Stress-Free Yatra
The Journey of Faith
All of us believe in
the existence of Almighty, Omnipresent, One Universal Creator God, Beyond Space
and Time, Beyond Name and Form, Self-Existent, the Image of Undying, Beyond
Birth and Death, True in the Primal Beginning, True Throughout the Ages and
would also be True when things as seen by human eyes are finished. We see him with
different names and forms, personified, as per our own faith-that does miracles.
Faith of everyman accords with his nature. Man is made up of faith as is his
faith in the Universal Creator God, so is he. Without faith whatever offering or
Prasad or gift is made of the work done, seva-service performed or penance acts
performed as repentance by any human
being that are reckoned “not being” both, at present and thereafter at any time
even when confronted with Him.
None
of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward.
Because we trust. Because we have Faith. – Paulo Coelho
Everyman has his own
chosen time and place-Tirath or Dham where he likes to go again and again to
pay his obeisance, seek blessings of and audience with the loved Lord-the Ishat
Dev - Aradhaya. It is common, with the people to go to the Lord as and when
they receive his blessing fulfilling their wishes, through good happenings; and
also otherwise. When something wrong happens people immediately remember Him
and place something like money, some item apart or just a promise to visit His
place, just as a token of his remembrance. It is a firm belief that nobody can
enter His place without His permission. Obviously permission of the Lord is granted
to thousands of His devotees desirous of meeting Him and all reach to have
Audience-Darshanas of the Lord. Here people try to reach the Lord’s the Sanctum
Sanctorum in their own ways: some seek-help of others, VIP entry even before
the Lord what a contradiction, preferred categories like Army personnel, paid
entry as available, etcetera. While majority like to wait in the queue for
their turn as commoner still there are others who do not want to be special at
His Door even otherwise possible.
As man is always busy he likes to have Darshana of the Lord as quickly as
possible and when it takes time people feel stress, tension and anxiety. However,
to reach the Lord as a commoner has its own pleasure, peace and plums.
I do not know
experience of others. Whenever His blessings are granted with His grace, I try
to reach the town concerned, always first try to go to the Lord as quickly as
possible on arrival, to report that we have come; so that He takes care of us
in his town: try to see Him as closely and as long as possible and try to set
His image in my heart as long as am able to retain it all with his blessings.
My one of experience
is when reached that town and place: found
as always, there were thousands like us who had been granted permission and
place full as tightly as possible; no other entry being available: my spouse
was feeling suffocated in stream of devotees: for a moment we came out of the
rush; sat outside the crowd for a few minutes, shut our eyes ; concentrated on
the Lord, in a short while we were seeing only the Lord not the crowds; gathered courage,
again after sometime became part of pilgrims, everybody had his way along with
us, crowd seemed to have become friendly
and known; everybody inching his way to the Lord; after sometime we found ourselves in front of the
Lord-The Gracious, feeling as if He was waiting for us to shower His blessings;
gave our offerings to the priest, sought with folded hands, head down, total
surrender as much as I could understand, His blessings for us all, and had
heart-full audience with Him, He was listening, was listening even what was not
being said the prayer we made to HIM. Leaving aside the rush, the crowd its
jostling; it was satisfying, peace giving and a different experience of bliss.
God waits for you to communicate with Him. You have
instant, direct access to God. God loves mankind so much, and in a very special
sense His children, that He has made Himself available to you at all times.
- Wesley L. Duewel
All like to sit near
the feet of the Lord; so bow before him if possible like that, sit in the Sanctum
Sanctorum that would be bliss one longs for so long: if not possible come out sit
quietly anywhere in His premises see his image in your heart and pay your
obeisance, talk to Him as long as you want. If even that not possible, sleep on
the ground with the image of the Lord in your heart and eyes take it within
while sleeping. My mother used to call this process as, “Chowki Bhaharni”, one
may call it by the name he likes but it is an experience different every time.
Prayer is integral
part of a Yatra-Journey of Faith and is focused on the personal form of the
Lord, no rituals, no methodology, no specific words, no language, no drums or
beats thereof, no gestures: many of us do not know all these things; still we
pray to the Lord and prayers are answered what more we need perhaps nothing.
However prayer is between the devotee and the Lord, one speaks the OTHER listens,
and listens carefully, no language, no noise, no words, no time, no manners, no
third person listens, purity of heart, vacuum of mind, total surrender, and
firm faith; perhaps the ingredients of a pure prayer.
Now comes the turn
of Prasad, the blessing, the positivity, one receives from the door of the
Lord. It is wonderful, unique experience to get Prasad, in some places priest
in the Sanctum Sanctorum gives, in others it is given in a most orderly
fashion, and still there is a custom with others to snatch it a jostling,
indicative of the fact how much we love it and want it for our good and
guidance. At some places it is customary to give “Khajana”- the Treasure a
symbol of prosperity to the devotees, at others a head or neckwear: whatever we
get from the home of the Lord even a few drops of Charanamrit - the holy water is
positivity: take it, use it or retain it with highest reverence.
Another source of
positivity in many religious places in India is Langer, Bhandara, Free kitchen
for all: must participate in these practices: may be by taking food, serving
and preparing food and also by donating cash or kind for these institutions. This
is God’s Kitchen at one place in India the Food served is called Maha-Prasad.
At some places one is required to make some contribution before eating food.
Don’t grudge that is also His will. While taking food at Langer do not waste
even a single grain and a drop of water. It has medicinal effect inside the
place of worship and it becomes just a food outside the place: maintain the
sanctity of the highest order, cleanliness, orderly behavior, polite and
polished manners at Langer, as He is present there, getting us served.
The most important
thing is, that a Yatra is undertaken to connect with Him, one may argue that
you can connect with Him anytime anywhere, yes it is true, but still people
prefer to go to religious places for the simple reasons that great things had
happened there and the Lord in some form or the other had visited those places,
one can imagine the amount of positivity that might have been created then, it
still exists as the Lord is Omnipresent. Another thing is, so many devotees
visit these places and everybody comes with the desire to meet the Lord
certainly a positive thought and flow of devotees is a continuous process so is
the existence of positivity and for some time a person is in a different
atmosphere away from the daily routine only to meet Him.
Meeting with the Lord
is the purpose of every devotee: how to proceed: certainly it is just not
standing before the personified which most of us do or asking the priest to
make a prayer or read a manta or shaloka for us or making an offering; or a
priest performing a religious ritual for: certainly it is much more; what is
that much more: how to connect with Him. Have seen common people standing in
the Sanctum Santorum with eyes full of tears rolling down their cheeks some
just standing with folded hands and others in addition talking to him like
their father telling miseries and mysteries to Him; not bothered who is nearby
and where they are; why they should be, they are talking to the Supreme the
Lord: nothing above or below, nothing before or after, everything right now
then and there. Human emotions when they come from the pure heart, total
surrender and total unquestioned faith are expressed only through eyes shut and
silent: with purity of action, speech and thought: they do not follow any
procedure nor rituals; they just opened up their heart pure and fresh only for Him
to come in no other thought or wish and he comes in.
Wisdom of the ages,
sages and saints is that the Lord grants audience to everybody desirous and
worthy; it is personal and exceptional. So connect Him with the way one likes.
God, our Creator, has stored within our minds and
personalities, great potential strength and ability. Prayer helps us tap and
develop these powers.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
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