11 June
Daaji arrived at the Delhi airport in the afternoon where a group of abhyasis were waiting inside the terminal to receive him. Daaji then drove to the Gurugram Ashram, where many abhyasis had lined up to welcome him. Upon reaching the cottage, Daaji offered prasad to Babuji Maharaj and asked someone to call all the children to collect prasad from him.
After a short while he had a quiet lunch and took rest. By 5:30 p.m., despite the punishing Delhi heat, over 3,000 abhyasis had gathered in the hall awaiting Daaji to conduct satsangh. A short Q&A session followed thereafter.
Q: What defines success in life? Is it the satisfaction of thoughts and fulfilment of desires?
Daaji: Success to me is a relative thing. It keeps changing its meaning at every stage of our life. As a child, when you were four years old, what did you understand about success? Lots of trophies, chocolates and toy cars! As we grow, our goals change.
And because of this changing of goals, and depending upon how fast you attain those goals, whether they are academic or professional goals, you feel either that you are successful or that you are not successful. So in every little field there is some goal established but it keeps transcending; it keeps on evading us. Always, we either wish to maintain our position or achieve higher targets—there is no limit to this.
Spiritual success is something else—the more you lose, the better you become. The more you lose, the greater the success within you. It’s a paradoxical understanding. So, we must be able to integrate the material world (where we seek more and more of ‘more and more’) and the spiritual realm (where we seek less and less of ‘less and less’ or we seek more and more of ‘less and less’).
And when you are able to integrate these, only then you can confidently say when you're breathing your last, that ‘now I am able to leave this world contentedly.’ Because, when you are successful in the material world while you're alive, you will feel happy, but when that final moment [of death] comes, you will say ‘Sigh! I have not been able to do anything all my life.’
So, success lies in integrating the spiritual and material life. Even though you may not be successful in the material life as much, and if the idea comes to your heart that ‘enough is enough,’ at that time, consider that you have succeeded to some extent.
Q: Daaji, I have just got married. What is the best way to move ahead happily into this new phase of life?
Daaji: Both of you must respect each other’s parents—you have to respect her parents and she must respect your parents. Let it be a competition! If even the idea of ‘parayaapan’ [that these are not ‘my parents,’ they are my spouse’s parents] creeps in, life will be a disaster. Don’t think that you have come to live at ‘someone else’s house.’ Babuji used to say that women do not respect men; they already fester the habit of ‘ghrina’ [strong dislike, hatred, aversion] hidden away in their hearts—they are not able to love their husbands, for whatever reasons. I would recommend you to read The Wisdom Bridge. Master it.
Q: Daaji, when we practise intensely, a craving for higher levels of experience creeps in, rather unknowingly. This is also a form of desire, and I am unable to overcome it.
Daaji: It’s good you have that awareness. My attitude while meditating must be: “God, I have no expectations. Whatever wish to bestow, bestow, if not, also ok—I am sitting to meditate with love in my heart.” That’s all. No expectation even from God—then see how it changes your meditation. And once this idea sinks into your heart in an authentic manner, your progress will accelerate.
