Question and Answer # 1
Sevak: Dadashreeji, the next question is related to the previous question. Our mind keeps running after temptations, very good. We also know that this is a temptation. We ourselves do not wish to go ahead with it. Many habits remain temptations. Like we know that we shouldn't drink so many cups of tea or I don't want to drink it, but still we keep getting stuck in this again and again. So how to get rid of this?
Dadahreeji: See if you are calling any habit as temptation. If you see any habit in such a way that it is a bad habit and you have to get rid of it. If you want to be free, you have to give time for that. Understand this first of all. It's not going to get better immediately. The way you take tea, I consume 10 cups of tea daily and you have to reduce it to zero.
I have to bring it to zero by reducing it from 10 to 9, 8, 7, so when you come down to 5, 4, 3, 2, then a cup increases on the second day. Okay today I have done three. There is no problem. Then later after a few days back 4, 5 and I was trying to reduce it, it increased. Then back again the struggle. Once again you go back to zero until 3, 2 1. Then you think that I have done this very well. You go to see a friend after 5 days of doing zero. Let's drink tea casually. For example, you are drinking, smoking, there can be many different habits.
You have to give time for that and after giving time, the second thing is strong intent. I have to be free from this but will give time. To be free is because I do not like this habit. Look at yourself this way. The resolution of your life, like if it is the resolution that we talked about in the beginning, if getting rid of drug addiction is the resolution for your life. Then you have to live according to your resolution. That's why if you have any addiction, you have to be free from it. It is connecting with your resolution. That's why you're doing this. Do you understand? If you are walking on the spiritual path and giving knowledge to someone or even teaching meditation to someone, then it is necessary that you have to meditate yourself. So, you have to create those habits in your life as are in accordance with the goals or resolutions of your life. Are you understanding? If your resolution in your life is to tell people to drink Ayurvedic tea. Then you have to skip the other types of tea like tea with milk. Are you understanding?
You view things according to your resolution. Don't say that everything that you see is wrong. You have to remove whatever comes in the way of your resolution. You do a lot in the 24 hours of a day. There can be a lot of wrong actions in that lot. You pinpoint 1, 2, 3. Many things in your behaviour too, wrong words are uttered while talking. Sometimes anger arises. We don't like that either. That too is a temptation. It is easy to get angry quickly. One has to be free from that too. So you choose that for your resolution which you do not find right for yourself. And then giving adequate time, that bad habit has to be replaced. To replace that bad habit with a good one. For example, if you inculcate a good habit, then slowly slowly that bad habit will go away and automatically a good habit will come. You have to give time for this.
Praying for this is which is linked to my resolution. Are you understanding? If you are smoking. You have a habit of smoking cigarettes, if you are smoking every day, then slowly leave it. Instead of cigarettes, whenever you feel like smoking, immediately drink some herbal tea. Drink herbal tea instead. You are smoking 10 cigarettes. So you smoke 9 times and suddenly on the tenth time you drank tea. Which tea? Ayurvedic Tea. Have you had herbal tea or any health drink? So you are doing something 10 times. Just don't smoke that cigarette in its place. You are doing something which is healthier for the body. In that way, you have to take out time for yourself and work every day with determination. This is your journey. You have to be good, the first question is this.
Everyone, do you want to be good? Then you have to start yourself. I have to take myself to that stage for that, wherein the temptation the allure that is around is not overpowering me. In fact, you should dominate. You must dominate over the attraction. Let your state be like this. It is good, isn't it? So try and you will come out of it soon
Question and Answer # 2
Sevak: Namaste Dadashreeji. While walking on the spiritual path, many times such thoughts arise within us that we start judging ourselves whether I am growing or not. Am I progressing or not? So how can we change this mind-set? Either way how can we get out of this mind-set?
