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Worshiping the deity of life (Jïvana Devatä Kï Sädhanä Arädhanä): Vangamaya Vol-2

Human life is bestowed on us as an invaluable treasure of physical, intellectual, mental and spiritual powers. Every domain of our life is endowed with such astonishing potentials which are beyond our imaginations. In ordinary case, most of us remain unaware of the latent capabilities and the mental powers hidden in our own self…. Arousal and creative use of these resources leads to enormous successes and supernormal attainments in every dimension of life.

Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya has described a human being as a ‘fallen God’ who has declined because of diversion from the ideal path of divinity and lost his originality. Man today is living as a social animal. Despite being the crown prince of the Almighty, he lives with scarcities, animal instincts, sufferings and pains because he has forgotten his identity and not paid due attention to know himself and to understand his own life. He does not know the possibilities of living an absolutely progressive and blissful life.

The art of living a totally healthy, happy, creative and illuminated life with righteous attitude and self-realization is taught in what could be termed as a practical science of spirituality. The endeavors of—- refinement of the bodily, mental and sentimental cores of life, gradual inculcation and eventual culmination of moral tendencies, creative talents and virtues, and realization and accomplishment of the divine purpose of life—- constitute what could be defined as “jïvana sädhanä” or as the true devotion and worship of the God living in oneself…..

Great personalities of all ages have campaigned that “Man is an architect of his destiny”. Their own lives stand as remarkable examples of the reality of this phrase. Every human being is given the freedom to select the path of his life… He may fall pray to the vices of egotistic atrocities, avarice, sensual pleasures and immoral activities driven by selfishness and untoward ambitions of power and possession…., and thus decline and fall for ever…. On the contrary, he can touch the highest realms of success and divine elevation if he so desires and accordingly adopts the path of righteous evolution of his conscious faculties. It is the collective impact of our own attitudes, our own aspirations and efforts which shapes the course of our development and directs the fate of our life too. No one, not even the divine powers of Thou could ever change the fortunes of the person who refuses to change his attitude and wants to seek excuse in adversities of circumstances.

In the words of Acharya Sharma—- “There could be a doubt about the existence of Gods of heaven or uncertainty about when and how the grace of Thee would be bestowed upon somebody……? But, atmadeva—- the God living in the inner self of each one of us, is so near to us…., so real and receptive….., so affectionate….., always keen to enlighten our lives by divine boons….! Jïvana sädhanä——the worship of ätmadeva, is certain to accelerate the overall progress of our lives and eventually lead to what could be likened to miraculous successes (riddhi—siddhi) in the materialistic and spiritual domains of life”. If we realize this fact and sincerely endeavor to make best use of every moment of our life, we all can enjoy a vigorous, cheerful and glorious life….. It is a pity that most of us lose this golden opportunity either because of ignorance, carelessness, misconceptions, or lack of courage, zeal and righteous attitude.…

Other kinds of spiritual endeavors demand endurance and perseverance. But, jïvana sädhanä offers instant results…. As we proceed with sincere practice of jïvana sädhanä we simultaneously get two folded benefits of—- gradual elimination of evil tendencies or weaknesses and cultivation of what is required for evolution from the state of ‘social animal’ to that of a ‘divine person’……

Whenever one introspects himself and resolves to improve his nature, behavior or personality in some respect, that very moment he feels energized from within. If he continues to sincerely attempt what he resolved and creatively engages all his free time in finding feasible ways of progressing towards the decided goal and implements the same in action….., he gains a lot at a gradually increasing pace, in terms of avoidance of untoward instincts which used to dominate his ‘empty mind’ during the free moments; better management of time, escalation of mental trenchancy, and illumination of thoughts are other natural attainments eventually leading to elevation of personality along with accomplishment of the resolution. This is an example of the immediate and definite returns of any endeavor of jïvana sädhanä.

The present volume teaches us the basics of the meaning, philosophy and purpose of jïvana sädhanä. It also gives the details on how to train ourselves for this great endeavor. Whatever be our circumstances, worldly engagements and daily routine, each one of us, as we will see in this volume, should and can start practicing it from today instant. The adept guidance of a perfect master—- Gurudev Shri Ram Sharma, is available here in comprehensive form and lucid style of presentation. Gurudev writes that—- all problems of today would be solved if people understand the philosophy of jïvana sädhanä in its true perspective.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, humanity too seems to be sitting at an edge of extinction. The ailing state of human life is pathetic despite excellent development of comforts and materialist means of progress. At individual levels, people seek the solutions to the problems of their lives in extrovert activities—- ranging from possession of wealth and power…. to …..‘somehow’ adjusting the astrological movements in favor of their zodiac by way of religious rituals or worship of planets…. etc. All such attempts are unscientific and prove to be incomplete, unreasonable or futile because of the negligence of the fundamental principles of human life.

It should be noted that the consciousness, the inner world of a human being is as vast as his external world. The feasibility and viability of the solutions of any problem of human society, any attempt of progress, development and creation of peace and happiness depends on how it deals with and affects the external as well as the internal domains of human life….. Behavior, talents and actions of a person fall in the external domains of his life while his nature, intrinsic tendencies, thoughts, faith and sentiments correspond to his internal character…..

Refinement and amelioration of the internal sphere of life forms the basis of cultural development and that of the external component leads to civilization….. Culture cannot expand without civilization and decline in cultural values leads to devastation of civilization…. Both have crucial place in human life and its evolution. Human Psychology—- encompassing behavior, conduct, attitude, thoughts, innermost sentiments and spirituality—- plays an inevitable role in shaping both.

The limitless power of thoughts and sentiments is clearly reflected in the saying of saint Emerson——“Send me to hell, I will create a heaven for me there too….”. It is indeed true…. In fact, how the world around us or the circumstances respond or affect us depends a lot on how we consider them….. It is said that, our own convictions and attitude and the state of our mind in a given condition influence the effects of the latter on our life…. For example, excessive depression or tension in an adverse or tragic situation—- is a sign of negative thinking or weakness of the mind; lack of self-confidence due to ignorance about the power of the soul and the dormant or maligned state of the inner self are the root causes of such psychological aberrations.

Although religious philosophies, especially those emanated from the science of spirituality, have an intimate relationship with Human Psychology, people often think that religion simply deals with conceptualization and worship of God…. They often think that performing specific rituals of worshiping a God according to the ‘instructions’ of some religious scriptures—- is sufficient for fulfillment of a desire, rectification of a mistake or elimination of a weakness…. etc. Their ‘religious efforts’ result in vain unless they realize the need for the refinement of their own character, behavior and overall personality and then endeavor worshiping the God living in themselves….

Worship of the God living in human self—- the deity of life requires cultivation of righteous attitude and adoption of disciplined and virtuous mode of life. This world is like a school of practical training which offers enormous opportunities for refinement and development of talents and potentials. This world is a ‘battle field’ for jïvana sädhanä where victory means culmination of virtues and absolute welfare of life.

The volumes in this Vangamaya series are of unique importance because, among other things, the depth and expansion of knowledge here also has a live coherence with every impulse of human mind and inner self. Acharya Sharma’s deliberations on difficult and esoteric topics of philosophy and spirituality too constitute an Applied Science of Spirituality which can be adopted and practiced in day to day life.

The present volume in particular would serve the purpose of a noble guide, an ideal parent or an intimate friend for the readers…. While reading this volume, one would feel as if all attention and affection of the author is focused at his (the reader’s) life in particular…. On several occasions, Acharya Sharma’s expressions would point out our own mistakes or weaknesses and at the same time, would give us immense moral support, courage and enlightenment to—- solve the associated complexities in the worldly, intellectual, sentimental and spiritual domains of our life and improve it in a righteous way.