Wholehearted execution- III, = Pujya Gurudev

Wholehearted execution of the prescribed principles - III

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Once upon a time an old emaciated man and woman (husband and wife) were begging for their sustenance and for nurturing their child. When Goddess Parvati saw them she was moved with compassion. She asked Lord Shiva how in His world people were so helpless and why can't the Lord remove their sufferings. Lord Shiva tried to explain His consort that their situation and sufferings were of their own making  of karmik law of sowing and reaping. But Parvati was unconvinced. Shiva had to appear before the old couple. He asked them to ask for any boon they wished. The old woman wished to be a young damsel of twenty years of age, and Lord Shiva granted the wish. 

The old man got infuriated with hate looking at her and said that she wanted to enjoy life all over again, deserting him in old age. His hatred arose. Lord Shiva asked the old man not to worry and offered to confer on him any boon of his liking. The old man asked for the woman to be converted into a she-pig. Lord Shiva granted the wish and she became a pig. At this the child started crying and beseeched the Lord to give him back his mother. Again the Lord granted the childs wish and the she-pig became the original old emaciated woman. Thus all the three  man, wife and child  remained their old wretched selves in spite of Lords boons. Thus, the Lord demonstrated to Parvati that even God does not help those who do not help themselves through noble, purposeful thoughts and deeds.

A Priest used go to a particular sacred place to devoutly perform his daily prayers at a fixed time. But as soon as he went back home he behaved very rudely with everyone. One day his young son also went with him for prayers at the temple. 

The priest started praying "Oh Lord! You love everybody and you shower your blessings on each one of us!" As soon as the priest finished the prayer, the child turned to him and said  "Father! In spite of your having repeated this prayer over a long time you have not yet learnt the lesson of love and affection. Your prayers are hollow and mechanical without any positive effect on your attitude and behavior." The priest instantly realized what was amiss in his prayers and from that day onwards he started praying with fervent aspiration for conscious inner transformation.

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Wholehearted execution = Pujya Gurudev

Wholehearted execution of the prescribed principles - II

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

The important thing that needs to be understood is the purpose underlying this particular direction of Gurudev. During those ten years of my active participation in the freedom struggle, I interacted with people of different nature in and outside of jail. In those days mass awakening was at the highest peak. 

I came in contact with several brave, courageous persons with firm determination and I learnt many useful lessons from them. It took me less than a couple of years to learn the art of winning over supporters, co-workers and appreciators for the stupendous task of revolutionary moral reawakening that was the primary aim and mission of my life. It would not have been possible for me to learn these lessons even by touring the country extensively on my own. Family attachments, feelings of mine and thine were got rid of and I lived a happy life even in adverse circumstances. 

This created self-confidence. The most important gain was that I developed the attitude of a volunteer, which has helped me to remain humble even at this late stage of my life. The suspense as to why I was directed to perform mahapurushcharanas in two phases was thus removed by my experience of the freedom struggle. 

The Indian National Congress was established about a century back but the congress in which we worked was altogether different from what it is now and I had peculiar experiences while working in it. Effortlessly, I got an opportunity to establish contacts with several eminent persons. I always conducted myself as a disciplined volunteer. So, whenever any volunteer was needed to serve eminent leaders, I used to be pushed forward in view of my young age. From these contacts I imbibed many virtues and also got an opportunity of living with GandhiJi in his Sabarmati Asram and VinobaJi in Pavnar Asram. Others went to these great personages for their Darsan but to me the insights provided by these contacts proved to be celestial boons. In 1933 the annual session of Indian National Congress was held in Calcutta. In those days Congress was considered an anti-government organization. People were arrested and police firing was resorted to on flimsy pretexts. 

Delegates who were considered important enough were arrested at Bardwan station and sent to jail in Asansol, which was originally made by the East India Company for Europeans. I was also arrested along with my three colleagues of Agra district. Eminent persons like Madan Mohan MalviyaJi, Devdas Gandhi, Swarooprani Nehru (mother of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru), Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Chandrabhanu Gupta, Kanhaiyyalal Khadiwala and Jagan Prasad Rawat were with us in the jail. Malviyaji used to address us daily in the evening throughout our stay there. Malviyaji and Mata Swarooprani used to treat us like their children. Malviyaji used to emphasize in his speeches that we should beg a paisa from every man and a handful of food grains from every woman to spread the message of our movement so that they may realize that the Congress was their organization and the freedom struggle was their own struggle, being run with their cooperation and contributions.
The thing might not have been important for others but I took serious note of it. The Risis of yore maintained themselves, gurukuls and aranyaks on public alms (bhiksa). It had been pointed out to me by Gurudev that I was to take up an assignment in hand. I had been wondering where from the money would come for this purpose. In jail, I got the clue. After my release, I applied this formula, while launching important projects of moral and social upliftment and transformation. 

Amounts running in crores have been spent on these projects through willing and volunteer contributions (minimum of ten paisa or a handful of grains per person per day) from lakhs and lakhs of well wishers and friends of the mission. Like Gayatri and Gangotri, Congress had been the fount of my lifes course. However, after independence I concentrated only on those tasks that would contribute to the fulfillment of the aims of political freedom. Politicians look after the political and economic affairs of the country. But far more important and crucial is the moral, intellectual and social transformation of the society to usher in an era of truth, equality, fraternity, freedom and harmony. 

