Before I proceed further, it will be appropriate to describe three important phases of my life s³dhan³ which are linked with my spiritual progress. This has been the central point of my successful life journey. If readers of this book are inspired to proceed on this path they should assimilate the philosophy behind the s³dhan³ which I have adopted in my life. Mysterious occult events, no doubt, sound interesting but they are confined only to the person concerned. Hypnotised by such events, if a person performs the same rituals and pays a visit to the Him³layas he will get nothing. The most important lesson which my soul has learnt living in this body is true up³san³ (worship), correct life s³dhan³ and ar³dhan³, which means service of humanity. This is the path which can transform a person into a divinised human being, a RiÌi or a messenger of God.

A man needs food, clothes and shelter for sustenance. Pen, ink and paper are needed for writing a book. Seed, manure and water are needed for growing a crop. Not one, but all these three are important and none of them can be ignored. For spiritual progress also, coordination of up³san³, s³dhan³ and ar³dhan³ is needed. All these three are equally important.

Real form of up³san³

The aspect which is secondary and minor e.g. mechanical adoration (p¿j³-p³Úh) has been wrongly considered to be up³san³ (worship). Offerings of some stray materials to the deity and doing certain rituals or overt acts of worship are considered as p¿j³. To eulogize, extol and chant praises of gods is known as p³Úh. Sweets, cocoanut, cardamom etc. are presented and offered to God or the deity as if He lacked such articles and by offering them, He will be overwhelmed with joy. People think that just as a ruler is puffed up on hearing bardic poetry in his praise from a bard, God will fulfil their worldly desires by such adoration (p¿j³-p³Úh). Such persons are totally ignorant about the true nature of Godhead and consider Him to be a stupid Superperson who could be allured or befooled like a child. They think that God can be coaxed to fulfil their desires, proper or improper, just or unjust. The common man is a victim of this illusion. The so-called bhaktas (devotees) beg wealth, success, heaven, liberation, siddhis (divine powers) from God. Some people are crazy after seeing God with physical eyes. Amongst persons who are engaged in counting beads or burning incense- sticks, a majority belongs to this category. Some are after a still cheaper formula. They think that simply by seeing idols in the temple or having a darÌan of saints they can cajole them to fulfil their ambitions. Such naive beliefs are prevalent in the society.

It should be clearly understood that a really worthwhile thing is bound to cost more. If a person wants to be included in the Central Cabinet, he has to get himself elected as a member of the Parliament. The meaning of up³san³ is to sit closeby. It is not like the railway passengers who jostle or push each other to get into the train somehow. It is like two bosom friends who have two bodies with one mind and one soul sitting together. In such intimacy one has to surrender to the other. A devotee (bhakta) has to mould his life and surrender himself to the will of God.

Explaining the importance and philosophy of up³san³, which is the first essential pre-requisite for spiritual upliftment, Gurudev said, "God cannot dance to your tune. You will have to become his devotee and act according to His will. If you are able to do so, you will become identical with God. Fuel has no worth except when it embraces fire and becomes fire itself. Fire does not become fuel. It is fuel which has to be transformed into fire. A drain meets a river and becomes as purifying and great as the river itself. But it never happens that a river flows in reverse, meets the drain and becomes dirty like it. Iron comes in contact with p³ras, (the mystical stone which is said to convert iron into gold by mere touch), and turns into gold. It does not become paras. It is the s³dhak who has to dance to the tune of God like a puppet. God does not fulfil the wishes of the s³dhak. A s³dhak has to surrender himself to God and fulfil His will. A drop of water merges into and becomes one with the ocean. The ocean does not become a drop. This is the philosophy of up³san³. If a person wants to do up³san³, he has to sit near God, do His will and become His follower."

I had to do the same. I worshipped God, performed jap of G³yatrº as Divine Mother and meditated upon Savit³ as Divine Father. Throughout, I had only one feeling. Like Shravankumar, I would demand nothing from my Parents but carry them on pilgrimage. I would mould my character in such a way that I may be called a worthy son of worthy Parents.

