Spiritualizing Your Everyday Life

sadhana .

So a sadhana is , or spiritual practice , is not necessarily just something we do on the off chance , but it's in every aspect of life , whether that's brushing our teeth in the morning , whether that's grabbing a bite to eat , grabbing our coffee , drinking our coffee , eating our food , whether it's , you know , doing chores around the house , going to work , driving the

car , going on the bus or the train all of this can be a spiritual sadhana . Now , how the reason why there's such a disconnect for a lot of people when they are on this spiritual path ?

Because what happens is people think oh , maybe I can get enlightened if I do some meditation or if I do some chanting , or if I read the Bhagavad Gita , or if I read the Upanishads or the Ashtavakra Gita and it tells me that I'm enlightened . I will be enlightened and I wish things were as easy as that .

You know , I wish that you know for my own spiritual practice that it was that easy , but it turns out that it's never really that easy , especially not for the majority of us , shall we say .

And so this gradual kind of awakening that happens , or the gradual enlightenment that suddenly descends into our awareness is , or shall we say , that our mind becomes attuned to , is something that takes incredible amount of time , practice and deliberate awareness of one's true nature .

Now , essentially , we are this truth , we are this reality , we are Brahman , we are the nirguna , the attributeless , we are formless . That is absolutely true . There is nothing that is , you know , contradictory of that . That is the absolute truth . You are Satchitananda , you are existence , consciousness , bliss .

That means all of this is essentially you , and you are awareness itself , and your nature is of peace , contentment , love , bliss , and this is very natural . But again , when this only comes about , there's two ways . One is through the grace of the Guru .

And even with that , if we think that we can just get the grace of the Guru very easily , I disagree with that . I think , yes , the Guru will always give their grace , there is no doubt about that . But it's not so easy to think that , well , if I just get the grace of the Guru , then I can do whatever I like .

That means , you know I can keep the same vasanas that I had meaning , that I can keep hurting others , I can keep being jealous of others , I can keep being prideful , I can keep hold of my ego . That's not having the grace of the Guru . The grace of the Guru is such that it brings .

If we apply it to our life , then the grace of the Guru means that and this is what we were taught growing up that a Guru , a devotee , they see with the Guru's eyes , they hear with the Guru's eyes , they hear with the Guru's ears , they walk like the Guru walks , they talk as the Guru talks , and so every action they do is as if the Guru is doing it .

Now , imagine if that was something that we actually applied in our life . If we actually thought like the Guru thought , can you imagine how peaceful our life would be , how blissful our life would be ? So the path of actually doing that .

Because the Guru is the embodiment of that truth , of that reality , and therefore , when we apply that , we naturally become that .

And therefore , if we become like the Guru in the terms of our actions , our behavior , our character , then naturally you are embodying also what God is , or what Brahman is , or what Ishwar is , or what this Nirakar is , this formless is . So this is very important . And remember , when we talk about awareness , a lot of people think it's static .

It's static in the sense of it's all-pervading , but it's also dynamic in that all-pervading aspect . Hence there's samsara , hence , you know , instead of seeing the world as something separate to you , it's actually you , it's a reflection of you , so , uh , so that's very important to understand .

So when we , if we follow the path of surrendering to the guru which is a good path in my opinion , a good option , an easy option , a simple option , shall I say , not easy , it can be done . And just think about it .

When you embody what the Guru is like and you do that , you automatically have that awareness present in you , that awareness of your true nature . You will know that you are Brahman . It becomes very natural . But a lot of us also have the dichotomy of being the seeker and the guru .

So some of us like to think that it's blasphemous to say to be like the guru , but the guru , but the guru doesn't have such issues . It's more on the devotee's part , and one where I say that it shows more of the ego of the devotee , not necessarily

the , not necessarily the humility of the devotee . So that's one aspect . That's . That's a good one to do . The other one , that is uh , that I would like to just talk about more , is because you know there's , we have different avatars that we are playing , you know .

So sometimes there's a , there's a me that's uh , at home , there's a me at work , there's a me at school , there's a me at , you know , the place of worship we go to . There's a me , you know , we have several little me's and and they and they are different personalities in those different circumstances or situations . Now , that's not right .

That's opening the door to , as I would say , schizophrenia . You are asking for you to be disassociated from your central self . However , yes , you can be the same person , the same self , and yet , with nuance , be adaptable according to the situation , so you don't change who you are .

