Most spiritual traditions speak of an entity within us called the soul, life force, or Atman. However, scientists and philosophers have often questioned its existence. Yet, the insights of mystics and sages, initially doubted, are often recognized later as closer to the truth.Manifestation of the SoulAssuming that the soul exists, how does it manifest in human form? According to author and Heartfulness College professor, the attitude of parents at the moment of conception creates a certain vibratory level around them. This field attracts a soul matching that frequency. The soul is not brought by anyone; it is attracted to the matching vibratory level and fits in like a lock and key.The Soul's Role in Embryonic DevelopmentHuman life starts with the merging of a sperm and an egg, a biological process culminating in the birth of a baby. Where is the soul during this process? The soul hovers around the mother, and as the genetic process begins in the womb, it accelerates the division of cells. The first critical organ formed is the heart, which nourishes other developing organs.According to yogic science, along with the physical body, a spiritual body develops, creating a network of pathways for the life force to flow through, known as chakras. While most traditions recognize seven major chakras, the Heartfulness tradition speaks of many more points and sub-points.Entry of the SoulWhen the embryo is ready and the brain, including the Brahmarandhra chakra in the occipital area, is fully formed (within three months of development), the soul enters through this point. The soul does not enter earlier because the body must be fully formed, like plugging an incomplete electronic device into an electric current would cause malfunction.The Soul's Residence and Energy FlowOnce the soul enters the body, it resides in the heart, the seat of the soul. From the heart, it reaches out to all the chakras. The spiritual journey is characterized by an expansion of consciousness through the points or chakras. The heart is the central point from which energy flows to various chakras, similar to branches extending from a tree trunk.Energy flows from the heart to the Atma chakra and other chakras like the Agni chakra. In the Heartfulness tradition, cleaning these chakras and the paths between them ensures the energy flows without hindrance. This process is enhanced through Heartfulness meditation and heart chakra meditation, which are integral to maintaining a clear and efficient energy flow.Encouraging Personal ExplorationDaaji encourages personal exploration through Heartfulness meditation, which is offered for free worldwide. He emphasizes that life itself is an experience, proving there is something greater than this manifestation. Your life force is within you—try to experience it in more depth. Heart meditation practices can help deepen this understanding and connection, leading to a more profound spiritual journey. 

You should not believe in spirituality or any religion blindly. You must experience it yourself. Like a scientist, you must dissect things mercilessly, questioning and doubting the existence of God. There is nothing wrong with this approach. Bridging science and spirituality is essential; we cannot isolate one for the sake of the other.Balancing Mundane and Spiritual LifeIn day-to-day life, focusing solely on material aspects like money and comfort is common. However, preparing our minds and venturing into the spiritual world and emotional well-being is crucial. This preparation helps us change our consciousness. Even if you don't believe in the spiritual world, you can still believe in consciousness and work on refining it.The Role of MeditationMeditation plays a significant role in shifting consciousness. Differences in consciousness can be observed in people who meditate and those who don't, especially when hooked up to an FMRI machine. As you dive deeper into meditation, the brain waves change, indicating a deeper state of consciousness. This experience is accessible to anyone interested in studying how meditation affects consciousness.The Journey of ConsciousnessReaching higher levels of consciousness is like being on a moving train. If the view remains the same, the train isn't moving. Similarly, if each meditation experience is the same, it indicates stagnation. Each meditation should take you to a more refined state of consciousness. At a certain level, even machines like FMRI cannot measure these changes; you must feel and experience them yourself.Experiencing Different Levels of Spiritual StatesWith each meditation, you might describe the experience using similar words like peace, love, or compassion. However, the quality of these experiences will differ, belonging to different spectrums or frequencies. This variation highlights the depth and richness of spiritual experiences.Gratitude for the Life ForceDoubting and questioning the existence of God is natural. Reflect on what keeps you going since birth. This life force within us, which some call divine presence, Godly presence, or soul (Atman in Hinduism), is not outside but within us. Have you ever closed your eyes and expressed gratitude to this life force? Recognizing and being grateful for this entity is crucial. Instead of searching for God outside, look within and acknowledge the life force that sustains us until our last breath.

