Hari Om
Today is Varalakshmi pooja. I know many of you finished your prayer at home in the morning very early. Doing the prayer is one thing. But knowing what it means is another thing. Many of us just do these poojas because our parents, grandparents and their parents did, so we're just following the tradition.
One thing we need to understand is that out in heaven, nowhere is Varakakshmi sitting there giving you these blessings. There's no way. You can't go to heaven and see Lord Shiva with Parvati, Ganesha and Muruga sitting on a throne. They are sitting within you. The Ishwara within you is what you need to worship. Only that Ishwara can give you prosperity. You know the saying, 'believe in yourself', that means the greater Self within you, not the body that rots. Only by believing in that Self is prosperity possible.
Truth belongs in no-man's land. Nobody can find this truth for you. You are the only one who can find this truth, whether you have a guru or master, or not. If you don't make that attempt, show that affort, you are not going to find that truth. And the truth lies in this no-man's land; and this no-man's land is within you. It belongs to nobody, and it is for you to find it. What is this truth? It is called Atma Loka, the abode of the soul or atma. And once you find this truth, then the energies of Mahalaxmi, Saraswati, Lord Shiva, the energy of Mahavishnu and Gayathri become your personal energy. You'll enjoy every moment of that energy. And right now, in this time, in this present part of the yuga, we have lost all knowledge of this Atma Loka.
We have talked about Atma Loka and yet, in the magnitude of your physical body resides this minute aspect of God as spirituality called Atma Loka. And through worship with agni (fire) and maha meru, we transcend the boundaries that are obstacles to our finding this Atma Loka, to other realms of peace, love and beatitude. And that is what it's all about. We are controlled by our mental aspects of this material realm or journey, but life is not just a journey. Life is an experience. Life is worth remembering. Remember that. Many of you, when angry and during difficult times say, 'I don't want to be born again. I don't know why God gave me this life or what karma I had from my last life'. It is life's experiences. Whether we're prosperous or not, whether we have successes or disappointments – all these are life's experiences. Nothing is not an experience. When you go home tonight, you've had an experience. If you were really sincere, you may enjoy this experience as part of your spiritual accolades, and that is what it's all about.
We can say 'swaha, swaha, swaha, nama, nama, nama' a hundred times, but without sincerity, love, dedication or devotion, Atma Loka is not possible. Great sages have told us, 'Do not try to transcend away from this body'. Transcend into this body and when you do you'll find the great energy called Ishwara. It resides within every one of us.
Nobody seated here can tell me they don't have Ishwara, but they can tell me they have not experienced or found Ishwara. To say you don't have Ishwara means you are a zombie, the living dead. Because to have Ishwara is to have life. Without Ishwara life cannot exist: no blade of grass, nor drop of dew can move without the breath of Ishwara. The wind, the rain, the storm, your thoughts, your movement, all are based on Ishwara; and Ishwara is located in a place called Atma Loka. And once you've found this place called Atma Loka, you become a jivan mukti - a realised individual. And this is called self-realisation.
And once you have realised your Self, then God-realisation is inevitable. You are going to enjoy God-realisation. But without Self-realisation, God-realisation is not virtually impossible, it is just impossible. You need to know the God within you residing in the Atma Loka. And once you know God residing in the Atma Loka, you are a jivan mukti, a realised individual. But for many seated here, your realisation or jivan mukti is momentary, it is very very short lived, because you get caught so easily in this bhur loka, the material plane, ('Om bhur...', this is the loka we recite in the Gayathri mantra). We are so caught up in this bhur loka that Atma Loka is not possible. You could be deep in your meditation, just making that connection with God, when you realise that you left the curry on the stove. Immediately you break that connection because you realise that material distraction is more important.
So let us strive to find bliss, eternal peace, eternal love and eternal beatitude. Let us find that moment. And let Mother Lakshmi be that prosperity in your spiritual search and, using the energy of Mother Laksmi that you have today, just find it. And once you find it, just enjoy it.
Om.
