Tapa and Vrata = Pujya Gurudev

Tapa and Vrata Bring Order into Life

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

(Akhan Jyoti Sept.Oct.2006)

Yena devah svararuruhurhitva sharirammritasya nabhim| Tena geshma sukritasya lokam dharmasya vratena tapsa yashasyavah|| - Atharvaveda 4/11/6 "The Supreme Being by whose grace the self-realized, after discarding their mortal bodies, have attained to the elixir of moksha or salvation, by the grace of that Supreme Being, and by vrata and tapa we seekers of glory will also attain to that transcendental abode." Regulating the daily routine not only improves health but also imparts a certain glow to the whole jivana sadhana.

The daily routine may appear to constitute a small aspect of life, but on a deeper look we find a reflection of the whole gamut of life in it. The values of life, its aims, direction, ideals, goal - everything we can glimpse in the daily routine. One whose day-to-day life is haphazard and disorderly, remains confused and aimless in the larger scheme of life, too. This is a cardinal truth whatever arguments and excuses to the contrary may be proffered. An organized routine ensures refinement and priming of the energies of the body, mind and soul, and their application in a specific direction.

It is important to distinguish that order or organization does not merely mean the existence of a particular condition; the indication of a particular direction, too, is implicit in it. In disorder, on the other hand, there is neither any specific condition nor any direction. In order, there is spontaneous creation, whereas in disorder, only destruction flourishes. This truth can be perceived clearly in every walk of life and every nook of the society. Haphazard routine not only ruins health but also gives birth to serious psychological problems. Even the school going children and teenagers, not to speak of the adults, have become victims of these maladies. A disease like diabetes is not sparing even small children now. Miscellaneous studies point to only one factor as the root culprit, viz. the life-style has become unbalanced; the daily routine has become chaotic.

Sleep time is wasted in fun and frolic while that for waking and working is spent in sleeping. This topsy-turviness has antagonized nature. Experts of human physiology as well as of human psychology are convinced that man will have to suffer the ill consequences of tampering with the biological rhythm ordained by nature. And this is exactly what is happening. If we have to salvage the situation, there is no alternative to reversing the inverted. This is the only solution which can bring modern life presently groping in the maze of wilderness back on the right tracks. There is an illuminating anecdote often related among the Vaishnav saint community.

An elderly saint lived in Vrindavan, the dham or abode of Lord Krishna. Many among the wealthy and elite were his followers. They, too, suffered from the frailties which invariably develop from surfeit of money and power, but still they all possessed sense of veneration for their guru. They would often ask their guru about the ultimate secret of life. The saint fenced the question with a laugh because he knew that the underlying spirit of the question was not genuine enquiry but mere curiosity.

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma