Specialty of Sahaj Marg - Cleaning (Revealing the Personality, Chapter 6 by Shri P. Rajagopalachari)

SPECIALTY OF SAHAJ MARG - CLEANING

“Now we are taught to be continuously thinking. We are thinking machines. Thinking has become a habit we are not able to stop. Therefore, even in meditation, thoughts bother us. We cannot stop them. We have no control. We have no regulatory capacity over our own thoughts. 

“But what can I do, Chari? The thoughts bother me.” How do they come? If, in your house, flies are coming into the room, you look for an open window and close it. If there is a stink in your toilet, you look for the source and remove it. How can you be subordinate to your own thoughts? Why not look for the source of your thoughts and remove it?"

— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Relationships", pg. 52, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

The most common myth about meditation is that it is very difficult. Why? Because when we close our eyes and try to focus on one thing, hundreds of thoughts intrude our consciousness, disturbing us. The mind flirts from one thing to another so fast that soon we are lost in an ocean of thoughts. But what is the source of these thoughts? Our likes and dislikes, our desires/ temptations and fears - anything that makes an impression on our heart and mind. 

Chariji (the previous SRCM President) explains beautifully in one of his talks that temptations, fears etc. are not in the object, but in ourselves. Two people are not tempted by the same thing. If six men walk on the street, one walks into the bar, another goes behind a woman and four just walk on. Why did the first man get tempted by the bar, the second by the beautiful woman and the other four were unaffected by either of them? Because something inside them are pulled towards these things. Something inside us bind us to our tendencies, desires and fears. And until these are minimized or removed, thoughts about these will disturb us during meditation. 

The Sahaj Marg System of Raja Yoga teaches its aspirants a unique technique called the cleaning. Through this process of cleaning, SRCM abhyasis easily clean these impressions. So when we meditate the next morning, we have lesser number of thoughts that disturb us. And with the help of yogic transmission (pranahuti) and the enormous help that we receive from the current Sahaj Marg Master Shri Kamlesh D. Patel and the hierarchy of the Masters of Sahaj Marg during every meditation and satsangh, the grip that tendencies, desires and fears have on us is minimized. Thus transformation  and evolution becomes very simple. 

Three Instruments of Sahaj Marg - Revealing the Personality, Chapter 5 by P. Rajagopalachari

Three Instruments of Sahaj Marg

“Now how can I avoid guilt except by being, or leading my life in such a way that I don’t have to feel guilty about anything. You know, if I go to a shop and quietly put something in my pocket and walk out, I am a thief. I may not be caught, but I am a thief. Sometime, somewhere I will feel guilty about it. People have been known to send back money to their offices, stolen goods to hotel and restaurants. “Please excuse me, I took this away in 1986, but I feel guilty. I want to return it to you.” People have even sent tax to governments like that. 

So you see, guilt arises out of our own judgment about our own selves. It is not something to do with God or religion or the Pope or the archbishop. We are always tending to blame religion. It’s not religion that makes you feel guilty. It is you who feel guilty about yourself. 

And you can only overcome this by correcting yourself in such a way that the guilt is erased. My Master, Babuji Maharaj said, “What you have done in your past, you cannot change.” Absolutely. It is finished. But does it mean I am condemned? No. Why? Because I have a right to change my life in such a way that the past has no effect upon me - through cleaning, through meditation. Cleaning gets rid of the past, meditation creates the future, remembrance now prevents me from indulging in my fancies. In His remembrance, what I do is always right. 

So you see, the three instruments of Sahaj Marg - cleaning, meditation, constant remembrance - in my mind, they are infallible, unbeatable, totally effective instruments. 

Being new abhyasis, I hope you will all do these things sincerely. It is not done in one day, obviously. So the aim of Sahaj Marg is to make this cleaning possible within, say, a few years, through doses of transmission. Fill you with the divine light. Strengthen you from inside through constant remembrance. Make all circumstances of this life almost totally ineffective as far as you are concerned. They don’t impinge upon you. They don’t create any more impressions upon you. 

So this is the divine possibility that is offered here.”

 — Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Talk to New Abhyasis", pg. 44-45, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

Guilt is an emotion every one of us feels when we do something against our heart. No one escapes it. And this burden weighs our hearts, becoming heavier and heavier as it piles up. All of us carry this burden that gives us sleepless nights, nightmares and interferes with our interpersonal relationships. But how can this be removed so that our hearts become lighter? 

“What we sow, so we reap,” is a very popular saying. And this is most apt for the life of the soul. Normally, every samskara or karma that is created by our thoughts and actions results in a consequence that we have to undergo in order to remove them from our system. This is called bhoga.

Sahaj Marg teaches its aspirants a special technique called the ‘cleaning process’ that helps them to remove these samskaras by the power of our mind. Thus our hearts become free of all these burdens of guilt, prejudice and other  traits that burden it, free to rise higher and evolve.

As Chariji mentions very beautifully, the three processes in Sahaj Marg (meditation, cleaning and remembrance) are totally effective when practiced sincerely. Cleaning removes the burdens of the past, meditation with the help of transmission helps us to transform our hearts and fill it with love. Constant remembrance of God helps us to be immersed in the heart through out the day, helping us to listen to the inner guidance that would enable us to perform the right action in any situation without forming any impression or samskaras on the heart. 

Now external circumstances do not affect us any more and we can live a life of inner tranquility, peace and love. We can live a blessed life.

The Secret of Rebirth - Revealing the Personality, Chapter 5 by Shri P. Rajagopalachari

THE SECRET OF REBIRTH

“Spirituality says, think of your life also as a vehicle. Between birth and what we call death is a transit through the physical world which must be treated as a school so that in this time that is allotted to you, or which you have chosen for yourself in the past, you are able to learn the lesson which, upon reaching your destination, you don’t have to come back again. It is not death. It is the completion of my journey.

But people are afraid of death, they are terribly afraid of death. Why? Because we are living life wrongly. Like a boy who has never studied for his exams. He is terrified of his exams. He gets nightmares. He doesn’t want to go to school. He doesn’t want to appear for his examinations. He prays that he may have fever or become sick so that he need not go. But Nature will not oblige so easily. So when that boy comes back to his same class the next year, can you say the school punished him? Or the system punished him? Or his teachers punished him? He was not fit for the next level, so he is retained at this level.

This law applies to our life too. Rebirth is nothing but my having to come back to learn lessons which I did not learn when I had the chance. So I come back and say, “Please, one more year. I have to learn this lesson because without doing it, I cannot go forward.” 

So please remember, rebirth is not a fact, it is not a punishment. There is no Satan, there is no God involved. It is we who are involved, each one of us for ourselves. Suppose I am going to Copenhagen by car, where I have a flight to catch in six hours. But on the way I find this very very nice ferry from Fyn to Sjaelland. It is beautiful. So I keep the ferry going up and down. I take tickets and stay in the restaurant drinking beer. My flight has gone. Whose fault is it? Can we blame the ferry? Can we blame the pilot of the aircraft who left? I have only to blame myself.”

— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Talk to New Abhyasis", pg. 38, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

In his talk to new SRCM abhyasis, Chariji Maharaj reveals the profound secret of death and rebirth in such a simple manner. Most people, consciously or unconsciously, have a fear of death. Why? Because what lays beyond it is unknown. In fact, what exists before our birth on this world and after our death is a mystery that has captured the fascination of millions of people around the world.  

Sahaj Marg teaches us that existence of the soul is Eternal and a part of the journey that the soul goes through is embodied life in this world. In a more simpler way, Chariji calls life in this world as a school where we come to learn. Learn what? Learn to love and evolve our consciousness so that we can go up to the next level after death.

So death is nothing to be afraid of. It is just a pause, where the soul evaluates its next step. If it has passed this test of life and evolved, it is liberated from this mortal world and graduates to the next level of existence. If it has failed, then it comes back again to this world to take the test again.

