Arrival in Chinmaya Vibhooti

14 September 2010

We left Mumbai just before 4pm for Chinmaya Vibhooti.  Someone had been kind enough to give their personal Mercedes for Pujya Guruji to go in.  They sent a driver to drive the Ashram Corolla.  So we all set off.  Guruji, Madhabi and myself in one car and Parvati Amma, Meera and Chitta Bhaiya in the other one. 

The journey was smooth and we had some general discussions and chatting.  I got to pull Madhabi's legs and showed her the red ST limousine which I had recommended for her travel (red ST bus of Maharasthtra)!  Reached Vibhooti comfortably by 7.20pm or so.  Enroute we had stopped only for a few minutes to refuel and offload!

All the Yuvaveers with their Commander Swami Mitranandaji and the Chinmaya Vibhooti team members were present to welcome Pujya Guruji in Swami Sadan.  It was lovely to hear the chants resounding in the peaceful surroundings of Chinmaya Vibhooti.

Guruji sat down and started the informal discussion with the Yuva Veers.  They had studied Bhaja Govindam and so Guruji gave some wonderful insights into this.

Bhaja Govindam is repeated three times.  The first one implies knowledge.  Seek that which is told in the Vedas. 

To seek knowledge one needs purity of mind which comes from doing selfless work.  Hence, the second one implies Karma Yoga.

Selfless work demands sacrifice which comes out of love and love is nothing but Bhakti.

Thus we have all three - Jnana, Karma and Bhakti.

But at the end of all this one is going to die.  One can't be freed from death with this knowledge but one can be freed from the fear of death.  Fear only worries us.  Taking the Lord's name will free us from this fear.

But what is death?  It is not just leaving the physical form.  Change itself if death.  We must be totally fearless of change.

All secular knowledge should be learnt only for a higher purpose.

Bhaja Govindam tells us all to wake up.

Guruji went on to say that there are three types of people:

1. Those who are asleep.
2. Those who pretend to sleep.
3. Those who are asleep but think they are awake.

The first type are the ignorant ones.  The second have the knowledge but pretend to be ignorant.  The third variety are the most dangerous.  They are asleep (ignorant) but think they are awake (jnani). 

Well I guess often I fall into either the first or the third category.  Sometimes I do admit ignorance.  At other times I think I know the answer and the truth is that I really don't.  This only is dangerous.  If I stick to my guns and say what I think only is correct and the other's view points are not then this could become a sticky situation.  Here is where we all have to learn to step back and understand that often our view point is incorrect.  We are ignorant though we can pretend to have all the knowledge!  Easy to write all this now.  When the crunch time comes so easy to forget this simple nugget of common sense.

Then Guruji went on to say that Bhaja Govindam tells us to wake up.  The Upanishads too roar, stand and wake up (Uthishtha Jaagrata...).  How can we first stand up and then wake up?  Is it not usually wake up and then stand? 

A mother is waking her child up to send him to school.  He has to be ready by 7am.  She starts from say 5.30am.  Very lovingly she will try to wake him up.  He turns and says few minutes more.  This goes on till its 6.30am.  Now any further delay and she knows he will miss the bus.  So she rushes in and forces him up.  Imagine if she had to wake him up when the house was on fire.  Would she most lovingly say, wake up.  No she would just rush get him up and in his sleep only bundle him out of the house.  So in an emergency situation it is first stand up and then wake up.  Similarly the scriptures too roar to us to stand up and wake up.  They want us to understand the gravity of the situation.  We have no time to waste...  Our goal is too precious for time to be wasted in frivolous pursuits.

What a great introduction by Pujya Guruji for the YEPs...  It was most practical...  Something we can all learn from.

Finally he asked the YEPs to chant something.  They chanted Medha Suktam.  It was amazing to hear them all in one voice.  My hair stood on end.  The effect was most stimulating...  Then Guruji explained to them the importance of daily chanting.  If this is not done we forget what we have learnt.  He said someone can say where is the time to chant everyday.  Guruji's most practical answer:

Don't you bathe daily.  Yes replied everyone.  So simple, when bathing one can chant a few stotras, the Hanuman Chalisa etc.  Think that we are bathing the Lord who resides in us.  Chanting to the Lord when bathing becomes an upasana.  Beautiful...  Simply touching!

Simple practical tips from the Master who epitomises practicality in its true sense...  Let us serve Him by following these simple tips...

Lots more to come but I need to be like Lakshmana bhaiya - manage with no sleep!

mk