Value: Salutations to Guru - May 2025

Second Week: Take His guidance - pariprashna

There is a distinction between doubt and questioning. A person who lacks faith in the Guru may have doubts about the Guru's guidance or teachings. In contrast, someone who faithfully follows the Guru's teachings may have questions that arise from a desire for clarity in the understanding.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna poses many questions to Lord Krishna, not due to lack of faith but because he seeks deeper insights. Lord Krishna cautions, "संशयात्मा विनश्यति," which translates to "a person filled with doubt perishes." The term "prashna" refers to inquiry and the pursuit of clarity.

Take up to study Gurudev's original writings

The wisdom of a true teacher is reflected in their creative approaches to teaching. Pujya Gurudev's original writings are both practical and easy to understand. Reflecting on these can help align our minds with His. I can share a personal experience to illustrate this.

During my time at Yuvakendra, we held youth meetings every Sunday. One week, our discussion focused on the topics of proficiency and efficiency. Gurudev provided valuable guidance when he said, "Efficiency is the capacity to bring proficiency into action." Although this statement seems straightforward, we debated whether efficiency actually requires proficiency. Opinions were divided; some agreed while others disagreed.

The following week, one of the youth members came to the meeting with a bright smile, sharing that he got the job he applied for. He mentioned that during the job interview, he was asked to discuss efficiency. He credited our discussion from the study class as a significant help in articulating his thoughts clearly on the subject.

I have no doubt in my mind that when we make it a daily habit to read His writings, our minds can easily enter into the mood of contemplation, leading to clarity in thinking.

Reflect on the teachings

In Sanskrit, the term for reflection is 'Mananam,' which also means 'churning the thoughts.' This process is akin to churning milk to extract the hidden butter. Once the butter is obtained, the remaining curd holds little value. Similarly, in the study of scriptures, the true essence is what one seeks to uncover.

According to Adi Shankaracharya's "Atma Bodha" (25), the phrase 'I know' arises from a lack of discrimination between the Existence-Knowledge aspect of the Atman (Self) and the thoughts produced by the intellect. Just as the reflection of sunlight appears bright when the water is calm, we can perceive the pure reflection of the Atman only when our thoughts are quiet.

To gain a deeper understanding of these teachings, reflect on the rationale behind your Guru's advice. By recognizing this, you can work on reducing conflicting thoughts. Engaging in excessive study or debate is futile if it does not lead to inner stillness.

 Value: Salutations to Guru - May 2025

First Week: Submit the Mind - pranipada

Pujya Gurudev said, "Man is what his faith is." This concept is inspired by Lord Krishna's teaching in the Bhagavad Gita (17:3), which states, "यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः."  Our thoughts are shaped by our beliefs. If you believe that wealth can bring more joy into your life, your thoughts will focus on seeking more wealth. Others may prioritize health over wealth, and so on.

 

As you gain maturity in your thinking and reflection, you begin to develop faith in spiritual knowledge and the pursuit of liberation. This leads to building faith in your Guru, whose words and guidance become paramount in your life. Fondly remembering the Guru with deep reverence will become second nature to you.

Japa - daily repeat 108 names of Pujya Gurudev

The qualities of a Guru serve as the sadhana (spiritual practice) for seekers (सिद्धस्य लक्षणानि साधकस्य साधनानि). Many seekers are often unsure about where to begin their spiritual journey. What is the first step? We can start by recalling the qualities of Gurudev as indicated in the 108 names. Daily chanting and remembering Him as the embodiment of those qualities will inspire us to elevate our spiritual awareness. Take, for example, the first name, Ajah, which means 'unborn.' Upon reflection, you will realize that this does not refer to His physical body or mind. He embodies Chinmaya, the Pure Consciousness that is unborn. If that is the case, who am I? I am also the same unborn Pure Consciousness. I, too, am the beginningless presence that knows no death. I am immortal. So, where is the fear of change and death? Everyone around me is also immortal by nature. I do not need to grieve for anyone's departure. Instead, I only need to pray that the immortal soul that left the body discovers this truth sooner rather than later. This includes me too. This is how to reflect.

