Being Spiritual!

What does it mean to Be Spiritual?

Foremost, being spiritual means to acknowledge the divinity within. 

In India, we have an everyday salutation – NAMASTE! 
As in the west you greet somebody ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’, in India we greet each other “Namaste”. Namaste means: “I salute the divinity within you”. 

In India we have many such ways of acknowledging each other’s divinity. As some Hindu’s would greet each other “Ram-Ram” or, Jain’s would greet each other “Jai Jinendra”. Basically, referring each other in ways to remind each other, “one’s divine roots”.

One way we think of being spiritual is to remember and acknowledge a God or a Divine Force outside, somewhere in the heavens. 

It’s totally another way of thinking to acknowledge that divinity, the God within and in everyone else.

Now, there are two things: Matter and Spirit. 

And there are three kinds of humans divided by their faith or beliefs:

1. Materialists-atheists, who do not believe in God, Spirit or an afterlife. 
2. Materialists-spiritualists, who believe themselves to be materialistic but believe in an external God. 
3. And spiritualists, who believe themselves to be the Spirit dwelling in a material body.

Thus, Being Spiritual means to see the Spirit in all.

To not be identified with just looks, makeup, garments, properties, talents or someone’s position but value people on the basis of their Character.

Being Spiritual means to know and realize that – Your body is the temple of your Holy Spirit, your Shiva. And your Atman/Spirit, your Shiva is the presiding deity.

Phrase inscribed in the ancient Temple of Delphi:
“I warn you, whoever you are, Oh, you who wish to probe the arcanes of nature, if you do not find within yourself that which you seek, neither shall you be able to find it outside. If you ignore the excellencies of your own house, how do you intend to find other excellencies? In you is hidden the treasure of treasures. Oh, man, know yourself and you shall know the Universe and the Gods!”

Man know yourself to know the universe and gods.

Yes, it might be a little overwhelming to understand all this in a spate of a blog post. But if you want to know yourself and know your divinity within and without, please join our free course: “GOD YOGA“

To your Atman/Spirit…..

Why Religion?

What It Means To Be Truly Religious?

The word ‘Religion’ comes from the Greek word: “Religare”.

‘Religare’ literally means: ‘to come back’. 

Really! “To come back”. Are you shocked? 

Yes, Religion literally means – to come back.

Then, why the hell everybody is fighting in the name of religion. If we understand it more deeply, one’s Religion or any Religion for that matter is just ‘a way to come back to one’s divine spiritual roots’, a way to come back to God. 

How absurd are all the fights?

Master Samael Aun Weor said: “All religions are pearls in the necklace of Buddha”. 
And we are not referring to Gautam Buddha, but Buddha as a spiritual title, which is attained after attaining a certain spiritual level.

Whenever a new religion starts, a new way of understanding the way to come back to God, to our divine spiritual roots, there is “Gnosis” in it.

‘Gnosis‘ is another Greek word, which means: Objective knowledge, or inner knowing. Gnosis is Dharma, Gnosis is Gyan – Jnana. In the beginning every religion has ‘Gnosis’. They know – The Secret Runway to God. 

But with time, after the departure of the founder, the prophet or the saviour, or as in India we call him the avatar; the ‘Gnosis’ is lost. The objectivity is lost, and is replaced by subjectivity, fanaticism and blind beliefs. 

Then, definitely it’s time for a new avatar, new prophet or saviour to bring ‘Gnosis’ back, to bring back the objectivity, to earning Dharma back, to reveal “The Secret Runway to God” once again.

Gnosis is founded on four pillars: Art, Science, Philosophy and Mysticism.

Thus, to be truly religious means to understand and follow one’s religion’s art, science, philosophy and mysticism. Whatever religion you may choose to follow.

A true Hindu is better than a fanatic Christian/Muslim/Sikh/Buddhist/Jain/Jew/Parsi in the eyes of God. Similarly, a true Christian is better than a fanatic Hindu/Muslim/Sikh/Buddhist/Jain/Jew/Parsi in the eyes of God. And so on.