So life (and rebirth) is an invaluable opportunity for evolution that, if utilized properly, can take us to the highest level of evolution possible. Babuji Maharaj describes liberation as just a toy and that the highest state that can be achieved in this mortal existence is much beyond it. The problem comes when we get distracted by what we deem as pleasures and waste our life seeking it. And like Chariji says, we miss the flight.

So Sahaj Marg lays a lot of emphasis on fixing our eyes on the goal of life and remaining steadfast in our efforts of reaching that. In fact, the third Maxim of Sahaj Marg says, “Fix your Goal which should be complete oneness with God. Rest not till the Ideal is achieved.”

Babuji Maharaj describes very beautifully in his book, Commentary on the Ten Maxims of Sahaj Marg, how when our eyes are fixed on the goal every moment, all the temptations and distractions wither away like unwatered weeds. Now the entire focus of our mind and heart is on one thing. Restlessness to reach the goal increases and the immense power of this, combined with our sincere practice of meditation and cleaning, pushes us forward towards the final goal of human life.

The Blessed State - Revealing the Personality, Chapter 5 by P. Rajagopalachari

THE BLESSED STATE

In spirituality we say, “The happy man is one who is happy under all circumstances.” He is unconditionally happy - happiness which is unconditioned by anything. 

Because if you are conditioned in your happiness, when that condition is removed, you are going to be be miserable. This is what is happening in today’s world. I have a car. It has an accident and I am miserable. I have a friend and, when he passes me on the street, he does not even look at me, I am miserable. 

So you see, conditioned happiness is no happiness. We have to rise beyond what we call the temporal level of happiness where we are conditioned by the weather, by our friends, by our relatives, by our job, by everything, and go beyond.

Now, spirituality says this is possible by being permanently in touch with what is inside you - your inside, your God, your Father, your Self. If in that remembrance, you do anything, what you are doing has no impression upon you. You know, a common example is when you are deeply absorbed in a book that you are reading. Suddenly, you look at your watch and say, “By Jove! It’s three o’ clock!” You started reading at eleven. The passage of time has not left any impression. People walking outside your window has not left any impression. You have been absorbed in a book but, unfortunately there, the book is absorbing you; you are not absorbed.

Spirituality says, the inner state - if you are able to look at it, if you are able to establish contact and retain contact with it - is permanently absorbing. Therefore we have experiences during meditation of people who come out of it after one hour and say, “You know, I don’t know what happened today, but I was gone, I was lost and I suddenly woke up and found nobody in the meditation hall. Everybody had left.” It happens. It will happen to you too. 

So that state is what, in various religions, people call the blessed state.

— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Talk to New Abhyasis", pg. 36, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

In his talk to new abhyasis of Sahaj Marg, Chariji makes yet another profound revelation. Many of us experience joys and sorrows in our lives and the state of our heart and mind sways with the outer circumstances like a flower stalk in the wind. But a truly happy person is one who is happy under all circumstances. His heart remains cheerful and at peace even when he is surrounded by the most difficult of circumstances. 

But how can one achieve this state? 

By connecting to the heart and remaining immersed in it throughout. Which is what happens during meditation. The current SRCM President, Shri Kamlesh D Patel, advises Sahaj Marg abhyasis to experience the condition of the heart after meditation, become immersed in it, retain it and make it grow. When we practice this, we realize that we can be in that state of stillness and immutable peace throughout the day, irrespective of what happens around us. 

Now the next question arises: Can we be in the state of meditation for an hour, let alone throughout the day? 

Yes, we can. 

But, as Shri Kamlesh Patel tells all new aspirants, the best proof is the individual experience. Each person can try for themselves - relax, meditate and experience the infinite beauty of the heart and how a heart-based existence can be a blessed existence full of peace and unconditional happiness.

Accepting Pain without Suffering - Revealing the Personality, Chapter 4 by Shri. P. Rajagopalachari

ACCEPTING PAIN WITHOUT SUFFERING

“You see, we keep coming back to this idea of pain. It is inevitable. Why? Because the fact of releasing you from something by which you have become trapped, like a piece of iron on a magnet - when you pull it away, there is that separation, perhaps the pain of separation, even physical pain. 