Keep Him near you

We cannot expect the loving Guru to be physically present with us. But we can uplift our mind to recognize His constant presence. If we have true reverence to Gurudev, we will not say, do or even think anything immoral, unethical or vulgar. This is a simple discipline every disciple of Gurudev follows.

Even while doing the daily chores, feel His company as if He is watching you doing what you do. His advice has been: 'Keep the mind where the hand is!' More so, one should recognize His presence while chanting His holy names. If you are doing the paduka puja, feel that you are offering the puja at His very own lotus feet.

 Value: Self-honesty - April 2025

Fifth Week: Promise not to compromise

Self-honesty in spiritual terms means abiding by what is true. In the Mundaka Upanishad, truth is given a revered status: "सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं सत्येन पन्था विततो देवयानः" – "Truth alone prevails, not falsehood. By truth, the path is laid out, the Way of the Gods."

Lord Sri Rama honored His father's promise to Kaikeyi, fully aware that keeping this promise would safeguard His father's journey to the higher realms. He assured Sugreeva and Vibheeshana that He would restore peace in their respective territories and stood by His promise. Promptly, He returned to Ayodhya to keep the promise He had given to His beloved brother Bharat.

What is your promise to yourself? Only by upholding your own promises to yourself can you be truly eligible to make promises to others.

Maintain the quality of your performance without compromise.

Only the faithful listen to the words of God with devotion. Both the words and actions of humans are observed by the world. Thus, everyone watches our actions, as they reflect our integrity and the quality of our thoughts. Excellence in our own work is a journey toward perfection. The Bhagavad Gita teaches us that "योगः कर्मसुकौशलम्," meaning yoga is skillfulness in action.

Performance excellence depends on four essential factors: 1. Clarity of purpose, 2. Skill or knowledge, 3. Enthusiasm, and 4. Consistency of action until the goal is achieved. These four components are also necessary on the spiritual path.

Daily, submit to God what you have compromised

It is unrealistic to believe that we will never make mistakes. Simply feeling guilty does not correct those mistakes. Living a conscious life means learning from our errors and not repeating them. To achieve this, we should work on enhancing our resilience—the ability to bounce back and refocus on personal growth.

Seek the Lord's help to develop this resilience. In your daily prayers, surrender and ask for His forgiveness for your compromises related to external excellence and inner discipline. Do not look back, keep moving ahead. Pick up from where you left behind. Gather inner strength with His grace to do better than ever before.

Value: Self-honesty - April 2025

Fourth Week: Be sincere.

Sincerity is not just a specific action or a daily routine to follow; it is a shift in mindset that occurs when we strive to align our thoughts with our actions, regardless of the outcome. 

 

When your child understands the significance of daily study and how it can lead to a better future for her, you do not need to insist. In the same way, recognizing the value of sincerity helps us break free from dishonesty.

 

If there is one key that can open all the doors in a house, we call it the "master key." Similarly, sincerity acts as the master key that unlocks the door to honesty.

Communicate the truth with love, sincerity, and with no selfish agenda.

As we learned earlier, we should only speak what we know to be true, either from our own experience or by referencing authentic sources. Often, the honest truth may hurt the feelings of those who believe in falsehoods due to a lack of understanding or evidence. Therefore, it is common advice that the truth should be communicated with love. It should not be presented as a command or a strict rule, as is often done in a court of law.

 

Additionally, the intention behind speaking the truth should be to benefit others rather than oneself. A Guru should teach earnest seekers not to gain fame as a Guru, but to sincerely uplift the awareness of their students, helping them liberate themselves from self-inflicted suffering.

A mother should prepare daily meals to nourish both the body and mind of her family members, rather than focusing solely on taste. When worshiping at the altar, flowers should be offered in prayer rather than just for decoration. Many such instances to practice are there. Engaging in these daily practices sincerely can help create a stronger sense of integration in one's life.

Do not doubt the sincerity of others in their actions.