Dear friends, On this joyous day of Janmashtami, I would like to share with you some thoughts about consciousness and energy. According to Babuji, if energy is not utilized it will destroy itself in due course, while science says that energy can never be destroyed but can be transformed. Whether we understand it as destroyed or transformed, when we don’t use energy either by acquiring vidya or acquiring avidya, much worse can happen – stagnation of energy. That’s why it is not good to be a lazy person. People think that a lazy person is not doing anything bad, but stagnation is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Laziness also creates some level of samskaras, because grossness continues to accumulate. Those of you who have read James Allen’s book, As a Man Thinketh, will remember the following sequence: thoughts lead to actions, which lead to results, which lead to character, which lead to destiny. Yet, there is something before thoughts – samskaras. Samskaras color our thinking, adding filters to our awareness and perception. But before a samskara manifests as a thought, there is the possibility of us making an intention that changes the fixed pathway. In fact, this can happen at any stage, thus ultimately changing our destiny. Our Sahaj Marg practices are all based on the use of intention, which we know as sankalpa, and the intervention can happen at any stage. The entire universe is pulsating with energy. What we see as manifested matter is also condensed energy. The energy moving within an electron spins in a certain direction at a certain speed – the angle of that spin creates the negative charge. When the spin is in the opposite direction at a higher speed, a proton is created with a positive charge. The complex energy movement of the negative and positive spin within the nucleus creates a neutron, when the charges cancel each other out and weight is created. There are many other sub-subatomic particles, like quarks and hypothetical tachyons, and with this there are a great number of variations of energy movement. These are all energies combining in different proportions and creating this manifested universe. In a similar way, energy flowing through the mind, through the consciousness of an individual, creates a certain field, depending upon the filters in that consciousness. Energy passing through one field of consciousness manifests as hatred, whereas energy passing through another field of consciousness manifests as love. In between, there are so many possible qualities we can find, just as there are so many types of subatomic particles. For example, a certain consciousness will be kind, compassionate, and empathetic, another will be greedy and selfish, and yet another indifferent. These differences can be seen among individuals, and they can also be seen in the same individual at different times. For example, say you have lots of love for a person, but then a circumstance happens to change the way you feel. Your changed perception of the other person changes the flow of energy. As a result, your own chakras are affected, and your changed perception is then reinforced by thinking about the circumstances again and again. This shifting canvas of consciousness is the energy field we are talking about. Energy flowing through the mind, through the consciousness of an individual, also creates a certain field,depending upon the filters in that consciousness. Complexities are then further added when we interact, because we deceive each other so much. You may hate someone, and want to cheat them – that is your inner intention – but you keep on smiling. There is no coherence between your energy field and your outer field. Your looks are deceptive, so your energy field is distorted. The mismatch between your mind and brain creates complexities. Then, within your heart, feelings create complexities. And complexities can also exist between the conscious and subconscious mind, as often we are unaware of the subconscious. So, look after your intentions. An intention can change your thinking. And if you miss that opportunity and your samskaric pattern translates into thought, you still have the capacity to change your pattern of thinking before you take up any action. Sages and saints use prevention – they correct their intentions. Wise people correct their thinking. Practical people correct their actions. Cleaning can provide an intervention at all the stages. What is the role of the Master in this sequence? The Master impacts our consciousness if we allow it. If we resonate with him, then we are borrowing his consciousness so that we’re able to see through his vision rather than our limited vision. It is like a small boy perceiving the world through the eyes of his father – the child sees the world the way