- Swami Tejomayananda Guruji's address to the Delhi CHYKS in 1999

People are very curious and often want to know how while studying science, I came to the spiritual field and why I joined the Ashram. Generally people have their own pre-conceived notions about this. They feel that some depression or frustration in life must have motivated me to join the Ashram. There was no disappointment or frustration that impelled me to leave home for a life in the Ashram. Objectively, I would say that exposure to the literature of Swami Vivekananda and others changed my whole line of thinking. I found my friends at university constantly worried about their choice of careers. Nowadays there are many options and combinations, to choose from but when we were in college? there were only three main streams available to us - Science, Commerce and Arts. In Science either you opted for Biology or for Maths and became a doctor or an engineer. Wanting to be completely different I decided to become a sanyasi. This spiritual pursuit is completely out of the ordinary and can be a great adventure. Now, you must want to know the basis of this statement.

When you take up any course of study, medicine, engineering, fine arts or computers, you are clear about what you have to study and practice and what you will become. But in the pursuit of spirituality, at the outset nothing is known and you have no idea what you are in for. You are familiar with certain words without knowing their true import. Once somebody asked me why I wanted to join an Ashram. I remember telling him, without knowing either the meaning of Self or Realization, that I wanted Self­Realization! These were only words to me. At that time I did not know which ashram I would join, who would be my teacher or what would I learn. Once it was established that I was going to join an ashram, they wanted to know if I would get a certificate. What kind of a certificate can you get in an ashram? At the most the ashram
. can say that so-and-so underwent training there. They can hardly certify him to be a God-realized soul, requesting people to worship him! Then people wanted to know what kind of work I would do and I had no answer to that too.

Actually I did my B.Sc, but never bothered to collect my certificate from the University. It was only while in the States, working for the Mission, that I required my University degree for obtaining a Green Card and almost twenty years later, I sent fof' my degree. It was found in the huge University storehouse, where it lay all these years. r am really quite grateful to the University of Ujjain for having preserved it for such a long time. The point here is, that when you take the path of renunciation, you give up everything.

This spiritual adventure has a very interesting aspect. If you join a medical college, in Bombay, Delhi, Hyderabad, England or even America the science of medicine taught everywhere is the same. The standards from college to college may vary, but the basic knowledge they impart remains unchanged. For example, no college will tell you that the heart is on the right side of the body or that it is in the stomach! They all say that the heart is on the left side of the body. The study of anatomy and physiology does not change from institution to institution. But spiritual teaching is imparted in a different manner in every ashram. If you are in search of God or the Truth, you do not know what you are searching for. But if you want to pursue medicine or engineering, you know what you want.

A spiritual life is really one of adventure. Let us first define adventure? A new challenging experience, something exciting, out of the routine and different is an adventure. True adventure also implies, "seeking the unknown". I would like to share with you the experiences garnered in my 30 years in the ashram and tell you what this spiritual adventure is and how spirituality is going to help you in your life. I am not about to ask you to quit your studies or resign your job and join an ashram or become a sanyasi. I will reveal to you, the spirit or the ethos of spiritual adventure.

What is spirituality? People think of spirituality as a kind of action. They carry visions of a person renouncing home and fami_y, besmearing himself with vibhuti and doing japa or meditation in the Himalayas. At the outset I would like to dispel this notion of spirituality. Spirituality is not any special or particular action. It is performing every action in a special way. There is a difference in performing a particular action and doing the action in a special way. Suppose you are introduced to a great vocalist or singer you can immediately ask him to sing for you. Similarly a painter can display his prowess through a painting, a yoga expert through yoga asans and. an instrumentalist through playing his instrument. These are all particular actions. But if you were to meet someone who is described as a man of integrity, character or honesty, how would you ask him to display his character traits? Could you possibly ask him to show his honesty or integrity? Is integrity a kind of activity, or is integrity .reflected through every action of the person? Honesty is not a particular action but every action _ust be done with honesty. The honesty of an honest person would be reflected in every thought, word and action of his. Be he an administrator or a clerk, the prime minister or an accountant, a well dressed or a poorly dressed person one can be a very great, spiritual person, because spirituality lies not in doing something but in doing all we do with a vision. Spirituality is a vision or an understanding of life and is indeed a great adventure.

Honesty as a value has changed its definition over the years. Unfortunately our moral standards are falling, but this cannot change the definition of honesty. Honesty, integrity and character are different and so also_s spirituality. There is an inherent difference between the visions of a spiritual and a materialistic person. The thinking of worldly people is always fragmented, it is not holistic and so - incomplete. I;"aced with problems, they focus on particular aspects arriving at solutions without taking the totality into account. If attention is not paid to the problem in its entirety, the solution is also partial and works only for a short time. We see this clearly in the governance of many countries. They are often run on an ad hoc basis. We rarely think seriously about anything and prefer resorting to ad hoc solutions.

