Essential Counsel for Monitors 

Samarth Guru Param Sant Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahay Ji Maharaj

What are the attributes and traits a Monitor should possess? Those who have been performing this task should contemplate and introspect on the following points. If they realise that there is some gap then they should make an earnest effort to bridge that.

1. The first and foremost expectation from a Monitor is that he should strive to continually improve himself. He should not indulge in a behaviour that goes against those prescribed in the scriptures so that others can look upto him as their role model.

2. He should not be just an idle conversationalist. There should be a correspondence between his knowledge and action. If his mind commits something wrong, he should condemn it, expiate for it and should be circumspect in future.

3. He should guide his relatives and servants in such a manner that they lead a peaceful life and others also take a leaf from their lives.

4. He should consider it his duty, that all those who come in contact with him are inspired towards piety, that their conduct becomes righteous and that they are discouraged from creating wealth through dishonourable means.

5. A monitor should be fearless, generous, decent and civilised and work-efficient. 

6. He should have an ability to intuit how others’ mind can be amended, what kind of conversation and which nerve, when pressed, would help them to find their feet. 

7. A monitor should also have a discerning ability to assess the kind of a person in the first glance itself and what kind of conduct will help him to improve.

8. It behoves a monitor to respect scholars. A scholar must be respected according to his station because a scholar tends to have a rigid ego and he may not be able to bear any disrespect and mis-behaviour. He should deal with them with love and modesty. He should also spend some time with them so that he can unravel the deeper mysteries in the scriptures.

9. A monitor should not be spending his entire time with his followers. He should move away after imparting his lessons.

10. He should talk only when required and should practice silence. He should avoid the company of dishonourable people. He should avoid taking the services of any other woman except that of his own wife. He should not let a lonely woman come near to him. He should not indulge in jokes, laughter and amusements. He should treat everyone with love and compassion. He should ignore others’ minor mistakes. If someone has done something wrong or if someone has not acted as directed, he should not be too strict with him but amend him with love and utilise the strategy of Discussion-inducements-punishment- secrecy (Saam-Daam-Dand-Bhed).

11. Truth should pervade both his inner as well as outer beings. He should strive to honour his commitment to the best of his abilities. He should hide others’ as well his own secrets. He should subject himself to periodic tests and assess his mental states.

12. A monitor should have a brave and determined nature. Only a courageous person can influence others. A weak person gets discouraged easily in difficult circumstances while a courageous person faces his difficulties bravely and transcends them. He should have firmness in his nature. Once an objective has been decided, he should have the determination to achieve it. A fickle mind who says one thing at one time and something else the other time is never able to achieve anything.

13. A monitor would encounter all kinds of people who, according to their level of intellect, will put forth all kinds of queries. On those occasions, instead of losing his cool, it is appropriate that he remains calm and tolerant. If he does not conduct himself in a civilised manner and despises them then who will approach him and this will hamper the objective of dissemination. 

14. Greed and desire are two major evils. A monitor should guard against these. He should never let desires of property and wealth enter his mind. He should surrender his well-being entirely to the God and live accordingly.

15. His style of conversation should be such that everyone is able to comprehend. He should converse with people according to their station – exalted conversations with evolved ones and lower level conversations with not-so-evolved ones.

16. He should not lose his cool even if someone calls him names or speak in an offensive manner or if someone hurts him. However, if someone creates obstacles in the path of Guru or God, he should punish him, irrespective of whether that person is related to him or not.

17. If he feels annoyed with someone for some reason, he should control his rage and should not pronounce a punishment in the fit of rage. However, once he is in a pacified state and the crime of the accused is established then the latter should be punished. This is so because his rage may result into a major damage for others. Therefore, it is not appropriate to bring forth any evil thoughts about anyone.

18. Advancement of a practitioner forward or bestowment of an exalted stature to someone, should not have any consideration of relation, clan or kith and kin or not-related-to-me. It should be based solely on the ability and qualification. He should have an impartial outlook and must treat everyone equally.

19. He should ensure that his body, place and attire are clean and pure. Ugly and filthy people tend to give rise to the feelings of hatred and disgust in others and people avoid approaching them.

20. His life, lifestyle and diet should be simple. His doors should be open to even his enemies so that no one feels any hesitation in approaching him.Friends and foes alike should be able to enter his doors. It is appropriate that whosoever comes in contact with him, he makes an effort to align him to this place and uses the powers to help him attain concentration so that it becomes easier for him. 

These are some of the things that Shri Guru Maharaj explained to us as he ordained us in this path. My followers should also make an earnest note of these. Not only the monitors but everyone should strive to mould his life according to them. Preaching seldom helps others as the role model in front of them helps people. Monitor must be like that if he has to be successful in meeting his objective. Although I do not claim that I have moulded my life exactly as per the above but I can certainly say that to a very large extent I have been able to change myself and I continue working for further improvements. You should also make an earnest attempt. Perseverance pays. Changing one’s nature is in one’s own hands   and this is what is meant by abstinence (Yama) and observance (Niyama). One who does not have self-restraint, can neither help himself nor the others. m

Translated from “ Sadhna Ke Anubhav” by Samarth Guru Param Sant Dr Chaturbhuj Sahay ji.

