(Below is a continuation of post Drop The Past)
See, when do you realize that a thought is good or bad? You can realize this only when the thought has already come. You cannot stop a thought or know a thought before it comes. And when it comes, it also goes away immediately. If you are a witness to the thought, it simply drifts away and vanishes. But if you hold on to it and chew on it, then it stays with you.
Thoughts come and go, but that which is the basis of thoughts – is the atma (soul). And that is what you are. You are like the sky, and thoughts are like clouds. This could be the nearest example one can give. Clouds come and go in the sky, but can they disturb or limit the vastness of the sky in any way? No, not at all.
So when you fly above the clouds, when you go beyond the clouds, you see that the sky is untouched. It is the same, it is unchanged. It is only the thoughts which keep moving. This is what happens in meditation. When you come into Sakshi bhaav, i.e., when you simply become a witness to the thoughts.
We do not have to attach ourselves to the thoughts. That is foolishness. Whether they are good thoughts, or bad thoughts – they come and go. You are far above and beyond all this. This is called the Vihangam Maarg – it means rising above thoughts and seeing that you have nothing to do with these moving thoughts.
No, do not leave the body. Do not do such things and do not even think about it. Who told you such things? We are all anyways one. Do not be under this impression that you can merge only by dying and casting off the body. This is foolishness.
The physical bodies anyway can never merge into one. The physical body always remains separate. If you look at all of us at the level of the breath, we are all one. When you go even deeper into the subtle layers, you will see that everything is an extension and expansion of the same mind. So do not do anything foolish. Just meditate, and be regular with Seva, Satsang and your Sadhana. You will see that in no time a fountain of love and happiness will come up from within you, and you will exude great contentment.
When I was touring Haryana this time, many scientists and people met me. They discussed very interesting and unique facts about this. They spoke about how they differentiate different breeds of cows and determine the genes a particular breed carries, on the basis on Genealogy.
They told me that they do not marry within the same Gotra or gene pool and which is why they have such healthy children and generations of progeny. They told me that out of the 10 sports medals in sport events this year, nine medals have been bagged by Haryana. And they told me that the reason why this happened is because they give so much importance to the concept of Gotra and follow it very seriously.
They told me that for up to three generations, they do not marry within the same Gotra on the mother’s side as well, which is why their children have very healthy genes across generations. So we have been following these principles about the Gotra since many ages.
This concept has great importance in the field of animal husbandry as well. It is also said that siblings should not marry each other, and marriages should not be held between very close relatives. So this appears to be correct from a scientific perspective.
The concept of Gotra is very ancient and has expanded so much over several hundred years. At the same time, I do not think it is right to be too rigid and fanatical about it as well. For example, the way you follow Gotras in Punjab or Haryana may not be the same way you do in Tamil Nadu, because there can be a great difference. There is definitely a lot of relevance for the Gotra and as much as possible, it is good to not marry within the same Gotra.
See, there are good and bad people everywhere. Many times there are fears that someone should not deceive the other person after the marriage is done. That is why you should also listen to your parents and consult them in such delicate matters.
When you fall in love, you sometimes become blind, and you don't think clearly. You are not able to see what is right and what is wrong. So in such sensitive matters, you should also take the advice of your mother and father.
Regardless of the caste or religious background one may come from, if a person is good at heart and has good qualities, then that has much more importance over other aspects. If someone belongs to the same caste and religions background but indulges in wrong activities, or is addicted to alcohol, etc., then what is the use of such a marriage? So the first thing you should see is that the person is good by nature and comes from a noble and respectable background.
We have a Human Resources department here at the Ashram. If you are looking to find work, you can approach them for assistance.
I consider the entire world to be my Ashram. For me, the Ashram is not limited by four walls and boundaries. What does an Ashram mean? An Ashram is a place where one can get three things easily.
1. Where you get to be in knowledge, where you get to listen and discuss knowledge that uplifts you.
2. Where you get good food.
3. Where you get good rest.
Now can you not provide all these three in your own home? When someone visits you at your home, can you not sit and discuss knowledge with them? That is the first sign that your home has become an Ashram.
Secondly, when someone comes to your house, do you not offer them something good to eat? In India, this is a very common practice. So this is a second sign of your home being an Ashram.
Thirdly, your home should have such a positive environment that whoever comes should feel at peace, and experience a sense of deep rest and relief.
I want every home in the world to become an Ashram. I want that in every home in the world, people discuss knowledge and ponder deeper about life rather than engage in useless gossip and criticizing others. People should think about “Who am I? What is this life?”
There are three important things: Purity of heart, clarity of the mind and sincerity in action. Can we not have these three in our life? When you practice all three, your home becomes an Ashram in the true sense.
Yes, you are right, this problem is present all over the country. You all should visit our Garbage Transformation Mission department here. We have been actively working to educate the people all around us, not to throw plastic and reduce the use of plastic. We have installed a machine here that converts plastic into diesel. Our volunteers now collect plastic thrown away in the nearby areas and feed it into this machine.
In the same way, all the waste material that comes from the kitchen is used for conversion into bio-gas. Every day there is around 400-500 kilos of waste generated in the Ashram kitchen, such as the vegetable peels, etc. By converting it all into bio-gas, we are able to refill all the gas cylinders in the kitchens very easily. So in this way, we can all adopt such little and simple techniques in villages to manage and convert waste materials, and save the environment. This will make every village self-sufficient. This is very important.
It is not good to leave the cows loose in the open to graze where they wander. It is also not good to dump plastics and waste materials in the environment. We have to create a lot of awareness in the people. This in itself is a good seva. So you should channel the strength you gain from your sadhana towards such good causes in the greater interest of the society. Go from door to door and educate the people to not litter everywhere and keep their surroundings clean.
