Gudi Padva Message 11.4.

2013

Devotional Practice with Expectations

(English Translation of H.H. Shree Swamijis Gudipadva Message)

My greetings to all pious souls I get the opportunity to know you and understand you through the thousands of letters I receive from all of you; and I am trying to answer the thousands of letters sent by you through this single letter. It is possible that this same letter will also be the answer to the thousands of letters I am going to receive in future. Our expectations are always related to the physical body level. Whenever we perform devotional practice (sadhana) with expectations, it will always be at the physical level. And meditation should always be at the soul level; only then will we be able to achieve completion in our meditative practice. It has often been observed that lifetime volunteers who make a resolution of service come to the Ashram to offer their services, and also bring along some of their expectations. This means that they dont come to serve but come with expectations of obtaining something, and then go away after some time. This leads to a situation where they neither reach divinity (Rama) nor fulfill their expectations which are illusionary (maya). However, if they dont come with any expectations, they will attain their goal (sweets in both hands). Expectations always keep us (stationary) at the physical level. They dont allow us to progress spiritually. Many sadhaks meditate with their expectations too; but this is not appropriate. I havent read any (spiritual) books but I can tell you on the basis of my own life-experiences that I did not come on to

Gudhi Padva Message | 2013

2|Page

this path with any expectations. I liked to meditate and so I started meditating. I never had the expectation that I should gain something through meditation. I meditated because it made me happy. Later on, it became a way of life for me. Now I remain in a state of meditation for all 24 hours; I dont have to perform anything like meditation. I am still in a state of meditation even when I am attending a meeting with you or giving a discourse. You are not able to understand all this because you keep listening to my words or watch my facial expressions. But you dont experience my state of meditation. However, when you do experience it, your eyelids close and you too reach a meditative state. It is possible for all this to happen because you dont realize when the existence of the physical body ends due to the joy of meditation you experience, and when it transforms into a medium of consciousness. This is always a special characteristic of the medium. He has nothing that is his own if you look for the reason why he said a particular thing - whatever he speaks or tells you he has no argument in support of what he tells you. He says it because he feels like saying it. However, what he says is understood only after the passage of time because the medium is always ahead of his time. Even if an ordinary person receives information about something before time, he is not able to understand it. The fact that you have expectations means that you are not completely satisfied in life; and one who is not completely satisfied can never rise above the physical level as meditation is not a physical activity. The saying - One may receive pearls without asking, and another may not receive alms even after begging for them - is what happens in meditation. If you meditate with expectations, you wont obtain anything. And if you meditate in order to get happiness, then nothing more will remain to be obtained in your life! This is my personal

Gudhi Padva Message | 2013

3|Page

experience. Any Guru-karya that is performed with expectations will also keep your ego of I activated, as both expectations and ego are related to the physical body. The ego of I is your own and no one can free you of it except yourself! Your surrender before the Guru when your work is getting accomplished is not real surrender. True surrender is when your work is not getting done and you still have a feeling of surrender. Then when you think the work not getting done is for my own good that is the true feeling of surrender! I am narrating my own experience to you. My Gurudev hit my head with his sandal (pavdi) and broke my head. Then when the blood started flowing from my head, my feeling of Samarpan (surrender) did not decrease. I was sure that nothing inauspicious could ever happen through my Sadgurus action. If we can maintain our feeling of surrender even in such adverse circumstances, only then it is true surrender. Do you have such a feeling of surrender? Analyze your own self because no one knows you better than yourself. Secondly, Guru-karya is like the saying - Be virtuous and throw it into the sea (dont keep track of your good deeds) because we are doing it for our self-satisfaction and not to make a show of it. Selfsatisfaction is our personal experience. fame and exhibition are ways of taking ones chitta outside. Perform Guru-karya only because you enjoy doing it or else sit quietly at home and purify your chitta and mature it. Satisfaction is related to the Nabhi (navel) chakra whereas meditation is related to the Sahastrar (crown) chakra. The ocean of expectations is so vast that we are unable to cross it in our lifetime and keep diving into it all our lives. And I remain seated at the sea-shore waiting and wondering when you will come out of it, because thats all I can do! Come along! Lets make a beginning in the New Year today with meditation that is free of expectations and free of ego, and meditate

Gudhi Padva Message | 2013

4|Page

only because we get the spiritual experience (anubhooti) of happiness through it. If we begin to meditate in this way from today, then it will become our basic nature to remain in a meditative state; and we will obtain a state of total satisfaction through it, after which nothing more will remain to be obtained in our lives. I pray to Paramatma that every sadhak who desires this state may obtain it in this New Year.

Yours,

BabaSwami
11/4/2013