When somebody ask me: “What is your religion?”, in the name of truth I say, “Although I am born a Jain, I love the art, science, philosophy and mysticism of all major religions. I love the Hindu Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Yoga & Jain Shastras, the Buddhist Sutras, the Hindu bhajans and mantras, I love the Koran, the Muslim ajaan and namaz, Sufi music and the dancing dervishes, I love the Bible, the Christian mass and Christmas carols, I love the Sikh gurubani, I love the Jew holy books “Torah” and “Zohar-Kaballah”, I love the Mayan, Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Tibetan, Taoist and Zen mysteries, and so on.

Of course the questioner is a bit shocked at times. Then I ask him, if you are a businessman, would you refuse dollars, yen, dinar or euro and say I will only accept the Indian rupee? Of course not.

As a businessman, you want to earn money, whichever currency it might be. Similarly, I reply, being spiritual, I want gnosis, I want the art, science, philosophy and mysticism of coming back to my God, my divinity. So wherever, I find gnosis, I accept it. Whether that gnosis comes from Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs or Jains.

Do you understand the “Gnosis” of your religion? Do you understand and follow the art, science, philosophy and mysticism of your religion? If not, please join our free course: “GOD YOGA“

To the “Gnosis” of your religion…..

He who seeks one thing, and but one,
May hope to achieve it before life is done.
But he who seeks all things wherever he goes
Must reap around him in whatever he sows
A harvest of barren regret. 

A poem by William H. Hinson

A group of people were preparing for an ascent to the top of Mont Blanc in the Alps in France. On the evening before the climb, a French guide outlined the main prerequisite for success.

He said, “To reach the top, you must carry only equipment necessary for climbing. You must leave behind all unnecessary accessories. It’s a difficult climb.”

A young Englishman disagreed and the next morning showed up with a rather heavy, brightly colored blanket; some large pieces of cheese; a bottle of wine; a couple of cameras with several lenses hanging around his neck; and some bars of chocolate.

The guide said, “You’ll never make it with that. You can only take the bare necessities to make the climb.”

But strong-willed as he was, the Englishman set off on his own in front of the group to prove to them he could do it.

The group then followed under the direction of the guide, each one carrying just the bare necessities. On the way up to the summit of Mont Blanc, they began to notice certain things someone had left along the way.

First, they encountered a brightly colored blanket, then some pieces of cheese, a bottle of wine, camera equipment, and some chocolate bars.

Finally when they reached the top, they discovered the Englishman. Wisely, along the way he had jettisoned everything unnecessary.

Why out of Money (Artha), Sex (Kama), Righteousness (Dharma) and Enlightenment (Moksha), only one can be your priority?

William H. Hinson tells us why animal trainers carry a stool when they go into a cage of lions. They have their whips, of course, and their pistols are at their sides.

But invariably they also carry a stool. Hinson says it is the most important tool of the trainer. He holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the wild animal.

Those who know maintain that the animal tries to focus on all four legs at once. In the attempt to focus on all four, a kind of paralysis overwhelms the animal, and it becomes tame, weak, and disabled because its attention is fragmented.

TOO OFTEN WE LEARN TOO LATE WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT
“Nobody on his death bed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time on my business.’”

WHEN LITTLE PRIORITIES DEMAND TOO MUCH OF US, BIG PROBLEMS ARISE 

Robert J. McKain said, “The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”

Some years ago a headline told of three hundred whales that suddenly died. The whales were pursuing sardines and found themselves marooned in a bay. Frederick Broan Harris commented, “The small fish lured the sea giants to their death . . . They came to their violent demise by chasing small ends, by prostituting vast powers for insignificant goals.” Often the little things in life trip us up.

On the night of April 14, 1912, the great ocean liner, the Titanic, crashed into an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, causing great loss of life. One of the most curious stories to come from the disaster was of a woman who had a place in one of the lifeboats.

She asked if she could return to her stateroom for something and was given just three minutes.

As she hurried through the corridors, she stepped over money and precious gems littering the floor, where they had been dropped in haste. In her own stateroom she ignored her own jewelry, and instead grabbed three oranges.

Then she quickly returned to her place in the boat. Just hours earlier it would have been ludicrous to think she would have accepted a crate of oranges in exchange for even one small diamond, but circumstances had suddenly transformed all the values aboard the ship. The emergency had clarified her priorities.

