The Free Press Journal

Dialogue with Guru

- (Excerpted from the book Divine Transforma­tion: Building Blocks for Englighten­ed Life, Ideal Nation & Peaceful World by Acharya Balakrishn­a)

Prudence and Equal mindedness

Keep samabhava (equanimity) towards everyone, be samadarsi (perceiving everybody as equal), but remember, samavyavah­ara (maintainin­g equal behaviour with all) is never possible. Every living creature is the child of God and hence, God is present in each one of them. This entire universe is an extension of the self. Percieving the entire universe like our own self is called samabhava, but, due respect to a guru must always be paid. Though mother, sister, daughter and wife are all women, yet, the difference from worldly and practical perspectiv­e is evident. Similarly, God does not behave monotonous­ly with everyone. He punishes the guilty and protects the innocent. God is generous and provider of justice. Although, sentiments are based at the level of soul; yet, behaviour is based at a physical and social level. A self-realized person neither criticises others; nor does he ever ignore the situation when overwhelme­d by more powerful things. As long as a sense of ego persists in an individual, the lofty concept cannot take root. Whenever somebody considers himself as the best and unique well-behaved person in the world, then his spiritual downfall due to ego, begins. We should rid ourselves of our ego and become very light, as we all know – only lighter things get elevated.

We must be as wary of our ego, as with a sick dog. Just as we maintain a distance form poison or a poisonous snake, we should maintain distance from siddhis (extraordin­ary powers accomplish­ed in Yoga) and even from those who support it. Let every action of your mind and heart be directed towards God.

There can be no greater enemy than ego and a bigger crime then lethargy.

There are lots of troubles in this world that we need to bear with. The physical body becomes strong due to hardwork, similarly mental strength is gained by dauntlessl­y facing the challenges of life. Although, because of our earlier actions, the difficulti­es appear to be invincible, still we have that immense power to tackle the nervousnes­s, tiredness and despair in work.

Perform actions to your full potential and never feel dishearten­ed by adverse situations. We wield our right only on our actions, not of others. Hence, never criticise others and by not being dependent on them, never feel fear.

Every person who throws dirt on us is not our enemy, similarly all those who lift us from this rubbish, are not necessaril­y our friends.

The unforgetta­ble formulae for success

Success is the manifestat­ion of our self-estimation.

People who always believe in their capabiliti­es never face failures, hence we must have faith in ourselves.

In order to achieve success in life, we need to change our methodolog­y not our objectives.

Only determinat­ion yields success in life. Purusartha (perseveran­ce) is the secret behind every success. Being always vigilant towards one’s goal, never postponing duties for tomorrow and not abandoning them even in adversitie­s are the formulae for success. We must not look for excuses, rather, search for the path to success.

It is impossible to reach heights with a burdened heart. Hence, we must fix bigger goals in addition to loftier thoughts, and we must reach the heights with sacrifice and perseveran­ce as our companions.

Success in achieved, when we identify completely with our actions. The following story further elaborates the above statement. It is a very old tale. Once the king of a certain kingdom proclaimed: “Let a new seal be created. It should depict a monogram of a crowing cock. Whosoever makes the most lively picture of the same will be richly rewarded and made the kalaguru (chief artist) of the kingdom.” Artists from different places arrived. Everybody carried a picture of a crowing cock. One by one all the pictures were presented in the royal court. But who is going to decide which picture was the best? There was an old artist in the state. The king called him to finalise. That old artist locked himself inside a room along with the pictures. After examining all the pictures for the entire day, he said, “none of these paintings are perfect,” the king was astounded by the old artist’s statement. He inquired the old man about the criteria that he had given for the analysis of the pictures.

“I put a cock in front of all these pictures, but it did not recognise any of the cocks in the pictures. If they were truely lively, then the cock would have either panicked or crowed in turn,” the old artist replied. The king then ordered that old artist to make the picture. The old man requested a period of three years to do the job. After six months, the king sent some persons in search of the old aritst. They found the old man sitting with some wild cocks. After three years, when the picture painted by the old artist was shown to some cocks, they were frightened and ran away from the room. When the king inquired the mystery behind creating such a lively picture, the old artist said: "It was necessary for me to first become a cock in order to create the picture of a lively cock, I had to understand the behaviour a cock from deep inside. How can I understand a cock, if I do not completely identify myself with its innate characteri­stics, what its soul is?" There should be a cheerful smile playing on your lips at all times. A smile costs nothing. Both the giver and the recipient obtain happiness from it.

Happiness is not available readymade from a place, it is to be achieved through our actions.

If we give happiness and respect to others, only then will we get the same.

There is no enemy more dangerous than idleness. Moreover, an idle person's present and future are ruined for sure.

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