1. Introduction to the nature of the eclipses and Pitrupaksha period 2024

In 2024, the Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits, also known as Pitrupaksha, occurs from 17 September 2024 until 2 October 2024.

Coincidently, two eclipses will also take place at the beginning and end of this period: a Partial Lunar Eclipse in the early hours of 18 Sep 2024 (UTC) and an Annular Solar Eclipse on 02 October 2024 in the evening UTC.

The last time there was such an occurrence was in September 2006, 18 years ago.

2. What is the spiritual effect of having two eclipses on either side of the Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits (Pitrupaksha)?

Let us look at both these events separately.

2.1 Effect of Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits, also known as Pitrupaksha

Every year in the autumn (of the northern hemisphere), there is a fortnight when our departed ancestors come closer to the Earth or the physical plane. It is a cyclical event that occurs in the spiritual dimension. Due to a lack of spiritual practice, most ancestors get stuck in the afterlife and stagnate due to a lack of spiritual energy. As they continue to have their worldly desires and yet cannot do anything to help themselves, they continue to feel restless. During this period, they came towards the Earth plane to connect with their descendants.

The overall vibrations during this period are spiritually impure (Raja-Tama predominant).  This is because, during this period, the environment is filled with subtle pressure from the billions of subtle bodies of ancestors and the vibrations of their unfulfilled desires. Negative energies also attack the subtle bodies of ancestors by taking advantage of their spiritual weakness and unfulfilled desires.

Read more about – Fortnight for departed ancestral spirits and the Shraddha ritual.

2.2 Effect of an eclipse

Solar and lunar eclipses are celestial anomalies blocking the light from the Sun and the Moon. Spiritual research has shown that in the case of all eclipses, there is a rise in spiritual pollution (Raja-Tama) and a reduction in spiritual purity (the Sattva component). This has many detrimental side effects at a subtle (intangible) level that may not be immediately apparent on the physical plane.

Solar eclipses are more detrimental than lunar eclipses for humanity. Where the eclipse is visible, that part of the world is more affected by the eclipse. The residual negative spiritual effect of an eclipse can last for months. Successive eclipses within a short period will give the spiritually contaminated environment less chance to recover.

Read more about – The spiritual significance of Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse and its effects.

2.3 Effect of Eclipses and the Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits (Pitrupaksha) at the same time

The negative effects (as stated above) of both eclipses and Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits (Pitrupaksha) only increase the magnitude of negativity in the environment. This increased negativity affects the Earth plane of existence and the plane of existence where departed ancestors reside, i.e., mainly in the Nether region (also known as Bhuvaloka). This exacerbates the effect of negative energies on our ancestors, who, in turn, increase their (departed ancestors’) impact on us.

Overall, during this period, the negativity compared to the average period of the Fortnight for Departed Ancestral Spirits (Pitrupaksha) will increase by 30%.

During this fortnight, we will see a full moon on the 17th/18th of September and a new moon (Amavasya) on 02 October 2024. The new moon vibrations are more related to ancestors. Having the effect of a solar eclipse and new moon simultaneously means that 02 October 2024 will have heightened levels of spiritual distress, especially concerning departed ancestors affecting humanity.

Possible problems/distress that may be experienced due to the combined effect (eclipse + Pitrupaksha) during this period include:

2.4 Possible distress on a physical level

• Daytime drowsiness
• Reduced sleep at night
• Nightmares
• Lack of appetite or excessive appetite
• Headache
• Impaired functioning
• Increased accidents
• Social unrest, riots
• Natural disasters and calamities
• War escalation

2.5 Possible distress on a psychological level

• Irritability
• Arguments and quarrels at home over petty reasons
• Despair
• Increased addictive behaviour
• Suicidal thoughts

2.6 Possible distress on an intellectual level

• Inability to suggest anything
• Clouded thinking
• Lack of understanding of the subject
• Loss of memory
• Lack of comprehension
• Lack of confidence
• Inability to make correct decisions due to the covering of disturbing black power on the mind.

Spiritual distress for people as our departed ancestors themselves will experience heightened levels of distress. There may also be an increased activity of negative energies. It is estimated that distress caused by departed ancestors to their descendants living on Earth will increase by 30%.

3. Measures to avoid the ill effects of the combination of eclipses and Pitrupaksha

Due to the increase in spiritual distress, which can increase physical and psychological distress, it is essential that we consider taking spiritual practice and spiritual healing measures. The following are some simple yet effective spiritual healing remedies to help you and your families during this period.

• Salt water treatment
• Increase chanting of Shri Gurudev Datta
• Increase prayers for protection every half hour
• Undertake the Shraddha ritual as per your capacity

Undertaking the Shraddha ritual during an eclipse is spiritually beneficial. However, please note that the Shraddha ritual recommended during an eclipse is very specific and differs from the usual Shraddha ritual (Mahalaya Shraddha). If undertaking the normal Shraddha ritual (Mahalaya Shraddha), then avoid the eclipse times.

• Remedies to purify the premises

Please click on the links above to learn more.

The post What is the effect of having two eclipses on either side of Pitrupaksha – the fortnight of the ancestors? appeared first on SSRF Blog.

The wait is finally over, and we are really happy to announce that the SSRF shop is back online to once again bring you positive and Divine healing energy, right to your doorstep.

Late last year we decided to invest in new technology and a new design for our shop to give our valued readers and patrons an even better online experience. After dedicatedly working on the shop for a few months, our tech seekers pushed the button on the 10^th of Feb 2022 to bring the SSRF shop back up.

The SSRF shop is truly unique because apart from just being an eCommerce website selling spiritual products, it has consistently shown that it has the ability to provide our patrons with higher-level spiritual experiences. The main reason for this is that each product is a culmination of many hours of spiritual research invested in it to make it as spiritually positive as possible. More importantly, what sets the SSRF shop apart is that each product, whether it be a healing product or a Holy book, has the blessings and the resolve of a Saint of the highest order – Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale. Paratpar Guru refers to a Saint or a Guru who is above the 90% spiritual level.

The language of spiritual vibrations transcends all cultural and physical boundaries. When one is exposed to high levels of positive energy, amazing things begin to happen. One can go into a meditative state, one can experience higher levels of calmness for days, one can have clarity of thought and feelings of being in a blissful state. Time and time again our readers and patrons have shared such superlative experiences with us when they hold our products in their hands. We would like to share with you some of their experiences.

— A bright light —

I was really excited to get my first box of SSRF incense sticks as I had heard so much about it from some of my friends. When I unpacked the box, the whole house suddenly seemed to be filled with a beautiful fragrance that was emanating from the box of incense sticks and the Holy Books. That very night I had a dream (actually I can’t say whether it was in the waking state or in the dream sleep state.) It was so real and I saw that a bright glow of light was coming from the Holy books I got that day from the SSRF shop. I felt as if the sun had come into my house. In fact, that light became so bright that I could hardly look at it. Then I got the thought that through these Holy books, Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale Himself had come into my house. Generally, I don’t remember my dreams, but this experience is imprinted in my mind and I feel really grateful to the SSRF shop for being the medium to bring me these Divine books and positivity.

