Thus spoke Aghoreshwar

Where there is victory, defeat is also there. Where there is defeat, victory is also there. In order to recognize victory and defeat in their true nature, it is necessary for one to know oneself. After knowing the self, the ego is dropped automatically. After dropping the ego, not only victory and defeat become very clear, one comes to know the illusionary world as it is.

One who goes to his own refuge is happy, for his or her refuge is an actual refuge.

Don’t look at or listen to anything with suspicion.

At the very least, make a compromise with yourself and have patience.

The chariot of human life keeps rolling on two wheels known as happiness and sadness. Lack of either one of the two makes life stagnant. Therefore, O’ pilgrim, keep progressing on the vast landscape of life with your self effort. This is your greatest valor.

The best way to live is to live attentively. One who lives attentively knows how to act, not just talk. Such a one is a wholesome person.

A friend should be like the earth, which moves around the sun seeking light for it’s friends. Receiving light, the inhabitants of the earth become happy, peaceful and capable of performing good actions.

Worship of the Self
by Baba Harihar Ramji

During the Sunday morning satsang at the SonoMa Ashram on April 27, 2008, Baba Harihar Ramji spoke the following words:

I would like to welcome you on this beautiful Sunday morning.

When we began chanting, “Namo Shakti, Namo Kali, Namo Durge,” a thought entered my mind that the one we are calling with all these different names is really visiting us every moment. It’s always here. We are surrounded by that presence, that Shakti, that energy, that great unknown that we give a name and a form for our own convenience.

That presence is also known as Prana, life force. Until we are visited by that Prana, we are inert, stagnant and stuck.

So who do we worship? What is it that we worship, really, if we are worshiping anything? We worship, truly, ourselves. We do not have a right to worship anyone else.

What is “ourselves?” Who is the one who claims, “My body, my house, my car?” I am not the body. That “I” is not my emotions. It’s not the foot. It’s not the hand. It’s not the mind. “My mind” - who is the one claiming it to be mine?

It is Prana, and that Prana expresses itself through each living being in a very unique way, in so many different forms. It is that Prana that we wor ship. It is that Prana that we try to come in contact with, connect with, through our meditations and prayers.

So if you ever asked me, “What do I worship?”, I worship Prana, that life force, which is constantly expressing itself through each and every action. Anything we do is an act of worship, a prayer, an expression of that great unknown. Without that great unknown, without Prana, I wouldn’t even be able to wink my eyes or smile. I wouldn’t be able to do anything.

When we take a moment to connect with that Prana, we become aware of the miracle that’s constantly bubbling within us and showering on us from above. Constantly. Provided we stop, take a step back, take a breath, and become present to it. Then immediately we are filled with a sense of appreciation for everything. There is appreciation for the Self and for everything around us. It’s a very important practice.

When we just stop to look, and appreciate, what is the immediate response to that appreciation? We think, “How can I make it more beautiful? What can I do to sustain it, to nourish it?” Then our Prana begins to flow in that direction. There are little examples even in our house. We may have a very precious thing but if we don’t stop to look at it and appreciate it, dust may be accu mulating on it. But once we stop to look, we want to pick up a duster and dust it, and while we are dusting it, it takes us back to all those moments when we brought it into our home, how it came to us. It all connects. Otherwise we may have something very precious, and if we don’t take time to appreciate it, it just sits there, and sitting there, it accumulates dust.

Prana is visiting us every moment riding on our breath. Breath is not Prana. Breath is the medium through which Prana enters our body. Just like we dissolve medicine in water, drink the water, and say, “I am drinking the water,” that water contains some other elements. It’s the same in the breath.

How do we connect with Prana? The yogis, gurus and seers have advised us to pay attention to the breath first, and begin to play with the breath in different ways. Start by paying attention to the beginning of the breath, the middle of the breath, and the end of the breath. Pay attention to the breath out, the beginning of the breath out, middle and end.

There is also the space between the two breaths. It is in that space that the Prana is absorbed. Air has come in and air has gone out, leaving the Prana in that space between the two breaths.

The next step is spending more time in that space. We have taken a nice deep breath in. Just stop it, without forcing, without straining, without being an active doer. Just stop the breath. Calm the eyes. Become aware of the stillness. Become aware of the Prana being absorbed in the body. Become aware of the light coming in and spreading everywhere. This is where the magic happens.

Before our body begins to strain and stress, slowly, let it out. Make it very smooth and gentle. The very moment the body starts stressing out, we become the doer. Our body wants to fix it or take care of it. But I am propos ing to stay in a comfortable space, enlarge that space, try to identify with that space, and then let the air go out.

Be the space. That is you. That is the Prana. It has no form, no name, no shape, no size, no words, no visions, no shooting stars, nothing. And it can take any shape. You are the Prana. You are not your emotions. You are not your memories. You are not your story. You are boundless. You are free. You have the capac ity to be anything possible. Identify with that Prana. And to reach to that Prana, appreciation is the gate.

It’s fun! It’s inspiring! Every moment is a new moment. We will continue to do whatever we need to do to be in this world of maya (illusion). That’s necessary. But let’s not be boggled down by it, sucked into it, totally identified with it. Identify with the Prana that’s boundless.

Take a little moment everyday to practice. Sometimes hold the breath a little longer and see what happens once we are breathing out. The pulsation of the new blood is throbbing everywhere in our body, and we feel that vitality in every corner of our body. We become aware of the calmness descending in us and the celebration happening within us. Stay with it. We are that vitality. The rest is just the conditioning, the story, the fears. Make our own life beautiful. Make the world beautiful.

When we are in touch with that Prana, we become aware of the subtlest things around us, with everything around us. Every moment is inspiring. We keep asking ourselves, “What can I do? What can I give to the world? What can I give to wherever I am? What can I do to make it a little bit more pleasant and beautiful?” All of our actions begin to come from that place.

When we begin to appreciate the things around our house, we will see that energy flow in the direction to beautify it, dust it, clean it, pull the weeds, water, etc. When we take time for appreciation, it fills us. It begins to overflow. And that overflow becomes seva, selfless service.

Then Shakti is at play. Everything that happens at the Ashram and in our daily life is just Shakti at play. Shakti is dancing all the time. How present are we to it? We become absent to it only when that Shakti gets stuck, when we get caught in our story, in our drama, in our surface stuff.

I just wanted to remind you that there is so much beauty, there is so much magic we are sur rounded with all the time. Take a little time to be present to it. Then life becomes fun.

Thank you for being here. I bow to that Prana residing within our heart that connects us all.
It’s all One.

OM TAT SAT