Psychological and spiritual efforts required to bear the adverse times – 7
 If an individual performs spiritual practice in the present birth, he will get rewarded in each birth. Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale is a ‘Moksha Guru’, who thinks of the welfare of the entire human race. Real welfare of an individual lies in God-realisation. Hence, on the backdrop of the impending World War 3, Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale does not get thoughts about a country that is defined by its geographical boundaries; instead, He gets the thought that sattvik people (irrespective of the country they belong to) should survive so as to realise God. All said and done, as part of His duty and as gratitude unto the Nation, Sachchidananda Parabrahman |
1. An example of how by God’s grace, seekers will be protected during the adverse times
In 2000, some seekers asked Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale – “In the adverse times, there is going to be a World War. If a powerful bomb strikes any area of the Earth, it will be reduced to ashes. If seekers are staying in that area, how will they survive despite their spiritual practice ?” He replied, “Let us imagine that a war is going on and a bomber aircraft is flying over Sanatan’s Ashram. At that time, God will give a thought to the pilot that it is futile to drop a bomb here. Thus, the Ashram will be saved”.
2. Some spiritual experiences on how God or Guru protect those who perform spiritual practice
Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale’s Guru, Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj used to say, ‘We experience God in incidents; hence, consider that God dwells in the incidents’. When a seeker faces a difficult situation in Kaliyug, God or Guru do not manifest to help him; they come to his rescue through various people. During difficult times, God or Guru themselves give the seeker wisdom to do appropriate things; so also, their Divine play is such that when the seeker looks back and contemplates on the situation, he wonders, ‘O’ ! How did this happen ?’ In short, if we realise the truth that during difficult times, God or Guru is always with the seeker to support him, the seeker will not be afraid of difficult circumstances.
Many seekers of Sanatan Sanstha have had spiritual experiences of how God or Guru protects in adverse times. Some select spiritual experiences are given ahead. Your faith in spiritual practice and God will increase from these and you will definitely be inspired to perform spiritual practice with zeal.
A. Heavy rains lashing Nippani when I had gone there for satseva (Spiritual service), God suggesting through the medium of an individual to return to Kolhapur immediately : ‘On 5.8.2019, I went to Nangnur (Taluka Nippani, Karnataka, India) in the afternoon to contact organisations that organise public celebrations of the Ganesh festival. From there, I had planned to go to other villages nearby along with a devout Hindu; but, due to heavy rainfall he was delayed in reaching his house. Since the roof of his house was leaking, there was water everywhere; hence, I was waiting in a neighbour’s house. As we were discussing the rains and flood-like situation, an elderly individual in the house said, “If you are going to return to Kolhapur, better start immediately, else, the road might close. Therefore, start immediately”. Realising that God is cautioning me through the medium of this individual, I left that place and reached Kolhapur at 8.30 p.m. At 10 p.m. I got a message that the highway was closed because of heavy downpour. The highway remained closed for over a week. Shri Guru took care of me through the medium of that individual and gave me the appropriate instruction. For this, I offer my gratitude unto the Holy feet of the Guru.’ – Mr Kiran Duse (Kolhapur, Maharashtra)
B. Heavy downpour led to water entering even concrete houses; however, water not entering my hut and realising that this happened because Sanatan’s sattvik products were kept in the house : ‘Two months after I commenced spiritual practice under the guidance of Sanatan Sanstha, I started keeping Sanatan’s sattvik products in the house for propagating Spirituality. That year, it rained heavily in our area and water entered all the surrounding houses, but it did not enter our hut at all. Rain water had entered the neighbouring concrete houses, but not our hut. My parents and neighbours were surprised. Then, it dawned on me that water cannot enter where Guru’s sattvik products are kept. I realised that I am immensely blessed with God’s grace.’ – Ms Savita Sutar (Age 19, Sangli, Maharashtra, 4.9.2019)
C. Spiritual experiences on how God helped during a difficult situation when flood waters entered their house
1. ‘On 5.8.2019 (Nagapanchami), River Krishna was flooded. At 12 midnight, water started entering the ground floor of the District Collector’s old office. On 6.8.2019 at 5.45 a.m., the front of our house got waterlogged. The flood waters had tremendous force, and within an hour, two steps of our house were submerged. Immediately, we shifted to my maternal uncle’s house, which is just across the street. However, mentally I was not prepared to stay there. At that time I thought, ‘O’ God ! How should I leave everything and go ?’ If the water rises, all the goods in the shop and the house will be damaged. Since my uncle was after us to take shelter in his house, we shifted the goods from the lower shelves in the shop to the upper shelves and went to my uncle’s house.