Most people would agree with a worldly man's thinking that, "might is right". A spiritual person, would say the very opposite - for him it would be, "right is might." With which of these two would you agree? Commonly, he who has the might, physical, financial, military or political clout, wields power and therefore his word is final. Most people would go with the tide, but there are a few brave ones, who have the courage to stand by their convictions. While mighty empires have bitten the dust, it is these few who have stood by their ideals and so achieved immortality. Be it a person, culture or society, in the end, right alone prevails. Stories from the Puranas, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana substantiate this truth. Hiranyakasipu was a mighty king, but it was his son Prahalad who was victorious and is remembered even today. The mighty British Empire was shaken by the might of a few so­called helpless Indians. The entire Roman Empire had to bow to the spiritual strength of Jesus Christ. In the end who was the winner? Which was immortalised and who was the conqueror - might or right? The superficiality or short-term glamour of power should not carry us away. Gains that come through unrighteous means and by muscle power are not lasting.

There is one other point to be considered here. In the world we are told to fight for and remember our rights. Nowadays, we only hear of people fighting for their rights, whether it is women's rights or labourers' rights or the rights of the downtrodden. Spirituality gives you a different perspective - it teaches u to remember the rights people have over you and forget the rights you have over others. I would call this being very adventurous, but others would consider this as submitting to subjugation becoming a doormat. They do not understand the implied meaning behind this thought pattern. In spiritual life we only have duties and one who remains steadfast in the performance of his duties, automatically gains his rights and the authority that comes as a result. He does not have to fight for his rights. Those who constantly fight and struggle only end up creating more friction. History shows that great political, social or spiritual leaders did not have to fight for their rights or leadership. The world gave it to them. We know that the voices of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Lokmanya Tilak became the voice of India. How did this happen? They performed their duty or what they considered to be their duty and to the best of their ability the rest followed.

I know of homes where domestic servants have served the family for many years, with devotion and dedication. Such servants have a stature or standing in the family they serve and are able to command even the family members. What are these rights they have and were they able to demand these rights or were these given to them? These are moral or spiritual rights that came to them by virtue of the dedication with which they performed their duties. When you respect the rights of others and go on doing your duties you command a position of strength. People automatically respect and consult you. You are then not a doormat for people to walk over, but rather you help them from a position of strength. You can experience the truth or efficacy of this reasoning in your own lives.

All over the world, many are failing in their duties. They are busy fighting for their rights. They follow a policy of - I fight for my right and you fight for yours. When the neighbours or the police intervene, they fight with them, either separately or together! And this process goes on and on. Now, if people were to respect the rights of others and concentrate on the performance of their own duties, they would grow in stature, both spiritually and otherwise. History is replete with examples to prove the veracity of this.

If we compare the speech of an ordinary person and of a great person, we find a perceptible difference. Language is the medium through which we convey everything. Words have to be used to convey thoughts and ideas. Here we find that words used by different people convey different meanings.

Ordinary people have to search for words to convey their thoughts, whereas, events and happening automatically follow the words of great people. The power behind their words makes things happen.

Whenever people speak of spiritual life they entertain ideas of renunciation, dispassion (vairagya), sacrifice and sanyas and generally these concepts are not liked. People often ask me whether I regret having become a sanyasi and are disappointed at my reaction. Not only am I free of regret but maintain that I would not give it up for anything in the world. People do not like the word 'renunciation'. But is there anything we can achieve in this world without renunciation? We may not like the word but no growth or accomplishment is possible without renunciation or sacrifice. If you hold onto your childhood, will you become a youth? To gain maturity you have to renounce your childishness. Play schools and primary schools are very attractive, but have to be renounced for higher education. Even a plant has to die for the tree to be born! If the knowledge you want is not available in your country, you may even have to leave your country and travel abroad. Following their search for spiritual knowledge foreigners leave their countries and come to India. These are simple examples but enough to show you that it is not possible to gain anything without giving up something.

If a seeker of knowledge, education and learning is also, constantly wanting pleasure and comfort, he or she cannot be a success. It would be like the man who wanted to climb Everest, but also wanted to be ever at rest. The grades of lazy comfort-lovers only follow a downward path. Like the boy who told his father that his grades were underwater - below 'c' level!
In a discussion with a youth group I asked them, "What is the secret of success?" "Bribe", was one of the answers I received. We agree that such things are happening and that dishonesty does seem to flourish. Here I would like you to consider the vast difference between compromise and sacrifice. To give up higher values and ideals for lower gains, is a compromise and to renounce lower gains for higher goals _s sacrifice. The appearance of corrupt people being successful is very short lived. It seems that they do not have to renounce anything. But that is not true. They give up all the higher urges or values of life for lower gains. In sacrifice, one holds onto ones ideals, bracing oneself against privation, poverty or even starvation. We may applaud people of achievement but we respect only men of renunciation and sacrifice. Who do. we worship or respect ­those who cling onto power or those who hand over the reins gracefully and retire? These parameters of respect hold true in all societies of the world. Everywhere, it is only men and women of sacrifice and never those of compromise who have become ideals.

