Soul Sustenance – July 2023
Index
01. 5 Ways of Making Your Office Environment
02. Enjoy and Love every moment of Eating
03. Realizing Why God is Not Omnipresent or Sarvvyapi
04. Believe and you will succeed
05. Steps to Overcome Irritation
06. The Benefits of Meditation
07. 8 Positive Affirmations for Success
08. Who is responsible for my Destiny?
09. Happier You for a Healthier You
10. The Car-Driver comparison for Self-Realization
11. 10 New Beliefs for Positive Living
12. Master the Art of Self Control
13. Let Go of Ego
14. The 4 Subjects of Rajyoga and their Significance
15. 5 Steps for Connecting Children with God
16. Is Reincarnation a Reality?
17. You can change any Habit
18. Honour every Commitment
19. Awakening the Positivity within
01. 5 Ways of Making Your Office Environment
1. Sharing and Reading Positive Spiritual Thoughts of Wisdom every day.
A very beautiful practice for your office or workplace is to be tuned with each other’s positive and pure thinking through spiritual wisdom, which can be shared with every one every morning through the internet and mediums of technology or displayed on notice boards in the office, where everyone can read them. The same thought patterns by reading the same spiritual wisdom every day create spiritual harmony in the office and make the environment of the office beautiful and full of goodness-filled vibrations.
2. Making a Meditation Room in the Office for Spiritual Charging
Offices can have a small and dedicated space for meditation in the office, made under spiritual guidance, where anyone in the office can go and sit for a few minutes and have a deep experience of meditation and charge themselves with spiritual energy. Also, mind traffic control of thoughts can be practiced every hour for one minute by the people in the office while sitting at their work desks.
3. Having Positive Conversations full of Pure and Positive Energy
An important step that determines and influences the vibrations of a workplace is what everyone is thinking and talking about others. Because a workplace has many people with different personalities and ways of working, people tend to negatively and unnecessarily comment about each other to one or many other people in the office. Avoiding this and making No Gossip a successful mantra of the office rejuvenates the office and its spiritual energy.
4. Taking Care that there is an Energy of Love, Humility, and Co-operation in the office
One of the most important factors which reduce the positive environment of the office and make it stressful is jealousy, hatred, comparison, and over-competitiveness. When we try to always go ahead of others and be better than others, we stop carrying positive vibrations for each other. When we love each other and we are humble and in this sweet consciousness keep others ahead of us, we create a positive environment.
5. Taking Positive Physical Steps which create Peace and Comfort
A beautiful method being followed in many offices all over the world is playing soft and soothing meditation music in the office in background. Also, making the interiors of the office in such a way that gives an experience of peace to everyone in the workplace. Choosing light spiritual colours and designs for walls, furniture and partitions which create an angelic and light environment are important physical steps.
02. Enjoy and Love every moment of Eating
All of us have three meals a day. They sustain and nourish us to sit, move, speak, smile, and complete tasks. For the ways food serves us, it is important to love and respect what we eat. We often find ourselves grumbling or judging the food on our plates. We reject it unawares with statements like - I’m bored of eating this every morning, this dish is so bland, I wish my mother could cook better. We also worry or feel guilty - I might put on weight, What if my sugar levels increase, this doesn’t taste fresh, hope I won’t fall sick. Once we decide to eat, let’s enjoy the food, not think of its effects. Let's create thoughts of gratitude and love before and while eating. The quality or quantity may not always be perfect. Never mind – we have enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy) thousands of delicious meals. The few imperfections should not change our respect for food.
Food that we eat every day is nutrition for our body. We choose what is healthy. We can choose what is tasty, but if we say we will be happy when we eat something specific, it means our happiness becomes dependent on our food. Sit back, and visualize yourself happy while you are having your meals and radiating happy energy into your food. We often create an energy of irritation when we eat something which is not tasty for us. Food may not be tasty … but happiness or irritation is our choice. Practice today to not allow your food to influence your mind. Criticizing what you are eating radiates negative energy to the food which then influences your mind. Before every meal today, pause and reaffirm I am happy and calm as I eat my meal. I energize the food with my happiness.
03. Realizing Why God is Not Omnipresent or Sarvvyapi
A very common concept in the world that many people believe in is that God is present in each and every one and in each and every living being and everywhere else. This concept is what is meant by God is omnipresent or present everywhere. In Hindi, it is mentioned as God is Sarvvyapi. In this message, we will look at 5 reasons why this is not true –
1. God is a Spiritual Father of all Souls and is not present in every child or Human Being
We understand from spiritual wisdom shared by God that each one of us is a spiritual energy or soul and the world has a large number of human souls playing their roles through different physical bodies. We also know that God is a spiritual energy and a soul like us, but a Supreme Soul with greater powers than us. So, we are all brother souls and that is why we commonly say – We belong to different religions and countries, but we are all brothers. Since we are all souls, we all have our own identity. We all feel God’s presence in the world and His love in our hearts because the entire world, including us, remembers Him very much. But that does not mean that God is Himself inside us and in every human being. God is our Spiritual Father and lives in the soul world, which exists beyond the physical Universe and the world of five physical elements. He does not live in the physical world but He radiates His vibrations to the physical world and gives different attainments to human souls.
2. If God was inside us, we would all be the same in all Ways
We also know from spiritual wisdom that each and every human soul has a unique mind and intellect and unique sanskars of its own. Also, God has His own mind, intellect and sanskars. If God was inside all of us, our mind, intellect and sanskars would not be different. But we all think in our minds differently, judge and visualize through our intellect differently and have our own different sanskars. That means that God is a separate identity and is not thinking, speaking and performing actions through all of us. He only guides us how to think, speak and perform actions. We all follow His instructions differently depending on the quality of our mind, intellect and sanskars.