– Megan, Canada

— Calming Positive healing energy —

After receiving the SSRF incense sticks and Holy books, I immediately lit some SSRF incense sticks and waved them in an clockwise direction around the house for spiritual cleansing. This is just as I had read it on the SSRF website. With both the fragrances of incense sticks that I had ordered, that is, Jasmine and Sandalwood, along with SSRF Dhoop sticks, I felt an immense feeling of calmness after lighting them. I was able to concentrate better whilst chanting the Name of God.

Normally, I struggle to get up in the morning, but after applying the spiritual healing remedy of lighting SSRF incense sticks, I was able to get up early in the morning without any effort and feel fresh.

As an experiment, I placed the Holy Book about Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj on my forehead. Immediately I perceived positive subtle vibrations entering my forehead.

I am very grateful for the service provided by the SSRF shop, as without the shop, I would not have access to these spiritually wonderful products which gave me such beautiful spiritual experiences.

– Samara, United Kingdom

— A higher level of spiritual healing energy —

For a long time, I have been suffering from spiritual distress. Due to SSRF, I am now able to understand it more and more, and how it affects me in my daily life in various ways. I have also got spiritual solutions on how to protect myself from the distressing energy affecting me – thanks to the SSRF website. I have a lot of faith in Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale, and I know His books have a lot of positive healing energy. So when I received a Holy book from the SSRF shop, I placed it on my heart chakra (a spiritual energy centre that is at the heart region). I could feel two things – one is the spiritual healing energy from the Holy Book and the second that the distressing energy affecting me could not tolerate this Divine energy.

After a while, I placed the book at a slight distance from me. But even at this distance, the distressing energy that was affecting me could not tolerate it. It was truly quite amazing to see this play of subtle energies and the ability of this Holy book to bestow such potent healing energy. Usually, we buy books to read them, but in this case, apart from the Knowledge the Holy book has, it comes with tremendous healing energy, which is beyond words.

Thank you SSRF for the wonderful service you are doing for humanity.

– Lara, New Zealand

The true test of any spiritual product or Holy book is its ability to bestow spiritual experiences to its users or readers. These are just some of the many experiences of our patrons from all around the world. At the SSRF shop, listening to such experiences fill us with a deep sense of gratitude for being a part of this Divine mission to help people worldwide.

The post How the SSRF Shop brings Healing Energy to the World appeared first on SSRF Blog.

Depending on the context, the Swastika is recognised as one of the most auspicious or heavily vilified symbols in the world. It originated as a sacred symbol in Hinduism, and it was also used by other Eastern religions.  Despite its sacred origins, the Swastika has become so widely associated with Nazi Germany that any contemporary usage of the symbol frequently incites controversy. So, is the Swastika symbol spiritually beneficial to society or not, and should it be embraced or discarded ?

Our spiritual research shows that every symbol or sign emits subtle vibrations. These subtle vibrations can be positive or negative. We need to study the spiritual vibrations which any symbol emits, as these vibrations will have an effect (which can be positive or negative) on the people who embrace it. These were the conclusions of the paper presented by Mr Sean Clarke. He was speaking on 23 August 2021 at ‘The International Conference on Innovations in Multidisciplinary Research (iConference) New Delhi’, organised by iConference, New Delhi. He presented a scientific paper titled ‘The spiritual difference behind the Hindu Swastika and Nazi Swastika’ for which he received the ‘Best Paper Award’.

Ninety presenters from over 10 different countries participated in this conference. This was the 78th presentation by Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay (also known as the Maharshi University of Spirituality or MAV). MAV has so far participated and presented research papers in 15 National and 62 International Scientific Conferences.

Authored by Paratpar Guru Dr Jayant Athavale (Founder of MAV) and co-authored by Mr Sean Clarke, the paper’s findings on the Swastika piqued the interest of the audience and was received well.

Sean shared that, with 40 years of spiritual research experience, the team at Maharshi University of Spirituality has studied the Swastika in great detail from a spiritual perspective. This research has been conducted by using aura and subtle energy scanners along with the advanced sixth sense of its research team.

Listed below are some key aspects (found through spiritual research) related to the form and the colour of the Swastika, which can significantly affect the subtle vibrations it emits.

• Straight, tilted or inverted
• The corners and ends – straight or curved
• With or without dots
• Thickness of the arms
• Colour used

It was found that if depicted incorrectly like the Nazi Swastika, it emits negative vibrations. On the other hand, if depicted in a spiritually correct manner like the Hindu Swastika, it was found that the Swastika has the capability of attracting and emitting positive spiritual energy. In such a form, it can be utilised decoratively for auspicious occasions as it provides a spiritual healing effect on the immediate environment.

Special Comments by the attendees:

1. Dr Bushra S Al-Noori, who was the moderator, said that she didn’t know the difference between the Nazi and Hindu swastika. But now she is aware and seemed very impressed.
2. This will be very useful. Please put this video session on YouTube also. Some of the books on Hinduism sent from here to Germany had the Swastika symbol and hence the authorities were seriously suspicious of the receiver, who was an Indian academician working in Germany. Please convey my compliments and regards to Mr Sean Clarke. – Dr Patel, HSRC, Gujarat.

The post Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay receives the ‘Best Paper Award’ at The International Conference on Innovations in Multidisciplinary Research (ICIMR-2021). appeared first on SSRF Blog.

14 January 2021 marks the 15th Anniversary of the website of the Spiritual Science Research Foundation (SSRF). At the start of the past year, no one had any idea how the following year would go. With the world still in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the world in 2021 is quite a different one from the one we knew last year. Given these challenging circumstances, we are grateful to share that the seekers of SSRF have risen to the occasion by adapting to ensure that the Divine Knowledge on the SSRF website continues to be spread throughout the world and help humanity in this hour of need. 

An overview of the SSRF website

The SSRF website is the backbone of the organisation. It has brought numerous seekers to Spirituality and continues to serve as a spiritual beacon for those interested in Spirituality. The website had humble beginnings in the year 2006 with few visitors for several years after its launch. However, due to the resolve of Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale that the website would spread spiritual Knowledge worldwide, it began to grow rapidly and has grown into a world leader on Spirituality. Today, the website has had over 58 million visitors. It has over 700 articles on Spirituality that have been translated into 23 languages, including Spanish, German, French and Russian. The articles cover a wide range of spiritual topics, with some of the most popular articles being on “Life After Death”, “What is Spirituality ?” and “The purpose of life”. It is due to the grace of God that the website is bringing people to Spirituality. But, SSRF has made some other notable developments this past year.

1. Holding livestreams and online spiritual workshops

Perhaps the biggest success this past year has been through the online livestream sessions and courses that SSRF has held. With a spiritual tour being impossible due to the pandemic, SSRF completely changed its approach to spread Spirituality to an online one. Since 25 March 2020, 518 livestream sessions and courses have been held in English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian. They have covered a wide variety of relatable topics including “Past Lives and Reincarnation”, “How to remove black magic, evil eye and a curse” and “Kundalini awakening & chakra activation”.

SSRF even recently held its first fundraising event “A Look at the Expansive Mission of SSRF”, which motivated many loyal followers from all over the world to donate to SSRF for the first time.

From September – November 2020 alone, these sessions had a total of over 85,000 viewers on YouTube and Facebook.

