Bulletin No: 2015.64 – Saturday June 20, 2015

North American Tour, Part 1

Wednesday, 27th of May 2015, Monroe Ashram, New Jersey

Respected Kamlesh bhai arrived at JFK International Airport in New York from Denmark on the afternoon of the 26th of May around 3:30 p.m. He rested on the 26th and came to the Monroe Ashram on 27th evening at 4 p.m. It was a beautiful evening at the ashram, and the moment his car arrived it started raining. We all experienced the joy in the atmosphere. He was very happy to meet the abhyasis who had gathered to welcome him.

During his entire stay in New Jersey he did not speak after any of the satsangs. In fact, one day he remarked in his room, “I have been wondering what to speak all these days and there are no thoughts coming to me. My mind has been completely thoughtless. Maybe you should all ask me questions and that might trigger something.”

Most of what he said was during informal conversations with abhyasis. Here are some notes taken during the informal conversation before the evening satsangh on the 27th:

Surrender is very important. When asked about when to draw a line between surrender and being assertive, he indicated that one should not be assertive.

Cheerful acceptance is very important.

Sensitivity is fundamental to progress. He said without sensitivity one cannot make it to the Goal. We say we want to be sensitive like Babuji but do we have tolerance to bear what we see? He indicated greater tolerance will lead to greater sensitivity.

It is wise to trust people. There will be instances where one is taken advantage of, but in the long run one who trusts people will benefit.

Sunday, 31st of May 2015

Faith and attitude

During an informal conversation before lunch, Kamlesh bhai emphasised the importance of faith. He mentioned that a few years back he received a Whisper via respected medium, Madame Hélène Peyret, from a lady by the name of Uma, who indicated that she was a close relative of Kamlesh bhai. He did not know who this lady was and upon checking with his mother he found that Uma was his maternal grandmother. Since no one ever addressed her by name, he didn’t recollect her by name.

He said his grandmother did not meditate throughout her life and was doubtful if ever she took even introductory sittings. All she did was to stand in front of a photo of Babuji Maharaj and offer a rose petal every morning. Through this she was able to develop deep faith, a key to the Higher Worlds! In contrast, there are abhyasis who experience conditions and receive transmission and still continue to doubt. Such lack of faith will not help in reaching the Goal.

When an abhyasi asked where the Brighter World is, Kamlesh bhai pointed to his heart and said, “It is right here, in our hearts” It is here and now. If we are not in the Brighter World now we are not going to reach the Brighter World later when we leave the physical body.

Also speaking of the Spiritual Entity (SE), he mentioned that an abhyasi can never know when his SE is delivered to the Brighter World. Only the Master would know of this.

When a new abhyasi mentioned that she says the Gayathri mantra¹ every day at home, Kamlesh bhai told her that she could continue doing it, but that along with that she should do the prescribed Sahaj Marg practice at home. He said the problem with religious prayers is that we pray to God to appear before us, but if he does appear we don’t ever realise he is there. One has to develop the art of perceiving His presence.

He also said that we see pictures of Indian deities meditating. This means they are all meditating on some ideal. What are they meditating upon? It is something to think about.

Monday, 1st of June 2015

Sahaj Marg is a surrender-based system

During another informal conversation in the evening before satsangh, an abhyasi asked Kamlesh bhai how to get rid of certain character traits and if he could do cleaning with the suggestion that those traits are leaving. Kamlesh bhai responded, “No, it is better to ignore those traits.” He said that by solving one problem at a time it will take forever to become perfect. Instead, we need to find a way to get rid of all traits in one go. The way to do this is to remain focused on the Goal and ignore the rest. He further added that ours is a surrender-based system and the idea that one must be pure and flawless when reaching the Goal is also a play of ego.

Someone asked the reason why some abhyasis leave after several years of practice in the mission. Kamlesh bhai indicated that it is because they don’t practise as prescribed and therefore don’t change. He said wandering aimlessly inside the heart is the same as wandering aimlessly outside. We carry all sorts of ego traits and without proper practice this won’t change. Most often this is because we don’t want to quit our comfortable feel-good zone. He said that for one who really wants to change, a simple hint is enough like a horse who takes off even witnessing a shadow of a whip!

Wednesday, 3rd of June 2015

Be gentle and humble

Kamlesh bhai further developed the topic of likes and dislikes that he presented in Denmark. He explained that when we are absorbed in our inner condition, the likes and dislikes don’t bother us anymore, and we start responding rather than reacting. Any response will be backed by will and hence we will be cautious in our response.

He continued that the thoughts we have and the way we express them have significant impact on subtle bodies. Hence, it is very important to be gentle in speech. Our communication should have a uniform rhythm with no ups and downs. He emphasised that we must follow Lalaji Maharaj’s Principles of Conversation.

He also spoke about the Mission prayer and on humility. He said that the purpose of our prayer is to remind us of our goal. It is not to remind God that He is God. Prayer should create humility. An idol does not hear anything, but people offer prayers. If we can bow to an idol, why not to a fellow human being? However, things have changed and prayers have become transactional. Even in Sahaj Marg, when we hanker after Master for liberation, spiritual conditions, the Brighter World, etc, it becomes transactional and this will not help at all.

It was a very beautiful and relaxed atmosphere in the ashram. No one crowded around the cottage and everyone waited patiently to meet Kamlesh bhai casually and naturally. He lovingly greeted children and talked to them on his way to the meditation hall. He conducted the final satsangh at 6:30 a.m. before continuing on his journey the next day to Toronto, Canada.

^{1. A Hindu Prayer}