A benign meditator from another beautiful Spiritual Path made an interesting observation - ‘Your Path is intensive, ours is extensive.’ This is so because each student is given personal attention in the form of Monthly Spiritual Check-ups and direct guidance from Guruji, and Senior Guides, over email and letters. The intensity is due to Guruji’s diligent and loving effort, and he is ever ready to answer questions. In return he naturally has expectations; especially from his band of workers and teachers, a few kindred Spirits called Volunteers. The Volunteer’s forum is for specific one-to-one Spiritual Guidance and works as a catalyst for transformation.

Since Guruji had mentioned that we should be aware of a Divine Presence in us, Ms. Vaishali Joshi aspired to understand it better. Her question – “Namaste Guruji, we are aware at the intellectual level about the Presence or Divine Light in us. Not only do we lose this awareness during non-meditating hours, even during actual practice it remains at the intellectual level as visualization. How do we convert this into a real full-time experience?”

The guidance was like categorical – “Intensify your Sadhana (Spiritual practices).”

Explanation followed, “You see just one hour of Meditation is not enough to get the results you want. Increase the quantity and quality of Meditation. Sadhana means making efforts. Sit for Meditation with an unwavering determination to experience the Divine Presence in you; most importantly, bring in the factor of deep eternal Love towards the Divine from your heart. Speak to the Presence, express your Love and intent to experience It, and you will receive all help required. If your Love for the Presence is intense then even with a shorter period of Meditation you will be able to experience firsthand.”

Love bridges the gap that effort alone cannot. Spiritual teacher Gary Zukav says – ‘Love is not a passive state. It is an active force. It is the force of the soul.’

Nothing compares to experiencing the profound layers of consciousness, it tends to leave the meditator in a state of dignified natural silence. Guruji always helps us in maintaining a temperate balance despite the depth of experience. Mr. Manoj Chopra verified his Meditational experience with the theory he had learnt about it.

“Guruji, during the Eclipse group Meditation, I felt I went very deep into a layer of consciousness. At one point I felt as if I was going to fall asleep. Then I became alert. Suddenly, I crossed into a deeper layer, then another and yet another. Are these the deeper layers of consciousness you often speak about?”

“Yes, it is.”

“What is interesting Guruji is that once I crossed the level of sleep I became increasingly more aware and kept going deeper.”

“Very good. Always maintain Trataka, if you lower your gaze or do bend your head, sleep will creep in” Guruji said as a word of caution.

We often wonder what the Rishis would meditate upon since they have already gone beyond Mukti. This was Manoj’s next question, “Rishis meditate for thousands of years. Do they go on experiencing God? What is their experience like?”

“It is very difficult to generalize,” Guruji replied, “since they work for God’s Creation their Meditation has specific purposes, for example, sometimes they gather certain energies for their work. Each purpose has a corresponding meditational technique. We definitely cannot practise these techniques.”

Guidance for Volunteers is not restricted to Sadhana alone, managing difficult people as Spiritually as possible is also given due credit. Ms. Rakhee Chopra works with the core Light Channeling group, her queries usually are about psychic experiences, but this time they were about an everyday human occurrence. Her task requires her to collate a lot of information from many sources to confirm various data points like the name of the school, principal, number of students who channeled Light, etc. Her interaction sometimes has resulted in harshness from the responders. In the initial months, this distressed her. She went on to explain how she put up with rudeness so that work goes undisturbed. Later Manoj helped her in standing up for herself while getting the job done.

In response Guruji said, “Life and people are like that. Sometimes there are very hurtful experiences. You have to learn to manage. But it is a good experience because once you go through it you know you can deal with anything in life.”

He also narrated an incident of insensitivity when he was arranging a Spiritual Conference in 1989. Those were the days when money was hard to come by for the Rishis’ Projects; not that it is easy now. Guruji said that he had to collect Rs. 25,000/- and donations came in as a hundred or two hundred rupees at a time. Nobody contributed more. Someone referred a person who could. Upon meeting this person, he made Guruji wait for a full two hours as he had gone on to meet someone else and had forgotten. Later with a sincere apology he gave a hundred rupees. Here there was no point in saying anything, however, in another instance Guruji could and did give it back.

“During my career in the General Post Office, Bangalore, I would interact with service seekers at the counters. Once a person rudely reminded me that I am a public servant; I shut him up by saying that I was so only for the public and not for him. So if you can respond, do so.”

Negating self-respect is not Spiritual.

Shobha Ma’am almost always sits in the first row right in front of Guruji, like the devout who seek indescribable fulfillment in keeping no distance between them and the Guru. Probably prompted by the discussion on deeper layers of consciousness, she asked if the soul has many levels analogous to the levels of the mind.
“The soul is just an entity; all other things like subtle bodies, etc were added later. Soul does not have any layers.”

The deeper layers of consciousness have to do with the degree of expansion of awareness.

Shyamala Madam’s approach to work and Sadhana is rigorous and disciplined. Guruji had instructed that those living in Taponagara’s Manasi field can practise Stage Meditations only during the Nisheet Kala timings of 1:00am to 3:36am. Her question was, “Guruji, sometimes I start Meditations by 2:30am, then after 3:36am I practise Pranayama and Shielding technique. We are supposed to do these before we start Stage Meditation, but the sequence goes haywire, is it ok?”

“It is alright. There is no problem. The only precaution you have to take care is that you should not contact anyone outside the Manasi Field during the Nisheet Kala.”

“Not even offer respects, Guruji?”

“No. While offering respects if you establish a link with a Rishi in a different realm outside the field then you might attract the attention of the non-positive forces. However, you can offer respects to anyone within this Manasi field and you can even contact them.”

Before going on to the interesting points she discussed, Shyamala Ma’am asked her usual question on details of techniques. “Guruji, in Shambala and Ra Group Classes you have given us different Pranayama practices. During Shambala techniques we have to use only the specified colour of Light otherwise, generally, as mentioned in Ra Group, isn’t it?”

With a patient smile Guruji said, “Yes, and if there is any mix up, there is no problem. You don’t have to worry. There will be no harm.”

Ma’am narrated the unique psychic experiences of a student and asked Guruji about it.

“She is a very special soul,” Guruji said, “She had wonderful experiences in her previous life when she did a lot of Sadhana. That’s why her experiences are entirely new and different. She had followed a different Path, in this lifetime she has come here.”

In an enthusiasm laden voice she asked, “Guruji, another student says that she was stuck in traffic in a commute which takes about an hour and a half; however, when she went into stillness her bus reached the destination in just half an hour. Did time alter for her? Does the experience hold true for the co-passengers?”

Guruji: “It is difficult to explain logically, but it is like time travel. It is an amazing experience. Several people have this but they haven’t noticed it. She did. I can’t explain the phenomenon clearly, but something paranormal did happen. It has happened to me also. When I did not have time and had a lot to do, I thought I could attend to only one task. I continued and noticed that in the limited period of time I had accomplished many tasks and I had time to spare.”

“Oh Guruji, it is always easy for you,” she said in a self-denying tone.

“No. It can happen to anyone.”

There is an important lesson here though it does not seem apparent. A Guru teaches his students because he sees potential in them to emulate him. To say that we are not capable of higher mystical experiences is defeating the purpose of learning under a Mystic.

From the last row came the last few questions from Mr. Sunil Bisarahalli, “Guruji, I read in a book about Akashic Records that if there is a misunderstanding or a fight here, the same set of people will take birth again to sort it out. My question was, if we learn the lesson, is that sufficient or should the same set of people take birth again to learn or can we learn the lesson through others?”

“I think if we learn the lesson, it is enough. It is because we don’t learn that we come back. It is not necessary that we have to have the same set of people,” Guruji explained.

“My next question, Guruji – It has been my dream to be more closely associated with you and today you announced in the class that you want to withdraw. You said you want to live more there, at the Higher Astral levels, than here. I feel that it is pushing me also to live more there than here, so that you are not spared of us at all. But how do we do it, Guruji, with our life being so hectic and so complex, how can we internalize so much that, you know, we can open up more at other levels?”

Guruji: “Firstly, we have to make time, we have to snatch time from life. Secondly, when I said I want to withdraw, I meant that I do not want to do the same jobs that I have been doing. I can take up other tasks, like if I could spend more time alone then I can channel more Knowledge and bring down different Meditational techniques. It will help people. I do not want to retire or take it easy; I wanted a break from the routine. I receive the same questions, same human problems, etc. I wish somebody else would take care of such matters so that I can take up other projects. That’s all. I have lost interest with mundane words and people. It is human but I will get over it. I love my work and there are so many more things to do.”

We often forget that Guruji is seventy plus. We always see him smiling, charged and so full of life. His eternal aspect shows through his mortal so much that we forget his natural human limitations. He also has a right to be human and we have to give him the space to be so. We can still take our Spiritual matters to him, but only if we cannot deal with it ourselves. He has been training each one of us to be independent, as in, to have a direct guidance with the Rishis and him, beyond the physical.

A mild hesitation overshadowed Sunil’s usual jovial voice, “Guruji, I have had a question on my mind for a long time. It is delicate one; I do not know how to put it across…..”

“…..so put it delicately,” charmed Guruji. Even when he is in a mood to withdraw, his wit and spontaneity remains razor sharp.

With his inhibition put to rest, Sunil asked, “Guruji, students come to our Path because you are available. They come to listen to and see you. If you retire, then will it not impact the progress of the organization?”

“I understand what you are saying,” Guruji said seriously, “you see, this Project of the Rishis goes on. Those who come here for the Rishis, for genuine Spiritual Energies and knowledge, and for Meditations will always come. There are always those who are fence-sitters, who cannot decide on the course of their Spiritual journey, such will fade away. Some dilly-dally, so be it. When Amara was available, many came to hear his Astral work; after he passed over they vanished. But Amara’s Work never stopped, we have continued his legacy – his teachings.

“We have everything here – Special Energies, Meditation halls as Energy Centres, a strong syllabus, structured organization and a proper machinery of dedicated workers. We are fine.”

We have a big enough group of Volunteers, teachers, staff, etc. Each of the residents in Taponagara contributes to Guruji’s Project one way or another. Additionally, there are a hundred plus Light Channels Volunteers spread across the country, with a few abroad. The Work of the Rishis for humanity goes on, aptly captured in the hymn written by Guruji – ‘Rishikarya ki jyoti sadaa jale…” Look within, this jyoti burns through each one of us – a few hundred kindred Spirits.