I did, no doubt, regard G³yatrº as Mother and Savit³ as Father for the sake of convenience of meditation but knew throughout that they are formless, astral and all-pervading. On account of this conviction I could feel that they pervaded my whole being and there was complete identity of Spirit. If I had regarded God or G³yatrº M³t³ as specific persons a distance between us would have been maintained and I had been deprived of that feeling of complete identification.

In the beginning, for the sake of practice, one should regard himself as a creeper and God as a tree. The creeper embraces the tree and reaches the top. It is also convenient to regard one’s self as a flute and God as the Flute Player to enable him to make his life disciplined and inspired. The meditation about a kite flying high up in the air with its controlling thread in the hands of a child is also helpful. I have followed these three types of meditation from time to time and had rich, enthusing and happy experiences. The sacrifice of the moth on the burning lamp; physical, mental and material surrender of the wife to her husband are instances of experiencing complete identification, unity or oneness with God.

In my up³san³, actions, rituals were not of primary significance. It was suffused with emotional zeal, devotion and faith. I strictly followed the discipline of doing prescribed jap. Except for some emergency, rarely was there any omission in getting up in the morning at 1 A.M. and performing the set routine. Deficiency, if any, was made up on the next day and nothing was left in arrears. Even then, I had practised throughout to maintain an attitude full of emotional zeal during my up³san³. In the beginning the practice of arousing feelings of sacrifice, unity, identity and negation of duality was done in the form of imagination. Later it became a part of nature and ultimately culminated in self-realisation.

The power of G³yatrº M³t³ started reflecting in the form of devotion (ïraddh³) in causal body, illumination (pragy³) in astral body and determination (niÌÚh³) in physical body. Strict self-introspection was done from time to time to ensure that this was no mere wishful thinking. I examined and analysed myself in the light of actual daily events whether or not devotion for leading an idealistic life, for the service of mankind as a whole, had increased and allurement of temptation has been overcome; and found that my feelings had fully matured like those of a RiÌi-kalpa s³dh³k.

G³yatrº M³t³ manifests as divine energy in feminine form. It took the form of pragy³ and dominated the mental arena. I tested on several occasions to ascertain whether in the form of pragy³ there was integration of wisdom, responsibility and fearlessness down to the deepest depths of consciousness. I have been experiencing that G³yatrº M³t³ has incarnated in the form of pragy³ in my inner consciousness and my up³san³, meditation and contemplation have all become fruitful. Whether or not our convictions, our ideologies are reflected in our actions (karma), attitudes (guñas), and nature (svabh³v) is the real test of up³san³.

The third aspect of Tripad³ G³yatrº is niÌÚh³. NiÌÚh³ means firm determination, patience, courage, bravery, devout austerity (tap) and endurance. Just as a pot taken out from potter’s kiln is thoroughly examined by thrashing and beating it with fingers to find out whether it is half-baked, broken or fully baked and intact, in the same way, I kept on introspecting and observing myself whether there had been any wavering in my firmness in the face of temptations and fear. I found that every step was an advance forward and there was no stagnation in the progress.

The brilliance of Savit³ is known as Brahmavarcas. It is also called ojas, tejas, varcas. It is reflected directly in the form of piety, sharpness and brilliance. The inrush of Savit³’s light in physical, astral and causal sheaths fills the body with strength, the brain with knowledge and the heart with love and courage. Later, I started experiencing that my entire self had become a field of light, a column of fire; and divine nectar was flowing through each and every cell of my body, my entire being. I felt, I was getting the joy of contentment, fulfilment and peace, as if I were drinking somras (nectar).

This, in brief, is my regular programme of doing up³san³ for four hours daily. This period effortlessly flies without boredom, tiredness, yawning, as if only half an hour has passed. Every moment I feel heavenly joy and closeness to God. This has become a routine. I have no inclination to count, boast or think of rewards or results. Like all other tasks of daily routine, sitting near God (up³san³) is also a natural living routine for me without which I cannot live for a single day. For me doing up³san³ for a fixed period daily is a process of recharging myself with spiritual energies which keep me full of divine bliss throughout the day. I spend every moment blissfully experiencing myself in God and God in me.

In such a state of inner consciousness, one takes the ups and downs of life in one’s stride. There is neither joy nor sorrow. An undulating ocean of bliss appears all around.

