Pravachan 1 : Importance of Spirituality for happy life and surviving during adverse times

India is the spiritual capital of the whole world. People from all over the world come to India for peace of mind. Sanatan culture is the soul of Bharat. Unfortunately, as spirituality and spiritual practice is not taught to us, our condition is akin to a musk deer. Even though the musk deer has musk (a substance with a strong smell that is used in making some perfumes) in his own naval, he is unaware of it and he keeps on hunting for it. In the same way, we all humans keep on running our entire life in search of happiness; but we are not able to experience this happiness throughout.

Very few moments of happiness come in our lives, or happiness is short lived. Let us try to analyse what is the primary objective of any human life. If you look around, you will find that all of us look different, we come from diverse backgrounds, we have distinct personalities, yet there is one aspect common in all of us. This one common aspect which links each and every human being regardless of faith, gender and social or financial status is ‘the desire to be happy’. We are not formally taught how to be happy irrespective of the situation we may face in life, and moreover the happiness gained through the five senses is considered bliss. We try to listen to good music, eat the food we like, go out on a holiday, purchase new clothes. From all this we try to gain happiness. The happiness we gain from all this does not last long as we cannot do these things throughout.

The pleasure experienced with five senses, mind and intellect does not last forever. Once that pleasure is over, one can become upset. Sometimes this negativity reaches to such an extent that one becomes an addict and one can even contemplate committing suicide. The reason is that we do not know that bliss is experienced by the soul. When a person starts getting closer to God he starts experiencing bliss. Bliss cannot be verbally described and it has to be experienced.

Hindu dharma describes different ways to move towards God or experience bliss; but people are not aware about which path among all the given paths should be followed. Hence, many of them follow that path which they like or which they are comfortable with. Those who do not do spiritual practice are not benefitted by merely listening to spiritual talks. Those who do not practice spirituality correctly are also not benefitted. Rather since their spiritual practice does not take place correctly and they are not able to get spiritual experiences, their faith in spirituality tends to decrease. Many people who visit several temples, listen to various spiritual bhajans, read holy texts feel that they know spirituality. In reality it is not so.

For eg: those who want to swim cannot experience the happiness in swimming only by mere theoretical knowledge of swimming. Same is in the case of spirituality.

1. Importance of spirituality

1 a. The goal of every living being – attainment of eternal bliss !

All living beings, from an ant to a human, all work tirelessly to gain supreme happiness, but the way to gain this supreme and everlasting happiness is not taught to us in schools or colleges. Everlasting and supreme happiness is called bliss. Bliss can be achieved only through spirituality. We will be learning different aspects of spirituality according to the relevant times.

1 b. Cause of 80 % of the problems we face is of spiritual in nature

Around 20% of problems in an individual’s life is caused due to physical or psychological factors. 30% of problems are caused due to physical or psychological factors along with a spiritual cause. 50% of problems are caused only due to spiritual factors. It means that 80% of problems in life are caused due to spiritual factors. The only remedy to the above is to perform spiritual practice. By spiritual practice, the problems are either solved or we get the strength to bear our destiny. Those who want materialistic gains, benefit from ‘sakaam sadhana’ (that is, practicing of spirituality with expectations), and the sorrows in their lives also reduce. Those desirous of spiritual upliftment get bliss by doing ‘nishkam sadhana’ (practicing spirituality without expectations).

1 c. Chanting is the only spiritual practice in current era (kaliyug)

For God-realisation, various spiritual practices were told in various eras. In Satyayug, all were in ‘soham’ bhav (one with God). The people of this era were so spiritually pure that the Path of knowledge was best suited for them as they could perceive God through the path of knowledge (Dnyanayoga). In Trētāyug people were spiritually capable enough to undertake intense penance and meditation (tapas). In Dwāparyug they could make progress through ritualistic worship (karmakand). Many Saints have said that chanting God’s name is the best spiritual practice in Kaliyug. Lord Shrikrushna has mentioned in Bhagavad Gita – “Yadnyaanam Japyadnyosmi” which means that chanting is the best spiritual practice in Kaliyug. The unique feature of chanting is that it does not have limitation of place and time. Chanting can be done at any time and at any place like while working in office, while travelling, while doing household work, etc.