3. If God was Omnipresent, there would be complete Happiness in The World, which is not true
God is an Ocean of goodness and divinity, which He radiates constantly. If everyone in the world had God inside their hearts, and God lived in physical nature everywhere in the world, all human beings would perform only good actions and there would be no sins, vices and bad habits in the world. Everyone would live in harmony and there would be complete goodwill amongst people because they would all be God like. Also, physical nature would be completely free from any sort of disturbances and calamities because God would be in every particle. But all of this is not true.
4. If God was in our Hearts we would not search for him and call out to him for Peace, Love, Joy and Power
We have called out to God since thousands of years and we have searched for Him outside ourselves and looked up to Him for His sustenance of peace, love, joy and power. Also, whenever we have called out to Him, we have often looked upwards to the sky. If God stayed inside all of us, we would not do that. We feel God’s wisdom, qualities and powers inside us and also talk to Him in our consciousness. When we do that, we feel His closeness, but that does not mean He is in every human being in the world and in every animal, bird and insect as well as everywhere else in the world.
5. God is a Supreme giver. If he was in every human being, He will no longer be that
God is a Supreme Ocean of all qualities and powers and He is a constant giver of these qualities and powers to humanity and the entire Universe. If He was in every human being, He would also come in the process of action and reaction and karma and its fruit. Also, He would no longer be a giver and would become one who expects and desires like human beings. Also, if God was in every human being, He would come under the influence of the physical elements of nature, which He does not ever.
04. Believe and you will succeed
Have you been very excited about your big or small goals, worked very hard to reach there… but somewhere down the line doubted success? Just recall how it influenced the outcome. Whether it is a personal goal or a professional one, we typically need people’s support to be successful. It’s important for everyone to work with a calm, relaxed and stable mind. The environment needs to vibrate with confidence and determination. When we rely on each other, trust must be at the core of our belief and behaviour. We have all experienced that people are most productive when they have a person trusting their abilities. Let’s ensure no-one creates thoughts of doubt, insecurity, incompetence or anxiety – either about themselves or others. Negative thoughts become obstacles to success. If it is our goal we have a responsibility to be solution-oriented. Let’s focus only on how to help and motivate people. And let’s remind ourselves daily I am confident that together, we will be successful.
We have heard – Well begun is half done. Whether there are 10 things on our to-do list today or 20, if we begin them with self-belief, discipline and enthusiasm, our speed and efficiency increase magically. People working with us absorb our energy and feel motivated. An overall sense of belonging for the place, people and task develops. Time doesn’t seem a barrier. Sit back and make your work day unfold perfectly today. Your inner success factors of stability, comfort and happiness will have an influence on getting you success outside. You will save time and energy because there were no emotional leakages of anxiety, aggression or stress. You will go back home from your workplace pleased and happy.
05. Steps to Overcome Irritation
There are times when we are not at our best, times when we lose our cool and we feel very irritable. Irritation is a sign that something is not right and needs to be fixed. It can be a result of provocation, stress, pain, confusion, or for no apparent reason. If unchecked, habitual irritability can interfere with our daily activities also and damage relationships. So often we become irritable and struggle to regulate our feelings. Irritation results from mental fatigue, stress, insecurity and worry. When battling these emotions, if anything we dislike unfolds, we lash out. Even someone chewing loud, or someone honking at traffic, can irritate us for hours.
Follow these steps to overcome irritation –
1. Wake up early, spend 30 minutes with yourself, and nourish the mind with meditation and spiritual study. It helps you think and feel right in every situation.
2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes. A healthy body promotes a happy mind.
3. Pause after every hour or two and remind yourself - I am a peaceful being. Everything is perfect.
4. Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Eat mindfully, away from distractions, and eat only at set times.
5. Set an adequate sleep schedule, stick to the same bedtime and wake-up time daily.
6. To influence people, understand that their ways of being and doing will differ from yours. Respect your differences. Advise them whenever needed, but detach from its outcome.
Once you take care of mind and body, you won’t need to worry about situations. You will face them calmly. Patience and clarity become natural. Experience this affirmation to overcome irritation -
I am a peaceful being… I nurture my mind every morning … I use it with care during the day … I energise my body daily … I eat the right diet … I sleep well … I have lot to accomplish … I have lot of time … I get work done … patiently … Even in a crisis … my vibrations are calm … I am the master of situations.
06. The Benefits of Meditation
What is your vision of yourself today?
Life is a game of forgetting and remembering. We lose the game of life when we forget who we truly are. We are victorious in life when we remember we are souls, spiritual light giving life to the human body. The soul is a thinking being, non-physical, eternal, loving, blissful and peaceful. With meditation we remember our true eternal identity of being a soul, making our thoughts become free of negativity and weakness.
This is the time to be aware of the difference between what is original and true in us and what is acquired and false. Learn to create the moments you need to renew the self in meditation, and begin making effort to change, as we recognize falsehood and these wasteful and negative thoughts do not belong to us and rob us of our hope. It takes a second to stop and think, “Now I shall go inside.” What do you see? What is your vision of yourself today – patient or irritated, positive or negative, tight and stressed or relaxed and peaceful?
Vision is one of the secrets of personal transformation. When we meditate, we first visualize the self as a sparkling star located at the center of the forehead, radiating peace, love, and joy. In this pure feeling, we travel as a being of light to the soul world, which exists beyond the physical Universe. We make a deep connection with God, visualizing this Supreme Being like an eternal sparkling spiritual star but a unique Soul of eternal unchanging Spiritual Truth, Love, Light and Might. The Spiritual Father listens to us when we connect and talk with Him in meditation. Have a conversation with God everyday and be filled with power to face life’s difficult situations without fear and impatience. When we connect to the one up above who is the Truth, we draw that energy into us. Truth is a very powerful energy and fills the soul with immense power. In a second, you will pass beyond all the muddle and find yourself in your original state of peace.
