TRAVELS AND CONVERSATIONS WITH DAAJI, 16-18 January 2019
JAN 16. 2019
The Raipur Diaries – part 3
From the 16 to 18 January, there was a three-day public event held in the Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium in Raipur. All were encouraged to come from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the masterclasses. Each day provided a focus on a specific element of the practice: meditation, cleaning, and prayer. Such large public gatherings will now be circulated in general as Dhyanotsavs.
16 January 2019
After breakfast, Daaji was soon joined by a number of eager abhyasis who had gathered at the Raipur ashram. Daaji conducted a satsangh and then continued interacting with the abhyasis for almost an hour. Everyone was overjoyed by his presence.
Day 1 at the Balbir Singh Juneja Indoor Stadium
At 11 a.m. Daaji left the ashram for the public event at the stadium. Around 1,500 people attended, including about 800 newcomers. The session began with a short talk by Dr Pankaj Gupta, President, Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur. Daaji then spoke to the audience for a few minutes, before leading them through a session of relaxation and meditation, and inviting them to ask questions afterwards.
Becoming Divine Citizens
In his talk, Daaji spoke about the state of Samadhi, explaining how Samadhi brings us to oneness with God. “Heartfulness teaches us how to be in a state of Samadhi even with open eyes, even though the training is done through closing our eyes and meditating upon the heart.”
He explained how this experience gives us the hunger to grow further in spirituality. “If you experience this state just once, will you be satisfied? No, it is like being a millionaire for a day and then becoming a beggar again.” He then challenged us to go even further: “With every meditation, we will go through many experiences. As we continue to experience, we have to become something. Otherwise, the experiences are of no use. We have to become divine citizens, only then will we have contentment.”
Daaji analysed the Sanskrit word Samadhi into its two parts, sam, meaning ‘balance’ or ‘similar to’, and adhi, meaning ‘original, or that which existed prior to creation’. He said, “Our Soul has the memory of the condition prior to creation, which was a state of total balance. Till we attain that similar state of pure and total balance, restlessness will continue to be there.”
Integration
Daaji spoke further on the importance of integrating the material and spiritual aspects of life. We need citizens of the world who are paying equal attention to both the spiritual and material fields.”
He quoted a line from the earlier talk by Professor Gupta, “Chah gayi, chinta gayi, manava be parvah. Jinko kachu na chahiye, who shah ke shehensha,” meaning, one who is free from desires is free from all worries and feels content. One who does not want anything is the king of kings.
“Heartfulness advocates that we should not go so deep into spirituality that we forget our material and family responsibilities. At the same time we should not get so absorbed in the materialistic chase that we forget the purpose of life and bring our spiritual fulfilment to a halt.
“When we say that the soul is within us, then what is the need to search for spiritual fulfilment outside? It has to be experienced within us. Heartfulness teaches us to experience the Divine within, not after we die, but in this life itself. It can happen within a few years, months, weeks or days based on the strength of our craving. In order to experience the Divine, interest or craving are the essential element, without which nothing is possible.”
Q'A session:
Benefits of meditation
Q: Are there any benefits of meditation for the physical body?
Daaji: Yes, there are many. The best thing is that we are fully de-stressed when we meditate. Blood pressure is better regulated, the heartbeat slows down, our sleep cycle is harmonised and, most importantly, there is a sense of contentment in life.
Heart and mind
Q: You advise us to always listen to the heart. How can we differentiate between the voice of the heart and that of the mind?
Daaji: We tend to seek the easy path, the shortcuts, but if you ask the heart it will advise against it. If you have a question about which you are confused, then prior to sleeping leave the question with the heart, with the Lord. Within a few days, if not right away, you will have the answer. Confusion remains only when the heart is guiding but you do not want to listen to it.
Vibration
Q: During meditation or even after we meditate, we feel some sort of vibration. Can we call this the experience of the soul?