Wherever I look, I see God. He walks beside me wherever I go. I feel His Presence every moment like a guardian angel, like a pilot. An ocean cannot become a drop but there is no doubt about a drop becoming an ocean by merging its identity in the ocean. An attitude of carefreeness and fearlessness spontaneously grows with the awareness of God’s constant presence.

I have cherished firm faith (ïraddh³) in the Divine throughout my life, which has helped my soul in getting united with God. It is revealing and manifesting itself in the form of actual Bhagvati (Mother aspect of Divinity).

Never-failing s³dhan³

Man has his own limitations like a child. He potentially gets infinite strength from his Creator, the Omnipotent God. This, however, is conditional. Children do not know proper utility of objects and cannot take care of them. So they are given cheap toys, petty balloons, rattles, whistles, lemon juice, toffees etc. When a child grows up, understands his responsibilities he gets everything in inheritance without demanding anything. For this he is not required to beg, beseech pathetically or offer prayers. God and divinised human beings are keen to give a thousand times more than what we ask for, provided we have demonstrated our competence to utilise the divine gifts for noble and altruistic purposes and not for gratification of our perversely petty, egoistic desires and hungers.

It does not serve any purpose to give false assurances for the future. Proof has to be furnished how, whatever has been given so far, has been utilised. This is the basis of preparing the history sheet which is examined before promotion is granted. I had to give convincing proof of my competence and sincerity during past several births. When everything was found to be in order, gifts and grace were showered on me.

Whatever Sugreev, Vibhishan, Sudama, Arjun got and whatever they did was not the result of their own ego-centred efforts. The supreme power of God was working behind. Canals get water from rivers. Distributaries which supply water to the fields get it from the canals. If there is any disorder or mishap anywhere there is bound to be a breakdown in the entire chain. Man can establish intimate relationship with God on some definite basis. There is no scope in it for anything like flattery. God does not play favourite with anyone. He is bound by the laws underlying the smooth working of His cosmos. He is impartial.

My personal competence is almost insignificant. Whatever has been accomplished should purely be considered the result of Divine Grace, most of which is being showered not directly but through the medium of my Gurudev, although it hardly makes any difference.

How could this sublime achievement be possible ? It was possible by cultivation of competence or worthiness. It is also known as Jºvan- s³dhan³. It is intimately related to up³san³. Electric current flows through a metal wire and not through wood. A dry log of wood burns far more quickly and brightly than a wet one. A mother takes up a child into her lap when he is neat and clean. If he is stained with filth and dirt, she will first wash and clean him and then take him in her lap and feed him. For securing nearness, proximity to God, purity of character is a must. Several persons had remained soiled with carnal cravings in their previous lives but the moment they took to faith, devotion and s³dhan³ their lives were transformed beyond recognition. Valmiki, Angulimal, Bilva-mangal, Ajamil became saints in the true sense of the term, the moment they surrendered themselves to God, although their past lives were far from pious. We adopt the policy of R³m n³m japan³ par³y³ m³l apan³ (mechanically taking Ram’s name but coveting what belongs to others). We go on doing evil deeds and yet think that by worshipping God merely through outward symbolic acts, we will escape from retribution for our trespasses. Is this not a great delusion?

Before dyeing, a cloth has to be washed. Before sowing it is necessary to plough the land. To earn the grace of God one has to lead a pious life and become a s³dhak. A s³dhak alone can become a true devotee. In the absence of jºvan- s³dhan³ the thoughts, character, diet and daily routine of a person will all be disorganised. Such a person will always remain restless on account of greed and desires and he will never be able to concentrate his mind. No purpose is served merely by performing karma-k³nà and symbolic worship. Worship is directly related to inner feelings. With such sublimated feelings alone a person is able to assimilate righteousness in his attitudes, actions and nature.

When a respectable guest pays a visit or there is a function, the entire house is cleaned and white-washed. If God is to be invited to occupy the chamber of the heart, it has to be first cleaned of all the dirt and dross which fill it. For this one has to take recourse to self-introspection, self-purification, self-transformation and self-growth. These facts were explained to me and I thoroughly assimilated them. After all, why do we lead a contemptible life? Greed, delusion and pride, these three are at its root. A man having these vices is bound to be dragged towards hell.