 

NECTAR DROPS OF THE SOUL

ATMAGYAN KA AMRIT BINDU

NECTAR DROPS OF THE SOUL

Samarth Guru Param Sant Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahai Ji Maharaj

    

Once Gods and Demons organized a meeting addressed by Prajapati Brahma. Brahma said, do not remain satisfied with what you have, search the soul also. That soul is sinless, immortal, and does not get old; it never becomes hungry or thirsty. He further said that the soul is free from sorrow, desire, and determination; impurity cannot touch it. That is what needs to be understood, he said. Whosoever knows the soul is a real scholar. After knowing the soul, sorrow does not touch a being. He gets all the happiness of this world and also the other world. Whatever is desired by such a person, he gets it.

          On the first day they (the gods and the demons) all heard about Atman (Soul). The meeting concluded and everyone went home. But they all kept on thinking that what is this Atman seeing which we get all the happiness, we never heard about it earlier. For getting happiness, both Gods and Demons became interested. Gods and demons held a separate meeting at their places. They tried to understand it. When nobody could understand anything, they decided to send one representative from each group to Brahma Ji so that he may understand it and then retell it to all. Both the parties selected their chiefs for this work because no one else was cleverer than the selected ones. From the God side Indra and from the demon side Virocahna, the grandson of Bhakta Prahlada and son of King Bali reached Prajapati with Samidha (An offering for sacred fire). Keeping Samidha in front of Prajapati they both paid obeisance to him with respect and took their seat near him. No one should visit Guru and king empty-handed. This tradition is continuing for ages. Those days’ rituals like Yajna, the fire rituals, and Havna were more prevalent; students used to go to a sage or a saint with Samidha in hand. They too visited there like students and that is why they had also carried Samidha with them.

          Brahma became happy and asked about their purpose of visit. They replied respectfully that  one day you had told about the word “Atman”(Soul), you had described that Atman is immortal, knowing which, one can get all the happiness, and without knowing it, knowledge is incomplete. Please tell us about the Atman (Soul). We have come here to know about it.

          Prajapati replied that I am very happy with your question, but the intellect through which it is known is not in you. Until your mind and intellect become pure, you cannot know that. For it, you will have to do some spiritual practice, Sadhna, to control the mind and the intellect. You have to purify yourself through austerities, tapa and have to observe celibacy, Brahmcharya, and only after all these courses, you could be able to understand this subject. I will tell you about the soul, but before that, you will have to stay at my place for thirty-two years and do the Sadhna as I instruct (to you) and get the benefit of Satsang. When you would be ready on these standards and qualifying the test, I will impart this knowledge to you.

          Brahma said, O! Dear ones, you may not have liked my words but there is a secret to it. Everyone cannot know the Supreme Soul. He reveals Himself only to those whom He loves. You will have to make yourself eligible for seeing Him by tapa and celibacy, living alone in a secluded place, and Satsang, the companionship of enlightened souls. Those who do possess the above four virtues, do not have the right to get this knowledge, and somehow, even if, they managed to get this knowledge they cannot get any benefit out of that knowledge. Tapa gives tolerance, celibacy gives strength while living alone in isolation one cultivates the practice of contemplation, and Satsang gives wisdom. Those who are involved in the worldly matters, their mind do not become steady, their consciousness remains outwardly, and their inner self looks like a furnace where ego and envy act like fuel, and their intellect becomes impure. Until the impurity is not removed, the nectar drop of Atman-Gyan cannot enter.

True disciple

Who is  true disciple?

Attributes of a Spiritual Incumbent

(By Samarth Guru Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahai Ji, Mathura, Ramashram Satang)

The seeker who keeps faith and reverence in the words of the Master, he who does not possess idleness and lethargic mind in the company of noble soul, he who inscribes the words of the Master in his self and sips those words as nectar and holds the inner meanings of those words in his self; he who does not bring any other thought other than focus on the Master’s words at the time of the discourse and teachings; he who has totally dedicated and aligned his inner consciousness in tune with the Master and keeps him away from all ill talks and arguments, is considered as the true disciple. 

Master observe the amount of dedication in the disciple, how much craving he has for the truth, how much longing he has for him, and how much sacrifice he can make in exchange for the truth. How much physically, mentally and monetary one can offer for this work. When the offer for this invaluable knowledge comes in front of the seeker, can he put all his worldly affairs on the back seat for the sake of acquiring this priceless knowledge? The objects, for which you are longing, crave in your heart and feel displeasure at its losing and perishing, can you turn your propensities away from those objects, etc.? Master tests all these aspects in the disciple. Those who qualify in renunciation and detachment are succeeded and considered as eligible.

The seeker who begs and reaches the door of the Master frequently and never relinquishes his hope while bearing all kinds of pain; he alone is considered eligible for this knowledge. The seeker who keeps all his worldly assignments in back in comparison to this work and keeps this work in first priority and longs with a true quest; he who sacrifices all his wealth and dignity for the sake of this spiritual knowledge, he alone is reckoned as eligible by the Master and the Master bestow this knowledge to them.

The seeker should upgrade his eligibility; the Master is there to deliver. He never discriminates with the right candidate and always escapes from underserved ones.