The power of meditation quietens the noise in the mind and saves energy from the creation of scattered thoughts creating our tiredness and confusion. Your mental energy is not wasted as any leaks arising from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future are consciously plugged! Meditation makes the inner voice clearer. With this clarity, it becomes easy for our mind to focus. When the mind is focused, we act more efficiently which leads to an increase in productivity. Visualize yourself at your best and you will be, and this vision will be seen in your actions. This is how we successfully create our own life and help others do the same.
07. 8 Positive Affirmations for Success
1. I am a very special soul in this world with my beautiful and unique specialties ... I perform each action in this higher consciousness and experience success...
2. I am full of the treasures of peace, love and joy ... I radiate the energy of these virtues to every word and action of mine and create miracles of success in every sphere of life...
3. I am God's one in a million child ... His eyes are always on me and He helps me and protects me every moment ... I bring this confidence in every action and interaction ... This confidence is my key to success ...
4. I am an angel of wisdom blessed with a divine mind and intellect ... I bring wisdom in my life and make my life beautiful and valuable ... I respect others and receive every one’s respect...
5. I am a being of purity and power with a vibrant aura of positivity ... I step into the sphere of action everyday with this aura ... This creates good health, abundant wealth and beautiful relationships in my life...
6. I am a soul with a balance of love and law in my personality ... I love every one and at the same time I listen to God and take all my decisions wisely based on the Law of Karma ... This attracts success in my life ...
7. I am a reservoir of goodness and sweetness ... I gift myself and each and every one I meet everyday with this goodness ... In return I receive blessings of success from myself, God and others ...
8. I am a humble soul with a high self-esteem ... I always keep my consciousness powerful and at the same time light ... I know God is guiding my every action and I am just his instrument ...
08. Who is responsible for my Destiny?
Many of us believe that God writes our destiny. We need to pause and introspect on this belief. If God wrote our destiny, two things would happen: First, since we are all children of God, all our destinies would have been equal. Second, as our parent, God would have written a perfect destiny for all of us. Today our destinies are neither equal, nor perfect. We also believe the Law of Karma which states - As is my Karma, so will be my destiny. Our karmas are not always perfect and we all do not perform identical karmas. So our destiny is neither perfect nor equal. We need to ask our self which of these two beliefs feels right for us. Karma means action. Law of Karma is about action and reaction, or cause and effect. Karmic law is constantly working in our lives as Karma includes our every thought, every word and every action. As per the Law of Karma, every action - however small or important - has a result. The result is always fair. Right action brings a good result and wrong action brings a difficult one. Certain karmas may result in an immediate result. Other karmas may have a result coming back an hour later, a year later, 20 years later, 50 years later, or in a future birth.
We can connect the karma with the result in some cases. However, when we see the effects of karma on a subtle level, we will not be able to connect result with the karma, since the karma might have been performed many years ago or even in a past birth. So, we need not worry about that aspect of identifying the cause. It is enough if we remember that-
1. The Law of Karma is always accurate and always fair to everyone.
2. Our present situations are only a result of our past karmas. So, we are responsible for everything that happens to us.
3. Our present karma decides our future. So, we have the power to create our destiny.
We have all experienced the results of both right karmas and the wrong ones. Whether we believe in it or not, the Law of Karma is continuously working in our lives. We need not fear the law but let us be aware of it. We also need to remember that Karma includes thoughts also, not just words and actions. So let us focus on right thinking, speaking and behaving, so that we create a beautiful destiny.
09. Happier You for a Healthier You
We believe that being healthy keeps us happy. Medical science has evidence that being happy keeps us healthy. Each thought has an effect on the cells of our body. Wrong thinking manifests into an illness in the body. To heal the body, we need to heal our emotional blockages. Let us not hold on to any pains of the past. Our body’s immune system activity fluctuates based on how we feel. Emotions like joy, contentment, bliss or enthusiasm send positive signals to the body. This boosts its stamina. Radiating negative emotions like irritation, fear, criticism or anxiety to the body make it sensitive and prone to sickness. Developing a positive outlook may not prevent illness but it eases pain. When happy we cope better with aches and pains. When sad, healing gets delayed. Happiness promotes a healthy lifestyle. We choose to remain active, follow a healthy diet, relax well and enjoy good social health. If we are unhappy, we disregard these aspects.
Mind has a continuous influence over Matter. Wrong thoughts can create a disease and right thoughts can help in healing. I am not well … I have high blood pressure … I have a family history of diabetes these thoughts radiate energy of disease. Repeated thoughts of an existing disease radiate the same energy to the body and intensifies the disease. Use the power of your thoughts and words to heal your body. Create only thoughts of normalcy and perfect health to allow your body to come back to its normal state. Pause today during the day to heal your body with your right thoughts and powerful words - My body is perfect and healthy.
10. The Car-Driver comparison for Self-Realization
One of the comparisons which help in self-realization i.e. in strengthening the awareness that I, the soul, a non-physical energy am different from this physical body is that of the driver and the car, where the driver represents the spiritual energy and the car represents the body which is controlled by the spiritual energy. The biggest reason why I do not have the desired control over my physical body, my vehicle, and my sense organs today is that I lost the consciousness of being a driver which could control and rule the vehicle. Instead, I developed the consciousness that I am this vehicle, this physical body. This consciousness disconnected me from the ability and the power I possessed inside me to control the vehicle. If I want to achieve the desired control, I need to be in a driver consciousness i.e. in the awareness that I am a soul and my body is a vehicle, through which I experience life. Being in this awareness, in this consciousness, awakens me and empowers me to regain the much required control over my body.