2. SSRF’s Caravan Tour where people interested in Spirituality got the opportunity to meet our Saint (Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee) and seekers

A further development this year occurred due to a generous donation by one SSRF seeker of a caravan to SSRF. Since May 2020, Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee has been touring through Europe in the caravan along with SSRF seekers to meet those curious about Spirituality. Though travel was restricted, he was still able to visit 39 major cities in 6 countries. Even in these difficult times, he has met and nurtured 125 people interested in Spirituality during the tour with many having met him multiple times. They all had positive experiences after meeting Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee and shared positive feedback such as feeling lots of love, understanding, high positivity, experiencing a boost in spiritual practice, receiving answers to their questions and problems getting solved. Among them, 30 started spiritual practice and around 15 people began joining our online satsangs (spiritual meetings). 3 even restarted spiritual practice and the spiritual practice of 37 seekers increased greatly.

3. SSRF content and video production to help humanity during these times of crisis

This past year, SSRF has published ground-breaking content on a variety of topics. We published over 30 articles (which includes new articles and updates to previous articles). Among them, the article on the coronavirus stands out as having particular importance to humanity in the current times. The article presented SSRF’s spiritual research on the coronavirus, its real root cause and how to protect oneself. Under the guidance of Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale, a higher level Saint – Sadguru Mukul Gadgil was able to obtain Divine Knowledge about a special chant that could be used to spiritually protect oneself from the coronavirus.

This chant has even been recorded in the higher-level Saint’s voice and published free of charge along with the article on the SSRF website. In addition, a video was made and uploaded to SSRF’s YouTube channel about the coronavirus to spread awareness.

Given these uncertain times and the possibility of a third World War, SSRF has started publishing a series of articles on how average people can protect themselves in the face of disaster. An article about preparing for power outages and water shortages related to World War 3 was well received.

SSRF has spearheaded the international awareness around Pitrupaksha (the fortnight for departed ancestral spirits) and the rituals that need to be done for the benefit of departed ancestors and the descendants as per the spiritual science. This spiritual research was conducted using various aura and subtle energy scanners. This is because the vast majority of people suffer at some point in time in their lives from ancestral problems.

4. Conference on – Water, the new gold of the future – at Davos, Switzerland

On 9th August 2020, we presented a paper on “The spiritual state of the world’s waters in 2020 – Which vibration does your water emit ?” at the World Congress held in Davos, Switzerland. The paper was authored by Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale & co-authored by Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee and Mr Sean Clarke. It was presented by Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

A total of about 50 people attended the conference. Many people accepted the knowledge and could understand it even though the concepts were new and at a spiritual level as compared to the content of other speeches which were delivered.

One of the delegates – Professor Ralf Otterpohl (the director of the Institute of Wastewater Management and Water Protection at the Hamburg University of Technology, Germany who also presented a lecture) shared that when he saw the presentation, he felt that something in him got awakened. He found our approach of spiritual research very interesting. He also wanted to meet us in Hamburg the next month to learn about how to do spiritual practice. Professor Ralf Otterphol and a few others expressed their desire to attend a 5-Day MAV workshop in Goa, India.

Ms Ladina Priya Kindschi, who was the organizer of the symposium (conference), was very glad we could present the lecture and also invited us to speak at the next symposium on Divine children, which will be held next year. She received a lot of positive feedback about our presentation. She also offered that when SSRF and MAV participate in their symposium next year, we can organise a spiritual workshop on the Personality Defect Removal (PDR) process and spiritual practice.

5. Spiritual Leadership lecture and Prominent Business Leaders show interest in Spirituality

Mr Hans Martin Heierling from Switzerland (who is now our seeker) is an entrepreneur, a board member of multiple companies including a panel of 70 companies working towards a sustainable economy and is in contact with various universities regarding sustainability and social responsibility. As a part of his spiritual quest, he visited the Spiritual Research Centre and Ashram in Goa, India twice. Mr Hans Martin Heierling has helped to organise new opportunities to spread SSRF’s Divine Knowledge among prominent business leaders. It all began when Hans hosted an event held alongside the World Economic Forum called Peace on Snow. The event was well-received, and it opened up an opportunity to host a livestream on spiritual leadership, which is now on SSRF’s YouTube channel.

Due to the sincere efforts of our seeker Mr Hans Martin Heierling, SSRF was invited to speak to delegates who had attended the World Economic Forum on the topic of spiritual leadership. The event was conducted by Mr Sean Clarke and was well received as it showed how the world should be thinking about leadership as per Righteousness based on spiritual principles. The content of the lecture was based on guidance by Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale. Sean presented real-life examples of how Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale’s spiritual leadership has not only transformed people but also positively changed the spiritual vibrations of inanimate objects and the environment, which is the need of the hour today.

This event was a catalyst to generate interest in a number of people in the spiritual research of SSRF who went on to begin spiritual practice. These prominent business leaders listed below started practising Spirituality and attending regular satsangs. Some of the attendees are prominent personalities in their communities.

Four new opportunities for SSRF have emerged from these satsangs. 

• SSRF seekers and Sadguru Cyriaque Vallee are speaking regularly at a German radio show called OkiTalk that gets thousands of listeners
• A friend of Hans is helping to organise a special international satsang for teenagers to prepare the youth to be the leaders of tomorrow
• A special presentation at a prestigious NGO that is registered with the United Nations
• A presentation at the Altru Institute, a society that has international membership consisting of various prominent members of society

Some of the business leaders who have been attending the satsangs include

• Mr Royston Flude, PhD in Physics and MA in counselling
• Ms Mariam Azarm, Board member of the World Information Transfer and founder of Klosters Innovation Partners, a think-tank. She was the Events and Conferences Manager for the UN for 25 years and comes from a Persian aristocratic background.
• Mr Christian Häuselmann, entrepreneur and innovator, creator of the E-bike
• Dr Ashokakumar M. Patel, M.D., Pulmonologist, Mayo Clinic
• Mr Marcelo Garcia is a long time Brazilian resident of Switzerland who has a distinguished career of more than twenty years in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) industry. He is the owner and founder of  the Wisdom Acceleration non-profit organisation for the youth.
• Mrs Susanne Humbel-Heierling (Hans’ sister). She is an international marketing and business development professional.

6. New Events Website

All of these events are currently being displayed on a new events website that has been developed this year. With the expansion of SSRF’s events, it was necessary to develop a suitable platform to host them. The new events website that has been developed provides a smoother experience for the user and makes it easier to find and register for the SSRF events that one is interested in.

7. SSRF’s Social Media Presence

SSRF has 29 social media channels :

• Facebook : English, Spanish, French, German, Indonesian, Tamil, Hindi, Italian, Russian, Serbian and Croatian (11 pages/languages)
• YouTube : English, Spanish, French, German, Indonesian, Hindi, Croatian, Russian, Chinese, Hungarian (10 channels/languages)
• Pinterest : English, Spanish, French, German and Indonesian (5 pages/languages)
• Twitter : English
• Instagram : English
• VKontakte : Russian

The total number of followers on all of SSRF’s social media channels is over 367,000. SSRF seekers respond to over 200 comments every month on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. New developments this year include launching SSRF Pinterest in non-English languages and launching the Italian and Tamil SSRF Facebook pages. The SSRF website receives 20-30,000 visits per month from its social media channels.