Actions are shaped by our subtle tendencies. Our physical body is governed by our mind. Mind alone and not the body should be considered responsible for all the misdeeds. Keeping this fact in view, I considered it appropriate to cut the root of the poisonous tree and started Jºvan- s³dhan³, considering mind as the basis.

Crimes are often committed due to economic compulsions and temptation. A pledge was, therefore, taken by me to lead a simple life of an average Indian. Whatever the income, it should be spent economically, according to local conditions, on the principle of ‘simple living and high thinking’. In principle, most of the people give it lip support, but when it comes to practice they find it difficult to do so. It requires unshakable firmness and resolve, as members of the family have also to be prepared to follow it strictly, not only in principle but also in practice.

The greatest difficulty in this connection is about the attitudes prevalent in the society. People think that when everybody is indulging in riotous merry-making on his well-earned or ill-gotten wealth, why should we exercise control on ourselves? It is very difficult to convince members of the family in this matter. Still, if we practise what we preach and try to convince people by logic, facts and results and our resolve is firm, it is well nigh impossible that persons close to us will not be influenced. If economic malpractices are sought to be eradicated, it is necessary to educate the minds of the people on these lines. With this belief I remained firm in my convictions. Our family in Ghiya Mandi, Mathura, consisted of five members. Till we came to Haridwar in 1971, we managed our expenses within two hundred rupees per month. This could be possible by thrift and by maintaining a standard different from others, although my income was above average as I had inherited ancestral property. It was also spent in the education of children of other members of the family and nothing was accumulated to breed vices and addictions. Thus an important aspect of jºvan- s³dhan³ could be practised.

A man has a propensity for adorning, embellishing and enriching one’s own family and he wants to leave huge wealth in succession at the time of his death. Children of the people who indulge in unrestrained gratification of desires are bound to become addicted to luxuries of all sorts and thus a chain of extravagance and squandering of money starts. Ill-gotten wealth is bound to be spent in licentious living. I learnt a lesson from the experience of the downfall of others and did not allow such an outlook to enter in my home. Thus a cultured, refined family grew up.

People squander away a lot of money and time in bragging, pomp and show, ornamentation and fashion. There was no scope in my life for such ego-inflating and self-glorifying trivialities, as an atmosphere of br³hmaña-like politeness and simplicity was maintained throughout my personal and family life. We had formed the habit of doing all domestic chores with our own hands. For years M³t³jº grinded flour at home and prepared meals herself for the family and guests. A domestic servant had to be engaged only when, on account of extraordinary expansion of mission’s work, it became difficult for her to spare time for household work.

It is a false notion, born out of a perverted sense of values, that those living in pomp and show are regarded ‘great’ while those living in simplicity are considered to be unlucky or backward. It did not ever apply in my case. It would have been a different matter if poverty had become our lot on account of sloth or incompetence. But in our case it was a voluntarily and gladly adopted way of life in adherence to high and noble ethical principles. None of my relatives, friends etc. who came in my contact regarded it as poverty but as an example of setting br³hmaña traditions. There are people who by giving up chillies or putting on wooden sandals make loud proclamations of their simplicity and righteousness. But spiritual life is truly lived by an all-inclusive self-restraint and discipline in which one has to consciously endeavour every moment to transform his entire way of life into that of a true br³hmaña. This entails a gradual and long s³dhan³. In this respect, I rigorously trained myself and also all those who were linked with me.

Life is affected by accumulated evil tendencies and habits. Passion, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy, all tried to deflect me from the righteous path, but they were chased away before they could establish a foothold in my psyche. They succeed only when a person is caught unawares or lowers his guard. I kept a constant watch on my attitudes (guña), actions (karma) and nature (svabh³v) with a view to ensuring that righteousness of a s³dhak has been incorporated in them. It is a matter of satisfaction that I can humbly claim to have emerged victorious.