Dadashreeji: See when you are on the spiritual path. Your only job is that which suits you which you like. As we said a while ago, there are different spiritual practices that you can do, like meditation. Every day you are sitting for half an hour or 15 minutes for meditation. You are increasing this time slowly and while practicing every day, you are experiencing some things, be it peace or liberation, experiencing that from within, and are moving forward. You are flowing and as soon as you check yourself to access your state, to see how far you have reached, you have to stop at a place to see that. You’re understanding, aren't you? You have to stop. When you stop, then you stop moving forward. You are in the same place. Like a bullet train is running. You will have to get down at the station to see where I have reached. You will have to look around the station. Which station is this? Where have I reached? You have to come out of that train and see the train, see the station. Spiritual progress takes place in the same way. To see how far have I reached, you will have to disconnect a little and then see yourself and you will have to stop to see that. Do you understand? You have to stop. People sometimes spend their whole life at this stop. The whole life. While walking on the spiritual path one sees some colours in the beginning. Then it seems that it is psychological, it is mental, ‘maybe it is some part of my imagination’. Then some different shapes and sizes appear and you feel that ‘I seem to be getting confused’. Then some voices are heard. Someone starts talking. Then it seems like a hallucination. “I have gone mad”. Then it seems that someone came and appeared in front of you and went away. Light came on. Hey, who has come all of a sudden?
So such things start happening. Then you move forward slowly, it seems that you have achieved success. Now I can see someone's future. Then you think “hey I have reached this far”. That you have reached some place, you have special powers. Hundred people don't have it, you have it, then the rest of the people will only come to you. If you have got that achievement then according to you, you have grown. Actually you have stopped. Just as you stop to see, you are no longer moving forward. You are not flowing at all. So if you want to progress on the spiritual path, then you have to learn to flow. To flow. Don't even look at where you have reached. As soon as you sit down to watch, you will stop. So why do you want to stop? I’m really telling you that the whole life gets wasted.
Three lives get wasted. Three births get wasted. Four births get wasted. Just to see that “today I have become a great yogi”. As soon you say that you have become a great yogi, three to four births are wasted. Are you understanding? You have to prepare yourself to keep flowing. That I must keep going, I will keep going. How will you even understand where you have reached? “Oh how far have you come?” Oh I have completed Bodh IV. I have reached till Bodh II only. Means he is ahead and I am behind. This is the equation, isn't it? Now that cannot decide your progress. You can gauge your progress based upon what your relationship with your Divine is. To what level has your Inner Divine within you been awakened? How stable is it? How peaceful do you feel? You can gauge your state your situation according to that and you have to look within yourself. Don't look at anyone else. So when you learn to flow like a river, the way a river just flows. In the same way, keep flowing and don't see what happens by flowing. People also draw water from that river for drinking. Isn't it? They will take and go away. If the river sat watching the taking away of its water, then it would stop flowing. It is simple, isn't it? So you just flow, whatever happens, let it happen. There are no numbers here. No labels. Learn how to flow.
Question and Answer # 3
Sevak: Namaste Dadashreeji.
Dadashreeji when there are elderly members in the family, sometimes due to their age, they suffer from some ailments due to which they are bedridden. What happens is that the young members of the family the rest of the family members, they have a thought that “I wish he could be free so that he will be free from the physical pain at least” or another feeling arises that “may he be cured”, knowing well that because of old age he might have reached this chronic stage where he would not be able to recover. Sometimes what happens is that there is such a bond between elders that one does not want the other to be free, they also know that they will not be fine. So at this time Dadashreeji my question is what should be our prayer and at this time of prayer as I pray to you in my mind to free them, will that have any effect on my karma as well? If I have prayed properly or if the prayer has not been done correctly, then I want some guidance in that.
Dadashreeji: When you pray with a pure spirit, bad deeds are never created by a prayer offered with a pure spirit. Because your emotion is pure. You have to express what you feel in your heart and to whom do you express it to? You express it to your God. So you have to say by looking at yourself, don't do it by looking at someone else. What are they thinking, what are their feelings? You don't see what will be good for them, what are they asking for? Don’t look at all that. What do you feel according to you at that time? Just let that prayer be conveyed by you to your Divine. That's all that you have to do. Because if they wish they can ask for a lot. They can do a lot if they want. Suddenly he will say that though I have just turned 90 yet his prayer is such that I wish to run; want to run and you know that is not medically possible. So you will not sit down to offer that prayer. You would definitely want them to be healthy, everyone should be healthy. This is very natural. But don't pray or don't think that because of your actions, that you are interfering somewhere in their lives. You don't have to think that way because your prayer reaches God. What will happen now is something that will be decided by the Divine. Your karma is not there in this at all. Just express what you feel in your prayer. That's all. Rest they can connect to God according to their own selves and do whatever they think is right. You just have to pray and let it be. Then whatever will happen will happen by the will of God, He will see to it. You have done your work. It’s right isn’t it? So pray with this attitude. Everything will be fine. Don't get stuck with this thought. Don't even get stuck on this prayer. God will see to their pace. You go ahead at your own pace