Pranams to our rev guide sri
K.C.Narayana garu and to all my co travelers
on the path, on this auspicious birthday celebrations
of our beloved Master Pujya Babuji the topic
I would like to share with you all is about
the basic attitude one should adopt to begin
our sadhana and it being the foremost attitude
which should end up into a habit to allow us
to accept that we are abhyasis of the system.
We are all aware that to achieve the end we
have to strengthen the means and here the means
advocated by our Master is to yield to the system,
the method as he advocated or the yielding attitude
which is basic to begin with, it appealed to
me and i am convinced it is the foundation on
which the rest of our spiritual structure is
build upon.
What is yielding means?
- It has different meanings to different
people and we shall confine to two levels
ie physical and spiritual
- Yielding has many meanings like obedient,
submissive, amenable, and compliant and
so on.
- If we cull the above synonyms it ends
with the attitude of giving up or resigning
with oneself.
- Opposite of yielding is to be firm ,stubborn,rigid,adamant
and so on so forth
- Eg: take some water and pour it in a
vessel and we find it takes the shape of
the vessel and we can repeat the same for
different vessels and it takes the shape
of that particular vessel, ie water behaves
in obedient, submissive, amenable and compliant
with the corresponding vessels. Take some
stones and place them in the vessels they
also occupy the shape but they retain their
shape as they are ie they remain firm, rigid
etc.
- In the physical plane we yield to our
own desires and wishes eg: if you want to
see a particular movie or place unless until
you accept or yield you will not fulfill
that desire or wish to go to a movie or
place. Yielding means succumbing to the
problem at hand to get the answer. Its common
phenomenon that we yield to our wishes,
desires, of our children, wife, friends
etc.when it comes to these things the answer
lies in yielding or comply to the things
demanded, eg: if a child demands a particular
toy or to visit a particular place if we
resist the same we end up with resentment,
bitterness from the child and if we yield
to the demand by giving the toy or visiting
the particular place to make her happy harmony
exists, The same case with the wife, friends
and If we observe the solution for any problem
lies how best we yield to the problem eg:
children’s, wife’s wishes etc
sometimes if we go against them we have
to expect resentment for the same which
we are not prepared for. To satisfy them
we yield to their mundane demands and make
them happy.
Yielding means to accept or to be obedient
to the means or the way
- To be good citizens of this land we have
to yield or obedient to the laws governing
us, to achieve any particular goal we have
to yield (obedient) to method prescribed
for it. eg: to be a good sportsperson we
have to be obedient to the method advised
by the coach. Our goal orientation lies
in the strengthening the means or the methods,
‘strengthen the means and the goal
is obvious’ is the basic law and normally
we wish/desire the goal without strengthening
the means.eg: if we want our children to
achieve anything worth we have to strengthen
the means which leads us to realize the
goal. Eg: IIT or engineering seat the methods
prescribed by them.
- When it comes to our spiritual sadhana
In what way the attitude of yielding helps
us to achieve our goal, and our great Master
advised us to yield first to the method
advocated by him and to wait for the results
as desired by HIM and we have no other way
but to be obedient to Him since he is our
coach in the field of spirituality. This
is all ok but is it so? We yield to our
wishes/desires and do as we like and expect
the goal as Master wanted. If we deviate
even an inch from the method our sadhana
will take a back seat and it will take much
more time to reach the goal or in the process
we may end up not achieving it. Eg: if we
want to go to delhi we have to get into
that particular train and just sit in it,
the train has no other way but to reach
delhi, instead if we board the train to
Chennai and expect delhi which is our goal
do we reach our destination. Our non achievement
lies in not accepting the method, advice
by the competent in the field and taking
our own decisions is the main culprit.
- If we think upon yielding means submissive
to the one who knows
- Be like a corpse in the hands of a dresser,
it is totally in control with the one who
is handling it. Eg: if we are go to a doctor
for some ailment what should be our attitude
for that matter if we are on an operation
table what is our condition (half dead)
and we are submissive to the one who knows
that’s all and nothing less nothing
more.