8. SSRF’s online spiritual meetings to provide spiritual support and guidance

SSRF also holds 64 online satsangs every week of 8 different levels in English, Spanish, German, Russian, Indonesian, French, Italian and Serbo-Croatian to support seekers in their spiritual journeys. Over 300 seekers from 35 countries attend these satsangs regularly, and over 50 SSRF seekers conduct these satsangs. Weekly bhav (spiritual emotion) satsangs are also conducted to help seekers to increase spiritual emotion. ‘Bhav satsang’ refers to spiritual meetings which help to invoke spiritual emotion and where seekers learn how to make efforts to increase spiritual emotion.

These spiritual meetings have helped seekers tremendously at every level to grow spiritually by regularly resolving their obstacles, providing spiritual guidance, clarifying their doubts and motivating them.

9. SSRF Shop sees record number of orders

The SSRF shop was closed from March through November this past year due to international postal services being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. When they resumed, the shop was reopened. We immediately witnessed a record number of orders. In November and December 2020 alone, we had over 100 orders from 19 different countries with a sale of around 275 books on Spirituality and over 2500 incense stick packs. While the shop was closed, people wrote to us frequently asking about the availability of spiritual books and SSRF incense. This shows how much people value the spiritual products that have been developed under the guidance of Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale.

One young person from Mexico ordered 62 books and shared that he would like to have the books as they would be useful to him during the adverse times (World War 3). Also, he said that he would like to preserve them and share them with others in the future. He said he had been saving money for some time to place this big order.

10. LiveChat facility introduced on website

Another new development this year has been the introduction of a LiveChat facility on the website. Since LiveChat launched on the SSRF website in March 2020, we have answered over 13,000 chats in 8 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, Croatian and Russian). We have 15 seekers who perform LiveChat satseva (service unto the Absolute Truth) sincerely every day by chatting with readers in real-time as well as responding to readers’ queries via email. We have seen that many readers who write to us on LiveChat also start attending our weekly online satsangs, attend our livestreams, and many also start taking Autosuggestions as per the PDR process mentioned on the SSRF website and perform spiritual remedies to overcome various problems.

11. Formation of a team to completely transform the SSRF website

One spiritual experience that SSRF seekers had this year occurred with the technical team. The SSRF website needed to be completely revamped and updated technically to the latest available web technologies, but there were no seekers available with the necessary skills to make this possible.

Then Anup, who is the chief technical officer of a technical company attended one of the 5-Day workshops organised by MAV in 2019.  He was inspired to begin spiritual practice and to contribute to the SSRF website which is helping humanity to grow spiritually. He brought a whole different skill set that made it possible to start to migrate the SSRF website onto a brand-new powerful platform. Our seeker Krishna Gollamudi started to do satseva with Anup to lay the foundation for the technical migration of the website.

Then, seemingly on their own, other seekers started asking for satseva and when asked what skills they had, they would share the exact skill set needed for a technical satseva at that time. Currently, there are 5 active development seekers with 4 in training, and 5 seekers doing other technical satsevas. It seemed that whatever was needed was given by God at the right time. The new SSRF website will result in a better user experience and help people to benefit more from the Divine Knowledge and spiritual research available.

12. Beginning with promotion of SSRF articles through WhatsApp

SSRF started with daily motivational WhatsApp posts in Hindi and English and posts to promote events to groups primarily in India and Southeast Asia. This was met with a very good response and the SSRF website saw an excess of 15,000 extra visitors per month from these posts.

Concluding points

The past year has been one of the most challenging in recent history. That so many positive things have happened in spite of this is purely due to Paratpar Guru Dr Athavale’s grace. We pay gratitude at His Holy Feet for the opportunity to serve as a part of His Divine mission by reaching out to those seeking true spiritual light.

The post SSRF’s 15th Anniversary – looking back at the past year appeared first on SSRF Blog.

Finding peace of mind is elusive in today’s world, with levels of stress continually on the rise. This year has arguably been more difficult than most in the recent past in terms of stress due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and how it has changed how we all live. Given this background, it is not surprising that many are looking for ways to cope and ways to be happy in this new adverse normal.

It is in this situation that the Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay got the opportunity to present its pathbreaking research on the Personality Defect Removal Process (PDR) in a webinar organised by the South Asian Medical Student’s Association (SAMSA). The PDR process is a transformational tool that enables one to have a happier life and improves the quality of one’s spiritual practice. The webinar was held on 1st November 2020. It was hosted by Dr Shriya Saha, a mentor and the treasurer at SAMSA. Dr Nandini Samant, Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay, who has dedicated all her free time to doing spiritual practice since 1998, presented the research. She presented key aspects of the process such as how to implement it along with going over practical examples and real-life case studies. You can view the webinar below.

The webinar had good attendance, getting over 11,000 views. The attendees included doctors and medical students. In addition, there were registrations from 14 countries, including the USA, the UK, Canada, Spain and India.

Some of the comments from the attendees are given below.

‘Divine, enlightening, life-changing, beyond words.’

‘The session has particularly enlightened me on accepting and treating stress and anxiety as an actual persistent problem, rather than something abstract and situational. I have never found a more practical yet pill-free way of tackling mental health issues.’

‘A wonderful informative session. Stress is one of the main problems in today’s generation which needs attention, so it is dealt with. It’s really helpful in the present scenario.’

‘Excellent information, a scientific explanation and great guidance provided by madam.’
‘The session was thought-provoking.’

Attendee Survey Response

Of the attendees who filled out a survey about the webinar, 67% rated it as ‘Excellent’, while 25% rated it as ‘Very good’. 91% of respondents said they would be interested in attending future workshops on PDR to further learn how to adopt the process.

The PDR process has been key to bringing about deep and lasting changes that many have experienced. People have gone from insecure to confident, angry to calm and reserved to open. The positive changes that we have witnessed others undergoing are nothing short of remarkable. We are grateful for the opportunity to spread awareness about this liberating technique that anyone can make use of through this webinar.

More detailed information on the PDR Process and how to implement it in your life is given in the PDR section of the SSRF website.

The post Webinar on Personality Development by Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay appeared first on SSRF Blog.

Disclaimer : At the outset, SSRF advises all our readers to adhere to all local and national directives to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) in your region. SSRF recommends the continuation of conventional medical treatment as advised by medical authorities in your region. Spiritual remedies given in this article are not a substitute for conventional medical treatment or any preventative measures to arrest the spread of the coronavirus. Readers are advised to take up any spiritual healing remedy at their own discretion.

The coronavirus pandemic – even though few of us may have considered such a possibility, it’s something that we all were just not prepared for !

Our generation has not seen anything quite like it.

Whether or not we are infected by the virus, it has touched each of our lives. While physical precautions are being enforced and we have willingly accepted some of the most restrictive conditions in recent history for our safety, people are searching for what more can be done.

Coronavirus prayers searches increase manifold

Even though superficially, it may seem that we rely on our technology, it is in times of unprecedented crisis such as this, that humanity goes back to its core beliefs. Though many people do not talk about it, the vast majority of people believe in God or in some form of Higher Power. Data from Google trends shows just this. There has been an exponential rise in people searching for prayers to protect them from the coronavirus (COVID-19). This shows their belief in God’s grace to help them in difficult times. However, are people searching for other forms of spiritual protection such as mantras and chants?

Below is a graphical presentation of the number of searches being conducted on Google for prayers for protection from the coronavirus versus any mantra or chant for protection against the coronavirus.

