Mundane to Spiritual

Pujya Swami Satchidanandaji, known as Anantasivan in Parvashram, after a period of struggles and trials in his early life, came under the spell of the unique personality of Beloved Papa (Swami Ramdas) in l949. His age then was 30. Beloved Papa saw a keen aspirant in him and Anantasivan found his Guru in Beloved Papa. At the behest of Beloved Papa, he took to the order of Sanyas and dedicated his entire life to the service of God by loving and serving others. Beloved Papa and Pujya Mataji through their loving care and concern hastened his march towards the Source of all sources. The path he adopted to attain the Ultimate was Nama Japa, Guru Seva and dedicated service to all. Since then he served the great masters, Beloved Papa and Mataji, throughout their life time.

After the Mahasamadhi of Beloved Papa in 1963, Swamiji assisted Pujya Mataji in the day to day affairs of the Ashram. Pujya Mataji was silently grooming Swamiji to equip him Silly for carrying out the noble mission they had started. In 1989, when Pujya Mataji cast off the mortal coil, the mantle of running the Ashram fell on Pujya Swamiji.

True to the divine Sankalpa of Beloved Papa and Pujya Mataji, Swamiji, with his exemplary qualities, has become the guiding spirit of the Ashram, following the foorsteps of these great Masters.

We have immense pleasure in bringing out this book ‘Mundane to Spiritual’ coinciding with the birthday of Pujya Swami Satchidanandaji. Part I of this book contains pointed hints culled out from Pujya Swamiji’s letters to devotees while Part II covers the gist of messages delivered by Swamiji on various occasions.

Pujya Swamiji lays great emphasis on the fact that in the life of an aspirant everything is spiritual and therefore there is nothing that can be called mundane. Swamiji adds that this state can be achieved by divinising all our thoughts, words and actions, i.e. bringing in God in each and every sphere of one’s life, following the life and teachings of the great masters-Beloved Papa and Pujya Mataji.

Pujya Swamiji refers to Sadguru Swami Ramdas as Beloved Papa and Mother Krishnabai as Pujya Mataji. As God and Guru are one, Beloved Papa is also referred to as the almighty Lord of the universe, wherever the occasion arises in these compilations.

We are sure, by making an earnest attempt to translate the teachings of Swamiji into our work-a-day life, we will be moving towards divinising our thought and action thus paving the way for attaining the Ultimate.

Though it is not in my nature to give lectures or discourses, it became necessary to address friends who gather on special occasions like the Jayanthi and Mahasamadhi days of Beloved Param Pujya Papa and Param Pujya Mataji. It is also necessary daily to reply to quite a few letters from friends seeking advice on certain complicated matte which they considered serious. In most cases they were mundane while in some cases they related to Sadhana.

This book is a collection of the synopsis of the short talks referred to above and extracts from the replies to various letters.

It will be observed that most of the problems of an individual arise because of the disturbed state of mind. A mind in turmoil finds it difficult to face the battle of life successfully and is so much agitated that it reaches almost a state of frustration. A calm and cool mind alone can think properly and arrive at the right decision. So the solution is to make the mind calm. The way suggested for the same and repeated in my replies is to take to the chanting of God’s Name.

Only when human efforts fail and force us to succumb to the trying conditions, we realise that we should not depend upon mundane things for real and everlasting happiness but should invoke divine intervention by catching hold of the Lord’s feet. To get at His lotus feet and hold on to them, the easiest way is to chant His holy and all powerful Name as much as possible with all love and devotion and with a prayer coming from the bottom of the heart to intervene in the matter and save us from the perilous predicament. Sincere prayers are sure to be answered.

This practice will also give us the experience that communing with God as often as possible and ultimately without break is the only way to live peacefully and happily making life flow smoothly, carrying God with us always, or rather to be conscious of God’s eternal presence. Total dependence upon God will free us completely from the worldly worries and anxieties and ultimately lead to a state where everything is Divine- Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma

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