The Habit of Simran

Talking with Maharaj Charan Singh

Q: Would you say that an attitude of inner contemplation, reflecting on God, thinking of him, of his kindness and love, also has value in some way?
A: That’s right. That will automatically induce you to do simran. That will help you to do simran, naturally.

Q: Often I feel like I could do simran more, but I’m afraid that somehow things are going to get out of hand unless I’m really concentrating on what I’m doing.
A: No, only at the time of meditation you should attend to simran with concentration.… When your mind is occupied, how can you do simran, unless you have reached the stage where it goes on automatically in your subconscious mind?

Q: There are some jobs where you either have to actively use your mind all the time or you have people coming at you all the time with questions.… I absolutely cannot do simran under either of these circumstances.
A: Sister, one has to adjust one’s daily activities.… We have to fulfil certain responsibilities, certain obligations, but still we have so much spare time when we unnecessarily make ourselves miserable by thinking. At least that time should be spared for simran. We’re not constantly busy with work.

Q: Doesn’t the simran revolve twenty-four hours a day in one’s head once one gets advancement? Even when one goes through one’s pralabdh karmas, doesn’t the simran revolve?
A: It can if one is in the habit of doing simran. Then even unconsciously one is doing simran. You get into the habit of doing simran so much that even unconsciously you are attending to it.

Q: Does the Master do it for us in those circumstances?
A: You mean the Master should do the simran and you should just feel free?

Q: Only when we can’t do it.
A: Do we ever do it? We are only an instrument to do it. The Doer who’s forcing us to do it is always there.

Q: Master, last night someone asked a question about having conversations with the Master in their own mind, and you said it was just the mind. Is this a good or bad practice? Should we try to stop it when it happens or just ignore it ? …
A: Doing simran is better than the conversation. If you don’t want to do simran, then you can converse. But simran should have preference over conversation.

Q: Master, when one realizes that he is helpless, what should be his next move?
A: The next move is to sit in meditation. When one finds that he’s absolutely helpless, then he should really become helpless and submit himself to meditation and leave his intellect. That’s the only move one should make.
_{Die to Live}