7 PRINCIPLES OF SHIV YOG
Here are a few principles that every Shiv Yogi must live by to enjoy life to the fullest.
1. TUM CHAHTEY KYA HO (WHAT DO YOU WANT?)
The first stage to materialize any wish is knowing what you want. Before deciding on what you exactly want in life, ask yourself whether the intention behind achieving this is pure. Because striving to win with impure intentions will be a task wherein divinity will not play a supporting role.
“Tell me what is the use of boarding a vehicle when you don’t know your destination? What is the use of going to the market when you don’t know what you want to buy? Likewise, what is the use of your existence when you don’t know the purpose of your life?” dwells Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji.
Watch what you desire. Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji tells that as Shiv Yogis, and as regular sadhaks, we will see an exponential improvement in our ability to materialize life as we want it. However, it is imperative that we understand the difference between need and greed. True satisfaction can only be got through deeds which bring about satiation of the soul. Such deeds include loving your family, helping others, donating to the poor, efforts to contribute to the environment, feeding animals, birds etc.
And when you finally know that this is what I want, you must also spell out clearly the price you are willing to pay to achieve the goal. The hard work to achieve the examination percentage, the sacrifices to plant the seeds of sound relationships, the healthy lifestyle to follow to shed/lose weight or recover from a disease etc.
2. A SHIVYOGI ALWAYS CREATES AND NEVER COMPLAINS
We are all sons of the Creator and so we must create rather than complain. When we complain, we send the message to Mother Nature that we not grateful. That is the easiest way to ensure poverty. Rather than offering gratitude for what we have, we engage in complaining and whining over things we don’t have. He says a true Shiv Yogi will never complain whatever the situation may be.
It is for the same reason that raising a hue and cry to meet the Guru physically is of little use. You can usher in a change in yourself only through sadhna. Meeting the Guru will not change anything. Before Him too you will parrot your sorrowful tales, thereby waste his and your precious time. That is what we have become habituated to. Till the the time we stop complaining, even God can’t help us. We need to sit down with ourselves and follow the path the Guru shows us – that of expressing gratitude at every juncture of life.
3. A SHIV YOGI MAINTAINS HAPPINESS IN ALL SITUATIONS
Every task that we are looking to do, we do to achieve happiness. In the truest sense, this teaching implies that one must nurture the habit of surrendering his emotions to the divine. When the belief that ‘whatever God is doing for me is in my greater interest’ is drilled in our mind, we begin being happy at all the times.
Every human is progressing towards God. Just that the pace is different. Those who have devoted themselves to the Almighty by surrendering to the Guru are moving at a rapid pace, while others are caught in the traffic jam. But rest assured, they are also en route to reaching that infinite.
The journey becomes that much easier when we project happiness. Because happiness is very close to the bliss associated with the divine. The velocity of spiritual gain is slowed down considerably when we embrace negative traits. On the contrary, when we remain happy in every situation, we find our spiritual vehicle being driven very smoothly and at a good speed.
4. GRACE OF GOD IS INFINITE
We have practiced jealousy and crying hoarse – about how we have been given so little and how others have got so much that we have not even spared targeting the Almighty. In majority of the cases, what we are lamenting is not deprivation that we have been subjected to, but the fact that others have got more than us.
Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji is of the view that in this universe, there is ample for everyone. The grace of the Almighty is infinite like the Almighty Himself. The need to quarrel, snatch and engage in a tug of war is not there at all. You must only know how to create abundance for yourself.
There is no reason to project despair and hopelessness into the universe. With Shiv Yog, you can connect with God and realize that you never walk alone. You can never be a subject of sorry, of sympathy. Despondency arises only when you drift away from your Source. But when you establish and sustain a firm bond with the divine, you laugh at the prospect of shedding tears for reasons which are at best futile and at worst non-existent.
5. LIKE ENERGY ATTRACTS LIKE ENERGY
One queen bee captivates all the other bees to work around it. Wherever it goes, the swarm of bees follows it. In keeping with Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji’s scientific approach to Shiv Yog, He employs the principle of energy to explain how the predominant energy of a person or place attracts more of the energy of the same kind.
In a similar manner, whatever energy we project to the world, a thousand fold of the same kind of energy follows us. If we sow the seeds of hatred, we will get a thousand people who will come to hate us. If we help and support others, we will encounter thousands of people who are ready to help us in our times of need.
Every animate and inanimate thing at the end of the day is energy. The mind (thoughts) create energy. The energy creates matter. So if the energy aspect is taken care of, whatever matter is around us will transform by itself. Because matter is composed of energy.
When we have the energy of acceptance, unconditional love, forgiveness and gratitude, automatically we will see that the diseases have perished, emotional troubles have disappeared and poverty is something unknown to us.
6. FOCUS ON YOUR OWN SELF, BELIEVE IN YOUR SELF
The belief that you are that Infinite leads to the realization that you are the creator. Aham Brahmasami. Shivoham Shivoham. This line of thinking helps us in developing qualities which make us introverted. Following from this, we stop judging others. Because we now understand that whatever anyone is, is nothing but the outcome of his own thought process. They have created that for themselves. It is their agenda. It will help them learn a divine lesson on their spiritual path. The universal truth of existence of the God element is not something outside. It is inherent in every sentient being. It is an integral part of matter.
Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji says that with open eyes you can see only what is there before you but with closed eyes, you can see whatever you wish. You can be the master.
7. YOU ARE THE CREATOR OF YOUR OWN DESTINY
Every human being is 100% responsible for whatever is happening in his life. It is you who decides every single incident of your life – irrespective of whether it is good or bad. You were creating even before approaching the Guru but unconsciously.
Shiv Yog says that now that you are under the protective umbrella of the Guru who has shown you the path to cut your karmas, it is time to rewrite your destiny.
A wrestler doing thousand push ups for some money can only be a source of entertainment. The audience will not benefit in any manner whatsoever in this process. Likewise, to ask Dr. Avdhoot Shivanandji to write your destiny will be a zero sum game. No one benefits. Even the person receiving the grace will find misery in some form reaching him. This is so because the root cause, which is karma, has not been weeded out. That can only happen when we perform sadhna on our own self. Treat your destiny as a piece of land. Since long you have been planting weeds and wild plants. Now plant only beautiful, aesthetic and fragrant flowers on it.
we have the power to perform miracles. No disease is incurable. No problem beyond resolution. Just that we need to learn the method to do the seemingly undoable and make the impossible as possible.