So it's not like at home , you're this free being that has a joke and a laugh , and then at work , you're totally serious , and then at , uh , your place of worship , you , you're a complete devotee , but as soon as you step out of the place of worship , you are totally mean , you know , and you're totally rude . That's not what I'm talking about .

I'm talking about . You adapt to the situation . So , for example , if you have to stick up for yourself because somebody is trying to demean you , then that's what you do . That doesn't mean you're going away from your true self . You're literally just dealing with the situation .

So , rather than being a different character , all you do is you adapt according to the situation . But that's one point . The second point is this that you see everything as a spiritual practice

. Everything is your sadhana .

So , whether that's cleaning your house , whether that's cleaning the car which I need to do , which is whether it's mowing the lawn , whether it's , like I mentioned earlier , brushing your teeth , doing all the mundane things , but you do it with the awareness that you are not the doer , you're not the karta , you're not the and you're not the bogta either .

You're not the enjoyer of those actions . To be in that state where you see everything as a spiritual practice , where you see everything as doing it for the divine , because you see the divine in all , as doing it for the divine , because you see the divine in all , is also a way where you start divinizing your day-to-day life .

Imagine that you are constantly doing things , but with the awareness that you're not the doer , that awareness is doing everything . Imagine that Awareness is not doing anything , or consciousness is not doing anything , but when you start , well , god is doing this to me , then you're going to act from that higher self .

Now the meaning of this is that even if there's a situation which you're , which where there is conflict , you will always have the higher ground , because you would think that even that argument or that kind of negative situation is also a place where you practice your spirituality and that you see the divine in that .

And we have to train our mind to be like that . So it's a bit more challenging than the previous one that I talked about , but but it can be done and if we do practice this , we can go far . We can really take our spirituality to the next level .

So all we have to do there is just one remember our true nature and again , remember , when you're doing an action , to let go . So you don't seek the fruits of those actions . So you become the non-doer and you understand that you're the non-doer . It's just the body acting . That's all you do . The body's acting according to nature . That's simply as it is .

When you're doing your job , yes , there's a fruit to your job , but that doesn't mean you seek that fruit . You work because you see the divine in that . You see the divine in caring for others , for your loved ones , for your family , for your friends .

You know everything that we do if we bring our awareness , our consciousness to it and we bring that to the forefront more and more , so that it becomes our very nature , and so being your personality is your second nature , so to speak . This would be a more effective way of being spiritual , naturally , without any conflict .

So the point of today's video really is just that you can spiritualize your life , but it's dependent on how much you

want to . But to say that Maya is too strong or samsara is too strong , this world is too strong and it's much stronger than your spiritual self , then that means you've or spiritual practice , that means you have not truly encountered your spiritual practice or spirituality , and you will never give up . That's the other important thing .

I was listening to a video of a lecture by Swami Savarabhiyanandaji and he talked about this that one shouldn't . You know , once you had a taste of spirituality and what it can bring , you will never give it up . You can't give it up and you know , for example , for me , I don't think , um , I can ever give up spirituality . It's literally who I am , I .

I have to read something spiritual , I have to meditate , I have to do simple practices that bring awareness into the forefront . Um , I try to divinize and spiritualize my day as much as possible , and it can be done . And I , I will say that if some fool like me can do it , then anyone can do it .

And you know , once you see the benefits , you know , you automatically understand how grace moves you and how this pure consciousness , this divine one , just moves through you and you don't . And nothing is complicated , it's all very effortless and it can be possible for every one of us . All we have to do is simply practice and never give up .

And , yes , there are going to be times when you know , we have to understand that we've had many years where we've functioned as if we are part of the material world and that material world is everything .

Of course , to get rid of that Varsana , that mindset , is challenging , challenging , but once we're able to transcend it , once we're able to deal with those vasanas and actually start understanding that spirituality is in every aspect of life , spirituality is something we just cannot live without , and so all we have to do here is practice and if there's setbacks , just

remember that the setbacks are there to make us learn something , so we're stronger when we get back up . And with that , if you like this video , please like , comment

and subscribe . If you like this on , please like , comment and subscribe . If you like this on your favorite podcast streaming app , please comment , please like it , please keep in touch and I wish you all very well . Okay , take care everybody . See you in the next podcast episode , namaste .