The Godward March

Study Circle: 04/29/18

The Uttaraayana Punyakaala or the Makara Shank-raanthi is a holy occasion to pray to the Lord, as the Vedhas instruct you to pray:

Asatho maa sath gamaya (Lead me from unreal to Real);
Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya (Lead me from darkness to Light);
mruthyormaa amritham gamaya (Lead me from death to Immortality).

Use this day to address this prayer, sincerely to your Ishta devatha (chosen deity), your Aaraadhya-devatha (the Form of the Lord you like most). Festivals connected with the Moon and the Sun are celebrated in our country, in order to drive into the minds of men the importance of mind control (Chandra or moon is the Deity of the Mind) and of clarifying the intelligence.

(Suurya or the Sun is the Deity of the Intelligence). When the Sun moves North-ward—that is ‘Godward’—the Intelligence too must proceed Godward. That is the significance of the Uttaraayana. Putting your faith in the machines and machine-made things, faith in power of the controlled mind and in the potentialities of the clarified and purified intelligence has declined. Yanthra (machine) has eclipsed the manthra (sacred formula); but, this is a passing phase. Manthra alone can guarantee shaanthi or peace. A king became insane; he imagined he was a beggar that he was ill, that he had become decrepit, and he wept. Now, how is he to realise that he is a king? You have to restore his reason; that is the only way. So too, the Immortal, Blissful, Invincible imagines himself to be limited, and little. He blames himself and calls himself a sinner, born in sin and revelling in sin, praying on his knees to be saved.

Of course, if he knows he is divine, he will never stoop to sin or vice or weakness.

Swami says that the Vedas instruct us to pray :
Om Asatho maa sath gamaya (Lead me from unreal to Real).  

Reflect a little

1. In your opinion, what is real and what is unreal? Please share your thoughts.

2. Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya (Lead me from darkness to Light). What do you consider as darkness, and what do you consider as light?  Please share your thoughts.

3. Mruthyormaa amritham gamaya (Lead me from death to Immortality).  What type of death do you think this prayer is referring to?  What do you think this immortality is referring to? Please share your thoughts.

Do not seek the faults of others:

Discover for yourself your stage of spiritual development, to which class in the school you would fit in. Then determine to proceed from that class to the next higher one. Strive your best and you will win the Grace of God. Do not bargain or despair. One step at a time is enough, provided it is towards the goal, not away from it.

Beware of the pride of wealth, of scholarship, of status, that drag you into egoism. Do not seek the faults of others; seek your own. Be happy when you see others prosper; share your joy with others. However high you move up on the ladder of education, do not let the roots of Indian Culture dry up in your heart. There was a great Pandith well versed in Sanaathana Dharma and deeply attached to its practice. He sent his son overseas for higher education. He took him to the temple of his Kuladevatha (family deity), Kaalimaatha, and with tears of gratitude in his eyes, he showered on his head the sacred prasaad of Kaalimaatha, when he boarded the steamer. He wrote to him often, pleading that he should keep up the rites of worship, even in the strange lands to which he had gone. He was confident that his son will not give up the performance of the morning and evening ablutions and recitations. After some years, the boy returned by plane, in outlandish clothes, but the pious father believed that his deeper convictions had not altered and that he was genuine Indian still. He took him first to the temple of Kaalimaatha, for he felt that he had returned safe and strong as a result of Her Blessings. He uttered a sthothra and begged the son too to pray. He was shocked to hear the boy address the Goddess, Hello, Mrs. Shiva! How do you do?’ The old man’s heart broke at the discovery that his
son had cut himself away from the sustaining principles of Sanaathana

4. Swami says that we should be happy when we see others prosper and that we should share our joys with others.   What are some challenges that can arise as to hamper this practice?

5. What are some best practices to ensure that we can successfully practice this teaching of Swami?

Life Application Skill:  Please come up with one based on today’s reading.