Day 4 Winter Camp Highlights

Day 4 Highlights from Sadhana Sangama's Winter Camp at Sadhana Dhama:

Guruji Morning Meditation session gave an insight on how Guru Grace works. Here I have tried to give synopsis of the same in best possible way. I pray that the readers gets the essence of what our Gurudev wanted to convey.

Guruji first recalled how Swami Rama blessed our Gurudev by asking, “Bete don’t prepare for teaching, you empty yourself, rest I will take care”. Guruji emphasized that our responsibility should be on how to empty one’s own space so that the Guru Grace can work.  

Swami Rama & Ma Bhagavathi

Then he asked a very serious question to the aspirants, “When we want richness from the guru to pass through, why can’t we accept the crises to go through as well? Allow guru grace to work, don’t bring your irritation between. When guru wants to works through you, you should have the space so that he can work and you need to allow it to happen. But we are so selfish, that you always need the comfort. There is nothing wrong in that, but what is our contribution towards the Lord? Lord is giving us so much, where is our offering to the lord?

So meditation means purification. Is it possible for us to purify? What is purification and what is impurity here? Anything that is disturbing the harmony is impurity. If we are not able to do something to enhance the harmony, atleast we should not disturb the harmony. This is the duty of every human being.

We are creating mind of destruction. Develop the mind of infinity, then automatically, your creativity, and capability will be healthy.  Guru does not take care of you according to your own design and desire but it would be according to guru’s vision. Problem is we always want our Guru to act according to our design and desire. Allow the divinity to work through you as it is, that is pranidhaana.

This is the challenge that the meditator has to attend during meditation. Then the Stillness which is already there, starts experiencing. Grace that is already there, starts experiencing. Stillness here does not mean rigid stiffness, you can’t become stiff, but you can experience stillness. Stillness is not stagnation. When you detach, then automatically, the stillness comes. 

Then Guruji narrated following humorous story taking UPMA (indian dish) as an example, to make us understand.

I (Guruji) come to your house with great hunger. You ask, “Guruji, what do u want? I say,” I love upma, so please prepare upma for me’.  You then say, “Guruji, I need one hour to prepare UPMA, so you kindly go to room and take rest, and when food is ready, will call u”. I also go to the room and immediately slept because of tiredness. Waking up after some time I come out but I forgot what I ordered earlier. Now I feel how about Poori Saagu to feed my hunger. With poori sagu in my mind, I go and see in the kitchen. There I find only Upma there. Imagine how would be my state of mind?".

Here I could imagine & relate with what Guruji is trying to convey as I personally don’t like UPMA and Poori being a delicious food, is my all time favourite. I believe it would be the case so for many aspirants who are reading this. So when guruji tried enacting a 'sad' face when he finds Upma in the kitchen instead of Poori, the entire audience burst into laughter. Now Guruji realizing the audience are into the story, beautifully compared Upma with our Life.

Guruji continued, “Friends, This is life, I ordered upma and later I desired for Poori. So when I see Upma I get disappointed without realizing that it is UPMA which I ordered earlier. That’s why we are not getting what we wanted in LIFE, because we keep forgetting what we earlier desired for. So Friends, let us accept upma and realize this is life, and enjoy the upma, and thank the lady for serving us the upma instead of complaining why did I get upma instead of Poori.

Needless to say, here Guruji was relating Upma as the current situation that one may go through in life and how he/she should look at the situation. He then concluded the Meditation session by following beautiful phrase:

When you keep external life simple, you become rich inside. So this is meditation and experience. Absence of irritation is presence of joy and Presence of joy is presence of stillness, may the bhagavathi bless you with all the virtues, thank you.

So friends, hope you find this update useful to implement in your daily Sadhana which Gurudev conveyed on Day4, Morning Meditation session. I still have quite few more updates from the Camp, will be back soon with more, until then… let's thank the Lord with Pranidhaana & accept the situation we are IN today... Vande Guru Paramparam….

- A Report by 'Bansuri'