‘Mahima’ is to staunchly believe that the Pratyaksh Swaroop, whom we believe and have become devotedly attached to, is the all inspiring one…. the one who controls our fate and destiny, our past, present and future and is the almighty divine Lord himself, as described in Vachnamrut G. I. 62 and Swami-ni-Vato : Chapter 4 Discourse 143. One should constantly endeavour to maintain this mahima i.e. to believe and accept that the Pratyaksh Swaroop is the almighty Lord himself who has come down to earth in the form of a human. He is divine, whatever He does, or says is divine. One should always try to keep one’s mind full of thoughts of mahima and firmly accept that whatever the Pratyaksh Swaroop says is always right, and accept that everything associated with ‘I’ , ‘me’ or ‘mine’ is always wrong.
If one needs to struggle with one’s inner mind, one’s intellect or one’s soul for this, then one must do so. This is the true sadhna. There are stages of one’s sadhna where the struggle will be intense, the battle with the mind will be fierce, but do not give up until the thoughts of ‘mahima’ flow effortlessly and freely. To help in this aim, the following should be practised :
- Bhajan : prayer – this is the continuous singing of praise. Always taking the positive angle in all matters.
- Smruti : Atmabudhhi – a constant awareness that I belong to Him and I have found the Lord. Ref. Vachnamrut G. I. 37. Shabdatit : gaining immunity from ‘words’ i.e. when neither nasty nor pleasant remarks will have any impact on you.
- Dhyan : Mahima no Vichar meditation i.e. thoughts of mahima ; thoughts of the glory of God. Ref. Vachnamrut G. III. 35. Bhavatit : gaining an immunity from feelings and emotions.
- Anuvruti : To live each and every moment according to the wishes the Lord, continually receive inspiration from the Lord to speak and act in a manner which would always please Him. Ref. Vachnamrut G. III. 26. Gunatit : the ultimate stage where one experiences a one-ness with the Lord himself.
Once the devotee attains an unwavering acceptance that the guru, the devotees and the Lord are divine, the guru takes it upon himself to control all aspects of the devotee’s life and arranges circumstances which will :
- Illustrate the glory of God : His Mahatmya, that the Lord is the all inspiring, almighty controller of everyone and everything. Also, that the Lord is the most supreme force as described in Vachnamrut G. I. 62. The devotee’s own past destiny known as prarabdhas will be used to alleviate him from the fears of kal, karma and maya. Thus the devotee should introspect and endeavour to become immune from such fears.
- Utilise the devotee’s own indriyas (senses) and antahkarans (mind, intellect, emotive mind and ego) to free him from his prarabhdhas i.e. his fate, destiny. Eventually, the indriyas and antahkarans will become purified and will be used to serve the Lord and his devotees.
The devotee should believe that whatever has happened in the past, is presently happening or will happen in future, is all allowed by the grace of Yogiji Maharaj. He is the almighty inspirer of all events. He watches to see whether I falter, whether I feel sorrow, distress or grief, whether I fear anything or anyone, whether I take offence of Him or his devotees. Do I feel oppressed or overpowered, burdened or obligated ?
When experiencing anything other than pure bliss and happiness, the devotee should continue to practice smruti (remember the guru and ponder over his memories). He should continue until he is relieved of any sorrow, grief, burden etc. He should try to remain calm and carefree, quietly doing whatever comes naturally. The circumstances will be inspired by the guru only until the devotee becomes totally immune to all events which render him helpless. Once he becomes immune to them, they will cease. Finally the devotee will experience spiritual equanimity and whatever he does in that state is known as Brahm-charya.