An Appeal

Kamlesh Patel

Dear sisters and brothers,

I would like to share an incident with you that happened when Sister Kasturi
was visiting Babuji at Shahjahanpur. One morning they were sitting quietly, when
she noticed Babuji’s face suddenly turn morose, as if a fully-bloomed flower
had begun to wilt. She felt as if Babuji’s consciousness, which had been spread
throughout the universe, was withdrawing. The atmosphere became heavier, and
she expressed her concern: “What happened Babuji? Why?” Babuji responded
with a lot of pain, saying that politics had crept into one center and the members
were not behaving correctly.

In line with this, she also remarked that when Babuji is happy nothing can stop
him from raising an individual to the Highest—even within the blink of an eye!
Nothing makes the Great Master happier than teamwork and unity. And nothing
makes him sadder than discord and friction.

The Sahaj Marg Spiritual Movement is intensifying every day, despite many
obstacles. Our dedicated members are doing their best. Even newcomers whisper
the beauty of Sahaj Marg to their circle. That is happening in a natural way, as it
should.

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As heartful volunteers, serving the Lord, we encounter many interesting people
who contribute toward the Sahaj Marg Spiritual Movement with all their hearts.
They come together and form various teams, in order to refine the distribution
of responsibilities. It is natural that when many minds operate together the
Movement picks up with even more intensity. There will be times when we agree
and times when we disagree, which is fine. However, the differences are often
not well taken, and this results in emotional turmoil. We become closer to those
with whom we agree, while considering those who disagree as being closed-
hearted and having limited understanding! This situation only arises because we
are unable to see from the other person’s perspective. In that case, who is acting
with limited understanding and a closed heart?

In many messages from the Brighter World, we are advised to see the goodness in
others who have a different outlook, however, we tend to consider this approach
to be overly optimistic and impractical. Nevertheless, it is vital. It will allow
sympathy for others to mature into empathy. By adopting such an outlook, we
will be able to develop unity. It is easy to discard someone who does not agree

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or comply with your own point of view, but can you achieve anything noble by
being contentious?

No doubt, interpersonal differences can hurt us, and the reason is that we take
things personally. In unity there is no room for personal fancy. We all want the
betterment of this Movement—our ideal. If, at every turn, we are going to get hurt
by the words and actions of others, then we have yet to learn the basic lessons.

Reducing the causes of hurt is one of the solutions. These causes of hurt are
not physical arrows or bullets coming our way, where we would have to wear a
bullet-proof vest. These are subtler, invisible arrows of disagreement, which can
only be averted by developing an attitude of indifference. Sage Patanjali offers
the wonderful solution of developing indifference toward the wicked! Perhaps
I may be criticized for considering the other as wicked in the first place, before
expressing indifference toward the perceived differences with others.

All dedicated members who are busy spreading this Movement must be able to
discriminate what is important from what is not so relevant to our Movement.
Then the rest of our efforts will be well invested with efficacy.

I always remind myself of this couplet:

चुपके चुपके दर्द हर उम्मीद उठा कर ले गया,

दिल के दरवाजे पे उसके याद का पहरा न था.

Chupake chupake dard har ummeed utha kar le gaya,

dil ke daravaaje pe usake yaad ka pahara na tha.

Silently, pain took away every hope,

At the door of the heart, the guard ‘remembrance’ was absent.

It is this remembrance of the Lord that protects us from being vulnerable to

attacks, and also prevents us from attacking other dedicated members of the
team. Remembrance will filter and permit only that which will make our Beloved
happy.

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When new teams are formed, the team members start learning the process of
refining and enhancing the Movement. Mistakes will be made. In fact, mistakes
are part of any process of learning, just as small children fall over many times
when they are learning to walk. Also, it is worth reflecting on what is a mistake.
Sometimes, what you or I may consider to be a mistake may be another way of
doing something that will eventually turn out to be better. It may just need a bit
of fine-tuning before it is perfected. So it will be of great benefit if we allow some
space for new approaches, even if they sometimes fail, in order to bring about
change and continuous improvement. The creative process demands that. When
we observe nature, we find that she is very generous in allowing all creatures to
try various ways to adapt to new circumstances, in order to see what will work
best.

As newer members join our teams, they become temporarily indebted for the
chance to contribute something in addition to their daily practice. New volunteers

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will speed up our Movement only when the idea sinks into their hearts that all of
us are serving the Lord together. As the current group of new volunteers mature,
grow, and gain higher responsibilities, the next group of new volunteers will join
as timely aids. Thus, the process of learning, making mistakes, and maturing goes
on and on. The wiser ones among us do not repeat the same mistake twice.
Spiritual beings will not make a deliberate mistake, even once.

The moment a team is formed, the game begins. If there is anyone in the team
with a different outlook, what is your response? Do you try to distance yourself
from them, or exclude them from activities? The way of the heart does not
condone such distancing between team members. When groups start forming
within teams, groupism begins. Groupism can be defined as the coming together
of gossipers. At its worse, gossip is a disguised form of cruelty that weakens our
ethical radar system, the heart.

“Great minds discuss ideas.

Average minds discuss events.
Small minds discuss people.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

You may think that you have purified the Movement by excluding someone, but
ask yourself, is it really so? Babuji has declared that Sahaj Marg will be known
for its unity, and this demands that we adapt to the principles that promote
brotherhood. It is brotherhood that leads to unity.

Let us ask ourselves: What is the difference between us and the great Personalities
whom we revere every single day? And among all of us here today, who is able to
contribute most effectively to our Movement? It is those of us who can get along
with everyone, despite all the differences. Why? Because such souls understand
that it is not worth spoiling one’s spiritual condition for anything. Even more
tragic is to let go of one’s ideal over mere superficial differences. The beauty
of differences is that when they are brought together they complete an entire

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picture, which would be seen only partially through the limited eyes of a single
person.

The members of a team who agree with one another may be together today, but
the same gang may disappear tomorrow when differences creep in. An associate
who really cares will not speak an unkind word of any sort, but will pray to better
understand the others, and will also pray for their betterment. Spreading ill-will
about a team member is akin to spreading germs. Respectful restraint in curbing
gossip is critical. You may live long protecting yourself from deadly viruses, but
falling prey to the defect of gossip means instant spiritual suicide.

On the other hand, what is spiritual greatness? One who is great is one who has
evolved. What is the signature of evolution? Acceptance and adaptation. When
I am rigid in my differences with others, non-acceptance prevails—and when I
do not accept, where is the possibility of adaptation? According to one theory
of evolution, those who do not adapt will perish, and a species or group that
does not adapt will become extinct. So, let us accept and adapt to the perceived
differences among us, which in reality only enhance our Movement. May unity
prevail.

All the best,

Daaji

On the Occasion of Beloved Daaji’s 65th Birthday Celebrations

www.heartfulness.org