Religion, talk less of it ...

Sadhu T.L. Vaswani

Religion; Let us talk of it less, practice more.

~ Sadhu T.L. Vaswani

Sadhu Vaswani (born 1879) was a great Sindhi Spiritual master, an educationist and philosopher. A scholar of both ancient Indian texts like the Upanishads, and modernity with a Masters degree. 

Always a man of spirituality committed to serving humanity, he longed to find his God chosen Guru.  He was fortunate that while on a teaching stint in Kolkata his Guru (spiritual teacher), Sri Promotholal Sen appeared in his life. From 1920, Vaswani ji abandoned himself to the spiritual path. 

Sadhu Vaswani ji, dedicated is life in the service of God by serving humanity. He imposed great faith in the power and capability of women to play a greater role in 

shaping a brighter and happier future for the world.

He founded a girl’s college to educate women and named it the Mira School, this grew into a global phenomenon known as the Mira Movement. Vaswani ji's love, works and philosophy has  flowered into the Sadhu Vaswani mission, now headed by his disciple  Dada JP Vaswani.

Sadhu Vaswani ji and now Dada JP Vaswani ji, remain the spiritual beacon and guiding lights not only for the Sindhi community but for millions of people across the world.

A Sadhu's manner is compassionate as was that of Sadhu Vaswani. They take what nature offers but never by force or cruelty. Hence they abhor taking life. 

Many people who have tread the spiritual path have turned vegetarian. 

Today Nov 25th Sadhu Vaswani ji's birth anniversary  is celebrated in many parts of the world as Meatless Day.

As a teacher, I learnt from ....

I have learnt much from my teachers, still more from my colleagues, but from my pupils more than from all of them.

- Hillel

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Great institutions are founded by exceptional leaders. 

Coincidentally all exceptional leaders are not only exceptional students but also great teachers. Why is this so?

The reasons could be several, but the greatest is the learning that teaching facilitates. This happens in three stages. First when they are taught, secondly when its is practiced and thirdly when they teach it.

This is why genuine teachers are revered and held in esteem greater than those afforded to  rulers, governments and even parents. When teaching becomes just a job or a chore one takes up for subsistence or making money the spark and energy that knowledge provides is lost. It also becomes a drudgery for the student who have to simply endure the fake teacher. They therefore  absorb little nothing, grow angry and restless. Worse is that they begin to despise the teacher, the subject and the institution.

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Woodcutter, sage, religious leader and scholar Hillel (110 BC - 10 AD) is one of the most important figures in Jewish history. Associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud. 

Hillel the Elder teaching a man the meaning of the whole Torah 

A word is worth a billion pictures

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words, but how many pictures is a word worth?

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A word when read or heard will form an image in the mind of the listener or reader. Rarely do we find two people sharing the same image.

This is because each individual has his or her own unique perspective on everything. These perspectives exist within the reality they have created for themselves.  For example take the word 'love', it will form a different image in each individual's mind because of their own unique reality.

We share this planet with billions of people, therefore each word can potentially translate into billions of images. Harmony between people can only be achieved if people are willing to accept that different people and communities have different realities. Openness and  engagement 
allows us to broaden, deepen and makes vibrant our individual perspectives.

Wise and evolved individuals are dangerous for exploitive leaders. They want just obedient zombies. Smart enough to work hard and stupid enough to willingly accept orders and norms blindly. 

So leaders and exploiters depend on authority, so that their brand of reality is imposed on the mind of followers and potential followers. Thus the individual's natural or original reality is distorted or suppressed.

That is why the first phase of creating followers is generating mass discipline by indoctrination. This is used by priests, social leaders and parents. They give each one of us our prime reality. Subsequently formal school and college teachers impose on us our secondary reality. This is why all political parties and organised religions have such a keen interest in mass education. The younger the mind the more virgin it will be, and easier to implant their preferred perspectives on pure minds.

This is why Albert Einstein observed, "Few are those that think with their own minds and feel with their own hearts."

