Daaji began his day early today. After breakfast, he met Br. Mallela regarding the ongoing work on a book about Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
Talking about the excuses people give for meditation, Daaji said, “If you cannot meditate because of certain circumstances on a particular morning, he understands, he is not a dictator. But if time and again you excuse yourself that, “I don’t have time,” it only means you don’t have interest. And if you don’t have interest no one can help, not even God. So, take this work very seriously.” He went on to speak on the aspect of correct thinking, right understanding and an honest approach to life.
Daaji began his day early today. After breakfast, he met Br. Mallela regarding the ongoing work on a book about Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
Later, his youngest granddaughter Laya came into the room and, in her childlike prattle, declared, “Jhoola, jhoola.” Meaning she wanted him to take her to the swings like they had the previous day. Daaji obliged his youngest one and spent some time playing with her, after which he got ready to conduct a meditation session.
Daaji conducted a meditation session for the participants of the Preceptor Training Batch in the North Dining Hall from 10.13 am to 10.40 am. There were about 289 participants being prepared to become Meditation Trainers.
When he was informed that certain participants had tried to cheat their way through the exam, Daaji grew immensely sad and disheartened.
After the meditation, Daaji gave a talk to all the practitioners present there. Daaji emphasised on the daily practice and said, Babuji Maharaj often said, is for a preceptor to be an intense abhyasi. So, if you are still not practising the way he has been emphasizing, it is best that you don’t become a preceptor; you still have a chance not to become one.
Be honest with yourself. You can cheat me, you can cheat other people in the exam, and that is dishonesty. But when it comes to cheating yourself in your daily practice, you are responsible to the great Master. He screens us thoroughly; there is no better examiner or filter than the great Master. His eyes, his love, his compassion, his kindness are always there for those who are performing their duties in a sincere way.
Talking about the excuses people give for meditation, Daaji said, “If you cannot meditate because of certain circumstances on a particular morning, he understands, he is not a dictator. But if time and again you excuse yourself that, “I don’t have time,” it only means you don’t have interest. And if you don’t have interest no one can help, not even God. So, take this work very seriously.” He went on to speak on the aspect of correct thinking, right understanding and an honest approach to life.
Then Daaji said, “Going forward, I will raise the bar of passing the preceptor exam to 75% and those who score less than 75%, will need to take these exams again and again and again till you make 75%.”
Daaji then invited the top 10 performers in this exam for dinner, saying that he would like to see what has brought them to understand Sahaj Marg so well, and how they can help prepare others to be like them.
Emphasizing on the importance of books and literature he said, “If you don't have the books, how are you going to read? Do you all have all the books of the mission (Heartfulness Institute)? I doubt it. Then how do you expect to learn? Make sure you have each and every publication. You are a preceptor of the system. You are going to be the preceptor of the system. You cannot say, I cannot afford this book. I am not ready and willing to believe the affordability factor. If you honestly come to me and say, ‘Daaji, I don't have money to buy these books’, I'll give you for free. But be honest with that also. I always insist on – literature, literature – you must read it time and again. Literature, the books of the great masters – they gauge our progress.”
Speaking on the thoughts during meditation, Daaji said, “Often, Abhyasis ask me, ‘I have a lot of thoughts during meditation.’ We all go through that. I'm sure you all have felt that time and again, and even today during meditation, some of you must have felt that also. But if we read before meditation, it sets a mood, it sets a certain condition, and you are able to drown in meditation. Post meditation, you write something and read something from our literature, just for five minutes. That changes everything.”
After the talk, he met all the abhyasis present on the way to his car and went on to inspect the cricket stadium. After that he left for home.
After an afternoon of rest and tea in the evening, Daaji went to Kanha Sarovar around 6pm, where he was joined by a few practitioners. Upon returning home, Daaji’s friend Shailesh Patel called him to wish him belated birthday wishes. Upon enquiring about his health, his friend admitted that he wasn’t very well. Daaji immediately contacted one of the doctors and asked them to help his friend.
Later, Daaji met the top 10 performers from the Preceptor Exam and conducted a short meditation session from 7.34pm to 7.54pm and then joined them for dinner. During the dinner they had a wonderful discussion on the lines of:
After spending some valuable time with the candidates, Daaji joined them for a group photo, and asked for the photo to be added in the diaries.
Later, Daaji retired to his room.