the father does when sitting on his shoulders. He may not become like his father in that moment, but he can still ask his father to carry him, to see the world like him. Similarly, the Master carries us. In this way, constant remembrance has various facets. It starts with meditation and retaining the condition. Then it expands to include thinking, “I’m doing everything for my Master.” Then the stage comes where we are absorbed within him while doing things. We are using different filters at those times. For the Master to have an effect, we have to reach that state where we can no longer tolerate our old way of being. The Master works uniformly on all of us, but the results vary. How is it that he is not able to create such a state in everybody? Because success is in the hands of the abhyasi, not in the hands of the Master. That’s why we practice, and that’s why we need a living guru. How can we surrender to a dead person, who cannot fight with us, irritate us, and challenge us to transform? With love and respect, Kamlesh This article can be found here: English Marathi Telugu Simplified-Chinese Traditional-Chinese

Why Teacher’s Day? If there were no teachers in the world, all other professions would be extinct. It is similar to saying if there were no mothers, there would be no babies either. UNESCO declared 5th October to be World Teachers’ Day in 1994. Different countries celebrate it on different days. For example, In India, Teacher’s Day is celebrated on 5th September and Argentina celebrates it on 11th Sept. While the world anticipated and prepared for crises in environmental, economic, and political areas, something unexpected struck us – the COVID pandemic. All teachers and parents have undergone a lot of challenges and struggles in the past two years, as we are still not able to clearly see the schools reopen for our children, and the future remains uncertain in some ways. The problems may be local or national, but solutions always have to be individual to be permanent and global. And that is the work of the human heart. Teaching and learning is hard work, unless and until we realize it is the heart’s work. Most of us instinctively feel that the first teacher is the mother, and the first lesson is love. The first lesson of love is taught practically, by the mother giving her life and love to her baby. If we consciously feel this and are willing and open to enlarge it to the world, the problem is solved, not instantly but gradually. That needs patience and faith, so the role of teachers is crucial. The first lesson is love Teachers are the second parents, to further the work of mamas and papas. They nourish not the body but the mind, heart, and intellect. They teach life skills, professional skills, and most importantly, attitudes. They also do a ‘cleaning job’ of helping students to unlearn inappropriate concepts, attitudes, and behaviors. They teach the students to connect to the source of wisdom and creativity in their hearts and tap that essence. We all remember words of wisdom and quotes from great teachers like Buddha, Lord Krishna, Jesus Christ, Swami Vivekananda, and also from the modern wise teachers like Dr. Abdul Kalam, Savitribai Phule (first woman teacher in modern India), not to forget, more recent and popular teachers like Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and so many more. Unconventional and out-of-the-box approaches are often successful for teachers. Even historically, Lord Krishna, Jesus Christ, Lord Rama, Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh (Lalaji), the adiguru of Heartfulness tradition, have all employed different tactics and techniques to train and nurture their students. We know how Lord Krishna had to teach on the go, on the battlefield, and that too in just a few minutes, and motivate the greatest warrior of his times, Arjuna – to fight evil, and do his duty to restore ethics and harmony in society. Lord Krishna had to remove the confusion of duty with attachment or repulsion to relatives in the family. He had to remove the depression and emotional upsurge by his own will and wisdom, reveal subsequently the wisdom and skills hidden within Arjuna already, and enable him to win the war. Far away, much later, in Jerusalem, Lord Jesus taught great things to create a new dimension in feeling and thinking. But he too needed help from John the Baptist. Much earlier, there was the tradition of Lord Rama, hailed for ages in South East Asia as the ideal King. He too learned much wisdom and clarity from his teachers, sages Vasishta and Atri, and weaponry skills from rishi Vishwamitra to win the epic war with the large army of Ravana. In our everyday lives, the role of teaching is becoming more and more a work of the heart. It is not merely a cognitive process or