Acquisition of nectar 2016

(Source: Amrit, Pāras aur Kalpa Vṛakśa ki Prapti

by Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya)

ACQUISITION OF NECTAR,

PHILOSOPHER'S STONE &

WISH-FULFILLING TREE

Revised Edition:

2016

Publisher:

Vedmata Gayatri Trust (TMD)

Gayatrinagar, Shrirampuram,

Shantikunj, Haridwar - 249 411

Uttarakhand (India)

Phone: 91-1334-260602 / 261955

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.awgp.org

Price:

Rs. xx.yy/-

PANDIT SHRIRAM SHARMA ACHARYA

(1911~1990)

A pioneer of spiritual renaissance was born on th 20 September 1911, in Anwalkheda, Agra, India. He met

his Guru, a great Himalayan Yogi, since he was only 15

years of age and scrupulously carried out his biddings

throughout his life.

He took part in the struggle for independence as a

volunteer, went to jail a number of times and embarked

upon the task of social and moral upliftment through

spiritual means in 1935 with the blessings of Mahatma

Gandhi.

A sage, a visionary and a reformer, the Acharya

initiated 100 points Yug Nirman Yojna, lived a disciplined

life of devout austerity, visited the Himalayas several

times and attained spiritual eminence.

The Gayatri Pariwar fraternity; Shantikunj Ashram –

an academy for moral and spiritual awakening;

Brahmavarchas Research Institute – which strives to

synthesize science with spirituality and over 4,000 social

reform centres (Shakti-peeths) are his greatest

contributions to the modern world. He translated the

entire Vedic Vangmaya and accopmplished a feat of

writing more than 3,000 books on all aspects of life.

The Acharya, Great devotee of Gayatri lived an ideal

life for 80 years and voluntarily shed his physical sheath on nd

Gayatri Jayanti, 2 June 1990.

¦

PANDIT SHRIRAM SHARMA ACHARYA

CONTENTS

Foreword ........................................................7

1. Obtaining Nectar............................................9

2. Where Is a Philosopher’s stone? ...................21

3. Wish-Fulfilling Tree on The Earth ..............39

4. Strive to acquire these objects.......................53

5. Terrestrial Nectars ........................................57

6. Location of Philosopher’s stone and

Wish-fulfilling tree.......................................61

Translator’s Note ...........................................63

¦

To ensure the transformation

of the present day chaos into

an orderly and happy society,

there is no other option than

the reformation of character

and the development of

rational thinking.

~ Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

¦

FOREWORD

uman being has always craved for

happiness. Anything it does or plans is Hwith an ultimate intention of increasing

pleasure. This desire has remained expanding forever

along with the mental growth.

The human mind stretched its capacity to the

extent possible and imagined three objects: (1) Nectar,

(2) Philosopher's stone ('Paras') and (3) Wish-

fulfilling tree ('Kalpa-Vriksha').

Man imagined Nectar, to live infinitely, escaping

from death; Philosopher's stone, to convert cheap

metals like iron into gold to amass unlimited wealth;

and the Wish-fulfilling tree to satisfy all desires.

Though none of these three objects is actually seen

by anybody, they are vividly described in ancient books,

legends and mythology.

The author of this book has no idea of the

existence of these - Nectar, Philosopher's stone and

Wish-fulfilling tree - in the form as narrated in the

legends, but based on his life long experience, he has

certainly discovered existence of three objects which

give mankind the same joy, wealth and satisfaction or

even better than what can be expected from the former

three mythological items. These better substitutes are:

the knowledge of real self (atma-gyan), love

(compassion for all) and penance (sacrifice and hard

work) - which are considered to be the real nectar,

philosopher's stone and wish-fulfilling tree of this

world, respectively. 'Akhand Jyoti' (the uninterrupted

flame of knowledge at 'Gayatri Tapobhoomi'), has

always been propagating these three gems, which are

now presented in the form of a book for the benefit of

the mankind.

- Shree Ram Sharma Aacharya

09

Man's dearest thing is his life, seeing its

end near he is prepared to trade anything

to save it. However poor he may be but

tries to sacrifice his last possession when face to face

with death. As the story goes, a woodcutter was once

collecting wood in a forest. The poor fellow was very

sick, hungry and weak, had blisters on the head, the

stack of wood was very heavy, he had no choice but take

it to nearby town for sale, to earn his bread. He tied the

rope over the bundle and sighed in despair: "Instead of

this life of drudgery, better if death comes to relieve me

from this pain". To his great astonishment, before he

completed the sentence, the Goddess of death -

(Yamuna, sister of Yama, according to the Hindu

mythology) appeared before him, and asked him why

he called her and what help he needed. Being face to

face with death, the woodcutter lost his senses, and

~1~

OBTAINING

NECTAR

10

realized the graveness of his mistake, but soon collected

his wits and replied: "in fact this bundle of woods is too

heavy for me and nobody is around. Can you just help

me to lift it up to my head?" Yamuna helped him

accordingly and vanished with a laugh.

This anecdote reveals a fact, that everybody loves

one's own life more than anything else in the world.

This attachment to the life induced a desire to live for

an infinite period defying death, and to make this

gross physical body immortal. This further led the

mankind to imagine a liquid, which can make one

immortal by drinking it. This was named as Nectar,

Elixir, 'Water-of-Life' etc. in various myths and

legends wherein Gods and great souls were described

to have achieved immortality by drinking such

liquids. However, practically so far not a single

incidence of immortality is documented nor any trace

of such liquids. The basic composition of this entire

universe is dynamic, under the forces balanced by

nature in such a way that right from a tiny electron to

a massive galaxy - all are constantly moving and

changing. Nothing can be permanently stable or

stagnant. Growth and decay are the inevitable aspects

of the world and human body is not an exception to

that. Therefore, the gross physical body, as we see

today, has to perish one day and its immortality is out

of question. If there is no death of the old body, there

cannot develop a new life too. Life is the name of

action, mobility and flow; and what is active and

ACQUISITION OF NECTAR, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE.....

11

flowing will also undergo wear and tear, fatigue and

decay, and will perish one day. Now logically, to stop

decay and to prolong the life span of this physical

body means stopping all activities and making it

stagnant so there is no wear and tear, no death. But

then, by definition, it is not life! It is a deadwood!

Therefore, the way human body is made to function,

no one can be immortal. Rama, Krishna, Jesus,

Buddha, Mohammad and many Yogis, Rishis, Saints

and Prophets - all appeared on this earth in a specific

gross physical body and vanished at the end of the

life. None of them became immortal physically,

though their thoughts and messages are alive today!

It proves, beyond doubt that no human being can

achieve immortality and so far nobody has traced the

existence of so called elixir or nectar. So, really nectar

does not exist? No. We wish to emphasize that

'Nectar' does exist - but in a different form. Our

ancient Rishis discovered it after deep meditation

and severe penance and have presented it before us;

not only that, it can be easily obtained by anybody,

and once its secret is understood, it immediately gives

immortality! It puts you in a state where you find the

same joy, satisfaction, peace and fulfillment that you

assume to be associated with the achievement of

immortality. This nectar, revealed by our Rishis, is

'Brahm-gyan' (self knowledge). In other words, it is

the knowledge of the real self or self-realization (who

am I). It helps one discriminate between mortal and

OBTAINING NECTAR

12

immortal, transient and permanent (Nitya-Anitya-

Vivek).

This, also known as 'Brahm-vidya' is a spiritual

accomplishment that lifts a man from gross physical

level to a higher level of soul - which is a part of the

supreme consciousness. Brahm-vidya (knowledge of

Atman or Brahman) reveals that the real self of a

human being actually is not the gross physical body,

but it is the soul residing within the body. Bhagvad

Geeta is a great treatise of Brahm-vidya. It compares

the physical body with old clothes. It is required that

old and worn out clothes be changed for new ones from

time to time. No one should be unhappy to discard the

old clothes. The soul residing within the physical body,

similarly changes the body, discards the old and

acquires a new one, such change need not be a subject

of sorrow or sadness.