2. Half-an-hour later, water had reached the waist level. My father, uncle’s daughters and I came home. We removed the goods from the storage space in two cots and tied them in a cloth. We kept these cloth bundles and whatever was possible at a higher level on the racks. We placed one cot over the other. The water had tremendous force and we were running out of time. God got everything done through us. Whatever goods God wished to save for us, were kept high up in a safe place and we returned to my uncle’s house.
3. Upon returning to our house after 10 days, we found that the house was in a very bad shape. I was really upset seeing all the damage, and thought – ‘How could this happen ? Why did God do this ?’ While cleaning the shop I found that the wooden furniture was intact despite being under water. As we kept cleaning the mess, I remembered that it was God who had given me the thought of shifting the essential goods in the house and the shop. God gave me the energy and made me do those things in just half-an-hour. If God was not to help me, all those goods would have got damaged.
4. After recovering from the initial shock, I went out for some work. I learnt about terrible things the flood victims had to face. Some people did not have food and clothing. They were standing in a queue seeking help from the relief teams. I felt remorse after seeing all this. While the flood waters had washed away people’s houses and I was crying over the spoilt food grains in my house ! By God’s grace, we did not have to face such a situation. On realising this, I was at a loss for words to express gratitude unto God.
5. After returning home, we noticed that water had entered the fridge and washing machine and the fridge in the shop. We thought that they must have been damaged, but with minor repairs they started working.
6. I went into the kitchen and saw that the goods which were on the floor, were scattered all over the house. 10 kgs onion, 10 kgs potato and the barrel containing 15 kgs flour had been carried by the flow to the outer room, but the Deities in the temple had not moved at all. They were just as they had been kept. Seeing this, I felt that God Himself remained submerged in the water, but did not allow the 2 fridges and the washing machine to move even an inch and prevented them from getting damaged. Then, I expressed my deepest gratitude unto His Holy feet.
7. Seeing the floods, my initial reaction was, ‘Why did God do this ?’ and I was angry at God, but realising the help God provided during this calamity, I realised that God did not let go of my hand at all. I was angry at myself, and felt immense gratitude unto the Holy feet of God. It was due to God’s grace that we could survive this calamity. Therefore, I sought God’s forgiveness for losing my temper, and expressed gratitude a million times unto His Holy feet.’
– Ms Shruti Damle (Sangli, Maharashtra, 3.11.2019)
3. Appeal to the spiritually curious and the seekers
Request to the spiritually curious : From the aforementioned points, we understand that it is very important to perform spiritual practice to remain blissful, but it is equally important to perform spiritual practice to remain alive during the adverse times. When spiritual practice is performed seriously, with yearning, consistently, with spiritual emotion and appropriately as per the times, only then can we quickly obtain God’s or Guru’s grace. Sanatan Sanstha tells us how to perform spiritual practice as per the times.
To learn about spiritual practice -
1. Read Sanatan’s Text series that teaches ‘Spiritual practice for God-realisation’ and ‘Sanatan Prabhat’ Periodicals
2. Visit – www.Sanatan.org/en/gurukrupayog
3. Benefit from spiritual discourses conducted by Sanatan Sanstha on ‘Spiritual practice for a blissful life’ and attend ‘Satsangs’.
Request to seekers : Seekers should make the following efforts step-by-step.
1. To let God hold your hand in the adverse times, increase sacrifice of the body, mind and wealth at the Holy feet of God and for the Guru’s mission.
2. From the perspective of completely dedicating yourself at the Holy feet of God and for Guru’s mission, prepare yourself to perform full time spiritual practice.
3. Make sincere efforts to streamline your vyashti sadhana (Individual spiritual practice that benefits only the seeker performing it) and samashti sadhana (Spiritual practice for the spread of Spirituality). (This Series of articles is Concluded here.)
As part of His duty unto the Nation, Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale is always active for the welfare of India !