How to maintain soul harmony

Shri Gurudev Shri Prakash Ji is the Spiritual Master for many people all over the world. A kind word, wise advice, and a blessing is given to everyone who was fortunate enough to meet him.

Our consciousness is constantly exposed to external influence: political crises, anger and negativity from surrounding people, quarrels with our relatives. How, with all this influence, can a person maintain kindness and spiritual harmony? It is with this question that we turned to Shri Prakash Ji.

- The environment, society, politics, economy – all this affects our consciousness. How to remain a good person nevertheless?

- The state of one’s mind is what plays a very important role in our lives. When there is peace, one’s mind works well.

It is also important where from mind gets information. If it receives a lot of positive information, then a person will think and act positively. If information is negative, gradually, a person also begins to think and act so.

So is the environment. If it is a good one, then kindness, love, respect develop in a person. A person begins to act the same way. When the environment is bad, negative information will affect one’s mind, and a person will gradually become the same.

In most cases, others affect us. Rarely a person has such inner strength that the environment does not affect him at all. And a small percentage of people are able to change their environment.

What is needed for this is spiritual perfection, spiritual environment, and regular spiritual practice.

In this case, a person, while reading what politicians say, what is happening in the world, will not dive deep into it. He will be more focused on himself.

- Can a person remain socially active and, if he does not agree with something, express his views?

- Of course, a person can speak and do whatever he believes is right. But one needs to have a peaceful inner state.

Meditation, mantras, prayers, repetition of the names of God, love can help with this. Regular spiritual practices. Then a person comes to such a state when he’s calm in any situation. And when such a peaceful state is maintained, then a reaction will be calm as well.

- What does “regular spiritual practices” mean?

- Regular means every day. Like we eat for our physical bodies. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. But inside a physical body, which is not eternal, there is another force. Eternal. It is the power of God, a soul. If it does not exist, nothing will exist. The God who is within us is the most important! What do we do for him? If we do nothing, then where will inner peace come from? It will not! When we pray, meditate, regularly do spiritual practices of a religion which traditions we follow, then there will be inner energy, spiritual qualities will also develop. If we do not practice it regularly, then the force will gradually decline.

You need to love, but without becoming attached.

- But even people regularly engaged in spiritual practices, when communicating with colleagues, relatives, people who carry negative information, sometimes get irritated or angry.

- Imagine a situation, you are walking down the street, and some stranger tells you something unpleasant. Or your relatives, friends tell something unpleasant to you. What will hurt you more?

- The closer a person is, the more upsetting it will be.

- Correct. Why? Because you are attached to this person. To a stranger who tells something bad to you on the street, you are not attached. So you do not pay attention to his words. But, when a person to whom you are attached says something bad, you will be hurt, a lot. Therefore, we must reduce our attachment. You need to love, but without becoming attached.

Attachment is when you love someone and expect the same kind of love from him. And when you do not get it, you are upset. Anger is rising: "I wanted it so much, but I did not get it!".

If I help someone, if I love someone and I expect the same, and this person doesn’t give me the same love or help, then I feel bad. This is attachment. Love is when a person loves and does not expect anything in return. Then it is always good for him, and his inner peace will remain with him. Therefore, you need to practice true love. Reduce attachment and grow love. This is also a spiritual practice.

- And how do we do it?

- For example, a person comes to me with some problem or with some spiritual question. I can help this person as much as I can. And at the same time I do not think that after what I’ve said that person should be grateful to me ordo something good for me. So it is in life. Children, husband, relatives. You do something, and then you wait to receive the same in return. But this does not necessarily happen. Maybe it will, but maybe it will not. You are worried. This is attachment. Love is when a person has made something good and forgets about it. So, there is no attachment and, therefore, there is no anxiety.

You can not change everyone. You can improve yourself!

- And if the situation is vice versa? Other people, for example, relatives, friends, are very attached to us and expect more from us than we can give them. How to behave to maintain good relationships?

- Help as much as you can. But every eprson has his own financial strength, physical strength. You can not give more than that. You also need to live. If after your help a person is still unhappy, this is his problem to solve. Because everyone has to improve. You can not change everyone. You can improve yourself. And you can offer. Any good practice that you know, you can do yourself and offer to others. But not to impose on that. It is not right. It is also an attachment.

- So we can influence others only by changing ourselves?

- Only by changing yourselves. And we can pray to God. It is also a very powerful practice. Because God is in everyone. We are all his children. When we want to change someone, we need to pray to God, so that He inspires these people for good actions. This we can also do. We can offer and we can pray to God.

- And if something happens, which I strongly disagree. May I express my opinion? And how to do it so that I will not to offend the other one?

- You may. And whether the other person is offended or not, it's not up to you. You, on your part, can try to help this other one as much as you can, to speak to him calmly, but do not think too much about the result.

It also depends on the other person. Trying not to offend others is a good quality, but if he does not have this knowledge, then what can you do? A person sometimes wants something very much, but it turns out differently. Because everything happens not be as we want. It happens as it should be. The result is always in the hands of God.

Spiritual principles are common for all traditions.

- How to learn to accept what is happening, and what is given in your life?

- This requires spiritual knowledge. When a person has such knowledge, he will accept everything calmly. For example, according to our tradition, everything that happens in life happens because of karma. Everything that a person has done, thought, said in his past life, will come back to him. Everything will be as it should be. Then why should I worry too much about it? I'll try to do everything right, but if something does not work out, then it's predetermined to be so. But if there is no such knowledge, then a person is very worried about what is happening.

In all religions there is spiritual knowledge. It is a common spiritual principle. When you develop yourself, spiritual knowledge will wake up. If there is knowledge, then in any situation you will remain peaceful.

- And this knowledge is present in all spiritual traditions?

- Right. There are religious rituals, they are different in various traditions. But there are common spiritual principles. No religion teaches disharmony, no religion teaches disrespect . What is common in all traditions is spirituality. And rituals and rites are mere religiosity.

- If in all traditions, there is something common, why there is no peace between religions?

- Because we have God "hidden behind the fence." We say “my God is behind this "fence", your God is behind your "fence"”. But you can not "hide" God! This fence is just our consciousness. We are so attached to our religion that we start to think: "We are right, and everyone else is wrong." This is the reason of all conflicts. We all are right, because in all of us there is the same God! There is no Christianity or Hinduism actually!

Therefore, if a person wants spiritual progress, this “fence” must be removed. And, while belonging to one tradition, a person should respect other ones.

- Is it possible to change this? What do people need to do for it?

- Perhaps, someday people will learn to love and respect each other. After all, we all have the same Father and we are all His children.

- Thank you for your time. And also for an interesting conversation.

Interviewed by Natalia Davydova.
Arkona-center.de