This morning I had an argument with my husband. He was complaining that there was no space in the house. He prefers to practice his sadhana downstairs and I practice upstairs. Our home is full of books and they are everywhere. I responded to his remark by saying that you must have space in your heart and head. Space is relative. You can feel crowded in a mansion and free in a tiny room.

Of course, we laughed about it and I said what about an empty head and what if you have a vacuum in your mind and heart. I started thinking about what I have learnt from my Gurus. One must be self-observant. You do not negate everything. If you wish to improve yourself, you address everything you do as a sadhana. Swamiji does not negate anything. If he was surrounded by difficult persons or problems, he was at peace. When he was surrounded by good people and happiness, he was at peace. He once said that he never reacted.

An experience with my guru

Another time, when I had organized a conference for Swamiji in Chennai, thousands of people wanted mantra diksha. He was surrounded by disciples. They were clamouring for answers. His train was leaving and he almost missed the train. The conductor halted the train. He got in and just as the train was leaving, his dinner, with bottles of water arrived. It was brought by someone else very responsible. The train whistled out and Swamiji missed his dinner. I was so upset. I could not do anything and Swamiji smiled and said it was fine. The conference was a success, and everyone just took and took from him.

Now I come back to the space, we must be constantly aware of how we feel, respond, and behave. Once it becomes a routine for us, then we can improve ourselves and understand ourselves better. The space that we create in our hearts is free of negativity and so are our thoughts which are created in our mind. Did you realise how much space our thoughts, responses and reactions take?

Aim Hrim Klim