More often than not, we compromise worthy goals for easy paths.

How often do we choose easy, comfortable and pleasant paths only to land somewhere unpleasant!

But why?

Because of our DESIRES.

Desires of Lust – To become the sexiest person of this world

Desires of Pride – To be the best in everything

Desires of Greed – To possess everything

The more we try to fulfill one desire, more hungry it becomes.

Desires dissipate a lot of our energy and take us away from our purpose.

We spend so much of our time & energy in fulfilling these desires that we are left with no time & energy for our purpose. As a result, we start forgetting the real purpose of our life and finally get totally lost in the web of our own desires.

This is what Desires do to us. They make us forget the purpose of our life.

Desires make us act like goats –  wherever we see the grass, we follow it.

It’s like this – One fine day we decide to walk on spiritual path. In between a desire comes & shows us the green grass and we start walking towards it, leaving the path we decided to walk on. In an attempt to fulfill that desire, we are taken so far from the real path that either we forget to come back or even if decide to come back, the return ticket costs us too much.

The funniest part throughout this event is that at no point of time, we realize that what we are running after is just an illusion, a Mirage.

Moreover, throughout the illusion, we keep on consoling ourselves by saying that
‘Let me achieve this first. Once I’ll get it, then I’ll sincerely follow the spiritual path. And a voice in our head keep saying – Where is God running away? He will still be here when I return. So, let me first enjoy the pleasure of fulfilling my desires, then I’ll work for my purpose.’

But what we do not realize is that God is not running away, but our life is!

Our life is slipping out of our hands as we speak. Each moment, one moment is shortening from our life.

Another problem with us is that we want the spiritual path to be ‘Bed of Roses’. We want to have all the comforts and luxuries of this world just because we are walking on this path. When we realize that its not happening that way, then we run away and try to find these comforts in common life or in a false or pop spiritual circle or guru.

This way Desires make us fall.

They don’t let us realize our purpose as to what is more important to me?

Ask yourself:
Where do I want to reach?

How do I reach there?

Now, if you have to go to London because your family lives there, and you decide to take a plane to reach there. But the airline tells you that you can have a Free Upgrade to FIRST CLASS, but that is available for Alaska.

Then what will you do?
Will you take the Free Upgrade and travel FIRST CLASS to Alaska just because it’s more comfortable and luxurious?
Or 
Will you still decide to travel Economy Class and suffer a little discomfort to take the plane to London to reach to your family?

Now, you will say, Of Course, I will take the Economy Class to London to my family. Because if I do not want to go to Alaska, however pleasant and comfortable the ride may be, why should I take it? Am I mad?

Yes dear, we know you’re not mad. But still, you keep choosing Money (Artha) and Sex (Kama) over Righteousness (Dharma) and Enlightenment (Moksha) even while knowing that Money and Sex may give you momentary pleasures but finally lead you to Hell. While choosing Enlightenment and Righteousness may be hard and difficult but lead you to Nirvana – eternal peace and happiness.

“First seek the kingdom of your father and everything else shall be added unto you.”
– Lord Jesus Christ
The degree to which you compromise on this verse is the degree to which you put your future happiness in jeopardy and open wide the door to great frustration and even regret. 

Choose wisely.

Join GOD YOGA today.

To your wisdom….

Seeking Enlightenment:
How To Find A True Teacher, Sat Guru?
Whom To Follow and Whom Not To Follow

“A blind leading a blind, both will fall into a pit.”

A guru is the one who removes the veil of ignorance from the eyes of his disciples. But, most modern gurus who lead a cult just do the exact opposite, they pull over a veil of ignorance and fanaticism over the eyes of their followers. 

We give a lot of thinking about what profession we would go into, whom would we marry, or where would we go for our next vacation. Why don’t we give equal importance to whom we should follow? 

Buddham Sharnam Gacchami
Dharmam Sharnam Gacchami
Sangham Sharnam Gacchami

Buddha is the Enlightened One, the avatar, the saviour.
Dharma is the cosmic principles or the doctrine of the Buddha, spiritual knowledge.
Sangha is the group, the organization led by a guru.

