on May 10th.

A Story of the Highest Caring

Baby Shivam and his mother had come to the Ashram’s free clinic, and we soon found out Shivam had Spina Bifida and would not live much longer without operation which the family could not afford. There was a lump on his back about half the size of his head. Deeply moved by the baby’s condition, Deborah, Linda, Liese, Ken, Mary, Joan and Roberta offered to chip in for the operation, and gave this baby a chance to live.