Spirituality - Acknowledging the stream of awareness within us

Life is eternal; we never give a thought to this truth. When someone dies we declare that the person is immortal, but the truth is we ourselves are immortal too. That is why we do not feel that we have grown old. No matter how old a person is, he feels he is never going to die. If someone else dies, we say, ‘oh that poor fellow died’. ‘Everyone else dies but I won’t’, this feeling is there somewhere. There is a stream of awareness within us that cannot be destroyed. To acknowledge and observe that stream is spirituality – ‘I have not changed, I have not grown old, I am just the same‘.

This brings such courage and strength in life that nothing can shake you. Examining your life, observing it is spirituality, it is ‘satsang’. Satsang is not just singing bhajans but pondering on the truths of life. What is the most important truth of life – there is an element within me that does not perish, does not diminish and is deathless. If you direct even the slightest attention to it, life becomes easy and uncomplicated. The second truth – everything changes. The body undergoes many changes, as does the mind, so do our thoughts.

Knowing that everything is changing stabilises you. When you are established in this truth, such a smile blossoms from within you that can never fade, cannot be robbed. To sit in an effort to gain this knowledge is satsang. If we change ourselves, we can change our environment, our society and this world.  ‘God knows Gurudev, how many lifetimes it will take for me to gain this awareness’ – do not harbour such thoughts. Now that you have come to satsang, believe that you have already gained it.

Once you are on the train, know that you will reach the destination. That is for sure. How do we make this smile unshakable? How do we make our time on the planet meaningful? Being human we all have certain needs and certain responsibilities. If your needs are more than your responsibilities, there will be unhappiness in life, guaranteed! If your responsibilities are more than your needs, life will be peaceful. What you need to do is reduce your desires and take on more responsibility. And when in our life, personal needs disappear and desires no longer exist; an extraordinary, mystical ability is awakened within us that enables us to bless others.

When we do not want anything for ourselves, we develop the strength to fulfil the desires of others. This is the second step you have to climb. First, become aware of your desires and whatever desires are left, have the confidence that by God’s grace they will be fulfilled. The next step is, ‘I need nothing. ’ When you need nothing, you will become so strong that whatever you say to anyone will become a blessing to them. If you bless anyone, it will manifest.

When we die, only two questions remain: how much love have you shared, and how much knowledge have you gained. One day or the other, we are going to die. But we have to make sure, we all come together and create a divine society till the time we are in this world.