Daaji: When we become meditative, and are slowly immersing ourselves in a state of Samadhi, becoming absorbed and lost, then who is it that tells us we were absorbed or lost? Who is the see-er, who is the witness that knows we were lost? It is the soul. The soul can be felt only when we become meditative, when we lose body consciousness. Our intellect drops, our ego drops, our mind drops and only consciousness prevails, which in our ancient texts is described as sat-chit-anand [existence-consciousness-bliss]. Going below this sat-chit-anand, which is available by the time we reach sahasra-dal-kamal, is like committing ourselves to some sort of downward trend versus surpassing sahasra-dal-kamal so that the available anandam is again committing ourselves Homebound, to our Original Home!
Thoughts in meditation
Q: When we are meditating, we are disturbed by many thoughts. Can this be classified as meditation?
Daaji: In meditation, we begin with the idea of divine light in our heart and this goes into our subconscious. Consciously, at a superficial level, many thoughts may go on in our mind about our lives, but within, at a different level, the mind wants to be meditative and is meditating. Both the activities go on simultaneously. When the interest to become meditative increases, the superficial thinking drops. In Heartfulness Meditation, in spite of the many thoughts that may arise, a natural state of mind is achieved after we finish meditation. There is a feeling of lightness.
For example, if we are travelling by train or plane and there is weather disturbance around us, will we not still call it travel? We are travelling, although it is a disturbed jouney. Similarly, we may be meditating, but due to thoughts we are disturbed. Nonetheless it is still meditation. Try submitting your thoughts to the Lord and see the difference you feel in meditation. Our attitude and craving towards meditation is many times more significant than the process of meditation.
Sleep or meditation
Q: If we get into a state of sleep during meditation, how can we escape it?
Daaji: Don’t try to escape. Go to sleep. [The audience bursts into laughter.]
This happens many times. When we introduce newcomers to meditation in colleges and corporates, within five minutes several people start snoring. After the meditation is over, they feel they slept. So, I say to them, try meditating once more and show me that you can sleep again. When you cannot go to sleep within five minutes of lying down on a bed, then how did you go to sleep within five minutes while sitting? This is the effect of the meditation, which in Yoga is called Yoga nidra.
Congratulations!
Anger
Q: Daaji, I have a very short temper. Will meditation help me to reduce my anger?
Daaji: If you really want to reduce it, then it will happen. When the right intention is there in the heart then God always fulfils it. Anger is such a fire that it burns not only others but oneself too. God has given anger and it cannot be destroyed. It is a God-given gift and must be utilised properly. For example, if you have done something wrong, then why get angry at others? Be angry at yourself, then something good can emerge. When we are angry at ourselves, as to why did I do this or that, then slowly we will improve. We have to cultivate a feeling of humility and try to move towards God. When we try to move towards God, then our hearts melt. Softness and a loving heart develop. A loving heart and anger cannot be there together. So, try to cultivate positive things. Instead of working on anger, work on love.
After the Q'A, Daaji invited everyone to come again for the next two days to experience cleaning and prayer and explore the importance of these practices in our lives.
Live Interview on INH News
After the event at the stadium, Daaji drove to the INH Media house, where an interview had been scheduled with the Chief Editor, Dr. Himanshu Dwivedi. Once he was seated, the editor informed him that the interview was going to go live across Chhattisgarh on their channel. It was the first live interview with Daaji on a news channel. Both the editor and Daaji had a wonderful and witty interaction, both on and off the camera.
The interview took place in Hindi and is available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qoRzBzcjDo
Heartfulness Lounge at Magento Mall
In the evening, Daaji visited Magento Mall, where a Heartfulness Lounge has just been set up. He was delighted that the entire interior design had been prepared during three weeks, and he was very happy with the location of the mall and the Heartfulness Lounge. The Lounge will offer the Heartfulness experience to the large number of people who visit the mall.
In the morning Daaji was talking about preceptors who would be available to provide sittings at the mall. It so happened, that morning, that he had started preparing an abhyasi as a preceptor. When Daaji reached the mall, that same abhyasi told him that his office was on the next floor and from there he could oversee the lounge. Master’s work is such that he had started the solution even before the thought of the problem came up!
To be continued
