Vijay Bhatiani
Haidakhan Babaji appeared in 1970, and took Mahasamadhi in 1984. His message was Truth, Simplicity, and Love. Besides this He repeatedly & very authentically wanted everybody to perform their karam and karam Yog. Karam means action for everything we do through mind, word, and body; all these actions are considered karmas. Maybe Babaji felt that His teachings of karma were more important for Indians who were under foreign rule for hundreds of years and depended too much on destiny, and God’s will instead of putting their best efforts on Karmas, for fulfilling their ambitions and materialistic desires. There are communities in India where men just do nothing all day, besides drinking alcohol, while their women work in the fields along with doing other domestic chores. Babaji condemned idlers. Whenever He spoke about karam, He expressed it very vehemently, and forcefully. He even said that only those who work hard are alive and a lazy man is like a corpse. Since His time and even today, there is a placard fixed on the wall in front of the 9 temples across Gautami Ganga which say, “Work is Worship”.
All our karmas get recorded in our subconsciousness and thus we reap the fruits of good and bad karmas in life after life. Lord Krishna had given this message of karam and karam yog in Bhagavad Gita and Babaji had given this message in Kalyug (present era). The way the world & India are progressing through their karmas, I feel it was not only a message but His Blessings to the world.
However, His main emphasis was repeatedly on Karam Yog. Now let’s understand what exactly is Karam Yog. Yog means union with God. As per yogic scriptures, Yog leads to the union of Individual Consciousness with that of the Universal Consciousness. Therefore, the Karam which unites one with God are called Karam Yog.
“Which are these karmas”?
According to the Bhagavad Gita, the karmas which are done without any attachment to oneself, and where there is no expectation of any reward, such karmas unite us with God thus called Karam Yog.! Now if we analyse all our actions or Karmas, we realize that we are basically attached to all that we do, all the while expecting something in return – either monetary gain, fame and name and appreciation from others etc. When all such expectations & attachments are not there, then the Karam becomes Karam Yog. One can say ‘Selfless Service’ is Karam Yog.
During Baba’s time, when devotees used to work in the ashram or on the Gautami Ganga riverbed for construction work, without any personal agenda was a true example of Karam Yog. Nobody was expecting any payment nor was there any reward for it or recognition for the best worker. They were doing it as sewa and service to the Divine.
It is very difficult to get out of these attachments and expectations from our karmas because we are all under the spell of MAYA (The Cosmic Illusion) which itself is created by God / Babaji. He had clearly said in ‘Gorakhvani’ that no one can understand the mystery of My Maya. Maya consumes everybody, very few can become free from it. Even Lord Hanuman did not know His greatness till he was made aware of His Divine powers. Babaji often prompted us to say “MAHAMAYA KI JAI”, a slogan while greeting each other, to remind us the power of Maya. Only way to free oneself from the negative hold of Maya is to pray to its Creator, that is God / Babaji.
For this, He guided us to do ‘Jap yog’. ‘Jap yog’ is the continuous repeating of the Name of God or One’s Deity or Guru Mantra. To understand the real significance of the Name of the God one should read a small booklet – “Naam Sadhan” (Name Spiritual Practice) written by Reverend Shree Mahindra Maharaj Ji.
For the benefit of the readers, He has quoted from ‘Katho Upanishad’, ‘Puranas’, ‘Patanjali Yog Shastra’, ‘Tantra Yog Shastra’, ‘Durga Shaptshati’, ‘Shrimad Devi Bhagwat’, ‘Ved Vyas’ ‘Gita’, ‘Manas Ramayan’, ‘Shankaracharya’, ‘Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’, ‘Goswami Tulsidas’ ‘Raman Maharishi’, ‘Orriya Baba’, ‘Ram Krishan Paramhans’ and other realized saints. Below are listed certain facts written by Reverend Mahindra Maharaj Ji in his booklet ‘Naam Sadhan’.
• Name is Brahm, even PraBrahm. The Name of Brahm without form is OM. The people who do not believe in God and His Avatars and Forms, they believe in its Name that is Om.
• Prayer is a part of Naam Jap; thus, it leads one to do Naam Jap of the Deity whom one is praying.
• In the beginning one may not have love or feeling for the Deity but when one keeps the image of the Deity in one’s heart and repeats its Name then all the negativity will be taken away by the Deity.
• The Deity whose Name one is repeating is always present in the Name itself thus it will not let any obstacle come in the path of the Sadhak.
• It has been mentioned in the ‘Puranas’, that work which God Himself cannot do, His Name will do it instantly.
• Naam Jap should be done with Truth, Simplicity, Love and Deep Concentration. In order to keep away our all-pervading thoughts the sadhak should put a mental image of the Deity or Guru in front of him.
• Naam Jap is the soul of all sadhanas and through it one can achieve anything.
• In all the Yugas, Naam Jap was always effective but in Kal Yuga it is most effective.
• God and His Name are not different, and by repeating it with true devotion a stage reaches when the Sadhak, God and His Name all three become one.
• Repeating Guru Mantra is Jap only.
• Naam Jap has the power to burn ones Sanchit Karmas (the store of karmic debts accumulated from previous births) and Prarabdha karmas (that part of Sanchit Karma which must be worked out in the present life).
• In various other Yog Sadhanas (spiritual practices) there are many difficult rituals, restrictions as well as certain rigidities whereas ‘Naam Jap’ is so simple that it can be done anytime and at anyplace. However, Naam Jap done in Brahm Mahurat that is early morning before sunrise is most effective.
• In the most ancient, world-famous Mantraraj, Shri Gayatri Mantra there is mention of ‘Naam’.
Worldly love is based on selfish interests. All attachments in this world give rise to desires, and once they are fulfilled, it inflates the “Ego”, (which is directly opposite to God) and at the same time, a new desire is born! And when the desires are not fulfilled, it leads to anger, frustration, and depression. In this way, a vicious circle of karmas continues life after life. Mind is the sole reason of Bondage and Liberation. While repeating the Name of the Deity or Guru Mantra one should have the firm conviction that the Deity is present with all its powers in the Name itself. And when this conviction deepens it leads to the pure love for the Deity or the Guru and this purifies the Mind. This is when Divine Grace starts descending on the sadhak and he realises the futility of worldly desires and attachments. He also realises that God / Consciousness is right inside us and in all living beings, thus leading one to do Selfless Service which is Karamyog.
God is Unlimited and Continuous Bliss / Happiness. That’s why He is also called “Sat Chit Anand” that is ‘Anand Hi Anand’. Our Soul/ Atma inside us is a part of God Himself that’s why we all seek happiness but instead of identifying ourselves with our Soul, we identify with our body and seek for happiness in this materialistic world, but we fail completely! To rectify this wrong identification, one must pray to God / Babaji & the repeat the Guru Mantra or the Name of God with love & devotion.
Guru Nanak Ji said “Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar, Sukhiya Soi Jo Ram Adhar”, meaning everybody in this world is miserable only one who is continuously chanting Ram (The Name of God) is actually happy. “This world is transitory, the Name of God is the true reality. Everything in this world is destructible, transient, unlasting. So, you must all repeat Gods Name and sing kirtan & bhajan with devotion and concentration. Without this how can you attain enlightenment and make progress?” Shree Babaji
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