This can be accomplished by persons and organizations committed to deeper values of life. This is the task dearest to my soul. Except for wearing khadi, I withdrew myself from active participation in all other programmes of the congress from the day of independence. This had the blessings of Bapu and the sanction of my divine guide. My friends sent me a form for accepting pension for having worked as a freedom fighter for about twenty years, I plainly declined to avail of this offer. Eminent persons of that age, who are still alive, would testify that when the time for rewards came, I withdrew behind the curtain. All the aforesaid three assignments were accomplished with utmost dedication and concentration. In between I also visited the Himalayas only for six months each time. 

I was told that the work of the Congress was important from the point of view of attainment of freedom and so my sojourn for six months each time would be enough. It is not necessary to mention here what I was told and what I was required to do during these sojourns. There are events and happenings even of my work-a-day visible surface life, which I consider miraculous, acts of divine grace; and my heart is filled with deep gratitude and humility when I recall them. 

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Wholehearted execution = Pujya Gurudev

Wholehearted execution of the prescribed principles - II

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

There was a primary school in the village of my birthplace. From the point of view of formal education, I studied only in that school. Sanskrit is part and parcel of our family traditions. My father and brothers were eminent scholars of Sanskrit. Giving discourses on ancient scriptures and priesthood were our ancestral profession. I thus acquired adequate knowledge of Sanskrit at home. 

I have taught Sanskrit to students up to the standard of Acharya, though I do not possess any formal degree. The story of studying other languages is interesting. I started writing English words on a shallow iron pan (tasla) by using pebbles as pencil. I could lay my hands on English newspaper Leader in jail and started reading English.
I used to consult my colleagues and in about a years time, when I was released from jail, I had acquired fairly good knowledge of English. Every time during my journey to jail, my vocabulary of English increased due to mutual discussions and gradually I learnt grammar also. In return, I taught my jailmates Sanskrit and idiomatic Hindustani. Magazines, journals, dictionaries etc. of other languages have always remained my basic sources of learning other languages. Gayatri has been called Goddess of wisdom. 

I cannot say about others, but I myself have been miraculously benefited by Her worship. Even professors of Hindi have received considerable guidance from my articles in Akhand Jyoti, in which Sanskrit words have been used profusely.
I have a feeling of inner upliftment and people are amazed to find that despite my remaining extremely busy in Sadhana etc. so much knowledge could be acquired.
The credit for all this goes to Mahapragya (the Supreme Divine Intelligence). Although I participated in satyagraha, launched by the Indian National congress, in compliance with the directions from Gurudev, in the beginning I did not understand its significance. When I was given one sankalp of doing Sadhana for twenty four years, why was it split into two portions of five and nineteen years? When thousands of persons were engaged in satyagraha, participation or non-participation of one more person should not have mattered much? Gurudev had guessed my dilemma at the time of my meeting with him and his divine voice had given the guideline. "Yug Dharma has its own importance. It should be considered as the need of the times and one should rush to fulfill it leaving aside all other work, just as water has to be rushed to the site of fire. In days to come you have to undertake several works of public contact and you will not get better opportunity than this to establish contacts with different strata of the society. You will also get an opportunity for rehearsal of the experience gained in previous births and of the lessons learnt in your early age.

are not important from the viewpoint of personal gain but they answer a need of the times. In practical life you are to be taught four lessons of ......
(1) wisdom 

(2) honesty 

(3) responsibility and (4) courage. 

These help in the inner growth of the soul and develop brilliance of intellect. With a view to developing the talents required for execution of your future plans of action and also to hone up the instruments needed for the purpose, your participation in Indias freedom struggle is essential." It is not pertinent to discuss what I did for the country, how much I suffered and how I discharged duties and responsibilities which were entrusted to me. Anybody interested to know about it may read the book  Freedom Fighters of Agra Division published by the information department of Uttar Pradesh government. In those days I was known by the name "Shriram Matta".  ( Countinue)

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Dreams-II, Pujya Gurudev

Dreams- Linkage between the visible worlds-1I

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Thus, a dream sparked the transmutation of Siddharth into The Buddha. 
Joan of Arc  the crowning glory of the French Revolution was born in an ordinary farmers family. In her dream one night, an angel reminded her to  remember the great purpose of life, listen to the call of the times and kindle the torch of liberation". 

This message became the source of light and courage in her life and triggered her immortal participation in the French freedom movement with superhuman bravery. Some of the dreams of Tipu Sultan, the intrepid king of Mysore also have significant place in history. He often used to be amazed by the intimations of future events given by his dreams. It became his habit to note down his experiences in a diary. 
The modern trends of psychology were largely inspired by the theory of Freud. 
Sigmund Freud neglected the role of dreams as possible linkages between the subliminal and the gross domains of consciousness. He rather affirmed dreams as reactions of suppressed and unfulfilled desires. In his view unsatisfied concupiscence or sexual instincts are predominant in stimulating disturbance of mind and generating psychological tides, which are expressed via dreams. Despite receiving significant support for a long time, Freuds hypothesis was criticized and proven to be incomplete by the eminent thinkers and psychologists like Carl Gustav Jung. 