A very common mistake being done by human

beings is to identify the self or 'I' with the physical body

and mind. The notion, that 'I' am the body with certain

name and fame, is 'Avidya' or ignorance. Brahm-gyan

removes this ignorance. The fact is, 'I' am the soul,

supreme consciousness or 'chaitanya' residing in this

physical body to perform certain duties as human

being, and will change this body when time comes.

Nobody cries or laments while changing old clothes,

then why so much grief while changing the old worn

out body? And why all these efforts to make this body

permanent or immortal, which is bound to decay and


13

perish? Why not to focus on the soul, which is

immortal and supreme reality residing in the body as a

king ruling the kingdom?

Let us see how the real self loses the identity and

gets covered by 'Avidya' and takes up a wrong

impression of identifying itself with the physical body.

The soul, 'Atman' or 'chaitanya' (consciousness) while

living in the physical body and playing a specific role,

becomes so deeply engrossed in that role, gets so much

smeared with the sensuous pleasures associated with

the physical body, that it starts believing that it is itself

the gross physical body. It is like a parrot living in a cage

that starts believing it to be the cage! So, the soul,

under a wrong notion, starts efforts to make the

physical body immortal, and forgets its own pure state

of immortality! Such illusion is aptly described in many

of our ancient scriptures. The rope-snake example is

very famous. In the darkness, we see a snake in the rope.

The reality - a rope is not realized, but the

superimposed image, - a snake is seen under ignorance.

As soon as there is light, the reality of the rope is

revealed. Our Rishis have called this phenomenon as

'Maya' or illusion. 'Brahm-Vidya', 'Brahm-gyan,

Atma-gyan or self-realization - by whatever name you

call, it is the real nectar, because it removes the illusion

of mortality and assures the soul: "you are immortal,

the supreme consciousness, chaitanya. You are not the

physical body". The person who deeply assimilates this

knowledge, and once realizes the true nature of his real

OBTAINING NECTAR

14

self, soon identifies himself with the immortal soul, the

'Atman', and he does not need any other elixir or nectar

to make the physical body immortal. Realizing this

truth, man becomes free from all limitations of the

gross physical body. As described in chapter-2 of

Bhagvad Geeta, there is no birth or death for the soul, it

has been changing physical bodies from time

immemorial, fire can not burn it nor water can wet it,

no weapon can hurt it, it is the only immortal occupier

of this mortal physical body. The same is expressed in

Kenopanishad this way: Rise above sense-life and live

in the Atman. You will attain immortality and eternal

bliss. You will become immortal while living in this

body, if you attain knowledge of Brahman. You need

not wait till you leave this body. Just as the water in a

cup borrows its heat from the sun or the fire, so also the

mind, Prana and senses borrow their light and power

from the Atman. The ear hears through the light of the

Atman, the tongue speaks through the power of the

Atman, the mind thinks through the power of the

Atman, and the Prana performs its functions through

the power of the Atman only.

The assurance and confidence that "I am the

immortal Atman" comes by acquiring the 'knowledge

of self' (Atma-Gyan, Brahm-vidya), therefore, it is the

nectar on this earth. Man gets a divine vision through

brahm-vidya and sees that he has passed through

millions of lives of various creatures like insects, birds,

reptiles, animals and also human. He used such


15

uncountable number of bodies and discarded them at

the end of that life. He is also able to visualize fresh and

more efficient bodies he has to use in the future. This

visualization confirms his faith that his present life is

just a fraction of his entire eternal existence. This

knowledge gives him the same joy and contentment as

would be available by drinking a bowl of nectar, if it

existed at all.

Man almost reaches the state of immortality as

soon as he accepts the great truth, "I am sacred,

imperishable, all-pervading unalterable soul". His

attitude and approach towards the life changes and he

becomes like a sage or an angel. He does not remain a

slave of the situation but starts creating surrounding

situations according to his own plans. If you respect

yourself and if you are confident of your own excellence

and purity, then you really become the most excellent

person. If you think you are "Shiva" (the divine,

limitless, consciousness), then you are really 'Shiva',

and if you consider yourself "Jeeva", a creature, bound

by limits of gross physical body, then you are "Jeeva". It

is said that the trend starts from within only. If a child

is called by bad names in its own house, then expecting

outsiders to call by any better name is useless. As

evidenced by psychiatrists, a child treated as foolish by

parents, teachers and friends can hardly achieve any

important status when grown up. Usually the

experiences of conscious mind leave a deep impression

on the subconscious mind, which finally molds our

OBTAINING NECTAR

16

personality. This is well understood by experts who

perform hypnotism and mesmerism. The person, who

continuously degrades himself and feels useless and

neglected, will soon become so. All our thoughts -

positive or negative - ultimately transform into our

personality accordingly.

To lead a respectful life in the society, you first have

to respect your own self. Hence accept the greatness of

your soul. Nourish and nurture your self-respect,

because you are the 'atman', soul, which is part of the

limitless universal consciousness. Self-respect does not

mean arrogance or egoistic behavior towards others

considering others as meager and worthless. No, self-

respect does not allow you to insult others. Self-respect

is just honoring our soul and listening to it as the

almighty God within self. If you wish to establish a

relation with God, first make yourself eligible for it,

because relationship can exist between equals only.

There is a well-known proverb, "First deserve and then

desire". You are connected to God through the soul.

You are part of 'Ishwara' - almighty God, accept this

fact and believe in it. When almighty God himself is

sitting in you, in the form of your soul, your behavior

and activities should naturally be excellent, of the

highest moral standard. This will also strengthen your

self-respect and help in leading a meaningful honest

life.

The real humanity arises as soon as the lamp of

self-respect lights up within our self. One feels the


17

holy, divine grace within and reaches the greatness of

an emperor. His vision becomes so noble that he never

thinks of any mean or sinful deeds. He leads a life of

high morals and aims to achieve greatness.

The faith in immortality of the soul is itself nectar

that helps conquering the fear of death. This nectar

liberates one from the bondage of all space-time

limitations of this perishable body. Experiencing

sanctity within our self reflects self-respect, which

enhances self-confidence by accepting our self as an

imperishable soul. The life of this mortal physical body

is limited and we have drawn unlimited ambitious

plans. So the worry about completing them all within a

short span of life leads to frustration and mental

depression. The illusive notion that our existence is

limited to the gross physical body only makes us

clinging more closely to the body thinking that this is

the last and only chance to enjoy sensuous pleasures.

This attachment with gross physical body is the real

cause of all sorts of sorrows, fears, worries and anxiety.

The only remedy that can effectively save us from this

catastrophe is the knowledge of the secret that I am the

eternal soul, 'Brahman', the 'Atman' which never dies

but keeps on changing the physical body. So detach

yourself, though slowly and gradually, but completely

from the physical body and remove the 'Avidya'

(ignorance) that "I am the body". Be a man of courage

and action, performing duty of benevolence and

compassion to other living entities. Let the thought: "I

OBTAINING NECTAR

18

am the imperishable soul, the eternal consciousness"

prevail in your mind and you will accomplish any

difficult task without fear.

In addition to your immortality, you should also

know that you are the unalterable soul. This is called

permanence or 'nityatvam'. All other things in the

universe - health, relatives, physical strength of the

body and wealth - are transient, perishable and ever

changing ('anitya', 'anatma'). Today you have wife,

sons, daughters, a huge bank balance, gold, a big

manor, caravan of vehicles and servants. But tomorrow

nothing may exist and you can be a beggar on the road

by mere a stroke of earthquake. Therefore these

worldly objects are described as delusion, 'maya'. So,

play your roles and happily carry out worldly

transactions ('vyavahara') with them, but never get

attached to them. Do not depend on them for your real

bliss, as they are not permanent objects. Be self-

sufficient and self-dependent by dwelling in the state of

soul, constantly remembering that you are the ever-

existing consciousness, imperishable Atman. Only

then you will become immune to any disturbance

generated due to destruction of the material wealth.

