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       A function was held to celebrate Paramaguru Poornima under the aegis of Universal Spiritual–Science Foundation (USSF) on 18th December 2010. The presence of seekers in large numbers at the function held at B N Vaidya Hall of Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya at Dadar, Mumbai (Maharshtra, India); was noteworthy. The main attraction and a distinctive feature of the celebration was the holy presence of H. H. Srimad Namachaitanya Bhanudas. All the seekers had gathered lovingly and enthusiastically looking forward to His darshan and spiritual guidance.   

 At the outset two books of USSF viz. “Samadhan”(Contentment) and “Sakaali – Sakaali”(Early Morning) were published at the hands of Shri Shyamrao Shinde, a leading personality of the hotel industry. Entire mankind has lost mental peace due to the hectic and stressful lifestyle of the present day. This has resulted in an unhealthy society. The gravity of the situation has compelled people to search for mental peace as they realise its importance. However, it is true that mental peace is impossible to attain unless the mind is fully contented. HH Bhanudas has explained lucidly, the way of attaining and retaining a completely contented state of mind in the book titled “Samadhan”.      

A weekly column giving an introduction to ‘Spiritual–Science’ was published in the Marathi daily “Sakaal” from September 2008 to December 2009. H.H. Bhanudas had very effectively unravelled the nature of the abiding bond between the human body and mind through this column. All the articles of this popular column have been compiled together in the form of a book titled “Sakaali – Sakaali” for the benefit of readers. Both the books are available with the USSF and its learning centres.

       After the publication of the books, seekers chanted “Brahmanandam” and “Gurugayatri” in praise of the Guru creating an auspicious atmosphere for further proceedings. The entire gathering eagerly awaited the enlightening and ennobling address by H.H. Bhanudas. He chose “Maya” or “Illusion” as the subject for elucidation. He took a bhajan written by one of the seekers for illustrating the seemingly impenetrable subject like “Maya” and carried on in his simple, fluent yet effective style.

      To start with, H. H. Bhanudas explained the difference between poetry and bhajan thus – though superficially both appear to be similar, fundamentally they are different. Poetry is created by the mundane whereas bhajans are composed by saints and saintly seekers. Poets are inspired by the effects of external influences on the mind. They create poetry out of this inspiration. For instance, inspiration drawn from nature’s beauty, feelings of intense love, spirited atmosphere during wartime, or deep sorrow result in the creation of poetry.

      The kind of composition called bhajan is quite different. A bhajan springs forth spontaneously from the fountainhead of the sub-conscious mind. Bhajans are never constructed like poetry. The Vedas were thus sprung forth spontaneously in the hearts of the ancient rishis (sages of the vedic period) in meditation. Vedas are therefore considered “not born of human”. However, they are attributed to the person to whom a particular veda was spontaneously revealed. For example, the third part of Rigveda is attributed to rishi Vishwamitra.

      The person who writes a bhajan as described above, may or may not understand its complete meaning. The meaning may be unravelled much later, sometimes by a different individual. A bhajan “The Nature of Maya” occurred to a seeker with a highly purified mind through the practice of ‘Spiritual–Science’. Initially she did not understand its meaning fully. However, the meaning was so profound that H.H. Bhanudas had elucidated on it over 16 weekly sessions.

       A rough translation of the bhajan is as follows:-

       A gist of the explanation given by HH Bhanudas –
All the religious texts as well as spiritual preachers always advise us to leave Maya. But I would never offer such advice. I have done extensive research on mind over the past 35 years and have propounded ‘Spiritual – Science’. As we have to understand the true meaning of spirituality and live a spiritual life, we have to understand the true nature of Maya. That which has (i) birth or origin, (ii) state of existence and (iii) extinction or end is to be known as Maya and that which is constant, unchanging and stable is to be understood as Brahmn. As per ‘Spiritual – Science’ therefore, the four unchanging energies viz. (i) gravitational energy, (ii) electro-magnetic energy, (iii) mild atomic attraction, and (iv) strong atomic attraction, that are in existence since the birth of the universe are Brahmn. Everything else i.e., nature, planets, stars, the human body which is also a part of nature are all termed as Maya. Maya is transitory or impermanent and so is our body. However, our existence depends on our body which means that we exist because of Maya. Have those preachers who ask others to leave Maya ever thought about this?

       Man can never exist without Maya. No other planet except the earth is endowed with a beautiful nature. There is no air, no water and hence no Maya. Human beings can not survive in such conditions as there is no life. The earth is liveable and lively only because of Maya. We engage ourselves here and lead our worldly lives as part of this Maya. Now, the word Maya is also used to mean motherly love towards her child and so she is called Mai Mauli. In that case how could Maya have a bad influence on us? A mother loves her child without expecting anything in return. Such nurturing love is termed Maya. God, saints and Guru shower us with their nurturing love without expecting anything from us in return and hence they have a high standing as a mother. Hence Maya is never bad or evil. What is bad is our craving or longing for it. Excessive attachment to Maya has to be shunned with determination. Maya should be relished and enjoyed without getting entangled in it. One should be able to attain a state of contentment remaining within the gambit of Maya. The bhajan clearly states the joys of Maya within limits and the devastating results of excessive passion for it.

