How can we cultivate mindfulness and live in the present moment?

“If a person comes to me and attains Gnan (Self-Realization), he will experience happiness in everything. And if someone, owing to obstacles (antaray), does not want to take Gnan from me, he too will experience happiness if he asks me everything and understands how the worldly life runs and what it is all about.” - Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan

The Entire World is Experiencing Relentless, Unlimited, Inner Turmoil and Suffering

When someone says, “Chandubhai (please insert your name here) has no sense at all,” it affects us, isn’t it? We feel the burning within. What is this inner burning?...

They are the parmanus (the subatomic particles) inside, which ignite and burn. And when one parmanu is about to burn out, it ignites a second one, which then ignites a third one, and so on... This goes on constantly. They burn like electricity, and we have to suffer it in the form of pain. When excessive parmanus ignite, people say, “I am tormented.” One cannot bear all that.

When one’s inner burning will go away forever, the drumbeat of liberation (liberation from all pain, suffering and unhappiness) will sound.

It Is Due to Ignorance that We are Suffering

The pain and unhappiness, the stress or tensions are all because of ignorance; ignorance of viewpoints of each other, and mainly ignorance of Self i.e. ‘who am I?’ – this is the biggest cause of any problem!

‘I’ means Atma

I (the Self) means Atma (the Soul). Soul is an eternal element. This Soul is what we really are. Soul is the real Self of each and every living being.

And the nature of the Soul is eternal bliss. Every Soul has the same nature. There is nothing but supreme bliss in the Atma, but because of coverings of karma over the Soul, this bliss is covered today. God or Parmatma refers to the state of Soul where it has no coverings whatsoever on it.

The Soul itself is God

God has infinite power. And this God resides within everyone! Our own Soul, which is our real Self, is God. So now tell me, where comes the question of God providing us the power when we ourselves are God? Am sure you are curious to know then that, ‘why am I not experiencing the power of God?’

Param Pujya Dadashri explains, ‘I am Chandubhai (you may insert your name here)’ is the realization that you have right now. And when you will realize ‘I am Soul’ (Self-Realization), that is when you will have the realization of God. The Soul verily is the God itself. Even your Soul is God, and his Soul is also God.”

The Words of All Saints and Gods Reflect this Truth

Saint Kabir: I believed the Lord is far away but He resides within. I could not see him due to the deceit (flaw) in my vision.

Sahjanand Swami: I could directly see the Soul from the beginning. I can also see it now. Not even for a moment do I lose contemplation of the Soul in any of my actions.

Jesus Christ: Know thy Self.

Mohammed Paigambar: God is one and he is complete in all of us. Neither is he born out of someone nor does he cause anyone to be born.

Vashishta Muni: Oh Ram! You are not the son of King Dashrath. You are not the King of Ayodhya. You are not the husband of Sita. You are God (Atma). You are the Absolute Soul (Parmatma)

Shrimad Rajchandra: I do not belong to any particular sect. I am a Soul. The one who knows the Soul knows everything.

Lord Krishna: Atmavat Sarva Bhuteshu. Oh Arjun! The Soul resides in the elemental form in every living being. So look at everyone as being the Soul.

Lord Mahavir: I am an eternal Soul with the properties of Knowledge and Vision. The rest are all outward desires living according to circumstances and not of the Self. The root cause of all circumstances creates a sequence of ongoing misery.

‘How do I attai
Self-Realization?’ would obviously be our Next Curiosity

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan attained Self-Realization in 1958. Since so many past lives, he wanted to know, ‘who am I, who governs this Universe, where is God, what is God doing, what is the right address of God, how has the bondage of karma happened, how to come out of the bondage of karma and how to get ultimate salvation’. He was searching for it, and in 1958, he automatically got the realization. He experienced the Universal truth. The deluding coverings over his Soul broke away and the God within him, manifested. He called this God ‘Dada Bhagwan’. His ego melted completely and he was detached from Ambalal’s (Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan’s name) thoughts, speech, and actions.

Also, a step-less path to Self-realization called Akram Vignan got emerged, as a result of which, today all of us can attai
Self-Realization, in just two hours, with the direct grace of the Living Gnani. Gnani, with the divine spiritual powers, fractures our wrong beliefs and instils into our understanding, the right vision of the Self. With this understanding, we realize ‘who am I’ (attai
Self-Realization).

Permanent Happiness is Experienced when One Attains the Realization of “Who am I?”

Real happiness is that which prevails even amidst suffering. Even when someone insults you, you still experience that happiness and think to yourself, ‘Wow, what happiness!’ Liberation from ignorance of the Self leads us to such liberation from all kinds of unhappiness and suffering!

Therefore, Param Pujya Dadashri says,

“Three things are necessary for the path of liberation:

1. An intense desire to attain the Soul (Atma; Self).

2. An intense desire to meet and know a Gnani Purush.

3. If one cannot meet the Gnani Purush, then continue to have the profound intention to meet him.

Thus, until the God sitting within, is experienced, we shall earnestly pray before the idol of God:

‘Oh Lord! You reside within me, but I am unable to experience that. Please grant me Your grace so that I may know my Self.’

This prayer will soon bring together the circumstance of our meeting with Gnani.