At birth, everybody is crude and unpolished. Every soul brings with it, from previous lives, more or less load of evil tendencies and impressions. They are not eradicated all of a sudden. Grace of the Guru or p¿j³-p³Úh (rituals) also does not serve this purpose. The only way is to struggle hard against the evil tendencies. A parallel army of noble thoughts, duly trained, should be kept in readiness to fight it out as soon as an evil thought creeps in. Evil thoughts and tendencies cannot exist for long if they are not allowed to consolidate their position in our minds. Their strength is limited. They mainly depend on habits and conventions, while good thoughts have always the strong support of logic, facts, proof, wisdom etc. The authors of ancient scriptures have rightly pointed out that ultimately truth alone prevails. In other words, it is the divine virtues and noble tendencies that form part of our real higher nature; evil tendencies are only aberrations and shadows without substance. When monkeys and bears can be trained to display amazing feats, there is no reason why a raw and crude mind could not be refined and made righteous through concentrated s³dhan³.

Ar³dhan³ that was uninterruptedly pursued

The confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati is known as triveñº. It is said that one who takes bath in it is rejuvenated. Although a heron cannot become a swan, a crow cannot become a cuckoo, it is certain that the inner and outer life of a man can be totally transformed by the confluence of triple currents of up³san³, s³dhan³ and ar³dhan³. These are not rituals to be performed in a particular manner or at a particular time but are instruments for bringing about high level transformations in man’s thinking, character and behaviour. For this it is necessary to keep a constant watch on one’s physical and mental activities. Vigilance has to be exercised to eradicate vices. High idealism has to be incorporated in our attitudes, actions and nature to restrain them, just as wild animals and birds are trained to display skilful feats in a circus. Up³san³ (worship) can be done for a short time but s³dhan³ has to be done constantly, just as an infant has to be watched continuously. Only an up³san³ which is coupled with s³dhan³ becomes fruitful. Those who consider p¿j³ (up³san³) a mere jugglery and indulge in day-dreaming to attain riddhis-siddhis by performing this or that ritual are totally under a delusion.

Gurudev had on the very first day clearly indicated to me the mode of Tripad³ G³yatrº in the form of up³san³, s³dhan³ and ar³dhan³. He pointed out that along with regular jap and meditation, there should be permeation of up³san³ in s³dhak’s thinking and feelings, s³dhan³ in his character and ar³dhan³ in his social behaviour, with faith and alertness. I have so far implicitly complied with these instructions and the results achieved thereby are there for all to see.

Ar³dhan³ means remaining engrossed in doing work for public weal. Jºvan- s³dhan³ is a s³dhan³ of self-restraint (sanyam) in which maximum is saved and minimum is spent on one’s own sustenance. Only that much time, labour, money and talents are used on one’s own person and family which could ensure a simple, dignified life of the standard of an average citizen. Measured against this criterion, a hard working and educated person should be in a position to save something after meeting his essential needs. Best utilisation of this saving is known as ar³dhan³. Ordinarily, people mis-spend this saving on themselves or members of their families because it does not occur to them that there are other persons also in this world who have their own needs. If their outlook had been altruistic, they would have utilised their savings in works of public good and fulfilled the needs of the times.

God is conceived as ‘S³k³r’ (with form) for the purpose of meditation according to one’s liking and belief and it resembles a human figure. This conception is definitely essential and useful, but it has to be borne in mind that it is imaginary and not real. God is one and cannot have so many forms as have been visualised by various religions and sects. The utility of form should be kept confined to practising concentration of mind. The principle underlying idol worship is that effort should be made to understand, visualise and assimilate the Invisible God through the medium of a visible symbol.

The omnipotent God can only be ‘Nir³k³r’ (formless). God is known as Parm³tm³ which means that which includes and exceeds all living beings (Jºv³tm³s). It is Vir³t-Brahma or Vir³t-Viïva. Shri Krishna had shown a vision of this cosmic or universal God to Arjun and Yashoda. Kaushalya and Kakbhusundi had also seen a glimpse of God in the form of entire universe. According to this conception public service becomes ar³dhan³ of Vir³t-Brahma. Man has been sent by God as his prince and has been endowed with a precious life to make this universe, a garden of God, happy and prosperous. The significance of human life lies in fulfilment of this aim which is known as ar³dhan³.

