Spiritual-Note

Fear is illusory; it cannot live. Courage is eternal, it will not die. Perils, calamities, dangers are the certain lot of every man who is a denizen of this world. Therefore, O Man!

Fortify your mind with courage and patience. Fortitude, courage, presence of mind will sustain you through all dangers. Just as a rock on the sea-shore stands firm and the dashing of the waves does not affect it even a bit, even so a man who is endowed with courage is not affected by the dark perilous waves of this Samsara. He stands adamant in all trying conditions and circumstances and comes out victorious.

A man of courage does not tremble in the hour of danger. He is not embarrassed and bewildered. He does not sink down. He is not overwhelmed by despair.. He smiles away all dangers and difficulties, blows the trumpet of triumph and attains victory in the end. The threatenings of fear are a terror to the heart. Lead a virtuous life. Live in God. Be good. Serve. Love. Give. Meditate. Nothing can frighten you. The Lord of Death will be afraid of you. The terrors, even of death, will be no terror to you. Terrify not your soul with vain imaginary fears. From fear proceeds misfortune and failure. The fears of a coward expose him to danger. A coward dies many times before his actual death. Be bold. Be cheerful. Allow not your heart to sink down from the phantasy of imaginary fears. Have self-confidence and faith. Thy birthright is courage. You are Nectar’s son. You are a child of light. You are an offspring of Immortal Brahman. Claim thy Birthright now. Rise Up! O Man! Roar OM OM OM. You are the lion of Vedanta.

WHAT IS FEAR?
The Sanskrit equivalent for fear is “Bhaya”. Fear is an emotion or Vritti in the mind that is produced when one’s life is in danger on account of external forces or things. Man reacts to the situation with a fear-emotion.
It is characterized by pallor of the face, palpitation of heart, slowing of pulse or stoppage, tremor of limbs, perspiration, expressionless condition of the eyes, passing of urine and faeces unaware, in extreme cases, choking of voice, inability to speak, etc. The body becomes like a log of wood. The mind gets stunned. The functions of the senses are inhibited. In extreme cases one may die of shock. In ordinary cases when the cause of fear is removed, he slowly recovers from the morbid symptoms and comes back to his original state.

CAUSE OF FEAR
Ignorance is the cause of fear. Man tasted the “forbidden fruit” and became a slave of lust. He forgot his original, divine nature and was thus caught up in the whirlpool of ignorance. The infinite fearless Brahman became the finite Jiva with fear. Identification of the body or Dehadhyasa is the cause of fear.

Dehadhyasa is another form of ignorance. This physical body is an instrument for man’s sensual enjoyment. If he suffers from any disease he is afraid that he will lose this body which serves him as a vehicle for his enjoyment. He tries his level best to preserve this body. All other causes of fear are traceable to Dehadhyasa.

Feeling of inferiority is another cause of fear.. This negative feeling produces lack of selfreliance or self-confidence in man. He is afraid of those who are superior to him in talents, power, position and efficiency. He feels that he is incapable of doing anything. Some physical deformity or deficiency, lack of physical and mental efficiency, wrong training in children, are other causes of fear.

There is no other way to get rid of fear than realization of the Self.

He who knows the receptacle (Ayatana) verily becomes the receptacle of his people. Mind is verily the receptacle (of all our knowledge). (Chhandogya Upanishad, V-i-5)

That which separates you from God is mind. The wall that stands between you and God is mind. Pull the wall down through Om-Chintana or devotion and you will come face to face with God.

Excerpt From:

MIND – ITS MYSTERIES AND CONTROL
By Sri Swami Sivananda

1. Who am I?

The gross body, which is composed of the seven humors (dhatus), I am not; the five cognitive sense organs, i.e., the senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell, which apprehend their respective objects, i.e., sound, touch, color, taste, and odor, I am not; the five conative sense organs, i.e., the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion, and procreation, which have as their respective functions speaking, moving, grasping, excreting, and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform respectively the five functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not; even the mind which thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only with the residual impressions of objects, and in which there are no objects and no functions, I am not.

2. If I am none of these, then who am I?

After negating all of the above-mentioned as “not this, not this,” that Awareness which alone remains – that I am.

- Ramana Maharshi

Once Sant Chokhamela asked Lord Panduranga ‘Oh Lord! How should your devotees lead their lives to attain moksha in Kaliyuga?’