Jung opined that, although the aspirations, emotions and the reactions of the ups and downs of daily life bear substantial impact on dreams, the latter couldnt be confined to such reflections alone. 
He defines dreams as expressions of the "communications" of the individual consciousness with one or more of the infinitely many impulses of the cosmic consciousness. In his view, decipheration of dreams may give us some, though indirect, idea of the linkage of the individual consciousness with the omnipresent para-consciousness. 
It should be noted here that the nature of dreams of an individual would depend upon his intrinsic character and tendencies. 
Dreams cannot generally depict those activities or aspects which are altogether different from his inclinations or which do not intersect with the domains of his interactions or are contrary to his habitual tendencies. 
For example, it would be rare that a blacksmith dreams something associated with painting unless fine arts or painting happens to be of relevance or interest to him in some respect. 
However, this may be true only for the dreams seen by most people in general. 
The dreams of divine or spiritual category do not depend upon the worldly activities or occupation of a person. The piety of ones character, serenity of his mind and spiritual elevation of inner self happen to be the principal factors in experiences of such dreams. 

arl Jung has elucidated the power of the subconscious (and unconscious) mind in his highly recognized book "Memories, Dreams and Reflections". He writes that the resources of knowledge available to the subconscious mind are enormous and stronger as compared to those of the conscious (external) mind. The latter relies on perceptions by the sense organs or acquisition of information and knowledge. 
But the subconscious mind, being a component of the unconscious or subtle (inner) mind, may acquire infinite ways of continuous enlightenment through the linkage of the latter with the eternal cosmic consciousness. 
The unconscious mind can receive subliminal impulses of ever-new experiences via the cosmic signals of omnipresent consciousness. 

Some of the Modern psychologists like Dr. Haffner M. Roberts describe dreams as nothing more than the shadows and responses of the worldly horizons of life. Several other contemporary scholars of psychology have, however, contradicted such views. Prof. Fitz attributes dreams to be  "the means of transmission of the inner expressions of mind in an esoteric language" which can also indicate the internal condition of the body and mind of the dreamer. 

Dr. Strumpel deciphers subtler roles of the dreams and states that  dreams depict the subliminal domains of life beyond the barriers of the conscious or the visible world. Prof. Berdek warns that the study of dreams should not be neglected by treating them as mere reflections or shadows of the day-to-day activities and hidden ambitions. Many a times dreams prove to be rich sources of immense information of unique importance. Dreams are like layers of water on the surface of an ocean that might bring valuable substances along with the deeper currents and convey what lies beneath in the core. 

The pearls of inner power and knowledge can be fetched with the help of these clues. Sometimes dreams help resolve a mystery or difficult problems, which were intractable by the logical thinking, reasoning and trenchancy of the conscious mind. This becomes possible because the conscious mind is overtaken by the unconscious mind during the moments of deep sleep. he extrasensory potentials of the latter thus get a chance to transmit transcendental knowledge. Gaston Ugdiyani of Florence (Italy) had seen a distinct dream when he was seven years old. He saw himself as a priest in a temple in India. 

The dream was so clear and impressive that the image of the temple building remained alive in his memory for many years. It also educed an attraction in his mind. He visited India as a young man and was stunned to find, after a long search, that one of the temples in Mahabalipuram was exactly what he had seen in that dream! 

He analyzed the dream and attributed this to be a reflection of the memory of a past life. Supernatural experiences of clairvoyance, vision of the invisible, premonition and intuition are also associated with the dreams of divine (or spiritual) category. Deciphering the realities and mechanisms of such dreams elucidates the possibility that individual consciousness can be connected to the vibrations of the subtle world via the medium of dreams. 
The dormant state of the conscious mind and the active intellect during deep sleep coupled with the charged state of the subconscious and unconscious layers of mind may be likened with the state of mind during deep meditation (dhyana  dharna), yoga nidra and trance. It is in this state that the inspirations of the inner self can be received by our mind without any obstruction and fluctuation. 

The spiritual realizations experienced by the yogis in the higher states of trance may be described the most real and vivid kinds of dreams. Mr. Tom Feature of Sidney had aroused his inner powers and trained his mind for understanding the implications of the rarely occurring transcendental dreams. He had also undergone spiritual practices (sadhanas) to elevate his intuition and willpower to find clues via dreams to meet the needs of the time. He had successfully used this supernormal ability to solve many intractable problems and mysteries posed before him. Sir Oliver Lodge accepts such possibilities in his book "Survival of Man" (pg. 112). He affirms the existence of a subtle linkage, which offers the glimpse of transcendental knowledge to the human mind. He also cites (on pp. 106-7 of this book) an interesting incident in this regard  "Priest E. K. Eliot was on a voyage across the Atlantic. On the night of 14th January 1887, he received his uncles letter in dream informing the sad demise of his younger brother. 

The priest had narrated this dream in his diary the next day, stating that he cant believe this dream because his brother had no problem except mild fever when he had left home (in Switzerland). No one could imagine that he would die. But he got confirmed news of his brothers death when he reached England. What else the above dream would be designated other than premonition or an experience of clairvoyance?" Roman emperor Caesar was once requested by his wife Cornelia not to visit the senate because she had seen a horrifying dream the previous night. She had seen herself with untied hair, holding the bloodstained body of her husband in this dream. 