On acquiring real inner wealth of supreme

consciousness, you no more care for so called wealth of

this material world and you will always be smiling

under any adversity or calamity.

Initially the imagination of nectar looks somewhat

attractive, but its consequences are very harsh and


19

tragic. As the story goes about the imaginary elixir,

King Alexander got a pot of elixir as a favor from a Sufi

saint, Khwaja Khizar. The king was just on the verge of

drinking it when a crow warned him about the

problems of making the body immortal. The crow said,

"See, I tasted a few drops of that nectar and have

become immortal. I am too weak to carry out my bodily

functions. All my friends and relatives have died, I am

lonely and crying day and night, but unable to die in

spite of my desire to get relief from this cursed life".

Listening to this, king Alexander returned back

without touching the pot of nectar.

Thus, even if this gross physical body is somehow

made imperishable, such extended life will bring

sorrows and misery only. Spiritual immortality only can

give permanent peace and satisfaction to a man. The

nectar of self-knowledge or 'Brahm-gyan', 'Brahm-

vidya' is unique. It imparts courage, freedom and

freshness. There is no parallel in any imaginary nectar.

On acquiring self-knowledge, a man gets a divine vision

with a highly positive attitude towards life. He is no

more interested in worldly matters, sensuous pleasures

or greed. He leads a life of high morals with simple

living and high thinking. He implements inspiring

thoughts making his life pious and satisfying inner self.

Each of his actions becomes divine, creating a heaven

around him.

Man worries too much and collects so many

objects and gadgets planning for the survival in future

OBTAINING NECTAR

20

even for a limited span of life. If this body is made to last

forever, the burden of collecting and storing all future

requirements will kill a man! On the other hand, a

person who has consumed the nectar of 'Brahm-gyan'

never worries for anything. There is no difference

between life and death in his eyes. Readers! Please

enjoy the nectar of self-realization. 'Brahma-gyan' is

the fountain of immortality, know that you are already

immortal soul, 'atman', and you need not run behind

any imaginary nectar. This is the only way to salvation.

¦


21

~2~

WHERE IS A

PHILOSOPHER'S

STONE?

People of the world, since ancient times, have

desired to acquire some substance which can

convert cheap metals like iron into precious

gold merely by touching. Ever inquisitive mankind

nurtured hundreds of desires but three of them were

most predominant: (1) long life (2) unlimited wealth

and (3) success everywhere. These burning desires

lured human brain to imagine objects like (1) Nectar

(2) Philosopher's stone and (3) Wish- fulfilling tree. In

spite of hundreds of stories and legends prevailing all

over the world describing these things, they have

remained pure imagination only. It is another matter

that cunning fellows have amply cheated innocent,

gullible people in the name of these things. Even if we

accept, just for the sake of argument, the existence of

such a Philosopher's stone, it will lead to a self-

contradicting situation. If people start converting iron

22

into gold, over a period of time, over abundance of gold

will make it cheaper than iron, and on the other hand

shortage of iron will make it costlier than gold. So,

from the angle of economic principle also there is no

real long-term benefit of possessing a Philosopher's

stone!

Any imaginary, non-existent Philosopher's stone

need not lure us. We should not run behind such

illusive object, for a simple reason that there is more

powerful, more beneficial and more effective

alternative substance already gifted by God to every

human being! This is real and can be experienced by all.

This universal substance is - Love; compassion and

care for the fellow human being. Even when you have

to work with poor facilities, meager resources and

ordinary teammates, a touch of love converts your

results into gold by enriching all the people involved in

the project. This is the real wealth and by grace of God,

there is no scarcity of such wealthy people showering

their love and benevolence. They possess a very large

asset of love, for all!

Outward appearance of a person may be very ugly

and physically in bad shape, but if you love him, the

light of love enables you to see his inner beauty, quality,

his generosity and kindness. Therefore, love acts here

as a Philosopher's stone that converts him into gold for

you, who is an ugly person in the eyes of the world! The

object, which you like, which fulfills your desires, gives

you satisfaction, is gold for you, irrespective of its


23

monetary value. The poor man's hut made of clay,

wood and dung is more than a king's palace for him,

because of his love for it. He may not part with his hut

for a pound of gold even!

Absolutely, no object itself is cheap or costly,

precious or worthless. The value of any object to a man

is decided by the extent to which it satisfies his desires.

A sage, a Yogi who has renounced the material objects

and acquired the wealth of self-realization is no more

attracted by money, gold or similar physical wealth.

Such materials though look very precious in the eyes of

a common man, are worthless for the 'Atma-gyani'.

Man earns money by hard work but when he faces some

crisis or his prestige is at stake, he spends the same

hard-earned money like water. Each and every rupee

was precious to him while earning with great efforts,

but the same now looks trivial and worthless while

spending behind more important and more desired

gadgets of comforts and luxury. It appears, therefore,

that money as such is not precious but the objects that

fulfill requirements, satisfy desires and make a man

happy are precious irrespective of their real value. If by

any ways and means, an ordinary thing can be made

capable to satisfy needs and to provide happiness, then

there is no exaggeration in defining such ways and

means as 'Philosopher's stone'. After all, a cheap and

petty thing is converted to a precious thing of our

desire through some mechanism; then such a

mechanism is nothing less than a 'Philosopher's stone'.

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

24

A powerful impact is required to convert

something into some other thing. Transformation of

an ordinary small thing into a precious, important

thing is possible only under influence of a strong

energetic field. All human beings are already

equipped with such a power, a force, which can

transform a dull, lazy and morose atmosphere into

vibrant, energetic and divine one. This powerful force

is - love! A machine lying idle starts moving, a lamp

in dark lights up brilliantly and a stand-still fan starts

rotating - merely by switching on electric current!

Love is such electric current for charging up the

disappointed, inactive, sad and defeated people into

happy, fresh, active and energetic ones. It is usually

observed that the people pushed to darkness of crime

and notoriety due to negligence and hatred, are

transformed into kind and generous persons under

effect of love and compassion. A lamp spreads light,

burning oil; love is like the oil in human life,

nourishing and satisfying the life so as to engage into

acts of benevolence and kindness. A man deprived of

this basic source of life, - love, will remain dull and

disappointed. If we expect others to be polite, kind

and generous, let us first spread a message of love and

kindness from our side. Only love can convert a desert

into a green garden, a dead and dull into a live and

bright, darkness into light. There is no exaggeration

if such a wonderful thing is considered as a

Philosopher's stone.


25

The object (Philosopher's stone), which can

convert iron into gold, is neither useful nor needed.

According to the principles of economics, money is a

medium that can be exchanged for goods and services

and is a measure of their values on the market. It is a

tool in commercial transactions to bring demand and

supply levels to equilibrium. If suddenly unlimited

supply of gold is available, it will destroy the economic

balance. Gold will lose value due to its plentiful

availability. Moreover, the possessor of large bulk of

gold will easily become a target of jealousy and will run

a risk of life. The history is witness of the fate of owners

of the famous diamond Kohinoor. A useful thing of

high utility may become useless after getting converted

to gold. Imagine that you are hungry and about to put a

piece of bread in your mouth and it turns to gold! The

same thing happened to king Midas in Greek

mythology, who got a boon that whatever he touched

would turn into gold. As the story goes, merely by his

touch, his chariot became pure gold but no more useful

for transportation, his beloved daughter turned into a

golden statue with no life in it, when he tried to eat

something, it also became solid gold. No doubt, he got

a lot of gold, but at what cost? Ultimately he repented a

lot and on his earnest request, God mercifully

withdrew the boon, and reversed its effect to bring

those objects back to normal functioning.