Here Shakyamuni gives us the 3 prerequisites of sure success on the spiritual path. You need the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. All three are essential. Even if one is absent, it would become almost impossible for someone to succeed on the spiritual path.

Now, whenever you are attracted or invited to a group or spiritual organization, firstly, find out about the lineage which this group or spiritual organization follows. Now a days, it’s so easy, just search the internet or their website. A Buddha is the one who has been there, done that. A Buddha is not just repeating someone else’s words. He has self-expression. He reveals the cosmic secrets or at least some part of it. He teaches the cosmic laws, the Dharma and gives the world a new understanding of the laws we are subject to in this cosmos we cohabit.

Secondly, find out what is their philosophy, what principles do they follow, not preach but follow and practice. Preaching is one thing, practicing is another. What is their spiritual doctrine? Neither a kriya, yoga asanas, pranayama, a stress alleviating technique or methods are doctrines, nor vegetarianism, chanting and meditation techniques are philosophies or Dharma. A philosophy or Dharma is the path that organization follows to reach enlightenment, Nirvana or Buddhahood. A lot of people can talk eloquently with wit and intelligence, but what is their core philosophy, that’s the million dollar question? Do they have any? 

Thirdly, if they are solely based on a personality, the founder — and the whole organisation fanatically and blindly just keep chanting the guru’s name, then there should be no doubt left in your mind and heart that they are a personality cult without a Buddha and Dharma. 

Now a days, a self-confessed atheist runs a very famous yoga school in India which has a huge following all over the world. Another most famous Indian guru, touted as the love guru, an apostle of peace, with a world wide following, is in fact known to be a homo-sexual in his inner circle. Some famous modern Indian gurus have been already exposed in sex scandals. And what is common in all of the above is that all their followers fanatically worship their guru. That is a surest sign of a personality cult. Moreover, none has a Buddha guiding them. Of course, they would want their followers to believe that the guru is a Buddha. 

But a Buddha will never charge for teaching Dharma, and of course a Buddha will teach the Dharma. But neither these gurus have any Dharma to teach, nor they follow any Dharma, except for some meditation techniques, the same old yoga postures and hyperventilating breathing exercises peddled with some old Vedic verses and new kindergarten spiritual blab. Of course, they can be forgiven for charging for those. Because these postures, techniques and breathing exercises are not spiritual knowledge. At best they cleanse and energise your Vital and Physical Body, that’s all. Know this that a spiritual organisation or guru guided by a Buddha will never charge for spiritual knowledge.

So here are some sure signs of a cult you should stay away:
1. There is no lineage leading back to a Buddha.
2. A lot of verbal coquetry, but no real doctrine. There is no philosophy – core wisdom, a path that leads to enlightenment, no Dharma guiding the organization. Or they charge money for spiritual knowledge, if they have any.
3. The guru is fanatically and blindly worshipped, it’s a personality cult.

Alas, the masses believe that if some guru has millions of people following him, comes on tv and talks eloquently, he or she must be spiritually enlightened. This is the biggest fallacy. Remove the veil of ignorance from your eyes and evaluate intelligently before you commit your life and soul to any such guru.

To your enlightenment…

Are you confused that:
“Even after sincerely doing everything your spiritual gurus asked and taught you to do, why are you not happy? Why are you not experiencing any inner peace and fulfilment?”

This might be the most blunt and shocking post you would ever read. Because no lollipop guru is ever going to tell you this as bluntly as I am going to tell you today.

If you are the disciple (Arjuna) that has come to your spiritual guru after running away from your circumstances (your Kurukshetra), then of course how can you have peace? As Lord Krishna (Arjuna’s spiritual advisor & guru) explained to Arjuna in ‘Bhagawad Gita’, peace comes after Kurukshetra. After you overcome your circumstances and win your daily battles, then only you can experience peace.

If you are afraid of the Cross, it’s obvious that you can never incarnate your Christ.

If you are afraid of facing Mara and his three daughters, then it’s obvious that you can never become a Buddha.

This whole new age evolutionary movement has created a big lie and illusion about the spiritual journey. And the Indian lollipop spiritual gurus are equally responsible for creating many fallacies about the spiritual path in not only Indian minds but, they polluted the western minds as well. 