Once indoctrination is complete, most people enter a stage of stupor and stay that way. Now their given realities are reinforced by suitable laws, norms and the use of communication media. 
In such a society that we have now come to live in, individuals are generally unhappy but are intellectually and spiritually too weak to dare make or even think of making any changes. They often live frustrated, hypocritical, shallow lives and will one die within these given realities. But who cares? Definitely not the leaders and definitely not the new mass of docile sheep lining up for the slaughter.

This struggle between leaders and individuals goes on. The leaders want to impose reality where as the individual seeks to discover and experience their own reality.

All it needs for an individual soul to break free from these artificial realities, is a trigger. 
Several factors can act as triggers, extreme failure, or success, new information from other non traditional sources from the outside of the controls of leaders who dominate our reality. Stimulus can come from reading, travel, engaging with people who have different perspectives, listening to others, or encountering true and good teachers. All these can jolt people awake from their given realities and they start to see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.

This is why so many restrictions are imposed by the power authorities on engaging or mixing with other people, travel, etc. They seek to keep people on the straight and narrow path laid out for people to follow.

The fortunate ones with the help of genuine teachers learn to courageously experience, evolve and create their own true reality.  The true teacher can be a parent or a master or even a stranger. He or she is not is not someone who draws you to them or a dogma, He or she is someone who draws you towards yourself.

These blessed people live fulfilling lives. Rich or poor, successful careers or not, they will be contented, tolerant, friendly, peaceful, and compassionate.

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There is another dangerous side of awakening. 
History is full of scientists, artists, teachers, saints, prophets, gurus,  who have been tortured and killed because they dared to espouse new and different ideas and perspectives. Anyone who dares to express a reality other than the commonly accepted reality is sought to be destroyed. The worst offenders who seek to destroy are whose power is challenged by new ideas and perspectives. Most common destroyers being governments, organised religions, and professional organisations, etc. in short all those who are politically structured and govern others.

This is why many people who actually awaken pretend to remain asleep, for they have not the courage to show their own picture, their own reality.

The base of the lamp is always dark.

Called by thousands of names Prophets, Gurus, Murshid, Teacher, Messiah, all of them unselfish masters have since time immemorial come showed humanity the way and then left. They were a light unto themselves and humanity tried to follow them.

Politically inclined people can spot opportunities much easier than the masses. They have always seen great power and wealth to be made by appointing themselves as the exclusive marketing agents of the Gurus, Messiahs.

So these self appointed agents set up gigantic multinational institutions called organised religion, to market and take full advantage of the goodwill, and light of the now departed masters.

While masters possess the breath of life itself, a religion is lifeless, a mere body without a soul.

When real masters are replaced by paid preachers or teachers, the magic of the message is greatly diluted if not completely lost. What remains are empty words, mere songs, complex rituals and soul-less political establishments.

Religions use complex rituals, nuances, etc. written and spoken in undecipherable language. They expect the masses to follow unnatural behaviour, demand total obedience and following by the faithful to a small group of priests.

Institutions are political in nature, and whenever there is politics, the worst aspects of human nature tends to come to the fore. Power struggles are common, and power seeks only its own absolute monopoly and continuity.

To increase their power, every religion employs an army of priests, assistants and missionaries to spread the 'message', which is nothing more than recruitment drives under various guises and to acquire wealth an power for the religious institution. The 'message' also conveniently grants religious leaders special privileges and the masses to merely serve the religious leaders.

Now preachers try to replicate the energy and light of the Masters to guide people. They resort to holding up holy books /scripture as divine lamps. The mangers of organised religion and the paid priests have granted themselves exclusive rights to hold up the lamp for others to unquestioningly follow.



They ask that people follow the persons carrying the lamp. But have you noticed the base of the lamp is always dark?


The lecturers, preachers and the leaders are themselves in the dark. A darkness possibly created by a mix of greed, lust, vanity, power, wealth, and anger,  and the insatiable desire to possess your mind, body, possessions, wealth and influence.