Please do not think that spirituality is a kind of running away from life or that it is very difficult. Spirituality is a complete vision of life. It is not a particular activity done specially, but every action done in a special way. We must act with the understanding of the totality of life, keeping in mind the long run consequences of our actions. The actions will then be more responsible and not ad hoc or impulsive. In this spiritual adventure, true importance lies in gaining a total vision of life and deciding every action keeping that in mind. Swami Vivekananda said that just by doing one great action, a man does not become great. A great man is one who is great in every little action.

Let us now summarise what I have said.

The first point was that honesty is not an action, but honesty is reflected in every action.
Secondly, the power of might gained through unfair means is only superficial. Might is not always right.

Thirdly, remember and respect the rights others have over you. You do not have to fight for your rights. In the diligent performance of your duties, your rights will come to you. Leadership is sustained by your inner strength. Leaders did not have to fight for their rights, nor did they have to search for leadership. Their strengths and qualities were recognised and the accolades followed. So more than our rights let us remember our duties and see what changes this brings about.

Lastly there is no progress or success in any pursuit without renouncing something. It is our choice, whether we want to renounce the higher for the lower or vice versa. In spirituality, since we renounce the lower for the higher, the sky is the limit. But if we compromise, we go down-hill, because one compromise leads to another, eventually leading to insomnia and restlessness and even driving us to base and regretful action. At the end of their careers successful professionals often confess to the compromises they made and the mental distress they find themselves in. For such individuals, the outer world.becomes a problem and there is no rest from one's own conscience. Life offers no choices on whether or not to renounce - the only decision is ­what to renounce!

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- Swami Tejomayananda

The most effective method of avoiding subjective stress is to have faith - call it faith, devotion, or surrender. Faith is the clear understanding that the Lord is taking care of us.

-Swami Tejomayanada

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- H.H. Swami Tejomayanandaji Speaks to CHYKS

The youngsters were delighted to see Swamiji in a relaxed Sunday morning mood. "Come closer". He said, and the entire bunch of chyksters spontaneously cuddled around Him as though pulled by his loving smile.

Swamiji was speaking to a group of young boys and girls at the Powai Ashram. The atmosphere was infOlmal and He was freely speaking to the group. At one point in time He asked the youngsters" what do you think are the problems faced by the youth today?"
It was as though the young group was waiting for this.

"We do not know what exactly to do in life," started one. "Everyone seems to be following a trend. Everybody wants to do MBA etc. But nobody knows why they want to do it ! Nobody seems to know what to do !"

Said a young girl" there is no proper guidance available. We are not able to decide what is wrong and what is right. Even parents are not well informed to guide their children." Her friend added, "There is so much of information being thrown up nowadays. It is only adding to the confusion."

Another boy continued" There is a big generation gap between parents and us. Parents just do not understand us. They think we are ambitious and too fun loving. They think we are not serious about anything and do not work hard enough."

" Stop blaming your parents" Swamiji thundered, cutting short the outpourings from the youngsters. He continued gently" when you are a child you can say that your parents are responsible for everything you do. It is they who decide which school you go to etc. But once you have grown up and start going to colleges and universities, you can no longer say that your parents are responsible for everything. It is not that your parents do not understand you. They will understand and support you provided you show consistency and results in whatever you do. Simply being adamant without any consistency and changing your interest every now and then will not serve any purpose."

The youngsters were now listening with rapt attention. Swamiji went on to address all their problems one by one.

" The problem of 'what to do' is not a new one. It has always been there in all ages. In our lives we notice that we have different interests at different stages. As a child we might have been interested in one particular thing while we may get interested in something else when we enter college. For example Swami Vivekananda as a boy was very much interested in becoming a 'Tangewala'. However His interests changed when He grew up. Similarly we may at times feel like becoming a music director and at other times feel like becoming a Professor and so on. This is nothing new. In our life we have so many choices. How do we make the right choice?"
" You will notice that amongst all your interests the subject in which you have the real aptitude will overwhelm you. You will find that interest in this subject overshadows all other interests andyou are able to easily sacrifice other interests in favor of this. The question of what to do will not bother you. Consistency and determination will automatically come. You will have to DISCOVER this."

"Now suppose you are not able to find out what your real interests are, then what to do? Follow this simple technique: note down all your interests and just choose anyone of them. Once you have chosen a field, make it a point to develop interest and grow in it. In fact you will find every subject interesting if you take interest in it!"

Swamiji was now a bit stem "Enough of putting the blame on somebody else. Take responsibility of your life in your hand. Make a start from wherever you are and show the results. Have faith in yourself. There is no need to. have a low self esteem. If you are determined enough you will find that all support and guidance will automatically come to you."
"Everybody at all stages will face some obstacle or the other. There may be many who may criticize and discourage you. But hold on to your faith. If a task is worthy of doing, then do it. Do not get angry on the persons criticizing you. If support does not come from one quarter then it will come from another. Learn to enjoy your work and make the most of it."

" Do not let the fear of failure hold you. If you are afraid of failing, you will never achieve anything. Now stop hunting for excuses, sympathy etc. None of you chyks should blame anyone again. TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR OWN LIFE. You have to lift yourself; do not depend on others to pull you up. Take charge and become successfuL"

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