I have been doing this. Out of the twelve hours of night, four hours were spent regularly in up³san³ and the rest in sleep and other daily routine. If a person is lazy and careless, his whole time is spent haphazardly and in a disorganised way, but if he girds up his loins, remains vigilant, marvellous works can be accomplished. During twelve hours of the day, leaving two hours for food, rest and other routine, a net period of ten hours remains in hand. I have been using this period of the day regularly in doing work for the welfare of the people. These activities of ar³dhan³ can be classified as under :-

(1) Writing and publication of magazines, books, literature etc. for refinement of the minds and attitudes of the people in accordance with the ideals of Yug-cetn³.

(2) To inspire and provide guidance to truly aspiring souls to adopt a way of life in accordance with Yug-dharma (needs of the Time Spirit);

(3) To give advice to those who have turned to me for guidance and counselling for elevating their souls to enable them to overcome their personal difficulties and build a happy future based on high principles.

Innumerable persons came in my contact and a majority of them were changed, enlightened and benefited. It is not possible to describe the events and mention the names of such persons since it is not my habit to do so. Moreover, it will become a voluminous book even if only certain events which I still remember are reduced into writing. But the persons concerned may object to it. The practice of expressing gratitude is almost extinct now. It will, therefore, not be proper on my part to say anything about these events. Besides, by disclosing the bounty of good deeds, the efficacy of the virtue gets diminished.

There is, however, no doubt that these services have been very effective. Uptill now (1989), more than twenty-four lakh persons are associated with Pragy³ pariv³r. However the number of those who have been deeply influenced by the principles and ideals of the mission would be around one-third. Majority of them consists of those persons who have received enlightenment, affection, help, advice and divine gifts from me in their personal life. They had come rushing to me greatly worried and afflicted with grave problems and returned with solace and peace. This is the reason that such a large family has been built up. If it was all based on mere ideology and principles, the membership of G³yatrº pariv³r would have remained limited like Ârya sam³j and Sarvodaya sam³j and the atmosphere of personal intimacy and cordiality would not have been established. There had been much pressure on M³t³jº on account of rush of visitors, their arrival at odd times and in making arrangements for their stay, food etc. Despite all these inconveniences we have been amply rewarded by the affection and love which we have earned in return. All that we have done for the people is being repaid with interest in the form of this affection and love. Thus it cannot be said to be a losing proposition.

Capital is needed for ar³dhan³ (public service). How can a person who is hungry himself distribute food to others? Wherefrom would this capital come? Gurudev had told me on the very first day of my meeting with him, "Whatever you possess, learn to sow it in the form of seed in the field of Supreme God, the Vir³t Brahma." On sowing, one grain is bound to multiply hundred times. Gurudev quoted the instance of Jalaram Bapa who was a cultivator. He used to spend all his savings in feeding the needy. God was extremely pleased with him and gave him such a perennial bag, the contents of which never got exhausted. Free kitchen which he started is still working at Virpur, a village in Gujarat in which thousands of devoted people take food every day. A person who invests his money for public weal gets ready and glad cooperation. However, a person who accumulates, keeps his money unused and goes on amassing more and more is always cursed and ridiculed by the people.

Under Gurudev’s direction, I decided to surrender my all viz. (1) competence to do physical labour; (2) capacity to do mental work; (3) sentiments and feelings and (4) ancestral property, at the feet of God. There was nothing self-earned. I applied all the aforesaid four-fold wealth with deep faith and devotion for specific purposes and the return was hundred times more. I did physical work for twelve hours daily and never got tired. My efficiency on the other hand went on increasing. Even at this old age, I have the capacity to work as hard as a young man. Both mental and physical work were done side by side and old age has never adversely affected my work and morale.

I have immensely loved people and have been in return profusely loved by them. Besides getting personal affection, respect and goodwill, people whole-heartedly responded to my appeals for working for this mission. An outstanding example of this is construction of 2400 Pragy³pºÚhas within a short period of two years. In the beginning, I started with my own money. Gayatri Tapobhumi was built with the money, I got by disposing of my ancestral property. In my place of birth, a high school was built. Later, a ÏaktipºÚha was also constructed there. I had little hope that people will give so much without expecting anything in return. The complex of Gayatri Tapobhumi, Mathura, Shantikunj, Gayatri Teerth and Brahmavarchas Research Institute at Haridwar are examples of the fact that on being sown, a seed multiplies by hundred times. Due to lack of faith people conceal what they have in their possession, beg for donations and pray God that they may win a lottery. If a beginning is made with complete self-surrender, the result is bound to be astonishing. A devotee who built the ÏaktipºÚha (Gayatri temple) at Junagarh (Gujarat) made a beginning by selling his utensils. It is pre-eminent amongst all the ÏaktipºÚhas which have been built so far.