However, the king saw no reason to believe her dream or suspect any possibility of a scandal that time: what an ill fate! His friend Brutus assassinated him the same day in a narrow passage of the senate hall moments after he reached there. Charles Fillmore of America was an ordinary citizen, living a dutiful, austere married life. He often used to see sacred scenes in his dreams. One night he dreamt that a stranger had taken him to a strange city. He read the name of the city as Kansas. Following the stranger, he arrived at a new place, which also was new to him because he had not visited this city before. 
There he was given a newspaper to read, He could hardly read the first letter "U" in it when many newspapers began to fall in his hands. Suddenly he was awake. The dream was broken. Somehow it had left a deep mark in his memory. 

harles was a deeply religious man and he used to teach people the need for and benefits of prayer, meditation and ascetic disciplines. Because of his simplicity and piety of conduct, even the nonbelievers respected his words. He also inspired many rich and socially active people. Some of them requested him one day to form an organization to spread the noble message of righteous faith and human values. In 1890 the "Society of Silent Unity" was formed. Surprisingly, the members proposed the city of Kansas as the headquarters of the society. 
The place selected for housing the societys office was indeed what Charles had seen in his dream. The society also launched a magazine from this office, which was named "Unity". Now Charles Fillmore knew the secret of the letter "U" read by him in that divine dream. Later, along with his wife Myrtle Fillmore he founded world-renowned Unity School of Christianity. At present Unity school has an unequalled global outreach through its prayer ministry (Silent Unity), its books, magazines, audio and video material, conveying the message of human unity, love, peace and understanding. And all this started with a dream! The Red Rock gold mines are second largest in the world. 

Mr. Winfield S. Stratton, the founder and owner of this estate has described in his memoirs  how a miraculous dream made his fortunes. It happened when Stratton was facing bankruptcy in his business and used to rove around in search of solace and hope. During this phase of misery, he slept under the sky on an open ground in Colorado on 4th July 1811. An angel appeared in his dream and showed him the path to climb the mountains of Betil. The angel marked a particular spot there and uttered  "here lies a great source of gold, which will enrich your fortunes for ages". Stratton was awake the next moment with a feeling of hope and surprise. As he did not have money to invest in the new venture, Stratton narrated his dream to some friends with a request for help. 

They laughed and ridiculed his dream as mere delusion of his desperate mind. 
Their conclusions were logical because the geological survey of that region of Colorado, conducted about eighteen years back, had shown no possibility of any valuable mineral ore there. 
All doors were closed for poor Stratton but his hopes and enthusiasm remained alive. A few days passed. Finally he climbed the hills as per the directions shown in the dream and also identified the right spot. He dug out some portion and found a stone of gold at a depth of few feet. Then he borrowed some money against the surety of his remaining property and purchased that golden land of Colorado. Soon he became a billionaire. Stratton considered the dream as a blessing of the Almighty as a reward for his pious deeds in a past life. 
As a mark of his inexplicable gratitude, he established a Church on the grounds where he saw the divine dream. 
He also founded a charitable trust for free education of poor and helpless children. The above examples show that if we maintain sincerity, piety and natural peace of mind, and thus, minimize the hindrances in the expression of its unconscious impulses, we too may sometime be bestowed with the miraculous knowledge and experience in dreams that we could have never imagined to attain in our wildest dreams! 
The source of all knowledge, all activities and manifestations of the visible world  as we experience it, lie in the subtle, unseen world, which is beyond the reach of our perception. The gross body of a tree is seen but its roots lie beneath the surface of earth. The strength, greenery and fructification of the tree depend upon how strong and deep are its roots. The same may be true of the trees of our lives, too. Usually our mind remains engrossed within the peripheries of selfish interests and passions. It therefore experiences only the dreams driven by the tamoguna. That is why our dreams are most often vague and abrupt or haphazard expressions of suppressed desires. 
When the condition of our body and mind is dominated by the rajoguna, one would experience active dreams and the things and persons encountered in the awakened state would appear in the dreams with slightly rhetoric transformations. The subconscious reflections of the bodily conditions  including those caused by internal disorders (disease)  are also experienced in such dreams. The divine or supernormal dreams reflecting the transcendental realities are experienced in the turiyavastha, when the aroused influence of satoguna overcomes the raja and tama. In this state the human mind gets an opportunity of direct linkage with the soul-spirit. Precognitive dreams, the dreams offering extrasensory knowledge and clairvoyance fall in this category of higher-level dreams. A distinct class of such dreams is the tejas swapna (enlightened dreams), which, as described in the Paramhansa Parivrajak Upanishad, are perfect reflections of truth. 
These are exactly materialized in the future. 

The gross or the visible world we live in acquires its energy and life from the subliminal world. Understanding this fact helps towards orientation of our mental and bodily activities in harmony with Nature and the Omnipresent Consciousness. 

This helps arousing the deeper potentials of our mind and heralds the possibility of attaining vibrant health and supernormal talents. 

The refinement and spiritual enlightenment of the inner self with the help of sincere endeavors of yoga sadhanas can establish a harmonious linkage between the subliminal and the gross worlds of life. 
Gnostic dreams serve this purpose, to some extent, from time to time.

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Dreams- Pujya Gurudev

Dreams- Linkage between the visible worlds-1

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

As most of us might have experienced, dreams appear to be arbitrary reflections of memory and abrupt creations of the agility of mind. We can hardly find any truth and logical basis or purpose in the broken sequence of what we usually dream in sleep. Interestingly though, when we are watching a dream, every scene appears real! We experience every bit of it as if we are living in it. Many a time dreams appear to be quite amusing and entertaining. Quite often they are frightening nightmares too. 