1 d. Spirituality is a science of Practice (Spirituality is a science to be experienced)

Many people feel that as they perform some ritualistic worship, what is the need of satsangs? In reality, whatever religious practices we may be doing, we should see whether the said practice is as per the present time and if we are progressing spiritually. In worldly life we progress from 1st standard to the 2nd and then to the third and so on. This is applicable in spirituality also. Many people read spiritual stories, listen to kirtans, spiritual discourses, read spiritual books etc, but they do not put into practice all that they have read or heard. If we do not put into practice what we have learnt in spirituality, then we will only gain theoretical knowledge for years together. Spirituality is very vast. In spirituality, theoretical knowledge has not much benefit, but understanding the importance of spirituality in our lives, practicing it and thereby experiencing it is important. Saints say, ‘practice atleast one spiritual aspect!’ Spirituality is the science of putting into practice what we have learnt, and experiencing it. Without practicing spirituality, we will not get spiritual experiences. Hence it is important to understand what spiritual practice we should follow.

2. Ancestral problems and importance of Chanting Lord Datta’s Name

We will try to understand about pitrudosh (Ancestral problems) and importance of chanting the Name of Lord Datta.

2 a. What is pitrudosh (ancestral problems) ?

First let us try to understand what is pitrudosh. In Hindu culture, we give due respect to our parents. Hindu Dharma tells us about 4 debts that we have to repay. Debt unto ancestors (pitruruna) is one of them. Serving our parents when they are alive; and after their death, inorder to alleviate them from pitruloka, rituals like shraddha are done. Through this, we are able to clear our debts unto our ancestors. We use the wealth and property of our ancestors, but do not do anything to alleviate them from pitruloka. In the present world, people do not even have a feeling of gratitude towards their ancestors. Many people ignore the fact that they have to help ancestors gain onward momentum in their journey after death. So ancestors get angry on us and inorder to make us realise that we have to do something to help them gain onward momentum in their journey after death, they create problems in our worldly life. At such times, people try to find ways to help ancestors gain momentum in their onward journey after death. Those who remember their ancestors and do shraddha rituals for them with utmost faith, gain benefit.

2 b. What are the signs of Pitrudosh (Ancestral problems)?

Inorder to know if we are having pitrudosh or not, let us try to understand the various physical, psychological, familial, financial signs related to ancestral problems. Incurable illness, skin problems etc are some physical signs to indicate ancestral problems. Feeling disturbed, frightened, feeling startled, murmuring, illusion, getting nightmares, insomnia, obstacles in marriage, marital disharmony, not able to conceive, abortions, delivering a premature baby, having a mentally retarded child, child dying in childhood itself, not having peace of mind inspite of having lot of money, etc are indications of ancestral problems. If we study these problems, we will come to know that in Kaliyuga, almost everyone has ancestral problems – either mild, moderate or severe. Inorder that our ancestral problems are alleviated and that our ancestors gain onward momentum, we should daily chant ‘Shri Gurudev Datta’ a very simple and easy solution to the problem.

2 c. Who should chant Datta japa and for how long?

We saw the problems faced due to ancestral problems. To avoid any such problems in future or if we are facing mild problems we should chant the Name of Lord Datta for 1 or 2 hours daily. For those facing medium distress ; they should chant for 2 – 4 hours daily and also have darshan of Lord Dattatreya on Thursdays and circumambulate the Deity 7 times. Those facing severe distress should chant for 4 to 6 hours daily. We may perform rituals like Narayan Nagabali, Nagabali, Kalasarpashanti, Tripindi shraddha after consulting experts in this field. Along with this we may perform spiritual practice at a seat of worship of Deity Datta or serve a Saint to receive His blessings.

We may have a doubt in mind as to how do I spend so much of time to chant? The answer to this is simply start chanting regularly. Chanting is not bound by limitations of time and place. We can chant at any time. There is no restriction. When we are not doing any work using intellect we can try to chant in mind. eg: while we are having a bath, doing our daily chores, while travelling, while cooking, sweeping, doing exercise. Once we start chanting we realise that we actually do get sufficient time to chant. We all should keep in mind that whatever time we get, we can sit and chant with concentration.

2 d. Importance of chanting the Name of Lord Dattatreya

Since most of the people in society are not doing any spiritual practice they are entangled in materialistic world (maya). Since they are entrapped in materialistic world their like and desires remain with them after death. The subtle body (lingadeha) remains unsatisfied. Such unsatisfied subtle bodies remain entrapped in ‘Mrutyuloka’ (region of the dead). Lord Dattatreya is the Deity who gives them momentum in the journey of the departed ancestors. By chanting the name of Lord Dattatreya the subtle body along with other departed ancestors are benefitted in a short period of time. We should try to chant the Name of Lord Dattatreya with lot of concentration and whole heartedly. Just as Shri Ganapati is the Deity of intellect, Sarawati Devi is the Deity of knowledge, Lord Dattatreya is the Deity who liberates our departed ancestors. By chanting the Name of Lord Dattatreya we are protected from ancestral problems. A protective sheath is formed around the person who chants. We can pray to Lord Dattatreya before we start chanting, eg: ‘Lord Dattatreya, let my ancestors entrapped in ‘Bhuvarlok’ (Nether region) gain momentum and let them be able to move ahead in their journey. Kindly protect me from the distress caused due to ancestral problems. Let your protective sheath be created around me throughout.

