Deep rest is the essence of sadhana. You have become so tired by doing something or the other all the time. Now just sit down for some time and to be with yourself. Do some meditation. When you meditate, you will start seeing a new world in front of you.
You get deep rest is meditation. You get rest when you are content, and this rest is what gives rise to Happiness.
Running behind happiness makes you tired. When you run behind happiness you get tired, but when you repose in the self, when you rest, you get energy, and that brings you strength, joy and happiness. So every once in a while, stop the rat race, and take some time out to be with yourself, and get some rest. This is what knowledge is and this is what spirituality is.
Many time, in the name of sadhana also, we start engaging ourselves in some activity, and once again we get tired. I tell you, the physical body does not make you as tired as the mind does. Work doesn’t make you as tired as much as your desires. Nothing else makes you more tired than your own desires, or greed. So what is important is for you to become content. Again and again, be content. This is an art and this is what meditation is. True sadhana is to being calm, contented, and rested.
If you find that there is ego, then let it be. Even ego belongs to the divine. Don’t try to surrender, don’t struggle. If you say that I have surrendered my ego, then it is bigger ego. It’s like saying, "I am the most humble person in this entire world!" That doesn’t show humility. Just be Natural.
The more you grow in knowledge, you see that ego goes away. You know, around the seed there is a membrane. When you soak it in water, the seed bulges, sprouts and automatically the membrane breaks away. But if you try to peel the skin, the seed itself will break. Same way, when you soak yourself in knowledge, in devotion, in love, and in wisdom, you automatically find the ego going away.
Yes, this is a good question. When we are happy, we experience a sense of expansion; the mind expands, And when we are miserable, we experience a certain depth. That ,is why, whether you experience happiness or sorrow in life, treat both as equal, because happiness bring expansion and sorrow brings depth, and both make you stronger. And the way to go beyond both of these is meditation.
By meditating and being in knowledge, both centeredness and expansion start to co-exist within us. And that is because this is the nature of the self.
It is said (in the Upanishad), "Anor aniyan mahato mahiyan". Which means, smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest, that is what I am. This feeling starts coming up within you.
No! Don’t worry about it. Thinking whether you would lose the merit of doing seva is a bigger problem. Just be natural. Even if the ego comes, what’s wrong with it? Let it be! Keep it aside somewhere. You don’t need to show it others, just let it be.
It’s okay if you are meeting wrong people, they are waiting for you to make them right! What is important is that you should not become wrong. They are coming to you like sick people coming to a doctor. Just remember that you are the doctor and they are the patients. Instead of you joining their club, pull them toward you.