The imaginary world of dreams may sometimes be supernatural and soothing fairylike "dream land". Some dreams are scary and they stress our mind with unprecedented fear and worries Usually, these diversified experiences occur because of the influence of the semi-conscious state of mind. 
Desires, apprehensions and inquisitions of the conscious (external) mind, and the perceptions and conditioning of the sense organs induce corresponding influences in the subconscious state of sleep. For example, concupiscence at the time of sleep would generally result in vulgar scenes of sexual indulgence in the dreams. Active dreams of this kind might even stimulate the genitals and cause night-discharge. The heaviness of stomach, indigestion, headache, anger, mental stress tension etc, also bear associated negative effects on dreams. 
Bites of mosquitoes, bedbugs, lice, etc may be depicted in the dreams as the incidents involving experiences of injuries, pains, irritation, etc. Unfulfilled desires, suppressed emotions and psychosomatic complexes, are also reflected in the variegated experiences of dreams, which would normally be beyond the imaginations of the conscious mind. Most of the above kinds of the active (subconscious) dreams are hazy, haphazard, and difficult to be remembered. Often the dreams of this category do not bear any meaning or purpose. Such dreams cannot be analyzed or interpreted scientifically and these hardly have any connection with the hidden messages of the unconscious mind. However, frequent occurrence of the dreams of similar kinds may have roots in some psychosomatic disorder or disease. 

Analysis of whatever is remembered from repeated experiences of same sort of dream during sleep might be useful in diagnosis and cure in such cases. Correlation of mental tendencies and response of active dreams sometimes becomes apparent from the specific reactions of the semi-conscious (subconscious) mind during active sleep. For instance, look at the following experiments conducted in the Dream Research division of the California University. As part of the studies of the effects of surrounding environment on dreams, a candle was lit and kept for some time in front of the closed eyes of a sleeping person, who happened to be a sportsman. The latter felt in his dream at that moment that a white bat and a golden shining ball are kept in front of him which he is about to pick up for a play. 

When the same experiment was repeated with a coward clerk, he dreamt as if some unknown enemy is coming towards him with a thick stick and a lamp to beat him in the darkness of night. 
Napoleon Klettman and Eugene Aserensky of the Chicago University had attempted to investigate and identify the part or state of the body or brain responsible for experience of dreams. Despite long-term dedicated research they could not find any clue to proceed further. Their unperturbed motivation however brought fruits one day when they saw rapid movement of the eyeballs and variation in the face expressions of a sleeping child. 
This observation gave rise to rather focused hypothesis that the rapid movement of the eyeballs makes watching a dream possible. This had set the direction of modern research on dreams, which has come a long way since then. Dreams appear to be the mode of transmitting subtle messages of the mind through a rhetorically coded language. 

Whatever one sees in the dreams is a reflection of the subconscious or unconscious mind. The active dreams of the kind illustrated above are expressions of the thoughts, sentimental currents and bodily functions in general. 
The implicit nature of these reflections mingled with multiple flashes of memory makes it almost impossible to decode the meanings of dreams in general. Most often there may not be anything substantial in a dream. 
The extrovert ambitions and agile mind of people frequently present them with abrupt dreams that are no better than a childs play or conjugation of delusions and arbitrary imaginations. 
Stationary dreams and dreams with intuitive messages are rare and are experienced by people whose mind is pure, serene, and stable. Dreams of spiritually enlightened minds carry premonition, afflatus, or messages of great importance. Some people are born with spiritually charged mind because of their dedicated spiritual endeavors in the past lives. 

Some develop these by disciplined control and purification of their mind and character. The dreams seen by such people in yoga-nidra, trance or deep sleeps are of significant importance. Spiritual dreams are expressions of afflatus and the subliminal voice of the inner self. Ample examples are available in the annals of history where great discoveries, divine illumination of the intellect, emergence of intuitive ideas, resolution of mysteries, realization of latent powers, etc amazingly became possible because of dreams. 
Sometimes, the divine inspirations educed by such dreams lead to sublime transformation of ordinary mortal beings into saints, mahatmas or great personalities of supernatural talents. Young prince Siddharth once dreamt that a divine soul had taken him to a graveyard. Pointing to a dead body the latter warned  "Look this is your body. Realize the perishable nature of the body and the transient nature of life and hence make the best use of the moments of life available to you now" Siddharth was truly awakened after this dream. He renounced all luxuries and attachments and attained ultimate knowledge thereafter through ascetic disciplines and sadhana of the highest order. (Continue)

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Astang Yoga = Pujya Gurudev

Union of individual prana with cosmic prana through Astang Yoga

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

There is one cosmic prana (consciousness life force) manifesting in numberless names and forms in the universe. It is the origin of all. In an individual life, due to ignorance, the prana gets caged in, confined to and constricted by the shell of ego and gets cut off from its universal source. 
All spiritual sadhanas are aimed at liberation of soul from the clutches of illusory name, form and identity and its reunion with its source- the universal consciousness life-force. Astanga (eight-fold) yoga is one of the most authentic paths of sadhana to achieve this end. Ignorant persons think of yoga as a means of accessing supernatural magical powers. But actually yoga is a superbly systematized method of utilization of pranic energy for self-purification, self-refinement, and self-transcendence. 

When a person is engaged in worldly affairs, the haphazard flow of prana present in his physical, vital and mental levels remains scattered in his lower nature. But when this flow of prana is focused with one pointed concentration in a single direction for any worthwhile purpose, it can work wonders. All the powers of mind like imagination, observation, decision-making, control, memory, and wisdom are activated by the pranic energy. Vivacity of senses is also possible by pranic energy only. All the intricate autonomous functions of the body and its organs are carried on without any conscious control of our own- by this mysterious life force- the pranic energy. 