Actually, God has given everything to his children

whatever is useful and essential for life. The imaginary


26

'Paras' (Philosopher's stone) is totally useless and

harmful hence it simply does not exist in this world

made by the supreme creator! But, yes its spiritual

version does exist which is the most essential and

beneficial for entire mankind, and that is - love as

described here. One who obtained this 'Paras', the

magic of love, can create a heaven of peace, joy and

prosperity around him - which no amount of money or

gold can make!

Any inert material has a remarkable property that

its particles tend to cling together due to mutual

attraction, scientifically known as cohesion. Mineral

particles come closer and form clusters of ore leading to

formation of large mines of raw metals under the crust

of the earth. Love, among living beings, is an attribute

of the highest quality. Naturally, the attractive force

generated by love and compassion is far stronger than

the cohesive force among inert materials. Even the

inert objects of the nature are competing with each

other to surrender, to give, to give in and to give up for

the benefit of others. For example, a river rushes to the

ocean and pours all her water into it; ocean tolerates

the heat of the sun, keeps salt and dirt within itself and

gives out pure water vapors to clouds. The clouds, in

turn shower sweet water through rains for sustaining

the life on this earth. If at any moment, any of the links

in this chain will become selfish and stop donating its

possession to the next member, it will be the end of life

on this earth. Inert objects even never keep their


27

accomplishments to themselves, but generously

distribute to others for benefit of all. The soul, 'Atman'

is a divine entity - a part of the eternal consciousness,

hence it naturally induces sacrifice and benevolence in

all living creatures. We all know how parents sacrifice

their own happiness and comforts for the benefits of

their children. The love and care among one another in

a family provide basic strength for sustaining the living

beings. The end of such selfless devotion and sacrifice

will result into the end of this world.

We observe animals of various shapes and sizes in

the world, but they are all connected through one

unbroken thread of consciousness or 'Atman'. We see

hundreds of waves on the surface of ocean but

underneath lies the same undivided water. Similarly, a

single, non-dual consciousness has manifested through

all forms and shapes, so all are one and none is separate

from other. As we know, how the eldest and

responsible member of the family coordinates all family

activities and takes care of each and every member,

most often forgetting his own comforts and

convenience. In the same way, the creator of the

universe takes care of all inhabitants. When we

experience oneness with all other creatures of the

world, we start sharing their joys and sorrows also. We

know that one cannot escape from the results of sins of

other persons, as we are all connected. It is our pious

duty to help our neighbors in sustaining peace and

harmony. If we neglect this duty, and allow them to


28

plunge into life of sins and crime, we are responsible for

such misdeeds and also bound to suffer due to their

sins. If one mad man among a group travelling in a boat

suddenly starts digging a hole in the bottom of the

boat, we have to prevent him, otherwise that sinks the

entire boat sparing none, taking all travelers to the

bottom of the river. If we passively observe our

neighbor's house, which caught fire, within no time

the fire will engulf our house too. When we are all

connected through a single thread and inseparable part

of this universe, we have to behave responsibly and to

educate others also for the relevant code of conduct.

Otherwise we all have to pay the cost. When the

amount of crime and misdeeds cross certain limits, we

see increased events of natural calamities, flood,

earthquake, tsunami, epidemic, drought and wars.

Such events of misfortune claim thousands of human

lives - many of them, we feel, are innocent. But actually

it is not so. They are also participants, though

indirectly, in the sins of other human beings. God

created mankind with a special role assigned to take

care of his world, to spread the message of love and

peace. Then only we can deserve God's favor and mercy.

The secret of our religion is hidden in the fact that we

love each and every human being on the earth, show

care and compassion, consider all as our own self and

not different from us. Only this is our prime duty.

There is a difference between ordinary acts of

charity and 'Yagna' (also known as Yajna, Yagya, Hom


29

or Yag). Ordinary good deeds are watched by people

and evaluated for their merits, but a Yagna has a very

subtle aspect beyond its physical appearance. Normally

by Yagna we mean an altar for sacrifice wherein the

'Havan Samagrees' - the sacred herbal materials are

offered to fire and sublimed into fumes. But broadly

speaking, this fire and altar system alone is not Yagna.

There are many forms of Yagna - for example, Gyan-

Yagna (spreading knowledge), Brahm-Yagna (penance

to know the real self), Japa-Yagna (chanting of sacred

verses or names of God). Yes, the fire and altar system is

the most common and basic form of Yagna wherein

precious herbal materials, specific food grains, oil seeds

or fruits are offered to the fire. Many shortsighted

people cannot understand the subtle benefits of such

Yagna. They consider this as a wasteful burning of

precious materials. But spiritually inclined,

enlightened philosophers know that a Yagna is a highly

beneficial ritual. When the sacred herbal materials

burn in the fire, their solid and liquid physical states

transform into micronized gaseous states spreading all

over in the atmosphere. The benefit of such fumes

reaches thousands of living beings of the world.

Specific prayers and sacred verses, 'Mantras', are

chanted in chorus during yagna. Such prayers are good

wishes aimed at benefit of all living creatures of the

universe. The chanting generates strong vibrational

energy and modulates the fumes coming out from the

altar of the Yagna. The entire atmosphere gets charged


30

with a powerful positive energy destroying all ill effects

of negative thoughts. The prayers made at this time

yields desired fruits. Constantly propagating positive

thoughts and good wishes for all is a yagna of the

highest level and better than any donation or a material

charity. Any thought is a cluster of vibrational energy

that evaporates fast and showers like a cloud. A

thought - good or bad - once generated in mind, gets

radiated in space and reaches all people who have a

similar kind of thoughts. It is just like the specific radio

frequency, which can be received by those radio sets,

which are tuned to it. If we always generate good

thoughts for happiness of the world, our thoughts get

synchronized with thoughts of other well-wishers and

strengthen them. Thus kindness and generosity can be

encouraged. Thoughts are powerful vibrations of

energy and never get destroyed. They travel faster than

light and get stronger and stronger in harmony with

the thoughts of other kind people. This leads to

creation of divine asset empowering the religious mind

ultimately spreading peace and happiness throughout

the world. Such a great task is accomplished through

merely a small thought initiated in your mind hence

you also get your share of the credit ('Punya') for this

kind gesture.

Thinking always good for others, keeping truth,

justice, kindness, compassion and mercy in mind,

being generous to all and inducing noble thoughts in

others - are all acts of super humanity and considered as


31

'Brahm-Yagna'. This flow of good thoughts and chain

of kind acts must be uninterrupted, unbroken

('Akhanda'), for, only then it can yield maximum

benefits. If mind periodically switches over to selfish

thoughts, bad, damaging, greedy and guilty thoughts,

then good effect of kind thoughts is washed away. Thus

harmony in thought process is very important. This

should be included in our daily routine like eating and

sleeping, without any delay or negligence. We should

always think positively for the good of the world and on

every opportunity, should also tell others to do the

same thing. Anybody in our family, friend-circle,

learned, dull, known or stranger - all should be

apprised of the power of kind thoughts, love, truth and

justice. We should advise them to replace vices and bad

habits with good habits and kind acts. This will show

that we care for them. If you give sweets to someone, he

will like your pleasing gesture, but an intelligent person

will also realize that you intend to extend some

permanent benefit to him through this act of kindness.

Common people may not understand the importance

of 'Yagna', but a spiritually inclined person visualizes

the hidden benefits within. We have to keep this

unbroken 'Brahm-yagna' going on uninterrupted in

the benefit of all leaving creatures, ultimately leading to

our own spiritual growth and divine progress.

Have you ever thought, why this soul, which is

itself eternal bliss and the supreme consciousness

('Param Chaitanya'), accepted to be bundled up into


32

this stinking physical body full of blood, urine and

excreta? Why it prepared itself to bear the pains by

falling into the cycles of birth and death? The answer

is, only to taste the nectar of love prevailing in this

universe, the soul manifested through this structure

of bone and flesh. Each of the sense organs has it's

own subject. Ears want melodious music, eyes

beautiful scenery, tongue tasteful food, skin wants

tender and loving touch. Similarly, divine love is a

subject of the soul, which can be enjoyed on the earth

only. Therefore it comes down to this earth, giving

up even the attractions of heaven. The bear comes

out from the bush to enjoy a cool breeze, the snake

comes out from his hole to lick dew drops, the

cuckoo reveals its song in the season of spring, the

wagtail bird is seen in the autumn and amphibians

wake up from their hibernation in monsoon. They all

appear for a specific purpose of fulfilling their desires.