- If we think upon yielding as amenable
to the things around and its common to nature
which is yielding to the natural laws.
- Rivers will not resist us in taking water
from, sun keeps on shining giving us light
and heat, air is always there for us to
breathe, mother earth with all its resources
have yielded and they are amenable to us
to keep us happy.
- Eg: when we talk of good yielding of
any agriculture products like rice, fruit
bearing trees etc we observe they are in
a cooperative stance like rice stalks with
good yield bend to the side, fruit bearing
trees bend slightly reminds us of helping
us to pick them without much trouble it’s
the service which is natural to nature.
- Yielding means to be compliant with the
superior or the highest who is none other
than our Master and to be compliant with
his method and system is what we have to
do. Is it so? And when the fruit of love,
compassion, of our Master bears bountiful
fruit we have no other go but to yield to
Him.
- If we simply think upon how many of us
are fulfilling this basic attitude required
for the sadhana which is the first and foremost
step towards the goal or Master as advocated
by HIM. Umpteen no of times we have yielded
to our wishes, desires discarding our sadhana,
our goal, our Master. We resist and do not
yield an inch, instead of compliancy we
are rigid, Yielding is to give up and we
hold on for what? To our mundane desires,
to our possessions which have no worth of
their own until we impose on them. How prepared
are we to give up for the highest, how prepared
are we to be with the worthiest ie our Master
and how compliant we are with His system
and His method to achieve the end.
- BP Vol 3 Rev KCN Yielding means we accept
the superiority of the person or power over
us. We have come to spirituality for freedom
and the demand to yield appears on the face
of it contradictory. But when we find the
loci of our self is somewhere we are not
able to identify, as it happens in the states
of absorbency, it becomes evident that we
are not the particular self that we supposed
we were and acceptance of the superior power
becomes possible. Master in his own ingenious
way has taught us the lessons of yielding
from the beginning of our sadhana. We were
asked to meditate on the divine light without
luminosity ignoring all other thoughts as
uninvited guests. Having accepted that the
divinity is guiding us it is the most positive
attitude to wait for it to do what it likes
with us, how are we bothered about it eg:
Driver and the passengers in a train
- Yielding is natural when we understand
- Our smallness when related with our
master
- Non questioning attitude since we
resign and submit ourselves to the Masters
will.
- When we realize our helplessness
and all our activities cease
- Accepting the superiority of the
person (master) over us.
- The relation between a true slave(devotee)
and master
- Accepting in toto this is what it
is, let his will prevail.
- Eg: drop and the ocean, we may derive
many drops from an ocean but not one
ocean from a drop but we can become
an ocean by simply yielding to the ocean
or merging with it.
- In what way the attitude called yielding
helps us in our sadhana in the pursuit
of our goal which we call as one with
the Master(commandment no 3).
- Fix up your goal which should be complete
oneness with god (Master).Rest not till
the ideal is achieved. Eg: drop and
the ocean
Factors affecting yielding
Egoism, self aggrandizement, self importance
(name and fame) notions, desires, wishes etc
- Ego and egoism are the main barriers
in the path of spirituality and in particular
towards the attitude of yielding, ( BP Vol
3 Rev KCN)since ego is deeply ritualistic
and repetitive and a profoundly compulsive
need to always see the personal self as
being separate from others, separate from
the world and separate from the universe.
Ego is love denying obsession with heavy
load on separation, narcissism and concern
for self.
- Self aggrandizement
- How can a drop express itself, project
itself, in relation with the ocean, the
same with us too BP Vol 3 Rev KCN) we have
earlier chosen to spend hours, days, years
and lives in the process of identifying
ourselves with desires and fears- all in
the name of ultimately transcending them.
We cherish to dwell in the network of desire
all the time assuring ourselves that there
is time for seeking to be free. That is
something never happens (accidents, death)
and those who would rather have spirituality
as a post-retirement avocation are bound
to end up with a cycle of rebirths. IS IT
SO? This question is for all of us to think
upon and take necessary action.
