Freedom = Pujya Gurudev

On the Road to Freedom

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

This idea of kshetra-sanyasa, of confining oneself to one single place, is certainly an old one. People practiced it for the sake of meditation and the welfare of the soul. My purpose however is not that; I seek to realize a deeper inward power for the sake of the welfare of society. This welfare cannot be achieved by outward activities alone. The more deeply inward the action becomes, the more is achieved.

I came to Brahmavidya Mandir, Paunar in 1970, and I spent a lot of time here in cleaning my surroundings. People ask me why I give so much time to this work, and I tell them what Saint Jnaneshwar said: ’He who stands one moment at the door of the Lord attains four kinds of freedom.’ The Lord Rama (in the form of the statue of Bharata..Rama) has come to our courtyard; while cleaning it I feel the joy of His presence, and at the same time I have got the four kinds of freedom. The first is freedom from outward activity. After being occupied in works of service from 1916 to 1966 I entered on the inward path, and from then on I am in fact free from outward action. It is true that for three or four years I had to give some attention to the great work of Bihar-Dan, which involved some outward activity, but by now (October 1970) that too has come to an end. The second is freedom from books. From now on I shall do no more book-writing.

The third is freedom from study. What do I read? Nothing! The fourth is freedom from teaching. I began teaching in 1911, teaching my school friends and class-mates. Later on I taught the people in the Ashram. I have been teaching for about sixty years, but now that also is finished. As for my continued cleaning work, there was an additional reason: I looked to it as a way of meditation. If instead of a broom I had picked up a rosary and started telling my beads, no one would have said that I was wasting my time! Picking up rubbish acts for me like a rosary - with every straw picked up there is a remembrance of the Name. There is no thinking involved, it is pure contem-plation.

A man who cannot tolerate rubbish around him will not tolerate rubbish inside him either, and will feel a strong urge to get rid of it. That is a spiritual urge. Very soon however I shall take leave even of this work. In the same way, (in July 1972) I stopped signing copies of Gita-Pravachan ("Talks on the Gita") and other books. I have been popularizing it for forty years-1932-72-and I have now no wish to go on doing so. In addition, (in 1976) I took some further steps, which I announced on the holy Christmas Day December 25. ’From: today on," I said, I will not share in the management of any institution, nor act as adviser to party, even to those which I myself have founded. The second thing is that whatever talks I have will be ’with individuals at an individual level, and I have already said what subjects I am ’ready to discuss - science and spirituality. Science is going ahead by leaps and bounds, and I no longer try to, keep up with it except as it relates to physical health. As for spirituality, I do not mean by this any philosophical analysis of such terms as Brahma (the Supreme), maya (illusion) or jiva (individual soul); I mean that which can loosen the tangled knots in the mind and make it pure.
Anyone who wishes to exchange thoughts on these two subjects may come. And just one thing more, these talks will not be held in private. Kshetra-Sanyasa (Renunciation of Travel) On November 2, 1969 I came from my travels through my homeland (India), to my special home in Wardha, and spent seven days in Sevagram. I decided to plan ahead for seven days only, not more. The idea was to keep my mind fresh, and at the same time alert. And who knows, by planning for seven days at a time I might well stay in the same place for a whole year! So from Sevagram I moved on to Gopuri, and then on June 7, 1970 I came to Brahmavidya Mandir. On that date, four years earlier, I had laid all my work of service at Bapu's feet, obtained my "discharge", and entered upon the path of inwardness. On that day therefore I decided to go to the Brahmavidya Mandir. I don't wish to tie myself down, I said to the sisters. "Over in Bihar the Naxalites are uttering threats against the Sarvodaya. Workers, and Jayaprakashji has therefore given up the few days" rest which he had planned to take, and is going from village to village to help them. It is impossible for me to close my mind to these things.

Thanks GOD,Thanks Sadguru

Shiv Sharma