The consciousness, the real self or the soul, is

nurtured by the divine love created by almighty God.

It wants to swim in the lake of love for survival, as a

fish survives in the water. This soul, the 'Jeevatman' is

the prince in the realm of God and has arrived on this

holy earth to enjoy the beauty of his Father's

kingdom - the garden of love. The consciousness or

soul manifests as Jeevatman in various forms on this

earth, enjoys the nectar of love created by God, and

returns back to its native after satisfying all the

desires.


33

Our life is uncertain, unstable, transient, rough,

irregular, full of struggle and hardships, and also

surrounded by difficulties and sorrows. Had it not been

supported on a strong internal platform, it would have

disintegrated into a useless disgustful entity long back.

Sometimes it may also appear that suicide is better than

that life of drudgery. But in spite of all obstacles and

hardships, there exists a constant attraction between

the soul and the life, like a magnetic force. This

constant force is love, which is backbone of our life,

which sustains the life and makes all the activities and

functions possible. If you can imagine any living

creature totally devoid of love, then its behavior and

attitude would be like a burning sun of a hot summer

noon, flaring up anything coming into its contact.

Even ferocious animals are not devoid of love. How

strongly they love their offspring and how affectionate

they are towards their mates! Even the robbers,

criminals, killers and immoral people have some

fraction of love within their hearts at least for someone!

Otherwise they would become explosive like a fireball

or a bomb. Any animal may lack any other virtue, but

certainly it would not lack love for someone at least.

Just as heat is an attribute of fire, love is an attribute of

the life and soul! During the dark night of ignorance,

rays of love still exist, however feeble they may appear.

Soul is full of love beyond doubt, and remains happy

within the atmosphere of love and peace. The fish

survives in water and dies outside. Any living animal


34

cannot attain peace until it is engrossed in love. Thirst

makes us wander here and there, but once we get cold

water and drink it to the content of our heart, we settle

down to rest. A snake usually rests in its hole after

filling up its stomach and does not need to move

anywhere. The shell floats over the sea surface until it

gets the first raindrop under 'Swati' constellation. On

getting that, it goes to the bottom of the sea to make a

pearl out of it. In the same way, the soul has arrived on

this earth with a purpose of attaining eternal love, once

it is achieved, it will return to its native with full

contentment. This is the real secret of salvation, birth,

death and the life cycle.

We are compelled to undergo many births as the

thirst for the true love is not quenched. The mirage of

greed, attachment, possessiveness and other attractions

confuse us diverting to perishable and transient

objects. But, by the grace of a devoted teacher - a

'Sadguru', when we find the source of real eternal love

within our own self, we find ourselves surrounded by an

ocean of love. Then, within no time the soul gets deep

satisfaction and returns to its heavenly abode fully

contented.

Love means sacrifice and service. A person who

really loves someone surrenders his own self for the

happiness of his beloved one, without the slightest

desire for his own happiness. He never tries to take

anything but always focuses on giving something. True

love is a purifying flame within the heart that does not


35

allow one to slip into the pothole of physical

attractions. True devotee and a man of high moral see

an image of a goddess or a mother or a sister in every

woman. You never find posters of indecently exposed

actresses on the walls of his room. He does not loiter in

streets and market place. He inspires women to reach

the high status of Seeta and Savitri. He sings songs of

brotherhood of Rama and Bharat instead of cheap

commercial filmy love songs. When a person lures and

exploits someone to satisfy his physical desires, it is not

love but merely lust that pushes one into the ditch of

sins. It creates a hell for both of them under the spell of

physical attraction.

"I will take everything, but will not give anything

to others" this attitude is a root cause of all evils. In fact

every human should adopt a policy of, "I do not want,

please you take". Only this attitude can lead to peace

and prosperity. "I take, but do not give you anything"

was the principle adopted by queen Kaikeyee (one of

the three wives of king Dasharath of Ayodhya in

Ramayan), which converted the kingdom of Ayodhya

into a hell. Entire town lamented and king Dasharath

lost his life. The palace became gloomy and deserted

like a crematory. The innocent and saintly prince

Rama, scheduled for the coronation ceremony next

day, had to leave for the forest. But entire situation

turned abruptly as soon as the policy of "you take, I do

not want" emerged. First of all Rama renounced the

crown of Ayodhya and requested Bharat to accept the


36

kingship of the state. Then Seeta declared that she

would follow her husband to the forest instead of

enjoying luxury of the palace. Sumitra, the mother of

Laxman, told her son that he had no place in Ayodhya

if Rama and Seeta went to forest. So Laxman also

decided to follow the elder brother to forest. This was a

divine event. Bharat even went to the extent of

rejecting the throne and crown, and started crying like

a child at the feet of Rama, saying that he did not wish

the possession of the kingdom. Rama pacified him,

saying that Bharat should rule the kingdom of Ayodhya

and the forest was the only place suitable for him.

Heavenly atmosphere reflected in this entire episode

where family members created a golden era by sacrifice,

among otherwise a hell of a situation spoilt by queen

Kaikeyee. Entire town of Ayodhya cheered up with joy

at this golden moment. The happiness was so intense at

that time that Valmik and Tulsi never got contented

describing the delight in Ramayana. It was power of

love that created a heavenly situation with full

contentment of all and therefore love is considered a

Philosopher's stone on this earth.

In this materialistic world, only love and

compassion can work miracles. So, please show

concern for your family, friends, relatives and unknown

and strangers even. Have a feeling of benevolence, love

and care, respect and empathy for all coming into your

contact. Thus you will spread a selfless love in your

surrounding, without expecting anything in return. In


37

case of even dispute and contradiction with someone,

let the feeling of love prevail. Keep the dispute issue-

based and limited to the subject of dispute only. Never

brand the person as bad and never allow hatred to

develop for a person. Let your thought, speech and

deed all be full of love. Be polite in your behavior.

Honesty and good conduct must be your policy and

sweet soft speech your nature. Once you start your

journey on the path of cultivating these virtues, your

life will also move faster towards acquiring true

unselfish love. And, then you will discover the

marvelous object called Philosopher's stone on this

earth.

Divert your attention from that imaginary stone

that converts iron into gold. Instead, acquire the skill

and capability to convert any mean heart into a noble

one through touch of your love and compassion. This is

the real Philosopher's stone. One, who possesses this,

has got everything in this world that one can think and

needs nothing further.

¦


¦The soul has its immortal

existence that only exists

through its relation with the

supreme soul. This is the

ultimate state of unity, of self-

realization, in which the

individual soul declares,

“sthitapragya, so aham asmi”,

“I am that absolute spirit!” At

this time, he realizes that in

the multitude of shapes and

forms in the world there is the

hidden reality of one life, one

force, and one truth.


¦

39

~3~

WISH-FULFILLING

TREE ON THE EARTH

it is imagined that there is one miraculous tree in

heaven. Whatever you desire sitting under that

tree, is obtained. If someone wanted a thousand

gold coins sitting under the tree, he would get a

thousand gold coins. In fact mankind has been in

search of such a tree from ancient times. The

possession of such an object is very lucrative, which can

furnish any desired item without really making any

effort. The entire world is craving for happiness. It is

quite natural to keenly desire a tree that can so easily

provide all the causes of happiness in the world.

Millions of years have gone in search of such wish-

fulfilling tree, but no one has succeeded in locating

anywhere on the earth a tree as described by ancient

scriptures.

