Presently, seekers are experiencing that their troubles at the mental and intellectual levels are on the rise. Due to the formation of a black covering on their mind and intellect, they are facing troubles like: things not occurring to them, confusion while planning anything, inability to understand others’ conversation and what one is doing, inability to plan satseva for self and others, forgetting points while explaining, etc. Such seekers do not remember having taken messages for other seekers, so they claim not to have received any message. As a result, other seekers start developing doubts about them. Seekers experiencing such trouble also get negative thoughts about themselves like they do not know much or are unable to do anything properly. They do not even feel like telling their problems to other responsible seekers. In such circumstances, the following remedial measures may be adopted:

1. Prayer: After every half an hour, pray to your deity of worship (upasya devata) that – ‘Let the black covering on the mind and intellect of (take your name) be removed/ destroyed.’

2. Take a bath with salt water, keep your feet in salt water and keep cloth strips soaked in holy ash (vibhuti) water on your eyes.

3. If problems are more severe, perform the ritual of ‘drushta’ (removal of evil) with salt, mustard seeds and red chilies, or coconut.

4. Seekers with such severe problems should make a list of all the satsevas allotted to them and messages (received or to be passed on) and check the list every 2-3 hours.

5. At the time of meetings, the seeker accompanying such a troubled seeker should ask him to chant for 10 minutes.

    Seekers feel depressed due to the rise in their problems. Besides medical treatment, seekers should put emphasis on spiritual remedies rather than feeling depressed. Talk to the responsible seekers about your increasing problems. The distressing energies are increasing seekers’ depression with the motive of taking them away from spiritual practice. Seekers must remember that the problems not withstanding, God is always with them. When you take one step towards Him, He will take 10 steps towards you. Seekers should therefore make efforts to ensure that they do not waste their spiritual practice time.

    Many curious individuals buy the Name strips, which actually help in purification of the premises (vastu-shuddhi), but forget to make use of them. They can be reminded to do so. Therefore, addresses and contact information of such individuals may be noted. The name of the seeker selling these sets and the conversation taking place between them (i.e., the buyer and seeker) may also be mentioned, for example, that the importance of chanting was explained, or the address of the satsang was given, etc. Such individuals can then be contacted in one week’s time.

   Due to the mistakes committed by them while doing ‘satseva’, some seekers feel depressed. To alleviate their depression, the seeker conducting the satsang should talk to such seekers who recount their mistakes in the satsang, after the satsang is over. This will help the conductors in developing intimacy/closeness with such seekers.

    Presently, satsangs for removal of personality defects (PD) are conducted at ashrams and various centers of the Sanatan organization. It has been brought to our notice that seekers have fear/ inhibition in their minds about the satsang conducted for PD removal and about the conducting seekers. They also feel tense while narrating their mistakes and talking to the satsang conductors. Conductors should therefore narrate their own mistakes at the beginning of the PD removal satsang.

   ‘Aarti’ is the praise of God done by saints. Actually, since we have not seen deities, only saints (Who can see deities due to Their higher spiritual level) are entitled to praise the Lord. Aartis possess the power of penance/ austerity observed over a long period of time by the saints. When we recite the aartis composed by the saints, we get the benefit of divine consciousness (chaitanya), which is otherwise derived by three hours of chanting with spiritual emotion. Seekers staying at the ashrams and centers get the benefit of aartis performed there everyday in the mornings and evenings. Other seekers should also perform aartis twice in the day to get the benefit at their homes.

    Presently, seekers are organizing bookstalls at temples in various areas. Seekers should use diligence while displaying the books on ‘Holy Bible’ and ‘Holy Koran’ at such exhibitions in temples. If the curious (jidnyasus) ask about these books, they should be given proper answers/explanations. In one such incident, a staunch Hindu visited our exhibition. He asked why the Sanatan organization has published a book on the Holy Bible. Our seekers were unable to answer his query. The person, although a curious (jidnyasu), left the place without seeing the other books.