- Self importance(Fame and name)
- Most of us try to hanker or just go to
any length for fame and name and bloat our
ego forgetting our duty ship and assign
ourselves doer ship(actually it is the master
who is the doer, knower and enjoyer)so whose
name we have to remember?
- Notions, desires and wishes
- BP vol 3 Rev KCN Spiritual life has to
be an integral part of our general life
and it should be hand in glove with the
life of an ordinary house holder rich in
emotions, feelings, desires and aspirations.
Everything in the right place is the way
to be spiritual.
- How to come out of this afflictions
- Prayer: (reciting the prayer with an
yielding and supplicant mood)
Factors which encourage and
influence us to yielding
- When we are beset with discouragements
in our daily life it is a good practice
to remember the master not as some one who
is far off but close to our heart, nay in
our heart. We should consciously try to
feel the master who does not want anything
else from us except happiness/joy. True
that our frustrations, afflictions, miseries
and diseases are there and that is due to
the samskaras that we have acquired in the
long journey away from e homeland.
- (Commandment no 5)Be truthful take miseries
as divine blessings for your own good and
be thankful. It is necessary to know that
our real condition/status is that of devotee.
(Just accept them without questioning).
All our miseries are nothing but loss or
separation that is felt by us of things,
persons, and ideas that we thought are our
own exclusively. This identification or
owning of things and persons is the main
illusion and in fact we really own nothing
and we are only trustees and all belongs
to him and therefore relinquishing all we
should enjoy and be happy. This approach
to the problems enables us to acquire one
of the noblest spiritual qualities called
as fortitude. Fortitude and forbearance
cannot be cultivated that easily without
the awareness of the true nature of ourselves
as essentially void/nothingness (insignificant).These
attitudes are the basics of the quality
of yielding to the divine will.
- In the sixth commandment our master exhorts
us, to know all people as our brethren and
treat them as such. The fraternity that
we are asked to develop is again based on
the requirement of not claiming everything
that we see and feel as our own but share
it with others in a spirit of fraternity.
There is an inseparable bond among all beings
and things and that is most important to
understand and live up to. Once this is
understood the attitude of yielding that
is required in realizing our essential oneness
with all is gained automatically.
- In the seventh commandment master asks
us be not revengeful for the wrongs done
by others asks us to accept them with gratitude
as heavenly gifts. In reality there is nothing
wrong that is done by any to another. But
certain acts appear to be wrong done to
the person by another because of two essential
factors, one is to think oneself as independent
and another is granting independent status
to the other person who is said to have
wronged him. Pruning is no wrong done by
the gardener to the plant and in fact it
is necessary for growth. The acts done by
others are treated as wrongs because of
a purely personal egotistic approach where
there is a basic refusal to know the other
as part of oneself.seperation is an illusion.
It is necessary that we implement the commandment
in full before we can say that we are yielding
to the divine.
- To sum it all feel the unconditional
love, compassion without boundaries, true
sakha who is always near at all times ,
any word loses its meaning to express our
beloved Master and we answer in our silence,
feel, feel, feel until you just sink into
him forgetting your self.
- Feel how insignificant we are when we
remember Him(remember his voice “this
insignificant being is seeking fellow pilgrims”
if master himself is insignificant where
do we stand, do we deserve to receive all
his attention, love, compassion to receive
all this, no doubt our heart grows heavy
with his unconditional bountiful love towards
the fellow beings ( remember we are the
tiny drop with all the qualities of the
ocean(who is our master) in the pursuit
we have to become insignificant to the process
of our sadhana day in and day out and in
the process people should remember only
our master by seeing us and it remind of
commandment (9) Mould your living so as
rouse a feeling of love and piety in others,
then one does not remember anything and
we have no other way but to yield to him
and just be ONE with the Master which is
our goal. Yielding is an attitude and after
proper cultivation in the form of a habit
in the long process it becomes our second
nature, which leads us to achieve our Goal
or Master and to enjoy the fruit we have
begin with the first basic step first ie
yielding.
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