Source : Google Trends, April 2020

As you can see amongst the three, ‘prayers for protection against the coronavirus’ is the most searched for. It indicates that most people perceive prayers to be the best spiritual protection measure they can resort to in such times.

But from a spiritual perspective – what is the best spiritual tool in such a crisis ? What should people really be searching for – individual prayers, collective prayers, mantras or chants ?

Coronavirus prayers, mantras or chants

At the outset, we would like to say that apart from physical measures, it is really encouraging to see that society as a whole is thinking about spiritual measures for protection from the coronavirus. However, when we compare the three, i.e. prayer, mantra and chanting the Name of God, from a spiritual perspective, the outcome is not the same for the average person.

The table below provides a quick summary of the efficacy of the three spiritual tools in protecting oneself from the coronavirus.

Note 1 : Most problems, especially the more significant ones like the coronavirus pandemic, have their root cause mainly in the spiritual dimension. In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, it is primarily due to spiritual reasons, namely powerful negative energies and the adverse collective destiny of humankind in the current era. Such problems need a spiritual solution to overcome them or they will play out with maximum intensity. Physical or psychological measures will not be enough.

With this understanding, let’s look at each method separately in terms of the spiritual energy generated to counter the coronavirus pandemic and the ease with which an average person can follow them.

What is the effectiveness of coronavirus prayers ?

For any prayer to be successful there are two aspects to look at.

1. The intensity of the problem
2. The spiritual strength of the prayer

The stronger aspect generally wins, and this holds good for the coronavirus pandemic as well.

Intensity of the problem : In the case of the coronavirus pandemic, the root cause is primarily spiritual in nature. It is due to the adverse collective destiny of humankind which is of our own making. When it comes to collective destiny, whatever is destined to happen will happen. There is no getting around it and God does not intervene.

The spiritual strength of the prayer : This is directly proportional to the spiritual level of a person. One has to be of a very high spiritual level for their prayers to effect any change in the collective destiny of humankind.

The average person has a low spiritual level, which is approximately 20%. When an average person prays a negligible amount of spiritual energy is generated from his prayer. Hence this does not even begin to alter any suffering in an individual’s destiny, let alone collective destiny.

However, what if many people prayed simultaneously for protection from the coronavirus ?

The effect would be just the same. Many people with a low spiritual level praying is not enough to alter the collective destiny of humankind.

So, while a prayer is relatively easy to say, the lower spiritual level of society reduces its effectiveness.

Effectiveness of mantras in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic

Mantras, when said in an appropriate manner with the resolve of a higher-level Saint, can generate a tremendous amount of positive spiritual energy. Unfortunately, for the average person, reciting mantras is not easy. There are many rules and restrictions to be followed, which include the correct manner of pronouncing the mantras, the spiritual emotion of the priest and the spiritual level of the presiding Saint. Inability to follow the instructions in the recitation of mantras reduce their spiritual effect. Through spiritual research, we have found that mantras in Sanskrit are the most effective.

Mantras can generate a lot of spiritual energy to counteract powerful negative energies that are causing the coronavirus. This is especially so when mantras are recited during a sacrificial fire (yadnya). However, this is practically very difficult for an average person to implement.

Effectiveness of chanting in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic

Chanting the Name of God generates a lot of positive spiritual energy. One attracts the Divine energy of the Deity whose Name one is chanting. This spiritual energy has the power to burn an individual’s adverse destiny. While chanting cannot alter collective destiny, it can help to spiritually protect the person chanting. When chanting is done with spiritual emotion, it increases its effectiveness.

Through spiritual research with the help of an advanced sixth sense, SSRF recommends the following chant to be said for protection against the coronavirus. Its unique sequence of chanting the Names of certain higher-level Deities helps not only to spiritually protect one against the coronavirus but also spiritually purifies the environment.

The chant (made of 8 chants listed below) is to be repeated in the following sequence.

• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Shri Gurudev Datta
• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Shri Durgadevyai Namaha
• Om Namah Shivaya

Important note : To listen to the chant and for more details on how to go about chanting, read our article on – Coronavirus – Spiritual protection with healing chants (mantra).

Some key points to remember about coronavirus prayers vs. chants

• In times of crisis, in desperation, people pray to God as a last resort for the protection of themselves and their families. However, the prayer of an average person does not have the spiritual power to stop the onslaught of adverse destiny.
• Prayers with expectation of some material gain provide no spiritual benefit to the person praying. The best prayers are those made without expectations on a daily basis to ask God to help them make efforts to grow spiritually and to be in a state of acceptance and surrender to God.
• Praying for others provides no benefit to the people concerned. At best, it helps one psychologically. An example of this is prayers being forwarded around on the Internet for the instant cure or protection from the coronavirus.
• Chanting, on the other hand, attracts God’s Divine energy as a person repeats His Name.
• While we may not be able to alter the collective destiny of society, by chanting we can at least protect ourselves.
• Regular spiritual practice helps to increase one’s spiritual level, which results in one gaining the grace of God.

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On 3rd January 2020, Mr Dejan Glescic from Serbia, who has total dedication to spiritual practice and spiritual emotion (bhav), attained the spiritual level of 71% and thus became an SSRF Saint. The blissful ceremony to felicitate him reaching Sainthood was held at the Spiritual Research Centre and Ashram in Goa, India. In attendance at the ceremony were 65 seekers from 21 different countries, with many others joining the live broadcast from all over the world.

From a young age, Mr Dejan Glescic had intense curiosity and desire to learn about Spirituality, even though he grew up in a socialist country where Spirituality was not practised. He commenced spiritual practice under the guidance of SSRF in 1999 together with family members Mrs Dragana Kislovski, Mrs Yoya Vallee and Mr Cyriaque Vallee. All of them have dedicated their lives to Spirituality and Mr Cyriaque Vallee has attained the stage of Sadguru in 2019, meaning his spiritual level is between 80-89%. Many seekers have shared that this is a unique example of a spiritual family.

Over the years as service to God (seva), Mr Dejan Glescic helped spread Spirituality by conducting spiritual lectures and workshops, having responsibility for SSRF website improvements, helping the spiritually curious and nurturing seekers. He persevered throughout his journey despite various obstacles and distress caused by negative energies. For many years he remained dedicated to reducing his personality defects and ego.

Seekers at the ceremony shared about the spiritual qualities they observed in Mr Dejan Glescic, such as his desire for others’ progress, leadership, intense desire to change, sacrifice, introversion and merging with God’s mission. Seekers also shared how he immediately implements suggestions for improvement and that he has an immense desire to help others and spread Spirituality all over the world. Seekers noticed that he always shares at the spiritual level and with the intention to help others.

The atmosphere at the ceremony was filled with Divine energy and seekers experienced spiritual emotion and Bliss and felt as though they had been transported to a higher Divine region. All seekers got inspiration and learning as Mr Dejan Glescic shared experiences from his spiritual journey and about the qualities of many other seekers whom he was learning from.

Paratpar Guru (a person at or above the 90% spiritual level) Dr Athavale sent a message about Mr Dejan Glescic which was read at the ceremony:

“It is very difficult to do spiritual practice while staying in the spiritually impure (Raja-Tama) environment abroad. However, due to his intense desire, Dejan made all the efforts of spiritual practice with dedication and perseverance. With the qualities of introversion, a studious attitude, being in a state of learning and the desire to change himself, Dejan made PDR (personality defect removal) and ego removal an integral part of his life. I am certain that the further progress of His Holiness Dejan Glescic will happen equally rapidly.