The car controls are the gears, brake, accelerator and steering wheel which can be compared to the subtle sense organs of the soul which are the mind, intellect and sanskars and those of the body which are the eyes, ears, nose, hands and tongue. A good driver is one who remains extremely alert and is able to use the gears, brake, accelerator and steering wheel effectively and efficiently, in order to be fully in control of the vehicle and to avoid any accidents. In the same way, as I move on the road of life, I need to keep my subtle and physical sense organs (mentioned above) in complete control. If I do that, they will keep my journey enjoyable and help me experience mental peace and happiness safely and successfully. If I don’t do that and let them overpower me, accidents will definitely occur, making me peaceless and sorrowful.
If a good driver, while driving a car is distracted by the negative and disturbing scenes which he comes across and his attention is pulled in many different directions, he will make his journey unsafe increasing the chances of meeting with accidents. When the same principles are applied to the soul and the body, I also need to take care that, while traveling on the road of life, I am not distracted by scenes that are not useful to me e.g. when looking out through my eyes, I don’t have to take in all the images, scenes and information along the way, otherwise I may meet with an accident. When listening through my ears, I don’t have to take in all the words and everything that people say, otherwise I may meet with an accident. I can choose to take in what is useful for me, but I do not have to register distracting, negative and harmful images, words and behaviours. Just like a driver, I see and understand situations and I keep my eyes and ears open. It would be unsafe to ignore them completely, I need to be aware of them. But I look only for the positive in them, so that I remain focused and am not deflected from my experience of inner contentment and bliss, while making the journey.
I, the soul, as the driver in charge of this vehicle, the body, also need to take care that I do not drive rashly i.e. I learn to monitor the feelings and attitudes that are transmitted outwards through my eyes, my words and my actions. Driving rashly i.e. transmitting negative energy in this way could harm any other traveller on the road of life. When these feelings and attitudes stay positive, filled with sweetness, purity and respect, that too helps to ensure that my journey passes smoothly and enjoyably. When I stay alert and aware in a driver conscious and drive carefully, my actions bring me closer to my spiritual truth and I am able to share my positivity with others around me. When I lose awareness for even a moment, there's danger either from me to others or from others to me.
11. 10 New Beliefs for Positive Living
A very important characteristic that differentiates the Supreme Soul or God from human souls is that the Supreme Soul is the only soul that exists in this World Drama who is completely free from desires and remains that way eternally. Whatever action any soul performs, they are performed to fulfil the desire of experiencing peace, love, joy and power. These are the original sanskars of each soul before it begins its journey of birth and rebirth, when it stays in the soul world and when it has just begun its journey of birth and rebirth on the world stage. Based on incorrect beliefs, souls today perform actions filled with lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego and many other negative emotions, with the aim of fulfilling their desire of experiencing peace, love, joy and power. But we do not realize how these actions take the soul away from these experiences and not close to them.
God or the Supreme Soul is completely free from desires because He is an Ocean of peace, love, joy and power. God possesses the wisdom and power to fulfil these different desires of the soul. Being the Supreme Teacher, He guides and teaches us what are the right actions that can help us fulfil our desires of peace, love, joy and power and which actions, take us away from them. Also, He is the only one who can teach us how to connect with Him so that these desires are fulfilled, because he is the Ocean of all these qualities that exist inside us in our original state and connecting with Him fills us with these qualities. The connection with God through the medium of spiritual wisdom, which He shares and the practice of meditation, which He teaches, along with performing the right actions based on correct beliefs or the truth, help us in fulfilling our desires of many births of permanent peace, love, joy and power.
We
hold many incorrect beliefs as to how we can experience peace, love, joy and
power and many of our actions are based on these beliefs. God or the Supreme
Teacher changes our belief system and not only makes us aware of these
incorrect beliefs but shares with us correct spiritual beliefs or the truth
so that we start performing actions based on them and begin experiencing
permanent peace, love, joy and power. We have mentioned 10 examples of such
incorrect beliefs, which we have, and the truth about them -
Belief 1 –
Anger is necessary for success in relationships and is important for getting
work done and gaining respect. It provides a mental surge of energy and
makes us powerful.
Truth – Relationships become beautiful when the energies of peace, love and
goodness are exchanged between two human beings. People respect us more and
enjoy working with us more, when we influence them with our peaceful and
loveful nature, instead of controlling them with our anger. Anger gives a
temporary negative thrill of energy and an adrenaline rush, but it harms our
health and depletes the soul of spiritual treasures like wisdom and
contentment.
Belief 2
– Worry and fear prepares us for negative situations. Worrying for someone
close to us is a sign of our love for them.
Truth – Worry and fear in any negative situation that is already there
magnifies the problem more and keeps solutions away from us. Worry and fear
of any negative situation that may happen in the future is a negative
visualization in advance, which instead of preparing the soul for the worst
possible outcome, drains the soul of spiritual strength and sends negative
energy to the Universe, which can harm instead of help the situation. Being
concerned and not worried for our loved ones is a sign of our love for them,
which provides them the necessary support that they require from us, because
we are filled with positivity and power at that time. When we are worried,
we lose our positivity and power.
Belief 3 – Ego is power; a person with no ego is generally shy or weak.
Truth – Ego is a false pride, which takes the soul away from its true self esteem, which weakens the soul as it identifies with its physical self, roles and relationships, which is all temporary and changeable. A humble person, with good self-respect, loves and respects the self and others on a spiritual level and receives blessings from God and everyone else, which makes such a person strong internally and he or she is seen in a positive light by everyone. Such a person radiates positivity wherever he or she goes, making them confident and not shy.
Belief 4 – Lust and attachment increases love in a relationship.
Truth – Lust and attachment are desires of the soul to possess another human being, which drain the soul of spiritual power. Love increases in a relationship when we give freely to the other soul and connect to the other soul and its qualities, instead of their physical form and physical personality.
Belief 5 – Greed attracts physical prosperity and brings happiness.