communication of information and facts. While a teacher teaches all students alike, some pick up easily, quickly, some are distracted and unfocused. So, while teaching all of the students equally, the teacher also needs emotional support and stability to be successful in educating the children. If she cannot manage and regulate her emotions, if she loses her cool, gets angry, or upset, how will she help the students? Nowadays, the teaching medium is also not easy. Most of the complaints received are that the students do not switch on their cameras while attending online classes. So, the teacher cannot assess based on the students’ expression, nor does she know if the student is even present and attentive at the other end of the gadget or device. Now, what to say about examinations? And yet, today’s teachers have been creative in overcoming hurdles, like every dedicated peer prior to them in the previous generation, continuously excelled themselves, and continue doing their duty with a lot of love, and compassion, a lot of dedication, and sincerity, and I commend all of them, salute all of them, for the love in their hearts. Much earlier, there was the tradition of Lord Rama, hailed for ages in South East Asia as the ideal King. He too learned much wisdom and clarity from his teachers, sages Vasishta and Atri, and weaponry skills from rishi Vishwamitra to win the epic war with the large army of Ravana. The role of teaching is becoming more and more a work of the heart Being a successful teacher means that you can not only complete and be successful in your task, but also that your heart is also generous, as you are still sticking on to this profession for the love of children, and duty towards them. There is great hope for humanity, and these few great souls make a great contribution towards the future of humanity. If the human species is at the forefront of evolution and education today on this planet, it owes much to this mechanism of Guru-Shishya parampara (Teacher-Student tradition) – of transmission of knowledge and skills, love and compassion, the life energy of prana, and joy. There is also the gift of connection to the Source within because for everyone, the ultimate teacher is within. So, let us celebrate the best of the best people today – THE TEACHERS As the ancient Rig Veda hymn says, आनो भद्राः क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत: | – ऋग्वेद – 1.89.1 āno bhadrāḥ kratavo yantu viśvato Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions. – Rig Veda 1.89.1

Hindi lyrics and English translation of this song: आत्मा ने हालतें परमात्मा जानी न थीं नाथ जब तक आपकी हमपर महरबानी न थी।। Soul has not known the longing of God Lord till your compassion touched my heart नाखुदा बन कर बचा ली आपने मेरी ये नांव जिसकी इस बहरे जहां में कुछ निगहबानी न थी।। Like an adept sailor you saved my sinking boat In the muck of the world with no refuge मैं तलाशे राहे हक में मुद्दतों हैरां फिरा आप जब रहबर बने तो कुछ परेशानी न थी।। I searched a right path for long bewildered With you as the guide, peaceful I am है समर्पित श्री चरणों में ये ह्रदय श्रद्धा प्रसून इससे बेहतर पास कोई चीज़ लासानी न थी।। my heart bloomed in faith I place at your feet A more fitting gift supreme I have none. This composition was prepared by Late Shri Rameshwar Prasad Mishra. This gentleman was Pujya Babuji Maharaj’s gurubhai (spiritual brother; both had the same guru). Some of you, who have read the book, ‘Reality at Dawn’, would know that it is dedicated to this same gentleman. A guru dedicating a book to his gurubhai, who had a very special relationship with Babuji. He was not only a gurubhai but was his disciple as well. After Pujya Lalaji’s passing, he was one of those first ones who accepted Babuji Maharaj as his Guru and the successor to Lalaji Maharaj. The bond of love between Babuji and him gets reflected in many of his works, many speeches, many of his writings, and compositions like this. Which guru would write a dedication to his gurubhai? It is unheard of in the history of spirituality, where a guru would dedicate a book to his shishya (disciple) or gurubhai. Let us all delve a little bit more into this bond between a guru and a disciple, where a guru is compelled to dedicate something to his gurubhai, and a disciple. It speaks volumes here, you see. All the time we have been seeing Babuji’s love for Lalaji Maharaj. It was unparalleled. He did not look at anyone else. Yet we see, on many occasions where he praises his gurubhai, Rameshwar Prasad Mishra. What is it that attracted Babuji towards him? Unflinching devotion, courage - unparalleled courage, unquestioned! So, this composition tells us a lot. Listen to it time and again. Samarpit Hriday (surrendered heart). Focus on that - Surrendered heart with Shraddha (total faith). Thank you.