He practised this process so well that he would get the spiritual experience that the process of PDR was going on even in his sleep. This is really amazing. Only because of his intense desire, positive changes started happening in him. The speciality of Dejan is that he complemented his introspective attitude with action and service to God by spreading Spirituality (samashti seva). Hence, he started progressing rapidly from the year 2012. In the year 2015 he attained the spiritual level of 61%.

Dejan, with the qualities of love for others (prembhav), spiritual emotion, intense desire for God and perseverance, has reached the spiritual level of 71% and become an SSRF Saint.”

Currently, H.H. Dejan Glescic is guiding seekers in spiritual practice at the Spiritual Research Centre and Ashram in Goa, India and taking care of SSRF activities worldwide. He also travels to different countries to support spiritual seekers while spreading Spirituality.

We pray that more seekers gain the opportunity to learn from H.H. Dejan Glescic and derive benefit in their spiritual practice.

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As deadly as the coronavirus has been, it has also taught us some invaluable life lessons.

It has shown us that some of our habits (or ways of life) need to change. The obvious one is that wild animal markets are best avoided. Even better would be to go vegetarian.

However, apart from the obvious lessons, there are other norms which we have had to let go for our own safety, such as handshakes as a form of greeting. With COVID-19 being so highly contagious, handshakes are definitely to be avoided, as are kisses and hugs as a form of greeting.

Ideally, any norm such as our manner of greeting should be event-proof. This means that if we have to change the way we greet each other due to events such as a virus outbreak, then it indicates that it isn’t the best way to greet long-term.

Handshakes found best for transferring bacteria

Dave Whitworth, a biochemist from Aberystwyth University in Wales and his team conducted experiments to see which form of contact greeting was the worst when it came to transfer of bacteria. In the experiment, one person dipped a glove into an E. coli solution, allowing a dry film of bacteria to form on the glove. The wearer then performed a fist bump, a high-five and a handshake with another person who was wearing sterile gloves. Studying the amount of bacterial transfer, the handshake was the clear winner.

This is because the way the contact is made between two hands, the handshake transferred the greatest number of germs.

On the lighter side, elbow bumps, fancy foot taps, the salute and the wave are some of the new ways of non-hand greetings being adopted around the world. However, given that we have been advised to sneeze into the inside of our elbows, the elbow bump may just help the virus pass on.

World leaders switching to namaste

In recent days, images of country leaders and royalty such as Donald Trump, Prince Charles, Benjamin Netanyahu, Emmanuel Macron and Leo Varadkar opting to use the Indian greeting of ‘namaste’ over a handshake have gone viral. The namaste is something that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been advocating to the world to adopt especially after the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

With hands joined almost like in a prayer posture, the traditional Indian namaste does a few things – it helps people to greet each other, convey respect and also maintain a safe distance. Any newcomer adopting the namaste would immediately be able to benefit from these aspects of the namaste.

Why namaste / namaskar is better than other non-contact forms of greeting

Namaste or namaskar originates from the Sanskrit language. What many people do not know is that there is a much deeper spiritual meaning which is the foundation of namaste.

Yes, there are other popular non-contact form of greetings such as the Japanese bow and the hand-wave. However, its spiritual basis is what sets ‘namaste’ apart from any other greeting we have researched.

Even though people proudly identify with their culture or religion, we are all one – the human race. As per the science of Spirituality, the same God principle is in each and every one of us regardless of race or culture. The genesis of namaste or namaskar was to enable the greeter to acknowledge and pay obeisance to the Soul or the God principle in the person being greeted (regardless of race or culture). The right way to do the namaskar mudra (hand posture) is by joining the fingers and placing tips of the thumbs on the heart chakra or Anahat-chakra (at the centre of the chest).

When namaste is said with the spiritual emotion of acknowledging and paying obeisance to the Divine in the other, it enhances spiritual positivity and attracts Divine consciousness (Chaitanya). By taking up this posture, one feels humility and it also attracts positive subtle energy.

Spiritual risks of a handshake

In the case of a handshake, apart from the transfer of bacteria, remember that there is always an exchange of subtle energy between two people as their hands lock into each other. You may have experienced a bad or eerie feeling after shaking some people’s hands. This is because if a person whose hand you shake is affected by negative energy, then negative energy would almost certainly have passed on to you in that brief handshake moment. Spiritual research findings indicate that when greetings include physical contact with others, the ease of transfer of subtle energies increases by 100% as compared to a non-contact greeting.

The namaskar mudra is like a win-win greeting. Being contactless, it substantially minimises the chances of being affected by any negative energy present in others. Also, because it is designed to attract positive energy, one is actually benefitted at the spiritual level every time one uses it with the right spiritual emotion.

Consider switching to namaste

If you haven’t tried the namaste form of greeting, then do try it. You will be pleasantly surprised how good it feels compared to a handshake. There is less ego and more humility associated with it and in most cases, you will get a smile from the person you greet.

Learn more

• Coronavirus – Spiritual protection with healing chants (mantra)
• Handshakes – spiritual perspective
• Definition and meaning of Namaskar (Namaste)

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“Let us all connect to the Cosmic Internet with chanting as the start button,” was how Mr Hans Martin Heierling opened his speech at Peace on Snow.

It was an event held with the aim of breaking down barriers in communication to bring about positive change in the business world. Peace on Snow was held to inspire peace negotiations across sectors by having business leaders meet in an informal setting. Hans co-organized the event along with the Altru Institute and gave the opening address. With some chants and deep breaths, the audience was ready to listen to Hans’ message.

Mr Hans Martin Heierling is an entrepreneur, a board member of multiple companies including a panel of 70 companies working towards a sustainable economy and is in contact with various universities regarding sustainability and social responsibility. He has started numerous companies but felt that there was something missing despite having all the material comforts due to his career. He found SSRF through a Google Search on “Quantum physics and Spirituality” in 2018 and has found what he had been seeking for all those years. As a part of his spiritual quest, he visited the Spiritual Research Centre and Ashram in Goa, India twice. Due to his sincere desire to help others to grow spiritually, he not only took the opportunity to learn about spiritual practice himself, but he is also making wholehearted efforts to bring this spiritual Knowledge he gained to others in society. Hans finds deep fulfilment through his spiritual practice and taking time to spread Spirituality in his spare time.

Peace on Snow was held concurrently with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 24 January, 2020. 60 people attending the World Economic Forum chose to attend Peace on Snow, including a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company, organisers of the World Economic Forum and others with positions in top management positions in the finance industry.

This was the first time Hans introduced the spiritual concepts and spoke about Sattva, Raja and Tama, which intrigued the audience. They listened attentively to Hans as he spoke about different aspects of the spiritual dimension and showed genuine openness and curiosity.

Sattva, Raja and Tama are three subtle basic components that make up the universe. Sattva is associated with purity and Knowledge, Raja with action and Tama with ignorance and inertia.