Truth – Greed is a negative desire, which also brings with it dishonesty and untruthfulness in actions and harms relationships. A soul with greed will also lose its conscience as it sacrifices its inner goodness to achieve more financially or at any other level either in the family, workplace or any other sphere of life. Spiritual wisdom says, the more internally fulfilled the soul is of spiritual attainments, the more such a soul attracts physical prosperity and long-lasting happiness.
Belief 6 – Life is full of ups and downs. So it’s okay to feel happy when everything is going fine in our life and its okay to feel unhappy and get stressed when there are negative situations in our life.
Truth – Situations are different in our life everyday and everyday there is something or the other which is not perfect. So we go through cycles of stability and instability because of that. We even sometimes think that all situations in our lives are God given and God is only giving us happiness and sorrow both. But the Law of Karma says that we create the realities in our lives based on our actions in the present and the actions of our previous many births, which we have taken. God has no role in this and He is not creating each and every human being’s different life situations. God only gives wisdom and is there to teach us which actions are good actions and which are bad ones. The more we use this wisdom in our lives and follow it correctly, the happier we are internally always. Even if there are a few negative situations, we do not get stressed and transform those situations into positive ones with our inner positivity and always remain happy while doing that.
Belief 7 – Gossiping about others increases social bonding and gives us an experience of joy.
Truth – Gossiping is focused on other peoples’ weaknesses and their actions. It is said where attention goes, energy flows. The more we focus our attention and energy on others, the more our inner, positive energy reduces and our inner creativity and skills are influenced negatively. Talking about others behind their backs, sends them negative energy, harming the positivity and goodness of relationships and taking us away from the experience of joy.
Belief 8 – Jealousy inspires us to do better and achieve more.
Truth – We are all beautiful souls with our unique qualities and specialties. If we want to move ahead in life, we need to realize our qualities and specialties deeply and then use them in every sphere of life to move ahead. The more we use them, the more they will increase also and not only benefit everyone around us but also help us in experiencing success at every step. If we are jealous and focus on others specialties and success, we will never move ahead, but on the other hand we will experience an inner emptiness on a spiritual level.
Belief 9 – Having many physical attainments, possessions and wealth and having a good physical personality, looks and beautiful relationships gives permanent happiness.
Truth – The desire to accumulate physical attainments, possessions and wealth is very common in today’s world. There is lesser focus on the inner self, which gives permanent happiness and long-lasting fulfillment. We like owning nice cars, modern mobile phones, big homes, beautiful furniture and other material objects. We even love shopping and buying many sets of beautiful and lavish clothes and expensive watches and shoes. We also over indulge in eating, partying, watching movies and social media. But, in doing all this we forgot that all these things give enjoyment of the 5 sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and hands and they do not give permanent enjoyment to the soul. This is because sometimes some of these things can leave us in a second and when we are not able to have them for any reason, we can feel pain and get depressed. Inner happiness received by listening to spiritual wisdom and making the soul richer and more beautiful in sanskars will give us permanent happiness and happiness which is not based on material richness or anything connected to the senses. Also, everyone today is running after making their bodies and outer personality more and more beautiful and attractive. While it is not wrong to look good and pleasing to everyone and we should take care of that, but when we become obsessed with it, we can lose our link with our spiritual consciousness and spiritual beauty and stop beautifying ourselves with simplicity and purity, which will make us look good physically also. Also, beautiful relationships with others is one of the most important aspects of human living and is a medium of give and take of love, care and support between humans. But, we should not forget that we should not depend on human relationships for permanent happiness, because sometimes we might not receive from people what we expect and it can make us hopeless and weak at those times. So let us enjoy all our human relationships, but let us also establish a beautiful and close relationship with God first. This is because God is the spiritual seed of the human world tree and the more we love God and are close to Him and are full of His love, the more we will love others and also receive love from others.
Belief 10 – Connecting with nature and enjoying its beauty gives permanent peace and bliss.
Truth – Nature in its pure beauty is pleasing and soothing to the soul. But the peace and bliss experienced from nature is not permanent because our fast lives do not allow us to be amidst nature all the time. When we connect with the inner spiritual self and God, we are filled with inner and permanent peace and bliss. It’s good to enjoy the scenes of nature but we should also make the spiritual connection to enjoy every scene of life and be stable amidst difficult situations.
12. Master the Art of Self Control
We all wish to be in control of our lives in order to live well. It is our power to take charge of our mind, intellect and nature. And thereby automatically control our physical sense organs too. We do not get entangled in the musts and shoulds defined by the society, as we take care of our own moral ways. Once we handle the self well, we will handle other people the right way. Of all the things we wish to have more of, self-control must be right on top. It refers to our ability to control our ways of thinking, being and behaving. While exercising self-control seems feasible, there are moments we get tempted to act differently, and we give in.
Follow these steps to exercise self-control and experience well-being:
1. Self-control is a strength you can cultivate by exercising it in simple scenes of life.
2. During meditation, watch your thoughts. It helps to control your mind and create a beautiful relationship with it.
3. Choose a powerful and right response in every situation, instead of automatic, habitual reactions. Awareness of having options and making choices increases self-control.
4. Stick to your values and principles. Use them fearlessly with everyone and in every situation. For example, admit to your mistake and apologize even if it will have a serious consequence. Likewise, obey traffic rules even if you are the only one on the road.
5. Choose purity in everything you read, watch, listen and talk. Follow principles of right eating and drinking, without giving in to temptations. Do what is right and healthy for you, without seeking public approval.
Repeat this affirmation 3 times to put yourself back in control of your life. Watch how your mind obeys instructions and your body supports your goals. Master the art of self-control:
I am a powerful being … I am the creator of my every thought … word … behaviour … I use my mind the right way … situations may not be my way … my mind is always my way … I choose where to focus … what to see … what to listen … what to speak … I see goodness in every one … I am untouched by public opinion … I live a disciplined life… I am the master of my mind … I am the master of my body.