To control and consciously utilize this life force for self-upliftment, purity and tranquility of mind and emotions are essential. To achieve this end, yam and niyam are two essential initial disciplines prescribed by the Astang yoga of Maharishi Patanjali. Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and renunciation are called yamas and cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of scriptures (spiritual texts), unwavering surrender to the will of God are called niyams. By following these disciplines the body becomes charged with energy, mind becomes cleansed and quiet and the sadhak is bestowed with will, zeal and faith to rapidly progress in his sadhana of self-awareness and self-realization. 

Along with yamas and niyams, the practice of Asanas (yogic postures) is third essential step so that one is able to sit in one posture for long hours without any uneasiness of body and mind. The fourth step in this eight-step ladder of yoga is Pranayam (control of breath). Normally the pranic energy in our ignorant state wildly dances to the tunes of passions and unbridled animal urges. Practice of Pranayam helps in calming down and controlling these wayward and wild movements of the mind. Purity of mind and purity of life force are interdependent. Mind and life are as father and son. Vrahdaranyak Upanishad states: 

Mana eva pita, vang mata pranah praja I Vrahda. Upanishad (1/5/7) That is, mind is the father, speech is the mother and the life is their progeny. Pranayam is the practice of consciously controlling the flow of prana by engaging mind and thoughts in a single ennobling and uplifting direction. Prana sadhana involves controlling all the five flows of airs (apan, prana, udan, vyan, and saman) and their sub-airs existing in the body by thoroughly understanding their functions. 
All these airs and sub-airs are classifications of one prana. Basically pranic energy is one cosmic pranic energy manifesting through different entities and individualities. 

Even a partial command over cosmic prana endows a person with supernatural powers. By controlled energy of the prana the inner subconscious mind can be activated and its supernormal capacities like clairvoyance, clairaudience, mind reading, premonition etc. can be accessed. One can even instantly travel astronomical distances to planets, stars, and galaxies. With mastery of prana one can also have free access to subtle and higher realms of consciousness and their beings- the heavenly worlds. 

But advanced prana sadhana must be undertaken under an adept guide and master (the Guru). Higher practices of pranayam are dangerous with an impure and disorganized mind and can even lead to acute mental disorders hence advanced stages of pranayam should always be practiced with simultaneous practice of fifth, sixth and seventh steps of astang yoga sadhana i.e. pratyahar (withdrawal of senses), dharana (concentration) and dhyana (meditation). Without purification and control of the mind the prana sadhana remains a mere breathing exercise. It is beneficial to bodily health but it is not pranic yoga. For fruitful practice of pranayam one has to keep a constant watch over the movements and control of the muscles. For this purpose there are different vedhas, mudras and bandhas. With unwavering determination cosmic pranic energy is drawn from the cosmic space. 
Then one has to learn the process of consciously focusing this energy for achieving the desired result. However the ultimate aim of the prana sadhana is the liberation of the enslaved individual being (prana) from the prison of the false ego identity and its merger-union with the cosmic pranic being of eternal life, light and love- samadhi- the eighth and the final step of Patanjal yoga sadhana. Persons endowed with abundance of this pranic energy are reckoned as truly great. Before ending let us quote how beautifully has the world renowned mystic-healer, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, expressed her own experience of pranic energy- life force, as she calls it: "Coherent, elegant, mysterious, aesthetic. 
When I first earned my degree in medicine I would not have described the life in this way. But I was not on intimate terms with life then. 

I had not seen the power of the life force in everyone, met the will to live in all its varied and subtle forms, and recognized the irrepressible love of life buried in the heart of every living thing. I had not been used by life to fulfill itself or been caught unaware by its strength in its most profound weakness. I had no sense of awe. I had thought that life was broken and that I, armed with the powerful tools of modern science, would fix it. 

I had thought then that I was broken also. But life has shown me otherwise. Many of the people who come to my office now as counseling clients have come because modern medicine has failed them in some way, or they have used up its power to help them, they do not know what else to do. 

They hope to find a way to heal, to cooperate with or even strengthen the life in them. 
After listening to hundreds and hundreds of their stories over the last twenty years I think I would have to say that most people do not recognize the strengthof the life force in them or the many ways it shows itself to them. Yet every one of us has felt its power. 

We who doubt are covered with the scars of many healings. So when people first come, this is the place where we usually start- talking about life itself, our attitude towards it, our experience of it, our trust or distrust of it. Developing an eye to see it, in others and in ourselves. In the beginning is the life force. After more than fifty years of living, I have learnt it can be trusted."

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru

Shiv Sharma

own reflected images = Pujya Gurudev

We hear our own  echoes and our  own reflected images

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Happiness is normally sought in worldly objects, relationships, incidents and circumstances. Such a search is misplaced. 

Had this been true, people who possessed ample resources and who did not have to face any adversities, should have been always happy and satisfied. On the other hand, people who are poor and who are living against heavy odds should all have been unhappy. Happiness is an attitude of mind, which is determined by a persons viewpoint towards life. 

A person endowed with true humility has an attitude of glad acceptance of all that life brings to him; and this is what self-refinement and self-transcendence mean. More a person cultivates this attribute, happier he will be. 

One who has the habit of faultfinding, negativity and seeing evil in others will remain a captive of this self-destructive attitude regardless of favorable circumstances as for as outer life is concerned. It is like dirtying ones own clothes by himself throwing mud on them. On the other hand, mind can definitely be so trained as to see the good, even though covered, in all persons and situations. It is ones own echo that is returned by the dome. 