While practicing values such as sincerity, it's important to avoid hastily judging others solely based on their actions. Every individual is influenced by their priorities, goals, desires, and past experiences. Similarly, your own thoughts and reactions are shaped by various factors, making it difficult to predict how you will respond in different situations, even with your best intentions.

Allow enough space for improvement for both yourself and others. Be honest in recognizing your own setbacks in meeting your expectations. When you encounter difficulties, pick yourself up and prepare to put in more effort to move forward. As Lord Krishna advised Arjun, “Lift yourself by yourself. Do not underestimate your own self.”

 Value: Self-honesty - April 2025

Third Week: Be true to yourself

In Sanskrit, reference to someone who is away is third person (प्रथम पुरुष), the one in front is second person (मध्यम पुरुष), and the primary one, which is oneself is the higher Self (उत्तम पुरुष). Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita says He is the उत्तम पुरुष in everyone, the only Truth.

Thus Vedanta teaches us that our higher Self is the only truth. Being true to yourself means being the Self, being with God! Though in theory, this appears fine, discarding our false self, the one which we presently are, is very hard. As we study and understand our higher nature as birthless, changeless, formless Truth, we become aware that we, as individual beings, should not hold on to all that are false, illusory, and transitory.

The progress depends entirely on how eager we are to know our true Self and what steps we take every day to come closer to That. 

Only commit to what you can complete.

Simple advice from highly efficient individuals is to always fulfill your commitments. To achieve this, avoid overloading yourself with too many tasks. Efficiency is closely linked to not only completing a task but also raising it to a high standard while maintaining a positive mindset. The outcomes of our efforts should provide both inner satisfaction and outer perfection. As someone wisely noted, "Commitment is not just a word; it is action."

When you realize that your skills and resources are insufficient to complete a task, seek help or delegate it to someone more capable. It’s important to be honest about your own limitations. Ultimately, commit yourself to becoming free from all commitments!!!

Speak only the truth after verifying the source of information.

In the Bhagavad Gita 17:15, Lord Krishna discusses the austerities necessary for becoming an integrated person, emphasizing the austerity of speech. He advises that speech should be non-painful, true, agreeable, and beneficial, and that it includes the practice of studying scriptures.

Not everything shared on social media is trustworthy. Its popularity among the youth allows many deceptive schemes to spread quickly, creating chaos in individuals' minds, families, communities, and the world as a whole. 

It is best to speak only from personal experience. If you are sharing information that is not your own experience, ensure that you verify the source and determine its authenticity.  If people trust your words and they turn out to be false, you may be held responsible for the negative consequences that follow. Therefore, do not be afraid to admit that you do not know what you do not know.

April Week 3 Guidance Audio:  

 

 Value: Self-honesty - April 2025

Second Week: Be a close witness

In a place of worship, we typically act as devoted followers of God by performing salutations, circumambulation, prayers, and other rituals. The reason for this behavior is that we find ourselves in His presence, where the Lord observes our actions. If we bring a non-believer with us, they may not behave in the same manner for obvious reasons.

Most of us tend to act more appropriately when we know someone is watching. However, we often overlook the fact that the presence of God within us is always observing. In the Bhagavad Gita (13:23), Lord Krishna states, "He who is the close Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also referred to as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body.” Recognizing this truth begins with having faith in His presence both within us and around us.

Observe your behavior when you think no one is watching.

Are we being true to ourselves? Do we need someone else to guide our behavior to bring out the best in us? Self-honesty involves constant self-evaluation. When you take an ornament to a goldsmith to create a new design, the first thing he does is check if the piece is actually made of gold. Similarly, to achieve true freedom in our lives, we must honestly assess whether we are free from falsehoods and pretensions.

When you are genuinely hungry, you don’t pretend to eat; you satisfy your hunger until it is gone. We should approach the pursuit of liberation with the same sincerity, seeking it earnestly until we attain a state of effortless peace within ourselves.

See if you are living up to your own commitments, especially if it is regarding your spiritual upliftment. The values that we have discussed so far should have become yours by this time.

Align your thoughts, speech, and actions.