13. Let Go of Ego
All of us wish to overcome ego, but what is ego? Ego is when we wrongly make something that we have acquired, as our identity. It could be our qualification, position, skill, relationship or possessions. We live with a consciousness that I am this or I am that, attached to them. Then we expect people also to perceive us through that identity. When we say, She hurt my ego, we actually mean She harmed the identity I carry about myself.
Sit back and see how you how you overcome ego, with a consciousness of who you truly are. Repeat this affirmation everyday to finish the ego that crops from having something or having nothing at all. As you shift from ego towards humility you stop wanting love and respect. You shift to a giving mode, of radiating your love and acceptance to others.
Affirmation -
I am a pure being. I am clear about who I am… I remain in the awareness of my identity…I am a soul…I play many roles… I acquire a lot in this lifetime…but I am not what I acquire…they are mine… they are not I. I am the being…the pure, powerful, loveful, happy being… the energy… who has acquired everything. I remain aware…that I am not my name ... not my body ...not my relationships ... not my degrees ... not my designation.... I am just me ... a pure soul…. and so is every one I meet and interact with. I fear losing nothing. I am a trustee of what I have…I take care of them… but I am not them. I remain humble… I am light and pure…I live without an ego…of position or possessions. No-one is inferior to me…no-one is superior to me… everyone is equal…everyone is a pure, powerful being… I do not need people to be my way ... they can be their way… I will be my way…the right way…responding with humility and strength… I know who I am… I don’t compare…I don’t compete…I enjoy my journey… my feelings are mine ... not dependent on them. I need nothing ... I only give ... love and happiness.
14. The 4 Subjects of Rajyoga and their Significance
God is teaching us Rajyoga at the present time, which is the end of the Iron Age or Kaliyug. Rajyoga, in different forms, has existed in India since a long time and many souls have benefitted from it. But no one knows clearly that it was God who had taught the real Rajyoga 5000 years ago, when we were in the end of the Iron Age or Kaliyug at that time. Also, no one knows that souls got purified by learning and practicing Rajyoga and bringing its 4 subjects in their lives. Lastly, no one is aware that after purifying, souls went to a higher reality of purity, peace, love and joy, and the Golden Age or Satyug was created. This happened 5000 years ago. Now, we have again come to the end of the Iron Age or Kaliyug and all the souls of the world have become impure after a journey of different births in 5000 years. So now, God is again establishing the Golden Age or Satyug, by teaching us Rajyoga and its 4 subjects. What are these 4 subjects and what is their significance?
Let’s understand –
1. Listening and Imbibing Spiritual Wisdom
Spiritual wisdom is the first subject of Rajyoga, in which God shares with us the knowledge of everything about the soul, its spiritual form, original qualities, its original and eternal spiritual home and its birth and rebirth. Also, along with that, God shares the complete knowledge about Himself – His name, spiritual form, qualities, spiritual home and His role in the World Drama. And lastly, the knowledge of the World Drama, its duration and its different yugas or Ages and also its accurate history and geography. God also teaches that the World Drama takes place on planet Earth, in which souls and God play different roles and souls come in connection with physical nature. We learn spiritual wisdom and listen to it every day from God. It not only makes us wiser, but also fills us with peace, bliss and power. God tells us that we should keep the wisdom we listen every day, in our consciousness, while we perform actions in the entire day. This will keep us positive and powerful throughout the day.
2. Connecting with God in Meditation
Meditation is the next subject of Rajyoga and we can practice it only when we have first learnt and understood the spiritual wisdom completely. Meditation is a soul-Supreme Soul connection in which the soul first realizes itself and visualizes and experiences its form and qualities. The soul also talks to itself and creates a positive state of mind and a consciousness based on the thoughts of wisdom it has created. Meditation is also a spiritual exercise in which the soul connects with God or the Supreme Soul using its mind and intellect and the power of wisdom. Meditation is a subtle conversation with God, the Supreme Being. Meditation is also a cleansing process, in which the mind, intellect and sanskars are cleaned completely by receiving the vibrations of God. Meditation is a charging process, in which the soul’s inner powers are awakened. In meditation, the soul receives God’s qualities and powers and it transforms itself and emerges its original goodness. Meditation also increases our closeness with God and makes us lighter and happier in our actions, along with making us more efficient and productive in different spheres of our life. Finally, meditation makes our actions more beautiful and nature perfect and free from any weaknesses.
3. Inculcation of Divine Qualities
This is the third subject of Rajyoga and a very important one. It helps us understand and measure how well we are understanding and imbibing the spiritual wisdom in our life and how effectively we are practicing the meditation. A sign of this is that divine qualities begin to increase inside us and also, we start giving and sharing a lot of goodness with others and giving and taking blessings from every one we interact with. The more the spiritual power increases inside us, the more the qualities begin to show in our personality. Also, we become full of God’s divinity and begin to become like Him in being and giving both. Our sweetness, purity and humility begins to increase as we follow God at every step in thoughts, words and actions and our nature starts revealing God, who is our teacher and guide on the spiritual path, in different ways to the world and to every person we meet and communicate with in our day-to-day lives.
4. Service of others in Different Ways
The fourth subject of Rajyoga is service of others through thoughts, words and actions. Once we have understood the wisdom and have learnt and experienced the meditation deeply and also become full of divinity, goodness and angelic qualities, the last step is to start giving and radiating everything that we have learned and imbibed from God to others. We can do this through our thoughts and vibrations, through our words and through different actions that we perform in the day. The spiritual path is about filling in oneself and also sharing with others. Both help us understand spirituality and its significance more and they help us understand God deeper. If we only fill ourselves from God and don’t give, our spiritual understanding and qualities don’t increase as much as when we fill and give both. Also, giving should always be done after filling ourselves deeply with wisdom, qualities and powers. Otherwise, we end up giving others without being full of everything that we are sharing and that depletes us, instead of empowering us as time goes by. Service is a very important subject as it brings about inner awakening and brings us blessings from every one, making our life path free from obstacles and difficulties.