A ball thrown against the wall rebounds to the place from where it was thrown. It is ones own personality that is reflected by others and gives pleasant or unpleasant impressions accordingly. That is why this world has been given the analogy of a mirror. The mirror honestly reflects the image of the view.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

self-refinement = Pujya Gurudev

Not only Self-introspection but also self-refinement

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Mutual sharing and caring is a common human trait. It is by this process of 'give and take' that the entire universe is sustained. This process is seen to be working incessantly among matter, vegetation and other sentient creatures. Contributing towards the sustenance of this process is essential. However, it should be remembered that it is self-reliance that is the prime factor in worldly success and in self - growth of human soul. Those who are dependent on others can neither sustain their lives nor move forward on the path of self-growth. 

Everyone is familiar with the gravitational force of the Earth. This force attracts everything towards the Earth. A human being too has a magnetic field of his own. This not only holds together similar people, objects and favorable circumstances but also pulls them towards itself forcibly. A person instinctively searches a like - minded friend. The water of rivers ultimately reaches the ocean. The ocean again returns this water to the source of rivers through its messengers the clouds. 

One should develop worthiness in tune with one's aspirations. There is a natural law which rewards according to one's worthiness. Therefore, instead of knocking at other's door for help and succor, we should not only introspect ourselves but also try to uplift and refine ourselves according to the light given to us during introspection. This is the highway to success in all fields.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Dhyan Yoga = Pujya Gurudev

The Practical aspect of Dhyan Yoga

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

(Translation of the original discourse in Hindi given during a Sadhana camp in 1976) Original Title: Dhyanayoga Ka Vyavaharik Kriyapaksha Let us all begin with the collective chanting of the Gayatri Mantra, "Om Bhur Buvah Swah, Tatsaviturvarenyam Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, Dhiyo Yonah Prachodayat ||"

 Brothers and Sisters, I am giving you a special training of dhyana (meditation) together with Gayatri upasana. There are two modes of upasana (worship)  those of the name and the form (of God). There could be no devotional practice without Gods name and form.
These two are supposed to be the universal modes of worship. Look at any religion, you will find the use of Gods name and/or form in their modes of worship. Mohammedans recite the name of Allah on tasabiha; Christian Priests chant Gods name with the help of a rosary; the Arya Samajis meditate upon divine form as sunlight; the yogis of Nada Yoga concentrate upon the sublime sounds of the Omnipresent. In any case, the support of meditation (with Divine name or form) is essential for true worship. 

This is why I stress on you to practice meditation along with the japa of the Gayatri Mantra. Mental concentration on some gross object  e.g. an idol, or a picture of a deity, is most convenient for the majority of people; because, the human mind, in general, is not so developed that it could be focused for a stretch of time without any visible or perceptible symbol. However, with sincere practice, one begins to realize the presence of God in his inner self and learns to meditate upon it, without any external symbol. What is the meaning of dhyana yoga? Well, let us try to understand it. As you all might know, our life has two facets. One is the external, which is most familiar to us. 

The holes in our ears open externally; our eyes also open up externally and keep watching what is happening in the outside world. We can see the things outside but we dont even get a glimpse of what is there inside us. Is there nothing? No my friends! The real substance, the essence is all inside us. 

They might be manifested externally but the basic elements of life lie deep within. Where is our life force? It is not outside; it is inside. And what about the intellect through which we earn wealth and gain respect? That also is not external, but, an internal potential. We dont see introvertly and often keep wondering why God has befuddled mankind by giving us instruments of perception of the external things and events but no fine-tuned instrument of knowledge of the inner world. We never notice the immense treasure of talents, virtues and divinity, hidden inside our own self. What is easily seen by us is  my child, my material property, my this, my that, and what not! But we cant see our future;
The Omnipresent God and our souls are also far beyond our perception. What to say about the inner world, we cant even see many components of our own body.

We cant look at out own eyes. Okay, just try to see (without a mirror) how is your nose, how are your eyebrows? How do your eyelids look like? If you cant even see these gross external parts of the body, how will you see what is inside? When we peep into our inner world and attempt to know it, we perform some kind of dhyana. In fact, dhayana yoga is the best method of seeing inside. Well, so what should be the focus of dhyana? Who to meditate upon? Ones inner self or the Almighty God? My children! The two are not really different. Enlightened evolution of the inner self is God. Our ultimate spiritual evolution is  shivoaham, sachidanandoaham, tatvamasi, ayamatmabrahm, pragyanambrahm. 

These five great maxims of Vedanta affirm that the soul, in its absolutely pure form, itself is God. Take the example of coal and diamond. Except for a minor difference in the atomic structure, the two are quite the same. Diamond is thus a refined form of coal.
The soul and God are also basically the same except for the fact that the former is expressed within a limited identity (confined to the individual self) whereas the latter is unbounded, infinite. One is manifested in a tiny domain, while the other is gigantic, unlimited. One is bounded by the thraldoms of maya, while the other is absolutely free. This is the only difference between us and The Divine. 

This difference is there because of the mist of ignorance covering up the resplendence of our inner self that keeps us cut off from our eternal origin. If we refine and illumine ourselves (by the purifying radiance of virtues and righteous knowledge) we can attain our soul-reality and also God-awareness. 

