In Search of Real Wealth - The Treasure Within by Munjeet

ACQUISITION OF NECTAR, PHILOSOPHER'S STONE & WISH-FULFILLING TREE

(Source: Amrit, Pāras aur Kalpa Vṛakśa ki Prapti

by Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya)

Revised Edition: 2016

Publisher: Vedmata Gayatri Trust (TMD) Gayatrinagar, Shrirampuram, Shantikunj, Haridwar - 249 411 Uttarakhand (India) Phone: 91-1334-260602 / 261955 E-mail: shantikunj@awgp.org Web: www.awgp.org

Price: Rs. xx.yy/-

PANDIT SHRIRAM SHARMA ACHARYA (1911~1990)

PANDIT SHRIRAM SHARMA ACHARYA A pioneer of spiritual renaissance was born on 20th 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.

CONTENTS Foreword ........................................................7 1.

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

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

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

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

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

Location of Philosopher’s stone and Wish-fulfilling tree.......................................61 Translator’s Note ...........................................63

ÂŚ 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

ÂŚ

FOREWORD

uman being has always craved for happiness. Anything it does or plans is with 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) Wishfulfilling 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

~1~ OBTAINING NECTAR

an'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

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

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

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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

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

immortal, transient and permanent (Nitya-AnityaVivek). 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

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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

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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

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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

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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, selfrespect 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

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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

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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 selfsufficient and self-dependent by dwelling in the state of soul, constantly remembering that you are the everexisting 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

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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', 'Brahmvidya' 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

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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.

ÂŚ

~2~ WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

eople 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 selfcontradicting situation. If people start converting iron

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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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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'.

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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.

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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

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'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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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

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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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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, GyanYagna (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

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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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

'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

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

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.

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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

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

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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

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

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

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

WHERE IS A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?

case of even dispute and contradiction with someone, let the feeling of love prevail. Keep the dispute issuebased 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.

ÂŚ

¦ The soul has its immortal existence that only exists through its relation with the supreme soul. This is the ultimate state of unity, of selfrealization, 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. ~ Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

~3~ WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

t 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 wishfulfilling 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

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

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

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

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

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

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

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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.

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

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 wishfulfilling 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

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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

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

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

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

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

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

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

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

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

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 openminded 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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; characterized by virtues like enthusiasm, patience, vigor, dedication, courage, stability and perseverance shown under any situation.

WISH-FULFILLING TREE ON THE EARTH

Who developed these virtues through penance, is a real achiever who can get any desired object that a wishfulfilling 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.

ÂŚ

¦ 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. ~ Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

~4~ STRIVE TO ACQUIRE THESE OBJECTS

ectar, Philosopher's Stone and the Wish Fulfilling Tree â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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

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

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 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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

STRIVE TO ACQUIRE THESE OBJECTS

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.

ÂŚ

ÂŚ 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. ~ Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

ÂŚ

~5~ TERRESTRIAL NECTARS

sual 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)

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

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

TERRESTRIAL NECTARS

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.

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ÂŚ 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. ~ Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

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~6~ LOCATION OF PHILOSOPHER'S STONE AND WISH-FULFILLING TREE

Philosopher'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

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

attitude towards material objects, understanding our own actual requirements, wisdom, compassion and above all, satisfaction and sense of gratitude for whatever we have got â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 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.

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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

nsatiable greed for gold compelled ancient man to engross into research for a substance - a '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.

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

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