Spiritual journey is not about running away from our circumstances, from our daily fights, but facing them and winning them as per the divine laws. Spiritual journey is not about running away from adharma (vices), but overcoming them. 

The truth is spiritual journey is full of trial (tests) and tribulations (annoying, frustrating and catastrophic events) meant to test the spiritual initiate at every step, and anybody who tells you otherwise is a liar.

Being Spiritual does not mean living in an ashram, shunning material life. Being spiritual means to live life fully but as per Dharma (divine laws; the Commandments of God).

You have to understand that eternal peace and happiness are the final prize of this journey but, they are won after many battles. No one can have eternal peace and happiness on this plane, on earth. Only in Nirvana, one can have eternal peace and happiness. And nirvana is won after many battles, trials and tribulations.

It’s not a path for weak people who run away at the first sight of difficulty or for the one who is looking for an easy way. 

If it was so, Lord Krishna would have never left Gokul (his childhood home) and Lord Rama would not have gone to the forest (vanvas) leaving his kingdom behind.

Lord Buddha overcame Mara, Lord Christ overcame Satan in the desert when he was fasting there for 40 days, Lord Krishna overcame Kansa, Lord Rama overcame Ravana.

To gain Nirvana, we have to fight and win our daily battles within and without. 

But what do most spiritual aspirants or seekers do? The moment they have to face themselves – their Mara, Satan, Kansa, Kurukshetra or Ravana; they run away. 

And they keep changing spiritual gurus and spiritual organisations, hoping one day to find a way to find peace without facing their Mara, Satan, Kansa, Kurukshetra or Ravana. 

Let me tell you dear seeker, there is no such way. Stop running, stop fooling around, come home and face your Mara, Satan, Kansa, Kurukshetra or Ravana. Otherwise, life after life you will keep searching, keep running like the deer in search for the musk, but you will never find it.

One thing I have learned after more than 23 years on the path, it’s not a 100 metre dash, it’s a marathon and in a marathon only those win who keep running without stopping and without changing directions or goals. It’s a path for the tortoise not for the hare. On this path you need the tenacity and steadfastness of the tortoise to win. And the winners take the prize of eternal peace and happiness.

If you want continuous support and guidance in your spiritual journey to win your daily battles and overcome your difficult circumstances, join GOD YOGA today.

To your peace, happiness and fulfilment….

Hunger is usually associated with the poor. That is the bodily hunger for nutrition and food. But there are other types of hunger that the poor have never known. These types of hunger are the domains of rich and famous:

The hunger for more power,
the hunger for more fame,
the hunger for more followers,
the hunger for more appreciation,
the hunger for more money,
the hunger for more security,
the hunger for more awards,
the hunger for more likes.
etc., etc….

And now, the social media feeds and fuels these hungers to disproportionate magnitude.

I wonder if there is even a single moment of peace and fulfilment in a celebrity’s life?

It’s like the story of the devil who is never satiated. The constant desire to post and please the followers, how does it feel?

“It comes in a moment when I capture something happening, and I go, ‘Oh, that would be great for Instagram. I should post it.’ I know it’s boring, but that’s genuinely what I do,” Singer-actress Selena Gomez, who is one of the most followed celebrity on Instagram told The Hollywood Reporter.

It seems the poor are living to feed the hunger of their body and the rich and famous are living to feed the hunger of their minds, both classes poor in soul and spirit. And the middle class torn between their hunger for food, clothing, a roof over their head, and the hunger of their minds.

So if you want peace, happiness and fulfilment, please stop feeding and fuelling your hunger of the mind. Because till you are hungry you can never know and experience true peace and happiness. You will never be fulfilled.

Instead, start doing something about the poverty of your soul and spirit. Start feeding your soul and spirit. As Lord Jesus Christ said, “First seek the kingdom of your father and everything else shall be added unto you”.

This applies to the middle class, to the poor and to the rich and famous. If you would be rich in your soul and spirit, everything else including the hunger of the body and the hunger of the mind, will be taken care of.

Join GOD YOGA today.

To your peace, happiness and fulfilment…..