3. Adverse times and the importance of spiritual practice

3 a. Corona pandemic and the anticipated third world war

We have seen that since the last few months a subtle virus named ‘corona’ has been creating havoc all over the world. Till 26th September, about 10 lakh people (9,88,532) have lost their lives all over the world. Around 1 lakh people have lost their lives in Bharat itself. Till now few crores of people have been infected world wide. Along with this, the attitude of politicians of other nations to extend the territory of their country, has resulted in them trying to illegally take over the land of the neighbouring countries thereby creating political instability. This has created a war like situation all over the world. There is tension at the Indo-China border too. So we never know when the third world war will commence. Though the above said factors seem geographical, we should keep in mind that it is the result of time cycle (kalchakra) and it is bound to happen.

3 b. Many Saints and Seers have given indication of the upcoming adverse times

The third world war will be so terrible that the previous two world wars will be like a child’s play in its comparison. The third world war will be catastrophic. There will be mass scale destruction. Many villages will be wiped out. We will need spiritual power to combat these adverse times.

Many Saints and Seers have already foreseen the coming adverse times. Nostradamus, a famous French Seer who lived about 400 years ago, had foreseen many events which ultimately turned out to be true. He had foreseen the first and second world war and it came out to be true. Nostradamus had even predicted the third world war. He has said that the third world war will be catastrophic and that the first two world wars will seem like a child’s play in its comparison. From this prediction, we can imagine the extent of destruction in the upcoming third world war. Many Saints in Bharat have also predicted it.

The founder of Sanatan Sanstha H.H. Dr Athavale ji has also predicted about the third world war. He has said that ‘the third world war will be catastrophic, there will mass scale destruction. Many villages will be wiped out. We will need spiritual power to combat these adverse times.’ The period from 2020 to 2025 will be that of catastrophes and war.

In 2025 a divine kingdom akin to that of Ram Rajya (Kingdom during the rule of Lord Shriram) will be established. From this we can realise that the adverse times has commenced and the corona pandemic is just the beginning. About a year back nobody must have thought that a subtle virus would bring the world economy to a halt; but since Saints can foresee, they give indications and caution us. If we understand the indications given and abide by it then we will be able to go through the adverse times with ease.

3 c. The adverse times is a part of ‘ Kalchakra’.

Corona pandemic has disrupted the economy worldwide. Unemployment and inflation affect the day to day life of an individual. We do not know when the situation will normalise. Though all are awaiting the corona vaccine, we do not know if the situation will change all of a sudden. This is the effect of Kalchakra (time cycle). This period is the end of kaliyuga within kaliyuga within kaliyuga and commencement of Satyayuga. This period is called sandhikaal (transition period). Though outwardly it will look unfavourable; if we do spiritual practice in these times we will spiritually benefit a lot. In this pandemic we have got the facilities like T.V, mobile, internet. When we will have to face a situation worse than the present pandemic, the above said facilities may come to a halt. In such a situation in order to remain calm, we need to have good spiritual power. We need spiritual practice to increase our spiritual strength.

3 d. God takes care of devotees in adverse times

If we have good spiritual strength, then God incarnates or takes care of devotees. We have seen umpteen examples of this in our holy books and Puranas. We all know about Bhakt Prahlad. Bhakt Prahlad was harassed by Hiranyakashyapu. Prahlad invoked God’s blessing and ignoring the egoistic Hiranyakashyapu, he started chanting the name of Lord Vishnu. To prevent him from chanting the name of Lord Vishnu; he was thrown in boiling oil, pushed down from a mountain and led to be trumpled upon by wild elephants, but he was saved everytime. Infact Lord Mahavishnu incarnated as Narasimha and killed Hiranyakashyapu. All these are not just stories from the Puranas, but even in these times many have experienced God’s blessings which cannot be defined intellectually. It is akin to the grains in a mill being powdered except for those near the rod. Similarly if we perform spiritual practice and adhere to it we will be not be crushed like the grains in the mill. Saints have said that there is no upward momentum without spiritual practice, no evolvement without momentum, no liberation (mukti) without evolvement and no final liberation (moksha) without mukti. So we all have to take maximum spiritual benefit of the human life we have got, lest our human life is wasted without achieving anything.