Jivan Sadhana-IV ; Pujya Gurudev

Jivan Sadhana - A practical path to fulfilling life 

=Pt.ShriRam Sharma Acharya

The requirement of rest and entertainment should not be confused with dullness or wastage of time. Every passing breath is reducing our life span further. We have to be most cautious of our time if we are to achieve something in life. Look at the accomplished lives in the history of the world; every great achiever, every successful man or woman has made wise and creative use of time. It is an absolute necessity for all those desirous of progress in life. Farsighted use of time becomes possible with zealous assiduity and motivated interest.
It is said that Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity, lives in the radiance of hard-working body.

Prudent industriousness is also a source of physical and mental health. Lethargy and poverty are inseparable companions; so also is true of shortsighted eagerness and failure. These facts should be always remembered as guiding principles. 

You should set a do-able goal along your path of ascent after thorough review of all aspects and organized planning and then do your level best to accomplish it; engage all your talents, efficiency and experience in this regard as though the work-in-hand is a mark of your prestige. Making a harmonious management of time, potentials and efforts is the key to excellence and recognized success. 

Disorganized or half-hearted efforts, idleness and haphazard use of time, on the contrary, retards the progress of even the otherwise skilled and able persons. It is said that one whose time is wasted in lethargy and craving for comfort and whose mind is hazed by dullness and attitude of negligence and delay is destined to meet adversities and decline. An alert and thoughtful combination of busy schedule, focused efforts and abilities is therefore a fundamental requirement for rise and advancement in every walk of life. The diligence and labor of the body will not be of much use and would be nothing more than a burden unless the mind is also engaged in the work at hand. In fact, thoughts lay the basis of actions.
Thought-power or the faculty of thinking is indeed a peerless, immeasurable possession of mankind. It is the source of expression of all mental and intellectual talents; imagination is also a silent reflection of thought-power. Idle mind is said to be the devil’s workshop. What we are, depends upon what we think and hence do. 

Our thoughts are the architects of our destiny. Mental concentration and positive and constructive orientation of thoughts is an arduous and ultimate goal. It is an achievement that may be compared with the attainment of divine boons. 

Thoughts should never be allowed to wander around like stray dogs and peep and lick into the rubbish or rest like pigs in mire and squalor. Training them for wise and constructive thinking should be attempted constantly at an accelerated pace. An army of good thoughts should be kept ready to expel out every vicious or untoward thought as soon as it enters the mind and to clean out the mental pollution. 

Thorn is removed by thorn; evil or negative thoughts should be removed with the help of enlightened thoughts and awakening of faith in divine values. Swadhyaya and Satsang are effective modes of refinement and righteous orientation of thought-power. A topic should be selected for a day or a specific time-slot for deeper and focused thinking. Thinking should always be preserved for a selected theme and should be constructively applied like that of the scientists, philosophers and great personalities. 

There is also a fourth faculty  wealth or materialistic resources. As such, it is earned in this world by human-efforts; but, behind this also lie the above discussed three grand gifts blessed by the Almighty. Earning by moral means and spending it for good purposes is a justified and wise use of this resource. Wealth and worldly resources should be employed in moral uplifting and righteous progress of the family and the society. Not a penny should be allowed to be spent on addictions. 

This discipline, if adopted honestly would help prevention of future-addictions as well and checking the spread of corruption and many other immoral ’uses’ of money. If proper budgeting is planned and the needs are reviewed from time to time to fit in the income, while also keeping some margin for welfare activities, you will find that your present income itself is quite sufficient for happy raising of your family. Restrained and conscious utilization of money and material resources, like that of the physical potentials, time and thought-power constitutes the tapashcarya towards jivana-sadhana. This is the key to perfecting the art-of-living and moving towards a fulfilling path of practical spirituality. 

  Notes: 1. Jivan - Sadhana means  Divine accomplishment of life through holistic refinement of body, mind and the inner self and manifestation of their inherent virtuous qualities. 

2. Sadhana: Dedicated and determined efforts aimed at spiritual elevation and noble accomplishments. 
3. Tapashcarya (tapa or tapasya): Devout endeavor of self-continence and ascetic disciplines motivated towards sadhana of self-refinement and spiritual sublimation. 
4. Satsang and Swadhyaya: Attending enlightening discourses, discussions and studying and contemplating over the sagacious thoughts and glorious works of great personalities on different aspects of life.

Thanks GOD, Thanks Sadguru,

Shiv Sharma