This is why (during the dhyana yoga) we meditate upon light; focus our attention upon the inner self, upon the sublime roots of our being and its ultimate goal. (You may now ask) "So Guruji! Is this why you train us to meditate upon the rising sun?". Yes my children! The brilliance of rising sun is a symbol of divine light. You may feel its radiance in your mind during this meditation, or may get a reflection of Goddess Gayatri. It doesnt matter if instead of sunlight you experience the deitys image or some divine reflection.
That only shows the degree of progress of your dhyana. When I talk of meditation upon light, I dont mean the physical light as some of you might interpret. Here it means the divine light, or the sublime glow of pure knowledge. It is not the physical illumination; rather it is the radiance of spirituality and true knowledge. We pray "Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya"  

O Lord! Take us from the darkness towards light; here again, we mean from ignorance to knowledge. In spirituality, the word "light" is always used in the context of enlightenment, pure knowledge. (This is what should be understood of it in this discourse). We were talking of meditating upon the sunlight. So, where should we imagine its presence? In the special kind of dhyana yoga that I have been teaching you this year, I ask you to meditate upon sunlight focussed successively at three points  the navel, the heart and the brain (especially the deeper core inside and above the centre of the forehead). These three regions contain the sublime nuclei of power for our three bodies  the physical, the subtle and the astral body. All these points should be enlightened (in our imagination and inner experience during this practice of dhyana yoga); the brilliance of sunlight should enter all the three bodies. What does it imply? It implies the inherent philosophy and practical aspects of the three principal yogas.
Karma Yoga taught through Dhyana Yoga: In the first step of this practice of dhyana yoga, you should imagine and try to feel as though the glow of sunlight is being absorbed by your navel. It means that the spark of praa should enter your physical body from the navel and flow in every vein, every artery and every cell. Why from the navel? Because this is the connecting point of the umbilical cord between the mother and the foetus and is therefore regarded as the energy centre of the body. 

As the vital elements from your mothers body, that enabled your healthy birth, used to enter your body from the navel, the light (strength) of God is also induced in it through the same centre. When this light will be infused in your body, your bones, your blood, your flesh, all will shine. By this illumination I mean, it will induce energy, enthusiasm, alacrity, courage, commitment to responsibilities, industriousness, zeal for hard work, motivation for altruist service and love and joy for selfless fulfilment of duties. These qualities will help you accomplish your karma-yoga. 

The "Karma-Yoga" is the yoga of the body that means, this yoga pertains to the worldly domains of your life and your deeds. One who meditates upon light in the navel region cannot sit idle. He will always be busy in good actions. There are three streams of yoga  karma-yoga, gyana-yoga and bhakti-yoga. I have asked you to inculcate the practice of all these yogas through the medium of light. Whenever the light of divinity will descend upon a person, it will inspire karma-yoga in his physical being, in his conduct. Then the person will become more duty-bound; work will be worship for him. 

The deeds of worship, service, social welfare and the actions pertaining to transactions of responsibilities, adoption of moral ideals, etc fall under karma-yoga. These teach us that when our body absorbs the light (of praa), we should become hardworking, our every action should be devoted to selfless duty. It conveys that  one who meditates upon light should not be lethargic, lazy or dishonest. One who eats and earns without being sincere to his work is equivalent to a thief in my view. 

You may find great joy in sitting and relaxing at home  doing just nothing, when your son is grown up and he is earning for the family. But this is a sign of lethargy; slothful luxury is worse than dishonesty. It is the worst abuse of our humanhood. Insincerity to work and sluggishness are the most disgusting blots on the dignity of mankind. You may argue "but I have worked so many years and now I am getting pension after retirement.". No my child! I, as your guide, will not like you to sit idly and make merriment. Till you are alive (and able to move your body), you must do some work. 

You may have enough resources for yourself and your family. But, there are others in the society, who have nothing; so you should work to give something to these others. Your children have studied and are well settled. But, there are many youngsters who are not able to go to school. So rise up from your narrow mindedness and lethargy.
Try running a night school and teach the children of others. My friends! When the light, which you meditate upon, will flow in your body as energy and alacrity, you should work like a karma-yogi; apply the best of your efforts and hard work towards transaction of your duties as a good human being, towards noble aims till the last breath. We are all bound by our duties towards the society, nation and religion (ethics); we should bear these responsibilities gracefully. If you adopt this attitude and transmit it into your deeds, I will regard you as a karma-yogi; then I will be happy that you have grasped the true meaning of meditation and have truly learnt to practice the dhyana yoga as I have taught you.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma

Quality of Aspirations = Pujya Gurudev

Human Progress is Dependent on the Quality of  Aspirations

=Pt. ShriRam Sharma Acharya

Although consciousness is the common factor amongst all sentient beings, including humans, aspiration for progress is a special attribute of a human being. It is this aspiration that becomes a burning ambition and makes a person rise gradually to higher levels of materialistic or spiritual progress. There are only two types of human beings who do not have such an ambition: an idiot or an ascetic of the highest order. An idiot, due to his foolishness and an ascetic due to his Divine knowledge remain away from worldly ambitions and they are satisfied. Idiots are immune to the ups and downs of the world. There is not much difference between them and other creatures that are solely driven by the desire for sensual pleasures. These creatures, living a routine life, may be kept in the lowest category. 

A category higher than this comprises of people of materialistic viewpoint. Such people have ardent desire for name and fame. This eagerness for the satisfaction of egoistic drives and cravings for money is called greed and is found, more or less, in the majority of people. In the highest category are those who are driven by a single-pointed urge towards spiritual awakening. It is the noble aspirations filled with goodwill for all that form the basis for spiritual progress. In fact, the life that is filled with nobility of thought and deed and is being lived with an ardent desire to promote social welfare, is the only life worthy of a human being. He has taken birth only for this lofty purpose. Indeed, the measure of true progress of a person is the loftiness of his aspirations.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma