Pujya Sadguru Pt. ShriRam Sharma's Thought

About SadguruPt. Shriram Sharma Acharya (1911-1990)A sage, a visionary and a reformer, the Acharya initiated a movement for transformation of era, lived a disciplined life of devout austerity, visited the Himalayas several times and attained spiritual eminence.

He translated the entire Vedic Vangmaya and accomplished a feat of writing more than 3000 books on all aspects of life.

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Sadguru wrote about Environment

The Need of Refined Environment

A sadhak (devotee) should be considered fortunate, if he gets an opportunity to do sadhana under the shade of Himalayas, in the lap of Ganga, in a devotion-filled environment and under powerful protection and guidance. The paramount importance of Sadhana � Upasana is repeatedly stressed in the Indian Philosophy and the scriptures of Yoga. In spite of this, it has been observed that sometimes people following all the prescribed rules and rituals do not get the benefits of Sadhana � Upasana, which have been mentioned in the scriptures.

 This is due to the negative effects of the environment. It is true that some Siddha ascetics change the environment with their will power and Tapa Sadhana (penance). But it is also true that the effect of environment is quite significant in the development of human beings. As Sadhana � Upasana is related to one�s traits and each environment has its own good or bad aspects, the quality of place and environment becomes all the more important for higher level Sadhanas. Many positive and negative examples illustrating the forceful effects of environment may be found in history as well as in daily life.

There is a famous story of Mahabharat. In order to select the place for the great war between Kaurvas and Pandavas, Lord Krishna appointed a special adept in the subject. He searched for a suitable battle-field around Hastinapur which had strong vibrations of fratricidal conflict. Upon returning he narrated one incident in which he saw two real brothers fighting in Kurukshetra. Lord Krishna chose this very place for the war, because he had a doubt that Arjun, being very sentimental, might refuse to fight with his own kith and kin. Similar incident is narrated about Shravan Kumar. When he was taking his parents in a Kanwar on a holy pilgrimage, he came to a place where he not only threw down the Kanwar but also abused his parents.

After crossing that region, he felt deeply remorseful for his unbecoming behaviour. His father consoled him and told him that it was none of his fault. That place once belonged to a demon � Maya, who imprisoned his parents and then killed them there. It is a fact that the land too has its subtle vibrations and they can be felt by visiting sacred tanks, temples or graveyards. The soil of Kullu is famous for apples. Such apples cannot be grown elsewhere even by providing best manure, water and conditioning. The oranges of Nagpur and the bananas of Bhusaval are not available elsewhere. Whereas Muzaffarpur is famous for lychees, Lucknow is famous for muskmelon. The tasty mangoes that are grown in Malihabad and Banaras, are rarely found elsewhere. Sandalwood trees grown in the forests of Mysore have their own special fragrance. A vast difference in the quality of grains is observed due to the variation of environment. The wheat of Punjab is much better as compared to the wheat grown in other parts of India. Cows, giving milk, can be found in the entire country; but there is no match for the cows of Haryana. It is the Azerbaijan region of Russia that is famous for centenarians. Death before 100 years there is considered untimely.

These are all the effects and qualities of environment. One cannot remain unaffected by them. The same principle applies to the vegetation. The herbs are the same, but when they are grown in different regions, their qualities vary. A significant difference is observed in the properties of Brahmi (a medicinal herb) grown on the bank of the Ganga in the Himalayan region and that grown on the banks of rivers in the plains. The same rule applies to other herbs too. According to the regional peculiarites, the difference is found not only in the human configuration but also in the behaviour.

Although, a human being is free and, in principle, he is fully capable of transforming all the traditional pressures with his own will power; but on the practical plain, it has been observed that the regional environment goes on moulding the residents. In spite of giving recognition to originality of a person, it has to be accepted that the majority of the people in society does not live thoughtfully but it lives under the influence of environment. The castes and families too have their own peculiarties. The religiousness in Brahmans, bravery in Kshatriyas, economic shrewdness in Vaishyas, artistic skills in sculptors, etc. are more pronounced as compared to others. Some tribes have the habit of theft and pilferage as their inherent traits. Some classes are notorious for cowardice and foolishness.

When we search for the causes of these behavioural differences, only one prominent cause that is encountered is that when a person lives in a particular societal environment, he develops the virtues or the vices accordingly.

To day we should always think about best environment.

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru

Shiv Sharma