The ones in darkness hold up the lamp, beckon us to follow them along their path. They want you to surrender all that is yours to them including your soul. If you do not surrender they will legislate it, and enforce it.  History is full of examples of religious leaders fabricating, misleading, manipulating, etc, and if not successful with these measures, confiscate wealth, torture, and kill to take followers to the promised land and heaven.



The priests need the power of rulers and the State to stay in power and the rulers need the priests to legitimise their reign. A convenient symbiosis, where two sets of people in the dark thriving off each other. Look closely and you will find that politicians and religious leaders share the same characteristics.

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Sadly, man lives in fear. Fearful creatures are easily confused and will cling to any thing that offers a way to mitigate their fear. The priests know this and there is a race to recruit followers as soon as they are born and often even before birth. More the number of followers of any religion, the greater the hordes of people to be used and sacrificed and greater wealth at there disposal.

We, each one of us, has great individual potential. In fact that is the only true potential we possess. However to realise that potential we must be one with ourselves not with the crowd or the mobs. Each one of us has our own lamp, that we can use to illuminate the path ahead. The base of this lamp is bright and there is nothing hidden from the glare of this lamp. All we need to do is turn it on.

But we dare not to turn it on. We are fearful that we will discover horrid things about ourselves. So what? As there are nights, there are also days. We humans all have strengths and weaknesses, look within and you will find many wonderful things in life and within you.

We are all originally divine and we can realise our divinity through meditation.

Once discovered our divinity will automatically drop all negativity. Then fear is banished, wonder fills us and childlike we will become, innocent, pure and fearless.

Be your own lamp, for your existence begins and ends with you and your spirit, and not that of the other person holding up their own lamp.

Sharing Samosas with God

Everyday a little village boy heard and watched his mother pray. He loved his mother and wanted to meet God, who his mother said, could be found everywhere, but he would have to wait a long time to meet him  

Patience is a virtue rarely seen in people, and almost impossible in children. One morning the boy declared, that he could wait no longer and he wanted to meet God now.  If mother could not show him God, he would just go out and find God by himself.

The mother knew this search would result in a very long day The poor child would be disappointed and definitely get hungry.

The mother packed him some samosas (dumplings) and a bottle of water and then saw him off at the door with trepidation and a big hug. The little boy trotted off looking back and continuously waving bye to his mother before he passed out of sight.

The mother knew her son would not go very far and let him go alone.  When he had travelled about a kilometre, the boy came upon an old woman at the edge of a lake. She was gently swinging her legs as she sat at the edge of an outcropping rock, just looking at the ducks and birds in the water. 

The boy sat down near her and opened his sling bag. He was about to take drink from his water bottle when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry. So he offered her a samosa which she gratefully accepted, and smiled at him.

She radiated an appealing warmth which was even more engaging whenever she gave that glorious smile. After a while he felt compelled to offer her another samosa, just to see that smile again.

Smile she did, filling the little boy's heart with joy and delight. There they sat there together all afternoon enjoying the beauty and tranquility of their surroundings without exchanging a word., There they sat just eating and smiling. It was just so wonderful.

As twilight approached, the boy realised how tired he was and he got up to leave. Before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him another big smile. Then he scooted off home.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. 
She asked him, " What did you do today that made you so happy?" 
He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. 
Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" 

She replied! "God and I shared some samosas near the lake. You know, he's much younger than I expected."

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Quite late in life, with the blessings of my spiritual teachers, I have awoken to the realisation that many achievements I ascribed to my intelligence, hard work and good luck, was actually divine grace. Many problems I experienced were actually boons in disguise.

All of us get to share samosas with God in many ways, only most of us fail to realise it. 
Challenges and problems are always there, but beauty, love compassion and friendship is also abundant everywhere. We often see the blemish but not the moon.

Racing through life, chasing God alone knows what,  I had frequently overlooked the touch, smiles, love, kind words and deeds that I was fortunate to have received. So many people have touched my life in special ways that I know not even where to begin thanking them. 

I believe I am a little wiser and a lot humbler, to look back and now recognise many of these contributions with gratitude.