God replied ‘Chokha, three aspects have to be followed by my devotees in Kaliyuga in order to meet me,

1. Chanting. They should chant the name of God incessantly. When yagas and yagnas were performed earlier, mere chanting will fetch the same results in Kaliyuga. ‘Kalau nama sankeerthanam smrutham’ is proclaimed in Sastras.
2. Good Behaviour. A devotee should practice good principles like ahimsa, pity, patience, control over sense organs and a life of celibacy.
3. The company of Good people. Should move always in the company of good people who always spend their time in the presence of God. To be acquainted with such people itself is a difficult task.’.

Sant Tukaram

Tukaram or Tukoba, constantly sang the praises of lord Vitthala, or Krishna. It was the constant singing about God which led Tukaram to compose his abhangs. It is these abhangs for which Tuka is most famous. The abhangs are unique in the world of literature. They are often called poems, but they don’t have the artful imagery associated with poems. The abhangs express Tuka’s feelings (whether elation or frustration) and philosophical outlook. During his 41 years, Tuka composed over 5,000 abhangs. Many of them speak of events in his life, which make them somewhat autobiographical. Yet, they are focused on God and not Tukaram.

He faced varieties of difficulties with astonishing patience. He refused diamonds and opals offered by Shivaji Maharaj himself. His devotional songs are an invaluable contribution to Marathi spiritual literature.

Links:

Biography

1. A complete biography in Marathi is available on Tukaram.com.
2. A good information about Tukaram’s life is available on Yogameditation.com.au and Freeindia.org.

Tukaram Gatha (writings by Tukaram)

The complete Tukaram Gatha is available online reading and for download in the following places.

• Available in Marathi on WikiBooks.org for online reading.
• Available in Marathi for download in Zip format on Tukaram.com.

Vardhamana Mahavira

Vardhamana Mahavira was born of King Siddartha and Queen Trisala of Kundalpura, in 599 BC. Even though he was the price he was virtuous by nature. At the age of 30 (in 569 BC) he abandoned home and spent next twelve years in meditating. He attained omniscience in 557 B.C.

Mahavira lived a life of absolute truthfulness, a life of perfect honesty and a life of absolute chastity. He lived without possessing any property at all.

‘Maha’ means great and ‘Vira’ means a hero. ‘Tirtha’ literally means a ford, a means of crossing over. Metaphorically, it denotes a spiritual guide or philosophy which enables one to cross over the ocean of recurring births in this world. ‘Kara’ means one who makes. The whole word Tirthankara means a Jain holy teacher.

Mahavir preached that right faith (samyak darshana), right knowledge (samyak jnana) and right conduct (samyak charitra) together is the real path to attain the liberation from karmic matter of one’s self.

The right conduct (samyak charitra) include the following:

• Nonviolence (Ahimsa) – not to cause harm to any living beings
• Truthfulness (Satya) – to speak the harmless truth only
• Non stealing (Asteya) – not to take anything not properly given
• Chastity (Brahmacharya) – not to indulge in sensual pleasure
• Non possession/ Non attachment (Aparigraha) – complete detachment from people, places, and material things

Mahavira was the last (24^th) Tirthankara. He entered into Nirvana in 527 BC at the age of 72.

His birthday is celebrated as Mahavir Jayanti and is the most important religious holiday of Jains around the world.

Links:

• Jainworld.com
• A web page on Dlshq.org

Meher Baba

Meherwan Sheriar Irani (Meher Baba) was born in Pune, India in February 1894. His parents were of Persian origin. He was first educated in Dastur Girls’ School and later in St. Vincent High School, from where he was matriculated. In 1913, while in his first year at Deccan College he came in contact with Hazrat Babajan, one of the five Perfect Masters of the Age, who by a kiss on his forehead awakened him to the experience of what one may call God-realization.

During the course of subsequent seven years Upasani Maharaj, another Perfect Master of the age gave him knowledge of his infinite state and integrated his God-consciousness with the consciousness of the gross world, preparing him thus for his role.

He was reported to have met the other three perfect Masters of the time before he came in contact with Upasani Maharaj, but no record of what happened in such meeting is available, except that Sai Baba of Shirdi uttered “Parvardigar” on seeing him.

Links:

• www.meherbaba.com
• www.avatarmeherbaba.org
• A web page on Shreeswami.org

Videos on Youtube about Baba:

Hazrat Babajan

Hazrat Babajan hailed from Afghanistan (Central Asia) and was the daughter of well to do Afghan of noble lineage. Her maiden name was Gulrukh (rose faced) and her early training was that befitting the status of an Afghan aristocrat. At a very early age she learned Quran by heart and later became conversant with Arabic, Persian, Pushtoo and Urdu. From early life she developed mystical tendencies, and unlike girls of her age, she used to pass a good deal of her time in prayers, meditation and solitude.

