Visit of Kamlesh D. Patel to Gujarat
16th to 20th January 2016
Saturday, 16th January 2016, Ahmedabad
A few abhyasis came to visit Kamlesh bhai at home. He shared his views on destiny, saying that it is not only our past that decides our destiny, it is also our future that pulls and lays the path towards our destiny. The Source is yearning for us.
Kamlesh bhai went to the ashram to conduct evening satsangh. There were very few abhyasis. Most of them had come from Bheelwada and Sagwada centres.
Sunday, 17th January 2016, Ahmedabad
Today being Sunday, satsangh was at 7:30 a.m. and many of the locals were present. After that he went to an abhyasi’s home to solemnise one wedding. The abhyasi had not been well and Kamlesh bhai performed the marriage in their house so that he could attend. Everyone was very moved by this gesture of concern and love.
Later in the evening he went to the ashram, where one abhyasi from Babuji’s time had come to visit him. Kamlesh bhai spent time with him and later he joined us in meditation.
Monday, 18th January 2016, Ahmedabad
Kamlesh bhai conducted the 9:00 a.m. satsangh at the ashram, and then met some twenty ladies from the police department who had started meditation in December. He introduced them to another element of our system, cleaning, and guided them through the process of cleaning. Later there was casual talk with tea and snacks.
How to stop forming impressions?
- Perform your duties in divine consciousness,
- If you can’t do that, submit the fruit of your duties to the Divine,
- If you forget that, the process of cleaning can help us erase the impact of impressions.
- If you forget that also, then before going to sleep pray and ask forgiveness for all wrong doings.
We have to remove all our samskaras good or bad.
Kamlesh bhai conducted satsangh at 6:30 p.m., which he followed by a talk. Some excerpts are shared here:
Listen to the call of the heart.
Kamlesh bhai welcomed all the youngsters who came to meet him from the nearby centres. He told them, “One should try things in life. And anytime you don’t feel like meditating, then don’t meditate. There are times when you get bored even with the best things in life. Sometimes you feel like meditating for ten minutes, sometimes for one hour, so go ahead. Don’t stop this instinct or hunger that you feel inside your heart.
“The day you don’t feel like meditating, don’t meditate but don’t feel bad about it. At least connect your self with open eyes; be meditative with open eyes. Don’t say, ‘I won’t have anything at all to do with meditation.’ Because whatever link we have, if we cut it off it is like cutting off emergency oxygen to a patient in the ICU. Meditation is a link for our spiritual growth.”
Through practice, Sahaj Marg teaches us to access the superconscious and the subconscious.
Meditation teaches us, inspires us and prepares us for higher wisdom. According to Swami Vivekananda, one of the purposes of all these spiritual exercises is to allow the available consciousness with which we are working to expand. Our available consciousness is very limited, like a film of water, above which there is an ocean of superconsciousness and below which there is another ocean of subconsciousness. Through meditation, Sahaj Marg teaches us and prepares us to access the superconscious states to receive higher inspirations. Without meditation there is no higher state. We can lead a life like anyone else in the society and there is nothing wrong with that, but if we want to soar in higher dimensions then meditation is a must.
In order for us to access intuition from our subconscious, we also have a prescribed method through yoga nidra to dive deeper. How? Our evening cleaning prepares us for the prayerful tenth maxim. When we pray to God, “My Lord, forgive me for my wrong doings, which I have committed today, and which I will not repeat again,” that is how we begin to create humility. It is wisdom when I connect myself to God and say that I will not commit those wrongs again. It is a sign of wisdom.
We then contemplate on the meaning of our prayer, connect with God and sleep. Like this we have a connection even during sleep, and somehow we draw the nutrition from our subconscious.
So through meditation we are able to expand our superconscious, and through yoga nidra we are able to dive deep into our subconscious. That is how we expand our available consciousness.
What is evolution?
Evolution is nothing but adapting to newer and newer situations masterfully.
Know the meaning and real purpose of rituals in the name of religion and respect them.
Kamlesh bhai spoke about the village people who are very simple and still continue with religious rituals without knowing the importance behind them. Literate people like us have left them behind, thinking they are useless, also without knowing the real and deep meaning and purpose behind them.
He explained that our ancestors had created them for the good of people, and there was always a scientific reason behind each one. He gave the example of Ekadashi, explaining why our ancestors had invented this fast. On the full moon there are stronger tides and the ocean rises. Since our body is made of 80% water, it is also affected and our blood pressure rises starting with the 8th day of the moon cycle. So to balance this, it was recommended to fast on Ekadashi day, the eleventh day of the waxing moon and the eleventh day of the waning moon, to nullify the effect of the lunar system on our body. To know the significance of this one should know astrology.