However, spiritual scientists have found out the

'Tree' and also proved that it is easily available to all. It

40

can be obtained by anybody who wants it. But only

condition is, you need to identify it properly, as it is not

in the same form as described in scriptures. When the

heavenly bodies appear on the earth, they are not visible

to our physical eyes. Gods may be living in heaven with

gross physical bodies, but none on the earth has seen

any God in the same form. They may be visiting the

earth, but in a subtle form not visible to human eyes.

In the same way, the wish-fulfilling tree is very much

on this earth but not visible in a material form. In spite

of being invisible, it is full of all the virtues. It serves the

same purpose on the earth, which it serves in the

heaven. Though we are devoid of seeing it physically,

we are not devoid of its merits, as we are still capable to

derive all the benefits that are available to Gods in the

heaven.

Penance is the 'Wish-fulfilling tree' on this earth.

Penance means voluntarily undergoing hardship with

severe self-control and striving to achieve some desired

goal. Many people obtained boons through penance in

ancient times. They mastered miraculous achievements

and skills due to such boons. It appears from our

ancient literature that the only way to please Gods was

penance. The sages and hermits could satisfy God with

practice of penance and achieved specific powers. Only

such capable devotees can acquire those powerful skills

after hard efforts. Lean and weak persons cannot digest

heavy food rich in fat and nutrition. It is believed that

milk of a lioness can be contained only in a golden


41

vessel. In the same way, divine power can only be

handled by deserving and capable persons, who have

trained their minds by putting in proper efforts

through penance. If such power falls into improper

hands, it can ruin or drive the person insane. If a child

gets a gun or ammunition it can kill itself and many

other people too. Therefore almighty has made it a rule

that skills, assets and power will remain with those who

deserve them and who are eligible to handle them. The

main criteria of eligibility is, whether a person has

acquired the necessary skills by putting enough efforts

and hard work and whether one has a keen desire to

obtain certain object. Once this test is passed, God

bestows on him all that he deserves.

Our Great ancient sage Bhagirath brought the river

Ganges down from heaven to this earth by severe

penance. Goddess Parvati obtained lord Shiva as

husband and prince Dhruva got an unmovable constant

kingdom in the sky, all by penance only. Not only one

or two, there exist thousands of evidences to prove that

only penance, hard work, self-control and great efforts

can give you the desired wealth. Whether a god or a

demon, all have obtained boons through severe

penance and hardships. Even if you are surrounded by

unlimited wealth around you, not a single piece can be

enjoyed without putting in proper efforts and penance.

Millions of diamonds, minerals and valuable objects are

hidden beneath crust of the earth and under the ocean

bed, but mining and drilling can only yield the access to

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

42

that treasure. As the mythical story goes, fourteen of

the most valuable objects were recovered when gods

and demons jointly churned the ocean. Nothing can be

obtained without suitable efforts. Only hard work,

perseverance and efforts can yield the wealth of the

world. Occasionally we see some cases of sudden

accidental and undue benefits to some person merely

due to stroke of luck. However, according to the theory

of 'Karma', it is a result of accumulated past meritorious

deeds performed with hard work.

The well-organized creation of God - this universe

- functions in a perfectly systematic way with well

defined set of rules. There is no anarchy. Nobody can

walk away unpunished robing others' wealth. If not

today, then tomorrow, the sinner, the robber has to pay

the price of his misdeeds. Nobody can get anything out

of the way. Saint Kabir has aptly said: Lord Rama,

sitting in his balcony, watches everyone and distributes

rewards to each one according to one's efforts. As the

familiar saying goes: As you sow, so shall you reap.

Industrious, hard-worker, sincere men obtain the

wealth, but the lazy, sitting idle, just go on blaming

their own fate.

Very difficult task can be accomplished and

unreachable objects can be achieved with sincere efforts

and hard work. The legendry hero Farhad excavated a

long tunnel through mountain with a shovel and

courageous hard work. The great poet Kalidas started

formal education at a later age but his dedicated efforts


43

earned him a universal fame. Gold glitters on heating in

fire, metals shine when polished and a razor and a

sword get sharpened when rubbed on a grinding wheel.

Friction of quartz produces fire. Hard work and sincere

efforts bring out numerous skills and capabilities

hidden in human being. They ultimately help

acquiring all the wealth and satisfy desires that can be

imagined to be fulfilled with a 'wish-fulfilling tree' or

'Kalpavriksha'.

If you wish to see your house, clothes and body

beautiful, start cleaning them. Whitewash the house,

repair the broken items, decorate all objects properly

and see how they start gleaming! To be physically fit

and attractive, exercise regularly, do manual work,

apply self-control in eating and sleeping, and you will

achieve your goal. Knowledge, wealth, fame,

leadership, authority, will-power, freedom, happiness,

peace – whatever you desire, just put enough efforts,

hard and sincere efforts, and see you will get it! This is

the fundamental key for unlocking success.

Undergoing extreme hardship and sacrificing today's

comforts for tomorrow's golden goal is penance. This

penance is obviously fruitful. Achievements and

accomplishments are usually followers of hard work

and penance. Nobody can alter the law of nature that

only the hard-worker wins at the end. One who

attempts honestly and sincerely definitely gets his

desired object tomorrow, if not today. God certainly

helps him, who helps himself.


44

Even if a tree existed to deliver desired things free

of cost and without efforts, it would do harm only,

because anything achieved without efforts distorts a

man's mind, induces random, uncontrolled, greedy

thoughts and finally leads to grave consequences. It is

said, once upon a time a man reached under a wish-

fulfilling tree. He desired cold water to drink, and soon

water appeared before him. With a pleasant surprise he

wished tasteful food and that too he found before him.

Gradually he desired a bed, cushion, money, house,

servants, kingdom and so on. And with his

amusement, he got every thing. Now getting bored

with all these wealth, his mind ventured into another

direction. He feared that some animal would come and

kill him. Soon a roaring ferocious lion appeared and

ate him. So what he got unduly, ultimately ended soon

with his own death.

One thing we all have to understand that there is

no freedom without power. Whether we wish to be free

from poverty, sickness, slavery, corruption or bondage

of births and deaths, all efforts demand energy and we

cannot escape from it until we exercise tremendous

power to remove the bondage. Aryans therefore have

been worshipping energy right from the beginning

with great respect. Many great men and saints have

considered the energy as supreme religion in a class of

its own. Worshipping strength, power or energy as a

goddess in a specific sect of religion was initially a part

of Vedic tradition only, but later on it acquired


45

notoriety due to consumption of meat and liquor by its

followers in the name of rituals. The manifestation of

energy or power in the form of Goddess is known by

many names – Maa Kali, Durga, Chandi, Bhavani, Devi

Maa, etc. She fights to conquer devil forces and kills

demons, enjoys drinking their blood.

One great man has said: truth is power. The

darkness of ignorance and immorality can be destroyed

with a torch of truth only. Power electrifies a lazy man

or dull society infusing life and freshness into them.

Energy is like electric current or a magnetic field that

can be invoked into any part of a body and can be

mobilized to impart strength and vigor to that part. As

soon as the body is charged with power, a common man

becomes great like Gandhi, Lenin, Sun Yat-sen or

Columbus, and performs supreme tasks like Ram,

Krishna, Christ, Buddh or Mohammad. Mental energy

in the form of talent creates great philosophical

knowledge and leads to modern scientific inventions in

the benefit of the entire mankind. A small fraction of

such intellect or brilliance can create miracles around

us and can produce all the amenities, which can be

imagined in heaven. Over and above this, collective

power of a well-organized group is further and far more

effective. One plus one is not two, but eleven here. The

teamwork of a highly complementary pair of persons

can produce eleven times more output. Collective

efforts of even a few really hard-working men can

perform surprising tasks. In this modern era, only


collective strength of a harmonious group is considered

to be real power. In a team, the weakness of one

member is nullified with strength of another one and

strength of each member is added up to a multiple

effect. It is beyond doubt that a group, union, team,

organization or an institute is a magical entity where

people involved exchange mutual cooperation and

multiply their strength manifold.

