To become SPIRITUAL, you first have to be humane and practice HUMANITY. One cannot be Spiritual, if they lack humanity. And to practice the Humanity factor, one must first aim to be a SAINT.
A saint is not a person who is wearing a robe, walking around seeking alms, as we Indians, traditionally picture a saint to be. Instead, a Saint is someone who lives his life as per God’s rules and follows the scriptures. In today’s world, a saint can be found in a pair of jeans and sneakers!!! A saint is determined, not from what he is wearing or how he looks, but from how he lives his life. Becoming a saint, does not mean giving up the materialistic world. A true saint knows exactly how to create the perfect balance between the materialistic world and the spiritual world.
This year, aim on living your life like a SAINT because only a saint knows how to live spiritually, in this materialistic world. There are three steps to follow, if you want to aim on living like a saint: just remember the rule of the 3 S’s!….It’s SEWA, SATSANG & SIMRAN. Each of these “S” factors, further involve 3 aspects.
1. SEWA: is service: Service to mankind! Sewa is done in a GIVING MODE. When you serve others, serve irrespective of their caste, color or religious background. Just serve humans, with humanity! Sewa, should be “Nishkaam”: without any benefits in return. When the left hands gives, the right hand should not even find out. You normally do sewa in 3 ways: with your “tan, man & dhan”: your BODY, MIND and WEALTH. Doing sewa with your body involves physical work towards doing something for someone. Eg: physically going somewhere to run errands & chores for someone who is old or incapable, rendering care to the sick, donating blood, cooking for the hungry, cleaning and volunteering for your respective places of worship etc.
Sewa by mind, is wishing well for others and praying for their well being. Sewa by mind is also compromising to keep Harmony. Whenever we do sewa, our mind has to first become humble and give up the “I” factor. Never think that I: did something. Feel fortunate that God chose you to serve someone. Don’t forget that if He wanted, He could have easily done it Himself. Instead, He blessed YOU, with the opportunity. Every time we do sewa, always remember that we are just a medium via which God is getting something done. Hence, the importance of being humble. The minute we think that WE have done something, just take it, that we just flushed down all our efforts of sewa! Sewa is also done by spending your money for the benefit of others who are incapable. Buying food or groceries for the poor, medicines or treatments for the ones who cannot afford them, or spending your money to benefit the community because someone’s gotta do it!!!
2. The next S factor is SATSANG: or Congregation! Which is done in a RECEIVING MODE. Satsang means “sat ka sang” :the company of the truth. We all need to go to school or college to get materialistic knowledge. Similarly, we need to go to congregations and spiritual seminars to earn spiritual awareness. These are the grounds to seek inspiration and motivation to stay on the right track. The world today lacks spiritual knowledge and hence the motivation to remain spiritual, mainly because congregations or staying in the company of saints is not given enough importance. Just like the body needs food to keep it going, the Soul also requires nourishment with spiritual knowledge. A Satsang requires 3 aspects as well: GOING, LISTENING and IMBIBING: Your mind will always rationalize with you telling you that it is not a priority. But YOU, have to make the effort to GO to a satsang and then leave it up to GOD to help you learn. Making that initial effort to GO to a congregation, is vital to transforming you into a 21st century saint. To benefit yourself from a congregation, you have to LISTEN and switch yourself into the receiving mode, because only then, will you be able to learn. And lastly, make sure your IMBIBE everything you hear, into your life. A true satsang starts AFTER you leave a satsang, because how much you imbibe into your life, determines how spiritual you are.
3. The last S factor is SIMRAN: or meditating upon God’s name, or simply praying to God. Simran, should always be done in a NEUTRAL MODE. Ideally, a prayer should not be asking for materialistic benefits. A prayer should involve 3 steps to ACKNOWLEDGE God, SURRENDER to God and SEEK from God. Acknowledge the fact that God, and God alone is the formless, all powering source, surrender yourself to Him and seek His forgiveness and blessings. A perfect prayer is as follows:
"Dear Formless God, I surrender to thee, please forgive me and bless me!!!"
Put yourself in a neutral frame of mind and meditate upon his name. Thinking about God and the awareness that He is around us, is also Simran.
Remember, we all have to eventually leave this world, and when we go, the only thing we take along is our Spiritual knowledge! Everything else is materialistic and is left behind. So invest in spirituality, it’s the most precious asset you can possess and every time you do Sewa, Satsang or Simran, its yet another installment paid towards that eternal investment.
Source: Radio Roohaniyat