So you see, liberation and pain are bound together. And until we realize this fact - that pain is a sign of liberation - we are going to avoid pain, therefore we are going to avoid liberation. The more we go towards pleasure, the more we are going into bondage and suffering. 

So, pain is different from suffering. This is something you must kindly remember, that there can be suffering without pain and one can have a great deal of pain without suffering.”

— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Symbols", pg. 29, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

In the fifth maxim of Sahaj Marg, Babuji Maharaj says, “Be truthful. Take miseries as divine blessings for your own good and be thankful.”

One of the most beautiful things taught be the Sahaj Marg system of Yoga is how to view pain and utilize it in the right manner for our evolution. The characteristic of this world is duality. So when there is pleasure, there is also pain. It is a common thing that all of us face in our lives. 

But the problem comes when we fight against it, allow it to bring us down, make us angry, dejected or depressed. Instead, if we accept it as an opportunity for us to remain connected to God and let it pass through without affecting our state of mind and heart, then we can sail through life in a peaceful and balanced way. 

Chariji goes one step further and differentiates between pain and suffering. According to him, we suffer only when we involve ourselves in our miseries - fight against it, instead of accepting it and using it for our evolution. 

The saints faced a lot of pain, but never suffered. Precisely because they accepted it as an inevitable part of their lives and diverted their mind from dwelling in the pain to the Immutable Reality (God). They sailed past all their miseries (and joys), being immersed in God.

And according to Chariji Maharaj, this is not a difficult feat to accomplish. Every sincere abhyasi who practices Meditation with devotion and sincerity would develop the courage and strength to endure the torments of life in a cheerful manner and acquire the inner strength to face things. The Sahaj Marg practice greatly help us to lead a life of inner balance and peace amidst all the turbulances of a worldly life.  

The Ancient Spiritual Principle - Revealing The Personality by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji), Chapter 3

The Ancient Spiritual Principle

In the East, we occupy the house and then finish it from the inside. That is the holy principle, the ancient principle, the spiritual principle. Nothing is completed from outside. It is a pointer to the fact that the spiritual occupancy in our heart must also be from inside. I think that it also indicates quite correctly that we must begin spirituality when we are not yet spiritual, and then create a spiritual heart in ourselves, purify it sufficiently, and allow God to occupy it. And then let him complete the job from inside.

So the real work is always from the inside. That is the esoteric, spiritual principle. I am happy that in that tradition, we have occupied this meditation hall. We shall complete it now from within and help it, or use it to help us, to complete our own purification, dedication of our heart from within ourselves.

 -- Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Talk at Inaugiration of Meditation Hall, Augerans", pg. 13, 

by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

While talking about the inaugration of the SRCM Meditation Hall in Augerans (France), Chariji reveals a wonderful secret about how everything must be completed from within. A magnificent tree grows from a tiny seed from within the ground. It then yields beautiful flowers and edible fruits. A fetus gains nourishment and develops into a baby within the mother’s womb before it is born. In humans too, this principle works best. For a person to change, there has to be an inner transformation before it can manifest outside.

That is why meditation and cleaning of the heart, as recommended in Sahaj Marg, is so effective. The current SRCM President, Shri Kamlesh D Patel, mentions very beautifully in one of his talks, about the various stages that a Sahaj Marg aspirant goes through in his practice. The abhyasi first starts with a thought that there is a Divine light in his heart, then feels this Divine Light within him. When he continues to practice dedicatedly, he starts meditating on the Source of the Divine Light. He slowly becomes immersed in it. Then after intense abhyas, a time comes when the abhyasi becomes the Divine Light himself. This is inner transformation at its best.

Book: Revealing The Personality by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji). Chapter 3: Inauguration of Meditation Hall, Augerans

The Human Being - A Symbol of the Universe

“So what is it that we are trying to create here? In the old tradition again, a human being is nothing but a symbol of this universe. We are each one of us a universe in ourselves. We have in us the wisdom of the owl, the strength of the lion, the viciousness of the tiger, the poison of the snake, the gentleness of the rabbit, the fleetness of the deer, the beautiful vision of the hawk. 