Salvation of the soul also requires the power of true

knowledge and penance. Lazy and weak-minded

cannot liberate his soul from bondage of re-births.

Physical, mental or spiritual – any pain can be relieved

by worshipping power only. Incapable people usually

lament about their sorrows, keep on murmuring and

blaming their fate or God or the world. Those who

wish to achieve fame in their desired field must acquire

energy and power and harness them for the goal.

Perseverance and uninterrupted efforts – are the

only two greatest courses leading to desired boons by

pleasing the goddess Energy. Whatever plans and

programs you have in mind or whatever is your aim of

life plunge into it whole-heartedly. Dedicate your total

energy and mental power day and night. Hard work and

only hard work, untiring efforts! Make it your habit.

Never think that you will get tired with more work.

Work is a driving force that will increase your capability

with the progress of task. After working for merely an

hour or two, a lazy, indifferent or hopeless person gets

so much tired as if he climbed up a mountain. Whereas

46 ACQUISITION OF NECTAR, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE.....

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH 47

an enthused and interested person does not feel a bit of

fatigue in spite of putting in whole day's hard work.

True dedication for goal, deep interest and joy of work

are like a dynamo producing high level of energy for

untiring work every moment.

Please remember that any of your desire can be

fulfilled by energy only. One needs power and force to

carry out any task. An engine needs fuel for running.

Looking around for support and depending on others

will never serve your purpose. It is said that to go to

heaven one needs to die oneself. You cannot expect

someone else to die for your journey to heaven. For

achieving success in your field, only you have to strive

hard. So collect your strength and stand up on your

own feet. Do not be impatient under the trying times

when the goddess of energy puts you to severe test. Do

you know, Thomas Alva Edison failed thousand times,

before he got success in inventing the light bulb? Had

he given up the task halfway, the world would have

never seen the electric bulb! You will also undergo

frequent and many spells of failure and

disappointment. But if you successfully pass through

all these difficulties, delays and failures, these tough

times teach you lessons and ultimately you are going to

grab the multiplicity of the desired result with

blessings of the goddess.

Not once or twice, but thousand times we have

uttered that there is no freedom without energy. So be

powerful. Strengthen your capabilities. Induce very

strong self-confidence. Stand up for your own noble

cause. God helps you only when you are capable to help

yourself.

A lion does not eat stale, rotten meat of a dead

animal. He prefers to die hungry instead. Shall we

sacrifice our excellent virtues for the sake of trivial

sensuous pleasures? An emperor never behaves like a

beggar. So we should not indulge into an activity,

which is a blur on the face of humanity. We should

discriminate between just and unjust, and favor the just

and fair only. We may lead a life of poverty, undergo

hardships but will never accept any wealth earned with

unfair means. Humming bird and honeybee suck sweet

juices from fragrant flowers and avoid going near dirty

objects. We also must keep ourselves surrounded by

good people and noble thoughts. Being human, we are

more responsible to lead a graceful life that is

benevolent to all on this planet and not a curse to

anybody.

Shameful is the life that passes in sinful acts and

sensuous pleasures. There is no difference between

human and animal so far as basic activities of eating,

sleeping, fear and procreation are concerned. Thinking

at higher level only differentiates a man from other

animals. Even a person who may be great but never

extends support to fellow human beings is useless, just

like a coconut tree that grows very tall but no one gets a

shelter in its shade during hot sun. Nobody can

appreciate a dog guarding a stack of hay, which itself



cannot eat and does not allow a cow to eat. Meaningful

is the life that goes in the service and support of all.

Acquiring this human body is a good opportunity to

serve the mankind. Missing this golden chance now,

the selfish will repent a lot later on, when he will realize

the true purpose of this human life.

Therefore, lead an ideal life of high moral standard

that can be exemplary to all. Leave your footsteps on

this land which next generation can follow. Let your

life be filled with truth, love, justice, compassion,

sincerity, self-discipline, willpower and generosity.

Conserving physical and mental energy for noble cause

should be the prime duty and always a focus of your

total attention, else life will be meaningless.

Not only you live life of a highest moral, let others

also live accordingly. Take this as a commandment of

God. Remove all vices, desires, selfishness and malice

from mind and live gracefully a simple harmonious life

to encourage weaker people for achieving strength.

Exploiting others for your own selfish motive is

condemnable. Never try to achieve freedom by

enslaving weaker sect. Progress made by oppressing

fellow human being will not last long. Everything

achieved this way will get destroyed. The consequences

of such devilish act are beyond imagination.

So help all others to live with freedom and peace.

Show path to people who have wandered. Never

jeopardize their fundamental human rights. Never

discriminate people based on their cast, creed or

religion. All human being are children of God and

equal. Separation based on gender, race and province is

also shameful. One who cares for truth and justice

always appreciates virtues of others. He is open-

minded with broad outlook on life. On the other hand,

a narrow-minded selfish person lives a miserable life

himself trapped into many vices. He considers others

useless and drags them into darkness of shabby,

immoral life. His own soul curses him, but being a slave

of bad habits, he cannot give up his errant life without

your strong support. His condition is exactly like the

character of 'Mahabharat', whom we know as

'Duryodhan', he says: "I know my duty and religion,

but I cannot follow it, I also know what is sin, but I

cannot give it up!"

Do not be mean and narrow. You are on the path of

development and progressing well, so help others to

prosper. Let others enjoy freedom, as you like salvation

of your own soul. Encourage others to achieve greater

heights. Readers! You are prince in this kingdom of

almighty God. Live life of a king! All other living

beings are family members and children of this mother

earth, as you are one of them. So behave with them as

you expect them to behave with you. So live life very

pleasantly and spread pleasure everywhere for everyone.

So, 'Wish-fulfilling tree', 'Kalpa-vriksha' in this

world, is penance – characterized by virtues like

enthusiasm, patience, vigor, dedication, courage,

stability and perseverance shown under any situation.



Who developed these virtues through penance, is a real

achiever who can get any desired object that a wish-

fulfilling tree can give. People desiring to obtain status,

leadership, wealth, prestige, knowledge or any benefit,

personal or social, have first to undergo penance only.

Sincere dedicated efforts and hard work can install all

virtues required for penance. Once these virtues start

developing, they displace the vices such as laziness,

negativity, helplessness, instability and malice, and

replace them with good qualities like enthusiasm,

optimism, kindness, generosity, compassion, satisfaction

and self-confidence.

Beyond doubt, only penance has the magic touch

to fulfill all your desires. Whosoever achieved anything

in this world did it with striving hard. If you wish to

achieve something in life, make hard work and

dedicated efforts your second nature. Nothing will be

impossible for you and you will get all you want.

¦

¦

If you adopt the principle of

“simple living and high

thinking” you would soon

start attaining rapid progress

in life. Simplicity of life-style

will automatically eliminate

your sense of scarcity. This

together with the positive and

constructive transformation of

your thinking and feelings will

enable you to make

constructive use of whatever

resources you have.


¦

53

~4~

STRIVE TO ACQUIRE

THESE OBJECTS

Nectar, Philosopher's Stone and the Wish

Fulfilling Tree – all these three great

objects are easily available to all people,

common like you and me. They are hidden if we

neglect them, but they start approaching us as we try

to obtain them. Usually objects do not exist for us

when we turn our back to them. We cannot see

behind us. But when we turn our face to them, we see

the objects that were invisible a while ago. It is true

that when we work hard for the objects we desire

normally we get them sooner or later.

As such everybody wants to remain happy

keeping sorrows away, but in reality these are mere

meaningless impotent whims bearing no fruits of

materialization. The desire to achieve something has

really to be deep-rooted and supported by dedicated

54

and sincere efforts for the aim. A well determined,

fully convinced man achieves his highest target by

unwavering efforts. There is nothing in the world

that one cannot obtain it in spite of sincere efforts. Of

course, this is not true for greedy accumulation of

unnecessary objects. But so far as spiritual joy, the

bliss is concerned, it is available to all through

development of pure virtues with a simple and

benevolent life. A very strong divine support is active

in your favor for this purpose.