On the full moon, a few people go crazy, some become violent and some become euphoric. This is also due to the lunar effect directly on neurotransmitters. It changes moods and perceptions. So our ancestors put some regulations in the name of religion for our own good health. We must respect them and know the reason behind them.
Q & A session
Why do we pray?
The earth supports worldly life. Dharma is there to maintain righteousness, artha to provide us the necessary resources, and kama gives us carnal desires so life goes on and on. So they have to be fulfilled, and there is also moksha or liberation. In order to live a life of dharma and fulfil our duty towards ourselves, these four things have to be fulfilled.
If you have fulfilled the other three and not moksha, life remains empty. You came and went empty handed. Then what? So our ancestors tell us to have the first three but also to prepare for moksha. In Sahaj Marg we try to balance all four. That is why prayer has a different meaning in Sahaj Marg. We don’t ask for anything, even artha, kama, dharma and moksha. We earn our own wealth with our own efforts, and the help that descends from above is in the form of transmission from our Masters.
Every day during prayer we have a special attitude or bhava. We should not put any conditions in prayer. Be open so that God can serve us better. We can simply request, “I would like to be with you or remain connected with you.” Anything less than that is not good.
Kamlesh bhai said that our positive feelings are very powerful, and explained it with an example. If you are supposed to go for an interview and because of negativity you don’t attend, what will happen? You lose the opportunity. So have faith and courage and move on in life. But if you don’t have faith and courage in your abilities, don’t worry, you can borrow them from God and say, “God! Having you with me I can achieve anything in my life.”
Silence is the language of God. Kamlesh bhai explained this very beautifully. During meditation what happens? We touch our soul through our consciousness. Just being there in that utter silence, the true osmosis with God happens. Language is just an expression of our feeling. Pure love cannot be expressed in words. It remains buried in silence. Language is okay but when feelings are there language is useless.
Why are we here?
We are here to become better and better in every way. Kamlesh bhai explained how this universe started with a single thought, a sankalpa, a big bang, and the whole universe manifested. If one sankalpa can create so much, then imagine what so many of us with so many thoughts combined together can create! If God created the whole universe in one Stir, then we can create many beautiful worlds here provided we lose our individuality, our ego.
He gave an example. Even in a family, if our ideology and our parents’ ideology match, then the atmosphere in the house will be beautiful. Likewise, if we lose ourselves and join hands with God, how many beautiful worlds can we create?
With this the meeting with the youth came to an end. Most of our young abhyasis had their questions answered and were very happy.
Monday, 19th January 2016, Ahmedabad
Kamlesh bhai conducted satsangh in the morning at the ashram and after that he gave a talk, snippets of which are shared below.
Our people of high calibre have misguided us by giving importance to Kundalini and other similar things. Babuji said that even Ravana achieved that and look what happened to him. Let us not focus on controlling the powers of Nature but rather work to control our mind.
To the students Kamlesh bhai said, “Study as a duty, not according to your likes and dislikes, because on this study lies your future.”
It was a busy day, meeting with many abhyasis and developing a new project. He then made the rounds of the ashram before lunch. In the evening he met officials from the Nirma University, including the Director. They all attended the evening satsangh and then invited Kamlesh bhai to Nirma University. Kamlesh bhai agreed to go the next morning.
Wednesday, 20th January 2016, Ahmedabad
The day started as usual with the drive to the ashram. One abhyasi was given permission to work as preceptor.
After satsangh, Kamlesh bhai was busy with emails and then at 11:30 a.m. he left for Nirma University. The Director decided to include our Heartfulness programs in their curriculum. Kamlesh bhai promised that we will be fully prepared from our end and more than happy to help the youngsters in any way we can.
Later he went to their auditorium where about 300 student and faculty were assembled. The Director welcomed Kamlesh bhai and all who accompanied him. He also expressed his thanks and gratitude for accepting his invitation at such short notice.
Kamlesh bhai address the student briefly and taught them meditation and relaxation. A few basic questions were asked regarding asana and thoughts during meditation. After answering questions, he wished them all good luck for their future.
This trip ended with great promise. Many seeds were sown that will grow in the nearby future, and we hope that the seeds sown by our Sahaj Marg Masters will bear fruit for humanity.