We have within us everything. Kill something outside, you kill that within yourself. Create something in yourself which is beautiful and you create that outside. The old tradition says that this universe is a mirror. Create a lion in yourself and you have created a lion outside yourself. Create fear in you, you have created fear outside. 

Create hatred in yourself, you have created hatred outside.”

— Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Talk at Inauguration of Meditation Hall, Augerans", pg. 19, 

by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

Chariji's statement that the human being is a symbol of the universe and that the universe itself is a mirror are profound revelations that has infinite layers of meaning. 

Many times, we are flabbergasted by things that we see around us - jealousy, selfishness, hatred. And in moments of self-importance, we condemn the actions of others while thinking that we are better. But are we really? Do we have no jealousy or hatred in our hearts towards anyone? Do we have no fear?  This is something each of us can introspect on, with total honesty and sincerity to ourselves.

The Sahaj Marg system of Raja Yoga teaches us that the root of everything that we see outside is within us. And that is why the aspirants of Sahaj Marg are taught to meditate on the heart, purify the heart through the process of cleaning and fill it with love through the transmission received during meditation. The more our hearts are transformed, we start viewing life and the world around us in a totally different way. 

When more and more hearts are filled with love, the positive changes seen in society and the world intensifies. In one talk, Chariji calls it, “The Ripples of Love”. One loving person transforms the people around him and they, in turn, touch other hearts in their lives. When enough hearts are transformed, there would a snowballing effect and one day the vision of the Spiritual Masters of Sahaj Marg would be realized - the world would be full of nothing but love.

Book: Revealing The Personality by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji). Chapter 2: Using the Heart

 Create Love In Your Heart

“Love is not something to be given and taken. It is a wrong idea of love. Love is something to be created in your heart. And when your heart is full of love, you cannot stop people from coming to you, like bees going to flowers. Or, like in India, ants going to the sugar. The sugar does not say, “Come to me, I am sweet. Come to me, I am sweet.” It does not need haircuts or good clothes. Its sweetness attracts. Where is the sweetness in our hearts? Only douleur, pas douceur. 

So if you want to avoid douleur (pain), you must substitute douceur (sweetness), and then you will find beautiful things that spirituality can create in you. And when the heart is full of this douceur, amour (love), even God comes.”

--  Taken from the book, "Revealing the Personality (2nd edition, 2009)", 

Chapter "Using the Heart", pg. 11, by Shri. Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

The sheer simplicity in which Chariji, the previous SRCM President, reveals to us the solution to most of our problems in life really touched me when I read this chapter for the first time.

All our lives, many of us look outside for love and seek it from others. Sometimes we feel that we treat our friends and family with love and they don’t reciprocate it as per our expectations. Then we get disappointed and there is pain in the heart that blocks us from opening up to them again. And the relationship sours.

The Sahaj Marg system of Yoga teaches us to create love in our hearts and live by it every moment without any expectation. Then a miracle happens that people automatically start becoming attracted to the love they feel inside us. And when the love in our hearts becomes purer and purer, it attracts even God.

In another talk, Chariji describes the Transmission received by Sahaj Marg abhyasis (aspirants) during Meditation as the energy of pure love - an energy that fills our hearts with love and transforms our lives.

It has certainly transformed mine!

Book: Revealing The Personality by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji). Chapter 1: Beyond Pain

Book Review: Revealing The Personality written by Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji)

This book contains talks given by Chariji during his visits to Eastern and Western European countries in 1993.


Chapter 1: Beyond Pain.

It is interesting that when mankind all over is trying their best to "avoid" pain, Chariji talks about "beyond" pain. He says that there is nothing like my pain and that pain, suffering, loneliness, are all common.  Further, if our goal is to merge with the infinite, it means merging into common mass of identification. And clarifies that infinite is not some sort of superstar hotel devoid of any pain.
  So when Chariji talks about beyond pain, he is prodding us to face the pain and suffer as quickly as possible and then forget it. There is no point in lingering with remembrance of the pain. For a person with such an attitude, the pain will now run away from him.


Chariji Quotes: "Mastery mean mastery over pain".