   In the Mahankaleshwar temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (India) our bookstall has been run for the past one and a half years. Through the medium of this bookstall, many new individuals from our country and abroad have come into contact with the Sanatan organization. Many of them have also started spiritual practice. The Sanatan organization has become well-known among the people/ the curious from that place due to this bookstall. We should therefore arrange to put up at least one bookstall in big cities on an on-going basis.

    The distressing energy trouble is more severe on the full and new moon days. Seekers should therefore do maximum chanting and prayers on these two days.

    Satseva unto the manifest and un-manifest form of Guru: Propagation of spirituality (prasar) is a satseva unto Guru's unmanifest form and has 70% importance, whereas satseva unto the manifest form of the Guru is of 30% importance. Therefore, for total grace of the Guru, both the satsevas are important.

   After using the ‘sattvik’ udbattis made by the Sanatan organization, seekers and well-wishers throw away empty packets. However, the same can be utilized in the following ways:

1. These empty packets can be kept in our wardrobes so that the clothes also get the fragrance. Further, since the distressing energies cannot withstand the fragrance and the purity (sattvikta) of udbattis, they cannot attack and put a black covering on the clothes.

2. These packets can also be kept under the pillow while sleeping. They will protect from the distressing energies attacking during sleep.

3. Seekers who have severe distressing energy troubles can use these packets for spiritual remedies; for example, if there is pain in any part of the body due to distressing energy trouble, keep the packet on that part of the body, if there is a problem breathing, inhale deeply from the packet.

    In a camp organized for increasing seekership qualities at Ahmednagar (India), some seekers reported late. Only those seekers whose reasons for being late were found to be valid were admitted to the camp, the rest were not allowed as a form of punishment. Some participants felt that such punishment should not have been given to the late-comers and that they should have been warned regarding the punishment.

    Rather than being emotional, seekers should reflect on what is the right approach. For example, the Ganesh frequencies are active only during the time of the Ganesh festival. We cannot make any changes in the time of their emission. In other words, each and every event takes place at its scheduled time and we should therefore try to derive benefit during the scheduled time. Each of us should remember that coming on time is also an aspect of our spiritual practice, as it is a divine quality. A certain seeker was not ready to accept the punishment and stayed put on his opinion. This showed a lack of an attitude of listening to others and learning from others. Seekers should not develop such an attitude, whereby they would lose the fruit of their spiritual practice.

    When we come across a new, curious individual (‘jidnyasu’), after giving him basic information, we should judge what he would be able to do as part of his spiritual practice and explain to him specifically about the same. For example chanting, praying before eating, doing ‘aarti’, information on the Name-strips, etc. After two or three weeks, follow up with him on the matter. Enquire whether he has had any spiritual experiences or seen any changes, after following the advice. When he gets some spiritual experiences after following advice on spiritual practice, he gets closer to the Sanatan organization and it is easier to explain to him in further detail. However, his getting spiritual experiences is dependent on his actions. In the very first meeting, do not expect him to do anything far beyond his ability. It is more likely that a person who gets a spiritual experience following a small action will continue and move to the next level, as opposed to a person who learns things only at the intellectual level but does not follow the same with his action.

Dear Friends,

    Kindly note the following error and correction to Issue 275’s Messages to Seekers section:

    A news item was prepared on this, but it was sent to Goa for three weeks by a certain seeker. Due to this serious mistake, the news could not be published. When this news was sent to H.H. Dr. Athavale for checking, He made the following note:

    Instead it should have read:

    A news item was prepared on this but it was not sent to Goa for three weeks by a certain seeker. Due to this serious mistake, the news could not be published. When this news was sent to H.H. Dr. Athavale for checking, He made the following note:

    Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

*If one is not currently doing any spiritual practice, or to complement one's current spiritual practice, one can begin with the simple, but powerful spiritual practice of chanting or constantly remembering God's Name according to one's religion. Chanting also acts as a useful complement to any spiritual path one may be already following. It is a practice recommended for the current times by Holy texts and Saints of all religions.

• Seekers in the initial stages of spiritual practice (less than one year) can repeat The Name of the Lord as per their religion (refer to Issue 3 Clarification of Doubts section for details).

• Seekers who have been doing regular spiritual practice for over a year or so can determine the appropriate chant for them from the experiment given in Issue 124, Message to Seekers section.