Hans shared how currently, business models are focused more on return on investment (ROI) and increasing shareholder value. As a result, business is conducted in a way that has less focus on the welfare of others. An example of this would be a company disregarding the consequences of pollution so as to maximise profits despite there being methods available to curb pollution. This is just a basic example of a business practice that is Raja–Tama predominant or spiritually impure. Instead, Hans proposed that if business models along with making profits, also make provisions for looking after the social and spiritual well-being of society at large, they can move towards becoming more Raja–Sattva predominant, or spiritually pure. This will also instil mutual respect and harmony, leading to a greater quality of life for everyone.

Interestingly, what Hans shared is along the same lines as what the Maharshi Adhyatma Vishwavidyalay (also known as the Maharshi University of Spirituality or MAV) has previously written about. MAV has published a paper on Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the importance of incorporating Spirituality into business to increase the Sattva component both in people doing business and in products to effect lasting positive change in the business world. An increase in the Sattva component instigates an inner change which would inspire one to make better business decisions which impact society at large and the environment positively.

At one point when Hans spoke, the audience gave a standing ovation when he mentioned how business models need to look beyond simply increasing shareholder value. This clearly shows that there is interest in driving real change in how business is conducted among key players in the business world. At the end of the 1.5-hour lecture, there was a palpable feeling of the seeds for positive change being sown. One of the attendees even shared later that this was the best event he attended during the World Economic Forum.

Here are some comments from the attendees :

• Thanks again for sharing your wisdom, values, and creativity with all ! – Ashok Patel, M.D., Mayo Clinic
• What a fantastic evening ! You are the best. I enjoyed it so much. – Former CEO of Ericsson International Sweden
• Congratulations on a successful event. Well done, and thanks for all your help. – Brett Johnson, Altru Institute
• Hi Hans, it was great to connect regarding social impacts. I look forward to hearing of your initiatives. – Attendee
• Dear Hans-Martin thank you for your invite on Friday. It was a great opportunity to meet you and learn more about your project : Peace on Snow ! Congratulations on your great presentation and kick off ! – Attendee

It is fitting that this conference was held alongside the World Economic Forum, which had the theme, “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World” this year. The selection of this theme itself shows that business leaders understand that sustainability and harmony are the need of the hour and that thought is being given into how to develop it. Hans’ experience shows that there is a genuine interest in incorporating spiritual principles in business. If business leaders were to incorporate spiritual principles into their business practices as outlined above, then it would bring about the vital changes the business world is currently in need of.

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Insecurity and inferiority are quite common. They usually go hand in hand, keep one at an emotional level and blocking one from thinking at a spiritual level. They can also be a cause for the development or increase of many other defects or types of ego and cause various problems in individual spiritual practice (vyashti sadhana) and spiritual practice for the benefit of society (samashti sadhana).

1. Two types of insecurity and inferiority

1. Visible – In some seekers, insecurity is quite visible. They act withdrawn, speak with hesitation or speak quietly. They avoid difficult situations or go into visible emotional and fearful states even when minor obstacles arise. Their body posture can also show insecurity; for example, their body may appear stiff, with the shoulders pulled up, the head tilted forward while speaking, being unable to look at someone directly in the eyes, etc.

In such cases it is easier to become aware of these defects, as the seeker is more aware of them, and other seekers are also able to perceive them and point them out more easily.

2. Hidden – In some seekers, insecurity and inferiority are hidden, as they are masked by pride, superiority, showing off or similar ego manifestations. These seekers are often unaware of their feeling of inferiority as they are not willing to face it. They are avoiding it due to ego, and due to not wanting to feel or be perceived as weak or incapable, but it does not mean that insecurity is not there.

These seekers can also have judgement, be irritated by or look down on other seekers who are openly acting insecure and inferior, as it subconsciously reminds them of their own feeling of inferiority. In this case, it is more difficult to overcome insecurity and inferiority. However, if the seeker is able to honestly introspect, to face and study their defect of insecurity, and share with other seekers about it, it is possible for these defects to become more visible, and then to reduce them.

2. Which defects or types of ego are related to insecurity and inferiority ?

a. Pride – Constant efforts are made to overcome the feeling of low self-worth and to prove to oneself or others that ‘I am capable’, ‘I have done something well’, or ‘I am worthy’.

b. Egocentrism – There is a feeling that ‘others are better than me so I need to worry about myself and take care of myself, as otherwise I will be left behind’.

c. Attention seeking and seeking praise – The seeker is constantly looking for confirmation that ‘I am doing well’ or that ‘I am good’. But there is no end to this, because the moment something does not go well, insecurity or inferiority comes back, and then the desire to get more confirmation and praise returns.

d. Negative thinking – As the seeker keeps thinking ‘I am not a good seeker’, ‘I cannot progress spiritually’, or similar, efforts in spiritual practice reduce.

e. Laziness – If the seeker feels that ‘no matter what I do, I cannot succeed’, it can develop laziness. This can also lead to dejection and eventually depression.

f. Envy – The seeker starts feeling envy towards those who are doing better, progressing faster, who the seeker thinks may grow faster than him or who has some qualities that are more developed than in him.

g. Being reserved and closed – The seeker stays away from others and then loses a chance to develop love for others and feel that ‘the whole universe is my family’.

h. Fear – There is lack of faith, the seeker stays in a fearful and unhappy state and avoids even minor situations that he perceives as difficult or stressful.

i. Ambitiousness – It can rise to make up for the feeling of low self-worth by accomplishing good results.

j. Superiority – It is a way to hide the feeling of inferiority. The seeker’s state of mind can also fluctuate often between inferiority (compared to seekers he sees as superior to him) and superiority (compared to seekers he sees as inferior to him) – for more details, please see the section below ‘inferiority manifesting as superiority’.

3.  Insecurity impacts individual spiritual practice and can be capitalised on by negative energies

Inferiority and insecurity keep the mind weak. Seekers with insecurity and inferiority can be quite sensitive to receiving feedback or to having their mistakes pointed out. They easily go into negative states that ‘I am not a good seeker’, ‘No matter what I do, I cannot progress’, etc. They are less capable of accepting feedback with a learning attitude, learning from mistakes and moving on in spiritual practice. Due to this, their pace of their Personality Defect Removal and ego removal slows down.

Negative energies use the inferiority of a seeker easily to keep him in a negative state and to make him reduce or even stop efforts in chanting and healing and in all aspects of individual spiritual practice in general. Due to this, the energy of the seeker is wasted, his efforts in spiritual practice are below his capacity and his progress is slowed down or reduced.

4. Insecurity impacts spiritual practice for the benefit of society and the spread of Spirituality

a. Because there is hesitation to face challenges, the seeker can miss chances to take more responsibility in service to God (satseva), a step of spiritual practice. He can also hesitate to learn new satsevas of the next stage.

b. The seeker may procrastinate satsevas that seem difficult due to thinking that ‘I am not able to do these satsevas’, ‘I don’t have the capacity or ability’, ‘How will I do this?’, or ‘I will surely fail’.

c. The seeker can also hesitate to try to solve or report difficult situations or to point out mistakes of other seekers that have an impact on others or the spread of Spirituality.

d. He can sometimes follow what other seekers are doing or saying even if it seems incorrect and this can have an adverse impact on others or on the spread of Spirituality. He hesitates to report such instances or to ask for guidance about them.

e. Insecurity reduces our fighting spirit, it reduces our ability to face spiritual distress or to face opposition to spreading spirituality.

All of this negatively impacts others and the spread of Spirituality to a great extent, and reduces the output of satsevas.

5. The illusion of insecurity and inferiority

Actually, both insecurity and inferiority are an illusion.

We feel insecure, but God takes care of us at every moment, so we are always secure. It is just that the mind is unaware of God’s presence and His continuous support and feels threatened and unsafe.

We feel inferior, but in reality, there is the same soul within all of us, so what is the point in feeling inferior ? Although the Jiva (embodied soul) is very small and insignificant, the Soul within is part of God. It is priceless, in the state of Sat, Chit and Anand (Absolute Truth, Absolute Consciousness and Absolute Bliss), and this is our true value. It is only because we associate with our mind, intellect and ego, that the illusion of inferiority arises.

We feel that we are unable to do something, but it is due to the illusion that we think that everything depends on us. In reality, nothing depends on us, as everything in the universe happens as per God’s wish, so anything can be accomplished with God’s or Guru’s grace.

6. Inferiority manifesting as superiority

In some cases, a seeker may have thoughts of superiority as a defence mechanism to cover for a strong feeling of inferiority.

Whenever such a seeker notices that another person or another seeker is better than him in some way, he feels endangered or insecure. There is a fear that he will lose whatever positive perception he or others have about himself and that he may crumble or lose his own sense of identity.

As a result of this urge to protect himself, the seeker then starts judging, finding faults or having negative and incorrect conclusions about those who are better than him. This act of putting others down comes from a subconscious effort to keep his image of himself positive, because it is easier to think of others negatively than to think of, struggle with or try to overcome one’s own shortcomings.

Also, the seeker makes efforts to find other things where he may be better than that other seeker who he feels is superior to him, so he can still preserve the self-perception that he is still good enough, or that he is ‘not that bad’.

Instead of writing mistakes in the form of superiority and working on superiority, such seekers should instead write mistakes with inferiority as the root defect and take Autosuggestions for reducing inferiority and insecurity. Insecurity leads to comparison, envy, rigidity (insistence from self-transforming to insistence from others) and suspiciousness.

If in addition to inferiority manifesting as superiority, the seeker also has high distress due to negative energies, the seeker can fluctuate often between the states of inferiority and superiority, sometimes even a few times in the same day, as distress keeps increasing the feelings of inferiority or superiority to extreme levels.

So, in addition to taking Autosuggestions, measures can also be taken at spiritual level, such as increasing efforts to awaken spiritual emotion (bhāv) and increasing the amount of time spent chanting.

One important point is that if the seeker notices manifestations of superiority, he should not assume that there is always inferiority or insecurity behind it. Superiority is actually the root cause in some seekers, so they should work on reducing the ego of superiority. Seekers should also not confuse insecurity and inferiority.

If a seeker is unsure whether they should work on superiority, inferiority or insecurity, he should ask his guiding seeker. Given ahead is the difference between inferiority and insecurity.

7. The difference between insecurity and inferiority

Inferiority : In inferiority the predominant thought, emotion or action is related to feeling that ‘I am less than others’ (worthy, capable, beautiful, strong, intelligent, spiritual, etc). It is seen when one starts degrading oneself or comparing with others and feeling inferior. When someone points out one’s mistakes, he may feel inferior or he may feel inferior when he sets a goal and then fails to achieve it. Such seekers may use inferiority as an excuse to gain sympathy and portray inferiority to get support. Its impact is that one is not realistic about his efforts and his ability, so he does not make enough effort to achieve what he has the capacity to achieve. Thus, the inner change does not happen, and inculcation of virtues does not happen.

Insecurity : In insecurity the predominant thought, emotion or action is that I need support and I cannot face situations or people alone. It is seen in the form that if we do not get support, we become insecure and it creates anxiety, worries and fears. It is related to expectations. If things do not happen as one expects then he feels insecure. Its impact is that the seeker cannot mix with others, has lots of unnecessary thoughts, difficulty to learn and lack of openness and communication.

8. Solutions for eradicating insecurity and inferiority

8.1 Autosuggestions which can be taken

a. Progress Autosuggestions – These help with noticing how we are changing and growing. they are very important for seekers with insecurity. The seeker sometimes avoids taking them due to not believing in progress happening, but these Autosuggestions should be done consistently.

b. A1 or A2 Autosuggestions – They increase awareness of how insecurity manifests and give the subconscious mind various perspectives against insecurity.

c. A3 Autosuggestions – These can be used for any new or difficult situations which we need to face. After taking A3 Autosuggestions, one is able to face such situations rapidly, get positive experiences and progress through them.

d. Autosuggestions for past trauma – In case there are traumatic incidents from childhood and the adolescent years which increased insecurity or inferiority in one, he should take Autosuggestions for those past incidents, with perspectives that the situation is different now. Otherwise these past incidents can keep us in an inferior state and block us from progressing further.

8.2 Perspectives which can be given

a. When a satseva is given – ‘God has given me this satseva with the support of guiding seekers. So, it is surely possible to do it. I will not trust my mind and ego, but I will trust God and the guiding seekers instead.’

b. When seeing seekers who have some qualities more developed than us – ‘They have some qualities, and I have some qualities. God has put these seekers in front of me to learn from them, and He is giving me a chance to also develop those qualities, so I will surely develop them.’

c. When someone else is praised or progressing ahead of us – ‘God does not love me any less nor is my possibility to grow spiritually any less because this other seeker progressed. Each seeker has his own path, and God gives equal chances to all, including me, so I will continue with my efforts and learn from this seeker.’

d. When there is a feeling that we are not able to progress or change – ‘For me it is not possible, but for God everything is possible. He has taken care of me throughout my life, in all situations, and is taking care of me at every moment, so I will surrender to God and rely on Him.

8.3 Actions which can be taken

a. Facing situations directly and accepting all satsevas – This way we get the experience that it is possible to do anything, and insecurity reduces.

b. Sharing openly with one’s guiding seeker and spiritual friend seeker when insecurity and inferiority or negative thoughts about oneself increase – They will give us positive perspectives which will reduce the insecurity.

c. Write the positive qualities of oneself on a paper – This will reduce the negative impressions about oneself and make him more aware of positive points. Seekers sometimes avoid looking at their qualities due to fear of their ego increasing. But if seekers realise that these qualities are from God and pay gratitude for them, their ego about these qualities will actually reduce. Otherwise, if seekers do not look at their qualities from the perspective of gratitude, they subconsciously harbour ego about these qualities and pride and superiority are maintained.

d. Ask other seekers for help – If there is a difficulty to see one’s own qualities, one can ask other seekers to tell him qualities which they observed in him and accept it as though God is telling him about his qualities. He can also ask other seekers who had insecurity about how they overcame it.

9. What happens after eradication of insecurity and inferiority ?

a. The seeker stays at a spiritual level and emotionalism reduces.

b. The seeker develops greater capacity to fight against external and internal obstacles to spiritual practice and the stability to face all situations in spiritual practice and life.

c. The seeker becomes capable of receiving feedback and accepts mistakes more easily.

d. The seeker starts developing more openness and love for others.

e. The seeker experiences more calmness and Bliss.

f. Various defects and ego which are related to insecurity reduce.

g. Humility and gratitude increase.

h. Spiritual progress is more rapid.

i. The seeker’s capacity to serve the cause of spreading Spirituality increases to a great extent.

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