These 4 subjects which we have explained in this message, make up Rajyoga and all 4 have been taught by God. Many souls all over the world are learning Rajyoga and changing their lives. Rajyoga is taught at all the Brahma Kumaris centres in India and in more than 120 other countries and souls from all over the world are benefitting from it by bringing the 4 subjects in their daily lives. The daily routine of anyone who has connected themselves to the Brahma Kumaris and is practicing Rajyoga begins with practicing meditation in the early morning hours at home, then getting ready and then listening to spiritual wisdom, by going to the nearest Brahma Kumaris centre, after that. After that everyone fulfils their day-to-day duties of taking care of their families, going to their office or workplace, doing other activities of home and also taking care of one’s own body and physical well-being, all in the remembrance of God. A pure lifestyle is followed by everyone with pure eating and drinking habits and sleeping early and waking up early. The aim of the Rajyogi life is to purify the soul and also guide other souls to purify themselves.
15. 5 Steps for Connecting Children with God
1. Introduce Children to the Wisdom of the Soul and God
Children have an impressionable mind. Whatever you teach them they absorb easily. So it’s very important to teach them from an early age, about the existence of the soul and the Supreme Soul and their form, qualities, spiritual home and what they do in the World Drama. This will make them spiritually intelligent.
2. Teach children how to create a place for God in their Life
In the present world and environment, it is very easy for children to get influenced negatively and either not give importance to God or think He is just an imagination, which are common beliefs. So they need to be trained to remember God in the morning and before sleeping and also keep God with them in every action in the day.
3. Show Children the Path to Life Success by holding God’s hand
Children have many goals related to studies, exams, relationships, personality, health, sports and hobbies. By holding God’s hand, these goals can be reached easily. So children should be motivated to learn meditation and use their inner powers for success in every sphere of life.
4. Create a Collective Positive Consciousness at home
A good spiritual practice is collective reading or listening of spiritual wisdom by the entire family every morning for at least 15 minutes. Children should be taught to remember the spiritual wisdom the entire day and follow it.
5. Teach Children to Keep a Diary and donate their Weaknesses
Parents should teach their children to tell God about their life and write about their specialties and weaknesses in a diary. Also, they should be trained to donate whatever weaknesses they have to God and create new qualities. This will make them emotionally wise and bring them closer to God.
16. Is Reincarnation a Reality?
We are all spiritual beings or souls playing our respective roles through our respective bodies. We all feel ourselves spiritually when we think and visualize and act in different ways through our behaviour, based on our nature or sanskars. Also, it’s a commonly accepted reality that we change physical costumes or bodies from time to time and come in the cycle of birth and rebirth. This is called reincarnation. At the same time, there are many people in the world who do not believe in reincarnation and feel this is just an imagination and life is only a physical phenomenon and all thinking and visualizing is done by the brain and not the soul. They also believe that sanskars or nature are nothing but physical genes inherited from our parents, who give us birth and they are not carried by the soul.
Spirituality gives us the important learning that God is also a spiritual energy like us and He does not come in the cycle of birth and rebirth. He constantly stays in the soul world and only comes down once on Earth, when the world loses its spiritual energy and degrades in qualities. God fills the Earth and all souls who play their part on Earth with his spiritual qualities and uplifts the world again. He transforms the Iron Age or Kaliyug to the Golden Age or Satyug, which is also called Swarg or Heaven. God gives the knowledge of reincarnation when He comes down on Earth and reveals to us how souls play their roles through different physical costumes, from the beginning of the Golden Age to the end of the Iron Age and then again back to the Golden Age after God purifies the souls. This cycle from the Golden Age to the Iron Age repeats again and again.
17. You can change any Habit
Have you said to someone or has someone told you - You have made a particular habit since childhood, you will never change. Do you believe it is difficult or impossible to change a habit especially if it is a strong and old one? First we need to change our habit of saying I cannot change habits. Absolutely any unhealthy or uncomfortable habit can be changed. Let’s not say I have such an old habit of coming late… habit of gossiping… habit of being irritable… habit of skipping breakfast…So I cannot change. Anything we repeatedly do becomes our habit. Now by avoiding or changing a few times, the old habit gets finished. We need to constantly work on it even if we failed earlier. If we give up, it becomes stronger and our will power becomes weaker. Let’s confront our uncomfortable habits and ask ourselves – Why should I change this habit? How to change? Do I want to change? Once our want to change is strong, changing becomes simple.
Is there anyone we know who has never changed a habit? Pretty sure there can be no-one. Each of us have created certain habits and changed them for some reason. The wrong belief that we cannot change habits makes negative habits stronger and blocks our transformation. Sit back and check how you control your habits, and your habits no longer control you. As you check repeatedly and create thoughts of what you want your reality to be, your will power increases. You let go of uncomfortable habits, dependencies and addictions. You will easily be able to choose what stays on your mind. There will be no habit that you cannot change. Not just small habits like drinking too much tea or coffee or watching TV while eating, you can get over deeper addictions. You will eventually become who you wish to be.
18. Honour every Commitment
We all want to consistently deliver on our commitments and meet our deadlines. When we make a commitment, we are giving a word. It means we send a message to our body and mind, and also a message to the world around us about our intentions. And by doing what we said we will do, we not only win the trust of other people, but we also become respectable in our own eyes. Honouring our commitments positively influences our character, confidence, integrity and self-image. Most times we find a way to fulfil our commitments. But sometimes we just don’t do what we promised to do. We either under-perform or over-commit. Except the obviously unavoidable scenarios, we need to practice honouring every commitment.