You are the sole witness to your thoughts. No one else knows them until you express them through speech and actions. If your speech and actions contradict your thoughts, you may feel as though you have two conflicting personalities, leading to a constant internal struggle. The Upanishads say, "द्वितीयाद्भयं भवति" - fear is the outcome of duality.

The nature of wise individuals is the alignment of their thoughts, speech, and actions: "मनसि एकं वचसि एकं कर्मणि एकं महात्मनाम्" - what they do aligns with what they say, and what they say is consistent with what they think.

Why aren't we aligned? It's because our thinking tends to be self-centered. We often focus on how we can benefit from what we say and do. However, if we shift our perspective to consider how everyone can benefit from our words and actions, our thoughts will become more unselfish, which will, in turn, align our speech and actions positively.

When we eliminate the internal conflict, we can easily attain inner peace and tranquility. We become instruments of God, helping those around us on His behalf.

April Week 2 Guidance Audio:  

 

Q & A

Defining my life goals is challenging. There are many facets- health, relationships, spirituality, work, and family. It’s a long list. I know that ultimately, all of them will lead to a better version of myself. However, I am unsure what to focus on and how to quantify it.  

• There is one simple life goal for everyone: to be happy. However, the paths to achieving this happiness can vary greatly. You don’t want to stay in an unhappy relationship, and you may be willing to change jobs for a better salary or improved opportunities. The key focus should be on what helps you maintain or enhance your state of mind. Can more money in an unhealthy work environment really satisfy you? 
• It’s important to explore ways to achieve inner tranquility and peace through self-study and reflection, even amidst external changes. Never underestimate the power of inner strength acquired through the right knowledge and proper guidance. Your level of inner peace is determined by how well you can maintain it despite external challenges.

Value: Self-honesty - April 2025

First Week: Self-alignment

One of the core values highlighted in the Bhagavad-Gita is straightforwardness (आर्जवम्) that stems from the root word ऋज्. The name "Arjuna" is also derived from the same, reflecting his character as an honest and strong warrior. It is this aspect of Arjuna that led him to question the purpose of the war.

 

An honest person does not conceal their opinions; they are bold and forthright. This quality can sometimes lead to displeasing others. As a value, we should focus on being honest with ourselves rather than expecting honesty from others.

Take time to define your life goals.

Often, we may find ourselves unsure about what we truly want from life. Are we simply following the same patterns as everyone else? Is our existence monotonous? Honest self-reflection is essential.

 

Sanatana Dharma outlines four life goals: Integrity (धर्म), Wealth (अर्थ), Pleasure (काम), and Enlightenment (मोक्ष). Interestingly, while wealth and pleasure do not directly lead to enlightenment, integrity plays a crucial role in helping an individual refine themselves to achieve enlightenment.

 

Self-honesty is at the core of integrity. Even when it comes to acquiring wealth and seeking enjoyment, there should be limits. As many religions advise, wealth should be earned through one’s own efforts, and pleasures should be indulged in mindfully, avoiding perversion, excess, or addiction.

If you are a sadhaka seeking enlightenment, your personal goals should align with that objective. For example, if you seek peace, you should strive to avoid confrontation entirely. If you seek self-knowledge, you should prioritize it above everything else.

Continuously assess whether you are meeting your expectations

Minimize your expectations of others, but do expect more from yourself than you currently do. This is the only way to achieve progress.

 

Keep a journal to clearly write down what you wish to accomplish by the end of each day, week, month, and year—goals that depend solely on your efforts. Regularly check if you are making progress toward these goals. Be honest in this exercise.

For instance, if you decide to meditate or practice japa for 10 minutes each day, focus on maintaining this consistency for a week. Continue this practice for a whole month before considering an increase to 15-20 minutes. Set achievable goals and avoid pushing yourself too hard at the beginning.

Try not to take on too many changes at once. Once you build confidence in your consistency and feel enthusiastic about dedicating more time to your growth, you can take on additional practices. Remember, do not compare your journey with others; everyone must walk their own path.

April Week 1 Guidance Audio: