What Then? E-Book

J.P. Vaswani

• Herausgeber: Gita Publishing House
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 174

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Tatah kim? What then? Adi Shankara asked this question years ago. What then? Making this soul-searching query his starting point, Dada J.P. Vaswani takes us on a journey of introspection and self-discovery to uncover the purpose of this, our human birth.

After acquiring degrees, amassing millions of dollars, gaining approbation and applause of crowds, man passes away like any other man. He does not— cannot— carry with himself his degrees, his wealth, his prestige and power. What is the purpose of life? What is its goal? Are you living your precious human life meaningfully, consciously, purposefully?

If you have ever asked yourself these questions, this book will help you with a few enlightening answers. It will show you that there is more to life than existing at the mundane level of material pleasures and possessions!

Come, discover what is next on your life's agenda, with Dada, the practical philosopher to show you the way!

Leseprobe

Published by

Gita Publishing House

Sadhu Vaswani Mission,

10, Sadhu Vaswani Path, Pune – 411 001, (India).

[email protected]

© J.P. Vaswani

First Published - 3000 copies - December, 2016

2nd Reprint - 3000 copies - April, 2017

3rd Reprint - 3000 copies - July, 2019

eBook edition - February, 2020

WHAT THEN?

E-ISBN: 978-93-86004-31-4

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Author.

Printed by

Parksons Graphics

15, Shah Industrial Estate,

Off Veera Desai Road,

Andheri (West),

Mumbai - 400 053

Books and Booklets by J.P. Vaswani

In English:

7 Commandments of the Bhagavad Gita

10 Commandments of a Successful Marriage

108 Pearls of Practical Wisdom

108 Simple Prayers of a Simple Man

108 Thoughts on Success

114 Thoughts on Love

A Little Book of Life

A Little Book of Wisdom

A Love that is Love Indeed!

Alphabets of Good Life

Around the Camp Fire

A Simple and Easy Way to God

A Treasure of Quotes -Vol. I

A Treasure of Quotes -Vol. II

Be An Achiever

Be in the Driver’s Seat

Begin the Day With God

Bhagavad Gita in a Nutshell

Burn Anger Before Anger Burns You

Comrades of God— Lives of Saints From East & West

Daily Appointment With God

Daily Inspiration (A Thought for Every Day of the Year)

Daily Inspiration

Dashavatara

Destination Happiness

Dewdrops of Love

Does God Have Favourites?

Ego Goes: Divinity Grows

Empower Yourself

Enrich Your Life - Desk Calendar

Face it With Love

Finding Peace of Mind

Formula for Prosperity

Friends Forever

Gateways to Heaven

God in Quest of Man

Good Parenting

Happily Ever After

How to Overcome Depression

I am a Sindhi

I Luv U, God!

India Awake

Jap Sahib - An Interpretation

Joy Peace Pills

Kill Fear Before Fear Kills You

Ladder of Abhyasa

Lessons Life Has Taught Me

Life After Death

Life and Teachings of Sadhu Vaswani

Life and Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Ten Companions of God

Living in the Now

Make the Right Choice

Management Moment by Moment

Mantra for the Modern Man

Mantras for Peace of Mind

Many Paths: One Goal

Many Scriptures: One Wisdom

Moment of Calm - Desk Calendar

Nearer, My God, to Thee!

New Education Can Make the World New

Peace or Perish

Practice the Presence of God

Positive Power of Thanksgiving

Questions Answered

Rainbow of Love

Saints for You and Me

Saints With a Difference

Say No to Negatives

Secrets of Health and Happiness

Seven Steps on the Path

Shake Hands With Life

Short Sketches of Saints Known & Unknown

Sketches of Saints Known & Unknown

Spirituality in Daily Life

Stay Connected

Stop Complaining: Start Thanking!

Stories With a Difference From the Bhagavata Purana

Swallow Irritation Before Irritation Swallows You

Switch on the Light

Teachers are Sculptors

The Endless Quest

The Goal of Life and How to Attain it

The Highway to Happiness

The Little Book of Freedom From Stress

The Little Book of Prayer

The Little Book of Service

The Little Book of Success

The Little Book of Yoga

The Magic of Forgiveness

The New Age Diet: Vegetarianism for You and Me

The Perfect Relationship: Guru and Disciple

The Simple Way

The Terror Within

The Way of Abhyasa (How to Meditate)

Thus Have I Been Taught

Tips for Teenagers

What You Would Like to Know About Karma

What You Would Like to Know About Hinduism

What to Do When Difficulties Strike

Why Do Good People Suffer?

Why Be Sad?

Women: Where Would the World be Without You?

You Are Not Alone: God is With You!

You Can Change Your Life: Live— Don’t Just Exist!

Contents

Author’s Preface

1. Where can I Find the Answer to my Questions?

2. Are You Living Life with a Purpose?

3. An Exercise in Awareness

4. Reflecting on the Journey of Life

5. Take Stock of Yourself

6. Stock Taking Meditation

7. Make a New Beginning

8. You are Unique!

9. Contemplation on the Unique Self that I am

10. Making Discontent Work for You

11. Listen to Your Heart

12. The Larger Picture

13. Fix Your Goal

14. You Become What You Think

15. Life is too Short!

16. Make the Most of Your Precious Time

17. What is of Lasting Value in Life?

18. Give Meaning to Your Life: The Value of Satsang

19. Simple Sadhanas

20. Do it Today!

21. A Road Map for You

22. First Practical Suggestion 151 Take Charge of Your Life

23. Second Practical Suggestion 159 Never Forget that You are just a Traveller here on Earth

24. Third Practical Suggestion 169 Pain and Pleasure are Two Sides of the Same Coin

25. Fourth Practical Suggestion 179 Develop the Spirit of Detachment

26. Fifth Practical Suggestion 193 Self-effort is the Best-effort

27. Sixth Practical Suggestion 206 Remember: This too Shall Pass Away

Afterword

Busy, busy, busy! Stressed, tense and anxious! Rushing to catch up with piled up work! Desperately struggling to meet deadlines…this is life for most of us today!

Not that many of us are complaining. We have set these targets or tasks for ourselves and we are determined to meet them. If ‘goals’ or ‘objectives’ were set by others we would give it our best, get it over and done with and then take a break. But when we ourselves have set our sights on a ‘rat race’ that we are determined to win at all costs, who will give us relief and release?

A young working mother of two lovely children came to meet me after evening satsang at the Mission. “I feel so refreshed and rejuvenated after the satsang, Dada,” she exclaimed. “It was so wonderful to participate in the kirtan and aarti, and what valuable insights I got from your discourse today! I feel my tension leaving me, and a load seems to have been lifted from my mind…” She paused and sighed, “If only I could come to satsang oftener…”

“But that is entirely in your hands,” I said to her gently.

“If only you knew how busy I am,” she replied. “Dada, 24 hours are not enough to do all that I have to do! I get up at 6 in the morning to take Chintu to his tennis practice and go for my own yoga classes. Then there is Ritu’s dancing class and their school. I have to fit in the gym and my film appreciation course and golf. In the evenings, there is the children’s tuition and my Ladies Club meetings and every other day there are parties and events to attend… oh, I am exhausted when I drop into bed at 11…”

Actually, I felt sorry for the children who were being rushed from one class to the next and sent to tuitions after a full school day!

There are some eternal truths which have now become commonplace sayings, practically platitudes. But they are still relevant to us now. I am sure you know some of them too: Hard work never ever killed anyone. Success can only be achieved through persistent effort and dedication. Great accomplishments come from people who believe and achieve. But every activity, every effort needs a focus! Even in the frenetic pursuit of targets and goals, we need to pause and reflect on where we are headed, where our life is taking us, or, where we are trying to reach with our hectic efforts!

Quo Vadis? Whither goest thou? Do you know where you are going?

The answer to that question cannot really be found in your dairy entries or your schedule of appointments! Your activities cannot indicate the answer either. It is a question that forces you to reflect on the ultimate goal you have set out for yourself.

“I am nothing if not a doer, an action-person,” some people say, very proudly. “I can’t bear to sit still. If I have only one project to deal with, I am looking for the next one I can take up. If I’m at a meeting, I feel I should be working on my report. If I’m writing my report, I think I should get on with the actual work…I’m always on the go…”

Fine! But where exactly are you going?

And, what is perhaps more important, where do you wish to go?

A TV Channel was interviewing a young student who had topped his Board exams.

“So tell us, what are your plans for the future?”

“I hope to get into IIT.”

“And, after IIT…?”

“Well, I’m not going to stop with B. Tech. I plan to get into IIM. Get an MBA. And then, the world is my oyster!”

“What are your career plans?”

“Google is my dream work destination. Or I might settle for Facebook. I know I can get there, once I set my heart on it.”

“Sounds great! And after that?”

“Green Card in the U.S.- Marry and settle down. Have kids… give my kids the best education in the world…travel, see places, get to the top of the organisation…then retire at 55, and live in the Bahamas…can anyone ask for more?”

“After that?”

“After that…?” The young man was startled. “After that?” he repeated blankly, “Nothing!”

Is that all there is to life- get a good job, make money, get married, beget children, buy their education, climb up the corporate ladder, retire-and beyond that, nothing?

Tatah kim? Tatah kim? asked Adi Shankara, centuries ago. What then? Is making money the be-all and end-all of life?

I am reminded of these lines from a poem, “A Psalm of Life” by H.W. Longfellow:

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal ;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

Find us farther than to-day.

How would you interpret “farther than today”? Not in terms of space or time, but in terms of evolution, what our saints and sages have called “growing in perfection”.

In the year 1944, Sadhu Vaswani was invited by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya to visit Banaras Hindu University. At a gathering of teachers and students whom he addressed, a question was put to him: “What are the marks of a truly educated man?”

In answer, Sadhu Vaswani said, “The truly educated man is even he, who expresses the life force within him, and who has in some measure, won real freedom.”

Ya Vidya Sa Vimuktaye- so our ancient scriptures tell us. That is knowledge, which liberates you; if you are enslaved by materialism at the end of your education, can you call yourself liberated or educated?

“Pleasure is not the goal of man…” Swami Vivekananda tells us. “Pleasure and happiness come to an end. It is a mistake to suppose that pleasure is the goal. The cause of all the miseries we have in the world is that men foolishly think pleasure to be the ideal to strive for. After a time man finds that it is not happiness, but knowledge, towards which he is going, and that both pleasure and pain are great teachers…”

We all know this. A man might be educated at Harvard or Oxford; he might be married to a wonderful woman and have adoring children; he might be admired and respected; but he might still feel unfulfilled, discontent, depressed…

What then? Where does he go from here?

It is a commonplace saying of philosophy that birth and death are the only two certainties of human existence: birth is the start of the journey and death… death may be the end, but is it the destination? Are we living in order to die? Or, are we living to exist? Or to eat, drink and be merry for we may die soon?

“The unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates said to Plato. It may be easier, it may be more pleasurable, it may be a soft option, this unexamined life: but it is worthless. What makes life worthwhile, then, is to examine, to make considered, well thought out ethical choices, to choose the freedom of conscious living rather than slavery to materialism or convention or worldly success.

Are we ready to examine our lives and the choices we make?

Where can I Find the Answer to my Questions?

A man may fulfill all his desires…..WHAT THEN?

He may realise all his dreams…..WHAT THEN?

He may reach the peak of success…..WHAT THEN?

He may acquire name, fame, pleasures, money…..WHAT THEN?

Life has been described as a series of challenges which man must face, take on and overcome. Most of us deal with the problems thrown at us as best as we can. We seek solutions; we try and work out answers to questions that vex us.

The seeker is a much loved figure in Hindu mythology. Our ancient scriptures are full of the stories of young devotees, jignasus, who persistently seek the truth against all odds. We have the young Nachiketas in the Kathopanishad, for example, who spurns all the boons and riches that Lord Yama showers on him and demands that he be told the truth about after-life. We also have the young lad Satyakama in the Chandogya Upanishad, who is determined to attain Brahma Jnana. He courageously seeks the discipleship of Sage Gautama, whose ashrama is filled with boys of high birth and social status, humbly confessing to the Guru that he is the son of Jabala and that he does not know his father. Both the young men attain to the truth they seek.

But most inspiring for many of us is the story of the young prince Dhruva.

Dhruva was the eldest son of a king called Uttanapada. As the eldest child, he should have been the closest to his father’s heart and next in line to the throne. But the child was destined for a greater life!

Dhruva’s father had two wives. Suniti, the older one, was gentle, mild and virtuous. She was Dhruva’s mother. Suruchi, the younger one, was proud and beautiful; she was the king’s favourite. She had a son called Uttama.

One day, the two princes were playing together. Suddenly, Dhruva wanted to go and sit on the lap of his father, the king. The little boy ran up to his father who was seated on the throne, and climbed joyfully onto his knees. The king, too, embraced his little son gladly and lovingly stroked his hair.

Queen Suruchi just happened to witness this little incident. Being a proud and jealous woman, she was incensed to see Dhruva on the king’s knees. She rudely pulled the little boy by the ear and pushed him away. “Get out!” she screamed in rage. “You have no right to be seated here, on your father’s lap or on his throne! That is a position meant for my son alone!”

Dhruva was deeply hurt. What made him really sad was that his father, the king, who was infatuated with his younger wife, said not a word in defence of his son.

Dhruva ran to his mother. “How is it that my father’s lap is not for me?” he questioned her in anguish. “Tell me how I may obtain his love, so that no one can push me away from my rightful place.”

Suniti was a pious and devoted woman, as well as a loving mother. She said to her son, “My dear child, look not to your earthly father or earthly mother for comfort. Turn instead to your Divine Father; for He alone has the power to grant you your heart’s desire.”

Dhruva’s heart was moved by his mother’s words of wisdom. He went into the tapobana (a forest of meditation), in order to find God through the practice of austerity and devotion. As luck would have it, Maharishi Narada came to meet him there. “Tell me of the Lord who can grant me my heart’s desire,” the child asked the sage. In love and kindness, Maharishi Narada described the effulgent and radiant form of the four-armed Maha Vishnu with eyes as brilliant as the sun, the sacred shankh and chakra in his hands, the mace and the sword at his sides, His divine presence inspiring awe and ecstasy simultaneously. Once this form was clearly etched into Dhurva’s mind, Maharishi Narada taught him the sacred mantra. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, and thus, young Dhruva was initiated into meditation.

For Dhruva, it became the taraka mantra that would enable him to have a darshan of the Lord: Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya! (I offer salutation to the Lord who is the All-Pervading One!) For days, this five-year-old child sat in meditation of the Lord. Hunger, thirst and all bodily demands were laid aside. As he uttered the taraka mantra repeatedly, his consciousness was uplifted and the Lord appeared to give him darshan.

Dhruva had left the palace with a longing to take his rightful place on the throne and hopeful that he would one day come to occupy a prime place in his father’s heart. But the Lord’s darshan wrought a tremendous transformation upon his soul. The constant repetition of the mantra had kindled his highest aspirations. With folded hands and head bowed, Dhruva said to the Lord, “I want neither the reins of power, nor the pleasures of this earth. I want Thee and Thee alone!”

The Lord so blessed Dhruva, that he was transformed into the most steadfast star on the horizon- the Pole Star. The boy, who had been pushed away from his father’s knee, became the Beloved of the Lord. As the Pole Star, the Dhruva -Nakshatra, he shines on steadily, not moving from his place, come summer or winter!

Dhruva is indeed, the shining example of bhakti yoga!

Is your life being frittered away by details? Between Chintu’s tennis classes and Ritu’s dance classes, mother’s kitty parties and ladies club meetings, between the teenager’s Facebook and Instagram encounters, between the father’s television news and business meetings…do you feel you are missing out on something?

Are you focusing on meeting targets and deadlines and on rapid growth and instant financial gains? Do you feel you have given your life to making your business/organisation/ institution successful and you don’t really have the time or energy to give to anything else?

I know that many of you lead very busy and hectic lives. I know you are totally involved in all your worldly commitments. But at the end of the day, when the hectic rush of appointments is over, take a pause, and ask yourself, “What Then?”

“If I were to pause to ask myself abstract questions, my work will spill over into the next 24 hours,” said a brother, when he was told to ask himself, “What Then?”

Fair enough! I do realise that 24 hours a day are not enough for some of you.. But… somewhere in this hectic game, are you losing the essence of life?

“Essence of life? Essence of life? What’s that?” some of you may ask.

I know it’s only an expression, a fanciful metaphor. But if like me, and many others, you believe that there is a certain significance, a meaning to human life, well, that is what I was referring to: the purpose or the goal of life.

Wouldn’t you like to determine for yourself the goal of your life?

Discover the Purpose of Your Life: Silent Reflection

Many of us grow up with a strong conviction of what we want to be and what we want to do with our lives. But this is not the same as discovering the purpose of our life! The latter is a far more profound issue that can only be resolved through deep introspection and continuous self inquiry. You cannot ask others what you should do with your life; nor can you blindly choose and follow role models.

The point is that no one can teach you the purpose of your life. It is only your own inner voice which can tell you what you should do with your life!

The truth is that we know instinctively that there is a higher purpose to our life than eating, having fun, making merry and growing old. But our inner quest for meaning is often distracted by the shouts and shows of the material world and its constant demands on us. We need to withdraw into silence to rediscover or rather uncover this clarity of perception which is hidden behind veils of maya, of worldly illusions.

Choose a silent corner and sit comfortably: focus on your breath. Be at peace, at one with your inner self. Here is a preliminary series of questions that might help you to understand and go deeper within yourself:

1. How would you describe your overall emotional condition at this stage of your life? Would you describe yourself as peaceful, secure, stable, tranquil, fairly happy and content? Or would you choose words like depressed, stressed, overworked, unhappy, dissatisfied, restless, uneasy and apathetic?

2.