Follow these steps to deliver on commitments and strengthen your integrity:
1. You are not in competition. Commit carefully. Your commitments should align with your priorities, speed, capacity, resources and values.
2. Don’t just try, wish or hope. Decide and be determined to succeed.
3. Every morning, create affirmations of how to be and what to do, to move closer to success. Visualise yourself having achieved the goal. They are like signals to your mind and body, to co-operate.
4. Do not dilute your commitment with even a single thought of doubt or fear. Believe in yourself.
These practices help you take commitments seriously. Repeat this affirmation a few times to take your commitments seriously and deliver –
I am a wise being … I am sincere and disciplined … I have duties to fulfil … I pause to check if I can do them … I evaluate my time lines … I check my capacity … I see if it aligns with my principles … if I am certain I can do it … I commit to do so … I will do it … I achieve what I choose to do … circumstances may not be favourable … I am determined… I fulfil my commitments always.
19. Awakening the Positivity within
Positivity is our nature which we sometimes lose in our busy lifestyles. It is like the necklace which is around our neck, but we don’t realize that and we search for it all around. When we start the day, we need to fill our minds with positive points of information from a positive source. These points strengthen our mind and protect it from the negatives which surround us. Very often like the necklace, positivity is lost temporarily and is very easy to find, but the negative influence does not let me think of the ways of becoming positive and regaining it.
There was once a rich trader who always found a reason to become upset because of the smallest of reasons during the day. Every morning he would decide to remain positive during the day and would promise himself that he would not let his mind be influenced by any difficult problem he faced. But, as soon as he used to start his trade or business, because of the complicated nature of his work, he would fall prey to one or the other problem. These problems would be either from the work itself. Or problems would arise through the money he handled, or from his work associates or sometimes due to a problem created by his own mind. A mind that easily succumbs to difficulties can be compared to a home where a little problem in the form of a little mouse enters and brings disturbances in the whole house. When the house owner manages to get rid of the mouse and thinks everything is okay, a cat enters and adds her side of troubles and has the house owner go busy in trying to get it out of his house. The cat is then followed by the dog’s entry and the whole day the house owner spends in this way. The moral of the story is - the one who remains disturbed attracts disturbances, which he keeps trying to send away. This process or mindset of trying to keep problems away and becoming over-involved in doing that, in turn attracts more problems. So, remain calm when the first problem of the day comes and don’t become over-involved or confused in trying to keep it away. This is the primary step to keeping problems away for the whole day. Calmness creates a problem free environment around me and also keeps me content, powerful and peaceful.
Do you know that on an average we create a new thought every 2 seconds or sometimes even less that? This speed increases very regularly when we panic and are in discomfort or under the negative influence of an external situation. We call it external because the me or I which is internal is not the creator of the situation. Even the physical body is external. Except for situations from my own negative personality characteristics, which are completely the creation of the internal me or I, all other situations are external. There are various examples of situations in the form of negative personality traits which are completely internal. E.g. on a particular day I feel gloomy or sad without any particular reason. On another day I experience thoughts of ego of my own nature or positive qualities or powers which are all internal. Sometimes I experience fear but there is no particular person or object or situation which I fear, it is just a passing phase. I am just frightened for no particular reason or on another occasion I feel I am unsuccessful although everything in my life is going fine. On another day I am worried about falling ill, although I am completely fit and nor have I met someone who is ill or listened to any news regarding poor health. So, my worry is completely self-created. These are examples of situations created completely by me.
Then, there are situations from my own personality characteristics which are triggered by outside situations. Such situations include something that I read, saw or heard which has caused a negative personality characteristic to emerge inside me. Examples of such situations are – my friend has been more successful in his or her academic career and seeing that causes thoughts of jealousy to emerge inside me. In this case, this is my self created situation but it was triggered by another person or external event. He or she did not cause me any harm and did not create the situation but I created the situation only because of my thinking. Another example of such a situation - I fear my boss at office only because of his position being superior to me. He or she is a very nice person and is extremely polite with me and never tries to dominate me, but I feel dominated because of my thinking. Or another day, I heard a piece of news about how people are dying of heart attacks. This creates thoughts of insecurity inside me although I don’t suffer from any symptoms like uncontrolled high cholesterol or high blood pressure which could possibly lead to that.
We have already shared examples of situations which are self-created. These situations are created by my own mind, sometimes triggered by an external situation and sometimes there is no external event responsible for the situation. Then there are other situations of the physical body, relationship based situations and situations related to my workplace and home. All these situations are partly external and partly internal i.e. there is an external event present which is a reality and cannot be overlooked. This is true except in many cases when the situation is perceived as a situation but that is just a perception of a person with a negative perception, but in reality the situation does not exist. In all other cases, the situation is present and that is a fact accepted by even a person with a positive perception. Depending on how we perceive the situation, how we react to it and what thoughts we create on seeing it, the situation becomes big or small in our own mind first. But there is another aspect – sometimes some life situations are threatening in nature and can disturb the most powerful of souls. Of course, the intensity of the fear varies from person to person depending on the perception. A calm mind with a powerful intellect can face all these situations. Also, techniques like meditation which are taught by the Brahma Kumaris will help you in doing that.
Meditation is a process of thought training - just like a cricketer will practice very carefully how he will play each ball that he faces to achieve the desired result of a run or runs scored. In the same way, I learn how to give each thought of mine value and create only positive thoughts in the few minutes of meditation, when I practice the meditation. These positive thoughts are based on spiritual knowledge and are thoughts about the spiritual self and God - the Supreme Being. These positive thoughts are created very slowly, step by step and carefully. This meditation practice of about a few minutes every day is our training for actual negative situations. Then, due to this practice, when there are negative situations in our life, we remain calm and create only positive thoughts and keep the negative thoughts away which cause disturbances in our mind and in our life.