Nectar, Philosopher's stone and the Wish fulfilling

tree – all these three are available if desired sincerely

and understood correctly. The confidence that we are

immortal at the spiritual level, should be so firmly

embedded in our mind that every problem of our life

has to be addressed from this perspective only. This

present life is just a fraction of our entire eternal

existence, so any issue has to be given only

proportionate importance. Once this understanding

develops, our life becomes peaceful, clear, innocent and

blissful. This is nectar on this earth.

Having love and compassion for all, extending

kindness, companionship, cooperation, service and

benevolence to all is so nice a virtue that anybody

coming into your contact will humbly reciprocate

your kindness in the best manner. People will like to

do anything for you. Love makes you capable to see

inner beauty of an ordinary person. Love can change

negative and hopeless things into positive and useful


55

ones. Love is therefore considered as Philosopher's

stone in this world.

Industry, adventure, diligence, hard work, sincere

dedicated efforts are all a type of modern age penance

that provide the desired fruit and take you to your goal,

however difficult it may be. Who practices this

penance, does not need other wish-fulfilling tree, he

gets everything of his choice.

¦

STRIVE TO ACQUIRE THESE OBJECTS

¦Spiritual life is truly lived by

an all-inclusive self-restraint

and discipline in which one

has to consciously endeavor

every moment to transform

his entire way of life into that

of a true Brahman. This

entails a gradual and

sustained spiritual discipline.


¦

57

~5~

TERRESTRIAL

NECTARS

Usual meaning of nectar is, the object

emanated during churning of great ocean

and collected by Gods ('Devatas'), drinking

that makes one immortal. But this nectar is quite

imaginary and belongs to heaven, which practically

nobody has seen. On the other hand, we are fortunate

to have not one or two, but many kinds of nectars on

our earth as described in our ancient scriptures.

In the well-known 'Medini' Sanskrit dictionary,

milk is described as nectar. Ayurveda repeats the same

truth – milk in the diet is equivalent to nectar. This is

further supported by famous ayurvedic treatise: “Raj

Nighantu”.

Water is also considered elixir of life as referred in

Sanskrit thesaurus 'Amar Kosh'. Atharva Veda declares

water as medicine for all ailments and equivalent to

nectar. Raj Nighantu identifies 'Ghee' (clarified butter)

58

as nectar. Buttermilk obtained on vigorous churning of

curds is also equated with nectar. Sweets prepared from

ghee and sugar, honey, and all tasteful nutritious foods

are considered nectar for this body. Some ayurvedic

preparations based on mercury, mica, gold and other

minerals, which prolong life and reduce aging are

considered equal to nectar. But again, these are merely

supporters of gross physical body and have no effect on

the spiritual self, which is already immortal and does

not need any such artificial support. Sweet speech is

also considered as elixir. In the scriptures of

'Hitopadesha' the innocent soft speech of children is

called nectar. The food that is begged is like poison and

that which is earned through hard work is considered

as nectar according to our ancient book 'Manu-Smriti'.

It is stated in our scriptures that true knowledge

imparts immortality. Hence 'Vidya'- knowledge of the

real self is nectar. The initial verse in the 'Amar Kosh'

also indicates that knowledge contains the

characteristics of elixir. However, one more nectar

superior to all stated above, is described by Lord

Krishna in chapter 4, verse 31 of Bhagvat Geeta, and

that is 'Yagna Prasadam' means, whatever food or

objects remain after distributing to all as a goodwill

gesture, is nectar. Yagna itself is an act of benevolence

to the society. At the end of the Yagna, we offer our

sacrifices to God and distribute donations to our

teachers (Guru) and other people. What remains after

that is our share, obtained this way is equivalent to


59

nectar. Manu-Smriti says the same thing in verse 275

of chapter 2. Ishavasya Upanishad also tells us to enjoy

objects in our possession only after offering a portion in

the service of mankind. Whether strength, power or

material objects, when a sizable portion of them is used

for benefit of large mass as a goodwill gesture, the

portion remaining with us is purified and imparts

divine bliss which is not available to Gods even from

the imaginary nectar.

¦

TERRESTRIAL NECTARS

¦

The illuminated ascent of men

and women to a higher level

of consciousness leads to the

transmutation of society, thus

altering the trends of time and

creating a new, better world.

This is the goal of the New

Era.


¦

~6~

LOCATION OF

PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

AND

WISH-FULFILLING TREE

PPhilosopher's stone and Wish-fulfilling tree

provide objects for satisfying materialistic

desires. But materialistic desires are endless.

No sooner does one desire get fulfilled than the next

one pops up. On obtaining a desired object, human

mind is no more interested in it, and starts craving for

yet another object. Thus we are trapped in a vicious

cycle of countless desires. No matter how much

materialistic wealth is supplied by the Philosopher's

stone and Wish-fulfilling tree, man never gets

contented with that.

Desires never get satisfied on obtaining desired

objects. Sometimes they arise with more intensity.

Suppression of desires is also not a solution for

curtailing chain of desires. A correct judicious mental

61


attitude towards material objects, understanding our

own actual requirements, wisdom, compassion and

above all, satisfaction and sense of gratitude for

whatever we have got – these are the virtues which calm

down the storm of uncontrollable acute desires and

tranquilize our mind. Acquiring these virtues, a man

feels himself richer than 'Kuber' (the lord of wealth)

and happier than Gods in the heaven. Self-knowledge

and self-realization exposes the futility of material

objects. He no longer craves for the material wealth

instead he is oriented towards the divine bliss. There is

no desire left nor has he to run behind any object.

Readers! Please never waste your time and energy

in search of Philosopher's stone and Wish-fulfilling

tree in the material world. Search them within as the

excellent virtues and unlimited love and kindness

resting in your heart. This is a treasure untapped so far.

Open the doors of your mind towards internal light,

which will illuminate the unlimited wealth in your own

possession. The satisfaction and bliss you get here is so

profound that a mountain of Philosopher's stone and a

forest of Wish-fulfilling trees can be sacrificed for that.

Your acts of benevolence and humanity can grow like

flowers that will spread the fragrance in all directions.

¦

63

TRANSLATOR'S

NOTE

nsatiable greed for gold compelled ancient man

to engross into research for a substance - a I'stone' that could convert steel or lead into gold

by merely touching it. This laid the foundation for

development of Chemistry known as 'Alchemy' at that

time and those engaged into the search were known as

'Alchemists'. This ever illusive imaginary substance

came to be known as 'Philosopher's Stone' into western

world and as 'Parasmani' or 'Chintamani' in Asian

region. Root of the word 'Paras' seems to be in the

Sanskrit 'Parshva' meaning facets as the diamond or a

prism has got. It can also be related to the Sanskrit

word 'Sparsh' - meaning 'to touch'. Though the object

of research remained obscure forever, man surely learnt

the fundamentals of chemical reactions and chemical

properties of many more substances.

Similarly, man's desire to be immortal led him to

venture into a search for nectar, which opened up the

branch of allopathic medicines in western world as

alchemists engaged themselves in search of the elixir of

life.

'Kalpa-Vriksha' or a wish-fulfilling tree,

compared to former two, is more connected with

Indian mythology. It is described to have emerged out

as one of the 14 miraculous objects, which evolved

when Gods churned the ocean during the act known as

'Samudramanthan'.

All these three objects have fascinated mankind

since time immemorial, but physically never seen by

anybody.

Here Pt. Shree Ram Sharma Aacharya reveals to

the reader, the actual existence of all these three

wonderful substances, most coveted by all, but in a

different form. These are more effective than the

mythological objects described above. They are within

us - only a capable spiritual teacher can give us a master

key to open the treasure to find them out.

Translated by Dr. Mahendra Patel