This mystical aspect in her asserted itself, as when coming of age, she was found to be against any idea of marriage. The parents could not understand her and to them the idea of a Pathan girl remaining unmarried was extremely scandalous. Finding the situation no longer tenable and the parents bent upon forcing the issue of matrimony on her. Gulrukh managed to escape and came to Peshawar (India) and then to Rawalpindi. For a Pathan girl brought up under the strictest discipline of the Parda system, wandering at the age of 18 years, was not an easy undertaking.

She was initiated in to the path of spirituality by a hindu saint who met her in Rawalpindi. She stayed in that place for few years and then moved to Punjab. There she met a Muslim saint who put an end to her spiritual struggle and provided her the God-realization. After that she started here journey and visited many places. In 1903 she came to Pune.

Babajan never stayed in one place for more time in Pune. She always used to change her places but later she started staying at ‘Char Chavdi’ and that place became a pilgrimage as more and more people started visiting here seeking her blessings. Babajan used to call everyone as ‘Bachha’ (child) and blessed everyone.

After staying in Pune for about 35 years this holy mother left here mortal body on 21st September, 1931 at the age of about 125 years.

Link: Web Page1, Web Page2

A detailed article about Chokhamela is available at http://www.spiritual-note.com/Sant_Chokhamela.

Chokhamela lived in Mangalavedha near Pandharpur in Maharashtra in the 14th century. He was born in the lower cast (Mahar), but his devotion to Lord Vitthala was pure and unmatched. He migrated to Pandharpur and became a disciple of the great saint-poet Namdeo. Chokha used to constantly chant the name of Panduranga and clean the temple premises daily. However, he was not allowed to enter the sanctum due to his birth in the lower cast. One day someone questioned the futility of his devotion to Lord, as he would never be able to see God. Humiliated and deeply hurt Chokha abstained from taking food and wept inconsolably when Panduranga appeared before him, embraced him, took him inside the temple and talked to him. The temple priest was outraged as he felt that the temple was desecrated by Chokha and ordered him to stay across the river Chandrabhaga. Chokha’s pleas fell on the deaf ears and at last Chokha went to stay across the river. However, Lord started to visit Chokha daily and both of them used to take lunch together. One day the priest was passing by Chokha’s hut when Chokha was taking lunch with Panduranga and Soyara (Chokha’s wife) was serving. Priest could not see Panduranga as his mind was impure. Soyara spilled the curd on Panduranga’s pitambar by mistake. Chokha exclaimed, “Oh! Soyara you have soiled Panduranga’s pitambar”. Priest felt it was a deliberate attempt by Chokha to show his devotion and slapped Chokha across his face. Later he bathed in the river and ferried across the river. The priest was stunned to see Lord Vitthala’s swollen cheek. He realized the intensity of Chokha’s devotion towards Lord. He to Chokha, asked for his forgiveness and requested him to pacify the Lord. Chokha’s prayers and request pacified Lord Vitthala.

Chokha was forced to return to Mangalavedha as the people there wanted to construct a wall in order to separate shudra people from others. While he was working there, he was killed when the wall collapsed and was crushed. Sant Namdeo deeply grieved the death of a great Vaishnava devotee, went to Mangalavedha and brought the mortal remains to Chokha and constructed his Samadhi in Pandharpur in front of the Lord Panduranga temple.

Samadhi picture:

Chokamela Samadhi

Narayan Maharaj

Narayan Maharaj was born on 20th May 1885, at Bagalkot in Karnataka. His early childhood was full of calamities. He lost his father, when he was hardly 14 months old and lost his mother when he was four. As a worldly duty his grandmother looked after him. His sacred thread ceremony was performed at the age of nine. His grandmother was planning to appoint Narayan as her heir, but it created problems with the other relations and he was also not interested in any material acquisition. He left his grandmother’s place and all his relations, as he was keen on establishing the only relationship with Lord Dattatreya. After leaving home he took rest for the night in Shiva’s temple, but no one came to enquire about him. This proved to be an important event to break all the worldly ties for him. Whatever is destined to take place must take place. Suffering is a great blessing in disguise, it has the ultimate objective to bring sufferer on the path of love and realization.

His life was full of hardships, trials and traumas but he had the absolute and unflinching faith and devotion for Lord Dattatreya, hence he had no fear of any kind.

Narayan Maharaj left his mortal body on 3rd September, 1945. His samadhi mandir is in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Link:

• A web page on Shreeswami.org
• A web page on Trustmeher.com