A grain of bajra or maize on being sown ripens and multiplies into hundred grains. This has actually happened with me when I sacrificed all I had. Members of the family should be maintained as long as they are not able to earn their livelihood. To go on spending money, labour and intelligence on able-bodied and earning family members and die leaving property in inheritance for them is immoral and I have always opposed it. Money which comes unearned or ‘gratis’ is ill-gotten although it may be ancestral. Having kept complete faith in this ideal, I did not allow my wealth in the form of physical and mental labour, emotional feelings and accumulated savings to pass on to the hands of undeserving persons. It was totally applied in ar³dhan³ of God, towards the growth of nobility and goodness in society. The result is self-evident. If like a miser, I had used all my resources in self-gratification, hoarding or in spending on members of the family to make them multi-millionaire, it would all have been wasted.

One has to wait for the next birth for getting results of certain virtuous deeds, righteous actions. Public service, however, is such a universal good whose reward one gets instantly. We feel deep soul satisfaction in consoling others in the moment of their despair. There is a divine rule that the store of a benefactor never becomes empty. God’s grace always blesses him and whatever has been spent comes back multiplied manifold.

Sheep parts with its wool but it gets new wool every year. Trees yield fruits but their branches again get loaded with fresh fruits every season. Clouds go on raining but they never get emptied as they go on collecting water from the ocean. The coffers of magnanimous persons never get empty. It is a different matter if a person donates his time, labour and resources to undeserving persons and blindly encourages evil tendencies and considers it to be a righteous deed. Otherwise, public service is bound to be instantly rewarded. Whosoever invests in this enterprise is bound to be rewarded by soul-satisfaction, public respect and divine grace. Misers are those who foolishly boast of their shrewdness and cleverness but great is their loss in the ultimate analysis.

Public service loses its significance when in return a man expects to get name and fame. It then becomes a business like publication of an advertisement in the papers. If a person is reminded of the favour done or something is expected in return, the efficacy of virtuousness is lost. Donations given under pressure do not fulfil the true aims of a charitable purpose. The criterion is whether by such an act there is growth of kindly feelings and spread of righteous tendencies. These days innumerable ostentations and hypocrisies are in vogue which promote the growth of social parasites who exploit simple people by fraudulent and deceitful means. Before spending any money a man should think a thousand times what its ultimate use will be. It is absolutely necessary these days to exercise such far-sighted wisdom. On such occasions I have declined to oblige and have even dared to incur the ignomy of being dubbed as inconsiderate.

One can have a glimpse of the philosophy of my life in these three aspects of up³san³, s³dhan³ and ar³dhan³. This is the path which has been followed by all the great ones who have achieved their goals and earned fame. There is no short-cut on this path.

1: THE NEED FOR IN-DEPTH SURVEY OF MY PRESENT LIFE SOJOURN
2: THE SUNRISE OF MY LIFE’S FORTUNE
3: GUIDELINES BY GURUDEV ABOUT MY FUTURE LINE OF ACTION
4: FIRST CALL OF GURUDEV – TESTS AT EVERY STEP
5: PILGRIMAGE AND PROJECTION OF THE FIELD OF WORK
6: SOWING SEEDS FOR SUBLIMATION OF ATTITUDES AND THOUGHTS
7: REVELATION - TECHNIQUE OF THE SUBLIME TRANSFORMATION
8: SOWING THE SEEDS OF RIßI TRADITIONS
9: MIND OF A BRÂHMANA – ACTIONS OF A RIßI
10: VISIBLE ATTAINMENTS OF SÂDHANÂ (SIDDHI)
11: FOURTH AND FINAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE HIMÂLAYAS
12: TRANSFORMATION OF THE PHYSICAL INTO ASTRAL