नवरात्रि आज से...

सभी को नवरात्रि की शुभकामनाएं !!!
आशा करता हूँ की यह पर्व आपके जीवन में उत्साह और उमंग लाये ।

आज के दैनिक जागरण से कुछ पंक्तियाँ...
नवरात्र को ईश्वर की उपासना का पर्व माना गया है। इन दिनों भक्त रामायण व गीता का पाठ करते हैं। ऐसी मान्यता है कि इस पर्व के दौरान तपस्वियों द्वारा व्रत-उपवास रखने से उन्हे आध्यात्मिक शांति और सुख प्राप्त होता है। नवरात्र के साथ देवी दुर्गा के अवतार की कथा भी जुड़ी हुई है। असुरों से पीड़ित देवता प्रजापति ब्रह्मा के पास जाते हैं और पूछते हैं कि हम सद्गुणों से सम्पन्न होते हुए भी दुष्ट असुरों से हारते क्यों हैं? ब्रह्माजी ने उत्तर दिया, 'संगठन और पराक्रम के अभाव में अन्य गुण निष्प्राण बने रहते हैं। संकट से मुक्ति पाने और वर्चस्व के लिए संगठित और पराक्रमी बनने के अतिरिक्त और दूसरा कोई मार्ग नहीं है।' देवताओं ने इसी उक्ति का पालन किया और तब जाकर दानवों का पराभव संभव हुआ।

आइए, नवरात्र के अवसर पर हम जगत माता देवी दुर्गा से यह प्रार्थना करे :

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिन:, सर्वे सन्तु निरामया:।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु, मा कश्चिद् दु:ख भाग्यवेत्।

साथ ही, हम यह कामना भी करें कि नवरात्र पर्व सभी साधकों के लिए उज्ज्वल संभावनाएं लेकर आए। ईश्वर गलत मार्ग पर चलने वाले व्यक्तियों को सद्बुद्धि प्रदान करे, ताकि वे कुमार्ग का त्याग कर सन्मार्ग पर चलें।

Service

The greatest pleasure I get is by serving my parents and other elders. A person, however big he/she may become, these things always hold the premium value. Those who know me understand that I can give away every fiber of my being to serve, protect and love them. It's very disheartening to see others in pain who don't have anyone to take care of them. Lately through experiences and contemplation, I have realized that my personal pain is very insignificant to those whose life has been a struggle...those innocent people who can't find solace anywhere or who cannot understand the "cruelty" from heavens bestowed upon them. Lots of them end up asking...why me? Probably there has never been an answer to that. But, there are ways to meditate upon all struggles of life and come to a reasoning for such outcome. Some might say, it was their past life's karmas, or some understand that it's for their good in some other way. Since no one has actually "seen" god, there is tremendous faith in believing in god's existence. If you reason his existence, you probably don't want to believe. That does not make it true or false. The fact is, the god is within you. So, you must wake up and let the pain pass away from you so that you can serve the others who are in pain.

If you press yourself for the selfless service, you will realize that it opens up many venues you never imagined. There are things in life that require quite a bit of practice. But, it's been said in one of the Indian sayings that the following can gradually increase and also decrease; It all depends on which direction it takes:

ससि संकोच, साहस, सलिल, मान, सनेह 'रहीम' ।
बढ़त-बढ़त बढ़ि जात है, घटत-घटत घटि सोम ॥

Moon, Shyness, Courage, Water, Respect and Love - These things naturally take one course or the other. If you want to love someone, it may take upto a quarter of a century before you realize the meaning of true love. On the other hand, a patient on the bed may lie there for months, or he can, through his strength of will and little courage, get up from bed and challenge the disease. He starts walking slowly and his courage goes up day by day. They also say, the victory lies in your determination (मन के जीते जीत है, मन के हारे हार). If the patient develops such strong desire, the body comes along. Same goes for other things in the above saying...Be it the size of moon, water level in floods or a waterwell. Respect is another one and this combines with the selfless service. You serve people because you love them, you respect them and you feel gratified that you have given them something without wanting anything at all in return. That belongs in a very few people. People bring minor problems or obstacles to turn such opportunities away when asked to serve. But, the gist of the whole dicsussion is that it requires PRACTICE to adopt such virtues. You must give up the pride and all so-called comforts and then only, you will start to enjoy serving others. And, you would not have to worry about the future, as with your determination, this good virtue will only go up day by day, as in the saying above.