       Maya is ever fresh and new while at the same time it is everlasting. Maya comprises the nature on earth, the mankind, the animal kingdom, and every living and non living entity. All of these are transient. None of these is deathless. Every human being, animal, insect, plant that is born is sure to die after a certain life span. Yet all of these are ever present on the earth. They are perishable at the same time permanent. How could this be? Human beings die every day but babies are born every day too. The newly born creatures replace the ones that have died. Trees, vines and all other components of nature also follow the laws of nature thereby retaining their everlasting character. The cycle of nature keeps running endlessly. This process continues for ever. The sun rises anew every day. A new day, date and week is born and everyone grows older by a day every day.

       Another feature of Maya is that it is beautiful. All are attracted to it due to its beauty and charm. A human baby or the young one of an animal or bird, or nature’s beauty in general are all very enchanting and captivating. Even man made articles are no less attractive. However, the special feature of natural things is their variety. Not a single item in nature is an exact replica of another. Even the leaves of a single tree are never identical! So also with human beings! Even so called identical twins have minor physical differences. Again, though the population of the world is in billions, no two thumb impressions are the same. This is the uniqueness of nature.

       Man made articles have physical uniformity and are stereotypical. However, changes and improvements do occur due to new research and development. Take the fan for example. In olden days people would fan themselves by flipping a folded newspaper. Then came fans made of cane and palm leaf. Later, there were fans that ran on electricity. Several models of such fans could be found. Now we have a variety of designs and models in air-conditioning units too. This is the variety of Maya. Maya is also unsteady, playful and wilful. It attracts us, gets us to enjoy it , finally leading us to get entangled in its attachment. We have to be cautious avoid such entanglement.

       Maya gives us a feeling of security and assurance. We become carefree and calm. We will never experience this feeling of safety and security on an alien plant where Maya is absent. Thus Maya lulls us to sleep just as a mother does to her baby by giving a feeling of peace, no worry and dependence for a feeling of security. Because of this Maya is very dear to our heart. But when the charm of Maya turns into passion leading to a longing or craving for it, the same Maya gives us sleepless nights. We feel disturbed, anxious and restless possessed by uncertainty and doubt. The attachment to Maya increases greed leading to mental tension. Tension intensifies due to fear of presumed future events. All these are the result of excessive craving. One should relish and savour the joys of Maya without getting attached to them. This is the only way to find lasting satisfaction.

       To achieve this state however it is not necessary to be passive in life. ‘Spiritual – Science’ does not promote an idle or fatigued society. Man should have passion for his goals. He should strive hard to reach the goals he sets for himself. In the process of doing so, he will be required to take some self development measures to suitably change his personality and learn new skills. Of course, all these are subject to the limits of one’s intelligence, eligibility and capabilities. He is bound to be exhausted and disappointed if his ambitions are beyond his capabilities. One should expand the scope of his work or business only to the extent that he does not create stress for himself. It should not disturb his mental peace. The satisfaction experienced on achieving one’s goal is priceless. Nevertheless, a goal is like the horizon. It always moves farther away from you. Therefore set your goals considering your capabilities, strive and achieve it, and be satisfied. A dissatisfied person can never attain mental peace. Therefore the goal of our lives should be to attain a satisfied state of mind. Each and every person must give sufficient thought to find that one thing which will give him everlasting satisfaction.

       Maya is the only cause of all the complications. Therefore it is imperative for us to understand the true nature of Maya. Taking the impermanency of Maya for granted, we should embrace its positive aspects while rejecting the negative ones.While doing so, think about our own body and mind. The human body is a miracle of nature. We should understand the laws of nature pertaining to it. We have to acknowledge gratefully the grace showered on us by nature in the form of our body. It is not our personal property. But we are obligated to take good care and maintain it well. It is the most obedient servant of the mind. It cannot function against the will of the mind. The state of the mind has a direct influence on the condition of the body. And therefore, when the mind is contented the body is at ease and healthy.

       Not only does an excellent state of the mind help us through our worldly life but also gives us valuable company after death. This is because, the location of one’s residence after death is decided based on the state of the mind. The period of such existence after death is not fixed. One should be able to move to higher planes where there is an abundance of bliss. The state of mind while living in the mortal body should be good in order to reach the higher planes. It is necessary therefore, to learn to be in a contented state. We can lead a satisfied life once we understand the true nature of Maya. One who is able to do this is said to have realised the self and is established in it.

       After this enlightening, inspirational and assuring talk from H.H. Bhanudas, a section of the seekers from the Foundation presented a few chants. H.H. Bhanudas also joined in the chanting enthralling the entire gathering of seekers. The function came to a close with the distribution of prasad to the seekers at HH Bhanudas’s hands.