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This post was inspired by a mail I received from my dear friend Anoop Desai

All roads lead to God

Sikh founder Guru Nanak ji says "Jagat Jalandha Rakh Lain, apni kirpa dhar, Jith dwarey ubarey uthay layoh Ubar."

Translated this means
Oh! protector of the universe keep me in your grace.
I care not about the roads, just guide me on the path to reach you.

Guru Nanak implies is that, the road is unimportant, for all true religious roads lead to Him, and salvation. He seeks to find and to merge with God and cares not for the choice of the road.

If we look around, it appears that, we have forgotten the destination and are merely squatting on our various chosen or inherited roads. Harming each other, and squabbling over which religion and which sect is the right road, we have lost sight of the destination, that is God.

What the world needs is;

• More spirituality and less religion.
• More faith and fewer words.
• More prayer and less crusades.
• More brothers /sisters and less enemies.
• More joy than anger.
• More compassion than greed
• More contentment than excitement
• More love than lust.

I say this with conviction, born out of the blessings of my Guru, for it is true.

How can we achieve a richer and fuller personal life?
At the outset it is to be made clear that it is not necessary to convert ones religion or beliefs. One should only be true to them.

God has sent many messengers with His message. After the messengers the Guru left the world in their human form their followers started various religions to spread the Messiah's or Guru's message as they believed or understood it.
Humans are fallible and over time these messages have been distorted and manipulated. So much of the message is lost in the din of rituals and power struggles
What we have now is exploitation in the name of religion catering to social needs rather than spiritual needs.

No one needs to convert to any other religion. All religions in their true and unadulterated form give the same message.

1. First one needs to understand that we are here because of the gift of human life from God. For only Humans can pray, laugh, cry and experience the complete range of feelings and emotions.
2. Second when we realise and come to accept God, we realise how insignificant we are, as compared to Him. This teaches us humility. Humility is not a weakness, it is to realise that all we are and all that we achieve is because of our efforts, actions and the good grace of our Lord.

Once we walk on the spiritual path we come to know ourselves and accept humility;

• We come to respect ourselves and become possessed of a higher self worth.
• We come to respect all people and our environment and all God's creation.
• We forget our fragile egos and become more tolerant.
• We are slow to anger if at all , and even if we do get angry it passes quickly. By and by we stop getting angry. We respond rather than react.
• We seek richness in our relationships not exploitation.
• We obtain joy from simple things from life.
  

Some of my friends and associates have confided in me that they have tried to walk on the spiritual path but are invariably disappointed. I say this to you, it can work if you find a true Guru /genuine teacher.
So many people live in fear and frustration that they get attracted and cling to anyone who sounds or speaks differently or offers insta-salvation, true physical love, mega material riches or great career success. They always inevitably meet with disappointment.

It is said that God has chosen a Guru for each of us. The Guru will appear before us only when we are ready for the spiritual journey. Islam calls the teacher /guide 'Mursheed'

Due to the times in which we live most of us have become logical creatures. We are dominated by our thoughts and our mind. If we are not convinced in our minds we do not dare feel.

Here are some logical tests that help you to choose a noble Guru /teacher well.

The Guru or teacher should pass the test of freedom of anger, greed and lust.

• Provoke your prospective Guru but respectfully. If he has no patience or gets angry then he is not fit to be a Guru.
• If the Guru demands that you pay money of bring gifts or surrender your wealth then also the person is not fit to be a spiritual teacher. A true Guru does not want or need your material wealth. He has a divine mission to serve, to accompany his disciples on the spiritual journey.

We have to love God and the Guru. In love there is no intelligence, no mind, only the soul. When the soul surrenders, it can be filled with divine love of God. Jesus says "love conquers all"

It is difficult but necessary for only when we surrender and empty ourselves that the Guru can fill our souls with divine blessings, pure feelings and noble thoughts. Only then can we walk on the spiritual path.
Just like God provides blind faith to little children to believe their parents we have to place blind faith in our Guru.

In spite of this and within a year you do not feel any positive change in your life, physical health, in your peace of mind and enriched relationships, you should give up on that Guru and look for someone else to be your spiritual guide.