TORCHBEARERS

Following up on how spirituality, divinity, creativity, and positivity are oxygen for the soul, here is my take on why it is important and how it helps in creation.

There are various highs and lows in life and they constantly go on, come and go. Today, there was a crisis at a friend’s office. A crisis not in the real sense like lack of drinking water or other necessities essential for life or say poverty, world hunger, or something drastic. But, a crisis man-made, especially by corporates and that too, sales professionals! Salespeople live in their own world, a world is driven by that one word that sums up all (for them!) – NUMBERS! Whether it is a huge MNC (multinational company) or a small local company, every sales role boils down to some dimension of numbers! Revenue, pipeline, and many other collaterals leading to the same issue – numbers! And they are always in scarcity, at some or the other point of time. No matter how hard you work, how much you are able to achieve, this insatiable hunger for more goes on increasing. I understand that one needs to constantly keep the hunger on, to progress in life. But I am not talking about stagnation or being complacent. It is about constant negative thinking and the fear of underachievement, which prevails in corporates nowadays.

Many times I wonder why. And the closest I can get is that most sales professionals, especially managers seem to focus on or harp on the lack of numbers. It’s always like, we are not making enough, how will we reach there, there is a huge gap, we have to cover for this and that. Even for top performers, there is the added burden to produce more, as the team’s numbers are somehow falling short. I wonder what if these people focus on what we have and achieved, instead of what is not. I strongly believe that sales managers should go through The Secret, the Law of Attraction, the power of gratitude, and other positive mental attitude concepts. More importantly, they should be taught how to implement them and keep the teams motivated.

People constantly think about what they lack and crib about it. Regularly focusing on paucity creates more if it. The law of the Universe is simple – if you are thinking more about something, you love it very much and you want more of it. The universe is that pure, undiluted cosmic energy. It does not have the limitations of logic and reason. All it has is pure, divine unconditional love energy, which is radiated towards what is focused. That is why what you focus on, expands. So, just imagine the consequences of your thoughts and beliefs!

If this is true if we can actually create what we want by simply thinking and focusing our energies on it and it manifests, so why not choose to create positive things? That is the main concept, the power to choose. We have freedom of choice. Still, we do not use it! We do not even know about it! And we do not know how to choose!

This is where spirituality helps. It strengthens the connection with the divine cosmic energy of the Universe and helps create correct, positive thoughts and beliefs. When empowered by the strong positive energies of the Universe, they manifest quickly and accurately. To decipher what you want in life, create it, and manifest it.

That is the wonderful environment and universe that our spiritual master, the holy Avdhoota Baba Shivanand Ji has created for us, where there is solace and something great to look forward to. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. An idle mind is also the powerhouse of negativity. It becomes an expert at generating and attracting more negativity, by focusing on the ‘lack’, ‘scarcity’ or ‘dearth’ of something. And it is contagious. Try thinking about these words and all that is lacking in your life for some time. You will inadvertently discuss them with someone. And they will end up feeling the same. This is what happens to most people, especially young professionals. That is why, even though they possess a lot of potential and can do wonders, many are limited to certain roles, places, and areas. It is due to this limitation of thinking. Moreover, the world has witnessed the catastrophic consequences of this negative thinking, which originated from a few people and was transmitted to others. Unfortunately, our media is also instrumental in promoting and transmitting negativity.

The celestial Siddha teaches that if negativity can spread so much, so can positivity. If the transmission of scarcity and lack of something can have such drastic effects, just imagine what will be the effects of collective positive thinking and creation? That is why Shivyogis always pray for the general well-being of others, peace on earth, healing for the country, and the world. That is why Shivyogis have been taught to create rains where there are droughts and good health where there are diseases. It is about generating and infusing a powerful positivity in the collective consciousness.

The Master has created a beautiful environment for us, to remain positively busy. If you can spread negative energy and manifest problems, you can also spread positive energy and create good things. This is the principle by which all Shivyogis stand by. They take inspiration from each other. They constantly think about how we can help others and which sewa (selfless service) projects to initiate, create, design, and implement. There is always something great to look forward to. As soon as one shivir (spiritual workshop) ends, we start planning for the next one, as that is our real home, our family, our soul’s requirement.

Along with spirituality comes social responsibility. As your energy increases and people witness the changes in you and your power to manifest positivity, they approach you with issues. Everyone wants to dive into the divine pool of love, peace, happiness, success, and prosperity. Most do not know that there is something like that. They are so laden with restricted and constrained belief systems, which are a result of accumulated karmas that they do not realize or even acknowledge that there is a way out. Secondly, change is difficult to implement, especially when it has to be from within.

That is why torchbearers are required. The benevolent sage, Babaji, as we all fondly and respectfully call him is a leading example of a wonderful torchbearer for the society. Amidst a lot of chaos, diseases, epidemics, stubborn and negative thinking, the holy Siddha stood up and worked tirelessly for the benefit of mankind. He was faced with a lot of criticism for his unique, practical, and realistic teachings, by the ignorant masses. But he overcame that and reformed the society. He is a multi-tasker and supremely talented personality, adept at uncountable skills and the best at everything. What he achieves in a day, takes months for others. He is extremely knowledgeable about cooking, singing, instrument playing, dancing, agriculture, Vastu Shastra (house healing), sports, different types of healing modalities, crystals, education, martial arts, and many more arts besides spiritual wisdom and meditation.

As the need is humongous and more and more people are getting attracted to the ocean of divinity – the Shivyog way of life, more light-bearers are required. More torchbearers are needed to lead the way and pass on the torch of the Master’s teachings to others, who will benefit from them and make their lives worthwhile. More guides are required to transmit the hope given by the Siddha, to those who have lost hope in life.

The earnest spiritual seekers are groups of achievers and like-minded people, who are committed to change lives as well as help others to change theirs. These are the torchbearers who are taking the divine mission of creating, promoting, and manifesting peace, love, good health, success, prosperity, and collective welfare forward.

There are many other ways of being a torchbearer. It can be something as small as helping others by small acts or gestures, making someone smile, wiping out tears, and most importantly, by gifting HOPE. It is about spreading the divine light by becoming a torchbearer, an example and inspiration that people look up to, as a powerhouse of positivity, spirituality, detachment, and abundance.

Torchbearers live in glass houses, where all their actions and lives are transparent. They have to walk the talk and lead by example. There might be occasional setbacks, but that is the test. It is inevitable to fall, but how quickly do you stand up again? Even when things are going against you, do you cringe and walk away or face the storm and come out victorious? How much do you keep your own interests aside and think about others? If you get lemons thrown at you, do you sulk and give up or make lemonade and continue on the right path? Do you go the extra mile to create a difference and add value to others’ lives? These are the real tests for torchbearers. The best way to eliminate darkness is to spread light.

Be the torchbearer! Love and light…